Connects to: 22.00, 28.04, 29.14.01 and the City of Shuttered Windows.
Six months from the Long Night (28.04) comes the Lion’s Day - the time of the summer solstice when the sun is at its most ascendant. During this day, all clouds are banished from the sky and the temperature climbs high. It is a holiday for the people of the City of Shuttered Windows, who draw closed their shutters and retreat into cool basements to wait out the heat. In the Welt Road, the normally stuffy air becomes practically unbreathable. In the Kingswood, the elves become irascible and often clash with one another.
The occasion is named for the King in Splendor, often depicted as a lion, who is associated with the sun. His worshippers hold it as the most holy day of the year, and perform an intricate rite based around their noonday sundials. It is said that if the ritual does not reach completion at the moment when the sun strikes the dial, then the house will be cursed with ill luck for the rest of the year. Many years ago, the Stannev household botched their ritual; the following year saw three sons of the house murder each other over the position of High Priest, after which their younger sister Loris was forced to take up the position.
Traditions of the King in Splendor’s cult hold that this day is opposed to the unholy time of the Long Night, and it is said that one day the King will return to slay the Night once and for all, bathing the world in eternal summer. Many outside the cult are somewhat disturbed by this prophecy. The night men in particular have a long-standing feud with the Stannevs and other such houses. As a result, the Stannevs tend to speak little about this particular aspect of their faith.