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The Harrowing Across Valoran

Dreamspitter·11/9/2014, 1:21:12 AM·2 votes·612 views

http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?p=3452447#post3452447

Each calendar year, the celestial bodies of Runeterra align in a particular astronomical event. This lengthy occasion - beginning with a partial eclipse on the 18th of October and culminating in a full solar eclipse on the 31st of October - is of one of the most significant holidays in Valoran. The alignment occurs annually around the time of the harvest, and is known as the Harrowing due to its dusky setting. For obvious reasons, the occasion is marked by superstitions surrounding the world's dark denizens, creepy crawlies, and things that generally go bump in the night.

While rural folks still believe that this is a time of great foreboding, most of Valoran has taken to commemorating the Harrowing through a bit of good, clean fun. Citizens of the city-states don monstrous costumes and exchange holiday sweets with one another as part of the revelry. Large costume parties, where patrons wear either light or dark costumes (with the intention of either warding off or confusing evil) are quite popular, and those of opposite colors are encouraged to exchange gifts with one another. However they're celebrating, all across Valoran, spirits are as high as the night is long.

Does the Black Mist video erase all of this?

What do we know about autumn festivals around valoran?

Does the new Harrowing only threaten the coast and the seas?

1 Comments

CupcakeTrap11/11/2014, 5:48:20 AM1 votes

I hadn't seen this particular snippet before, but I basically tried to harmonize this sort of Halloween/Thanksgiving vibe with the Black Mists in this lore update for Factions. (That was a 5-minute throwaway lore update, intended mostly just to give context to the video; I'm drafting something more involved now.) Granted, based on the latest Black Mists stuff, it sounds like Narrative is going for something a bit less subtle and a bit more like an annual alien invasion—I'm thinking in particular of Bilgewater sailing a fleet out to fight the Black Mists—but overall it seems reasonable that spooky times would bring everyone together for feasts.

One particular point of emphasis in my version: all-night parties, because going to sleep at night is a chancy proposition during the Harrowing, especially for Summoners and Champions who've taken lives in their respective lines of work.

So, in short, I don't see any reason why the Black Mist would retcon the quoted material…at least if one assumes that the "ghosts come and kill absolutely everyone" stuff is limited to an incident or two per year, and everywhere else it's just spooky.