Octum Approaches (and the Octum Festival)
Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 11:35 am
One week from now we'll be in the month of Octum, which is an interesting time of year in the Lost Lands with traditions, wandering nethrim, and a festival! For those interested in some general information, look to the article on Octum here (or type HELP OCTUM in-game).
In the month of Octum, the Wraith constellation is prominent in the night sky, gazing down at our world with its icy blue eyes. Legend has it that this stirs up lost spirits as nethrim, which can often be found wandering the roads of the Lost Lands during the month. Travelers are advised to not disturb these spirits and simply move past them quickly - remaining near for too long will cause them to become increasingly agitated until they may begin to act dangerously, even if sometimes it seems to be unintentional on the part of the lost spirit.
Other dangers often spoken of during the month of Octum include increased nethrim activity in general, roving werewolf packs, and encounters with the Headless Lord; a headless rider astride a nightmare steed that has a penchant for using his cutlass to remove the heads of others he encounters on the roads.
Two particularly prominent traditions during Octum are the Deathly Masquerade in which people wear costumes to appear as nethrim in the hope of escaping the Octum Wraith's notice, and charm-seeking, which will be possible every day of the month. A costume shop will be available soon for those who don't have one already from previous years, or just wish to get a new one. Once properly costumed and holding a container in hand, once can use the CHARMSEEK command in populated town rooms to participate in charmseeking.
This year the Octum Festival will begin on the 13th and run until the very end of the month. The festival grounds will be set up at Barrow Hill, and a temporary trail will be blazed to help guide travelers to it. Directions will be given once the festival is ready to begin. The Octum Festival will include:
- Several merchants with unique wares (apparel, gear, crafting materials, planting seeds, animals, RP fluff/props, and more)
- Custom restring/alteration opportunities
- Games such as bobbing for apples, pumpkin toss, and scarecrow smashing
- Services such as tattooing and fortunetelling
- NPCs to tell stories and share new lore or information
- And more!
The festival will start fairly small on the 13th, with new merchants or services being added as the month goes on, so there will always be something to look forward to and reasons to return to the festival grounds throughout the whole month!
In the month of Octum, the Wraith constellation is prominent in the night sky, gazing down at our world with its icy blue eyes. Legend has it that this stirs up lost spirits as nethrim, which can often be found wandering the roads of the Lost Lands during the month. Travelers are advised to not disturb these spirits and simply move past them quickly - remaining near for too long will cause them to become increasingly agitated until they may begin to act dangerously, even if sometimes it seems to be unintentional on the part of the lost spirit.
Other dangers often spoken of during the month of Octum include increased nethrim activity in general, roving werewolf packs, and encounters with the Headless Lord; a headless rider astride a nightmare steed that has a penchant for using his cutlass to remove the heads of others he encounters on the roads.
Two particularly prominent traditions during Octum are the Deathly Masquerade in which people wear costumes to appear as nethrim in the hope of escaping the Octum Wraith's notice, and charm-seeking, which will be possible every day of the month. A costume shop will be available soon for those who don't have one already from previous years, or just wish to get a new one. Once properly costumed and holding a container in hand, once can use the CHARMSEEK command in populated town rooms to participate in charmseeking.
This year the Octum Festival will begin on the 13th and run until the very end of the month. The festival grounds will be set up at Barrow Hill, and a temporary trail will be blazed to help guide travelers to it. Directions will be given once the festival is ready to begin. The Octum Festival will include:
- Several merchants with unique wares (apparel, gear, crafting materials, planting seeds, animals, RP fluff/props, and more)
- Custom restring/alteration opportunities
- Games such as bobbing for apples, pumpkin toss, and scarecrow smashing
- Services such as tattooing and fortunetelling
- NPCs to tell stories and share new lore or information
- And more!
The festival will start fairly small on the 13th, with new merchants or services being added as the month goes on, so there will always be something to look forward to and reasons to return to the festival grounds throughout the whole month!