Each year around the end of autumn, the trees of Bastion start looking brownish-red. A mysterious fog appears from nowhere and engulfs the whole nation—the darkness returns… This means the Season of Skulls is upon us.
The Season of Skulls is a time of remembering the fallen, keeping old traditions alive, braving the mysteriously appearing creatures, and for the people inside walled cities, the only time of the year they get to walk outside the walls for one night.
This page only talks about the festival of the Season of Skulls. For the full Season, check Season of Skulls.
Traditions[]
Bastionian lancers light special shrines to remember the fallen across the nation. Walled cities are decorated in themes that cause a chilling scare. Fire braziers of vivid colors are lit all over the cities. Special foods are prepared and shared. Children make and wear javelin and fauna themed masks when they walk outside the walls with their guardians who wear skulls. Of course, they would be safe under the watchful eyes of the Sentinels and Freelancers alike.
The seasonal greetings used by the people is “Brave Seasons! May their bones be picked clean!”
Fort Tarsis Traditions[]
The blue Sentinel banners across the fort are changed to red skull-themed tattered banners. Orange-fired braziers are lit across the fort, some even hoisted on tall poles. A green-mist of unknown composition is made to spread on the floor—against the Fort Custodian, Pirndel Blatch’s will, every year. The skeleton of an ursix is laid on the courtyard fountain; it really speaks volumes about the true size of that monster when one is not inside a javelin.
The fort also sees several piles of decorative bones everywhere. Small family bonfires are lit inside the fort because not everyone likes going outside in fear of dangerous creatures (especially the families with little children) for the monumental Bonfire by the Fort gate. Other decorative bonfires are also lit around the fort. The Launch Bay is made to look especially festive by lighting teal-fired braziers.
There is also the competition of the best Season of Skulls mask on the day when the gate bonfire is lit. This also means that the vendors in the fort market sell new for javelins. Some of the festive foods around this time are: freshly-pressed-and-piping cider, and caramel corn.
Freelancer Traditions[]
Freelancers go on a pilgrimage to light fire shrine caves. Freelancers adopted these caves as their own to protect them. Something dark always finds its way here, and Freelancers always drive it away. Freelancers light these caves to protect them throughout the year and keep them safe. What secrets are hidden inside this network of caves?
There is one in Northern Bastion called The Sombre Halls, the closest to Fort Tarsis. The dark monsters causing an ominous squall inside this cave are Corrupted Ursixes. Freelancers have encountered, named, and put an end to at least eleven of them.
Sentinel Traditions[]
Sentinels love building special bonfires during this time of the year. As Sentinel Commander Adris Kamkua had once said, “Humanity is a fire in a world of darkness.” Throughout history, Sentinels had been using bonfires to warn of Shaper catastrophes. Today they are a monument to our place on Coda. They continue this tradition of lighting bonfires in places of great danger.
Sentinels often look for other lancers, especially the Freelancers, to help them guard these bonfires from invaders trying to stop them. As an honor, the non-Sentinel lancers get the privilege of lighting the bonfire.
Arcanist Traditions[]
Arcanists, being the people closest to the world, continue to study it. They research Shaper Ruins and relics to help the Freelancers and Sentinels remain safe against the dangers the world throws at them outside the walls. They often seek Freelancer help to complete these researches because this time of the year is dark and dangerous.
Ominous Creatures[]
Rare creatures show up during the Season of Skulls: the translucent Mistborn Skorpions, the skull-clad Elementals, the eerily pale wolven, spooky bats, vengeful Swarm Tyrants, and corrupted fauna.
It seems that Scars, those foul creatures that copy anything and everything humans do, have somehow begun celebrating their own Season of Skulls by wearing skulls lit on fire. They can be found in special and unreachable places that aren’t easily accessible. But their version is still completely utilitarian, so they will kill you, festival or otherwise, if they see you.
Present Day[]
In the year 468 L.V., the season of skulls was more eventful than ever.
For the first time in centuries, the Paladins showed up from the darkness, proving once and for all that the Dominion were not the true successors of the Legion of Dawn, as long as their faction still exists. They challenged the Freelancer that silenced the Heart of Rage and Echoes of Reality to uphold their traditions of lighting a fire by the shrines of their fallen—the Legion of Dawn members who fought for humanity’s freedom. The Freelancer also took part in several other traditions of cleansing the fire shrine caves, lighting and defending the bonfires, and helping arcanists with their research. They also stopped a vicious Fury and a monstrous Ash Titan from escaping random anomalies that popped out into Northern Bastion this year. As a way to improve the Sentinel-Freelancer collaboration, the Sentinels challenged the Freelancers to light a fire in a challenging location—through a conjunction. The Freelancers succeeded in this ambitious task!
Pirndle Blatch became a hero by putting an end to the fire caused by the green-mist of unknown composition in the Fort courtyard. Max and Amal were spooked by what they thought was the ghost of Dusty, the previous owner of the Bar. Zoe took her son, Anden, outside the fort walls for the first time. However, a pale wolven lurking around caused havoc by attacking a teenager. This scared everyone. But the brave Freelancers such as Jameson, Richards, and Lucky Jak defeated the creature and protected the fort’s citizens.
News and Stories[]
Read more about the events of 468’s Season of Skulls in the following stories:
- How the Fort Custodian became a hero—Pirndel Blatch Saves the Day
- About finding the courage to move forward—Lighter
- Whatever happened to the Bar’s previous owner?—Dusty’s Deal
- The final day of the Season of Skulls of 468 L.V.—The Fire Inside
- A story to remind children why relics are dangerous—The Unwinding Box: A Warning for Naughty Children
Read more about the events that happened before and during 468’s Season of Skulls in the following news entries of the Enclave Collection:
- Events of the mystery of the Emerald Abyss—Lost Scrapbook
- A fan rewrite of the eleventh season (by CLAnonymous) of the popular radio show—Crimson Lancer Rewrite
- The story of the founding of Gate technology—An Account of My Time with Saln Govran
Brave Seasons to anyone trying to conquer their fears!
