From Old Life To New Content . A Tale of Two Festivals By Botjolf Meadwarmer " Da , why is the New Life herald so scary ? " When my littlest asked this of me during a New Life Festival , I laughed . I had once asked the very same question of my own Da . He said , " Come the fall , you should ask your Nan . " To understand the answer , we must look to the Old Life Festival , which we hold as the days grow short and the fields lie fallow . During this time we bring forth dark tales and unsettling songs . The Unknown Passenger tells of a cloaked figure on a ship who none of the other travelers recall boarding . The Lost Fawn in the Woods learns a stalking wolf killed its mother and wears her skin , but in its haste to flee it takes shelter in the wolf ' s den . The Midnight Lodger rents a room in the dead of night , but vanishes before morning — along with the innkeeper ' s child . We tell these tales as the nights stretch long . Every race has variations , but there are common themes across Tamriel : danger in the darkness , a threat to the innocent or the young , and a malignant creature that slips its way in amongst the relative safety of hearth and home . But the Wolf That Craved the Sky is the one that still makes me shiver , no matter how high the fire burns . As my Nan told it to all the village ' s children one long night ago , a great wolf with burning eyes once stalked the land at night . Its endless hunger drove it across the land , where it feasted on the volcano es of Morrowind , drank the Iliac Bay dry enough to form the Alik ' r Desert , and used the great trees of Valenwood to pick its teeth . But the wolf could not be sated , no matter how much it ate or drank . It wanted more , and more , and more . One night the wolf saw the two moons dancing through the sky . Masser , the bigger one , laughed and carried on . Secunda , the smaller one , followed Masser ' s lead . " Be quiet ! " snarled the wolf . " Or I ' ll pull you from the sky . Then I ' ll crack you open and devour everything inside , like Ayleid cities . " " You ' ll never be able to reach us ! " taunted Masser . " Reach us , " echoed Secunda . " Oh ? " snarled the wolf . " I will leap from the highest mountain until I reach the sky . Then I will stand astride two little moons , gnashing and tearing , until there are moons no more . " " But everyone will notice if one of us is missing ! " cried Masser . " One of us is missing , " echoed Secunda . " I will change my skin to match your own , " snarled the wolf . " My burning eyes will shine in your place . None will know the difference . " " The sun will know we aren ' t what we seem ! " cried Masser . " We aren ' t what we seem , " echoed Secunda . " Then I shall make a meal of the sun , " snarled the wolf . " And after , I ' ll consume all the stars . " " You can ' t do this to us ! " cried Masser . " Do this to us , " echoed Secunda . " But I can , " snarled the wolf . " And when I have gorged myself on the sky , when there is nothing left but darkness , I will stand astride the world and howl ! " As my Nan leaned forward , fingers extended like claws , a figure with a wolf ' s head burst into the room and howled . All the children shrieked . Then the candles blew out . I remember shivering in the darkness , trying not to make a sound . It seemed like forever , but it was likely a dozen heartbeats . A soft light emerged from a lantern held aloft by my Nan . She faced the figure with the wolf ' s head and said , " Not yet , wolf . The sun ' s light is too rich a meal . It will consume you instead . " " Then I shall wait til the sun is weakest , " snarled the Skinchanger . " On that day , I shall swallow it whole . " " You can try , " said my Nan , her voice firm . " But the sun may have other ideas . " With that , the lantern flared . The Skinchanger howled in pain and fled from the room . For a few moments there was silence . Then my Nan spoke . " Never forget the danger in the darkness . It can slip into your midst and drag you into the night . But light at its dimmest is the old life passing behind us . Soon there will be new life , and the sun shall herald its arrival . " A good number of weeks passed . The New Life Festival began . I remember assembling in the square , just before noon . And I remember children screaming as the wolf - man walked boldly toward us . But we stopped when he pulled the wolf ' s head from his shoulders , revealing a person beneath . It was my own Da ! He wasn ' t a wolf - man at all . In the light of the noonday sun , he was just a person in a costume . The bear claws and snarling , stylized faces worked into his garb seemed almost ridiculous by light of day . He smiled and told us the light of the Sun had filled him with hope , and that he would be our New Life herald for the festival . So years later , when my littlest asked me why the New Life herald was so scary , I laughed . " Come the fall , you should ask your Nan . "