Nightal 20

__NOTOC__
==On This Day==
*It is the Winter Solstice.
*Simril is celebrated in cities such as Waterdeep and Neverwinter.
*Priests of Auril celebrate the Coming Storm by calling vicious ice storms to torment a town or region.
*Worshipers of Eilistraee may celebrate the High Hunt, in which a deadly beast is hunted in the dark. Hunters may wear anything, but priests go naked, carrying only a sword.
*Worshipers of Mielikki and Gwaeron Windstrom celebrate the Fourth Feast and praise the Forest Lady with song.
*Priests of Malar may observe a ritual they also call the High Hunt, in which they armor themselves with their personal skull or head trophies and stalk a sentient being, usually a human male, until his death or dawn, whichever comes first.
*Worshipers of the gnomish deity Segojan Earthcaller offer up gems and bury them in holes dug by badgers in a festival honoring the treasures of the earth.
*Worshipers of Thoth perform the Ceremony of Introspection by fasting for 24 hours followed by immersion in icy water.
*Worshipers of Uthgar fast for a day and a night to celebrate the Darking of winter.
*In 1371 DR, the Sharn Wall keeping the phaerimm trapped beneath Anauroch was breached during a battle between Galaeron Nihmedu and Melegaunt Tanthul by the interaction of Weave magic and Shadow Weave magic.
*In 1375 DR, Lolth's Champion, Selvetarm, was killed by Cavatina Xarann wielding the Crescent Blade.
*In 1375 DR, drow mages of Vhaeraun performed a High Magic ritual for the first time since the Descent of the Drow (circa –10000 DR), which opened a gateway to Eilistraee's realm in Arvandor. The Masked Lord attempted to assassinate his sister, but failed and was killed by her instead.The Grand History of the Realms explicitly says that Vhaeraun's assassination attempt failed and Eilistraee killed him. However, in one of his answers, Ed Greenwood suggests that Eilistraee actually spared her brother's life. The Dark Maiden defeated Vhaeraun with the indirect help of her ally Mystra, as the Weave frustrated the Masked Lord's magic while enhancing Eilistraee's. The goddess temporarily took her brother's portfolio, and trapped his sentience in the Weave, where it was enfolded in a dream by Mystra. The Lady of Mysteries did that to ensure that the two drow siblings would survive the cataclysm that she knew was coming—the Spellplague—in which she would be "killed" to renew the Weave, and magic would go wild. After Mystra and the Weave were completely restored in 1487 DR, the goddess of magic could finally give Eilistraee her own lost power and do the same with Vhaeraun, after having awakened him from his dream.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===See Also===
* Feast of the Moon
* Greengrass
* Highharvestide
* Midwinter
* Midsummer
* Shieldmeet
* Spring Equinox
* Autumn Equinox
* Summer Solstice
===References===