Since the Ancient Ages, on October 31st each year, Ritual would walk the earth, gathering offerings in what would come to be known as the Hallowed Procession. Depending on the offering and the giver's desires, the next year would bring a certain blessing or other phenomenon. They would welcome any who wished to join their parade, whether they were active Worshippers, former Worshippers, or simply those joining in the festivities - they would be donned in veils of darkness with crimson eyes, walking paths of shadows to gather others' offerings. Those who walked with Ritual would be linked to the minds of Ritual and all the others, joining in the delight of the night parade. Time seems to extend infinitely and they never seem to tire as they travel across the world. At the end, during the ages of Magic and Secrecy, many mortals would only remember it as a dream. 

Since Ritual's public reveal in 2035, this became a more public phenomenon, and the Procession no longer obfuscated mortal participants' memories. Rather than hiding amongst the shadows, the Procession would be visible even from afar as a mass of swirling darkness accompanied by crimson eyes and crimson flames. It is an invitation - will you make an offering, or will join the Procession? 

Your entry for this prompt can occur in any era, though it is a more public and revelrous affair in the Age of Reunion. 

Some notes about the Hallowed Procession: 

• Those who join are bathed in crimson flame and become donned in the garb of the Procession. See the design prompt for details on what that could look like. 

• To at least some extent, participants share thoughts and consciousness with Ritual and other members of the Procession, though depending on their preference, their thoughts can be "anonymous." Their cognition is altered, achieving a sort of high-dimensional state where they can also mentally traverse time. They also do not experience physical or mental exhaustion. 

• The Procession always appears at the "most suitable moment" all across the world. They can appear in multiple places at the same time, though they never overlap. The subjective experience of participants may be sequential, with them experiencing each location in sequence in memory, or it could be parallel, with them experiencing multiple locations at the same time, depending on what is most suitable for the individual's cognition. When at a particular location, members of the Procession may disperse and knock on individual doors or seek out stragglers, with Ritual only directly meeting those on their path. 

• When members of the Procession receive an offering into their flame, they feel a boost in energy and many experience a subjective sense of enjoyment. This can range from a psychological sense of satisfaction, a sense of delicious taste, a warm and comfortable feeling, a pleasurable sensation, etc. It changes depending on their subconscious preference - if they prefer not to have the feeling at all, then they will not feel anything other than the boost in energy. The intensity of the feeling depends on both the importance/weight of the offering and how much the recipient likes the offering. 

• Members of the Procession gain the power to grant blessings and cause phenomena through the power of the offerings given into their flames. Their own will and preference can play a part in determining what is given, though there is a strong influence of Ritual and some influence from the overall Procession in determining whether a reward is suitable. The blessings and phenomena cannot be malicious so long as the offering is earnest, though they can range from small and silly to a magnificent boon if the offering is greatly appreciated. 

Design Prompt:
Design your Edeia or other character as a participant of the Hallowed Procession. Here are some design guidelines: 

• They must wear a veil with a singular crimson eye sigil. It is usually black, but in some cases can be gold. The eye can make expressions, blink, and look around, following the wearer's gaze and sharing it with Ritual and the other members of the Procession. 

• Their clothes must be black, and should generally give the vibes of being ceremonial robes or something else suitable for the occasion. There can be gold decorations and highlights. 

• If they have any glowing parts or highlights, these all become crimson. Anything that glows should be red. For many Edeia, their overall color scheme becomes black, red, and gold. 

• They all carry at least one crimson flame in some form. This can be carried in a torch or brazier, it could replace some of their energy manifestations, they could carry it in their hands, or it could float around them.

Art Prompt:
Create artwork depicting your Edeia witnessing or otherwise interacting with the Procession, or depict a character (Edeia or not) making an offering or joining the Procession. 

Writing Prompt:
Create writing depicting your Edeia witnessing or otherwise interacting with the Procession, or depict a character (Edeia or not) making an offering or joining the Procession. 

October is a popular month for creative challenges, and here we present our own Edeiatober! You are welcome to complete these prompts as you like - as many or as few, combining prompts, etc. but you may also make three entries that will qualify for figments. 

The Free Day counts as one of the options. Do not use the same prompt multiple times for figments. 

This prompt follows the Standard Requirements for the Art and Writing prompts. 

Challenge Prompt: Complete at least 10 Edeiatobers depicting at least one Edeia, at least at the finish level of a shaded sketch fullbody (or almost) with some vignette background (e.g., flowers or rocks at feet, aesthetic patterns, etc.). Please submit all together; can be on one canvas or multiple, and please label the days on the image. You can combine days. 

Art Prompt: Create artwork depicting an Edeia, inspired by one or more of the Edeiatober prompts.  State which prompt(s) you used. 

Writing Prompt: You have two options: 

1. Write a scene depicting an Edeia, inspired by one or more of the Edeiatober prompts.  

2. Write a backstory/synopsis summary of events about an Edeia, inspired by one or more of the Edeiatober prompts. 

To those unfamiliar with them, Edeia can be terrifying beings. Some might choose to make themselves even more so. 

Design Prompt:
Design a "monstrous form" for your Edeia. This can range to partial shapeshifting, a distortion of their form, an entirely shapeshifted form, etc. Generally, "monstrous" characteristics might include more teeth and claws, more eyes, eldritch elements, more limbs, etc. but I am sure there is more than I can think of. If your Edeia already has a "monstrous form," by default, feel free to go even further. 

This form can generally be counted as an "other form," but if you want to make it a true alternate form, feel free to make note of that as well. 

Please spoiler your submission if there are horror/phobia/discomfiting elements with a warning of what you are spoiling for. I may request assistance of mods for approval if there is something I'm particularly uncomfortable with, but I don't wish to restrict submissions too much. 

• Must be fullbody with no cropping

• No background required, but you can add something if you like.

Art Prompt:
You have two options. 

1. Create artwork of your Edeia in their shapeshifted monstrous form, as described in the design prompt.

• Around 60% or more of the character should be visible; at least, it should clearly represent the character and capture important elements. 

• Fully colored and shaded

• Full color background, but can be abstract/blurred

2. Create artwork of your Edeia (or multiple) scaring an individual, whether on purpose or not. 

• Options: two characters - halfbodies (chest/equivalent up); three or more - head/bust.

• At least one character must be your Edeia. The other character can be anyone else.

• Fully colored, with either shading or some sort of effect/texture (so long as it is not simply flat). 

• Full color background with some sort of environment, but does not have to be detailed.

• Optional: provide a little blurb about the situation, whether a reflection by the character, a summary of what happens, etc. 

Writing Prompt:
Write a scene involving your Edeia scaring an individual, whether on purpose or not, or a circumstance in which they shifted into a monstrous form. Some Edeia may celebrate Halloween in this way, to note.