Litha Eve
The Litha Eve is the day and night of the year when the sun and moon hang side by side; the night is the shortest, the day is the longest, and the only day that the Litha roses bloom. It is also known as the "Eve of Blood and Thorns".
The Litha Eve takes place at night.
Practices and Traditions[]
The night the Litha Rose blooms is called the "Eve of Blood and Thorns". There are rowdy celebrations in all packs of all wolf clans in the Beyond, as it marks the longest day of the year and the turn of the Earth towards winter.
In the chapter "Blood and Thorns" in Watch Wolf, it is said that no wolf clan celebrates the Litha Eve more enthusiastically than the MacHeaths, which often ends with a disastrous conclusion of wolves getting killed in "friendly" wrestling matches. Being a gnaw wolf of the MacHeath Clan, Edme made herself scarce on the Litha Eve.
Litha Rose[]
On the cusp of summer, when the earth begins to tilt more steeply toward the sun, there is a day when the moon and sun hang side by side in the sky—the Litha Rose blooms in the Beyond on this single day and night. The tiny red roses tip their faces toward the radiant sun and the moon, from which they gather their nourishment. The appearances of the flowers mark the longest day of the year and signals the earth's turn towards winter.
A wolf after getting a drink from a Litha leaf
The Litha Rose blossoms are the deepest red, and their thorns are as sharp as wolf fangs. The leaves of the Litha are succulent, with a juice strong enough to make a wolf tipsy. However, to get past the thorns to the spirited grog of the leaves is an uncomfortable task at best. Although the appearances of the roses mark the longest day of the year and signal the turn of the earth towards winter, for the warm days after, the sun will slip below the horizon a bit earlier, and the silver of daylight will disappear as the shadows of evening advance more quickly. The night the Litha Rose appears is called the "Eve of Blood and Thorns", and there are rowdy celebrations in all packs of all the wolf clans in the Beyond.