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The Night of Masks

  • Writer: Belathran The Wise
    Belathran The Wise
  • Nov 5
  • 2 min read

Updated: Nov 15

The Night of Masks is one of Shadowstar’s most fascinating festivals—born from tyranny, reshaped by rebellion, and now celebrated in freedom. Though its tone and rituals vary across the island, all who observe it remember both the darkness of its origin and the courage that turned it into a symbol of liberation.


Before liberation, the Night of Masks served Zoltan’s tyranny — a haunting festival of shadows in the Age of Terror. Cloaked agents and masked watchers filled Portjaw’s streets, where fear and secrecy ruled beneath dim lantern light.

Historical Origins


The festival began in 300 AC under the rule of Zoltan, the necromantic tyrant who controlled Portjaw during the Age of Terror. Seeking to pacify his restless subjects after the invasion, Zoltan decreed a night of revelry—music, dancing, and masks—to distract the city and project a false sense of unity.

Yet behind the celebration lay darker intentions.


The masks allowed Zoltan’s agents to blend among the people, hunting for rebels and dissenters hidden in the crowd. What began as a night of forced joy quickly became a night of quiet fear, when loyalty and betrayal both wore the same disguise.


The Turning Point (327 AC)


In 327 AC, the Night of Masks became the stage for Zoltan’s downfall.A band of adventurers, whose names remain celebrated in song and secret history, infiltrated Portjaw during the festival itself. Disguised among the revelers, they struck at Zoltan’s stronghold and destroyed him before dawn.


The tyrant’s destruction, combined with a coordinated assault by the allied armies of dwarves, elves, halflings, and humans, shattered the dark dominion, liberating Portjaw and forcing the orcs and Cyricists to retreat from the Jaw Plains. Within weeks, the Age of Terror came to an end.


Legacy and Celebration


When the truth of that night spread in 328 AC, Portjaw’s people reclaimed the festival as their own. What was once a mask of oppression became a symbol of defiance. Citizens danced openly in the streets where spies once prowled, wearing masks not to hide from tyranny, but to mock it.


A festive night scene in the city of Portjaw during the Night of Masks. A jester and a masked woman holding a glowing lantern stand in the foreground, while dancers and townsfolk celebrate under a clear, starry sky between timber-framed houses.


Over the following century, The Night of Masks spread across Shadowstar. Each settlement honors it differently:

  • In Portjaw, it remains a night of jubilant parades, bonfires, and masked plays reenacting the fall of Zoltan.

  • In Reikerpass, rangers hold silent vigils under the stars, honoring the adventurers’ courage.

  • In Forestlake, elves view it as a night of duality—light and shadow, truth and illusion, balance restored.

  • In Cyrest and Gundarakk, the day is a mourning, a reminder of the end of their dominion over the island.



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