Sigrblót was a holiday of great value to the Valrissi throughout Pacifica, especially in Valkyria. For three days starting on 6 April, the Valrissi will give their offerings, have grand feasts, share stories, and celebrate the new season. For the first time in more than a century, however, the state-sponsored festivities will be held throughout Valkyria at the behest of both Jarlskona Kate Murphy and Prime Minister Steve Bennett.
On the first day, Murphy and Bennett will welcome all foreign dignitaries and meet Chieftain Haakon Danielson, who is constitutionally recognised as the head of the Valrissi religion and chief developer of Valrissi hofs and other sacred sites throughout the nation. Daylight festivities will largely be muted with smaller gatherings and activities, but there will be some ritual combat. After sunset, the two leaders will head to Ravneby Stadium, where they will each give a speech, make a sacrifice, and jointly light a bonfire.
However, this Sigrblót will also serve as a painful reminder to Bennett as the holiday will coincide with the second anniversary of his daughter’s death on 7 April. As festivities resume on the second day, Bennett will pay a visit to Kára Beach in Gullkysten, the site of his daughter’s funeral. There, he is expected to be joined by a small party of close friends and family, whom he will likely spend the rest of the day with. Bennett will also spend some time alone to meditate and perform Utiseta through the use of psilocybin mushrooms.
With Bennett unavailable on the second day, Murphy will attend the Gullkysten festival and watch a reenactment of a naval battle that occurred on the city’s waters in 966. At nighttime, the jarlskona will participate in a party held along the Gullkysten promenade, where there will be feasting and drinking during and after a fireworks display.
On the third day, Bennett will head east to Tvillingelver, a city of historical importance to the modern Valrissi movement, being the birthplace of their resistance to the fascist dictatorship that ruled over both Austurland and Qvait in the 20th century. Bennett’s visit to the eastern city will carry great meaning as the son of antifascist dissidents who were imprisoned and tortured by the fascist regime but ultimately won. The theme of victory is central to Sigrblót, so Bennett’s trip to Tvillingelver will carry symbolic relevance.
Meanwhile, Murphy will travel to the island of Eyjabær, where she will give a speech on the future of Valkyria in the world. The speech has been described by government sources as the Valkyrian blueprint that will define at least the next two years of Valkyrian domestic and foreign policy. By day’s end, Murphy will be joined by Bennett, and they will light a bonfire to be seen on all sides of the gulf shared between Huawan and Valkyria.
| Katja Sigurdsdotter Murphy | Jarlskona | Labour | |
| Steffan Torsson Bennett | Prime Minister | Socialist |
Despite their socialist views and the secularist position of their respective parties, the two leaders were Valrissi modernists intent on reclaiming a religion and way of life from the far-right. Organised by the Ministry of Culture, government officials have repeatedly stated that extremists and exclusivists will not be welcome at the Sigrblót festivities, promoting instead a culture of inclusion opposite of the fundamentalist view.
However, not everyone on the left is on board with Sigrblót, particularly the secularists and religious minorities for differing reasons. The secularists believe that Valkyria should remove Valrissi as the state religion, while religious minorities point to the government’s recent failure to pass legislation dropping the ban on proselytisation, calling the government’s Sigrblót festival ill-timed and inappropriate at a time when minorities weren’t given the same rights and freedoms enjoyed by the Valrissi when it came to sharing their religious beliefs.
Countering the claims of hypocrisy, several government spokespeople said that the National Police under the Bennett government was no longer enforcing the proselytisation ban despite the law remaining in place, which is true because documented arrests connected to proselytism have dropped to null since Bennett became prime minister. However, if another government came to power, they could start re-enforcing the law at any time.
Nevertheless, the Valkyrian government hopes to revive the soft power that embodied its foreign policy during Harrisonisme, a time when Margaret Harrison led Valkyria to near-superpower status, helped build the World Forum, and contributed to the cause of peace, freedom, and democracy, not just in Valkyria, but in every land on Pacifica. Sigrblót represented a chance for Valkyria to reinvent its former self on the international stage.
The new government was hoping to move beyond the Kalkara War and revive a lost part of the Valkyrian creed.
Dignitaries planning on attending:
- Marja Sanddorn, Chancellor of Gianatla
- Aurelian, Crown Prince of Stoinia
- Felix Gähring, Chancellor of Fauderland
- Galen Hughes, Prime Minister of Emerald-Denver
OOC notes
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