The Blood Moon
The Blood Moon is a term used by Ionian citizen to describe the night during the Festival of Fire.
The Festival of Fire and the Blood Moon
Henril Dreving
“Ionians from every province gathered beneath the flowered branches of the Great Tree in the Serene Gardens yesterday for the city-state’s annual Festival of Fire. An early summer tradition, this festival was a symbol of Ionian culture, celebrating the cleansing and rebirth of the spirit.”
―Henril Dreving (JoJ 1-22)
From the sunset till the dawn the citizen of ionia face what they call “The Blood Moon” to cleanse their fears and woes.
The Serene Gardens is inside the Placidium
The festival starts in the morning in the Serene Gardens. During the day the citizen can enjoy the local artists performance, shop from the vendors along the garden’s edge are filled with shops.
All the visitors can write on a scroll their woes and worries and hang it on the Great tree Branches.
Great Tree (Ionian Crest)
During the night, Ionian citizens were treated to various musical and theatrical performances pertaining to Ionian history or legend.
As the sun starts to rise the scrolls are burned with magic fire. As the magic dissipates the sun shines in the sky and the soul are purified.
Special occasions
21 May, 21 CLE
The headlining performance featured League Champions 
Shen, the Eye of Twilight, and 
Akali, the Fist of Shadow, who performed The Tale of Reina, a legend in which an ancient Ionian warrior is hunted by an evil spirit.
Shen and Akali performing as guests of honor.
Akali took the part of Reina herself, dressed in formal Ionian red and white battle garb, and Shen played the spirit that plagued her, adorned with a fearsome mask. As the legend goes, Reina fled the spirit for years, yet it always found and tormented her. Finally, Reina donned her own mask to confront the spirit, but when she turned to face it, it never came again, frightened away by her strength.
When the sun rose in the morning and the Tree had become almost fully concealed behind scrolls, an Ionian summoner lit them briefly aflame. As the magic dissipated, the sun shone brilliantly through the branches of the Great Tree. Master Hana, an Ionian adjudicator, stated that this was the festival's greatest lesson: out of any darkness comes the grandest of light.
The Journal of Justice: Volume 1, Issue 22
Champion skins
There are two sets of skin with this theme
2011
- Blood Moon Akali
- Blood Moon Shen
- Those who skins refer to their performance during the Festival of Fire as Reina (
Akali) and the haunting spirit ( Shen).
2014
- Blood Moon Kalista
- Blood Moon Kalista represents Kalista as she would be seen in Ionian culture.
- This skin might be a reference to The Tale of Reina, which was performed by Akali and Shen in Festival of Fire, with Kalista being the haunting spirit.
- Blood Moon Kalista represents Kalista as she would be seen in Ionian culture.
"Kalista is known all across Runeterra... but different cultures may tell her story differently, as well as have a different idea of how she looks, since most of them - the lucky ones, anyway - have likely never actually seen her"
―Riot Ant in Oz 's post