Moon of Siira

## The Moon

Siira's moon, as observed through a cave at night

**Siira** has one natural satellite that orbits it, not too dissimilar to Earth. Unknown as to why for the inhabitants, Siira’s moon is fractured, with large pieces of the body clearly being separated. Despite this, the moon’s gravity has moved its pieces relatively back together, allowing it to still retain mass and influence on the tide below. Lingering dust follows the moon, creating an appearance of a vast galaxy trailing behind the moon as it sweeps the sky. Given many names, the moon is often simply titled as “the Moon”, but selected various names include Ilimala, Gola, Krvs, Boel, Fyrcwen, Lôné, Keressec, Aregenti, and Grysicht.

## **Ancient History**

Several billion years ago, long after the Birth of the Universe and the Arch-Gods, Siira's moon was the site of a terrible cataclysm between several newly "born" Gods, which included many whom are still worshipped on Siira proper, such as Morodyr, Brankening, and Clysta. The prelude to the harrowing destruction stemmed from the feuding between two younger Gods, the twins Ilima and Tolmand. When Ilima was adopted by the senior Arch-God Almacus to continue his legacy, leaving her brother, Tolmand, to brave his youth alone, a bitter feud developed. When Ilima came of power and attempted to sew seeds of life on Cestra, the closest planet to modern-day Siira, formed by Ilima herself, Tolmand sought to uproot every effort she made, ultimately leaving the planet as lifeless as it began. This pattern persisted for several millennia, a process of endless hope and bitter resentment, culminating in entire galaxies bereft of life. Only after the creation of Siira did this cycle halt, but only by force.

Returning to the original space that started the cycle, Ilima had tired of attempting to outpace her former brother with space between other systems, resigning herself to her final planet, her magnum opus, the one which she was fully willing to give her life for. Not fully knowing this plan, but feeling slighted by creating a new planet at the site of their original confrontation, Tolmand chose to fully give into his resentment, becoming the first Gaun God. With his complete fury, Tolmand marched with the intend to destroy another attempt of life in the endless void he had grown accustomed to. However, Tolmand met fierce resistance he hadn't seen from his sister before; when he attempted to shoot his living spikes at the floating rock, Ilima countered with a fortress of hard-light. When he tried to use the dark matter betwixt he and his sister to cloak his movements, her rays of light burst from her entire body, searing his flesh. Defeated, but not deterred, Tolmand would retreat, and decide to create life of his own: pale, shadow-like imitations of his own Godhood, which would one day evolve into the first Daemons.

Rounding his newly-formed army to his side, their assault on Ilima's last planet drew near. Fearing her strength would not be enough, Ilima called upon the stars to send a message to her kin, hoping to use their assistance to distract Tolmand enough to create Siira's moon, which would finalize the creation of her planet. Too few of her siblings answered the call, but were just as willing to die for her dream to reach its fruition. The battle was fierce, with hundreds of millions of these proto-daemon forces being cut down by the Godkin, but the fight was soundly in their favor, so long as Tolmand remained in the fight. However, in his hubris, Tolmand believed the fight to already be over, and flew towards Ilima. Ilima, on the surface of the moon, was fought by Tolmand to a near-standstill, creating dents across the landscape. After a strong blow struck by Tolmand to the lunar surface, Ilima's hope had resolved for one more attack aimed at Tolmand, hoping to prevent his destruction of the moon she crafted tirelessly of her own flesh. Unfortunately, Ilima hadn't enough time to regenerate the losses, and Tolmand gained the upper hand. With all other options unavailable, Ilima did the unthinkable for a god; she resounded to destroy the surface around herself and her former brother in order to destroy Tolmand, but ultimately sacrificing her godhood and, ultimately, her life. With a stark light rivalled only by the sun of this system, Tolmand, as well as Ilima, were well and truly gone, the remaining proto-daemons returning to Tolmand's pocket-dimension, and the Godkin sullenly returning to their own galaxies, believing Ilima to have sacrificed her life for a goal which could now never be completed.

However, with time, came the first creatures which stirred in Siira's vast oceans, the continents slowly formed, and the moon resettled, allowing Ilima's legacy to live on, her life fully formed, and even Gods returning to the star system, offering guidance to the emerging intelligent races.

## Contemporary History

The history of the moon has been largely forgotten by the inhabitants of Siira, who either dismiss the teachings as legend, religious fable, or one of the myriad answers for how the planet came to be. In fact, the story here may not even be accurate. Despite this, the image of Ilima and Tolmand fighting for Life and Death, respectively, has created, either directly or indirectly, a tangible feeling which resonates in the hearts of millions of Siirans.

There are many other tales of how the moon over Siira came to be fractured. In Reisen, for example, the fracturing of the moon is correlated to Grysicht, the Grey Face, a War Deity who showed his divinity and physical prowess to the ancient Reisish species by flying to the moon and cracking it with a single punch, securing his position as the principle deity of Reisen. Conversely, the Kawanese of Imperial Kawana believe that, due to the loneliness caused by watching the races below, itself not having others, the spirit of the moon split itself in innumerable bits in an attempt to end its own misery, but instead creating vessels for new spirits, unexpectedly creating itself a family.

Haveners from The Republic of Easthaven believe the moon to be a harbinger of change, as well as a symbol of personal rebirth. Festivals in rural Havener towns are occasionally held on full moons during Harvest Month to celebrate a successful farming season. Oddly enough, storks are also closely associated with the moon in Easthaven, and are commonly seen in tandem with artwork, writing, and plays from Easthaven.

Abilamens who migrated to Akilos from Qash'ir will often share how they believe the moon to simply be a piece of their God, its shattering a consequence of man's attempt to travel to its surface with forgotten magicks. Such an act would be a cardinal sin, and, as a result, humanity is cursed to forever roam Siira, never viewing God's grace directly.

Mbengeli is so vast that it's impossible to get a summary of their beliefs, but the moon is almost always important to the spiritual beliefs of the people in this continent. In the western countries of Mbengeli, many related tribes believe in a rejuvenation from the moon's reflection of the sun, which can then be condensed into pools of water, commonly called Waokilimichine, or 'Healing Ponds' as an approximate translation, which aid in healing of internal injuries.

In the Pjestalagos, the moon can be seen both negatively and positively. Due to the fact that the Pjestalagos are a vast chain of islands, the tides that are caused by the moon can be blessings or curses to the inhabitants of the islands. For example, a Great Moontide can bring large amounts of fish into the shallows near the land, thereby allowing easy fishing for the potential of great profit. Conversely, the tides can also become reckless, drowning ships, towns, or even parts of an island entirely.

## Trivia

* Siira's moon being shattered was inspired by several fantasy works, most notably the film the Time Machine (2002).
* Although simply called the Moon in most official sources, many nations have other names for the moon, with the biggest variations being seen in the Northeastern portion of Akilos.