Red Moon Reverie

Silence

When the mages and the scholars proclaim an end of the cycle, everyone finally relaxes their muscles again, for the first time in a week or more, they are able to rest easy, knowing they are safe. They do their rounds, everyone has their own little routine for when the Red Moon has come and gone, and then they find a quiet place to contemplate in silence.

Cycle

When Mekharis, the red moon, enters a new cycle, the first few days, are the worst. This is when people frantically make operations, run to shelters, or the walls of big cities, waiting for the moon to complete its return, it is the silence before the storm, and when the storms comes, no one is safe. Regardless of the walls you have found, the shelter your family has constructed over the many years, there are bound to be casualties.

Reverie

It is because of this that, when the moon has come and gone, the people need their time to let go. They will bury their dead, or cremate them, whatever their culture, and then they will find a quiet spot, either alone or in the presence of loved once, to contemplate the events of the last week or so. To accept that death is part of life, and to remember tho lives that were lost, and the life they had led.

Stories

Traditionally, these reveries consist of three stages, contemplation only being the first, the second one is when people gather together, often around the piled-up bodies of demons and monsters, that had been defeated this cycle, and set them ablaze. They sit around this fire, and share stories, those of the ones who have been lost, and stories of the ones who are still alive, stories of victory, and of defeat.

Celebrations

Once the bodies have been buried, and the corpses of demons have been disposed of, people find the need to be merry again, when the need for contemplation, and storytelling has been satisfied, the time has come for celebration. They celebrate life, they thank the gods that they at least survived this cycle, they thank the gods for the friends and family they still have, and they feast with whatever food they have, and plenty of ale, and wine.

Tradition Each culture has their own traditions, and customs, for the Mekharis Cycle, but all of them seek to leave it behind them as soon as they can. It is not something one should dwell upon. It is something that is beyond the control of mortals, all they can do is hope the next one comes late, the later the better.

Anticipation The months, and even years, after a cycle, people are the most at ease, but as time goes on, they do get the itch, they can't help but wonder when the next cycle will be, if the local mage is a talented one, they might get a few days heads up, but often, they only notice, when Mekharis has already started appearing in the sky.

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Read more about Mekharis, its creation, and its inner workings in the article about: Cosue
Demons

With luck, Luna shines upon you, washing away the dread of the red moon, as you consider all you have in life and gain a new appreciation for it, for the coming of Mekharis guarantees no survival for anyone, or anything, it simply throws oil on the fires of life, and revels at the flames it makes. Such is the way of the world, all we can do is our best, all we can ask for, is one more day, one more day with our beloved, our children, as the next cycle could come at any moment, and all could be lost. -Lamenting Mekharis

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Challenge

This is an entry for the Great Tree's unofficial challenge: Reverie
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/the-great-tree-thereasonwhy/a/the-great-tree-s-unofficial-challenge3A-reverie-article