"The moon is a fat rock that is just like a chunk that orbits us. I remember basic science and fact. It is all part of a Totanidom, a breakaway from Totania that got into space. No Elves... in space!"— Ilgrop
While this quote is quite popular among Moon Deniers, Moon Believers cite how Ilgrop was very clearly drunk while giving this speech. They also question whether some Dwarves that wish to disprove the Moon's heavenly connections are simply envious, or whether some Dwarven study of the Moon has actually been with the intent of one day travelling there.
Schmeelon Cunkuck by andreaspsillos4
SelenX
SelenX is a Dwarven company owned by
Schmeelon Cunkuck. There is no direct evidence that it exists, but if it does it is an offshoot of his main company
Vreslo, which is known for making
Hot Airships.
The believed purpose of SelenX is to reach the Moon. Some people say that Schmeelon Cunkuck intends to one day reach the moon so that he can stand among the Gods.
They say he wants to build his way up and show that mortal ingenuity (and exploitative labor of low wage workers) can elevate a mortal to a God and that, perhaps, the Gods were not that special. Then, he'll show the Gods that he means business, and ascend past the reaches of normal mortality.
This is all speculation, of course, and many find it ridiculously offensive for people to theorize about a real living person. But he's an asshole and his lifestyle and business relies entirely off of what is just barely legally distinct from slavery, so it doesn't matter much if he's living, dead, real, or fake. He sucks.
Cultural Impact
The Moon plays a large role in Elven society. Every night, Wood Elves make a prayer to the Moon, hoping Selene will directly hear their prayer. They know she will not act on it, but hope that just her hearing it will grant them some holy power of sorts to get what they need.
High Elves have a telescope in the Castle of the King, where they can observe the Moon when allowed. Anyone can see it in the sky, but only the King and those he deems worthy are given the privilege of seeing it up close with the telescope. It is a sacred location, after all.
Dark Elves, cut off from most interaction with the Moon, do not worship Selene for the most part. However, they still carry some ancient traditions related to the Moon without exactly knowing their origins with the Church of Selene. One of these is the carvings of Moons at the top of their cave. Another is the participation in the
Lunar Raiding Festival.
Lunar Raiding Festival
The Lunar Raiding Festival is a yearly celebration where Elves celebrate Selene's thieving tendencies by stealing as much as they can. This festival happens because of the Full Day Moon, where on the 26th of the
Month of Festivals, the Moon does not leave the sky for the whole day.
This happens again thanks to Selene's jealousy, as she and her Moon were relegated to Nighttime, she never got to see a day on Totania. So she simply made one day a year where this rule is not true and her Moon is out during the day.
Mythology
There are many stories in mythology about the Moon. The most well known is of course the creation, where Selene was jealous of Izanagi's Sun and tried to copy it, creating the Moon.
Day and Night
Another prominent one is the explanation of the Day/Night cycle, which says that Totania was once only day at all times, but Selene felt like this gave all of the glory to Izanagi. So she and Tsukuyomi, God of Darkness and brother to Izanagi, put their powers together to remove the day entirely, creating an eternal night.
Vulnon by Jarhed
Izanagi did not do anything to counteract this. He knew, better than anyone, how this would backfire. The Giants who, at the time, were the only civilization on Totania, entered a famine where no crops would grow and the time they had begun measuring with a sundial went entirely out the window.
They prayed to their Gods,
Athena, Leigong, and the Nameless God, but to no avail. The Giant King Vulnon had no idea what to do. Selene laughed at their pain, saying that if only they worshipped her she wouldn't have needed to do this. But Izanagi came in now, seeing their pain, and returned the daytime.
Izanagi understood Selene's reasoning and did not remove night, he simply halved it so that they could share a given day. She would gain some worship, and the rest would go to him. However, Izanagi did not do it for worship. He did it to prove to the Giants the power of a God and that they were not just harmful, but helpful, even when not worshipped. In doing so, he created the cycle of night and day.
Mooning
One tale that is less well-known is the origin of mooning. This is a follow-up story to the creation of the Moon in the image of Izanagi's Sun. The legend says part of Selene's reasoning for doing this was to mock Izanagi for creating a monument to himself that orbitted Totania and was visible from below.
It is said she stood on the surface of the Moon and faced away from Totania. She then pulled up her dress, saying that this was what she would show Totania instead of the face of a pompous blowhard God. This is where the term Mooning came from. It has become a sacred greeting in the Church of Selene, as it was "what Selene would show Totania."
Priests and Priestesses are meant to Moon each other every first day of the week, both mocking the other and showing off themselves in the manner deemed holy by Selene herself. For this reason, as well, this practice has been banned in the Religion of Izanagi. This and other similar practices is what caused Izanagi's Holy Text to include clauses about public indecency and public nudity being against his teachings.
Tides
It is believed that the Moon has an impact on the tides of the Oceans in Totania. The explanation comes from the Flood Myth, where
Papatūānuku created the Great Sea, Selene grew jealous and made a sea of her own, the Northern Sea.
With this, the
Giant Kingdom was all but destroyed. After some time, even Selene saw how destructive the Ocean could get when constantly bombarding everything. But she did nothing to stop it until Papatūānuku, Goddess of Nature and the Sea, stepped in and forced Selene to act.
Consulting Sia, Goddess of Knowledge, they were given the idea of reeling back its destructive power by simply halting its force at intervals of the day. At some hours, it would have the high waves it did now. At others, the waves would not reach below the ankles. Selene and Papatūānuku both agreed to create High and Low Tides in their Seas.
Selene, however, cheated a bit. She did not agree to specific times purely so that she could mess with Papatūānuku, which is why the Northern Sea has longer High Tides than the Great Sea.
Comments