Alaenne
Katye trailed through the cold halls of Grimm Castle and was surprised to find one of the tall garret windows standing open. It was hours past sunset and she wouldn't have thought anyone would be eager to open a window given the spirals of snow that drifted from the sky. When she went to close the window, she realized someone was standing in it. Not just next to the window but on the window sill. "Simon?" she asked softly. She would know those calves anywhere. Her husband reached down to offer her a hand. "Shh," he whispered. "Come see." Confused, Katye slipped her fingers between his and let him pull her up beside him in the window. She teetered there with a nervous squeak, staring down at the very long fall to the courtyard below. "Why--" "Look up." Katye did. Just beyond the ridge of the horizon, clouded with the drifting snow and hazy, rose a perfect crescent of gold. As she watched with her breath held, the crescent rose to the upper edge of the trees and seemed to hover across the sky there. "She's only here for about two hours," whispered Simon in her ear. "Midnight on the winter solstice. The gorets call her 'Alaenne.' The lost moon. The stories say she was the daughter of the sun who loved a star. Her father refused to let her marry the star, though they were very much in love. She fought with her father and finally won the opportunity to see her beloved but only now. Only for a few hours every year. Then she retreats into the sun's realm and we never see her." Breathless, Katye whispered, "And you went and let me name our daughter Virginia..."
History
Deep in the mountains of the Snow Barrens, the gorets people have long observed the comings and goings of a seldom seen celestial body, a second moon which orbits this world erratically. Between the two central hours of the winter solstice, this second moon glides only partially into view, hovering above the horizon for a short time and then sinking back out of sight again. It is usually only seen in very clear areas with little to no light pollution (like the Snow Barrens) and the northern-most extremes are more likely to see it for longer periods of time than the rest of the continent. Thus, the gorets are the ones who have stories about it, Alaenne the lost moon. Daughter of the sun and beloved of stars.
Observance
Gorets people stand watch for the two central hours of the winter solstice. They watch the horizon for Alaenne's rise and stand witness to her presence in the sky. When she sinks below the horizon again, they say a soft or silent prayer, blessing her for her strength and patience, her steadfast love for the stars that brings her back every year. Then, they all go back to bed.
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