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The Festival of Crossing Moons

To many from the Kingdom of Arvanoc all the way to the southern states of the Alliance, the Festival of the Crossing Moons is a respected and reverent time-- the festival of love, lovers, and devotion and a time for ceremonies, declarations, and remembrance.

by Canva

The Lovers' Moons

It is said that the moons Bryga and Dhirga were once holy warriors that fought for the Light at the Brink of Existence. While devoted to their respective deities, they had also fallen in love with each other but had forgone any courting or marriage ceremonies to instead serve their roles in the great war. Their hope and intent had been to live out their lives afterward in the world they aimed to save, but tragically, they both would never see the end of the war and were two of the many great warriors that fell in the legendary final battle.   In the next life, they were to be claimed by their separate deities and spend their existence in separate realms, but, to the surprise of all the pantheons and the couple, three deities descended to make their claim-- most notably the Goddess of Love. Instead of a singular soul, she had descended to claim them both stating that their devotion to each other and the choices they'd made dedicated to love in all forms served something higher and still could, even in their next life.   Choosing to spend the rest of existence together, the two ascended with the Goddess who immortalized their love in the sky with two moons locked in orbit together shedding their light in the night as a beacon of hope and love to all those that could see the skies which, after the Brink, were clear once more.

The Festival of Crossing Moons

In Arvanoc, the Traveling Festival made sure to celebrate this week with the utmost care and sincerity out of all the festivals they held, dedicating themselves to creating events for all forms of love from those who chose to be dedicated to their families, to those who celebrated with their chosen circle, to those who found their "soulmate", and to the ones looking for love.   The festival occurs once every year around the end of the winter months and the very start of the blooming seasons, lasting for a full week or (depending on the area) until the moons begin to "part and linger". A couple of nights before the moons cross, the jealous red moon, Ralos, is completely obscured in the night sky signifying that the time for the festival is at hand.   While each major city celebrates the festival differently with each fairground having their own unique events, the festivities uniformly commence once the moons are visible in the sky, just as the sun is setting on the horizon, and would last until the darkest of the night. The one exception to this is on the Night of Crossing, when the Lovers' Moons shine at their brightest, clear and true in the sky. Their colors almost meld together to nearly form one bright celestial body in the night. Festivities on that evening will last until the dawn when the light of the moons is replaced by the rays of sun.

Local Superstitions

From Arvanoc to the Alliance, it is believed by many that the circle of divination magic relating to family, lovers, or possible future lovers is particularly strong. However, in regards to divining the future of romantic love, the belief is that it is most accurate and true at the height of the crossing moons, which is also when they are their brightest during the week.  

Many locals believe that any child conceived or born during this time is prophecied to find their Fated soulmate and that their parents are indeed Fated to be together.

by Canva
As for other beliefs, there were many when it came to determining one's lover. In one region, many teenagers would take letters written by their suitors and run the pages through holy waters (specifically blessed by those of the Goddess of Love for this) and see which of the letters could still be read after, signifying that the person will be there for you through it all.   Elsewhere, a couple would tug on each side of a String of Fate- another item soaked in holy oil- and see if it breaks. Many couples attempted this to see if their pairing is a well-suited match and while this ceremony is usually done in private, there are couples that dare to do this publicly as a show of belief in one another and their bond.


Cover image: by Mara Jaena

Comments

Author's Notes

While this answered the tenth and final prompt of the Copper tier, it opened threads of stories and myths and just-- so much came from this! I'm excited to write and expand this with Joss as there are plenty of secrets to be revealed!


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Jul 7, 2021 22:41

Nice origin story for the moons. Love the idea of them being put their by the goddess of love. The local superstitions were a nice addition as well.

Feel free to check my new world Terra Occidentalis if you want to see what I am up to!
Jul 8, 2021 04:54 by Janelle

Ah, thank you so much! <3 I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! ^_^


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