The Pearl
The beating heart of the sea hangs in the sky above. It rises as the sun sets, shining its soft, gentle light over the Mortal World. Placed as a counterweight to the Sun, the movement of the two bodies helps pull each other along in their tracks, following in each others' wakes, one after the other in yet another endless Cycle.
Anacra's original moon is called the Pearl. It is relatively small, much smaller than the sun, like an opalescent bead. Its light is dim and gentle. The movements of the Pearl govern the movement of the tides, ensuring that the sea rises and falls, renewing itself and preventing stagnation. Guided and governed by Realta, the light of the pearl prevents stumbling in the dark without denying the dark its ancient beauty.
The Pearl exists to maintain balance of Water with the other elements. It governs the relationship between sea and stone by pushing and pulling the tides. It hangs in the Sky Kingdom, soaring through the Air, yet connected to the water. And it perfectly counterbalances the Sun, the greatest source of Fire. Realta is the gentle ambassador, the one who maintains connections and peace between her parents and all the Elemental Sovereigns -- an important, if thankless, task.
Geography
The Pearl is a single, enormous, opalescent piece of organic matter--a literal giant pearl. From a distance it looks perfectly smooth, but up close it is covered with textures like ridges, valleys, and more.
On the "top" of the pearl, facing away from Anacra and towards the Firmament, is the Saddle. Here Realta, in her tenure as the Moonrider, resides and guides the Pearl along its journey each night. The Saddle is a colossal structure organically grown from the surface of the pearl. It's wide rather than tall, with a single pinnacle from which the Moonrider can see near and far.
Mystical Properties
The Pearl represents balance, change, and the true self. It radiates Radiant energy, and is a source of both Air and Water elemental power. Shapeshifters are connected to the Pearl because of its eternally shifting nature. Spells that channel Moonlight can enable transformation in those who seek it, and reveal the true form of shapeshifters who are hiding. Because of these properties, those cursed with Lycanthropy are revealed under the Full Pearl, which often causes the rage of that curse to surge forth as well.Ecosystem Cycles
The Pearl operates on a 40 day cycle. There are eight phases, with 5 days per phase. Each phase has two days of transition (one entering, one departing)
Climate
Cool to extremely cold, depending. The Pearl is exposed to the open wind high in the Sky Kingdom, close to the Firmament itself. While there is breathable air, there are few heat sources, for the Pearl gives off a heatless light.
History
When Luminias fell and the gates of The Silent City opened, the Sovereigns realized their neglect destroyed the Dawn.
As the Infernals fled the power of the Dragons of the World Before, the Sovereigns gathered to unravel and remake the world. It would be governed by rules and laws,protected by boundaries and restrictions, and shaped by the Sovereigns and their offspring.
So did the Sovereigns beget the Titans , their firstborn and their foremost, each tasked with maintaining and regulating one critical aspect of the new natural world. To bathe the Mortal World with light and warmth, Sin brought forth the Sun, but to travel across the Sky Kingdom it required a guide and protector. So Sin and Vindur brought forth Zeilar, the Phoenix, the Sun Rider.
But on its journey each day the sun would be born in the east, rise high over the skies, die in the west, and travel to the Elemental Wellsprings to be renewed. Li-Ban wished there to be light and guidance at night as well, not only for the people of the world, but for Li-Ban's own mercurial power, a soothing balm to steady the tumultuous seas. So Li-Ban brought forth The Pearl Moon, and to be its guide and protector, Li-Ban and Vindur brought forth Realta, the moon-guide.
Thus began the Pearl on its nightly journeys, from the Underworld across the vault of the Firmament, to descend into the west and return to the Wellsprings to be renewed. Each night Realta polished the Pearl to infuse it with her holy light and bore it across the Sky Kingdom.
When Uzhul the Destroyer slew Erecura, Sovereign of Earth, the Pearl fell under constant attack. Great swarms of Tillibec's fiends rose up to blot out its light and strike it from the sky, claiming its beauty as their own. The Fey lord Ulchabhán and his owls rose to its defense, at the cost of the Owl Prince's life, and Realta's bow of silver tears rained down upon the foe every night.
The Pearl became a beacon of hope and solace for mortals suffering under and fleeing from the Demonic Imperiums, guiding those who resisted the Infernals and their minions. In time, this earned the wrath of Vindur, Realta's father, who demanded that she turn her efforts to help him conquer and secure the Sky Kingdom. When she refused, he turned the skies against her, so thunder echoed across the heavens each time the Pearl rose from the east and fell in the West.
In 6991, when The One Flesh fell to Anacra, the Titans of the Earth pulled the bones of banished fiends from Anacra's depths, wrapped the Blood of Erecura within it, and hurled the mass of bone and blood into the sky to keep it from the One Flesh's hunger. Now two moons hung within the firmament-- the Pearl Moon, perfectly ordered and timed, and the Bone Moon, erratic and off-kilter.
Realta decided to leave her role as Moon Guide and take action against evil. She created the Court of Stars and Celestials, abandoning her post to Drych-La. For that one night alone, the Pearl did not rise and the skies did not glow.
From that day forth, Drych-La guides the Pearl on its journey. It still shines its gentle light upon the world, but no longer do the songs of Realta follow it.
Type
Planetoid / Moon
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
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