Lagi Mūmū (laŋi ˈmuːˈmuː)

"On the day when the Lagi Mūmū touched Maunga Matāuli, the mountain was burned black. Then the Lautisitā crawled from the earth and began to swarm with lightning and death" - part of the oral tradition regarding Lagi Mūmū

Matamata is the southernmost island in the Great Ring, located to the south of the great island of Motu. Despite this remote location, many have heard of the strange phenomena that afflicts the island. In Gagana, it is called Lagi Mūmū, but it is better known as "The Burning Sky".

Most of the time, the Lagi Mūmū is interesting, but not dangerous. The skies above Matamata shimmer with sheets of light at night, shining about as brightly as the moon. Those who have seen both often compare it to the Northern Lights that can be seen over the Northern Region, although the Lagi Mūmū is always red, yellow, or pink, and it appears every night. There is never a truly dark night on Matamata. Even during the day, the sky over Matamata has a hint of the Lagi Mūmū in its tone.

About once every decade, the Lagi Mūmū grows more active. Red lightning sparks from the sky and strikes the island, causing fires. The lights intensify until they cannot be looked at directly and the island is as bright as day; in fact, they can be seen during the day as well. The Mu'o'a call these events the Mālamalama Taimi. During a Mālamalama Taimi, the Mu'o'a of Matamata avoid any metal objects, as they seem to gather up lightning into themselves, and touching them releases a bolt into the body. The Mu'o'a take shelter in deep caves during a Mālamalama Taimi, for they claim that the intense light can cause sickness and a slow death to anyone exposed to it for too long.

Some Mālamalama Taimi are more intense than others, and strange effects occur when the lights are at their peak. The most disastrous Mālamalama Taimi occurred 156 years ago. During this time, it is said that the Lagi Mūmū grew so much that it touched the top of Maunga Matāuli, the highest point on Matamata, with a finger of red lightning. The mountain burst into flames, burning everything on the slopes into ash and cinders. Lightning strikes came down like raindrops, and travel was impossible. And then the Lautisitā emerged from the earth.

The Lautisitā are insects, about three inches long with a metallic exoskeleton. They sleep underground for years at a time, and only crawl up out of the soil during the most intense Mālamalama Taimi. Once aboveground, they take to the air, heedless of the lightning. Their song is a shrieking cacophony that fills the space between thunderclaps with painful screeches. They arise in vast numbers, and blanket the entire island. And each one of them is charged with lightning that they can discharge into anything they touch. If a single Lautisitā makes its way into one the of the Mu'o'a shelters, it can kill several people before the charge it bears is exhausted. If the sheltering cave is not solid stone throughout, the Lautisitā may emerge directly into the shelter with devastating consequences.

There are other plants and animals who respond to the Mālamalama Taimi as well. There are trees known as the La'au Fa'amalu Uila, which only blossom under the burning skies, and seem to provide protection from the lightning; whole communities have sheltered in groves of these trees and watched their bizarre tentacled flowers unfurl while the burning light seared every other plant nearby. Animals not previously known to be aquatic dive into the rivers, lakes, and sea, sheltering for hours beneath the water. And there are creatures who seem to descend from the light to bask in the burning forests, only to vanish when the cataclysm ends.

A Mālamalama Taimi lasts for up to a week, but wreaks long-lasting consequences on the island. Mu'o'a eggs laid shortly before or after an event tend not to hatch, and many of those that do release hatchlings with significant deformities. Plants and animals take time to recover, and the waters around Matamata can be barren for weeks or months after the Mālamalama Taimi, threatening famine for the survivors. Finally, sickness follows the burning light for any who did not have sufficient shelter. Those who were in caves or beneath a La'au Fa'amalu Uila are protected, but all others will die in the next year as their blood leaks out of their veins to fill their body and lungs.

Of those who are hatched after a Mālamalama Taimi and live, there is an increased incidence of magical talent. After the great event 156 years ago, three true mages were hatched on the island, more than had been seen in five hundred years previously. Other talents can also emerge, including prodigious strength, the ability to speak with animals, and a gift for starting or quenching fires with only a glance. These are very rare compared to the lethal effects, but they help their communities survive the disasters to come.

Type

Natural