Moons of Istavar

The world of Istavar has two moons that grace its skies, Erris and Rayos. The two are vastly different in their appearance, their cycles, and the feelings they evoke in the population.

Erris is the larger of the two, and glows with a warm yellowish-white light. It is ever-present and predictable in its daily transit across the night sky, rising and setting much like the sun (but in nightly contrast). In roughly month-long cycles, it passes through the phases of waxing, full, waning and new. Darthelia, in her aspect as the goddess of the moon, is associated with Erris.

Rayos is blood red in color, and is speckled with black spots. It appears as almost exactly half the visual diameter of Erris, and is much less predictable in its cycles, at least as far as the common people are concerned. Perhaps there are astronomers who understand its movement, but perhaps not.  It tends to move more slowly than Erris, and may be present in the sky for days before disappearing for weeks. Its comings and goings baffle the common folk, who associate it with Harilos, the god of chaos, anarchy and destruction.

Many portents are associated specifically with the appearance of Rayos. Rayos appearing in the sky during a new moon phase of Erris is considered to be an unfavorable time, and is to be avoided for weddings, travel and the beginning of new ventures. Children born in such inauspicious times are often thought to be followed by misfortune. In rare instances, perhaps once every ten years, Rayos passes directly in front of Erris. This special occurrence is called the Eye of Chaos, and is feared by the people. It is also known to throw the magical weave out of balance, causing arcane spell casting to be unpredictable, and to hinder the connection of divine spell casters to their gods. This aftereffect typically lasts for anywhere from a few days to a week, but there is one recorded instance over a century ago where it lasted for an entire month.