Aloutia’s Rings and Moons

The rings of Aloutia are made of elementrons, magical subatomic particles with no mass and which emit their own (small amounts) of light (except for Light and Darkness elementrons, of course….because Light emits a LOT of light and Darkness emits none). Therefore, the rings do not exert any gravitational effects on the planet.

Aloutia’s planetary ring has a very thin Light band, certainly not enough to light up the sky as if it were day, but enough to see in the darkness. Also not enough for significant photosynthesis… As the sun (which is technically a moon, as I’ll discuss later) orbits Aloutia, it shrouds parts of the planet in darkness for months at a time. Each place has its own way of coping with the periods of darkness which prevent ‘normal’ plants from growing.

The upper left spot is dark during summer. The Slevango continent has the Summershade Shroomery in the dark area. Shroomeries are mushroom forests that have little reliance on light. On the Tsagwa Continent is the Ebonwood, where trees absorb all light colors (including green) from the rings, moons, and a glowing green bioluminescent fungi. Because these trees absorb all colors on the spectrum, their leaves are black, as are their bark/wood.

The upper right spot is dark during winter. The left parts of that area is a wasteland where nothing grows. The Kingdom of Shade exists there, so named because it’s shaded throughout winter. Further east, you get the Aureole Forest, where a glowing arthropod called lightmites live. They come out only during winter, where they swarm in such huge numbers that they provide enough light to keep the evergreen trees photosynthesized. When the lightmites are out, from a distance the forest appears to have an aureole, hence the name.

The lower left spot is dark during winter and includes the Wintershade Shroomery and the Yetrian Wasteland. Again, just a mushroom forest and a portion of land where nothing grows.

The lower right spot is dark during summer and includes the Glowlight Forest, the place where all the glowlight lotuses come from. The lotuses grow all year-round and, as a climbing vine, have wound their way all throughout the forest. They provide year-long light in places that wouldn’t normally get light. The trees of the Glowlight Forest are massive and green all year long, even in the shade of winter. There’s significant plant life beneath the canopies too, since there’s ample light there.

Moons of Aloutia:

The Black Moon, Death Moon, Death’s Saw, Sawyer’s Blade. It’s usually far away and hidden against the night sky, but comes close to Aloutia twice a year for about three days during the months Smert and Molniya (equivalent to January 13-15 and July 12-14). Superstitions states that when the Death Moon is near, it can shorten lifespan or outright kill people. The superstition comes from the pre-Spiritism days when elementrons ran wild and the Death elementrons very well *might* have killed you. In the present era, people sometimes stay indoors out of fear. Others, especially Death elementals, believe this superstition is blasphemous to Sawyer, since he now controls the Death Moon and keeps it from killing people. Some religious people see ‘staying indoors’ as having no faith in the Death God. Some communities of Death elementals will even have grand outdoor celebrations as a show of worship and trust in Sawyer.

The Silver Moon, Wind Moon. Aetheria. It’s small compared to the other moons, but appears big because it’s so close to Aloutia. Small moons often get that way because they have few elementrons being ejected into the world. Aeolus the Wind Pixie lives inside Windesoar’s myslemir (mind world) so the excess energy the pixie produces is absorbed by the Spirit who can control that energy, instead of going into the moon like other pixies’ energies do. Due to Windesoar’s obsessive control, the elementrons in the moon never ‘misbehave.’

The Green Moon, Plant Moon, Blossom. Usually distant and appearing small. It has an elliptical orbit and every 12 Aloutian months (full year+2 months) it comes closest to Aloutia for about a week. When it comes close, plants grow abnormally fast. It causes an instant harvest that farmers all across Aloutia look forward to taking advantage of. Plant elementals treat the Green Moon Festival as holy, especially ever 5 years (on years ending in 0 or 5) when the festival occurs in Rastinye, the Plant Month.

The Lime Moon, Life Moon, Egg of the Sky. A moon very popular on Aloutia for its life-giving rays. Its orbit is similar but oppose to that of the Death Moon. It’s the closest and largest moon on two days of the year: equivalent to May 18th (Zhizn Egg Day) and November 14 (Vodu Egg Day). During those days, Life volkhvs and families place their eggs in the light of the moon. Eggs really do grow faster in the light of the nearby Lime Moon, and many children hatch those days. Children who hatch a day later (May 19th or November 15th) are often thought of as having “slept in.”)

The Red Moon, Fire Moon, Flamboil’s Eye. A hot moon that sends it’s warming rays down to Aloutia like a sun. It doesn’t shine like a sun, however. During Pozhar the Fire month, the red moon is right in front of the orange moon creating an effect of one moon with light/heating similar to Earth’s sun. When it’s aligned with the orange moon, it is closest to Aloutia and thus very hot. In the winter months, it is farthest from Aloutia. The Red Moon thus operates in opposition to the white moon. During Pozhar, it is the closest moon to Aloutia, though it isn’t very big compared to some of the others. Because Pyrus lives inside Flamboil’s mind world, the moon hasn’t grown much in the last 562 years.

The Yellow Moon, Lightning Moon, Aurora. A moon that leaves an aurora trail in its wake. It affects magnetism, and compasses will naturally point toward it. It has a stable and predictable orbit. No matter where you are on Aloutia, when it is 3:2:00 (9:00 PM) in your time zone, the yellow moon will be at its zenith, straight above you. Due to Aloutia’s unpredictable stars, navigators have taken to using the Yellow Moon to determine approximately where they are in longitude (the planetary rings judge latitude).

The Brown Moon, Stone Moon, Pirouette. One of the closest moons with one of the most stable orbits. The brown moon can’t usually be seen since it has dark-colored elementrons, but will reflect light from the Orange Moon, making it have phases. Its cycle is 36 days long, hence a ‘month’ in their world being 36 days.

The Purple Moon, Mind Moon, Light of Sapience. Some people superstitiously believe that basking in its radiance will cause them to become smarter or improve their memory. In truth, Lucognidus keeps such a strong control over the moon’s Elemental powers that it has no effect at all. Before he was revived, he cast a very strong spell on it to make sure its powers would stay in check. Before Spiritism, bursts of Mind energy could cause people to become geniuses overnight or, alternatively, forget everything they ever knew. Volkhvs are torn on whether the superstition is blasphemous or not, as it *does* honor the Mind God, albeit at the cost of spreading an ignorance and lies. Lucognidus himself has not stated whether he considers it blasphemy or not, preferring to let each volkhv make their own decision. Domovye will bask in its light as part of a religious ritual.

The Blue Moon, Water Moon, Rain Bringer, Liqua’s Medallion. It has a an elliptical orbit and comes closes to Aloutia during Vodu, at the same time the Lime Moon is also closest, which blocks some of the Lime Moon’s effects on eggs, and is why the Vodu Egg Day isn’t as ‘big’ as the Zhizn Egg Day. On the day of the Rainbow Festival (equivalent to November 23rd), the Blue Moon passes through the Orange Moon, which results in a ton of rainbows.

The White Moon, Ice Moon, Winter’s Call. It follows a pattern opposite of the Red Moon. The White Moon is closest during Led and farthest away during Pozhar. It is directly opposite of the Orange Moon, reaching it’s height at midnight.

The Grey Moon, Evil Moon, Demon’s Blood. Demons will occasionally try to gather the elementrons of this moon if they cannot take them from the Pixie of Evil, though it’s very risky for them to come to Aloutia, and fewer still can go into outer space. The moon is distant and small from the perspective of someone living on the planet, so few Aloutians are worried about it. In the past, there were superstitions about people committing evil deeds due to the effects of the moon, though it’s not blasphemous to Lucognidus to claim the moon made you commit a crime.

Orange Moon, Light Moon, The Sun. Literally the sun. It orbits Aloutia at an angle, but switches its tilt during seasons. Because of the way it orbits, certain parts of the planet don’t see the sun for about three months at a time since its orbit hides it behind the planetary rings.

Beige Moon, Force Moon, Gravitas. The only moon that exerts any gravitational pull. Or rather, it used to. After Deep Sea came into existence, he took so much control over his own body that he now refuses to bend to the will of the Beige Moon.

Gold Moon, Sound Moon, Harmonic Chime. Has a highly elliptical orbit. When it is nearby, every five years, it is close enough to hear the music it makes for about a week. Most people like the sounds, but sometimes it is noisy and dissonant. Aloutians refer to these times as the Cacophony.

Moonless Elements: Darkness (Erebus’s elementrons instead cover the edge of the sky in darkness), Time (Chronos does not exist in the dimensions for his elementrons to be released), Good (Luna’s elementrons become stars instead, which rearrange themselves in the sky on a specific day of the year (equivalent to September 25th).