“Celestial power is unknowable, unpredictable. It is a source of magic that is apart from the Weaving, and not of the Mother. Yet, like all of creation, celestial power follows its own patterns and rhythms. But the moons of Lor, their nature is both celestial and of the Mother, a thread between our world and the stars.”—The Iron Viper, The Wardens of Lor Book 1

Three celestial bodies orbit the planet of Lor. They have been known by many different names across many different cultures, civilizations, and ages. The labels given to the moons by the celestial clerics from the Order of the Heavens have become the most widely accepted. Yet, by most, the moons are simply referred to by their color.

Kolen, the emerald moon, circles the planet every sixteen days. The white moon, Dyran, has a twenty-four day cycle, and Nyka—the giant amber moon and the largest of the three—has the longest orbit, taking thirty-two days to complete its celestial journey. The entire three-moon Great Lunar Cycle takes sixty-four days to complete.

Perhaps no mortal has studied the moons of Lor in greater detail than the legendary Galhadrian astromancer, Euramenes. It is rumored that, before the Unraveling struck, he collected over ten thousand tomes noting his observations of the celestial bodies. When Galhadyra was washed beneath the seas, Euramenes’ library was destroyed. His knowledge died with him.

Various peoples across Lor observe different lunar events with varying degrees of cultural focus and significance. The raiders and minotaurs of the Fortuitous Sea celebrate, with much drunkenness and revelry, the seventieth day of the Great Lunar Cycle when all three moons are a waning crescent, an event known as the Night of the Grinning Thieves. While the monks of the Mystic Mountains observe the eighth day of the Great Lunar Cycle, Heavens Radiance, a night when all three moons are full.

Of all the civilizations on Lor, perhaps none follow the movement of the moons as diligently as the mer, who dwell beneath the waves. A nomadic, ocean-dwelling peoples, the mer follow the currents of the seas for nearly every facet of their existence, from hunting and feeding patterns, to spiritual sojourns and mating partnerships. The timing of their nomadic journeys are dictated by the tides of Lor, which fluctuate significantly depending on the moons’ position around the planet, particularly the position of the amber moon, Nyka.

To monitor these celestial-tidal cycles, the mer have developed a complex system of harmonic sequences played on a caota horn, a traditional instrument crafted from the shell of a caota fish. These sequences are memorized to guide the mer traveler along a certain aquatic path to their destination. Some sequences have special ancestral significance. Others direct travelers to feeding and hunting zones, or to calmer waters in which to brave a storm, or even alert the mer tribe of impending danger. The wordless, melodic patterns and rhythmic variations are significant in their ability to bridge tribal language barriers, allowing for inter-ocean communication and understanding between different mer tribes.