Great Arcana

XVIII - The Moon

"Do you never wonder what the stars are made of?"

"They're the tears of the Gods."

"But... don't tears normally fall?"

"Sometimes they do."

"Then how do the others stay up there?"

"Magic. I guess."

"Magic."

"Yeah, you know... magic. Will of the Gods, and all that. Divine wotsit."

"But... divine wotsit?"

"Yeah! I don't know, I didn't make them, did I? They're just there."

"Yeah, but how?"

"I told you! Magic."

"But if the Gods shed tears, why wouldn't they want them to fall?"

"They will some day."

"But why not now?"

"Because!"

"Because."

"Yeah. They light up the night, don't they? So I suppose the Gods must have thought they were useful that way."

"To light up the night."

"Yeah."

"But what about the moon, then?"

"What about it?"

"Well, what's the moon there for?"

"It's where Mannha sleeps."

"Mannha's dead."

"No he's not. He's a God. They don't really die."

"Yeah they do. Mannha did. Gave the world his life so it could be saved."

"Yeah, but... his spirit is still there. It's in all the worlds; here in Ava, and in Shaya, and Gaea... their spirits are what connects the worlds, what makes them breathe..."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. And Mannha, he watches over us."

"From the moon."

"Yeah."

"I thought he was sleeping."

"He is, kind of. Like he's kind of dead, but not."

"How do you know he's in the moon?"

"You know Mannha's Pit?"

"Yeah..."

"It's a huge crater, right? And there's one of them in all the worlds. Like the moon."

"Yeah..."

"Well, when Mannha gave his life to the world, it made a huge crater- his power made the pit. But all that land, right, it had to go somewhere. That's what made the moon."

"But there was only one Mannha."

"Yeah."

"And there's four pits."

"Yeah."

"And four moons."

"Yeah."

"How?"

"How what?"

"How can there be only one Mannha, but four pits and four moons?"

"It's the same pit, and the same moon. Kind of. You know, it's like... it's all connected."

"So Mannha can watch over everyone."

"Yeah."

"Like Kailo."

"Yeah."

"So why does he do it mostly at night? And sometimes he doesn't appear at all."

"Night's darkest. Most dangerous. Made by the Daemons, you know. So he watches that they don't come back."

"But he's not always watching!"

"Because he's a dead God. Sort of. Like... the moon is his tomb, and it moves, and all. But it's only his spirit. So maybe sometimes he needs rest."

"I guess."

"Until he comes back. And some day he'll wake up."

"Why?"

"Cause the Daemons come."

"But they're imprisoned in the Void."

"They'll escape. You know the prophecy."

"Yeah, but... how?"

"With help. From a Child of Mannha."

"Why would they do that?"

"Do what?"

"Help the Daemons escape, I mean, they're a Child of Mannha..."

"Dunno. Why do you keep asking questions?"

"Dunno. Because."

"Exactly. Because. Doesn't have to make sense."

"Guess not."

"So shut up already."