I live for nights like these, when the sky is clear, the stars are shining brightly, and the moons I’zyk Lunari and Fyraen Lunari rule the heavens. This is why I usually sleep through the day. The moon and stars have always fascinated me, ever since I was young, and it lasted into my scholarship; I have written several treatises on them and their movements.

Apologies. I could spend hours lecturing you upon the subject. No, there was something else I wanted to speak about. More of a personal project I've devoted considerable time to. You see, I've heard tales from all a cross Millirand concerning a rumored third moon that appeared in the night sky around the time five of the Ten left this realm to create Felnova. Perhaps I'd better start there.

Not long before they left, the Ten were forced to deliver divine judgment upon a defiant would-be conqueror. Don't ask me his name. That one's not worthy of being remembered. If you really must know, find yourself a library or historian. Anyways, where was I? Judgment, yes. Afterward, five of the Ten departed Millirand to create Felnova, while the other five seemed to seclude themselves for reasons I won't begin to speculate on.

Now, here is when things begin to get interesting. At least to me. You see, it's shortly after that moment when the first tales speak of people spotting another moon, a black sphere seemingly comprised of pure shadow, drifting through the heavens. You can see, I'm sure, why such a thing would be nearly impossible to see, save for those times when it drifts past a more distant star. If it is indeed out there, its path lies well beyond I’zyk Lunari and Fyraen Lunari.

Curu Lunari, some call it, though few truly believe it to be out there. Myself, I believe it could be. I have spent many nights gazing at the stars, looking for any that might have seemingly vanished, only to reappear in time, while gathering as many of the tales of the dark moon as I can. I have also studied the story told by a colleague who claimed to have actually seen the dark moon. Of course, he also believed he had a star inside his head, so his words are rather suspect.

But, all else aside, there is one thing his words had in common with other tales from people who have also claimed to have seen the dark moon. All of them speak of feelings of unease, despair, or outright fear. Maybe this is why so few actually seek to find it. Perhaps it was created by a grieving god. Or perhaps it was the working of a more malevolent being. With half their number departed, while the other half were in seclusion, the Ten's vigilance may have wavered enough for a darker deity to be at work undisturbed.

I have sought out the strigine, even attempted to find one of the tca'ier, in order to prove once and for all if the dark moon actually exists or not. The strigine were cryptic at best, and the tca'ier even more elusive that I'd thought they'd be. Personally, I can't blame them, considering how the people of Millirand behave towards dragons. Anyways, I am no closer to proving anything than I was before.

But should you be watching the stars some night, and happen to see one go out, perhaps accompanied by a sense of unease, then it's possible you're one of those few who has managed to catch a glimpse of Curu Lunari for yourself. If you have a curious enough mind, a stout enough heart, and the good fortune to find a willing tca'ier, perhaps you'll manage to do what I have been unable to, and go looking among the stars yourself.

Whether or not you find the dark moon, it would be a truly wondrous thing to fly among the stars, and see all the wonders normally reserved for the strigine and the tca'ier, and any other creatures that may live among them. The heavens guard their secrets well, after all.