| This page or section is incomplete. You can help by adding to it. For more information, see the help files, the style guide, and this article's talk page. |
Nirn is generally thought to have two moons: Masser and Secunda. Masser is the larger of the two, well over twice as large by appearance. Since Secunda is sometimes seen to transit Masser, it is clear that Masser is indeed larger, not closer.Note 1
The ancient Bretons acknowledged a goddess of the moons named Secunda. Their modern-day descendants in the Glenumbra Moors observe the Moon Festival on the 8th of Sun's Dusk in remembrance of her.
For the Khajiit, the moons have special significance in their culture. In Khajiiti legend, the motion of the moons constructs something called the "Lunar Lattice" or "Ja-Kha'jay" in Ta'agra, which protects Mundus from the rest of the Aurbis. Khajiit are born in differing forms depending on the current phases of the moons. They will often refer to specific moon phases by the Khajiiti form it is connected to. See Khajiiti Morphology for details.
MasserEdit
The greater of Nirn's two moons, Masser, Jode, or Mara's Tear, is acknowledged as one of the attendant spirits of the mortal plane, and, as such, is both temporal and subject to the bounds of mortality. Masser, which exists as a separate plane, has long since perished; it was Masser's death which led mortals to perceive it as having both texture and limited size, as well as a reddish hue, all of which are the results of its decay from its former investiture of pure white.
SecundaEdit
The lesser of Nirn's two moons, Secunda, Jone, Shandar's Sorrow (also spelled Stendarr's Sorrow) is acknowledged as one of the attendant spirits of the mortal plane, and, as such, is both temporal and subject to the bounds of mortality. Secunda, which exists as a separate plane, has long since perished; it was Secunda's death which led mortals to perceive it as having both texture and limited size, as well as imperfections of color, all of which are the results of its decay from its former investiture of pure white.
Dark MoonEdit
The Dark Moon (or Dark Moons), also known as the Dead Moon, the Hidden Moon, the Hollow Moon, the Ghost Moon, and the Den of Lorkhaj, is rumored to be the corpse of the Missing God, Lorkhaj. Due to the two moons, solar eclipses can happen in Tamriel several times a year and are known as Vampire Days. During a dark eclipse, however, both moons eclipse the sun, and this alignment reveals the "third moon" (or "missing moon"). This event is significant to the Khajiiti people's spiritual duality. On the upside, their spiritual leaders known as Manes are born during this occurrence. However, those born under the dark eclipse are sensitive to the moons, and thus are subject to the call of the Dark Heart, which could turn them into dro-m'Athra. The Bent Cats themselves show reverence to the Dark Moon, and are referred to as Children of the Dark Moon. Their steeds, the Rahd-m'Athra, are thought to hail from the Dark Moons. Khajiit deviants may mark themselves with tattoos reminiscent of the dark moon to show their defiance of social conventions.
Necromancer's MoonEdit
The Necromancer's Moon, also known as the Revenant, is a moon and the divine body of the God of Worms, Mannimarco. It was created by the Warp in the West in 3E 417 when Mannimarco used the power of the Mantella to fuel his transfiguration and apotheosis.
The Necromancer's Moon eclipses the planet Arkay every eight days, preventing its light from reaching Nirn for 24 hours. This celestial phenomenon is known as the Shade of the Revenant, and casts a purple light down on certain locations across Tamriel during this period. The purpose of this eclipse is to foil the divine laws of Arkay, allowing Mannimarco to be the only god of life and death. The Cult of the Black Worm worship Mannimarco as the God of Worms, and construct altars to him at these locations to harness the Shade of the Revenant for use in creating black soul gems.
Baar DauEdit
Baar Dau (also known as the Ministry of Truth, Prison Moon, or Lie Rock) was a celestial rock or moonlet which hovered above Vivec City in southern Vvardenfell. According to the prevailing legends, it was flung from the Void by either Sheogorath or its own malevolence, but was prevented from crashing into the city by the Tribunal god Vivec. Vivec allowed it to remain looming above the city so that if its people ever ceased to love him, the rock would fall and destroy them. Other lesser-known tales and theories vary widely as to Baar Dau's origins, with one identifying it as a former Magna Ge named Una, another insisting that it was an egg from which would one day emerge the nightmarish offspring of Vivec and Molag Bal, and yet another claiming that it was Malacath's dung.