Transcript:Exandria: An Intimate Appendix - Ruidus and the Gods

DANI: The Cobalt Soul prides itself on being an institution dedicated to the preservation of knowledge and truth seeking. Recent changes to Ruidus have shocked all of Exandria. We are just now beginning to feel their reverberations. New information about the gods has surfaced, and it seems connected to the changes we are seeing. It is the Cobalt Soul's duty as curators, librarians, and archivists to ensure that this knowledge reaches the world of Exandria at large so we may be prepared for what is to come. Thus, I present an appendix to our previous Intimate History of Exandria to cover these revelations about both the gods and the moon Ruidus.

In Exandria, there are two moons in the sky. One is a large, white moon known as Catha with a typical monthly orbit and phases. The other is a small, red moon known as Ruidus. It is this small, ruddy moon that is haunted by a plethora of ancient superstitions, garnering it the nickname "The Moon of Ill-Omen." Ruidus has no phases, and its orbit takes six months to travel the Exandrian sky. It is also prone to flaring, a phenomenon in which the moon glows bright red. When Ruidus is high in the sky or flaring, it is said to be a sign of misfortune and a bad omen. Children born during a Ruidian flare are called "Ruidusborn." They are often regarded with suspicion and fear, as theories and superstitions commonly follow them their entire lives. Ruidusborn are considered to be cursed with lives that will be full of grief, misfortune, and ill fate. Some Ruidusborn have even showcased psychic powers that seem to be linked to the moon. These people are known as Exaltants.

While many have long assumed that both moons fall under the domain of the Moonweaver, Ruidus has been recently discovered to have strange history with all the gods of the pantheon. During the Founding, when the gods had not split into Prime and Betrayer, there were two gods that have, until now, been forgotten by history. These were Ethedok the Endless Shadow and Vordo the Fateshaper. Ethedok oversaw darkness and winter, while Vordo was the god of fate and order. It was during this time, when Exandria was still in its infancy and the Schism had not yet occurred, that the gods faced a threat from beyond the stars. Predathos, the god-eater. This being devoured Ethedok and Vordo and was only stopped when the other deities joined forces with their enemies, the Primordial Titans. They carved a prison from Exandria's earth itself to capture and seal away Predathos. When they attempted to send this prison away into the darkness of space, it clung to the sky, and became a new moon, Ruidus. It is theorized that the gods and their acolytes spread false superstition and various myths about Ruidus in the hope that people would be too afraid to study the moon, and Predathos would never become a threat again. They wrote Ethedok and Vordo out of history, and kept an air of secrecy and mystery around the strange, ruddy moon, lumping it with Catha under the Moonweaver's protection. Now Vasselheim and its divine agents guard the secrets of Ruidus and the gods.

Recently, the Ruidian flares have been getting stronger and more frequent. Research undeterred by superstition has revealed that Ruidus is laden with raging red storms, and what appears to be a city on its very topography. It is surrounded by a divine latticework similar to the Divine Gate that surrounds Exandria and keeps the gods separate from the world. This divine net is likely the protection that keeps Predathos sealed away. A rare celestial event known as an Apogee Solstice has arrived, in which the leylines of Exandria align, some shifting permanently, and magical miracles are able to take place. It was unclear whether the flares were connected to this convergence of magic, but now that the moon has been... besieged, it seems unlikely that the events are separate.

What is to come of this strange phenomena is yet to be seen, but all of Exandria awaits the rest of the Apogee Solstice with bated breath and careful planning, for both good and ill. May the light of knowledge and the truth of experience guide you in these uncertain days to come.

OFF-SCREEN VOICE: Archivist! There's been another flare! Archivist, you're needed! DANI: Yes, I know! I'm coming!