Book One – Chapter 14

And then, T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n rose.

Unlike the measured grace of the mother moon, or the distant vigilance of the stars, T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n moved with disconcerting speed. Where Sey was an elegant wanderer, he was a colossal force that swept the sky like an harbinger of bad omen. People called him a moon, but that was a misnomer born of desperate simplification. He lacked the serene surface of Sey, the crimson brilliance of Burs, or even the faint promise of something tangible. T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n was of such profound blackness that not even the midnight stalkers beasts could discern a structure or surface. T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n might as well have been a gaping hole in the fabric of the sky, a void masquerading as celestial. This unrelenting otherness was too unsettling, too incomprehensible for mortal minds to endure, and so they called him the witch moon.

As T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n‘s veil spread across the Albweiss, it brought true darkness. The reflective brilliance of ice and snow, the faint glimmers of the scattered frosthearts, even the subtle pulses of lingering magic dissipated into darkness. T̰́̇ͦ̀è̸̷̸̬̤̗̊_̸̵̰̦̗̒͜ȟ̗̍ͤa̶͉͉͍̭̰̅̀̈͜ͅȓ̶̶̛̦͇͙̟̈̿͒ͮ͑̋̚͡u̟͖͔̖̙͙͆̄̿ͩͧ̃̽̓̈̌̀͟͞n brought not the familiar darkness of night, where Sey cast her pale glow upon the world, but an absolute erasure of light. He swallowed not just the light of stars and Sey’s watchful glow, but everything from the erratic flashes of lightning that tore through the storm skies to every last glimmer of fire on earth. His rise was absolute.