Nyxulon

Nyxulon

The Great Space Dragon

Domains	Time, Void, Space, Change
Plane	Astral Plane, The Moonwild, Various Other Lunar planes
Worshipping Races	Denizens of the Moonwild, Lunar Fey, other residents of lunar realms or those interested in them, and Lunatics.

Nyxulon (Name to be finalized) (They/Them) is a wingless cosmic dragon deity that causes the shifting of the moons of Quelmar.

Description

Nyxulon is the child of Chronepsis and the Void. They are a vast entity, large enough to wrap themselves partially around any one of Quelmar's numerous moons as they touch down to take a closer look. Their usual form is a long, sinuous and wingless dragon with scales primarily of the deepest black, but a scattering of bright, glowing scales that allow them to blend in with the stars on the rare occasions they are noticed by other beings.

Works

Nyxulon is a force that causes not only the phases of the moon, but also causes the various moons of Quelmar to become more prominent at different times. Each month they shift from one lunar plane to another, or sometimes return to one multiple months in a row, allowing it to stay close to Quelmar for a longer period of time. They tend to work independently from lunar deities and archfey, but even when their attention is focused on one lunar representation, the others are not too far from Quelmar to reach it with powerful magic.

Worshippers

Nyxulon is a relatively unknown deity, and they are worshipped by even fewer. Residents of the various lunar planes are more likely to know of their existence, but they are most often treated as a force of nature, or part of the standard lunar cycle than thought of as an object of worship. Some lunar residents offer prayers to them in the hope that prayers will draw their attention to that particular moon, and bring it closer to Quelmar for whatever purpose they have in mind. When the moon is brought closer to the material plane of Quelmar, travel between realms is significantly easier, so that is a common motivation.

Other worshippers sometimes include Lunatics, cultists obsessed with one particular moon of Quelmar, and who want Nyxulon to focus their attention on only one moon, and allow the others to drift further and further away from the material plane until their connection to Quelmar fades away. Whether this has any chance of succeeding, or what the actual consequences of such a result would be remains to be seen.

Languages

They are capable of telepathic speech that can be understood by any being who speaks or understands any language, however, they only very rarely communicate with others. They are a solitary and enigmatic wanderer who seems to prefer things that way.

Powers and Abilities

At least so far, there have been no tales told of battles or times where Nyxulon's endless wandering between the moons has been interrupted or changed. When they perch on one moon, that is the one that becomes visible in the night sky of Quelmar, starting with the phase of the new moon, and waxing until the moon is full in the sky. At this point, Nyxulon moves on to a new point of interest, most often on a different moon, but sometimes on the same one, and it wanes until the moon is no longer visible on the material plane. Then the cycle starts again.

Speculation is that Nyxulon has significant powers over planar magic, gravity manipulation, and some amount of chronomancy granted to them by their mother, Chronepsis.

Notable Holy Sites

There are a handful of temples to Nyxulon spread across various lunar planes. Sometimes a holy site is created after Nyxulon lands there multiple times across lunar cycles, but as their behavior is rarely predictable, a place that has seen multiple visits is no more likely than any other to be the site of their next visit to the plane.

Stories and Songs

There is at least one known song about Nyxulon, reproduced below as the version sung by Glorivesh, a wandering minstrel and shadow sorceress. She learned the story from a black dragonborn that spent a few weeks in her family's tavern while she was growing up, and put it to music she could add to her repertoire.

The Dragon 'round the Moons

Every child who looks up at the red skies knows,

Every month there is a new moon.

The phases change as time ever flows,

But if you stare too deep, you'll become a loon.

~ (Begin melody here)

Lunacy, they call it, the madness that captures those who follow the Celestial bodies' passage too closely.

And since I don't want to drive you all mad, we'll steer tonight's story around those beautiful and dangerous bodies. (From here, the melody should start properly accompanying the lyrics).

Instead, we will focus on the space in between,

The dragon around them, that travels unseen.

Moons come and go from our sky, and with them many things more.

But there is a presence who stays there to soar.

The great wingless dragon, born of the deepest Void and the passage of time.

They roost in no lair, and have done not a crime.

A wanderer, they, constant motion, they crave,

Our world is their home, to destroy or to save.

Forever, great Nyxulon circles the sky,

Briefly touching a moon, as each catches their eye.

Each perch brings moons to us, our eyes do not lie,

But we see them as they're passing us by.

Their interest waxes and wanes, and so too do the moons,

though Clerics and scholars alike, have found no reasons why. (Look for any known clerics and scholars in the crowd to give them a disappointed gaze.)

Now, I am neither of those, but I'll venture a guess. (Add hint of wryness to this line, because of course, they wouldn't have the reasons!)

I'd say it's because they're a little like us.

Know a moon too well, and it drives you mad.

So their wandering interest should make us all glad.

For if ever they settled on a single moon true, (Keep illusory shadow dragon circling a single moon, but with ominous changes of color while striking a chord that leads into the next line.)

What would lunacy cause the great dragon to do?

Gods, Monsters, and men, not one of them knew,

And the truth of which, the world may yet rue.

So, let us be glad, of the dragon who runs 'round our moons,

and doubly so when the same moon returns not too soon. (Use Darkness to put out the lights of all of the lanterns? Too dramatic? TBD. Test with various locales later.)

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