01 December 2022

Astronomy : Gezis & Odalis

The two suns of Eler are named Gezis Prime and Gezis Minor.
They burn crimson, giving Eler an otherworldly look of bright sunset colours. At dawn, the sky appears blue. At dusk, purple is the dominant hue. Although named Gezis Minor, the smaller sun is not actually smaller, but simply farther from Eler than Gezis Prime.

The word "gezis" simply means "sun" in Nirnaelite. The correct pronunciation would be "ghei-tsees", but Elerians have never known the Nirnaelite language. As such, everyone pronounces it "gheh-zees".

The suns are not the object of worship in any religion, however, they are the symbol of great rulers and commonly associated with the Imperator of Valakis.

According to legend, the two suns are identical twins who marvelled at each other's beauty in awe. Night didn't exist, just the constant rays of the shining suns holding everything in their enthrallment for each other. Yet, one day, from their love was born a daughter, more beautiful than anything.

Viergerine Odalis is the single moon of Eler. She gleams of silver and gold and can be seen day and night.

The word "odalis" simply means "moon" in Nirnaelite. The origins of "viergerine" are far more obscure. Most agree it's simply meant to be "vierge reine" (virgin queen), falsely believing that "rine" is the archaic spelling of "reine", which is inaccurate, it's actually "reyn". The long forgotten truth is that "viergerine" came about after centuries of miscommunication, barely legible transcripts, and creative decisions taken with the Nirnaelite title for the moon "lo roi barin" which approximately translates to "great white empress".

Odalis is the central figure of Valakian religion. Great marble temples were built to honour her beauty and beseech her favours. Although the worship of Odalis is much less common nowadays, her temples are still heavily frequented as places of peace and introspection.

According to legend, the two suns cherish their daughter. However, Odalis was so beautiful that people would die from hunger and exhaustion, unable to stop looking at her. As a result, the suns began to move the planets around them in order to cast a shadow to hide Odalis' hypnotic visage. She opted to wear a mask instead, slowly revealing it to the world, and changing it every month. This cycle eventually resulted in the Elerian calendar, a new month beginning when Odalis is completely submerged in shadows, the new moon.