Lunar Lake

Many have attempted to bathe in the waters for its divine properties, but stories say they have only gotten sick from the attempts. One story claims someone did manage to get a Balor, but it took submerging themselves for days at a time, and they came out incredibly ill. Most believe that tale to be nothing more than a myth.   Still, even in the darkened water, the moon reflects perfectly off of its surface, with it being said that every night, Selene looks down on Lunar Lake and remembers the times spent there, be it the fond moments of creation with her Elves or the traumatic moment when she was wounded and everything she had was stolen from her.   Following the Holy Rebellion, there was an effort to turn Lunar Lake into some kind of shrine. The Orcs constructed some type of structure on its shores, but it has since fallen into disrepair. Only the ruins of that structure exist, as the last joint effort of Orcs on Elone before the March of the Orcs.  

Cultural Beliefs and Practices

Lunar Lake is, with the possible exception of the Yokatlān Crater, the most significant lake in the world, and so it holds a special place in many cultures, be it the species that came from it or those who view those species as a rival or enemy.  

Elven

Elves believe that Lunar Lake is very sacred, though this depends a great deal on which group of Elves one asks. Wood Elves consider it one of the most important places in the world, save for the Temple of Selene and perhaps the town of Allsaluna beside it. They commune with the waters in an attempt to get closer with Selene, though they are forbidden from entering it.   This is because of the High Elven guards often placed around the lake. High Elves, under orders of the Nerifir royalty, believe Lunar Lake is best observed from afar, or at least from its shores.

"Queen Meiriris never bathed in these waters, the act of creation was miraculous because it happened overlooking it. It is the shore where we were made, and it is the shore where we must remain."

— Zenster Nerifir

While this was a controversial choice at first (as were most of Zenster Nerifir's decrees, the reason for his title as "the Troubled King"), it has since settled into being the natural state of things for High Elves. Before Zenster's reign, High Elves would mostly only travel outside of Camor to put their feet in the waters of Lunar Lake, particularly the poorer High Elves living on the outskirts of the city near the lake.   It was a way for them to bathe, though no one ever put their head below the water. Zenster cut off access to the water for these poor Elves, leaving them with no choice but to go to the river much farther from Camor if they wished to have access to water. What this allowed him to do was control his population more, and many of these Elves would not survive the trek to the river or the rough current found in most of it. Rumor has it that some rich High Elves, including the royals, still have access to Lunar Lake to bathe in when they please, and at those times, no one else is allowed near the lake. That is one of the explanations given for the Elven Guard shutting off access to the lake every so often, though they claim it's for "research" and "cleaning" purposes.   Dark Elven traditions are more separated from Lunar Lake (as they are too far from the lake in their cave), but this does not mean they do not still think of it as an important location. It is part of the legends around Dresmorlin Cobath, the mysterious first Elf, who was also one of those responsible for the Dark Elven migration.   Lunar Lake serves as a reminder to the Dark Elves about how the High Elves constantly try to erase them from the historical and cultural narrative of the Elves. Dresmorlin Cobath was the first Elf, but his name is only whispered in Camor. While the Dark Elves still fear and hate him due to the actions he committed around the supposed end of his life (if he ever truly died), they cannot deny his role as one of the people responsible for their society, and demand the Elves to do so too.   There is also a belief that the blood red waters of Lunar Lake are somehow connected with the evil actions later committed by Dresmorlin Cobath, but this is just superstition, as the waters predate any myth of Dresmorlin betraying those around him or doing terrible things.   When it comes to the Exilés, Lunar Lake was used as something of a border for them. They wanted to claim a small part of the Elven Forest, and so they chose the little bits of land north of the lake, saying the Nerifir Kingdom only stretched to Lunar Lake itself. This was not very respected, and ultimately, the lake had no mythical significance to the Exilés as it did to other Elves, aside from the speech given by Qibis Henzora towards the end of the Exilés Genocide, when the walls were closing in and the Elven Guard neared Ortoise to slaughter the last of the Exilés.   This speech has become known as the "Lunar Lake Speech", though it was delivered halfway across Elone, in the town square of Ortoise.

"Guldin Nerifir calls us a danger to civilization, while every day he closes in on our city, slaughtering our people. What is civilization, then? Is it not the will of the people, coming together to form a state in service to those very same people?

Not to Guldin Nerifir, no. The Nerifirs are divinely blessed, don't you know? They were appointed to the throne by the Gods, ignoring the fact that other Gods considered them slaves of so little renown that no one noticed a woman supposedly copied from Selene herself! No, it requires more than that.

There must always be a river of blood to solidify the Nerifir rule. In the beginning, it was Selene's shores outside Camor, and in the years since it's been Orcs in the Strait of Ildial, the Dark Elves in the creeks throughout the Elven Forest, and the Dwarves in the Central River!

Now, he'll make our city a new Lunar Lake! I say it's outrageous to bathe in the blood of brothers for the sake of a throne. I say it's preposterous to dare to call yourself a rightful ruler when your golden armor is stained in gore. I say it's ridiculous to call your rule divinely ordained when no God dares to clean your drinking water of two-thousand-year-old ichor!"

— Qibis Henzora

As with most of Qibis Henzora's speeches and pleas to the world, the Lunar Lake speech fell on deaf ears globally and has only been recognized posthumously as an incredible speech given at a time when most would have fled, with Henzora herself being compared to Meiriris, and the massacre in the city compared to the actions of the Gods that once enslaved the Elves themselves.  

Orcish

As mentioned above, the Orcs once built a shrine beside Lunar Lake. Its importance has largely been lost in the shuffle of divine enslavement, Holy Rebellion, discrimination at the hands of Elves, and the march to Udai, along with much of their independent history not alongside the Elves before their freedom. Therefore, we can't know much about the importance of Lunar Lake to them and how they reacted to their creation not long after it happened.   What we do know is the stories Amukk God Breaker and other prominent Orcs after the March of the Orcs would tell about the surrounding area, as well as the cultural response from following generations.   The God Breaker talked of Lunar Lake not as the site of a great tragedy, but instead as one of the first signs that it was possible to wound the Gods. During the earliest stages of the Holy Rebellion, all Elves and Orcs believed it was futile to fight, as nothing could be done. When Lunar Lake was discovered and its origin remembered, Amukk knew all the training he'd put into his strength would pay off. If he could get a God to bleed like what had been done to Selene, he could win. And he did, attributing much of his victory over Satanael to Lunar Lake.   This means it is not a place of honor because of the noble battle of a God, but instead its importance lies in what it means to mortals. It is a sign that Gods, like mortals, bleed and can die.   This has since gone on to inspire others, from the later born Orcish warrior-turned God Divine Amukk (no relation to God Breaker), inspiring him to go to war with Heaven and kill a God to take their place. It became an important place in the Post-Heraldic Age of Faith, thanks in part to the Mighty Herald, leader of the cult known as the Paragons of Unity. The Herald was inspired by the Orcish perception of Lunar Lake and used it as an example to get people to stop worshiping the Gods.

"If we turn the world's seas to blood like Lunar Lake, we could turn our world into heaven and become a population of Gods. It only requires a few global uprisings against the Gods."

— The Mighty Herald

 

Dwarven, Gnomish, and Geltic

The three cultures that border this lake, all of them have very similar cultural responses and beliefs when it comes to Lunar Lake. The Dwarves (being the first to come across it) are the likely origin point for these thoughts, and the Gnomes learned it while still part of the Dwarven Kingdom, while early clashes with Humans and Dwarves led to much of their culture getting shared.   When it comes to what they believe, the prevailing rumor is that Lunar Lake may be to blame for the Elven lifespans, whether it be that they bathe in it to stay youthful or that it just serves as the base of their power. It has led to many Dwarven military strategies when at war with the Elves, as they attempt to plug up Lunar Lake, and the city itself has to deploy many of its soldiers on duty to guard the body of water to prevent this. A theory has been suggested that some Dwarves don't actually believe this, but instead spread the rumor to encourage the Elves to spread their forces out more.   Geltic responses haven't been so violent, but they instead have tried capturing the lake for themselves, as they don't have long lifespans like Dwarves and Elves. Secci Gnomes, similarly, seek out these powers, but instead have tried to build an artificial lake in the Uncharted Desert, bleeding dry Demigods they can get their hands on in an attempt to replicate Lunar Lake.