Something horrible once happened with the moon of Ni. The impulse to offer one’s self unaware on an earth caused the satellite to shine so bright that everyone who could sense it look into its craters. They looked into the deep dusty clouds within Ni’s sky. They became hoodwinked with dizzying emotions, paralyzed. The first person to notice something was wrong tried to warn the world, but all that came out of their mouth was the errs of them saying, “Up”.

Then came the growth. Gnashed, tangling roots that reached all around the moon. Then came the colorless cocoons… Over time the living were swept off their feet and into the sky. Into the smothering thickness of the dreamy pale shells.

At least, this was a story that was taught to children of Civex back when people still feared the idea of a living rock capable of kidnapping men, women, and children was used to keep them from resisting authority in smaller strongholds. Only when a person’s discarded remains could be found around bug nests or Ni’s signature sigil was it safe to say they tried to warn wanderers of a challenge. A challenge that could drive you mad.