Editing The Moon

{{Character|image1=Moon.png|caption1=The Moon, in the night sky.|location=[[The High Wilderness]]|allegiance=Independent|relationships=[[The Creditor]]<br>[[The Upstairs]]}}''"Dead leaves crunch underfoot. Something rustles ahead. You are soon far from the path and deep in the undergrowth. You turn a corner and find the trees ahead coated in silver. Hanging in the sky above is the moon, fierce and bright."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Explore_the_woods|Explore the woods|Fallen London|}}</ref>

The '''Moon''' is the sole natural satellite of the Earth.__forcetoc__

''"Even by night, the Port of Naples is alive with shouts and laughter and work-songs, the roar of engines. Brick warehouses loom over the moon-dazzled bay."''<ref name = "naples">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Naples#Port_description_2|Port description 2|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>

The Moon is an enormous celestial body that orbits the Earth. It's well known for illuminating the night sky of the [[Surface]], and for some cultures, it directly governs the length of a month through its phases. These phases are reflected in mysterious trinkets called '''moon-pearls''';<ref name = "naples"/><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Moon-Pearl|Moon-Pearl|Fallen London|}}</ref> how exactly moon-pearls work is unknown, but they're precise enough to function as timekeeping devices in [[Fallen London]] and the [[Unterzee]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Request_an_Admiral-in-the-Box|Request an Admiral-in-the-Box|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] she selects [...] moon-pearls for nautical time-keeping;"''</ref> And what's more, [[moonlight]] is reflected [[The Sun|sunlight]];<ref name="discover kinship">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Discover_its_age_and_its_kinship_to_stars|Discover its age and its kinship to stars|Fallen London|}}</ref> it can reveal strange visions of alternate timelines, most notably an alternate version of [[London]] that never fell to the [[Neath]], known as the [[Upstairs]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"[Moonlight] causes visions of a London that never fell."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] that other, moonlit world," [...] "What do they call it, Upstairs?"''</ref>

The Moon is the "sister-self" of the [[Creditor]],<ref name = "search for letters of fire">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Search_it_for_letters_of_fire|Search it for letters of fire|Fallen London|}} ''"The [...] surface of the stone is mottled and silver as the [...] moon."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Study_its_likely_chemical_effects_on_the_Bazaar|Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar|Fallen London|}} ''"It was painful to lose your sister-self."''</ref> a being of earth that forms the ground of the [[Hinterlands]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Ask_it_about_the_Hillchanger_Tower_(Furnace_Abandoned)|Ask it about the Hillchanger Tower (Furnace Abandoned)|Fallen London|}} ''"That Creditor is [...] an earth power, and [...] laying great, expensive tracks made of Justificandes across its face [...]"''</ref> In the past, the Creditor and the Moon were once a singular being that served a [[Judgement]], likely the [[Sun]], but were separated violently in a "cleaving birth".<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Study_its_likely_chemical_effects_on_the_Bazaar|Study its likely chemical effects on the Bazaar|Fallen London|}} ''"A cleaving birth [...] It was painful to lose your sister-self."''</ref> Thus, the Creditor's inner "flesh" strongly resembles the Moon,<ref name = "search for letters of fire"/> and it too has a strange effect on sunlight as well as on moon-pearls.<ref name = "discover kinship"/>

''"The floor is silvered with spilling moonlight. It makes a ghost of your flesh and your eyes a lens to elsewhere."''<ref name = "walk in moonlight">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Walk_in_moonlight|Walk in moonlight|Fallen London|}}</ref>

'''Moonlight''' in the [[Neath]] is not seen from the sky; rather, it is an illegal commodity smuggled in from the [[Surface]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Explore_the_woods|Explore the woods|Fallen London|}} ''"A highly illegal commodity,"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Consider_the_Moonlight_(45_FATE)|Consider the Moonlight (45 FATE)|Fallen London|}}</ref> Moonlight has a unique, silvery appearance,<ref name = "walk in moonlight"/> and it's transported in devices called '''Mirrorcatch Boxes''' that use an array of mirrors to capture moonlight directly from the sky.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"He lunges for a few mirrorcatch boxes and throws the lids open. The silvered light discharges,"''</ref> The woods of [[Balmoral]] are bathed in perpetual moonlight,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Moon-Seared_Paths|The Moon-Seared Paths|Fallen London|}}</ref> as per the [[Empress]]'s demand.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Report_a_sighting_of_a_Fox|Report a sighting of a Fox|Fallen London|}}</ref> Exposure to moonlight in the Neath is considered risky, however, as moonlight can have bizarre, sometimes maddening, effects on those exposed to it. (Recall that it is reflected sunlight, and to denizens of the Neath, sunlight is deadly...)<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"But [moonlight] sends some people peculiar [...] They get confused [...]"''</ref>

Moonlight also has a tendency to grant visions, affecting multiple senses, of an alternate timeline where certain events either did not occur or occurred differently.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Explore_the_woods|Explore the woods|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref name = "marigold keeper">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Present_the_Marigold_Menagerie-Keeper|Present the Marigold Menagerie-Keeper|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] you see the amphitheatre as it was, filled with devils watching two of their princes settle their differences [...]"''</ref> These hallucinations are based on location, so moonlight released in [[Ladybones Road]] for instance would depict Marylebone, specifically near the Marble Arch, in [[Surface]] London.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Moonlight burns on the marble of the arch. It limns the gallows in silver."''</ref> It is unknown exactly where moonlight visions might occur, outside of London and [[Marigold Station]] in the [[Hinterlands]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Present_the_Marigold_Menagerie-Keeper|Present the Marigold Menagerie-Keeper|Fallen London|}}</ref>

The divergences of moonlight visions from reality appear to be centered around events of particular significance; for example, the use of moonlight at Marigold Station conjures a world where the [[Grand Devils]] were never defeated and deposed as rulers of [[Hell]].<ref name = "marigold keeper"/> The [[Upstairs]] is the collective term for the imagined version of London that never Fell and remained on the Surface; however, it also underwent a political upheaval by [[revolutionaries]], as well as other divergences from the known timeline.<ref name = "long live the queen">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Septemberist traitors! Long live the Queen! Her Exiled Majesty!" [...] "He's gone all the way Upstairs, this one."''</ref>

''"London is home to an illicit, lucrative trade in Surface sunlight. Its quality varies, as can its effects. Be careful of sunshine laced with moonlight."''<ref name = "sun smuggling">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Universal|What is sun-smuggling?|Fallen London|}}</ref>

[[London]] is home to a expansive sunlight trade that is as lucrative as it is illegal.<ref name = "sun smuggling"/> However, sunlight often has to be harvested directly from the [[Surface]],<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/Avernus#Interactions|Fill your Mirrorcatch Box|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> which can be both dangerous and expensive.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.fandom.com/wiki/THE_SUN!_THE_SUN!|The light's delights|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> Thus, using a method pioneered by the [[Cheery Man]], sunlight traders may "cut" their sunlight with moonlight, which can have varying effects on the product.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/His_operations_on_the_Docks|His operations on the Docks|Fallen London|}}</ref> Sunlight cut with moonlight can last longer in the box, is cheaper to import, and is safer to transport as well.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Anyway, it's diluted with moonlight: easier to transport; [...] Moonlight's easier to smuggle, and safer besides. Add a little, and the sunlight goes further. [...] Once we've built up some funds, we can import pure sunlight,"''</ref> Relying on this method can be risky, however, as customers who purchase such sunlight may still feel the effects of moonlight, visions and all.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Why are so many clients suffering [...] – 'trips Upstairs' – after taking the House's sunlight?"''</ref>

Certain charlatans and false-spiritualists utilize raw moonlight in their trickery to deceive their marks, as the settings and people seen in moonlight visions can easily be mistaken for those of the realm of the deceased.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"We've been dosed with moonlight," [...] "Some spiritualists use it to convince their victims that they're seeing through the veil."''</ref>

''"Your friend has a bad case of the Upstairs, lads. Harmless enough now, at least for you. But what happens when he starts thinking you're all Constables? Or murderers?"''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}}</ref>

''"He's gone all the way Upstairs, this one."''<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}}</ref>

Besides causing visions, exposure to moonlight can cause other, sometimes dangerous, side effects. Objects in moonlight visions are palpable, but are not truly real or tangible; thus, one might not drown in water,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"River water rises to your shins. [...] suffused with moonlight. Yet you can breathe through it."''</ref> and objects perceived by a hallucinating individual will not be seen by outsiders<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"Trying to blind me?" [...] "I haven't looked in a box lately. I can't see any moon."''</ref> and vice versa.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] we can't trust our eyes. I can't even see what you're holding. It looks to me like you're playing with air above a solid floor. Perhaps I took a heavier dose."''</ref> Moonlight visions can also be difficult to "see through", and can cause extreme disorientation if the individual attempts to view or interact with the real world with any sort of clarity.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] feeling for rungs with your feet. Sometimes they are there, clear and bright; sometimes they disappear inside your palm and you are buried alive. Your vision cannot be trusted."''</ref>

Furthermore, moonlight exposure can induce false memories,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Been sampling the stock, young master? [...] Mathilde – we promised to marry. Remember the arch; the moon—" [...] "You're addled! Leave me be!"''</ref> and sometimes, the individual may be unable to distinguish the two worlds at all.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Cut_with_Moonlight|Cut with Moonlight|Fallen London|}} ''"Sometimes I see moonlight, and another London. I am not sure which of them is correct; they both seem unlikely."''</ref> This can result in a similar effect to being [[Prisoner's Honey|honey-mazed]],<ref name = "long live the queen"/> and chronic exposure may make this ailment seem permanent.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Compel_the_Ghillie_to_extend_your_visit|Compel the Ghillie to extend your visit|Fallen London|}}</ref> Finally, like [[The Sun|sunlight]], moonlight can be lethal in extremely large quantities. Those who overdose on moonlight may die with their eyes wide open, their gaze appearing burnt, but perhaps revelatory.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Noises_from_Upstairs|Noises from Upstairs|Fallen London|}} ''"Raw moonlight seems to be as lethal as sunlight. [...] After about twenty-five boxes he ceases to react. You lean close, examining those moonburnt orbs. There is something in his stare: [...] a revelation,"''</ref>

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