Moon Marrow

The Moon Marrow is a divine artifact left behind in the aftermath of a Moon Goddess's death.^[1] It is an energy core formed from the Goddess' remains, and as such carries an imprint of her divine presence.^[2]

Two Moon Marrows came naturally into existence following the deaths of Aria^[3] and Sonnet,^[4] the latter of which was corrupted by the Abyss. A third Marrow was artificially created by the Fatui Harbinger Dottore through unknown means.^[5] It is not known whether if Canon left behind a marrow in the aftermath of her own demise, because unlike her sisters she was succeeded by a living goddess who also inherited the Frost Moon.^[1]

Overview

As the remains of the Moon Goddesses, the Moon Marrows are a source of primordial Light Realm energy predating the arrival of the Heavenly Principles. Columbina has implied that the Moon Marrow is similar to an Archon's Gnosis, functioning as a symbol of godhood.^[6] In the same way that the Gnoses were formed from the body of the Third Descender, the Moon Marrow can only form after the death of a Moon Goddess and acts as a core of power.^[1]

Each Marrow is unique to the Goddess it is derived from; it is not possible for a Moon Goddess to use another's power using a marrow,^[7] nor can a single Moon Goddess act as a vessel for two marrows simultaneously.^[8] It is possible, however, for a Moon Goddess to restore some of her own power by drawing on the reserves within a Moon Marrow, as Columbina demonstrates at multiple occasions.^[9]

Story

History

The Moon Marrows came into being after the War of the Funerary Flame, following the destruction of the Three Moons and the deaths of their associated Moon Goddesses.

The Eternal Moon's marrow coalesced from the remains of Aria and takes on the appearance of a miniature moon ringed with debris.^[10] It was discovered by and kept as a sacred relic of the Frostmoon Scions, who sealed the it within a secret chamber which could only be opened once a year, during Moon-Prayer Night when the moon is closest to Teyvat and kuuvahki in Nod-Krai reaches its peak. Its power could be used to view past events, especially when a Moon Goddess uses it.^[11]

The Iridescent Moon's marrow came from the remains of Sonnet and, in its uncorrupted form, appears as a red crescent wreathed in crimson flames. This marrow was never found by overworld Teyvat, because all traces of the Iridescent Moon were abruptly sequestered inside an otherworldy domain. At the moment of her death, Sonnet was overcome by fear of dying and surrendered to the Abyss in a desperate attempt to prolong her lifespan. While this kept her alive as a shattered husk of herself, it also left her suspended in a state of eternal agony, and corrupted her marrow with Abyssal energy whose power manifested as "Balemoon Bloodfire"^[4] - an accursed flame that left behind ghostly images of anybody it burned.^[12]

As the Iridescent Moon descended into the Abyss, it came to be known as the Crimson Moon and was venerated by the Crimson Moon Dynasty of Khaenri'ah, who hid its marrow within a domain that could only be accessed for transitory periods of time using a special ritual requiring the use of Bloodfire.^[4] Successive dynasties of Khaenri'ah would continue to perform research on the Crimson Moon, with the Universitas Magistrorum even having a Moon Marrow laboratory devoted to studying its powers and abilities.^[13]

While Canon's death is confirmed, it is implied that she did not leave behind a Moon Marrow.^[1] This may be due to the fact that the circumstances of her death were quite different from her sisters', her moon was merely banished beyond the False Sky instead of being shattered, and that she was prophesied to be succeeded by a new moon goddess - which came partially true with the birth of Columbina some time after the Cataclysm.^[14]

The Artificial Moon Marrow was crafted much later by the Fatui Harbinger Dottore inside his False Moon Institute in Nod-Krai using the power of the other two marrows as a substrate. It is implied he acquired the knowledge to accomplish this feat through his interactions with phantoms from Hyperborea. It took the form of a light-blue mechanical sphere with esoteric patterns, and counted as a genuine article for completing the power of the Trilune.^[5] Unlike the other two Marrows, which faced rejection from the world of Teyvat on account of being seen as part of the Old World, Dottore's artificial marrow was able to overcome this limitation.^[15]

Present Day

When the Traveler arrived in Nod-Krai, they contacted the Frostmoon Scions after learning of the Eternal Moon Marrow's ability to glimpse into the past in order to recover their memories regarding their spaceship. Meanwhile, two other parties also sought the marrow for their own ends - one being the Fatui Harbinger Dottore to gain the Three Moons' power and become a god, and the other being the resurrected Sinner Rerir attempting to be reunited with his lover in the moon's reflection.^[10]

Rerir managed to break into the Frostmoon Scions' secret chamber alongside the Traveler, disguising himself as their sibling in order to fool them into stealing the marrow on his behalf. However, before the Traveler could take the marrow, Vilemina stole it and brought it to Sandrone - who eventually returned it to the Scions following a skirmish with Rerir at the Experimental Design Bureau.^[16] Following this chain of events, Lauma employed a secret rite to store the marrow within the body of the Traveler, who accommodated it effortlessly due to their unique constitution as a Descender, and also gained a heightened sensitivity to kuuvahki as a result.^[16] After befriending Columbina, the Traveler was able to let her draw on the power of the marrow from within his body, and even a "single ray of its moonlight" was enough to significantly rejuvenate her strength.

Soon after, the Traveler and Columbina would enlist the aid of Arlecchino to enter the Crimson Moon's burial grounds, with the intent of retrieving Sonnet's marrow to help combat a revived Rerir. The Traveler manages to release the marrow from its Abyssal fetters and purify the corruption within it, which allows Sonnet to regain a brief moment of lucidity and say some parting words to a perplexed Columbina before finally passing away. The space became unstable as the Abyss tried to take the marrow back, but the Traveler and Columbina managed to escape successfully. As agreed, Columbina gave the Iridescent Moon's Marrow to Arlecchino, who stored it within her body, causing her powers to become greatly enhanced considering she was already a descendant of the Crimson Moon bloodline.^[4] They would later battle Rerir, and successfully banish him into the moon's reflection.

Later on, the Traveler and Arlecchino used the powers of the Marrows to guide Columbina in her return to the Frost Moon using a Hyperborean altar. However, things do not go as planned due to Dottore's schemes, who secretly created a decoy with the exact same signature as the Frost Moon, causing Columbina to become diverted and trapped into it - enabling him to steal the power of the Three Moons for himself. When Columbina's friends rushed to rescue her, Dottore used the moons' power to freeze time - stopping all but the Traveler. Unfortunately, the Traveler was unable to overpower Dottore, so Columbina summoned a portal and banished herself into the Moon's reflection in a last-ditch attempt to deny Dottore the Three Moons' power. This worked, as Dottore could not control his powers with only two moon marrows in his possession, forcing him to temporarily retreat back to the False Moon Institute.^[17]

However, this victory was short-lived because Dottore managed to create an Artificial Moon Marrow to serve as a surrogate for Columbina's strength following her self-banishment, once again allowing him full control over the Three Moons' power. Dottore used his newfound powers over the primordial forces of Teyvat to manipulate space and time, creating large "experimental zones" in Nod-Krai within which he carried out gruesome experiments - such as switching the minds of humans and animals. During his exchange with the Traveler, Dottore reveals his intentions to use his god-like powers to create an entire world according to his own rules, where even the gods would "prostrate before the living like servants" instead of squandering the heavens' power.^[15]

In the final confrontation, Dottore uses his powers to tear open a hole in the False Sky to directly expose the darkened husk of the Frost Moon lying beyond it, turning into the Heretic of the False Moon. However, this plan goes awry due to the complete resurrection of Columbina as the Trilunar Goddess of Teyvat. She and the Traveler battle Dottore over control of the marrows, managing to wrest both the Eternal and Iridescent Moon Marrows from his possession and causing him to grow progressively weaker as a result. Eventually, he is overwhelmed completely by the combined onslaught of the Nod-Krai cast, causing the destruction of the Artificial Moon Marrow and resulting in his apparent death Subsequently, Columbina returned the Eternal Moon's marrow to Lauma, who restored it to its original place in the Frostmoon Scions' secret chamber. Meanwhile, the Iridescent Moon's Marrow was once again handed over to Arlecchino. ^[18]

Gallery

Iridescent Moon Marrow corrupted with the Abyss

All three moons used to open the portal to the moons

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References

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