Tears of Selûne

The Tears of Selûne was an asteroid cluster, visible from the surface of Toril as following the moon Selûne in its orbit around the planet.

Description
From Toril, while Selûne appeared to fit within the size of a human fist an arm's length away, the Tears of Selûne extended for almost three handspans wide and three fingers deep at the same distance. From the ground, the Tears appeared as stars and were often identified as nine in number (the other bodies that made up the cluster were too indistinct to make out). The Tears were only bright enough to be seen at night, and even then they were not seen every night. The first tear appeared above the horizon about four hours after Selûne rose, and it took about three hours for the entire set of Tears to rise or set.

Geography
The Tears were an ordinary asteroid cluster that trailed in the wake of Selûne. There were hundreds of them, circling each other, though the focal point of their revolution was actually a castle. The closest asteroid to Selûne lay about 100,000 miles (160,000 km) from the moon, while the farthest lay about 183,000 miles (295,000 km) from it. Since all Tears followed Selûne's orbit, they all stood about the same distance from Toril as the moon itself, that is, 183,000 miles (295,000 km).

Most of the asteroids were too small to have a sufficiently large breathable atmosphere. However, several dozen had air envelopes that could sustain life quite comfortably.

History
Circa -3500 DR an astronomer from Shou Lung called Tu Pi Chei reported seeing many objects "pop" into existence. Soon, all of Toril's oceans were wracked by massive tidal waves. The Emperor was informed and the next night he too looked at the sky and saw the new objects. Twenty astrologers were tasked with determining their meaning. Most said that Shou Lung would expand inland, some said that a member of the emperor's family would soon die, one claimed that the emperor himself would become pregnant (that astrologer was immediately put to death). Shou Lung did indeed expand inland soon after and became one of the largest countries on Toril. The emperor's wife also died in childbirth later that year.

Despite all the legends as to their formation, the truth was that the Tears were the result of a magic-fueled weapon created by dragonkind to destroy the King-Killer Star, but when they fired it, the weapon missed and hit Selûne instead.

Rumors & Legends
The elves of Evermeet took the appearance of the Tears as a sign that the gods were pleased with their magical research and viewed the Tears with pride, while the goblinoids believed that the Tears were part of a plot by human mages to bathe the night in moonlight. The goblinoids feared that the night sky would soon be filled with moons, resulting in the elimination of their precious darkness. As a result, many goblinoids set out to kill as many humans and elves as they could due to this belief.

Spacefarers tended to believe that the Tears were created by a deity new to the sphere to hide the castle in the center of the cluster where it lived. Many have attempted to investigate the castle but none have returned alive.

Most human legends told of the goddess Selûne who fell in love with a handsome warrior who turned out to be an evil shapechanging monster bent on destruction and conquest. Selûne sealed the warrior and his minions in a gem made of her life essence and wept, forming the tears that came to rest trailing the satellite of Selûne's namesake.

Notable Locations

 * Dragon Rock : The most active of all the Tears was located on the edge of the formation. Its ten-mile (16 km) surface was dedicated to trade. A single silver piece allowed trade in up to a ton of goods at one of the asteroid's hundreds of docks. Should a trader not wish to stick around, the cargo could be left with one of the twelve very trustworthy owners where it would be sold on commission.


 * The Cave : Found near the center of the Tears, an opening in the underside of a small rock covered in blue-green grass-like plants led to the lair of the infamous Batship as well as the unsold plunder accumulated by its pilot. More often than not, the pilot was aware of the presence of intruders nearby and would try to draw them away from the cave.


 * Journey's Legg : A Neogi stronghold. The nearly eight mile (13 km) wide rock was well fortified and always further protected by at least 10 varying neogi ships. Nearly all neogi attacks in this section of Realmspace originated from here and all slaves captured by the neogi were sent here before being sold.


 * Eye of the Sky : This was a Beholder base two miles (3.2 km) wide and containing hundreds of Beholders in a labyrinth of tunnels and caverns. As of the mid-14 century DR, no one had ever successfully attacked the asteroid.


 * The Citadel : All dwarves leaving Toril's atmosphere for the first time made their first port of call here. No other races were allowed to set foot here unless accompanied by dwarves. This was where new dwarven travellers were informed of the dangers of space travel. All dwarves that stayed here were required to pay a fee of three gold pieces.


 * The Castle : This castle did not have a name but it was marvelous to look at. It was beautifully constructed with magically lit spires that reached 100 ft (30 m) above the ground. The grounds themselves were covered in long green grass and constantly blooming bushes. An overturned magical chalice poured water constantly which flowed out of the citadel's doors and eventually out into space. The asteroid was populated by ravens that flew within the air envelope and brown puddings that preyed on the ravens. No sentient being would want to live there once they discovered that fact as the puddings were extremely difficult to dislodge when not hungry, making complete eradication of them near impossible.


 * The Rock of Bral : This asteroid was the longtime home of the wizard Gamalon Idogyr, before he returned to Toril to become the Count of Spellshire in Tethyr. Elminster and his scribe Lhaeo used to visit him there.


 * Stardock : This asteroid was home to mind flayers and was therefore avoided by most. The Twisted Rune took over Stardock and 1369 DR and used it as an outpost. From here, they set in motion a plan to kidnap Halaster Blackcloak by creating a magical rift that led from Stardock to the Undermountain.

Mercenary Companies

 * The Gauntlet were a group of 14 members who saw themselves as the police force of the Tears.

Connections
Tränen Selûnes