The Disc of the Nocturne is an ancient sacred artefact in the city of
Hashan. The Triad of Hashan, composed of Twilight, the God of Darkness;
Ourania, the Goddess of the Moon; and Valnurana, the Goddess of Sleep
and Dreams, had long been worshipped in that city, until recent times.

The planets Noxtra, Lunastra, and Somnustra, near our own planet,
represented the Triad in the heavens. The Disc of the Nocturne was an
astronomical device able to determine which of the planets were in
ascendancy, and by ancient tradition, the Triad represented by that
planet would take the position of Divine Patron of Hashan during that
ascendancy.

However, as time passed, the God of Darkness departed the city of Hashan
on less than friendly terms, and the Goddess of Sleep and Dreams
retreated deep into the Dreamrealm. The Goddess of the Moon alone
reigned in Hashan as their Divine Matron for many years, and the Disc of
the Nocturne was forgotten, its purpose rendered obsolete...

Until one night in the early summer of 424 A.F., when a handsome man of
wealthy appearance by the name of Tavarius sought an audience with the
ruling council of Hashan. Finding one with Hyru Tiercel, the Seneschal,
and Reptilios Le'Coeur, a Regent of Hashan, Tavarius proceeded to
present them with a generous offer.

Explaining that he had spent his childhood in Hashan and wished to gift
something back to the city of which he was so fond, Tavarius said, "I
have long dreamed of building a great planetarium to advance the study
of the stars." It would certainly be a fitting place, he was quick to
add, for that unique astronomical device, the Disc of the Nocturne.

After more conversation, the Seneschal was pleased to accept on behalf
of Hashan. After a little discussion on where the new planetarium was to
be built, Tavarius took his leave, promising to be in touch before
construction began.

The Seneschal closed the chamber door behind Tavarius as he exited, then
turned to regard Reptilios.

"I am wary," Hyru said gravely, a frown creasing his brow, "that there
may be some ulterior motive. Especially with the Disc."


Though the populace of Hashan at first welcomed the news of the
mysterious benefactor's gift, the Seneschal's initial suspicions were
echoed time and time again in the coming months. Suspicions surged to a
fever pitch when it was discovered that Tavarius's labourers had begun
construction in the northeast of Hashan without approval, dismantling a
part of the city wall in order to do so. Citizens of Hashan voiced their
ire at Tavarius's effrontery, accusing him of various misdeeds.

When Tavarius finally reappeared to assuage and soothe his hostile
accusers (no easy task), it was also to complain of the theft of an
important shipment of building materials en route to the planetarium.
Begrudgingly at first, with one Ixin Rousseau expending perhaps the most
effort, the Hashani tracked down part of the stolen supplies: crates of
beetlebone and sacks of powdered copper stolen by Dakron the Fence.
Dakron had also sold Tavarius's crates of quicksilver to an anonymous
buyer, and these too were eventually located and returned to Hashan and
the grateful Tavarius. Construction on the planetarium now continued
without protest.

Elsewhere around this time, the tritons felt a strong shift in the
tides, and their augurs panicked. Senator Eridanus followed the advice
of the augurs and ordered a complete withdrawal of tritons from the land
and from the city of Riparium. Whether they did this due to superstition
or fear for their homelands is currently unknown. After Eridanus and
General Aeolia bade the merfolk farewell, the tritons boarded giant
whelk shells pulled by a convoy of whales, and the convoy swam off into
the abyssal zone to the east.

Penned by my hand on the 12th of Sarapin, in the year 428 AF.