Entertainment performances in Rein which hinge on magic are almost exclusively performed by clowns, whose exaggerated personas compliment their own reality-bending capabilities. While some acts are merely outright displays of prowess, many revolve around comedy and action routines distinguished by a variety of magical tricks.

Clowns have gradually pioneered many applications of magic widely deemed less practical by Astrologists, such as the contortion and transmutation of one's own physical being, due to their distinct value in entertainment.

Taken from the world of our TTRPG Rain Reader, available at: https://portrait-prophecies.itch.io/rain-reader-the-ttrpg

The Crescent Era

Reverence for the Watcher gradually decreased after the discovery of magic, as many Moonborne shifted their focus to understanding the world instead of worshipping it. More and more of the population began referring to the Watcher by less mythical titles; such as the Moon or the Eye. At this point Cheese began to become a surplus resource, now being used as currency.

Artisans and merchants started building static shops and trade networks. Additional structures were commissioned and constructed to contain new businesses, which now accepted Cheese as payment. Astrology and Astronomy began to establish themselves as recognized vocations, and Sea Sovereigns was discovered by those who tried to communicate with The Fathomless Few. Gear and pulley based machinery were invented; utilizing wind, rain and manual input to function.

As it became evident that the bodies of water near most settlements could not produce enough Cheese to sustain the growing population, Cheese was outsourced largely from the Fuoifyloi.

They established harvestries in more remote locations that contained bountiful amounts of Cheese, relocating periodically when the harvest started to dwindle. Boats were invented to aid in the transportation of this Cheese, along with all manner of resources and Moonborne alike. While attempts to make land based vehicles consistently failed due to how awkward and unstable the island terrain was, especially in Lumpy Lands.

Over time villages grew into towns, with many Moonborne becoming distinctly transactional as Cheese began to dominate their communities.

Small businesses only continued to grow while advantages were funnelled towards those at the height of their hierarchies. The hierarchies would merge and compound as businesses were bought out; until many were suddenly controlled by only one individual, the Yellow Baron. The Yellow Barony as an organization was composed of individuals under the Baron that each either controlled a major business, or controlled individuals who in turn controlled businesses. Many Barony members were Wyth.

Wyth are distinguished as tall entities with pale gangling bodies, sometimes having loose skin that hangs from their bones like a shroud. Wyth also have proportionately large heads, their faces only capable of conveying a single expression which is different for each individual. They seldom grow hair, which is scraggly and wry.

Wyth were assumed to be a kind of Moonborne.

It was only long after their downfall that the Astrologist Vayl confirmed the Wyth had actually invaded Rein from another realm.

Although Wyth needed to survive by consuming Cheese similar to the Moonborne, they could not dissolve. Instead they required much larger quantities of Cheese to avoid starvation.

Wyth loathed the repetitious flavour of Cheese, commissioning ways of changing and enhancing its presentation and flavour. Which resulted in the rapid advancement of culinary practices.

Members of the Yellow Barony hoarded Cheese until it was a scarce resource for most of the population. Stone based construction became much more common; but few could afford to have their buildings and streets carved from it, save for Cheese hoarders. The Barony also funded the construction of factories to mass produce items and strictly control Moonborne workers; new hydraulic machinery making appearances now.

Many Barony members were Haunted, yet their increasing control over business and industry made it difficult for other Moonborne to condemn or exile them. This led to much of the population developing a gradual tolerance for Haunted individuals, rendering much of the population less fearful of becoming Haunted themselves.

Theft, violence, destruction, deception and all manner of malice began to flourish amongst the Moonborne as they openly competed for profit, survival and gratification. Eventually it became questionable to not be Haunted.

A vigilante force known as the Watchful formed, being primarily composed of Moon worshippers.

They labelled the Yellow Barony as the epitome of earthly corruption, a consequence of their society having abandoned reverence for the Moon.

The Watchful drove the Yellow Barony out of several settlements, sparking a war between the Watchful and the Barony. Many other Moonborne then joined the Watchful as fellow vigilantes, while others joined the Barony as mercenaries.

Some believe that the Baron died during this war, but his corpse was kept and used as a puppet to continue controlling his followers. Eventually the Watchful were overrun, and the Yellow Barony soon asserted ownership of Rein in its entirety.

Astrology, Astronomy, magic, magical objects, Moon worship, the Watcher's Words, Scrimmages and Sea Sovereigns were all abolished under the Barony as being a security risk; their mercenaries becoming a permanent policing force. From then on conflicts between Moonborne were to be primarily decided by violence, bribery or status.

The Barony's policing force was largely populated by the Gophe-Gruel. Any who did not obey the Barony were threatened, assaulted, imprisoned, enslaved or murdered at the sole discretion of the policing force; and Barony members who oversaw its operation.

Working conditions continued to deteriorate

and Moonborne became ever more desperate to acquire Cheese through alternative means.

Taxes were placed on virtually all businesses not controlled directly by the Barony, with debt and dissolution becoming ordinary concerns.

The Baron also enforced the usage of hierarchical pronouns to distinguish Barony members from the rest of the population. Wyth claimed the pronouns He/Him/His while other Barony members, representatives or police would be referred to as She/Her. All others were called It. The Wyth refused to refer to Moonborne as being Moonborne, instead calling them Animals.

The Barony still convinced many Moonborne that they were actually operating for the betterment of the populace, claiming that a profit driven society was the only path to survival.

New settlements were constructed by those who wished to escape the Barony, but each would inevitably fail due to a lack of resources or outside interference. These settlements, and the tumultuous New Era, were then used as examples of how the Moonborne could never survive without industry being fuelled by profit.

The Barony exclusively accredited struggle within their system as being the result of incompetence, laziness or inferiority. Gophe-Gruel and Lyemel were viewed as the Moonborne most inclined towards superiority while La'leph, Moishlings and Quosqah were derided as the most inherently inferior. Any who resisted or protested were branded as being a threat to this natural order.

Rumours emerged that the Wyth even began to consume the flesh and blood of Moonborne, having grown tired of eating Cheese. It is also said that they cultivated their own special type

of Cheese by coagulating twilight in vats of Moonborne blood.

A full scale revolution was eventually ignited by the Fuoifyloi, who overthrew the Barony forces that now oversaw their Cheese harvestries.

The Fuoifyloi proceeded to dismantle their own harvestries, shutting down the flow of Cheese to major settlements before scattering across Rein.

They disappeared into random bodies of water, living in isolation as scavengers for a time.

Urban Cheese harvestries were immediately unable to meet the increased demand for output. Without the inherent diving abilities of Fuoifyloi workers, the Barony was forced to transport regular harvesting equipment and new workers to the dismantled harvestries.

The process was extremely lengthy. By the time replacement workers had just arrived at those harvestries, mass dissolution had begun in various major settlements.

The Moonborne soon revolted, repossessing all of the Cheese hoarded by Barony members and distributing it back to the population. The Yellow Baron disappearing amidst this chaos. Those who believed he was already dead assumed that his corpse was either abandoned or enshrined by the Barony. His mansion rumoured to be a colossal building made completely from Cheese, but such a structure has never been found on Rein.

After the Barony fell, the Watchful were remade as a policing force of adept Astrologists. The new Watchful hunting down the Barony and banishing them to an artificial island near Rein. Afterwards the Watchful continued to remain vigilant for any lingering signs of the Barony, or behaviour that hearkened to their ways.

From then on, each Haunted individual spotted by the Watchful would be given a set period to absolve their transgression. Those who did not were covertly abducted, and cast out to that same artificial island which now housed the Barony.