You ask why the Hand of Fate has no power in Dômus Môdé, and of the origin of the Three Promises and why does the White Moon always face the Earth. Well, there are other questions you should also ask, but that does not matter for I shall answer these and more –
In the days after Yaros had formed the Domains from Silence, He shaped the Hand of Fate to maintain the order He had created. The Hand of Fate guided all the Domains, and each Domain had its attendant Ästé. The three Greater Ästé, then as now, watched over three principal domains. There is Namästé, who is also called Namos, Death, and presides over the Domain of Spirit and escorts the soul into the world and brings it away again. There is Tyrästé, who presides over the Domain of Earth, of all things of matter and of substance. And there is Lamästé, who provides balance in the Domain where Earth and Spirit Mix, Dômus Môdé. The Lesser Ästé shaped their domains according to the strictures of the Creator. The Elder Races were the only people of Dômus Môdé, and were called the Children of Fate. Thus were the Domains well ordered, for each knew his place and each his part in the scheme of things.
There was another, who may have been an Ästé, but who stood outside the Domains. His place was in the heavens, holding a torch that contained the divine fire that shone upon all the Domains. So great was his spirit that he alone could look directly into this flame without being blinded by its brilliance and no other being could look upon him.
He looked down upon the Domains and beheld that nothing changed, for all things moved only according to the paths shaped for them by the hand of fate. And this troubled him. He spoke to Fate, saying, "Release the world that it may grow."
And Fate answered, "That is not my way. It is not proper that I should release the world."
Again, the great one looked down upon the world and beheld stagnation, for the Hand of Fate controlled all domains and Fate's desires shaped all change, which, to him, was no change at all.
"Release the Domains that they may grow." the great one demanded.
"No, that is not my way. That is not the Plan" Fate replied.
So, the great one watched, and grew in his conviction that the creatures of Dômus Môdé should be free to make their own way, that they might learn and grow of their own. Time passed and he saw no change, each age passed the same as the last and he decided to act. Softly he spoke, "Release the Domains."
"No", replied Fate with his gentle smile; and the great one lifted the Divine Flame, and swinging it like a sword, severed the Hand of Fate from the Domains.
And the world changed.
The first change occurred in the five places where the flame touched the earth for the Younger races appeared: The Children of the Wood, the Mountains, the Seas, the Snows and the Deserts.
Then came the visiting races, humans, dwarves, and elves, pouring into Dômus Môdé through the rifts and eddies caused by the passing of the Divine Flame, covering the world before the last rift closed. Now the Elder Races looked upon these changes with concern for their ordered world was no more. The humans were a particular concern, for they seemed to have no restraints upon them. The Cwis, the youngest of the Elders exclaimed in anger and contempt, "There is nothing these creatures won't do." And preceded to exterminate them and were only stopped by the Thurlain, the Eldest who observed the humans with wonder and said, "There is nothing these creatures can't do."
The Thurlain became teachers, but you can never trust the Cwis.
When the Lesser Ästé saw the changes and felt the restraints fail; they became lost, and many left their domains, some to wander and some use their powers for their own profit. These are the Alté and cursed are they. Yet many others stayed faithful, and still guide their domains.
Without the order provided by Fate, without the guidance provided by all the Ästé, plagues came and war, and many walked with Namos before their time.
It fell to Lamästé, who is the Balance and the Judge, to decide the fate of he who severed Fate from the Domains. Not knowing how to decide such a thing, he called upon Tyrästé to advise him.
And Tyrästé came to him from the depths of the Earth and said "It is not my place to judge, that is your Domain, nor can I heal that which the Divine Flames have sundered, for that is as far above me as is Yaros above us all. But this I can see, that much harm shall come to this world before all has reached its proper end and this I can do, I promise I shall heal all things of Earth given time." And she returned to her Domain, and thus was the First Great Promise was given.
Then did Lamästé call upon Namästé to give him council from the Domain of Spirit and Namos smiled. "Maintaining the Balance is your Domain and your skill and I would not presume to tell you your skill. You should trust in yourself, but how shall you judge that which you do not understand."
"I know not."
"Would you learn?"
"Yes."
"Then enter into my Domain."
And so Lamästé entered into the Domain of Spirit, and was born into a family in the northern realms of Dômus Môdé. There he grew, and though he did not have his powers as an Ästé, he still had his skills and talents. He became a speaker of the Law and became respected among men for his wisdom and fairness. He married and had children and learned of life and death, of joy and despair, of meeting and parting and he became content. But he had enemies, for not all men want an honest judge or wise council given to others, or even to themselves. One night while he was sleeping, his enemies killed him and his wife while they slept and burnt his house, and he walked with Namos sooner than he expected.
He shouted to the heavens "How can such creatures exist! I shall destroy them all. I shall curse the one that caused this to happen!"
But Namos spoke to him and said, "You are still in my Domain. Watch!"
As Lamästé watched, those who had been his friends, and even some he had thought his enemies, protected his children and brought the guilty to justice, and reestablished his reputation.
Then Lamästé spoke, "I have almost done a terrible thing. I almost judged too soon. I almost judged before I understood, I, whose domain is Judgement. Shall I hold others to a higher standard? This I promise, if the heart is sincere, it will never be too late, though the cost maybe high, I will always provide a way."
"Now you have the experience to undersand and make your judgements," Namos replied "But before I release you, know this will be a hard world. The trials will be great for all who dwell here, so this I promise, as I bring the spirit into the world and take it out again, so shall I also stay with it through its trials and stand with it at the end." From that moment on Namästé is never spoken of as he or she, for Namos is with us all and of us all, and when you look upon the face of Namos you see only yourself.
Namos returned Lamästé to his own Domain.
Lamästé took upon himself his authority and delivered his judgment to the one who carried the Divine Flame. "I cannot judge the results of your actions for the end has not occurred, but I can speak to the action itself. You have injured another who was only doing what Yaros dictated he should do, and for that shall your spirit be diminished to replace that that Fate lost when you severed his hands from the world. Your name shall be forgotten that none shall honor or curse you for your deeds before their validity shall be determined. And, as you did what you did for the beings of this world, your place shall be in the heavens with your eyes always facing the earth that you will see everything that comes to pass because of your deeds."
And thus it is that the one we call the White Moon stands in the sky, ever moving yet always presenting the same face, his eyes facing down upon the earth, watching, unable to interfere for should he touch one of Dômus Môdé, his spirit is still so great that the one touched is driven insane.
To those that aided Lamästé's family did he appear to them in a dream, "You stood be me and mine when there was nothing in it for you save your dedication to honor. Can I, whose Domain is Balance, do no less. So I shall stand by you and yours until my end shall come." And they, the descendants of his friends and allies, are called the Remembered of Lamästé, and they have gifts the are with them when they work for the good of others.
Have I answered your questions, or merely caused you to have more? Perhaps you would like to know why we call him the White Moon when there is only one moon in the sky. Well, that is another tradition.
Copyright © 2021 by Robert W. Dills