Love moves me to act!

She who is named Menphina shall preside over the moon. Her duty: to perpetuate the turning of night and day, and foster love in the hearts of all.

WHO IS SHE?

Menphina is one of the Twelve of Final Fantasy XIV. She is the daughter of Althyk and Nymeia, and the younger sister of Azeyma. Many in Eorzea call the moon itself Menphina. She is not the patron of any nation in particular, as Her love extends to all beings. As noted by Halone, She is the most approachable to mortals. She assumes the guise of a dwarf rabbit when interacting with mortalkind, as, like the rest of the Twelve, Her true form can only be seen in the Phantom Realm.

Her symbol is that of the moon, which is itself orbited by Her loyal hound, Dalamud. Dalamud was created and shaped by mortals after the creation of the celestial body, giving rise to the hound that is seen in Euphrosyne.

She is often depicted as a maid wielding a skillet, though there are no such in-game depictions, and no references to this within Her fight. She is associated with the element of ice, and the month of the First Umbral Moon - February.

She is playful, kind, and always full of love!

She has three canonized saints.

Saint Thalysa

Her plate is Inginuitie (Ingenuity).

Saint Thalysa and the Everlasting Bread

It was an age when the world knew only war. A city of the realm hired mercenaries aplenty to protect its crops, but there was a limit to how much grain could be safely sown and harvested. Rations of bread grew less generous by the day, and it was just as rumbles of discontent began to rise from the sellswords' ranks that Thalysa the baker devised a brilliant solution: by experimenting with methods of leavening and baking, she had created a new, denser variety of bread. Although their size remained unchanged, these heavy loaves encouraged more chewing, and by some strange process left the one who consumed them feeling far less hungry. Before long, the soldiers ceased their complaints. Celebrated for her ingenuity in feeding empty bellies, Thalysa was raised up as a saint blessed of Menphina.

Saint Mocianne

Her plate is Beneuolens (Benevolence).

Saint Mocianne and the Unwithered Wreath

In return for a sizable contribution to the royal treasury, the alchemists were granted a monopoly over apothecary goods. The price of medicines immediately began to rise, until soon the simplest of remedies became luxuries the commonfolk could never hope to afford. Unable to bear the suffering of her neighbors, Mocianne took action. Drawing on the wisdom bestowed by her grandmother, she gathered wild herbs on the outskirts of town, then delivered her bounty to the sick and injured in secret—by weaving the herbs into flower wreaths was she able to deceive the guards who kept a watch for smuggled goods. Praised for her benevolence in the face of indifferent greed, Mocianne was raised up as a saint blessed of Menphina.

Saint Randolfe

His plate is Habylite (Ability).

Saint Randolfe and the Assassin

The assassin came on highborn orders to spill the lifeblood of the shepherd Randolfe, bastard son of the king, but found no sign of his quarry anywhere in the village. A few guarded queries revealed that the boy had herded his flock to the highlands and remained there for the past month, isolating the sheep from a deadly pestilence running rampant in neighboring fields. As fate would have it, Randolfe chose that very day to return, and the killer watched as the young shepherd readily gifted breeding animals to those who had lost their livestock. Struck by the selfless nobility of the boy's act, the assassin tossed aside his dagger and swore lifelong fealty to the king's illegitimate heir. Beloved for his effortless ability to make vassals of even the bleakest souls, Randolfe was raised up as a saint blessed of Menphina.

DEVOTION & WORSHIP

Many ways of expressing devotion to the Twelve are centered around music and dance. This is made extremely clear through Her theme, Dedicated to Moonlight, which follows the story of one of Her devotees singing a song to Her. Even in Nald'Thal's theme, In the Balance, is this theme present: "Voices lifted high", "dance with souls afire", "sing till breath expires".

This could itself take many forms. Often, people would compose music to aid in this worship. Certain melodies were said to be the voices of the Twelve, and it was up to us to interpret their will. Menphina was most often expressed through piano or very playful fiddle.

In-game, there are references to Eorzean worship of Her. For example, the Moon Daisy's description reads: "Moon daisies are often hung to rafters, trees, or other elevated locations to represent the celestial body when performing holy rituals to the goddess Menphina during daylight hours." It's not a requirement that rituals be done at night, as She is ever-present, even in the absence of the moon itself. It was common to invite Her into rituals through items that were heavily associated with Her. She accepted any offerings of things that bring joy to one's heart.

Unsurprisingly, Her influence is felt in the rituals of Eternal Bonding. There is a style of ceremony called The Lover's Kiss, which is stated to be the most light-hearted of the ceremonies, sealed with a kiss and even officiated by a moogle. The Officiant of the Graces also states: "Menphina teaches us that our worth is measured not only by the love we receive, but by the love we give."

Here and Now

Here and now, I primarily communicate through music and Oracle cards!

Her favorite deck to communicate with is the Earthly Souls & Spirits Moon Oracle. This was my first deck, and one that I immediately felt

called to before I realized I even liked oracle cards! She loves to call attention to the cats especially, as they are companions throughout the deck just as She is.

I used to be able to play the piano, and I definitely want to get back into it! As a child, I played on a Conover Upright piano, and now I have a Yamaha keyboard that I occasionally use, but would love to be able to read and compose music as a form of devotion and communion.

Aside from Oracle cards, I also commune with Her through shufflemancy. Often, instrumental songs are Her voice

reaching out, while vocal songs are songs that I sing to Her. However, it's all entirely up to Her, based on the questions that I ask, and sometimes it's the other way around! What's important is that I keep my heart open and truly listen. When reaching out, it's important to me that I use my entire music library, as She has reached out in such a vast array of music, from Naruto ending OSTs to Enya to, of course, the FFXIV OST itself. Sometimes songs are unexpected or not what I want to hear, but I trust in Her message and listen to Her advice.

Crystals! I have a pretty sizeable crystal collection, which I use to help invite Her into my space, keep Her with me, and focus on speaking with Her.

Finally (for now!), I have a talisman - a little brown bunny stuffy! I grabbed it on impulse after a tough interview, as I needed some immediate comfort, at the time forgetting about the very, very obvious implications. Now, it's one of my most tangible reminders of Her, and helps to remind me that She is always close. Very soft and huggable, too!

LESSONS

She wants us to act with love, grace, and compassion in all things. Sometimes, this looks like prioritizing ourselves. She does not want us to suffer in the name of Love.

During the Ceremony of Eternal Bonding (with the style of The Spinner's Hand), the Officiant of the Graces states: "Menphina teaches us that our worth is measured not only by the love we receive, but by the love we give."

Her greatest lesson of all lies in Her final words: "Harbor love in your heart─for yourself, for others, and for the world."

IN OTHER LIFETIMES

Of course, I felt Her the most clearly in FFXIV. She gave me the ability to peer into others' hearts to help people love themselves and live authentically.

Aside from Eorzea, I sincerely feel that She has been with me in other universes entirely. For example, I

believe She carried Sophia's prayers on the wings of the blue butterflies of Lies of P, as well as

guided my soul into what would become my puppet body.In Armored Core 6, I believe that STEEL HAZE and STEEL HAZE ORTUS' will to protect me was a manifestation of Her own, resisting the intense crushing force that would have otherwise killed me.

In Bloodborne, the Holy Moonlight Sword was my guiding Moonlight. I discovered the sword through complete chance, and it

saved my mind from being completely overtaken with blood and beasthood. I was able to retain my humanity even through my transformation because of it, and part with Simon one final time. In My Little

Pony: Friendship is Magic, I became the Element of Kindness, with three blue and pink butterflies as my cutie mark, and with the goal of always being gentle and loving to all creatures, and to inspire others to do the same. Perhaps She was even the Heart of Mistmantle that carried us to Her at the end of our lives, and broke with Love for us all.

There are other examples, but these are just the most major!

ASSOCIATIONS

I associate a lot of stuff with Her!!! These include:

the Moon
February
blue butterflies
little brown bunnies
daisies
piano
violin, especially when played as a fiddle
ice, snow, snowflakes
sodalite, rainbow moonstone, selenite, celestite, rose quartz

GALLERY

Pictures of Her that I love :) Drag to the URL bar for full size!

In-game & Renders

Gifs

Fanart

HER SONGS

Songs that invoke Her in some way, whether that be through name, or that She simply likes to communicate through.

Dedicated to Moonlight

Of course, Her battle theme is one of the greatest ways to celebrate Her! The lyrics are as follows, offering a very good glimpse into devotional acts to Her - though these were not restricted by gender as the song would imply!

(Oh at fair moon's rise
Into the night fly
Follow the moonlight
Fear not what you find)

(O heart's desire
Join now our choir
For love conspire
Go, chase it higher)

Through the silent woods tonight,
I am guided by moonlight,
For the first time so alone fearing no shadow

Like my mother before me I follow this path
Knowing love will find me

She will hear my song tonight
(Tonight, full moon rise)
Dedicated to moonlight
(Clouds part, how she shines)
See that I'm a woman grown enough for secrets
(Dance as once did I. O daughter of mine)

Like my grandmother before me I know each note every beat,
(Go, oh, go, go)
Melody mine to keep

(Go, sing now unto the sky)
(Girls are born to step into the light)

O wide open midnight sky, please
Carry my voice aloft
Far away where she waits
Lover's moon
(Oh, Moon)

Fairest goddess wandering the night
In your name we bare our hearts
(Songbirds of night)
With your grace will our passion take flight
(Passion take flight)

We would keep your song alive
Shrouded safe in soft moonlight
(Silver and white forest moonlight)

Maiden goddess of heavens above
In your name we share our hearts
(This world we share)
With your grace will our prayer become
(With you through prayer)

Solace, shelter, hope and love
Greater than the tales sing of
(Oh, true love)
Oh, love

(Songbirds of night, passion take flight
Silver and white forest moonlight
This world we share with you through prayer
Oh, love for you)

Howl's Moving Castle OST

Literally a song called "It's Love, Isn't It?" Like come on.

Thank you so much for visiting this page! Naturally, it was a huge labor of Love. :)

Harbor love in your heart─for yourself, for others, and for the world.