Venus' Moon
The belief that Venus once had a moon that vanished at some point in the distant past is common among the peoples and tribes of Venus. The religion known as the "Mysteries of the Moon" is centered upon a story of this lost moon. According to the myth, the god of this moon was the ruler of all the other gods, but because of their jealousy they destroyed his palace and killed him. His body fell from the skies onto the surface of Venus, where, unable to truly die, it sleeps and breathes. The shining cloud that surrounds his body is known as the Moonfire, and those who attempt to penetrate it to gain godhead from the sleeping god will be cursed by all the gods of Venus. The priests who call themselves the Children of the Moon will seek vengeance upon anyone who seeks to invade the Moonfire, but anyone who goes and successfully returns is sacrosanct.
The reality behind the myth is disputed, but may reflect the impaction of a portion of a small, unstable orbiting body upon the surface of Venus, leaving there a powerful radioactive source with strange effects upon the human mind.
Read more about this topic: Venus In The Fiction Of Leigh Brackett
Famous quotes containing the word moon:
“In such a night, when passing clouds give place,
Or thinly veil the heaven’s mysterious face;
When in some river, overhung with green,
The waving moon and trembling leaves are seen;”
—Anne Finch, Countess Of Winchilsea (1661–1720)