The Sun and Moons

[Revelations]

After looking at the moon and sun for several decades, I'm sure people in Zalanthas have made their own ideas on what they are and have their suspicions of the influence each one has. I couldn't really find much about the cultural impact that these celestial objects have and so am reverting to the forums. e.g. In RL, some people have suspicions about full moons, stuff like that. To start it off, it says in the superstitions that having both moons and Suk-Krath out means bad near an ages end. What would each moon represent to each culture?

[Tamarin]

Keep in mind that there are a few cultures who see the moons from an entirely astronomical point of view.  That is to say, they are big chunks of rock floating in the sky with no supernatural qualities whatsoever.

[Swordsman]

If this kind of information is in the Allanak or Tuluk documentation, fair enough, since those are densely populated areas whose customs would probably be fairly well known. If you're talking about less well known cultures, however, I think that this is really something you should find out ICly. Apart from the 'fun of discovery' value for you as a player, some of these details might be IC-sensitive. Of course, if you wanted this information for setting up a new PC, the best would be to e-mail the relevant clan imms and ask them. Just my thinking.

Swordsman

[ashyom]

Superstitions webpage:
http://www.armageddon.org/general/superstitions.html

A common variation of the superstition that tends to be heard often, especially nervously at end of a King's Age:

When the two Moons and Suk-Krath walk in the same sky
Bad omen, all dead are doomed to defy
the eternal sleep until the the two Moons and Suk-Krath
Parts ways to travel their own path.

Like our ancestors, the Zalanthans would simply consider the sun and moons as three balls of lights that move across the sky, and perhaps assign magickal & superstitious connotations to them.  Would they figure out the true nature of the sun and moons?  Possible, but since science/education is suppressed amongst 99% of the population, it's unlikely that this knowledge would become widespread nor accepted, and more likely would be decreed as heresey or ravings of a maniac.

Certain non-city based cultures have their own views of various aspects in the Zalanthan world and I'd prefer that they were kept on down low.  Much more fun for an outsider (most of you PCs) to find out about other cultures ICly.  And if you're in one of these groups, email the IMMs for info.

[Jacques]

"Help Jihae"

The moon Jihae is the darker of the two moons and appears as a flawless, ruddy sphere against the night sky. While marginally smaller in apparent size than its twin, Jihae's cultural impact outweighs Lirathu's fairly regularly. Often looked upon as the War Moon, or the Moon of Bad Omen, celestial events involving Jihae are feared by the superstitious and always recalled, even by the level-headed, after any disaster.


Some travelers are threatened by a prominent Jihae and will elect not to travel under its glare. Other groups, usually sidelined or outcast, take a prominent Jihae as a stimulating event, and opt to commit dire acts beneath it.

"Help Lirathu"

Lirathu is the paler of Zalanthas' two moons, its surface victim to the greying of deep ridges and craters. Several cultures on Zalanthas make superstitious associations between Lirathu and prosperity or peace, and celestial events involving Lirathu are often regarded as omens of good luck.


Manifestations of this superstition include the following: some thieves only prefer a moonless night to a night under Lirathu's glow, and many travelers will opt to travel when Lirathu dominates the night sky; similarly, spice hunters look upon a night under Lirathu as a sign of good sifting tomorrow.

So yes - there are superstitions assigned to each of the moons, that vary from culture to culture.