Veos: The Blue Moon

Veos is the largest of the two moons in the Hysalian sky. It is also the moon which has by far the strongest influence on Hysal's oceans as the tides mostly follow Veos's influence, while the other moon, Hoben, has very little such influence. Veos is also responsible for the vast majority of solar eclipses, and while Hoben can also partialy eclipse the sun, it is not large enough to fully hide it, unlike Veos. Because of its great size and its generaly light blue cloud cover, it is also the brightest of the two moons, outshining Hoben during most of its lunar cycle.

Geography

Not much is known about Veos's surface, as it is constantly covered in a dense spinning cloud cover, which gives the moon its characteristic blueish colour. The clouds, which can range from a deep blue to an almost greyish colour, can be seen rapidaly spining around the moon, forming elongated bands of various blue and grey colour that circle around the surface of the moon. The angle of those spinning bands suggest that the moon is tilted on its axes by more than 34%, which is much more than Hysal's axial tilt

Localized Phenomena

Lunar Thunderstorms

Flashes of light can be observed in the cloud cover, particulary on the parts that aren't illuminated by the sun. The cause of these flashes is unknown but some have theorised that it may the resutl of some kind of storm activity within the clouds, but this cannot be confirmed.

Solar Eclipses

Veosian Eclipses are fairly common, occuring somewhere around the planet 2 times every month. During such events, Veos blocks the sun's light, obscuring it for around 10 minutes, though some eclipses can last up to 15 minutes. In some rare instances, Hoben will catch up to Veos and hide behind the blue moon for about a day before a Veosian Eclipse, then reapear a day after it occured. This is called a Double Solar eclipse, since both moons participate in obsuring the sun, despite the fact that only Veos's shadow is visble in such case, as it is much bigger than Hoben.

Lunar Eclipses

During a Lunar eclipse, the surface of Veos will be gradualy overtaken by darker shades of colours. As the eclipse starts, a thin red strip will appear, forming a very thin crescent on the moon's surface, which fades into dark blues and purple as Hysal's shadow blocks Veos from the sun's light.

After about half an hour This shade eventualy overtakes the entire moon's surface, turning the colour of its cloud cover into a shade of purple resembling amethist crystals. This phenomena will last for about 45 minutes, before the red crescent appears on the opposite side of the moon's surface and chases away the purple hues in favor of its the familiar blues.

History

Veos is regulary mentioned in history, and in various different context. It also had a large influence on how people view history, as the common calendar is based on its lunar cycle. However, the perception of Veos as an entity or as a celestial body, varies from culture to culture.
In most Solian community, the moon is not seen positively at all, for mainly two reasons. The first one is in relation to the sun. Indeed, Veos is responsible for the vast majority of partial eclipses and all total solar eclipse. While solar eclipses are not really shrouded in as much superstitions as before, the simple fact that the sun, which Solian faithful believe to be one form that their god, Saol takes on. The second reason is much more personal, in that Soulbound Mages, who some within the faith still consider inheretly evil because of their magic abilities, are made stronger in the presence of Veos, which obviously did not help Veos's case within the Solian communities in Hysal. To this day, Veos is seen with apprehension and even fear in those communities.
In Choranian communities as well as most others around the world, Veos is seen very positively, and historical is favored above Hoben, both for practical reasons (Veos is much brighter, thus more useful at night) but also for its positive influence on Soulbound Mages, who's abilities are strenghtened by Veos's presence and/or light.

Alternative Name(s)

Known as Bashol in Kavasian, Nera in Gysian

Type

Planetoid / Moon

Location under

The Celestial Plane

Lunar Cycle: The lunar cycle of Veos lasts 31 days, or exactly one month of the Common Calendar. This is because the Veosian lunar was used to construct the Jasuan Calendar, also called the Imperial Essanian calendar or simply, the Common Calendar. A Veosian full moon always occurs on the 16th of every month, and lasts about 5 days, staring on the 14th and ending on the 18th.
Magical Influence: Veos is very well known to have a strong influence on the abilities of Soulbound Mages. The exposure to its light and its presence in the sky influence the etherial link that fuels their abilities.