Story XII: Luna

A myth of sisterhood, transformation, and destruction.

In the forest of Nysa where Zeus concealed Dionysus from Hera and surrendered the child to be raised by nymphs, two goddesses lived in a meadow, the elder, Lykaina, and the younger, Luna.

They were born of Dionysus, the god of transformation, and Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. The sisters were forbidden to enter the Nysian forest.

When graced by womanhood, Lykaina waited each night until her younger sister was asleep, then stole from their home at dusk and entered the forest.

Each night the howling of wolves and her sister’s cries awoke the younger. When her sister returned from the forest, Luna pretended to sleep and hid her knowledge of her sister’s absence.

In time, the cries of the wolves awoke something nameless of both desire and madness in the younger sister, and before she was graced by womanhood, Luna disobeyed and followed after Lykaina.

In the darkness of the forest, Luna found a hiding place where she watched wolves appear and circle about her sister. She saw Lykaina take the form of a wolf. The wolves howled to the heavens, and Lykaina howled to the heavens among them.

And each night, the younger sister followed the elder in the forest in desire and madness, and each morning before her Lykaina’s return, Luna pretended to stoke the ashes of the hearth.

In time, the greatest of the wolves discovered the hiding place of the younger. Though Luna fled him, he followed her at a distance. In her madness, Luna ran from him and hid, but each night she followed her sister, and each night the wolf discovered her and drew closer.

When at last the wolf caught her unawares, Luna turned to him, held her hand out before her and turned the wolf to ash, and the wolf’s ashes were blown away.

Yet every night she returned in desire and madness, and one by one, each of the wolves discovered her and followed, and one by one the daughter of Hestia raised her hand to them and turned the wolves to ash, and they were blown away.

At last, her own sister came upon her in the form of a wolf. Not recognizing her sister, Luna raised her hand and turned Lykaina to ash, and her sister’s ashes were blown away. When Luna saw what she had done, she howled, and as she fled, the forest turned to ash around her.

Seeing the destruction of the Nysian forest, Hestia banished the child of Dionysus to the night sky. There, Luna was condemned to wake to the howling of wolves for eternity, to turn in desire and madness to face them—only to be reduced to ash and blown away.