Dust of the Gods

"Dust of the Gods" is a science fiction short story by C. L. Moore, featuring her recurring character Northwest Smith. It was first published in the August 1934 issue of Weird Tales.
This story is notable for providing information about Pharol, an ancient god that up to this point had only been mentioned briefly in previous Northwest Smith tales. Pharol was first incorporated into the Cthulhu Mythos by Henry Kuttner in "Hydra".
==Synopsis==
In a Martian tavern, Earth smuggler Northwest Smith and his Venusian partner Yarol are approached by a mysterious man, who hires them to retrieve the dust of Pharol: an entity so ancient that its name has become a virtually meaningless exclamation. Uncountable ages ago, however, Pharol's name wasn't spoken aloud at all, in fear of the god's might. Native to another realm, the deity inhabited a corporeal body on a planet that once existed between Mars and Jupiter, believed to be the original cradle of humanity. When this planet was destroyed (forming the Asteroid Belt), Pharol migrated to Mars and continued to be worshiped for generations. Although Pharol itself cannot die, the body that it used to interact with its subjects is now dead and long turned to dust. The man wishes to retrieve this dust, as he believes he can use it to summon Pharol.
Before accepting the job, Smith and Yarol talk to the two men who were originally hired to do it: a pair of hunters with a reputation for being tough, but now reduced to nervous wrecks, permanently scared of something they saw inside a cave. In spite of this, Smith and Yarol decide to take the job, purely because they're out of money.
Taking an airplane to the Northern saltlands of Mars, Smith and Yarol explore the mountains and find the cave where their predecessors saw the apparition. Soon, complete darkness engulfs them. While the heat of the lenses tells them that the torches are still functioning, something seems to be absorbing the light before it reaches their eyes. Amidst this darkness, they see a faceless white creature gliding through the solid floor of the cave. Smith tries to shoot the monster with his heat-gun, but finds that the beam passes through it. Realizing that the creature is starting to affect their minds in some way, and remembering the fate of their predecessors, Smith and Yarol force themselves to step forward, passing straight through the white monster's body, and leaving the darkness behind to continue along the tunnel. They exit the cave and find themselves in the ruins of a city that dates back to millions of years ago, when Mars was a lush green world.
Carving an entrance with their heat-guns, Smith and Yarol venture inside the ruins and through underground passages, where they come across a door marked with the sign of Pharol. Smith blasts the door with his heat-gun, and from the entrance comes a torrent of golden light that moves as if it was a tangible substance, pouring out of the room like a liquid or a dense gas, and slowly seeping away. The room inside is made of a different kind of rock, and Smith speculates that it originated from an asteroid that was once part of the lost planet. Suddenly, they find themselves before another creature, apparently tridimensional, but so black that their eyes can only perceive it as a moving blotch of undefined shape. Just like the white creature before, this one has the same maddening effect on the mind, which Smith and Yarol struggle to resist. To their relief, they realize that the creature can't live outside the tangible light, and is dragged outside the room as it empties, just like a fish would be dragged away with the water of a ruptured dam.
Smith and Yarol step inside the enormous room and find a crystal throne where a small pile of dust still stands. Rather than collecting the dust to their employee, they reason that no man should have the power to summon a god, and use their heat-guns to destroy it.
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works
Category:Mythos-Adjacent Works
Category:C. L. Moore works