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It was once promised that Targon would become the beacon of human civilization. Long before the time of which this story takes place, the Astral Deities decided to share their knowledge with mortals who they deemed worthy enough to comprehend their true meaning. These astral scholars embraced this new knowledge and vowed to honour the deities with all of their might in the hope of obtaining everlasting prosperity.
Two halves will meet
One of the Moon, one of the Sun
Stripped of doubt, faith unbroken
Must take the oath and dedicate their hearts
To ascend and meet their destiny
As a promise of everlasting generativity
As the years went on, the village followed the words of the gods. Generations gave birth to others, and Targon kept following the teachings given by the original chosen ones. They restructured their society to better suit the prophecy and guarantee their chance to reach this promised generativity. It was decided that each individual would be assigned a role that would best serve their community, as well as receive extensive lessons on the deities’ words.
Leona knew all of this history by heart, as it was a requirement of her station. Ever since she came of age, she had been proclaimed Astral Warrior, defender of Targon and its beliefs. Follow the rules and keep them safe; these were the words that constructed her purpose and to which she subscribed. She was a stellar student, looked up to by her fellow apprentices and respected by her mentors. Since she was destined to become a warrior, Leona never thought of questioning the scripture, as defending it was her purpose. That was until she met her.
Diana was her complete opposite. Where Leona excelled, Diana seemed to put as much effort into making a bad impression. She questioned every teaching as if it were a challenge as if it were her duty to doubt everything. The Astral Scholars had trouble keeping her quiet and most lectures where she attended ended either in debate or in punishment. In an attempt to subdue her rebellious nature, the Astral Scholars asked Leona to help guide Diana towards the righteous light and rid her of doubts.
Leona started meeting with Diana every evening, after their usual lessons to discuss the scripture. Her behaviour baffled Leona, who could not grasp why someone would act in such a manner deliberately. At first, she repeated back what she had been taught, in the hope that it would suffice to convince her, but for every line, Diana had a question, a rebuttal. As the meetings went on, Leona started to see Diana in a different light. She saw in Diana not a rebel, but a desire for knowledge that outmatched any she had seen before. She saw a kindred spirit. Diana simply wished to know more about the legacy of the Astral Deities and what started as mere lessons were now fervent literary exchanges that ended after nightfall. They would share theories, study the text with extreme minutia and spend every minute of their time together. They developed feelings, that grew to a point that neither could control nor ignore anymore. One night, as they were laying under the stars, they shared their first kiss and realized that they had fallen for one another. Neither one knew that one stolen kiss would be their undoing.
Alas, their idyll did not last long as they were soon discovered by their superiors. The Astral Scholars were horrified that one of their stellar students had been so easily corrupted by a woman’s flesh. Targon had strict rules and any union that did not lead in producing the next generation was strictly forbidden. Yet, the Astral Scholars saw in their moment of weakness not failure, but opportunity. This had to be a message of the gods, a true test of faith that would determine once and for all if Targon was worthy of ascension. Surely if they were able to bring back these lost souls into the righteous path, then it would satisfy the deities’ demands to reach their promised immortality. Thus, Leona and Diana were given a choice: execution for breaking their vow, or redemption in the form of trial by combat. With no other alternative, they agreed.
Leona and Diana were taken away, separated and assigned to different orders. Leona was to become a sun warrior, and Diana a moon warrior, to appease both astral deities. They were forbidden to see each other for to be an astral warrior, one must embrace it fully and live for it. This meant that they now had to live in opposite cycles and devote their mind to the Astral Deities in order to prove their devotion and hope to fulfill the prophecy. They both vowed to do whatever it took to complete their task.
During the following years, their mind and body were put to the test in any way imaginable to prepare for the Ascension rite. Their entire existence was now focused on training to meet this godly trial that could very easily be the end of them. Leona and Diana were kept apart, one living during the daytime while the other lived only after nightfall. Although everything was telling them to give up, to lay down their arms and rest, they kept going for one thing. Every day, when the sun met the moon on the horizon, they were able to share a glance. As they would transition to their respective cycle, their eyes would meet and for one instant, they were reminded of what truly mattered. As they would every day when twilight would descend upon them, they gazed into each others’ eyes, pouring their soul. The line of the horizon, seemingly at a standstill, granted them a single moment of shared connection, one moment for everything. They needed no words to speak, as their eyes would speak for them. I am with you, as you are with me. I shall see you again. They were reminded of what they were fighting for.
When the day of the Ascension came, they were both ready. Placed on opposite sides of Mount Targon, said to be the tallest mountain in existence, they would have to reach its summit and present themselves in front of the Deities, stripped of their old self and ready to serve as new and better servants. They faced all challenges, defeated every foe, and prevailed against any enemy that came in their way in their ascension. They fought for seven days and seven nights without sleep and reached the top of the mountain. For the first time in years, Leona and Diana shared more than a moment. They made their way toward each other, closing the distance between each other. Before they could meet, a voice resonated, one that can only be assumed to belong to the gods, asking each of them if they were ready to be judged.
“I do”
Words shared, unspoken but nevertheless true. As Leona took a step forward, to meet her other half, so far described as incompatible, opposite, foreign, unattainable, she took Diana’s hands in hers. Without looking away from each other, they braced themselves for the judgment of the gods. They were expecting the pain and suffering that came with a lifetime of serving, but instead were met with warmth and light, for the gods never wanted blind devotion, but true passion. Leona and Diana had never lost faith in each other and had been willing to risk everything for their love.
Touched by their true devotion, the Astral Deities chose to grant them one wish, as their choice had been taken by their village all those years ago. They chose to take vengeance on the ones who had forced them to live in the in-between, trapping Targon in an everlasting twilight. They embraced each other, in what can only be described as an explosion of blinding light, forming an eternal solar eclipse looming over the village as an omen. Over the next decades, no new life could sustain in this village, as the standstill created by the eclipse left no room for the sun nor the moon to be. The remaining inhabitants died of old age, cursing the monsters who had doomed their once prosperous nation and the lovers lived as one for eternity.