[half to be whole]

[founderinglight]

Once upon a time, there were seven stars in the sky.

----

- and though he was not the brightest of them, the most beloved by the people was the moon. For though it was the sun that gave the light required for living, it was the moon, with its ever-changing faces, that was thought to most resemble humanity. The light of the sun was a constant burning, brilliant but harsh, impossible to gaze upon directly. The moon showed himself to the people, and lit the depths of night to keep the darkness away. He pulled upon the tides, keeping the sea in check, and touched both the dark and the light within people with gentle, compassionate hands.

The sun was king, but the moon beloved. Thus was the harsh sun jealous of his gentler brother.

And so, one day, the sun drew his many swords of metal and flame, and challenged the moon. And the moon, believing he had nothing to fear from his brother the sun, accepted. But the sun struck not with the force of a friendly duel, but with a cleaving blow, past all of the blades of the moon, pale reflections of the sun's own, and slew his brother.

----

And so it was that the moon, betrayed, never showed his face to the sun again, but hung, lifeless, in the shadow of the world, visible only by a dim, blood-red glow. And the tides stilled, and the nights darkened, until the people dared not step into them. And so the sun, though never beloved as his brother, became the sole ruler of the sky.

So it has been, for two thousand years.

----

And then, one day, a woman asked the sea for a child.

The sea rose up to meet her, and it said, I have no children of my own to give you, for none would survive in the air. But my brother the sun has made two sons, and cares nothing for them. He cares more for the glitter of ice in the firelight, for he was always jealous of those who had the love of the people.

And the woman said, please.

And the sea said, Return in the night with a single cradle, and they shall be yours. But until they are grown, they must be kept from the sun, for he should he know that they have escaped him, he shall surely come for them.

And so the woman did, and set the cradle to float in the arms of the sea. And when it returned to her, inside were two boys, their hands curled together in sleep.

The fire saw, for he was in the torch the woman held to keep away the terrors of the night. And the storm saw, in the clouds that gathered overhead like a blanket, and the earth saw, in the grains of sand along the beach. And the ice saw, for she sees all that is beloved.

But the sun saw nothing, as the sea gave the children of the moon, one of dark and one of light, to the hands of the mortal woman.

And the woman swept her sons to her breast and vanished into the night.

Or at least, that is how they would say it happened, the writers of myths, if they knew it happened at all.

----

"Ardyn!"

Izunia drops the hand away from his mouth, sighing, as he finally sees his brother turn in his direction. "Come on, we're going to be late, and it's not fashionably late if it's your own party."

Over his head, the hum of magitek lights keeps the darkness of the night at bay - a blessing, for the twins, who are paler than near all the rest of the city, with red hair the color of the eternally-shadowed moon. Tonight, finally, is their coming of age, and the end of the rules that have restricted them to the nighttime. Officially, it's due to sun sensitivity, unusual in this day and age, but -

You mustn't tell anyone. I promise, I'll tell you when you're grown. I just want to keep you safe.

- truth be told, Izunia is looking forward less to the party than he is to their mother's long-promised explanation after. Social affairs have always been more Ardyn's comfort zone, Izunia more at ease with quiet nights at home.

Comments

[scourgingstars]

...

[Ardyn reached over to take his brother's hand, watching their mother closely. Still calm--curious, even.]

Warded against sunlight...? We aren't some manner of daemons ourselves, are we?

[founderinglight]

I don't think so.

[Izunia grips Ardyn's hand, hard.]

That's not precisely reassuring, Mother!

You've always handled everything else that keeps daemons at bay perfectly well. The first thing I did was take you into the bounds of a haven - you barely even stirred.

[scourgingstars]

Easy, Izunia. Deep breaths.

So then, if we aren't daemons...what are we, exactly?

[founderinglight]

[Yeah, he'll deep breaths. Deep breaths and hand squeezes.]

I don't know. For the most part, you've just been normal children. Sometimes shadows do strange things around you, or lights flicker, but aside from the daemons being drawn to you, it's been almost entirely normal.

Almost?

I - when you were four, you threw a pen across the room. One of the sharp ones. I turned to reprimand you and you were just gone - across the room with the pen somehow. You've both done things like that, a couple of times.

[scourgingstars]

...


Sorry, what.

[founderinglight]

Or there was that time with the ladder...

[She shakes her head slightly, dismissing the thought.]

I don't know. It's always been a mystery to me. The gods aren't known for giving easy answers - I took what I got for a blessing and left it at that.

I suppose I can't blame you.

[scourgingstars]

I can't say I'd ask many questions at that point, either.

[founderinglight]

That's all I know. I hope you aren't angry at me for not telling you.

I... No, never, Mother. It's just a lot to take in.

[Ardyn guess who isn't letting go of your hand.]

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn shrugged, reaching over to pat Izunia's hand with his free one.]

Oh, it's nothing. What's life without the occasional surprises? We're still ourselves, no matter where we may have come from.

[founderinglight]

[Mom knows when you're talking shit, Ardyn. But she'll let it slide.]

Then I think I'll head up to bed. Don't stay up too late, you two? You must be exhausted.

[Izunia still looks troubled, but he manages a smile.]

Goodnight.

[scourgingstars]

Goodnight, Mother.

[c'mon bro he's gonna gently tug you upstairs.]

[founderinglight]

[Oh okay, tugging is happening. Yeah okay he'll follow you up, Ardyn.

And immediately sprawl into bed once he's up there, staring at the ceiling.]

...Not what I expected.

[scourgingstars]

I don't think either of us could have predicted that.

[He sat down on the edge of Izunia's bed, frowning slightly.]

...What do you think?

[founderinglight]

I think I don't know what to think.

[He stays staring at the ceiling.]

...Cliche as it is, I want better answers.

[scourgingstars]

...So do I. But what can we do? There aren't exactly many options for who we could ask.

[founderinglight]

There's not. But if the Tidemother was willing to listen once... It's at least worth a shot, isn't it?

[scourgingstars]

You would really want to try asking her ourselves? That sounds reckless even to me.

[founderinglight]

Got a better idea? The Glacian may be more willing to entreat with mortals, but if it wasn't her hand she may not know anything about it. And her worship is centered in the west, across the sea.

...And given that we've been hidden from the sun our whole lives I'm not exactly keen on the idea of going to the temple at Insomnia.

[scourgingstars]

...mm, I suppose we are a bit low on options.

[founderinglight]

Realistically, Ramuh might be willing to listen, but I think it more effective to just go straight to the source.

Worst case scenario, we gain nothing. I doubt She'll drown us now if she spared us once.

[scourgingstars]

You raise a good point. It would be horribly inefficient to just be done with us now.

[founderinglight]

Mmm.

[He's silent for a minute.]

...I'm scared. My thoughts are racing and I don't know what to do.

[scourgingstars]

...I'm uncertain myself. But I don't think it's important what we are or where we came from. I'm Ardyn, and you're Izunia. No matter what answers we find, that will never change.

[He held out his open arms.] Come here.

[founderinglight]

Mmmph.

[Immediately going to pull Ardyn down into a hug pile with him instead of getting up.]

...You know what unsettles me most?

[scourgingstars]

[...well, he's never been one to say no to cuddlepiles.]

What's that?