Man of the Moon, Lady of the Sun

Note: I manipulated the names of the God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology for this story. Although the result is rather unoriginal names that seem strange to read, I needed gender reversals if my story was to make any sort of sense, and I really can’t think of new names for my gods as everything seems to stem from the ancient languages anyway.

I didn’t want to use any actual names of gods that already exist in mythology, because…well, the reason I’m writing this is to create my own myth, and not to borrow on anyone else’s creations. I hope you can bear with me! If you have the time, please leave a review and let me know what you think! :)

The Great God of all things had four beautiful children, who were guardians of the resplendent planet Earth, and who graced all existence with their protection. When his first son was born, the Great God charged him with protecting the earth; to make sure the grass grew green and the land remained fertile. To his second born daughter, the Great God entrusted the care of the seas: to make sure the water flowed clearly and plentiful in the streams. The third son of the Great God was given the skies to watch over: to keep the wind blowing, the clouds forming, and the air fresh.

But when the Great God’s youngest son was born there was no longer anything on the Earth that needed caring for. So in order to give him a position of guardianship, the Great God offered his son the task of minding the night, so that fears and doubt would not be born during the hours of darkness and the planet could remain a pure and happy place.

The fourth son’s name was Seleno. He worked hard and took great care of the night, and became a most respected son despite being the last-born. But Seleno was lonely, for no one came out during the dark, and his heart ached for someone he could love. One night as he wandered through the darkness he heard the sound of a woman softly crying in the distance, and following the sound came upon a clearing amongst the shade that was glowing as bright as day. The source of this light was a beautiful lady dressed in robes of gold, who sat crying, her tears glistening like diamonds on her tanned cheeks. Seleno approached the woman and knelt down beside her.

“Please, tell me why you are sad.” He said softly, taking her dark hands in his own, silvery pale grasp.

She looked up at him with eyes as red as fire and replied, “I am lost, and scared to be in a place so dark.”

Seleno smiled kindly, and pointed up to the sky to show the woman the stars and the moon, “It is never completely dark when we have their light to guide us.”

The lady, known as Helia, had been on her way to the palace of the gods when night had fallen and she hadn’t been able to see her way. Seleno was a caring soul and led the lost beauty to his home, where she thanked him warmly, and asked if there was anything she could do in order to repay his kindness.

“My lady, I have one simple request to beg of you in return: please, when you can, keep me company in the dark hours so I may not stay lonely.”

Helia agreed to this appeal, and visited Seleno often as he patrolled the night, banishing all evil spirits that dared to manifest when they thought no one could behold them.

And as time passed the two fell deeply in love, and were married by the Great God himself in the palace in the heavens.

But Seleno grew so besotted with his beautiful wife he couldn’t bear to part with her. Instead of caring for the night as he had done for so long, Seleno abandoned the darkness and spent all his time in the light by his lover’s side.

It wasn’t long before fears and doubts began to appear on the planet, and dangerous spirits began to cross the deep divide. When the Great God found out Seleno was neglecting his duties he was furious with his son. As punishment for his disobedience and selfishness he banished Seleno to the moon where he could do nothing but guard the night, and he sent Helia on to the sun, so Seleno could no longer see or feel her warm glow.

Every 24-hour cycle, as the sun rose and set, the lovers were almost close enough to fall in to each other’s arms again, but were never quite able to touch.

As time wore on Seleno’s sorrow grew, and the shadows of his despair cast a silhouette on to the surface of the moon in the likeness of his image. However Helia was not sad, but angry, and this anger was so terrible and blinding it caused her aura and the sun to glow fiercely, so that it hurt to look up at her, and try and hold her in mortal gaze.

But the Great God understood their sorrow at being parted. From time to time he would lift their punishment, permitting them to meet, allowing the sun and the moon to cross paths in an eclipse so that, for a fleeting time, the lovers could be together.