Fire and Water, Day and Night, Sun and Moon

Storytelling was very important to the Yehr people. Each night they would come around the campfire and share legends and myths, with each one trying to explain the many mysterious and strange events of their world. However, the way of life for these people forever changed once they witnessed their first solar eclipse, and the story that followed gave the foundation to many other myths and legends.

The moon inched closer and closer to the sun, and it would not be long before they would meet in the clear blue skies above. Many, if not all of the tribespeople had special dark glass to watch the eclipse with. The unbroken oral history was shared among the young.

At first, there was the Earth, named Cherxulu. Cherxulu, after endlessly wandering through the deep black sky, was all alone. Her brothers and sisters were far away, and could only be seen as small white dots that sparkled in the night sky. She was very lonely, and thus used all of her might and genius to create the first life, humans and animals alike. However, the humans became furious that they could barely see anything on the world that was covered by the thick blanket of night. The only light that they could see came from Cherxulu’s brothers and sisters, but they were too far away for people to truly enjoy and see the world. The humans became cold and angry, with only their fury giving them warmth. They soon figured out the glory of fire, and started to burn everything in sight to keep warm and see with a new light. And yet, the fires were never enough. The sun, Zolfogo, was created from the heated rage of the people.

For half a day, Zolfogo would give heat and light to the world, but at the end of the day, it would become exhausted and proceed to rest, creating a cycle of day and night. Cherxulu was very unhappy; during the day, she would be burned by Zolfogo, and during the night the humans would set fire to her trees to fight the return of darkness. Cherxulu became so displeased that at one point, she decided she could not handle the cycle any longer and created the moon, Sedeca, by throwing a piece of herself into the sky.

Sedeca would rule the night. She had her mother’s energy and was given the gift of influence over water, so she could provide it to her mother when she was hot from Zolfogo’s fiery embrace. Sedeca could move the rains and oceans, and received all the love from her mother. However, Zolfogo was furious. Sedeca was loved by Cherxulu, and could negate his powers by covering the land with thick clouds and calling down a cool shower of rain.

Zolfogo despised sharing the sky with Sedeca, and was so furious that in his rage he would use his heat to directly burn Sedeca. Battles between the sun and the moon would occur frequently. When such an event occurred, it would be a spectacle on the planet; dark clouds would envelop the Earth, and lightning against rain would be the weapons of choice.

Sedeca could not withstand Zolfogo’s fury, and shrunk each night as if being eaten. When Sedeca became but a slim crescent in the sky, the Earth-mother Cherxulu would hide her and give her new strength. After many battles, Sedeca decided that Zolfogo needed to be removed, once and for all.

Once she was at full strength, she charged directly at Zolfogo during the brightest part of the day, and completely blocked his light. What the people would see below would be dreamlike; the sun would be covered by the moon, and day would turn into night. Zolfogo, however, was most powerful during the day. Sedeca tried with all of her might to take away Zolfogo’s power, but in the end, Sedeca’s efforts would be crushed, and Zolfogo would resume command of his daytime.

To this day, the rivalry continues. Each day, a fraction of Sedeca is burned off by Zolfogo, and she becomes thinner each night. Thunderstorms would symbolise their eternal conflict, and when tensions are at their highest, Sedeca will charge at Zolfogo, concealing the light of the world with another eclipse.

The Yehr tribe never forgets to pay tribute to the sun, Zolfogo, for providing warmth, and to Sedeca, the moon, for providing water. And when the eclipse will happen, they will silently watch the powerful dance between the sun and the moon, between fire and water, and between day and night. And each time, they will wish for the everlasting conflict to continue on, for if it were to stop, it would be the end of all things.