Once, very long ago, when the world was young and magic still roamed free, there were three people. Solena burned bright and hot and danced with all the passion of her heart. Lune was cooler and smaller, but still full of joy and delight. The third person had no name; they were only described by their lack. No light, no fire, nothing but Darkness.

Lune met Solena and they fell in love. They danced endlessly over the world, and everyone was cheered by their presence. Darkness also loved to see the two dance, and followed them in all their travels. As time progressed, Darkness couldn't help but fall hopelessly in love with both Lune and Solena. But the two didn't even notice the Darkness, locked as they were in each other's embrace. So Darkness kept following them, growing ever more sad, ever more fond, ever more loving.

Until one day, the Darkness noticed the age spots on Solena's hands, the wrinkles that played at the corners of Lune's eyes. Until Darkness felt their own age, in sore joints and their energy failing. And though the two still danced with joy and fire, Darkness mourned, because they knew that Death, the end of all things would reach for the people the Darkness loved most, and take them away.

And Darkness could not bear that.

So they reached deep into themselves, deep into the world, deep into the magic that roamed its surface. The power permeated every inch of the Darkness, changing them; pushing them into a new shape. And with shaking hands, the Darkness stretched out and for the very first time, touched Solena and Lune, sharing the magic.

Their forms began to shift as they danced, growing and changing. Their light and fire burned, searing into the Darkness, causing small flecks of themselves to detach and spin through the air. Unable to bear the thought of losing any part of their loved ones, the Darkness expanded, catching every fleck in their body, holding them suspended.

Solena and Lune, no longer able to keep themselves together, their new bodies beginning to float apart, started to cry. The Darkness cried with them, reaching, wrapping around them, and holding them in place. But Darkness knew this wasn't the answer. Solena and Lune needed to dance; they needed that motion. And so the Darkness changed again.

They became nothing, or almost nothing, so that Solena and Lune could dance through them, could move in an eternal, everlasting dance. The couple's sobs turned to laughter, and they shifted, moving ceaselessly in the Darkness. And softly — holding the flecks that had become stars— another voice joined the laughter. Another figure finally became part of the dance. The Darkness danced subtly, danced quietly, but danced all the same.

So child, when you see the Sun, the Moon and all the Stars, don't forget. Don't forget to thank the Darkness. For if it wasn't for the Darkness, if it wasn't for their love, the world would be a cold and joyless place, with Solena and Lune forever lost.

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Visit r/Mel_Rose_Writes for more stories! (Though none quite like this... never attempted a creation myth before.)

[poem]

They were once one,
Those tragic three -
who's shattering
Is rent above
The earth to see.

An equal pact,
Or so it goes.
The flaming heart,
The chilly mind,
the blood that flows.

It couldn't last.
These things, they dont.
The heart, she loves
The mind - so calm!
Of course, he knows.

Yet he thinks: blood.
Blood takes my ills
And brings my needs.
For him, great love
Means wants fulfilled.

That ceaseless surge
Cares not for brains.
It yearns and flows
For pulse and power,
Heat and flames.

It aches to love
without requite.
And thus they split
And bore the sky,
The day, the night.

Hot heart takes day.
Cool mind takes night.
And blood is spilt
Across it all
To tell their plight.

[deleted]

In the beginning, there were gods. Children of stardust and gold who came down to the world of mortals and gained dominion over the forces of nature. Fire, the forest, the seas, wild stallions--all bowed to the power and providence of the first generation of gods. And this is the story of three gods in particular: Ts'ehayi, Ch'erek'a, and Kokebi.

Ts'ehayi was the goddess of the sun, she who brought warmth and life to the world of man. Ch'erek'a was the goddess of the moon, master of the tides and herald of the night. And Kokebi was the goddess of the stars, a storyteller, navigator, and artist in equal measure. But Kokebi had a dilemma.

You see, Kokebi loved both Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a. Ts'ehayi was a kindred spirit, a fellow being of light, who pledged that Kokebi would always have a warm bed to return to when the day was done. Ch'erek'a, on the other hand, knew the brilliance and beauty of the night sky as intimately as Kokebi did, and promised that she would care for Kokebi as gently as only silvery moonlight could. But Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a were lifelong rivals, and neither would back down in their romantic pursuits.

One day, their feud escalated to violence. The two clashed with unrelenting fury, swinging the world of mortals between blistering day and freezing night with every advantage gained by their respective deity. Kokebi was horrified that the goddesses she loved had gone to such extremes over her, and ran off into the furthest reaches of heaven, her every teardrop floating away to become a new star. When Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a saw what their bitterness had done, they stopped fighting and pledged to never take arms against the other again.

The two kept their eyes trained upwards for Kokebi's return in the years that followed. And as they did, something incredible happened. With their rivalry dead and buried, Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a grew closer and closer with each passing day. And one night, the two realized they had fallen in love with each other, and kissed so passionately that the sun and moon lined up with one another, turning the latter as red as the former's most brilliant of dawns.

Eventually, Kokebi returned from the sky. As she saw Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a embracing one another tenderly, she was sad but satisfied, and almost left them to their devices before the two stopped her. Ts'ehayi and Ch'erek'a explained that neither of them stopped loving Kokebi just because they now loved each other, and asked if Kokebi would be willing to marry both of them. Kokebi, overjoyed that she was no longer forced into a position where she would have to break one of their hearts, agreed with jubilation.

And so, the three continued their roles with a renewed vigor, the kind only finding your true loves could call forth. And if the heavens can accommodate the sun, moon, and stars' heartfelt dance, can the heart not also make room for multiple loves?

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Once upon a time, three great beings made of pure light lived in the beautiful manse upon the clouds, called the Three Earthly Lights. They were the brave Heria, who shone hue of gold who wielded the mighty fiery sword Flare, fierce and strong-willed. Serena, who shone of pure white, a singer and entertainer, who hosted most lavish parties with the other gods. And there was Asaria, whose light was a deep purple, with eyes that shone silver like diamonds, a quiet lady who near never spoke, yet whose beauty was unchallenged.

Every day, the three would take turns lighting up the world. Heria brought heroes and war and glorious battle, Serena brought joy and fun to the humans, and Asaria marked plentiful harvest and a time of rest. And every day, they would perform their duty.

When it was Asaria's turn, the world would bask in her strange beauty. The people praised her with sacrifices of food and animals, and the gods looked on with pride. Heria and Serena would especially admire her, and soon they had both fallen in love with her.

And that love turned to jealousy. And that jealousy would begin to tear the Earthly Lights apart, until one faithful day.

While Heria was busy lighting the world and making war with the humans, Serena was hosting a celebration for Ion, the champion of the god of health, for his victory over the great plague of Zalmes. When it came time for the dancing, Serena came to Asaria. She told her of her beauty, a beauty she could never resist. Asaria smiled, and held out her hand, and they began to dance.

The other gods cheered them on, and proclaimed that Serena would be the one, the one to hold her beauty. They danced across the floor of the manse, the white and purple swirling through the air. They leapt and twirled and twisted and jumped, and the gods applauded as they did. One by one, the couples stepped back and let the two have their moment.

Heria had been resting from a long campaign when she heard of the dance. Her jealousy put her in tears, and she lit her sword Flare into a blazing glory. She ascended to the manse in the clouds and kicked the door open, declaring to the crowd: "Yield!" Her fury caused her hair to glow orange and red as if it was fire. She lifted her sword for all to see.

Serena stepped forth, pushing Asaria aside. "Good Heria, maiden of war, it does you no good to cast me down," she told her. She asked she lower her sword, and told her she would never live to see another day should she dare attack.

But Heria would not have it. She raised her sword, and struck at Serena, causing black scars to appear, her light leaking from them. She struck back with a magical force that began draining at her with the same black scars. The gods looked on in horror, they could not interfere.

Heria lit her sword in a crown of fire once again, and prepared to kill Serena, thrusting the sword forward. But in place of her enemy, she struck Asaria, who pushed Serena aside, who had lost much of her light. She let out a small tear, and as her light faded her body disintegrated into fire and ash. Her purple light spilled into the skies, and the world would be covered in the strange hue. Heria laid down her sword, and in her grief she set the manse ablaze.

Amidst the flames, Heria and Serena both took one of the crystal-like silvers that used to her eyes. They, too, disintegrated, breaking into dust before them. And then the dust flew away into the night, and then they began to twinkle. Her tear streaked across the sky - the first of the falling stars.

Heria and Serena, mourning the loss of their love, slowly began to repair their broken relationship. What remained of the manse would be split into two, one domain for each of the two. When Heria and Serena returned to their duties after the great fight - with the world having been cast into six years of darkness - the humans rejoiced their return. But the two could never find joy again.

Whenever Heria takes the sky, her fury outshone the night, and her fire turned the sky blue, the color of her sadness, the sadness that still lived in her. And when Serena takes the sky, she would dance alone in the night, sobbing for her lost love. And every month, the two would meet at the ruins of their old manse. And in their combined grief, the world would be plunged into an eclipse.

Thus came the Sun; thus came the Moon. And thus came the stars that light up our night.