Iovis and Yvyrn

Sthuna watched the world with awe.

While daytime was host to beings he at least vaguely recognized - even species he had gone to battle with, night was a different experience. He was in an alien world, nearly overwhelmed by the ethereal but delicate lifeforms that rose beneath the glow of the moons.

As the massive creature passed overhead, winding deep into the Heartsprings, he could feel his hearts pounding. His wings shivered. He felt a sudden urge to take flight, to join the strange being in the night sky.

Eyna was smiling at him. Quick to assume the worst, mockery or otherwise, he almost snapped at her. But something in the softness of that smile, the delight in her eyes, gave him pause. An irritable pause, maybe, but a pause all the same. “... What are you looking at?”

“You.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. So he chose to say nothing at all.

Eyna toyed with one of Sthuna’s claws. She marveled at how his claws could retract like those of a cat. But when the fingertips risked grazing the deadly sharp ends of his claws, he pulled his claws away with a grumble.

“Stop that.”

She just smiled again, in that infuriating way of hers. “Ah! All the moons are out tonight. Do you know the names of the three moons of Yvyrn?”

Sthuna curled his tail around himself. No, he didn’t know their names. Things like that weren't considered important in times of war. His education had been lessons in killing. He felt a sudden rush of humiliation. And, in the wake of that humiliation, defensiveness. He hated being made to feel like he was lesser.

“Why does it matter?”

Eyna stuck out her tongue. “Oh, it doesn’t. I always forget them. The only way I can ever remember is the rhyme Mother told me. Want to hear it?”

He did. “Not really.”

She told him anyway. “Mm… I think it goes something like this…”

Golden Irisca, her words ever soft-
Silvery Eurys, with robes held aloft.
Darkest Cyralis, his secrets unknown.
Heads bowed to Iovis, high on his throne.

Sthuna listened intently, head resting on his forelimbs. Eyna identified each moon as she named them. Irisca. Eurys. Cyralis. But when she came to Iovis, he titled his head.

“... Iovis?”

“Mhm,” Eyna hummed. She pointed at the massive sphere that dominated the night sky with swirling bands of cream and orange.

Sthuna had always been aware of it, of course. It was unmistakable, a constant presence visible at night and even during the day. He didn’t want to comment too much, lest he revealed his ignorance. But he couldn’t resist a little. Gruffly, almost tentatively, he asked. “Iovis isn’t a moon…?”

“That’s what I said! But Mother said he isn’t. Iovis is the Earth Sovereign.”

“... Oh.” He clawed at the branches underneath him. He didn’t know what that was. But Eyna was already two steps ahead of him.

“So I kept asking Mother what an ‘Earth Sovereign’ was, right? And she said that it comes from an old story. Like a… Myth. Do you like hearing stories?”

He loved them. But he just huffed. “... I guess.”

There was something about the way that Eyna taught him things that made Sthuna feel at ease. She taught him without arrogance or self importance. Always framing herself as asking the same questions he did. As a learner. It made him feel… Less ignorant. And less ashamed. His hearts were lifted knowing that someone else wondered the same things that he did.

“Hmm, well! It goes something like this… The place that we live in is called Yvyrn, right? But a long time ago, Yvyrn and Iovis were one being. A god. 

This god was a joyful god. The god created a garden in which all sorts of wondrous creatures lived, and the god poured all of that joy into these creatures.

The god created Irisca, the first daughter. Irisca was so radiant in her beauty that she was like a little sun. Her life-force brought light and splendor to the garden.

Next the god created Eurys, the second daughter. Eurys was graceful and intelligent, with a mind that could discern all things. She brought order and civility to even the wildest parts of the garden.

For a time, life was good. The garden grew, and every hour was filled with happiness.

But one day, a Dark Being came to the garden. The Dark Being was angry and full of hate. For you see - before the god created the garden, the god had lived in the heavens. But the god had fled from the heavens. There had been a terrible war that tore them apart. And the Dark Being believed that the god had left the heavens in their time of need.

‘Where were you when the palaces fell?’ the Dark Being demanded, ‘How could you have abandoned us?’

The Dark Being struck the god with his blade, the Pale Star. As the Pale Star pierced the god’s heart, the blood of the god fell upon the garden. A black rose bloomed where the blood touched the earth, forming Cyralis - the first son. The keeper of secrets.

The Dark Being pulled the blade from the god’s chest. And, in doing so, tore the god’s heart out. The Dark Being could not destroy the god. But he did tear the god in two. From the fallen deity, two gods were created. Iovis, the original body. And Yvyrn, the beating heart. And although the two longed for one another, they could never again become one as they once had been.

Iovis now no longer understood Yvyrn. For Iovis lacked a heart. And without a heart, Iovis could not feel. But as the heart, Yvyrn felt too much. Yvyrn wept and mourned, feeling every sorrow alone.

No longer able to comprehend things like pain, Iovis began to destroy the garden. Every effort was a desperate one, in search of the emotions and feelings Iovis no longer possessed. But with every destructive action Iovis took, the lush paradise grew more and more desolate.

Fearful that Iovis would hurt their children, Yvyrn took Irisca, Eurys, and Cyralis, and fled the garden. Yvyrn departed onto the sky, into the place where Iovis could not follow.

But Yvyrn always looks upon Iovis, the beloved. And Iovis upon Yvyrn. The two encircle one another. Ever close, but never again to meet.”

Eyna finished the story, both hands outstretched to symbolize the two gods, forever in orbit, forever apart. Sthuna watched, transfixed, until he realized that the story was over.

His tail thumped. “... That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“They never fixed the problem?”

Eyna shook her head. “Guess not.”

Sthuna huffed. “Why didn’t Iovis just stop destroying things? Iovis lost a heart, not a brain.”

Eyna gave a soft, amused puff. “Maybe Iovis just couldn’t understand things anymore. Think about it. If you couldn’t feel anything at all, how would you react? No happiness, no anger, no love, nothing.”

Sthuna did think about it. Imagining a world in which he felt nothing… A landscape of nothingness. Numbness that chilled the heart. He had been there before. And so, after a long pause, he begrudgingly acquiesced. “... Guess I might act out.”

“Maybe, right?”

Sthuna watched absentmindedly as will-o-wisps glided by them, illuminating the roots of his cage for a brief moment. “And it all ended like that?”

Eyna’s hands darted out. She captured one of the will-o-wisps between her hands. The light spilled through her fingers, flooding her hands with a spirit’s glow. “Not quite. There’s more to the story. Like how Yvyrn split into seven different parts. The gods of our world. Ira, Mirum, Beatitudo, Fastidium, Tristitia, Timor, and Omnis.”

Sthuna grimaced. “Why do these ‘gods’ keep splitting up? It’s too bothersome to keep track of.”

Eyna tilted her head back and laughed. Not just a puff this time, but genuine laughter, tumbling from her lips. The will-o-wisp escaped her hands and drifted up into the sky.

Sthuna snorted, surprised. But also… Something else. A little flicker of something in his chest at the sound of her laughter. She laughed so easily. So freely. It was a sweet sound.

Eyna kicked her legs up, small hiccups of laughter still stumbling out between words. “You’re right. It’s a little inconvenient for us, isn't it? Too many names to remember.”

“... Yes.” Sthuna hesitated. “Will you… Tell me that story, too?”

“I will!” Eyna hopped up, disturbing fireflies and will-o-wisps and the strange spiraling insects. “But first, it’s time for dinner. I’ll take you there!”

Without waiting for an answer, Eyna circled the bundle of roots. She pushed up her little fae construct, wheeling him along.

Sthuna had nearly forgotten that he was caged. The sights and sounds of the Heartsprings - but most especially from Eyna, had made him feel lighter. Freer. But… In the end, he was still in a cage.

Still trapped.