Scorn of the Moon - Diana's story

~ Scorn of the moon ~

“Ask not the sun why she sets…”

Chapter 1 - The day I died

I am Diana, exiled of the Solari and murderer of its high priests. Ever since I was young, I wondered why my parents had called me Diana. Diana… The moon. When I was young, I hated my parents for giving me that name. Now, however… I know it’s the best name I could’ve gotten…

The Solari is a tribe known for worshipping the sun, the moon being their sworn enemy. They praise the sun, that very same sun which they use to scorch traitors. That very same sun under which they blind trespassers. I despise their sun.

I wasn’t always like this. I loved playing under what I thought to be the sun’s loving light when I was still a kid. The warmth which felt embracing, the light which seemed to keep all the evil away. However, things changed. It started on that one day, back when I was eleven…

It was a warm summer day, the sun’s loving light enveloped the city in blankets of warmth. I made a choice that day which I ended up regretting, it was the right choice though.

“Griselda! Come and play, it’s too warm to stay inside!”

“But… Diana, daddy told me to stay inside today, they’re doing a special ceremony…”

“They won’t mind, we’re just playing! Come on!”

“O- Okay, but if they get mad you’re telling them it was your idea, okay?”

“Yeah yeah! Come!”

How playful I was, some kids just have to grow up too quickly…

“Hey, that must be their ceremony, let’s sneak in and take a look!”

“I don’t know Diana… I’m going back, I’ll get in trouble.”

“Whatever, your loss! I won’t tell you what I saw if you don’t come!”

“Okay… I’ll take one look with you, just one!"

I was careless, naïve.

The ‘ceremony’ location was on one of the two great tops of mount Targon. What we didn’t know was that the ceremony wasn’t a ceremony at all, it was something entirely different. There was a large circular platform made of stone, it looked slightly old and roots and vines were growing in between some of the cracks. There were large rocks all around the platform, and thus Griselda and I snuck behind one of them.

“Hey, can you hear them chanting Diana? It sounds creepy!”

Low-pitched chants of dread were created by the rusty vocal chords of the elders. The high priest spoke a slightly hard to hear line.

“— the sun — judged.”

And repeated it two times, slightly louder each time.

“— the sun be judged.”

“By the sun be judged!”

“Hey, Griselda, I’m going to peek, wait here if you’re afraid!”

“D- Don’t stay away for too long, please!”

I climbed to the two rocks next to us. The two rocks were leaned up against one another, creating a thin crack which I could peek through.

It was a young man, probably still in his twenties. His clothes looked muddy and his entire body was infested with maggots, the elders had probably thrown them as part of the ceremony. He had multiple open wounds created by whiplashes in which the maggots were crawling, and he was slightly charred by the sun.

My eyes were as wide as an eleven-year-old’s eyes could be, I didn’t understand. I had never seen cruelty like this before. Before I knew it, a disgusting feeling of nausea hit me... I vomited. I rushed back to Griselda, telling her I felt slightly sick, and ended up crying for the rest of the day. The image of that young man will never leave me. I wonder if he had a wife, or maybe even kids. What were his parents thinking when he never came back? All the love I had for the sun died that day... The youthful me died that day.

Chapter 2 - Turning my back

It should be of no surprise that I felt betrayed after that day. I started acting differently, and my beloved ones noticed.

“Diana? Why have you been acting so strangely? Why do you seem to be so tired? What did you see at that ceremony?”

“It’s nothing, Griselda. I just got very sick, the sun might be angry at me for looking at the ceremony.”

“I told you! Look at you, you look half-dead! Why don’t you go to bed?”

“Then what, Griselda? If I want to please the sun, the least I can do is try.”

That’s what I told her back then. Looking back at it, she must have known I was lying. She knew me better than most people.

I refused to pay visits to the sun’s altar, I also went outside the house after nightfall. My routine changed completely, but nobody noticed… Well, that’s what I thought.

My twelfth birthday was possibly the worst day of my life.

“Diana! Diana! What did you do? Why does elder Almos want to speak with you? He’s only involved when really bad things happen, right? Did they notice the thing with the ceremony?”

“That was weeks ago, there’s no way! He’s probably scouting the town for eyewitnesses of something bad that happened.”

“Scouting for eyewitnesses? That’s trivial, Diana! Stop lying to yourself, you’ve been acting so strangely! Just tell me what happened!”

“Nothing happened, Griselda. Stop asking me, you’re really starting to get on my nerves.”

“D- Diana…? Why are you lying to me?”

“I- I’m not, now leave me alone!”

Seeing the look in her face made me certain, she didn’t want to see me anymore. I walked to the elders’ hut, trying to forget what just happened.

I entered the large hut in the center of the camp, it had two large torches sticking out of the front of either side of the front entrance. The inside of the hut had a stylish bear pelt rug covering most of the floor, with a large desk on the far end of the hut. Elder Almos was sitting on a chair behind the desk. Next to the desk was the boy Targon, the elder’s assistant.

The elder Almos was an old man with a wrinkled face and a long, white beard. The type of person who seems calm and just on the outside. Targon was a boy in his early twenties with short, brown hair. He had a serious look on his face.

“Diana… I heard something very peculiar about you from an eyewitness… -”

“Peculiar? What do you mean sir? Which eyewitness?”

“Shush, young-un, respect your elders and stay silent as they speak.” Targon, the boy named after the hero of ancient lore and the mountain said that.

“Y- Yes sir…"

“So, something very peculiar indeed. I was told that you went outside during nighttime, and bowed down to the moon…? What do you have to say about this?”

“You may speak now.” Targon said.

“I- It is surely a lie, you know best of everyone that I always loved the sun!”

“Oh I wouldn’t be so sure of that, young-un. Everyone has noticed how you have been acting strangely lately. Ever since a few weeks ago, if I recall correctly. You know that praising the moon is unforgivable, right? You will be punished for this.”

“B- But, elder! Where is the proof! What is the meaning of this! On my birthday, too!”

“My source was reliable, and trivial celebrations like birthdays mean nothing when it comes to divine judgment." He spoke the words without any hesitation. He sounded cold and cruel as he muttered the final phrase.

"You shall be punished, child.”

“I will inform the inquisition, elder.” Targon said obediently. “At this age, moon praise should get you a week of isolation and ten whiplashes, we’ll see if you get lucky though.”

“No need for details, Targon. Bring the child to her cell, she will stay there until she gets her punishment."

~ Still writing ~