1 A Tale of Two Sisters

Deep in the depths of the ocean, off the coast of Norway, lives a tribe of merfolk, the Runar. The Runar are a thriving peaceful pod who keep to themselves. The pod itself includes many kinds of merfolk from warriors, healers, priestesses, oracles, artists, singers and many others. Living their daily lives, the Runar lived by two edicts. The 1st, never reveal that they were the decedents of two Norse gods, Sol the goddess of the sun and her brother Mani god of the moon. The second was to carry out the will of their ancestors. To carry out the will, the priestesses of the tribe performed rituals to receive signs and messages of what was requested of them. The High priestess of the tribe was named Solveig. Stern and proud, she almost seemed heartless, but carried out her duties without question . During her early years as a common priestess, the gods gave signs that Solveig would bear a child of great importance on the 1st eve under the lion. On that eve of the Leo Zodiac, Solveig gave birth to Lunetta. A few years later, another sign came to the priestesses that again Solveig would bare a child in the fall under the Zodiac of the Archer. This was the birth of Lunetta's younger Sister, Solyra. After giving birth to her two daughters, Solveig had risen to the title of high priestess of the temple. With this new title came more responsibility, leaving the two young mergirls to raise themselves. Lunetta and Solyra stay very close, never far from one another. Lunetta even took up the mantle, to teach Solyra the ways of the Runar. Once Lunetta had reached her 234th full moon, Solveig was given a sign that Lunetta would be gifted with abilities from the Moon god Mani. Unknown to the world, the Runar, being descendants of the gods, were responsible for the raising and lowering of the moon and sun. Lunettas powers manifested as the last carrier passed away, returning to the sea as foam. 4 years later, as Solyra reached her 234th full moon, she too, came into powers prophesized by Solveig, obtaining the power to raise and lower the sun. In addition to Solyra's sun powers, she could communicate with sea creatures and understand them. Lunetta had an additional ability as well. If Lunetta played music - or sing, she could heal those who could hear. Unfortunately, with these powers also comes a curse. With Solyra's power, when she lowered the moon, she would fall into a deep slumber, not to wake until it was time to raise the sun. Lunetta's curse did not cause her to slumber, but instead caused her to become weakened and vulnerable to attacks from other tribes. Due to Lunetta's curse, Solveig would banish her to the shores, safely out of harms way. When she would arrive on the shore, she would use her amulet to transform into a human to be able explore the land. Being weakened was not the only curse Lunetta had. On the night of New moons when the night sky is at its darkest, Lunetta would change. Going from a glowing lunar maiden, she would transform into a dark siren who has lost all sense of herself. Lunetta's healing abilities would then turn into a harmful song to lure in the unsuspecting prey. If ships passed by, Lunetta would attack and drag sailors down to the depths. Once the sisters learned of their curses, they came to realize they would no longer be together. This crushed each sisters heart. No longer being able to be with the other was the worst curse of all to them. As they carried out their duties, they did find a silver lining. The sisters would be able to see each other 2-4 times a year whenever there was an eclipse, meaning the sun and moon shared the sky. On these days, they would just spend the days together, acting as if they were back to the days, when they were young girls with no powers. When Lunetta was in her weakened state, she would retreat to land and hide. For a time , she did so alone and bare in the woods. One day as she explored the woods, she stumbled across a strong Viking man, harvesting some plants. Curious, she came in for a closer look. As she quietly creeped closer, the Viking sensed her presence and pulled out his knife in defense. Aiming it steadily at her neck. After studying his enemy, he lowers his weapon and stares in disbelief at the naked maiden whose hair shone like starlight in hues of lavender and blue. Terrified, Lunetta runs back to shore. The Viking follows enthralled by what he has seen. Once they arrive to the shoreline, the sun is beginning to set, Lunetta quickly begins her descent into the depths. she turns abruptly, and ask for the warrior's name. "Fenris" he replies. "Lunetta "- She says quietly, smirks, and dives into the ocean revealing her dark tail before vanishing from view...