Violet Moons

Tuatu appeared from time to time in the sky blackened by the cloak of night. The large golden sphere was decorated with stars, scattered white clouds and the breath of the wind. The Tuatu apparition cycles were known to the indigenous people. But once something different happened.

It was afternoon. But it wasn't just any afternoon. It was a special afternoon, but they didn't know it. The villagers had no idea that that afternoon they were roasting potatoes over hot coals in the bright color of blood. A fresh and sweet wind was blowing over the village that was preparing to pay homage to Tuatu.

The night had arrived spilled into the arms of the afternoon. Tuatu was supposed to appear golden in the sky, but it just wasn't there. Even the stars were gone. There were also no clouds that could be covering Tuatu's eyes. The sky was clear and black. The night was deep, dark as ever and suffocating.

The total darkness in the sky was beautiful, but unsettling. There was a tone of mystery in the air. Suddenly terrifying roars were heard coming from the forest of beasts covering some mountains to the east. In these mountains, baleful trees shed an icy, putrid, enchanted blanket over the air. The villagers feared that region.

The village had lost its daily harmony. Tuatu had abandoned them. Where had Tuatu gone? Had he left the world of men?

The chief and some villagers looked for the sorcerer. But he was in a trance in the middle of a large courtyard, sitting on the ground chanting spells in the form of ancient songs while raising his arms to the black and clean sky. The men did not dare to approach. It was as if there was something stopping them. The wizard echoed chants that were heard throughout the village.

When the night was gone, the day was born, but the sun wasn't there and neither were the clouds. In the blue sky there was nothing. What did Tuatu intend? Why was he moving the firmament? Two more nights passed with clear skies. The fourth night was about to begin. The sun wasn't there to set, but night was coming anyway. The evening began to bring darkness and the night veil covered the world.

Caarô began and echoed his spells. Someone shouted, pointing beyond the foliage of the jungle canopy. A golden glow began to appear on the horizon, but the sky was still clear without stars. Tuatu was beginning to open his eyes to the world again, but this time his eyes glowed brighter than usual. Not even half of the star was exposed on the horizon and it was already emitting a light that dazzled men's vision.

The night progressed calmly and calmly, like the serene flight of a vulture that patiently waits for its dying meal to succumb. Tuatu was coming out of his hiding place behind the foliage of the trees far away on the horizon. Finally, golden and brilliant as never seen before, the gigantic sphere imposed itself on the sky. No sooner had the god left his hiding place on the horizon than another golden glow seemed to want to emerge from him. The chief then said to the sorcerer:

– It seems that your spells to bring Tuatu back were too strong.

 The night advanced a little more and soon a second full moon was fully exposed in the sky. The two moons shone brightly. A lot of time passed, but the night was still there. He should have gone by now. The time corresponding to three days and three nights had already passed and even so the night with the two bright moons remained.

Apparently they didn't want to leave, neither the night nor the moons. At the end of that time, while the sorcerer was trying to understand Tuatu's wishes, a scream arose again in the middle of the village. Someone pointed to the moons. They were taking on a purplish hue. The sorcerer looked at the purple moons and then at the chief:

– This is not good. The spirits of the deep night tell me that Tuatu and his brother will pour out their wrath upon us. The gods are angry with us, because I don't know. We must protect ourselves.

– What do you need? – The chief immediately asked, who was already expecting a bad omen.

The old sorcerer closed his eyes, felt the spirits whisper unintelligible sounds in his ears. He sang in his deep voice as if he were sobbing. His whole chest vibrated and his heart filled with warmth. His mind was traveling through the world of spirits in a wandering and uncontrolled way when some words coming from beyond the grave seemed understandable to him.

– Glossy green panther skin. – Said the sorcerer, waking up from the trance with a start. – With the right spell they will be able to protect whoever uses it from any power that Tuatu spills over the world.

– You know it's impossible, sorcerer. We only have violet panther skin. The glossy green ones are rare and we haven't seen one for many years.

– Send the best trackers to the violet panther forest. There is always one glossy green for every hundred violets.

– It's... It's... – The chief wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words.

– I know. – Said Caarô. – The forest of

beasts has always been inaccessible to us. Panthers are fierce and in large numbers. Going in there is like putting your chest in front of a launched arrow.

– To enter that forest is to have your spirit imprisoned by those trees of torment. – Said the chief. - I will not do that. What good would the skin of one or two glossy green panthers do us? We couldn't protect the village with so little.

– Any protection is better than none. Tuatu's power is very great. The spirits tell me he will not spare us from his wrath. Any advantage is welcome to us.

The chief pondered and decided to send ten of the best trackers to the violet panther forest. Caarô bewitched them to protect them from the evil emanations of the ominous trees. He blew on them powder from violet panther nails that had previously been mandicked with witchcraft rituals.

Three days later, only two returned carrying the skin of a glossy green panther. The two moons were already completely violet. There was not a single golden glow escaping them.

– Quickly – said the wizard – we have little time.

 Caarô took the glossy green skin. He began a ritual and bewitched the skin.

 The violet moons lost their inertia. They emanated a color of gall that began to flow across the sky and enveloped the village with a caustic blanket. The villagers were frightened. The mantle of the moons fragmented. Purple nectar came out of the fragments, falling on the men. It enveloped their bodies and transmuted them into violet panthers. Their now feline fur was a dark, lustrous violet color.