Star Myth (A World Building Prompt)

Here’s another one that comes from Tumblr’s writing community; Pick out a constellation, name it and write its myth. You can choose the culture whose star myth you are writing, or create one of your own.

Okay, not exactly a constellation, but I had toyed with this idea before and liked the idea of expanding it. Here is the Caltaran myth of the Sun and the Moon, from my currently-on-hiatus space opera (Symphony of the Stars).
. . .

Litaio and Osaria are the god and goddess associated with the sun. They represent fire, fertility, passion and jealousy. Though in many traditions they are viewed as the same being – as opposite aspects of the same deity – several of their myths depict them as separate people.

Litaio is generally regarded as the first great warrior to ever live (though he is no longer considered to be the greatest). In the early days of the Caltaran people he was said to walk among them, training fighters and establishing the warrior’s code of honor which their modern military still adheres to. In later days, after the gods departed the planet’s surface, it was said that he could reach from the heavens and mark great warriors with his skill; thus has every man ever granted the rank of ‘Kantis’ (considered the greatest warriors ever to have lived) worn the symbol of the blazing sun to acknowledge the blessing.

Litaio was a skilled hunter and trapper, though his favored weapon the battlefield was that of a great, two-handed sword. Rather than the typical berserker, capable of felling an enemy army in the heat of blind rage, Litao was always regarded as wise in his guise as war; a master of tactics who knew how to spend his resources wisely.

It is said that Litao and Osaria met on the battlefield. In a moment of weakness and vulnerability, when Litao was about to meet his end by the blade of another warrior, Osaria shot her bow from across the battlefield and saved Litao’s life. The moment he saw her cutting through the enemy ranks, he fell madly in love with her.

While Litaio can often be regarded as cold, calculating and logical, Osaria is often regarded as wild and passionate. In the old myths, she often acted on impulse or whim, doing whatever pleased her at the moment rather than what made the most sense. She was often considered fairest among the gods, though Caltarans through the ages seemed to have favored Milara, the sea goddess, over her – a source of some contention for the goddess.

Osaria was fierce and untamable. It is said that she made Litao pursue her from one end of the planet to the other, and fight in many battles at her side before she would accept his marriage proposal. Her favored weapon is the bow, which she wields with deadly efficiency in both short and long-range combat, though she is also often depicted wielding a slender longsword.

The love between Litaio and Osaria was considered to be the most wildly passionate that two lovers have ever shared. In fact, many young romantics pursue such fire in their own relationships, only to discover that it is unobtainable. And though Litaio and Osaria were a force unmatched on the battlefield, their marriage soured. Litao chafed beneath the demanding and jealous nature of his wife, who wished to be the glorious center of his attention at all times.

One day, Litaio looked down from his high perch and spotted Milara, goddess of the sea. Milara is often associated with protection, family, motherhood, and romantic love. Milara was beloved by all the Caltaran people, who hailed her as their mother and looked to her for guidance in their everyday lives. Litaio saw Milara walking alone by the shores at night and took the form of the moon to light her path. Milara was so taken by the beauty of Litaio in this form that the whole of the ocean seemed to reach for him.

For many years, the love between Litaio and Milara remained unrequited as the two gazed with longing upon each other from afar. Then, one night, Litaio grew bold and descended to the surface to walk with Milara on the sea shore. There is said to be no greater love than that between Litaio and Milara and when the two walk hand in hand, all the world seems to sing with joy.

But Osaria is a jealous woman who cannot stand to be without her beloved for long. She set the sun in the sky to call Litaio home and, faithful husband that he is, Litaio answered her call. But though there is always passion between Litaio and Osaria when Litaio returns from his trysts, his heart longs always for the woman on the sea shore. And so he grows bold, slips from the palace of the sun and dons his moon mask to call Milara to their meetings.

So child, when the moon waxes in the sky, it is because Litaio has once again chafed under the heavy demands of his wife and fled to his secret tower. There he dons his moon mask and Milara runs to him. This is why the ocean reaches always for the moon. But when the moon begins to wane, it does so because Osaria has called Litaio home and, dutifully, he makes his return. When the moon disappears from the sky all together, it is because Litaio and his wife have made amends, however temporary they may be.

When a lunar eclipse occurs it is because Osaria, angry at her husband’s desertion, has caught Litaio and his lover at their games. And when the moon eclipses the sun it is because Litaio has grown angry and stormed from the sun palace already wearing his mask.

For all the contention between the three – and Osaria is jealous of Milara indeed – it is obvious that there is love in Litaio’s heart for both women, and so they play their endless game. For a few blissful days each month, Litaio and Milara live in endless bliss before Litaio’s wife calls him home. And with his heart recalling their glory days, Litao answers the call and returns, just as all great warriors are eventually called to serve Osaria’s whims.