Long before our time, when the celestials were born in corporeal forms, there lived two lovers and the envious interloper that wanted to separate them. Yoko and Terra considered each other siblings, as they had been raised in the same house, and Tsuki met them both when they were still young. Tsuki and Yoko’s love stemmed from their long-standing friendship. Carefully nurtured throughout the years, their love blossomed beautifully. They seemed like an unlikely pair, often described as polar opposites by the people around them. However, it is exactly because of their differences that their union was such a peaceful and prosperous one, as long as it lasted.
Unbeknownst to them, Terra steeped in his jealousy and envy, for he had wanted Tsuki to himself since before he understood what their destinies as celestials was to be. Throughout time, Terra tried everything he could think of to get the unlikely lovers to separate and keep Tsuki all to himself; but alas, nothing ever worked. His and his sister’s coming-of-age ceremony was quickly approaching, and he needed to have Tsuki before the fateful day. That was when his last idea came to him, like a thunder bolt through a dark night sky. An idea with the potential to rock the destinies of all involved.
Celestials are born with bodies and nurtured until their coming-of-age ceremony, where their destinies are revealed and Kakai tells them their planetary form and responsibility. After each assignment, the celestial receives the opportunity to ask for one request of Kakai to make their lives in their planetary forms as fulfilling as possible. Celestials have been known to ask for their lovers to become their moons, to be inhospitable to life. They have asked for rings on their new bodies, or for varied colors to their flames. There is no end to the requests Kakai has heard, expecting each of them in turn. Having witnessed the celestials grow and be nurtured, as well as through the council of Knowing Ones, Kakai knows what to expect of each celestial passing through the ceremony, and they plan the destinies accordingly.
Terra heard of a rumor about what his destiny and responsibility entailed. That idea and plan hung, not only on the veracity that the rumor held, but also on the longstanding and unspoken promise Kakai has to his ancestors, himself, and everyone else that comes after. Everything was in place, and all Terra had to do was wait.
Terra’s ceremony was not the only one happening soon, and Yoko had been making plans as well. She had no idea what her destiny might be, but knew that her one request would be to have Tsuki stay with her through it all, from the beginning of the rest of their planetary lives to the end of their existence on this plane, the next, and beyond. Yoko knew it was only right to have a proper conversation and ask her moonbeam directly before requesting it in front of all at the ceremony and, although she had no reason to expect a rejection, this was a fickle comfort in the midst of the rampant nervousness she was feeling.
The ceremony was quickly approaching, time was running out, and, in a bout of courage, Yoko confessed her desires under the cover of the night sky, adorned by the beautiful moons and shifting stars. Tsuki’s eyes, brimming with the shine of her overwhelming happiness, crinkled in a smile at her lover’s nervousness and wholeheartedly consented to Yoko’s request of being together and bound to each other to eternity.
Kakai watched this, expected this, was told this, and it broke their heart to know what Tsuki and Yoko’s futures held. But never let it be said that the future is set in stone, for they still had some control.
The day of Terra’s coming-of-age, set to happen one day before Yoko’s, had finally arrived. All his pieces were setーall that was left was for them to fall in place. He donned a suit of blue and green: a shirt the color of the ocean during a storm with faint hints of white, a pattern that seemed to move like the shifting of the tides, a dark green jacket decorated with carefully threaded leaves of various sizes, textures, and depth to their colors that seemingly sway to an invisible breeze, and pants the color of onyx that seemed bottomless in their darkness. A circlet rested on their head, thin metal wires of varying shades of blue and green intricately intertwined that met in the center of his forehead where they twisted to hold an onyx stone.
Terra was the picture of regality and overconfidence as he stepped up to Kakai. The ceremony began and it was declared that Terra was to become a planet; and so, the rumor was true. Terra smirked as Kakai, with regret in their heart but a few tricks up their sleeve yet, asked for Terra’s request. Terra looked Kakai in the eyes and requested that Tsuki be turned into the moon that would revolve around his planetary form until the day in which his duties would end. Gasps and sobs and cries of anger were heard from the gathered crowd, objections rang throughout the hall and, through it all, Terra smirked and held eye contact with Kakai, in their regal robes of onyx lined with flames of red and blue. Kakai declared, “and so it will be,” for they were duty-bound to grant the first request of all the celestials in Terra’s bloodline. Anger and revolt resounded in the hall from all but two, who were quiet and contemplative, enjoying each other for the last time in what could be a long time.
Kakai completed the ceremony and dismissed the hall, sending Terra off for him to complete what he had left to do before the end of the week when all the celestials who had their coming-of-age ceremonies would be sent off to their destinies. Terra walked in his suit of onyx, dark blue, and shifting greens making eye contact with a fuming Yoko and a deeply saddened Tsuki holding each other in their arms. He did not feel a twinge of regret at the sadness in Tsuki’s eyes for Terra was engulfed with the intoxicating satisfaction of succeeding in taking from Yoko what he thought was rightfully his, and walked away to complete the preparations.
Kakai observed and waited for Terra to walk out of sight before approaching the grief-stricken couple. They were met with two pairs of skeptical eyes; one a brilliant yellow, the other a tranquil blue. Kakai asked the lovers to follow them to a private room for they had something to discuss with both and, although they were skeptical, they still had enough trust in their heart to follow one of the most well-informed celestials with a hope that was dwindling but still holding on. Kakai confessed to them the specifics of their promise and duty to Terra’s bloodline, as well as their feelings of deep remorse for the consequences that Terra’s ill-intentioned decision have brought upon the couple. They asked Yoko and Tsuki to trust them for just one more day, for they knew of a way to make the best of this horrible situation.
Yoko and Tsuki left feeling unsettled and deeply saddened that their future would not be as they had hoped. The lovers laid under a dark night sky, which seemed dull tonight compared to the starry sky under which they declared their vows of eternal love to each other. Yoko and Tsuki held each other and spent the night together, relishing together in their love during what would possibly be the last night they would have for a long, long time.
Before Terra’s coming of age ceremony, Yoko and Tsuki had coordinated their ceremony dresses. Despite the declarations of the previous day, Yoko and Tsuki arrived in their complementary ensembles. Yoko wore a stunning billowing ball gown dress of red, orange, and yellow tulle which behaved in such a way as to make it seem as if it were on fire. The flames danced around the hem and up the skirt until they dissipated into the bodice, which transformed into a physical embodiment of the sky before sunset into a neckline of soft purples. She wore her long black hair in a simple updo, all the attention being drawn to her necklace and earrings, adorned with moons and stars. On her head she wore a circlet of silver metal wires interlaced with each other and holding opalite moonstones which reflected the light of twilight as she walked down the aisle with her forever partner, her moonbeam, to complete her ceremony. Next to Yoko walked Tsuki in a complementary dress to her lover’s. The hem of her billowing ball gown skirt was brilliant orange which shifted and changed to the colors of the sky directly after sunset, while the sun’s rays are still being seen over the horizon and the moon and stars are waking up to light up the night in the absence of the sun’s brilliance. The bodice looked like the sky at midnight, stars moving and shifting and shooting with a mind of their own. Tsuki’s short blonde hair was left down with the top half braided into a delicate crown upon which sat a circlet of golden wire that held carnelian stones. A delicate necklace and earrings of sun and sunbeams decorated her neck and ears.
Hand in hand, walking down the aisle towards Kakai for the ceremony, Yoko and Tsuki looked like queens; ever the perfect couple, complementing each other even in clothing. Yoko’s ceremony began and Tsuki stayed by her side through it all. Kakai declared that Yoko would become a star, the celestial body at the center of the planetary system which would provide warmth and light to the planets within it. One of these planets is destined to be Terra, who will be accompanied by Tsuki as his moon. Upon the realization that they would not be separated by galaxies, but merely planets, the lovers’ hearts calmed, if only a little. Kakai asked Yoko for her request, to which she answered that she only wants to be reunited with her moonbeam when the times are right. Kakai smiled softly to themself and declared “and so it will be,” before doing something unprecedented: they asked Tsuki for a request. Despite that it was not her coming-of-age ceremony, Kakai felt justified in their decision to offer her a request as well. Tsuki merely requested the same as Yoko: to be reunited with her sunbeam when the times are right. Kakai smiled to the lovers, who felt sad for their separation yet tranquil with the knowledge this was not the end, and declared “and so it will be.”
Their last day as corporeal celestials reached its end. The lovers said goodbye one last time before separating, but not forever. No, not forever. Kakai had arranged for the worst position for Terra in the system so that his planet would foster intelligent life and destroy it year by year, if the meteors didn’t get him first. As for Yoko and Tsuki, though they were indeed separated, they caught glimpses of each other at every sunset and sunrise of every day, they managed to converse lightly through the stars. As a kind gesture to the lovers, Kakai created eclipses for them so that, when the times are right, they would allow Tsuki and Yoko to embrace and connect even if for a little bit at a time, until the day came when they left this form and found each other together once again in the next plane. And thus, the story of eclipses is one of love, reconnection, and hope for the future.