The Creation Myth
It is often said that in the beginning, there is nothing. No light or sound. No emotion. Just a sea of black; an endless void. This, however, is not the case for the Canids. In the beginning, there was Astreaus and Delos, and they became the parent deities of this world as they were the creators of the land and the cosmos.
The pair lived happily in their sea of black; floating about the air as if they had no cares at all. But eventually, Delos became filled with sorrow. When questioned by her mate, had explained that despite loving the time she could spend with him, there was still something missing. It was then that Astreaus crafted the world. He created both flora and fauna; molded animals for the land and sky, trees, mountains and flowers. He even created giant pools of water which he called lakes, ponds and oceans, and connected them with curvy lines called rivers, streams and creeks. To give light to this world, Astreaus made a glowing orb and placed it high in the sky. He called this the sun. Last, but not least, the father of all created the Canids; four legged creatures that came in all shapes and sizes which mimicked both himself and Delos. Molded in their parents' images, and loyal to their creator. When he presented his gift to Delos, she was overcome with great joy, and named this world Lunara.
The pair enjoyed exploring the world Astreaus created, but as time went on, Delos became filled with sorrow once more. Again, her sullen mood was questioned, and this time, she explained that she was tired. The sun was a wonderful thing to create, but with so much light it made sleeping quite difficult. Thinking about his mate's words, Astreaus pulled a second ball of light from the sun, and created the moon. The sun, he explained to Delos, would provide them with light and warmth. He called the time when the sun was out the Day. The moon, he explained, would give them back the blackened sky they had been so used to, and provide them with cold as it would remove the sun and it's warmth. He called the time when the moon was out, the Night. Astreaus also explained to his mate that because the sun had been so powerful, the moon would need to absorb the light it gave off, and therefore would offer to them a light of it's own. Though the moon's glow would not be as powerful, as it was during the night in which they were to sleep. Once again, Delos was overjoyed with her gifts and named the place where the sun and moon resided Ouranos.
One cool night while Delos was watching the dark sky before falling asleep, she lay upon her back and pointed a paw to the sky. With Astreaus at her side, she told her mate that the black above them was too dark for her liking. Exhausted and weary, Astreaus told her he was far too tired to make any changes now as the work from changing from day to night, and night to day, was finally catching up with him. Saddened, and slightly impatient, Delos watched as her mate fell under the blanket of sleep before turning her attention back to the sky. She began poking at a variety of space, and to her surprise, everywhere she pointed, a small speck of light seemed to stay. Delighted by the magic she possessed, Delos placed millions of dots across the blank slate before her; she clusters from some, and placed others apart. The canvas had been painted in tiny, sparkling dots that she called stars. Satisfied with the gift she was able to give to this world, Delos joined her mate in sleeping.
As time passed, both Astreaus and Delos found that the world that had created was far too quiet for their liking. In fact, it was quite lonely. While they enjoyed the company of each other very much, they felt the world they had crafted needed more. So Delos bore a litter of cubs to her mate; the litter was plentiful, and each offspring varied in size and shape. These children she gifted to the world were called the Starborn, and like their parents, they possessed strength and power far greater than other beings in the world. For each child she bore to Astreaus, Delos crafted a picture in the sky which she called Constellations. These pictures depicted the job that they had been assigned by their father, something that many of them treasured and took quite seriously. When the Starborn were old enough, they traveled with their parents back into the Ouranos and watched the world in which they had crafted, and loved from above.
Sun & Moon
Of the brood Delos had given Astreaus, two in particular, Jarilo and Morana, seemed to more trouble-seeking than the rest. They enjoyed laughing at the others, and pranking those around them. Their brothers and sisters were growing tired of their antics, and even Delos had fallen victim to their ways several times. After speaking quite seriously with his mate, Astreaus set about devising a way to end their constant trickery.
The Father of Lunara still continued to set the day and night by himself. This was a troubling, and exhausting task. He approached his son and daughter as they lay near a river, laughing over their latest prank. He questioned why they were fooling around and relaxing when their brothers and sisters were off tending to the jobs they had been assigned. The father wasn't surprised to hear that his son and daughter thought work to be boring. It was then that he decided to play a trick on the two who prided themselves in their skill of pranks. Astreaus told them that it was a shame, as they could have played and chased each other all day and all night, but as they found work boring, he would simply assign the task to someone else.
Curious over the words their father spoke, one of the twins asked what kind of job this would be. Smiling, Astreaus shook his head and told them that it was fine, he would find someone else to handle the job. Upon hearing their father's denial once more, the twins begged and pleaded to be told what the task was. Their father explained that it was the task of aiding the sun and moon in their journey across the sky - an endless game of chase as one would always follow the other. The twins didn't see how this was work as it sounded like play, and immediately agreed to aid their father in this task.
Astreaus cast them into the Ouranos; Jarilo landing in the moon, and Morana landing in the sun. He told them that they were to follow one another across the great sky, and supply for Lunara the light and darkness that he had been supplying all this time. It was only then that the twins realized they had been tricked, as they could not escape their globe prisons, or the work they had been lured in to doing. Saddened by the fact that they had fallen victim to their father's prank, the twins did as they were told, and took over the job of bringing Lunara day and night.
Betrayal & the Birth of the Asterids
As time passed in both Lunara and Ouranos, things began to slowly evolve on their own. The Canids of Lunara formed small cultures and living areas. Some were better acquainted with others, and some cast themselves as the enemy. There were small fights here or there, nothing that the beings that had been made in Astreaus and Delos' images could not handle. At least not until a larger fight began to brew.
Concerned for the well being of a particular group of Canids, Goliath approached his parents with a proposition. He asked for them to join him in studying the lifeforms below their lofty perch, and pointed out the rivalry between the two groups that had become more hostile over time. Explaining that the well being of these lifeforms was a priority, Goliath asked permission to descend into Lunara to give protection to the weaker side. He felt it necessary, and something that would look well to those that the Canids praised. A guardian by nature, as Goliath had always been the type to step in when a stronger sibling challenged another, Astreaus had no problem granting his son's request.
Goliath was permitted to descend into the common world of Lunara, leaving behind his Ouranos home, and coming to aid those who required it. He stayed this way for many years.
Though over those years, jealousy ran rampant through the veins of those he left behind. One brother in particular had become overpowered by the emotion. Goliath's special instructions left Aemulus bitter. Why should he be allowed to descend into Lunara when the act was forbidden to the rest of them? What made him better than the rest of the brood? On a dark night, this brother crept away from Ouranos, and entered Lunara without permission. He had become so jaded by bitterness and jealousy that he was plotting to kill his brother, and take his place. After all, he was just as strong and smart as Goliath, surely he could guard the Canid here.
But Goliath proved to be the smarter of the two, and woke as Aemulus approached. There was a great battle which woke those slumbering in both Lunara and Ouranos. The brother who sought betrayal escaped back to Ouranos under the impression that he could rest and plot something for another day. However that was not the case, for as he ascended back into the heavens, Astreaus was waiting for him. Enraged by the actions of his son, the father of all placed the male under a deep sleep and cast him back into Lunara where he was hidden away somewhere in the world as punishment for his crimes.
To those living in Lunara, the one that was cast away looked as if he were falling from the sky. As he was no longer worthy of wearing the title Starborn, the name Asterid was given. A name in which the Canids grew to know, and a name that would only be given to those who could no longer ascend into their home.