Story 1: The Legend of the Lost Kingdom

In an ancient age, long before the birth of my great-grandparents, in a village not so far away, a couple of honest people were expecting their first child.
A baby girl was expected to come into the world on January 2nd of your calendar, but that was not the case.
Because by a miracle granted by our gods, two little girls were born during the night of the new moon on January 1st. Two lovely little girls already very awake.

It is said that each of them had their own character and aura, and that when they were brought together something extraordinary happened. An exceptional symbiosis. A reunification.
Of course, these weren't the first twins seen in this world. But these were very strange.

It was when we separated them that we could truly realize who they really were.
One, soft as milk, delicate and of such beauty that everything that seemed to touch her became even more beautiful and wonderful.
A beautiful golden light emanated from her tiny body.
He was only a baby then, but already the rumor of an incredible little being was spreading.

The second one was also very beautiful, but it was darker than a moonless night. It was mesmerizing.
Very quickly, her parents realized that this being had an absence of light so intense that it could spread around her. She observed the world around her with large black eyes, similar to little crows announcing death around her. She was a child without real emotions, except when approached. As if she fed on the despair of others.

It is said that she had the power to show those who looked at her the worst in them by confronting them with their demons. Oh believe me, this child was cursed.

Just like his sister.

It was only when the two girls were together that they seemed to blossom fully. As if they were one and the same entity, each representing two sides of a soul: the good and the bad. The joy and the sadness.

Time passed and the two sisters grew up.
In the village, they were already known as exceptional beings. They were often stopped in the cobbled streets of the village, sometimes to prostrate themselves before the beauty of one and whisper all sorts of wishes to her, sometimes to invoke the forgiveness of the other and thus prevent her anger from falling on their families, their crops or their animals.

The two sisters were part of a symbiosis so intense that it was sometimes difficult to separate them or even to decipher their knowing looks.
Their condition had isolated them from the rest of the world, they had no choice but to help each other.
Suffering was their daily life, after all how can you be happy when you are only half a soul?

It was on their 23rd birthday that an event changed the course of their sad existence. The twins were recognized as two goddesses and each birthday was an opportunity for their family to expose them like beasts.
Every year, more and more people come from all over the world to attend this long-awaited celebration, hoping to be blessed by one and forgiven by the other.
This party was torture for the two girls who hoped not to have to experience this the following year.
And this time their wishes would come true.

It was their last ceremony.
But they didn't know it yet.

So the two girls were sitting on what looked like two thrones.
They wore ceremonial white clothes and large pearl crowns in their hair. It is said that a hundred
people bowed down to them.
The scene, as unrealistic as it was, was just the simple daily life of these two beings whose happiness was gradually fading.

They were treated like goddesses to be worshipped. Even the thought of them as human was unthinkable. Their rights had been taken away from them since childhood. They were born for one reason: to serve the people.

When the end of this incredible weekend was announced, when all the guests left for the four corners of the world, fulfilled to be a little richer and certain to be forgiven of their sins and when only the two young girls and their parents remained, the unthinkable happened.

Several armed men, coming from a land so far away that it was still unknown to us until recently, approached the family and grabbed one of the twins. The one with the black heart. They wanted to take her to them.
The second twin tried to stop them, begging for mercy. Screaming at the top of her lungs. Bowing down at their feet, begging for them to release her sister, crying, screaming and praying for them to give her back the being she loved so much.

To part with one's sister was to become half a soul. It was like dying.

The first twin was so calm that the only words that came out of her mouth were: "I can't say no". As usual she seemed to feel nothing. She seemed extinguished.
She knew this was her destiny.
She had to go with them, even if she didn't know where.
It was the only way to protect his sister who had inherited a beautiful soul.
This was surely the most difficult ordeal they had ever had to go through. It was their destiny. After all, it had already been 23 years since they had tasted joy.
Both knew that the moment they were no longer reunited, they would become half-souls again, one as bright as the sun and the other as dark as a moonless night.

Day and night.

Life, death.

It was when she saw her beloved sister walking away escorted by a dozen men that she understood that it was not over.
Alas, it was not the work of envious looters, but of a bargain. A transaction. They had been sold like cattle that no longer brought in enough gold coins to survive the winter. The twins' parents were now as rich as kings and a little poorer with two children. But what's a child when you can afford a kingdom?

There was only one woman left. Apparently an important woman. It was with her that the transaction was carried out.
While at least 10 vagabonds escorted the first one, this time she was alone with her.

The girl didn't have time to react before a dust was blown in her face. She fainted. The woman then took her with her.

The two twins left for the same kingdom, however their escorts were different so that they could not find each other. Because their power lies in the simple fact of being separated.

The first was taken to a cave not far from the castle in a dark forest where a small river flowed. This cave is the entrance to a secret passage leading to the most beautiful treasure of its lands. A treasure that could not be exhibited in the castle, a treasure that had to be kept secret.
Someone had to guard the entrance. And who better than the incarnation of death? Every explorer once confronted with her, would be led to see their shadow side as demons trying to kill them. No living being can then pass the test.
So she was locked in this cave by means of an enchanted barrier that she could not break.
She was a prisoner with only the echo of her heart drumming on the damp, icy walls of this lightless cave for company. Like her.

And the heavy silence gradually accentuated the anger of this young girl.
It is said that even today, she serves the interests of a kingdom whose generations of kings continued their hold on her and her sister.

The second one was enchanted so that she would be forced to serve the court. A great ceremony was organized in her honor. She was offered many flowers, a sign of wealth here. She was crowned with them and placed like an object that is exposed to the eyes of all. It is said that she was surrounded by flowers. Even the walls were covered with them, and decorated with a tapestry depicting upside-down flowers as the symbol of this distant people.

She brought great wealth to the castle. All the surrounding kingdoms rushed to see the goddess of life. Paying more and more to see their wishes come true.
The kingdom then became more prosperous than it had ever been.
She was considered an oracle, a sacred person, serving the king. Messenger of the gods.
She was actually a slave to her condition. Chained to a curse.

It is written that she swims in a permanent illusion of joy and happiness.
She doesn't seem to be fully aware of her condition, and from time to time memories come back to her. Her sister's face reappears. And the sadness too. She then remembers her smell, her voice and her long brown hair.

When the memories came back to her and her consciousness became clearer, she could even feel her sister. For a second, she felt the humidity of the cave and heard the river in the distance as well as the echo of the drops. She could feel her skin reacting to the cold of this place plunged into darkness. And above all, she began to feel her heart beating in echoes with that of her sister.
It was like seeing through your sister's eyes. Being in her body for a moment.
Once the connection was made, she knew where her other half was.

But then the spell she was under always reappeared. And the veil of her consciousness too. So she forgot everything, even the existence of her soul half.

It is said that the second sister, for her part, had kept her consciousness.
So she had to live every minute of her existence with her memories.

It is said that in reality the queen did not even bother to remove them, considering it unnecessary.
After all, she was locked in a cave, and sadness would accentuate its macabre power. And it did.

It is said that it was she who, day after day, tried to wake her sister up. Showing her where she was, hoping that she would manage to escape to join her.

After generations of kings, neither of the two girls showed signs of aging. Which lengthened their ordeal for centuries. According to legend, the two sisters would still be under control in order to serve a demonic kingdom. No one is able to remove them from this enchantment except herself.

It is also said that their parents in turn became the kings and queens of the kingdom where they grew up.
By their actions, they brought chaos and destruction to it.
How can you rule over lands after selling your own children?
The wrath of our gods fell upon them, destroying their lands. Today, the forest reigns over this ancient kingdom, the ruins of the castle that have survived the passage of time are to this day the only evidence we have of its existence.

The kingdom of thieves, on the other hand, seems to be nowhere to be found. According to legend, it is protected by the two girls. As long as they reside there,
The wrath of the Gods will not be felt. But from the moment they are delivered, the heavenly vengeance will be so intense that they will in turn experience chaos and destruction.

However, what I did not tell you is that not long ago the throne of the oracle was found empty.
Would they have managed to escape?

If you ever enter a cave, I warn you about the girl with the moon heart. Don't be afraid of her. No, be afraid of yourself.