When the Night Swallowed the Sun

The sun goddess was beautiful and bright. She outshone the other gods with ease, and the people admired her. They often spoke of her beauty and gave her gifts in appreciation for the light she brought to them, which caused the other gods to become jealous of her. 

Some of the gods took out their envy in petty ways. The god of water would block her light with rain clouds, and the god of night chased her out of the sky. Others used her light to their advantage, like the moon goddess who used the sun's light to make herself brighter. But none of the gods were willing to kill her. Her light had become too important to the humans, and if it were gone, they would die. Destroying the humans would mean no more worship or the power it gave them, and that was something they were not willing to risk.

However, not all the gods thought like this. The god of the night was particularly jealous of the sun and wanted her gone for good. He had created a beautiful tapestry in the night sky to impress the humans. To guide them to new places and discover new things. And yet the humans appreciated the sun more than him, and he cared not if the humans died with her. 

It wasn't long before he had devised a plan. He would devour the sun and extinguish her light forever. The humans would perish, and another being would rise and worship him. They would appreciate what he had made, and it was easy to see that he would become the most powerful of the gods. No one would challenge him, and he would rule for all eternity.

The day came, as always, and the god of the night made his move. He began to consume her, taking bite after bite. Slowly, the sky darkened, and concern grew among the humans. Where was their light going, and would it come back? As the darkness extended across the land, so did the fear of what was happening. 

Out of dread, the humans found as many gifts as possible to appease the god of night. But it was too late. He wasn't going to stop until he devoured all of her. He had waited for this moment and was relishing every agonizing second. The humans had their chance to worship him, but they chose not to. It was their fault that he had to go to such lengths to get their attention. And it was her fault for always taking their focus away from him. 

He had swallowed the last bit of light and was pleased with himself. He had single-handedly taken out the most powerful and beloved god. He didn't understand why the other gods hadn't tried to get rid of her before because it had been effortless for him. Maybe he was the most powerful god. He only wished that he had come up with his plan sooner. It would be nice not to have to listen to the humans sing their praises to her every morning. 

The god of the night was content, but it didn't last for long. He suddenly felt a sharp burning sensation in his stomach. It was terrible and searing hot. He looked down and saw a light shining through him. The sun goddess was still burning, and her light was visible even in the complete darkness of his gut. He was furious. Even after being swallowed whole, the goddess continued to shine, taking the glory for herself. 

The god of the night couldn't hold her any longer. Her heat was becoming too intense. And because he couldn't kill her, his only option was to spit her back out. With disdain and humiliation, he did just that, slowly revealing her once again. The humans, overjoyed at the sight of her, began dancing and singing, glad to have her back. 

However, the sun goddess was not happy. She was a benevolent being. And she was concerned that the god of the night had tried to kill her. She couldn't fathom why he would want to hurt her. But she didn't want him to be upset either. So, she came up with a plan and went to find him. 

The sun goddess explained her idea to the god of the night. Every so often, the god of night would consume her and spit her back out again. It would give him a chance to remind the humans of how influential and powerful he was, and the humans would be inclined to give him gifts to keep him from swallowing her light forever. It was the perfect way to allow the god a moment to shine, even if he wasn't actually the one shining. 

The god of the night was astonished. The sun goddess was helping him even after he tried to kill her. Maybe he had misjudged her. But he wasn't about to miss the opportunity to gain the humans' attention. He accepted her proposal, although it would hurt to eat her. It would be worth it to receive the praise he deserved. 

So, every year and a half, the god of the night would completely swallow the sun goddess for a few minutes. He would relish the moments when people would give him gifts to appease him. Then he would spit her back out and watch as the people clamored and cheered for their goddess's safe return. And, as a bonus, the humans also paid more attention to the god of the night in fear that he might once again get angry and never let their light return. 

The eclipse reminds the humans that what they have can be taken away if they anger the gods. They must take care of what they say and do because it can affect the entire world. They must be thankful for all the gods and the gifts they give them, lest one decides they no longer want to share their powers with them.