Iris' Lament

As the dusk fades out and the moon rises higher in the sky, Iris, goddess of the night, watches over the forest and all of its creatures, from the tiniest spider crawling in its web, to the largest panther stalking its prey. With muddy hands, she touches every closed flower and weed, her flowing cape caressing the dirt behind her. Suddenly, screams and cries break the silence of the night, and she makes her way towards the noise, finding the edge of a cliff and a young group of campers down below, cornered to the rock face by a panther. She glides down towards them, invisible in the darkness, and lures the panther away with the scent of a nearby deer. It bows its head before moving on, lunging into the darkness. Iris turns back to the campers, who look relieved that they aren’t dinner, and subconsciously guides them to a more secluded place to set up their campsite for the night, ensuring they will be safe. 

Wilka, the god of the sun, watches this behaviour intently. Ordinarily, he would be sleeping, allowing Iris the nocturnal watch over the humans below, but he has been informed that she has regularly been leaving her post through all hours of the night, and now he knows why. “What will you do, my lord?” His assistant asks, curiosity seeping through his every word.

“I must think on this matter very closely. Iris is… powerful, this we all know. The wrong move could make this situation much worse, we don’t want another war.”

“Perhaps,” his advisor pipes up, having been given an idea at the mention of the War of the Gods. “imprisonment would be the best call. We could use one of the chambers made towards the war’s end, they kept her Ocean, Cordelia enchained, it would likely be possible to contain her too.”

Iris and Cordelia meet every night on the shores of the nearest beach, the waves thundering around them as they sit atop the rocks and talk for hours on end, about nothing at all, and yet they are there until the sun begins to rise in the east, just as touches the horizon line. The two look up at the sudden light and realise their mistake, as this means Wilka is awake, his powers strong in the light of the day. “Cordelia, you should go. He will come to find me, and ask why I have left my post.”

“I shall stay, I’m sure he would not mind that you had left to come and see me, our duties are entwined and overlap often,” Cordelia responds, her language as old and unchanged as she has been since the beginning of time. Iris adapts this same way of speaking around her, endeared by her Ocean’s old soul. 

“He isn’t one of reason, you know this. Please, I can handle him.”

“Alright,” Cordelia concedes, hugging Iris goodbye before sinking back into the sea, embraced by the waves as they lap around her head until she is submerged completely. Iris awaits his judgement, it has been some time since she saw a sunrise, she forgot that they were almost as beautiful as the dusk and the nighttime, almost. Wilka arrives in a flash, his fury apparent as Iris feels the scorching presence behind her. She opens her mouth to speak but instead finds herself suddenly unable to move before her eyes close against her will as her body immobilises and she loses consciousness.

She wakes up kneeling on the ground before Wilka and his court, their backs to her, and her arms and legs chained. Pathetic, she thinks, attempting to break free, before she regains her full vision and begins to recognise the room, it’s the chamber from the old war that held Cordelia, the one she rescued her out of so long ago. She has no power here, only Wilka and his sun people do. Tears form in her eyes as she contemplates the meaning of being here, but she doesn’t allow them to fall, reminding herself that she will be put on trial first and that she can win her freedom that way. “Sire,” one of the court whispers, alerting Wilka that she is awake. “Hello, Iris,” he says with a formal tone. She makes no reply. “You have been imprisoned here due to failure to fulfil your duties as night goddess by leaving your post. What do you have to say?”

“I went to see Cordelia, we were simply discussing official matters, I only left my post for one night.”

“We’ve no time for your lies Iris. This is not a trial, and there will not be one. You have left your post far too often for that to be a suitable excuse, I know you have been saving the people down there, stopping nature from taking its destined course.” No trial? Surely not. He wouldn’t-

“While you are here,” he continues coldly, pretending not to notice the tears in her eyes, “you will continue to perform your duties since no one else is able. You have been deprived of most of your power, but have been given enough to continue affecting the moon.” Fool. How does he plan to stop her? “If you attempt an escape, we will capture Cordelia as well, and bring her here to be imprisoned alongside you.” Coward.  “We all know how that ended for her last time, a wild, ancient spirit such as her is not accustomed to captivity. I suppose the same could be said for yourself, but you don’t have a choice. Your negligence is inexcusable, and cannot be tolerated anymore.” 

“Wilka please, see sense, see reason. Those people did not deserve death, they were so young, how dare you suggest we just let them die!” 

“You are far too emotionally involved with them to be talking about sense, and we all know it wasn’t just the group last night. You have stopped hundreds from meeting their fate, young and old, defying Destiny and failing to fulfil your duties. You are too emotional to hold such a position, and should never have been given it in the first place.”

“How dare you suggest I should not have been created as I am! If anyone here were to insult you, question you, or suggest you should change, I should think they would end up in a position such as mine, or worse. Between the two of us, I’d say the only emotional one is you, Wilka.” He scoffs before turning away and leaving. Iris continues to scream at him, her words echoing into the corridor, “You’re a monster! A selfish, miserable, pathetic brute, and a jealous pig at that!” The door shuts, and she hangs her head, long black hair flowing down her shoulders and across her face, finally allowing the tears to fall. She spends the next while crying, screaming, sobbing, and grieving for her freedom. Ever since he imprisoned Cordelia, Iris knew Wilka was a monster, but he left her to her own devices, so at least she could avoid him. As the tears flow she hears something fly past her window and glances up, seeing hundreds of meteors falling from the sky. Even deprived and drained of most of her abilities, she still affects the environment. She can’t help but smile thinking of it, the beautiful forest and ocean just outside, but then she begins to grieve all over again for the freedom, the life, that she has lost. 

The next few days the rain and thunder are unrelenting, depriving them of their typical light. The sea, too, is restless, crashing against the shore violently and without remorse. Meteor showers happened intermittently over the first few days of Iris’ imprisonment, as she cried each time she had to raise the moon and was kept from experiencing the beauty and freedom of her nights, but they have ceased now. Iris herself is unusually quiet, but Wilka is not concerned, arrogant as he is, he believes she will not attempt an escape. He is a fool. Leaving her with any power at all was a mistake, as was mistaking her silence for submission. He has not even realised that the Moon is drawing closer and closer to the sun as the days pass, Iris slowly positioning it, tilting its orbit and drawing it nearer as the slow hours drag on. Nights and days and nights and days. She can barely sleep, the uncomfortable chains restricting her. This, too, must be part of the punishment, she is sure of it. She tries her best to sleep throughout the whole of the day, even the sunrise. Instead, she wakes at sunset, smiling to herself each time the sun cowers beneath the horizon and makes way for the moon, then she doesn’t sleep a wink, but spends her nights positioning, adjusting its orbit to come between the Earth and Sun, days from now, to aid her escape and rob Wilka of his power, if only for a moment. However, once this task is complete, she spends her time staring through the small window provided to her, barely blinking, to bask in the beauty of the night, her night. He will not rob her of her power, or her freedom, no matter how much he tries.

Weeks have passed since her imprisonment, and the day Iris set into motion has finally come. Today the moon will come between the earth and sun, robbing the day of its light, and Wilka of his powers. 4 minutes. She will only have 4 minutes to breach her containment chamber, threaten Wilka, and then escape. Of course, she could beat him in a fight, this she knows, but better to avoid such casualties, she thinks as she prepares for the eclipse. Wilka has failed to notice the moon’s presence in the sky today, arrogant as he is. He sits in his throne room, preceding over his court, he has barely spared Iris a thought since her imprisonment. 

“Sire, we have seen-” A servant pipes up, attempting to tell Wilka of the impending eclipse.

“How dare you interrupt me, boy!” He shouts back, before going back to his business.

Iris smiles. The time has come. Wilka cannot stop her now, the moon is already beginning to cover the sun, she can feel it. She glances out the window to check and confirms her feelings. As the moon just begins to cover the sun, a red aura appears around its edge, reflected in Iris’ eyes, which take on the same blood hue. The sea outside roars, thunder cracks in the sky like a hyena’s cackle, and the chains around her wrists and heels disintegrate into nothing beneath her grasp as the doors to her prison fly open. There are two guards posted outside, but they cower in fear, backing into the corner of the corridor. She pays them no mind, and sinks down into the shadows, her body relaxing, flowing into them like water as she becomes formless. 1 minute has passed. 

Shadows descend upon the throne room, the sky plunges into darkness except for the red aura around the moon and the lightning in the sky. Wilka is speechless and terrified. His court has descended into chaos within minutes, they all know this can only mean one thing, and as the doors crash open, splintering and breaking when Iris passes through them, all eyes are fixed on the throne. 

A figure rises out of the shadows, towering over both Wilka and his throne. It becomes clear, taking shape once again into Iris’ body, her clothes torn, eyes red, and face full of rage. “Wilka!” she screams into his face as he cowers beneath her tall form, his world shrouded in her shadow, her night. The two stay there for a moment, staring at each other, Wilka filled with dread, Iris with pure vengeance and rage. She backs off, only slightly, enough that he can see the moon behind her head, still blocking the sun, the red aura around it more threatening than ever. "If you ever dare to imprison me again, or suggest that I should change to suit your liking,” she roars, still yelling, her voice distorted and a banshee-like screech echoing behind it. “I want you to remember this moment. I want you to remember that I can exist without you, as night can without day, but you cannot exist without me. Throughout the sky, in space, there is night, darkness, and moons, all of which are me. I am everything and nothing. I am unique, there will never be another being in the universe that will match my power, my vastness. You are one of many stars in this universe, and I am in charge of you, all of you. If you ever dare to speak to me of duty, of responsibility, of care for this planet, I want you to remember this day.” 2 more minutes have passed, and she still needs to escape, but this will not take long, she still has time to talk some sense into this boy. “You are the one who neglects his duties, it is you who is to be questioned for neglect of this planet. When do you watch the sunrise, other than to bask in your own glory? When do you walk among nature, other than when you go to one of your many shrines to observe what has been slaughtered in your name? When do you observe your people, our people, and appreciate how each one is its own little universe, with all of the intricacies and beauty that goes along with that? You have some nerve to accuse me of neglecting my duties, when this planet, our planet, is my favourite of all in the universe. I can confirm there is no other, it has no twin. Perhaps it does in plant life, in the atmosphere, in makeup, but the humans and animals, our beings, cannot be found anywhere else in this universe, and each of them deserves your respect. I feel ashamed to share this beautiful planet with a careless, senseless, monster of a God like you.” 

With a final glare and roar of anger, Iris sinks back down into the shadows, becoming formless again, and follows them all the way into the deepest trenches of the ocean floor, where Cordelia resides.

“That, my child, is how the eclipses came to be. Every year, Iris reminds Wilka of his place, by positioning the Moon between the Sun and Earth, plunging us into a beautiful darkness for a few moments. So you see, there is nothing for you to fear. The nighttime is a beautiful thing.” A mother sits with her daughter in her lap, telescope and camera beside them as they stare into the sky through the kitchen window. The moon has just begun to cover the sun. The daughter, typically afraid of the dark, now watches in awe, unable to stop smiling at the sight of the solar eclipse. Her mother smiles too, her child unafraid as darkness surrounds them, instead inspired and filled with awe as the two stare up into the vast expansive sky. Iris stares back at them, smiling, happy that her story has been told.