Sun and Moon

Our father was an adventurer and an inventor. As children, we always asked what he was looking for. At one point he told us he'd always been looking for our mother. Our next question went along the lines of, “But if you found her, why do you still leave?” He'd awkwardly laugh but avoid the question all together. All we knew was our home on the island of Vesarysia. It's a place that mom actually refers to as a paradise. It's a home with green grass across the land and trees with purple leaves as far as the eye can see. It's the home of many unique animals such as the Baelia, small wondrous creatures that float through the air as if they were white spirits themselves. It's the home of many stories, but none like ours.
Our father was an adventurer and an inventor. He was born on the island of Vesarysia and traveled across the world until he found our human mother. He was lucky to have fallen into her. He's awkward and distant. He's always had a hard time expressing his emotions. Mom was always so kind. Just being near her would cause you to feel warm. Sometimes we think love really does exist at first sight because of them. Father had taken mom back to his home on the elven island where we would later be born. After we were, father felt he had everything. We had been named Kyra and Kyros, for we were his moon and sun. He always referred to mom as his universe. However, he still had to travel. He still had to find what he was looking for.
Being raised by mom was easy. She has so much love to give and a pair of twins to give it to. We remember her laugh most of all. How when she smiled, her teeth would beam through the cracks of her lips. We remember how she never let being human in an elven city affect her. She never felt less than beautiful and reminded us that we are not a half, but the perfect whole. She did her best to help those around her, giving tinctures to the sick. She soon became the city's medicine lady, creating new potions to help those in need. We learned a lot from her, Kyra especially who was fascinated by the creations. Kyros took up other hobbies such as camping and cooking, hoping to be an adventurer just like father. It was a shame that not even her own tinctures could save her.
Father had gotten word that mom was greatly ill. He rushed home to be by her side. It was almost romantic how fast he came, as if what he was looking for wasn't as important as her. But it was also hard. Our father was an awkward and distant man, not sure how to care for two children while his wife's health was falling through his fingers.
We were sixteen when mom died. The entire island mourned that day. Father became silent. He stayed with us to raise us, but only in the shadows. He became secretive and what he was looking for had changed. Shortly after his credibility as an inventor was ripped from him as well. He was scorned to have lost so many things. We did what we could to help, but he didn't want any of it. He wanted to push us away and eventually, we let him.
Few moons later, Kyra had caught him at night raising a rat back from the dead. This forged a passion in her most wish they could find. Surprised that Kyra was not disgusted by this magic, father decided he would teach her all that he knew about necromancy during the night. He told her never to tell this secret to anyone, it was just for the two of them. The village has strict laws against dark magic. She agreed, but broke her promise only once to tell her darling brother. The two kept no secrets and they weren't about to start.
After finding how easy it was to bond with Kyra while teaching her, Father began to teach Kyros archery during the day, who fell in love with the sport and was an excellent marksman. Father had learned how to use a bow in his travels. He soon figured that although so much was taken from him, he could still give what he gained to his children. This was the only way he knew how to become close to them.
We were seventeen when we decided to break father's strictest rule: never go into the basement. Father had told us that it was his private space and it was to be left alone. Curiosity had burned within us for far too long. We unlocked the door and quietly crept down the stairs. We often regret finding what was down there. To this day, night terrors plague our dreams.
Mom was alive in the basement, but her skin had greyed and she stank of rotten flesh. Her teeth had worn away into fangs and her fingers had turned into claws. Father had turned our beautiful mother into a horrid ghoul. She struggled against the chains, trying to attack us for a tasty meal. Around her were all of father's failed experiments. Traumatized, we had to leave. This could no longer be a home of ours. What did we take? The clothes on our back, food, our tools of trade, money, and the necklaces father had made for us when we were born. They were shaped like the sun and the moon. Father had always told us how special they were and to carry them with us at all times. He said that together, they may save us.
Before we left, we set the house ablaze. We couldn't kill mom, but we couldn't let her live like that any longer. We couldn't let such a horrid place stay standing. As we ran, we took one last glace behind us. We remember the face father worn as he got home. He didn't give chase to us. He stood and watched us leave. He understood why we had done it, but resented us. He knew he would never want us to be a part of our lives again.
We were not as prepared for the world as we had though. We had an easy life living on the warm island of Vesarysia. The new world is cold and filled with snow. We could see why mom called it paradise, but we would never wish to return there again.
Now at the age of twenty, we had taken up adventuring. We are not looking for anything like our father had. We wander aimlessly, becoming anxious and restless after being in one place for too long. We've learned only to trust ourselves and our shared otter familiar, Roshan. We had named him after the stars which protect the Sun and the Moon.