Day & Night

By Marcus D. and Monsieur Le Renard

“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost

Emptiness.

And into the emptiness, the Two.

Silence.

And into the the Two, their voices.

Hushed.

And into their muteness, language.

Talk.

And into their bicker, dispute.

Hate...

And one of the Two was the Empress; she was bold, forceful, and proud. And the other was the Mistress; she was bitter, merciless, and vengeful.

And said the Empress to the Mistress, “Am I not more powerful than you?”

“More vain, it can be known,” replied the Mistress. “But power cannot be known.”

“It can,” said the Empress. “It will.”

And so the Empress raised her arms, and into the emptiness arose from nothing a great mass, and this mass was to be named the Earth.

“See my power,” declared the Empress. “And know I am greater.”

The Mistress raised her hands as well, and the emptiness became lined with limitless beings of light, and these were to be called the stars.

“No, see my power.”

The Empress extended her arms forward into the depths of the emptiness, and a great ball of fire was created, and this was to be called the Sun.

And then the Mistress extended her arms forward toward the Earth, and with the light of the Sun and the Stars, it became full of life and flourished.

“It cannot be seen, then,” said the Empress. “Who is more powerful by who can create more, since there is no limit to what can be created.”

“Then we shall see who is more powerful by seeing who can destroy the other,” agreed the Mistress.

And so they both moved to opposite ends of the Earth.

The Empress went to the side lighted by the Sun; she called her land Day.

The Mistress went to the side that was shielded from the Sun, that could count the Stars that lined the emptiness; she called her land Night.

And so, the Empress called out to the creatures of Day, and said to them,

“I am the most powerful of all that walk the Earth, and I call on you, for we shall banish Night from the Earth and the slay the Mistress.”

And the creatures of Day squawked and roared and bellowed in agreement, and she commanded them to cut down the trees to build the machines and gather the resources for their conquest, and dig into the ground to find the metals that they would forge the weapons out of.

And so, the Mistress called out to the creatures of Night, and said to them,

“I am the most powerful of all that walk the Earth, and I call on you, for we shall erase Day from the Earth and slay the Empress.”

And the creatures of Night howled and screeched and hooted in agreement, and she commanded them to gather all their vessels and fill them with all the waters of the Earth, and give them to all the creatures of Night that had wings, so they might fly through the expanse of the emptiness and put out the fires of the Sun.

And so, the creatures of Day and Night did as they were told. In the land of Day, all the trees were ripped from the land, and the ground was torn apart in search of the metals. And an army was made, and weapons were forged, and these weapons were given to the boars, the bears, the snakes. And the army set off to conquer Night. In the land of Night, all the waters were gathered into vessels, and these vessels were given to the owls, the eagles, the dragonflies. And they flew into the emptiness to extinguish the Sun.

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

And so, the soldiers of Day, armed with spears, axes, and swords, overran the creatures of Night, who had no defenses, save for hiding in the darkness. But with the burning torches held aloft, they were all found and smote.

And last of all, the Mistress was struck down.

“And now that we have conquered Night and slain the Mistress,” declared the Empress, “We shall banish the darkness that is Night.”

And so, wood was set all around the land of Night, and set ablaze, and this lighted the land of Night.

And in this new light, the creatures of Day could see into the sky, and saw the owls and the eagles and the dragonflies of the night flying toward the Sun with their vessels readied and brimming with all the waters of the Earth.

And they shrieked and they roared and they screeched, but there was nothing they could do to reach the creatures of Night.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great And would suffice.

And so, the creatures of Night emptied their vessels full of all the waters of the Earth, and the Sun was vanquished, and all the Earth grew dark with only the light of the Stars.

And the Empress shrieked, and commanded all of her legions to set out the wood all around all of the Earth and set it ablaze, and this lighted the Earth.

But the wood was scarce, and the trees would not regrow without the light of the Sun.

And so, the wood ran out, and the fires hissed and starved one by one, until there was no light left.

And the boars and the bears and the snakes all shivered as cold set upon all the Earth, until they all died, frozen forever on the Earth.

And last of all, the Empress let out her last breath and her body froze, and she was slain.