Author's Note: as of 16/3/2020 I'm working on editing the older chapters and will be publishing the fic on my ao3 when I'm done, and updating the chapters here when that happens.

The unforgiving sun was especially bright over all of Mount Targon that day. Diana had to shield her eyes as she stepped out of her living quarters. Even the transition from her dimmed room to the shade of the concrete slab above pained her eyes. She spent a few moments here, blinking and contorting her face until she could see again. As she stepped out into the sunlight, however, she kept the hand above her eyes and squinted.

Diana half sprinted across the village, clutching a small collection of books to her chest. She passed several people on her way to the Elder's library, and, after a while, she noticed all of them were going in the same direction to the Solari temple. A few of them refused to move out of her way, forcing her to slow down to avoid them. Each time she said a small apology to which she was often returned with a hiss. Eventually one of them stopped her, grabbing her by the arm. Diana nearly tripped over her robes and dropped her books in an effort to catch herself. "I-I'm so sorry," she stammered as she bent over, thinking she had run into the man by accident. When she straightened herself she was met with the stern, wrinkled face of her father. What few strands of silver hair he had left were carefully pressed against his head. Diana immediately cast her eyes wayward again.

"Diana, where do you think you're going?" he barked.

Diana quickly glanced up at him, then away again. "I just wanted to return these books before morning mass."

Her father gave a short, annoyed sigh. "The mass comes before everything, Diana, you shouldn't—" he stopped and clenched his jaw, thinking a moment. "What books are those, Solari texts?"

Diana nodded, but it was a lie. She held the astronomy books close to her chest.

"Drop them off quickly, then come straight to the temple, understand?"

Diana nodded again.

"Today is an important day. I expect you to be there."

"Yes, Father," she replied, exasperated.

He released Diana's arm and continued with the crowd of people. Diana stood motionless, watching him until he had melted away with them. She sharply turned on her heel and continued her sprint to the library. She slowed herself only as she came to the top of the marble stairs and proceeded into the building with silent footfalls. Diana quickly glanced around the vast, open building; she could not resist the impulse to do so despite the mass gathering she had witnessed. She crept around the bookcases and made her way to the back wall. She crouched down to the bottom row of books, pulled a few out after thumbing through the selection, and replaced them with three of the four tomes she had brought with her. New books. Diana blew the dust off their faces, her lips manifesting into the faintest of smiles. She gathered them and pulled herself up with the bookcase.

Diana went back around the rows of bookcases to the middle of the library where a few long tables were placed. She sat and spread the books before her. She drummed her fingers on her cheek. "Which one to delve first?" she whispered. Diana finally picked out an astronomy book. She stacked the others in a pile next to her, save for a leather-bound book. She opened both selections next to each other with the leather bound book next to her writing hand. Here she pulled the charcoal pencil from the small loop of fabric on the inside cover and, after briefly looking at the notes she made on the front few pages, flipped to the last page she had written on.

Diana briefly paused and looked up. The library, like most of the public buildings in the village, had a circular opening in the roof to allow the sun's glory to be ever-present in everyday life. Diana gave a small laugh at this thought. The sun was an apparent, cruel being. How could it ever be excluded from life during the day? The design of the roof had only one benefit that Diana found worthy. On unclouded nights, the opening allowed for studying long into the night. Although Diana did this as often as she could, it was forbidden to be out and about an hour after the sun had set, except during special circumstances.

There were more than a few times that she could remember being caught outside her living quarters after the sun had set. The first few when she was a small child were punished with harsh words, but as the years progressed the punishments became more and more painful. She distinctly remembered one that happened three years before that to her seemed like yesterday. When she was thirteen, she snuck out of her living quarters about an hour before dawn. It was the middle of the Harrowing and the early morning sky was filled with a dark, ghastly glow.

Diana had made it to a hilltop outside of the village, thinking she had not been followed. She still had to cover her eyes, but the fading darkness made the viewing much easier. As she gazed at the half-eclipsed sun in amazement, a village elder and an Iron Solari guard discovered her. She ran, and for this she was beaten across the legs with a whip; the Iron Solari held her down while the elder beat her and spat obscenities at the girl. The encounter left her bedridden for almost a week and dependent on others for necessities. The whip had bruised, welted, and in some places harshly tore her skin. Nothing was ever done to the elder or the guard; to the people, this was how heresy was dealt with. The gashes had healed, but she would bear the scars forever.

Diana drew in a deep breath at the memory and held it in her chest a few moments as she ran her fingers across her eyes. She finally exhaled a short sigh and turned her eyes back to the book. She thumbed through the contents, found something of interest, and flipped to the desired page.

Before she had realized it, Diana had spent hours poring over the books she selected. She had gone back and forth between the table and bookshelf on the back wall more than a few times, and eventually decided to study there instead. She kept most of the books she had pulled stacked in a pile on the floor. A few of them were brimming with tiny page markers. By the change of light in the building, Diana could tell morning mass was over. It was possibly midday now, perhaps a bit later. To her, though, it was not much of a loss. She was never fond of the discussions and sermons held at mass; always raising the sun to be the one true power, and dismissing the moon as an evil being. How dare the moon take precious time away from the sun? Diana scoffed. She could care less that she had missed morning mass, especially with the sun as brutal as it was. In the back of her mind, however, she knew her father would not be pleased.

By dusk she had thumbed through at least a dozen books. Some she read the majority of the pages while others she skimmed over, their information redundant, archaic, or biased Solari text. She put these books away, leaving only the ones with page markers in them, three books she found intriguing, stacked in a pile. When she was satisfied with her selections, she gathered them up and quickly walked toward the front exit. She had made it to the archway before she was caught.

"Diana!"

She froze, her shoulders boxing against her frame.

"Diana, come here this instant!" her father roared, pointing to the ground with a shaking finger. When again she refused to move, he stomped his foot and came up the stairs after her at an alarming speed. Diana let out a half-shriek and quickly turned to run away, but she was caught by the arm. "What did I tell you?" he yelled, turning with his daughter and pulling her down the stairs. Diana tried to resist, dragging her feet on the ground. "You were supposed to come to mass! Where were you all day, here? Do you know how disgraceful that is?"

"I'm sorry," she said, but she wasn't truly, "I lost track of — Ow!"

"Yes, I'm sure you did." He grumbled lowly, yanking her off the last step when she refused to budge. One of the books in Diana's arm fell to the dirt, face up. It was an astronomy book. Diana watched in horror as her father quickly snatched it and skimmed through the first few pages. His face started to turn red. "Dammit, Diana!" he yelled, throwing the book back down. He began to pull her to the Solari temple. "You and your damn moon! You're just like your mother, you never listen!"

Diana's eyes began to sting. "You never listen to me!" she countered, yanking her arm away.

She was quickly struck down at this accusation. "What you're doing is heresy." He replied, his voice calm. "Heretics are punished, Diana, or worse! I warned your traitorous mother of the same thing, and she did not listen to me. Now she's gone!"

"But you don't listen," Diana hissed. "I only want the truth. There is more to the heavens than the sun; you and I both know this!"

She received a sharp kick to the stomach, and she curled over again with a slight gurgling noise. "Do you know what happens to heretics, Diana?" She did not respond. She was too busy holding her stomach, figuratively and metaphorically. He kicked her again, and would have proceeded to do a third kick.

"Leave her alone," demanded a gentle, yet commanding voice.

The demand made her father's foot stop midstrike and he looked in the direction the voice had come from. His face immediately became expressionless and he took a slight bow. "Chosen of the Sun, please excuse me, I was only punishing this girl for—" His voice took on a tone she had not heard in years, one of reverence, respect, even. It was so unusual.

Great, now the sun is going to punish me, Diana thought.

"That will not be necessary," the avatar replied, walking over to the two. Diana dared not move from her place. She stared up at the obscured figures through the veil of her platinum hair.

"With all due respect, Chosen, this girl has studied practices against you," her father added. "She even missed your arrival today."

"I see," the other replied. "Go on, before the sun sets. I will deal with her myself." When Diana's father hesitated to leave, she again told him to leave and gave a dismissing motion of her hand. He finally relented and sulked off, looking behind him as he walked the dirt path to the living district. The Avatar waited, watching him warily until she felt the man was out of earshot.

She dug her shield and sword into the dirt and knelt, elbows perched on her knees. "Are you all right?" At first Diana did not respond, not wanting to move from her submissive position. "I'm not really going to punish you, just relax. I'm here to help." Diana still hesitated to move for a few seconds, but eventually she slowly raised herself to sit. The woman smiled. It was unlike anything Diana had seen in a long time; so warm and gentle, so unlike the stern, harsh faces of the villagers.

The Avatar's eyes met with the pile of scattered books. She reached out for one that was spine-up in the dirt. It was the blank faced leather bound book. Diana made a slight retort as she realized which book she had picked up and reached out for it, but the other woman stopped her. "It's okay," she said without opening the book. She set it in front of Diana and proceeded to pick the others up, putting them on her knee and holding them in place there. "I just want to help you. Do you think you can walk?"

Diana looked down to the dirt, her eyes casting. "I don't know, I think so?" she answered, then quickly added, "I don't want to burden you, Avatar."

"Please," she said, pushing herself to her feet and extending her free hand. "Call me Leona." Diana stared at the outstretched hand, unsure whether to take it or stay put. "Come on, I'll take you home. No one is going to hurt you, I promise." Diana picked up her book with one hand and pulled herself up with Leona's help. She handed Diana her books then retrieved her shield and sword. "Now, which way do you live?"

Diana clutched her books tenderly to her body and pointed southeastward, the same direction her father had gone. The two women started off in that direction and most of the walk to the living district was in silence. After some time, Leona curiously asked, "So you like astronomy, huh?"

Diana shot her a quick glance. "'Like' is not the word I would use."

"So you love it then?"

Diana sighed, and a pressure in her chest eased a little. "It is my life," she replied. "Each day I read through books, observe the moon, the stars, apply theories, record my discoveries."

"Is that why you were punished?" Leona's voice was even and gentle. There were no hints of disdain in her words.

Diana nodded. "Among other things."

"Why? What's the harm in studying something?"

"I've done this for years," Diana explained. "The Solari consider the moon as the utmost source of evil, as if everything bad that happens in the world is the fault of the moon. I've tried for so long to prove them wrong." She paused, shaking her head. "But they won't listen." Diana stopped; Leona followed suit. "Have you heard of the Lunari?"

Leona's lips twisted slightly as she thought. "I think so, but I'm not very familiar with them. The Rakkor do not associate much with people and ideals outside their borders."

She's from the Rakkor? Why is she so eager to defend instead of kill? "They were a group of people completely culled from this mountain because they were deemed inferior to the Solari in every way." Diana stated. Her gaze shifted wayward and she continued down the path. Leona hesitated a moment, her head tilted as she watched her. She finally caught back up with Diana. "There's something about the moon," Diana continued. "It's not like the sun. You can actually look at it without being punished. It's not hot. The night breeze is so cool and refreshing, it lives and it breathes." Diana shifted her gaze back to Leona, who was looking at her with a blank expression. Diana frowned. "Ah, I'm sorry, I should not speak of this in front of the sun's Chosen. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

At this Leona's expression changed to apologetic. "No, not at all. I just find your points interesting."

Diana's brows furrowed and she looked down to her feet. "So, you're not like the other Solari."

Leona shook her head. "My only purpose in life is to serve and protect my people, not to judge them for the choices they make." She watched Diana as they walked, but she made no attempt to respond to her. "No one is ever going to hurt you like that again."

Diana scoffed, a nerve within her struck. "Please, give me a break, Avatar." She quickened her pace a little. She was sore and beyond ready to rest.

Leona made a face and again caught up to her, placing a gauntlet-protected hand on her shoulder. "I'm being serious. They will do as I say."

Diana turned sharply, pushing the hand from her shoulder. "It does not matter if you're the Queen of Everything, they will still find reasons to punish me. They are not going to have the logic 'We're going to go against tradition because this new person showed up.'" She picked up her pace, distancing herself from Leona, and was content when footsteps stopped following her. Good, she thought, she too has gone away.

"What is your name?"

She stopped in her tracks. Diana was dumbfounded at the question. "Excuse me?"

"Your name," Leona said, nearly shouting. "You never told me your name."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "My name is Diana." She turned and continued along the path.

"I promise, Diana!" Leona called out after her. "If anyone lays a hand on you, come tell me first! I'll deal with them."

Diana threw up a hand dismissively. She walked the rest of the way to the living quarters alone. The walk did not take long. When she arrived at her door on the edge of her building, she shoved her shoulder against it roughly to force it open. Diana entered and quickly closed the door, then, with some effort, fastened its iron bolt across the door frame. At times she wished she had never installed the bolt. Other times she was thankful the day's torment could not follow her inside.

She turned around and sighed happily at her tiny one-room hovel. A small bed was shoved against the back left corner and a shabby bookshelf perched beside it. A crude window was carved out of the stone wall on the wall directly across the bed. A simple wooden desk and chair sat beneath the window.

Diana went to the desk and set the books she picked out on its surface. She started to pull the chair out to sit down, but stopped and clenched her jaw. Despite her day-long studying, she felt hardly in the mood to continue after the encounter with her father and the Avatar. She pushed the chair back under the desk, went to the bookshelf and placed her journal in an empty slot on the top shelf. Each book had a number printed in white on the spine and were organized by numbers descending. With a sigh she turned her head to look out the window. "Forgive me, moons, I cannot study tonight."

She changed out of her Solari robes into a long tunic and threw the robes into a wicker basket in the corner near the door. It hung slightly over the top of the basket and she made a face. She made a mental note to wash her robes tomorrow.

Diana was not able to sleep right away, still worked up from the day. Oftentimes she would not rest until late into the night when the moon was overhead. Her head began to ache as she tossed and turned, thinking about the day, and particularly Leona. Who was this person, and why did she decide to inhibit tradition instead of spur it? Why, if she was the Solari's Sun, would she so easily be nondiscriminatory to someone who prayed to the moon? Diana rolled on her back, covering her face with her hands. "Why am I asking myself these questions? Why do I care?"

She turned on her stomach and rested her head on her arms, sighing into her mattress. As much as Diana hated to admit it, this woman intrigued her. But why? What was it about Leona that made her curious? She's different, she said to herself. She shook her head in her arms, her platinum hair smearing across her face. She turned her head slightly, enough to let one grey eye look out the window. The moon had risen into the night sky, bathing the room in pale light. A sense of calmness washed over Diana's body. Her head eased and she closed her eyes, dipping her head back into her arms. She muttered a quiet prayer before slipping into sleep.