Fire and Ice
"'Why does the sun hide at night?' Have you ever asked yourselves that question? Well, I, leader of the Iroquois, have a saga that has been told from generation to generation about why the sun hides at night. It is called, 'Fire and Ice'."
"This legend starts in a time before the Iroquois existed- before man existed, to be more accurate. It all began in Mount Yahzi, a mountain that towers high into the air, so high that its peak is lost in the clouds. At the time, there was no sun or moon. Just darkness, all day long. On the mountain lived two dragons- Vitani, the dragon of fire, and Shetani, the dragon of ice. The mountain was split into the two kingdoms- the kingdoms of fire and ice. But both dragons wanted to have both kingdoms to their selves."
"This started a quarrel between Vitani and Shetani. They boasted about how each one would make a better leader than the other, and claimed to be more powerful that the other. The argument, to no one's surprise, soon advanced into war."
"Their battle raged on for years, and finally, Shetani and Vitani met face to face in battle. Vitani sent out scorching cyclones of flames, while Shetani billowed out icy blasts. But Vitani would melt the ice blasts with his fire, and so Shetani began to rely on tooth and claw. Shetani rocketed up into the air, leaving Vitani to soar after her. Here, Shetani's icy blue scales could barely be seen against the sky, especially since they were now in the mist of the clouds. But Shetani could see Vitani's crimson scales easily, and lashed out after him, catching Vitani in a deadly embrace. They went crashing to the ground, roaring in rage and fury, both ripping at each other with their lethal fangs and thorn sharp claws. They rolled head over heels, and began to tumble down the rocky cliff, still locked in battle."
"Shetani, not able to hold on any long without being killed, released Vitani. Vitani went barreling down into a lake, letting out a roar of pain. Being a fire dragon, he was not able to stand the water and was soon dead. But Shetani's victory didn't last long. The wounds Vitani had inflicted on him were fatal, therefore she fatigued and stumbled over the ledge of the cliff, landing on a lip of the stone wall. With a last heave of her sides, Shetani was dead also. Victory belonged to no one."
"Then, the spirits of the fire and ice dragons lifted from their lifeless bodies, Vitani's glowing a fiery red orange while Shetani's was an icy white-blue. The two spirits rose into the sky, becoming the moon and the sun. Now, in the afterlife, their spirits still battled since their war had never been settled in the mortal world. The restless spirits have kept battling for years, causing the sun, or Vitani's spirit, to hide whilst the moon, Shetani's spirit comes chasing after Vitani."
"So now, when you look up at the moon and the sun, you can always remember Shetani and Vitani, and the kingdoms of Fire and Ice."