"But why do we hate the Clan of Lune, Father? I don't understand," The small blonde child asked innocently, her grey eyes curious and untainted with hate or concern.

The hooded man turned to her, his brows knitted. "Do not ask questions, child! You must only know that they are not to be trusted!"

"But, Father...!" the child began, then cried out as a strong, thin branch came down on her exposed knuckles, punishment for her imploring into the past of the two famous clans.


The blonde woman winced in the memory of the many beatings she received just asking about her clan's intense and mysterious hatred. She turned her grey eyes to the moon, which rose, full and bright, overhead, casting the shadows of the intricate windowpane onto her face. She wore the golden robe of the Clan of Sol, the clan's seal tattooed on her upper right arm. Her robe signified her as a low-ranked priestess within the sanctuary.

"Haruka," came a small voice from her door. She turned her eyes to the entrance of her room in the tower of the temple.

"Kaito," she responded, and a teenaged boy came in, wearing a simple yellow cotton robe, being a priest in training. His hair was ruffled from restless slumber, his tattoo still fresh on his neck. She smiled at him and stood. Haruka was nearing her twenty-second year of sunrises, and she stood tall, a pillar, as many called her. Her body was lithe and strong from years of carrying water into the temple to be purified for drinking. "Couldn't sleep?"

The boy shook his head and moved into the round room to sit on the straw-filled bed on the floor. "I am too excited for tomorrow."

The blonde chuckled, remembering her initiation into the inner circle of the Clan of Sol. The first sunrise of their induction, the trainee was tattooed with the Seal of Sol, a swirling mark representing their holy sun. The boy was anxious for his second sunrise, which would see him baptized in the Holy Sand of Sol, which glistened like pure gold in the sunlight cast into the temple by the circular hole in the roof.

Although Haruka's childhood had been fraught with beatings for her incessant questions, she remained dedicated to her temple, and her initiation had been the happiest day of her life. She welcomed the rigors of their worship, embraced the rituals and prayers. Although she was a young priestess still, she hoped to ascend the ranks and bring herself closer and closer to the warm light of their Sol.

Haruka crossed from the window, sitting beside her friend. She put her hand on his shoulder. "It will be the most rewarding moment of your life, Kaito. To be enveloped in the warm love of the Sun. You will feel at one with the sky." The boy stared in amazement as the blonde's voice took on a tone of adoration. "There is no need to be afraid, for Sol will surely embrace you."

Kaito nodded, smiling. "Then I will not be afraid."


The sunrise woke Haruka, and she smiled, dressing quickly, sliding on her elegant golden robe. She performed a quick prayer to the orange sun before hurrying downstairs to join the two dozen other priests and priestesses who had gathered in the temple's main chamber. The rising sun could be seen in the grand window at the end of the enormous room. As it passed upwards, the head priest, the man who had chastised her throughout her childhood for her curiosity, who now balded and grew old, chanted as he swung around a burner pouring incense smoke.

Haruka knelt behind the other priests and priestesses, joining in easily with their prayers and chants, most of it asking Sol to accept the young boy as a priest of the Clan. Kaito was brought out, wearing a loincloth, and was guided to the altar, which was made in the same sandstone as the rest of the temple, but raised. The priest moved to the altar and began a prayer, which everyone joined until it filled the temple.

The sun rose outside the window, the chanting becoming an easy, lulling hum. The priests and priestesses rocked with its rhythms, and even Haruka joined in, the chant making her feel like she was in a daze. The incense wound around them, making her dizzy. Time passed as though in an instant, until finally the sun was over the altar, and then directly over the roof's entrance. The sunlight warmed the chamber, and finally settled on the sand in the stone basin behind the altar. Kaito was taken to the golden, glimmering sand, where the priest submerged him in the magical grains, bringing him up for air every few seconds. The chanting became more intense, several of the priests delirious from praying so long. The chant ebbed and flowed, some falling out of rhythm, some wailing the words.

Finally, the sun passed away from the sand, and the boy was lifted from the basin covered in dust and sand. The chanting ceased immediately, the entire congregation letting out a unified cry of thanks to Sol. Haruka fell back, panting. Sweat gathered on her brow, her lips numb from the chant, her legs long asleep. She rubbed her thighs to try and regain feeling, but gave Kaito a proud smile when he looked her way, glad to see his happy grin.


After the ritual, the boy was taken to a side chamber to finish his initiation so the doors of the temple could be opened to visitors and worshippers. Haruka knew in the other room he would be given his robes and shaved to allow the sun to touch his very mind. The priest would give him their rules, his book of prayers and rituals, and he would receive a room within the temple away from the learning trainees. She ran a hand through her own short hair, which she had maintained boyishly when she found she liked the style.

She helped the others prepare a feast for that evening. They worked fast, for no celebration was to progress into the night. As soon as the sun was gone from the horizon, the members of the Clan went to bed, for the night was unholy. The moon was not to be looked upon, and for as often as Haruka tried to adhere to that rule, she loved the silver glow of the moon. Though she had studied her prayers and books, and though she loved Sol, she couldn't help but wonder what could be so bad about the beautiful moon the Clan of Lune worshipped.

The tables were laden with food and they ate, joyous over their new priest, whose robe matched Haruka's. Kaito sat beside her, and she clapped him on the back. They drank only wine and other juice, for water was sacred to the Clan of Lune and therefore not to be consumed by those in the Clan of Sol. Haruka found this silly, but she had learned not to ask. The party died as the sun sunk into the earth. Haruka returned to her room, looking to the forbidden moon, silently wondering what the harm would be in simply knowing.


A.N.: Hope you all enjoy! :D This is one of the last installments in the Within Temptation collaboration by myself and lostinhersong. Please review! In case anyone is concerned, I am already finished with The Cross, and will be posting every few days on it. :) 3