"That is not in the story! You remember
When Beauty said "I love you" to the Beast
That was a fairy prince, his ugliness
Changed and dissolved, like magic... But you see
I am still the same."

"The moon - yes, that would be the place for me -
My kind of paradise!"

- Cyrano de Bergerac, Act V Scene v
Edmond Rostand (translated by Brian Hooker)

Far back in a distant age of magic and mystery, there was a magnificent land known as the Moon Realm. Built in honour of the divine celestial orb of the night, on the coast of a serene ocean whose very tides obeyed the moon's will, the kingdom's walls, buildings and vast royal palace were constructed from silver, marble and pearls - allowing them to glow beautifully in shimmering rays of lunar light.

The King and Queen of the Moon Realm were kindly and wise: beloved by their people, and deeply in love with one another. In time, the Queen became pregnant, and the entire kingdom eagerly awaited the birth of an heir. However, when the royal child – who was indeed a son – entered the world, his mother wailed in agony as she beheld him for the first time.

Though he was healthy, and sound in body, the infant possessed an absolutely enormous nose: one so grotesquely large and pointed, it poked out from his swaddling clothes. Both the Queen and King did not like to look upon the face of their son – whom they named "Cyrano de la Lune" – for too long a stretch, and although they loved him dearly, they knew he was far from the handsome and magnificent prince that both they and the realm had so longed for.

In desperation, the King and Queen conveyed their son in their platinum-clad carriage across the continent to another kingdom: one that was a friend and ally to their own. Standing atop a high mountain, its spires and halls adorned with gleaming gold and dazzling diamonds, this land was known as the Sun Realm: its own tribute being paid to the fiery star of the dawn.

The queen of this land had once been the Queen of the Fairies, but had fallen in love with the mortal Sun King and swiftly married him. She was now expecting her own first-born, and as a gesture of friendship between the two kingdoms, she had been bestowed with the honour of becoming Prince Cyrano's godmother.

With her magical talents, the King and Queen of the Moon Realm knew that she was the one friend who could offer help and hope to their baby. As the Sun Queen cradled her godson in the crook of her arm, she waved a hand over him, reciting words of magic.

"Prince Cyrano shall be greatly gifted," she told her troubled visitors kindly. "Pure in heart and generous in spirit, he will sword-fight with the skill of the greatest generals, and shall be renowned for his wisdom and his wit. Yet, his real prowess shall be in his poetry. He will conjure up words of such extravagant beauty that even the stoniest of hearts will be moved and conquered by them."

"But what of his nose?" the Moon Queen asked anxiously.

"That, I cannot alter," the Sun Queen replied in a determined tone.

"But – but why?"

"Cyrano will only find true love when he is treasured for his soul in spite of his appearance. On that day, he shall know the greatest happiness of all. I promise you this."

"Most solemnly?"

"On the life of my unborn child, I swear it shall be so."

This prophecy brought very little comfort to the royal couple of the Moon Realm. Whilst still thanking the fairy consort for the gifts she had bestowed upon their son, they departed for their homeland, crestfallen – deciding along the way that the first accessory the newborn prince would ever need was not a crown or coronet, but a carnival mask.