The sons of Dijun were known to be nine suns...
Shun from the rest of the world by their mother, Hexi, they are confined at their residence of a giant yew tree rooted in the depths of the sea for the greatest part of their life. Each day, at the first cry of the crow, Hexi would watch as one of her sons board a golden carriage drawn by eight stallions of fire coached by two henchmen take off. All day, she will watch attentively the path of light her son leaves across the length of the sky, until eventually, when he has traveled a full cycle, the carriage brings him back, diving into the waves of the ocean and leaving behind a mortal world now shrouded in the darkness of night.
Thus came one night, when Hexi was fast asleep, the youngest of the nine voiced his miseries as a prisoner of their very parents, being allowed out of the yew tree only once in nine days and even then, only under the watchful eye of their mother. It was then proposed that all nine should escape that night at once, to have a bit of a fun in the sky they so longed to fly and conquer with their own wings.
Suddenly, the peaceful slumber of the mortal world was driven out by a light like no other, an intense heat and agitation like no other. People jumped out of their beds to hastly seal doors, curtains, anything that would keep out the light--only to find out it is better to become simply blinded rather than to be baked alive. Out of options, they tied shades around their eyes, and walked out their houses to discover plants--including their precious crops--withering before their very eyes; their wells were quickly becoming dry, and even nearby streams and rivers were evaporating into nothing, leaving behind stranded fish twitching in place.
Already Dijun had received the news, and has dispatched one of his most trusted warrior-deities, Houyi, to distract and possibly scare his sons into returning to their dwelling at the yew tree. Houyi, armed with a bow of heavy gold and nine golden arrows, descended into the mortal world.
He was greeted by a dying crowd: the leader, an elderly woman barely able to support herself on her cane, opened her mouth to plead assistance, but no sound came out of her dry throat. Houyi then looked up, and what greeted his eyes better than the sight of nine golden orbs of light, shooting around in the sky and having the time of their life? Greatly saddened, he drew his first arrow and shot just as Dijun had ordered, attempting to shock the sons back into the protection of the sea--but lo! Was that arrow ignored like a mere fly?!
Finally losing her balance, the elder had collapsed to the ground...
And thus Houyi decided to place the lives of people above the orders of Dijun, drawing a second arrow and aiming, this time, straight at one of the nine--
And thus the brother plunged, leaving a burning trail of fire in the sky, marking the trail of his fall... He was a golden crow.
The remaining eight suns shot into a panic, zooming around in a now even greater frenzy but still refusing to go anywhere near the surface of the sea. Clenching his teeth in dread and despair, Houyi shot his seven remaining arrows, one by one.
-
Dijun's punishment, at the loss of eight sons, was to banish Houyi and his wife, Change, down to the mortal world that they so loved to live the remainder of their life as humans, ordinary farmers. Change, however, did not wish to submit herself to this lowly life and eventually became the Lone Lady of the Moon, joining the Rabbit there. But that, perhaps, would be another tale for another time.
===
Animated Paint BBS, three hours.
See animation here.
