from Zariste’s Concise Guide to World Religions

The Twins were born as the universe sprang forth. In the first moment of darkness, Lady Night was born, but when light exploded the next moment, Lord Day was born. Lady Night controls darkness, secrets, femininity, and birth; Lord Day controls light, knowledge, masculinity, and death. The Twins are two halves of a whole, and balance between them is vital. Along with the other gods, the Twins created Damensea, and Lady Night holds dominion over the night while Lord Day holds dominion over the day.

Worship of the Twins began several millennia ago when the Twins chose a tribe in the Great Desert at the heart of what is now the vast Tsarkan Empire. The Twins helped their people find spiritual balance, survive the desert, domesticate horses, and conquer less balanced nations.

Every day at dawn and sunset, worshippers of the Twins pause their activities to face toward the Great Desert, kneel, and pray to the Twins. The truly devout also travel to temples or holy tents to attend the services surrounding those daily prayers. The dawn service is begun by priestesses of Lady Night and ended by priests of Lord Day, while the sunset service is done reversed.

The Twins have four festivals during the year. The two equinoxes are Balance Days where balance is celebrated by songs with two equal female and male parts and feasts with female and male dishes*. The winter solstice is Lady’s Night where Lady Night is celebrated by fasting and sleeping during the day then feasting on female dishes and singing female songs at night. The summer solstice is Lord’s Day where Lord Day is celebrated by feasting on male dishes and singing male songs during the day then fasting and sleeping at night.

  * Worshippers of the Twins have long lists of foods that are female or male. For instance, sweet dishes are typically female, while salty dishes are typically male.