The Zorya, the Morning Star and Evening Star, open and close the gates of Dazhbog's solar palace each dawn and dusk, ushering his chariot of white horses out into the sky and welcoming it home when the day is done.
Zorya and Aušrinė descend from the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess *H₂éwsōs, both preserving the celestial gate-keeper role — the Morning Star who opens the heavens for the sun's daily journey.
The Zorya stand watch over Zmey, a great dragon chained to the constellation Ursa Minor, bound at the pole of the sky. Should the chain ever break and Zmey slip free, the world will end.
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