Shadow in the Moonlight – Mia Alunamar

[BreakNova]

Shadow in the Moonlight – Mia Alunamar

The moon was full that night, a sight Mia had always loved. She crept lightly between the brush of Cloakwood, her slender elven form moving from shadow to shadow. The hunt reminded her of home, of the Moonwood, and the years she spent fighting the Malarite lycanthropes there. She enjoyed the hunt, enjoyed the sweet nostalgia it gave her, but that was not why she was here. She did not hunt lycanthropes this night. She hunted the Shadow Druids.

For those who knew her, Mia was kind and serene, calm and collected. She was a follower of Silvanus and preserver of the Balance. She was not Mia tonight. The feral look in her eyes matched that of the six hundred pound panther that quietly stalked beside her. They had gone too far and she would not forgive them. Shadow Druids were not evil, not in nature. They were extremists that would go to any lengths to protect the Balance, believing that man and their cities were a threat to the land. Sometimes, the Shadow Druids wouldn’t think twice to poison the water supply of an entire town. While other times these same extremists would aid rebels in crippling the reign of a tyrant. If it protected the Balance, they would do anything, go to any lengths.

They had gone too far.

Mia whispered in the forest tongue to her animal companion and the panther disappeared into the wilds. They say Cloakwood had Shadow Druids deeper in. Many members of the Circle as well as adventurers have seen them. But were they truly what they claimed to be? Mia didn’t believe so, for Shadow Druids rarely announced their presence. They often worked within the local druid circles and held their secret meetings wearing masks and holding fake names. She believed the druids of Cloakwood that attacked adventurers so openly were just hapless fanatics.

The moon elf hugged her back against a tree and crouched low, perfectly masked both in camouflage and in darkness. With the keen eyes of her heritage, Mia pierced the veil of the night and saw a stone circle tucked away in a small clearing surrounded by thick bushes and low-hanging branches. In the center of the small circle lay the bones of a creature picked clean by scavengers. She knew of the stone circle but she never disturbed it. She checked it night after night for some time in the hopes that its user would come by. At least, that’s what she wanted it to look like.

“Naïve,” a melodic voice whispered to her from behind, the cold kiss of a dagger touching the warm skin of her neck.

Mia made no movement, save for the subtle tightening grip she made on her bow..

“I’ve been watching you for several weeks now,” the masked Shadowed One whispered confidently. “You come to this spot, hoping to get a glance at us. You sit here for hours unaware we are even watching you the moment you walk into the forest. Very, very naïve.” He gave her a toothy grin, his teeth filed down to fangs.

Mia kept her emerald eyes fixed on him, calm and collected despite the burning fires within them.

The Shadowed One smiled assertively, his eyes hidden by the bear mask, but Mia knew he stared at her with a hungry killing intent. Still, she was calm.

“What trap is good,” Mia asked slowly, “without the bait?”

The Shadowed One’s jaw dropped with realization. He whipped around behind him, sensing the creature upon him, but was soon buried beneath six hundred pounds of panther. Galenne raked her claws at the shadow druid’s defensive wards, digging up bits of stone that protected his skin. The shadow druid growled angrily and called upon his powers of nature, turning into a giant spider. The large arachnid rolled with Galenne and threw the panther off of him, slamming her into a nearby tree.

The giant spider then whipped around back to Mia. She was gone.

Impatiently, the spider scanned his surroundings, his eight eyes moving around and his front legs held up in a threatening stance. Had the spider been able to speak the common tongue, it would have spewed vile curses at the moon elf, but instead it uttered a defiant hiss.

Steel flashed in the moonlight from the shadows and sliced clean through one of the spider’s rear legs. The spider hissed angrily and whipped around. It spotted the moon elf by the reflection of light off her steel blade. She however covered it up with her wooden shield of Silvanus and disappeared into the darkness beyond his night vision, her fiery emerald eyes the last he saw of her. He hissed again, another string of curses in his mind.

Galenne was upon him again from the shadows. She pounced on top his thorax and clawed at his eyes, blinding three of them before the shadow druid threw her off of him. Galenne tumbled down the nearby hill, roaring in protest.

Mia lunged out of the dark forest to capitalize but the shadow druid spun his body around and slammed into her mid-flight. She hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop; the spider charged toward her!

Poisoned fangs dug at her, aimed at her torso but Mia propped her shield in their path, the light enchantment on the wood keeping the spider’s powerful fangs from piercing through. The spider shook her and bit at her, unable to get past the shield until at last he hoisted her into the air and tossed her, ripping the shield from her arm. Mia landed on her feet and readied her blade as the spider hurled her shield aside.

The spider coiled its abdomen up and fired a line of sticky webbing at her but the nimble elf dived out of the way. Mia regained her footing and charged forward, slicing another one of its legs off.

The six legged spider stumbled on the ground, trying to regain its footing. Mia gave him no such chance. The moon elf chanted loudly and placed her hand on the flat end of her blade. Flames shot up from the hilt of the sword, swallowing the entire body of the blade in magical fire. She came forward and rushed her blade toward the center of its eyes.

The longer reach of the spider’s front leg defeated her. The spider struck at her, slamming his leg into her stomach and blasting the air from her lungs. She tumbled backward and slammed hard against a tree. Mia fell to her knees, gasping for air. She clutched her side, feeling a broken rib painfully shift in her chest. She struggled for air.

The spider was upon her, his front legs reared up and his dripping fangs shown. Mia heaved, air finding its way back into her lungs but she had nowhere to run! She frantically dug her fingers into the ground and took a handful of dirt then clasped her hands together and chanted a spell with what little breath she had.

The spider brought his fangs in….

…And felt the rocky fist of an earth elemental hit back!

The spider recoiled and rubbed its face in aggravation before focusing its eyes on what had happened. An earth elemental, the result of Mia’s spell, tore its way out of the ground and came forward, its massive fist flying toward the spider. The shadow druid jumped back and attacked at the elemental but the large summoned creature grabbed its front legs, stopping him fast. The spider screeched and hissed but the elemental would not let up.

Mia, gaining her breath, quickly ran up the back of the elemental and leaped onto the back of the spider, the sword Uriel had given held high over her head.

“For Galen’ael!” she cried, and drove her sword into the spider’s thorax.

Fire and sonic energies surged from the blade. The spider wailed with pain and tried to shake Mia off, but she held firm with her legs wrapped around its thorax, riding the massive arachnid like an angry charger. Then, with every ounce of strength in her slender body, she twisted the embedded blade.

The spider shrieked one last time before collapsing in a heap along with the earth elemental – its magical life ended.

Mia rolled off of the creature, gasping for breath and wincing every time her broken rib stabbed at her. She groaned and coughed then finally stood up and faced her opponent.
At the brink of death, the shadow druid’s wild shape had dissipated and he lay broken over the remains of the earth elemental. Mia approached him, an arm across her side as she staggered toward him and the fiery blade in her other.

“You hate the Fist, don’t you?” the Shadowed One said between coughs. “You hate what man has done to the nature you so love. Am I right?” He grinned at Mia but received no answer in return. “You would make an excellent one of us, sister.”

Mia gritted her teeth, her emerald eyes wide and hot with anger.

He burst into hideous, bone-chilling laughter.

Mia dealt the final blow. His last few moments were nothing more than blood-gurgling cackling before the eerie silence of Cloakwood took hold. Though dead, the shadow druid did not quell Mia’s rage. She bit her lip and tasted blood in her mouth and the knuckles on her sword-hand turned white.

In a few moments, Galenne was by her side. She rubbed her head against Mia’s thigh; the touch of her concerned companion calmed the feral spirit inside the moon elf. Mia managed a smile at Galenne and rubbed the panther’s ear.

“Let’s go Galenne.”

Mia looked at the corpse of the shadow druid one last time. He must have been new to the order, overconfident in his power. She had gained some ground and became a threat. He believed Mia was easy prey. He was wrong. The Shadow Druids wouldn’t make that mistake again. Yet, more disturbingly, is what the shadow druid had said to her. His last words and his deathly laugh haunted her thoughts. She feared he was not completely wrong.

“Revenge is empty,” she muttered.

[BreakNova]

"Dark is the Moonwood on a cloudy night. The worst nights of them all where I come from. The Keeper had told the young ones not to worry, that the Seldarine watched us.

It was reassuring to some, but not to everyone. After all, the Moonwood had many dangers. Orcs that picked at the edge of the forest for lumber would often come to raid our small camp that sat at the edge of the vast wilderness. We moved many times, as was our way, but the orcs would always find us.

Orcs, however, were not the only danger in the Moonwood. The People of the Black Blood,worshipers of Malar, lycanthropes. They'd many names. We lost many to their attacks, either from the seriousness of their wounds, or the horrid curse the beasts passed to those bitten. They attacked in small contingencies, testing us, seeing how well we responded under the pressure of their presence. They toyed with us. They loved to do so.

Another group of elves lived in the Wood as well. The Keeper called them Eldreth Veluuthra, haters of Man. Their own numbers added to the count of lycanthropes but not to the followers of Malar, gratefully. We made little contact with them, and them with us. We preferred not to be bothered and they needed nothing we could provide.

The Moonwood was dark that night, as if I gazed into the light-less plane. We lay in silence, our eyes ever-watchful, our bows knocked with silver-tipped arrows, and our hearts fluttering in anticipation.

The Moonwood was very dark that night. Very silent. And They were many."

- A late journal entry with no title, Mia Alunamar.

[BreakNova]

”I have seen darkness. I’ve felt it and tasted it as if it was a tangible entity. I know that within every heart lies the capacity for malevolence to set root. In turn, even the darkest of hearts possess a glimmer of hope, a chance of redemption. Much of my life has changed since those years of torment and I often wonder if I truly was the same person I hold in my memories.

Yet, if there is one thing I have learned, I have discovered that true evil is never born. Those that are born are ignorant of the ways of the world. They are a clean slate, innocence incarnate, only led by innate instinct and the right of survival, a right we all possess. The child, however, is twisted and manipulated to whatever views their brethren entrenched upon them, to whatever the world drops onto them. Most fit the mold the world has formed for them whilst the few struggle to break free of it. We do not choose how we are born or what we are born as. We choose what we become or we let society choose for us.

As I reflect on my darkest days, I remind myself of the path I’ve chosen. I remind myself that I’ve made my own choice.

Recollections – Part 1 - The Hunt

Mia saw the content smile on her elder brother’s face. There were many wonders of the Moonwood, many things that were both beautiful and deadly, but this was special indeed. The delighted brother held a diminutive animal in his arms, a panther cub. The beautiful moon elf quietly approached her brother and glanced at the bundle in his arms, smiling at the sight of the creature. She thought it amazing to see such a normally fierce creature be so small with a genuine semblance of innocence. The panther would be raised by her brother to become a proud hunter and member of Norreanea.

“Galenne,” her brother told her the panther’s name.

The panther pawed and snapped at a hanging lock of Ilandru’s long azure hair. The moon elf chuckled and threw his hair behind his shoulders.

Mia smiled and nodded. “A good name. He will grow strong under you, Ilandru.”

“She,” Ilandru corrected and hooked an arm around Mia’s slender shoulders. “And she will be our family. We will raise her.”

Ilandru had found the cub in the wilds of the Moonwood, born from the panther the Elder called “Sirea”. The mother panther had grown sick over the days and died, leaving a litter of kittens as her legacy. The Eldreth Veluuthra, haters of man, took the litter. In their hands, the litter would be raised and used in their operations against the humans. Ilandru saved Galenne from such a fate. But the Norreanea were not enemies of Eldreth Veluuthra even if a cell of their ranks were lycanthropes. They shared a common enemy however: The People of the Black Blood, Malarite lycanthropes that were a constant danger in the dark forests of the Moonwood.

Norreanea was a small collection of nomadic moon elves that wandered the Silver Marches. They moved from place to place, rarely staying anywhere longer than a season. Despite that tradition, many of the moon elves of Norreanea called the Moonwood home.

Mia and her brother returned Galenne to camp, leaving the cub in the care of Elder Lanavel Hlaeeplith who wished to check on the panther’s health.

“She has been touched by the Oakfather,” the elder said when he indicated that Galenne’s eyes were different from each other. Her left eye was that of sulfur, a brilliant yellow and normal for her kind. Her right eye, however, was a stunning emerald green.

“So,” Ilandru said, clasping a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Shall we go hunting?”

“What do we hunt?” Mia asked curiously.

“Landren’s group said they saw the trail of orc in the west,” Ilandru explained. “A scouting party perhaps.”

Mia grinned wryly at the thought of hunting orcs. The pig-faced humanoids would roam into the Moonwood with fire and axes. They chopped down trees for the lumber and attacked any settlements or caravans in the region. The Norreanea did what they could, driving the beasts back, killing the orcs on sight, and kept the land safe wherever they could. Killing orcs in the Moonwood had become so commonplace that many of the arrogant elves found it to be like a sport. More often than not, young hunters would return from their hunts and tell tales of the large orc they killed. They would compete in the killings and brag on who killed the largest and who killed the most. They were orcs, after all, and the land was better off without them.

“I could use a little practice,” Mia said as she adjusted the white bandanna covering her forehead and pushed her log flowing cobalt hair behind her elven ears.

Ilandru smiled and checked his equipment. Mia did the same. The two started into the woods around noon. The Moonwood was a dense forest with high evergreen trees mixed with tall shadowtops and eerie groves of duskwoods. The leafy roof of the trees overhead clouded much of the sky, casting an endless shade on the forest floor. Mia felt it was a semblance of perpetual night at times when the wood was so thick that it clouded the sun.

They headed west toward the region of the forest Landren had spoken of. Well into the afternoon, the brother and sister reached their destination, their bows at the ready. Like two shadows, the siblings crept just outside of the small trail, taking care to step on the unearthed roots of the trees to mask their trail. It was a common practice, because the two hunters knew that they were not the only intelligent beings in the dangerous Moonwood that could track.

Their slender forms moved from tree to tree, Mia stepping where Ilandru stepped. They moved toe to heel, their steps silent and careful. They scrutinized the earth beneath them with their keen emerald eyes, looking for any sign of the orc band.

Ilandru picked up the trail of the cumbersome band and led his sister deeper in. He pointed out to Mia that something was amiss, that the orc’s movements were sporadic, even more so than orcs usually were, as if they were panicked and fleeing.

“They were running from something,” Ilandru told Mia.

Mia guessed such.

She nodded her response and looked back at the trail. “Some things, indeed,” she said when she noticed multiple tracks different from the flat-footed orcs. The tracks resembled that of a wolf, four clawed toes forming a half circle around the heel. Though unlike the more narrowed grouping of the toes, they were spread slightly further apart and the claws were more defined.

Mia knelt down beside her brother and examined the tracks closer. “Think it’s them?” she asked him.

Ilandru shook his head, his long azure hair swaying across his shoulders. “I’d rather not find out, but it looks like it.”

“They’ve never come to this region before. Why now?”

“Hunting,” Ilandru concluded. “They’re pushing for more ground to hunt on.”

“We’d best inform the Norreanea,” Mia told her brother, genuine concern in her tone. “If they’ve pushed into this region…”

“I know,” Ilandru nodded and offered his sister a smile to relax her. “Need not worry.”

Were it so easy.

As they left, Mia’s keen senses detected the grotesque smell of rotting meat. She knew Ilandru had smelled it as well by the disgusted look painted across his face. They had found the end of the trail, and needed not look over the small knoll to see the bodies of a dozen gnarled orcs sprawled onto the ground. The flies had already claimed the site, what was left of it.

[BreakNova]

Recollections - Part 2 - Thoughtful Nonsense

Galenne playfully swatted at Mia’s feet as she sat on the small makeshift cot in her brother’s tent. The young moon elf giggled and gently pushed the diminutive cub over, pulling her foot back every time Galenne tried to latch on and nibble the leather of her boot.

“You’re a funny thing,” she said and laughed when Galenne managed to get a hold on her boot. She pulled her foot back and dragged the little panther across the bearskin rug, laughing all the while.

Playing with Galenne helped pass the time while Mia waited in the tent for her older brother. She was munching on a piece of elven waybread, trying not to laugh between chewing with Galenne tackled her shin. The panther looked up curiously at what she was eating and sat on her haunches, staring at Mia hungrily.

“You just ate,” Mia reminded her, but the panther obviously didn’t understand her. Resigning, Mia broke off a piece of the waybread and handed it to Galenne who took a taste and promptly refused anymore.

“Don’t like it, hmm?” Mia smiled and reached into her ration pack to find a small pouch of berries. She held a handful down to Galenne, who immediately ate them with gusto.

The moon elf heard her brother approaching the tent before he entered. She looked up to see Ilandru pushing the flap of the tent’s entrance aside and stepping in. Her elder brother had a disturbed look on his face, one that Mia thought uncharacteristic for him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked with concern.

“We’ll be moving out soon,” Ilandru dodged as he went over to his haversack that sat in the corner of the tent. “The elder says we’re not the only ones that have noticed an increase in their movements. Riandur and his party that went east hasn’t returned either.”

Mia blinked with surprise. “Riandur hasn’t returned? But he’s one of our best hunters.”

Ilandru nodded. “I know. The Silver Eye is our most seasoned but it’s been four days and he’s not so much as sent word back to the encampment. Lanavel knows that if Riandur and his group is well he will find us if we move on.”

Mia took Galenne in her arms and stood up. “Shouldn’t we send a quad to search for them?”

Ilandru shook his head. “No. The elder says he needs everyone here at camp to get ready to move out. I am the most seasoned tracker at the camp now,” he smiled at Mia, “and I need a good bow to help me lead the Norreanea south out of the Moonwood.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Mia nodded.

Her elder brother nodded and rubbed Galenne’s ears. The panther closed her eyes and purred. “Just keep smiling,” he told Mia. “We need to keep the spirits of our kin up, keep them alert.”

Mia knew full well who it was that was hunting orcs in the wilds of the Moonwood. It was the Malarite lycanthropes known as the People of the Black Blood. She remembered the first time she had ever fought one of the creatures, heard that their bite cursed those bitten, turning the victim into one of them. She shuddered at the thought. She steeled herself for the night ahead, knowing that it would be a rough one. The Norreanea, however, were well versed in the dangers of the wilds and every elf in their camp was taught how to wield a blade and bow since a very young age. They were all competent fighters and skilled shots.

Ilandru nudged Mia, snapping her out of her daze. “You’re too serious.”
Mia blinked in surprise. “I am only thinking of what may come to pass.”

Her elder brother shook his head with a tired smile. “You know as well as I do that the dangers of the forest are all around us. Tonight is no different than last night or the last ten nights. One who lives in fear dies a thousand times, while one who does not dies only once.”

Mia rolled her eyes. “Sermonizing me with your philosophies, dear brother?”

Ilandru laughed and gently pushed her. “Well someone has to fill your head with thoughtful nonsense.” Her brother slung an arm around her shoulders. “Now, let’s introduce Galenne to the rest of camp, shall we?”

Mia could not help but smile and nod. The two headed out of the tent and went to the center of camp where most of the Norreanea gathered for the midday meal. Afterward, the elves packed up camp, ready to move out under the night sky. It was their tradition. Mia would miss the nights in the Moonwood, she thought, suspecting this would be one of her last nights.

She could have never been more wrong.

[BreakNova]

Recollection - Part 3 - Prevailing Spirit

She was falling. What was once the open air became the irregular weave of branches from the tall shadowtops and duskwoods of the Moonwood. Mia’s slender form descended into the forest, her body barraged by the leafy twigs and arms of the trees that slowed her plummet. She crossed her arms in front of her face in defense but she knew the ground was coming fast, knew it wouldn’t matter.

She hit the ground. Hard. The fall had dropped her on her right arm and a jolt of pain spiked from her shoulder as its clavicle promptly snapped. She groaned in pain, but knew she was alive. Bruised and beaten, Mia rolled onto her back and winced as the broken bone shifted in her shoulder. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, to see her surroundings as she ignored the intense pain of her battered body. The twigs had cut small lines of hot blood on her arms and face and the fabric of her leather armor had countless scrapes and gashes not only from the fall but from the beasts she had battled.

Then she heard the howling.

Mia gritted her teeth. The beasts were searching for her, coming to finish her off. She attempted to stand, but her legs would not obey. The howling of the beasts sent chills down her spine as she scanned her surroundings. She spotted her bow lying on the ground at the base of an evergreen tree. Though her body was broken, her spirit was not and she crawled toward her weapon. When the bow was in her hands, she hoisted herself up with her back against the tree and opened her quiver.

The moon elf’s heart fluttered with unease when she counted only ten arrows. Ten. This was her last stand and she couldn’t even stay on her feet, could not wield a sword, and she only had ten arrows! She laughed nervously at her hopelessness as she drew the first arrow, silently thanking the Seldarine that at least they were intact from the fall, that she had not landed on her quiver and snapped them all. Though she would die in these woods, she knew she would take a few of the beasts with her. She, after all, was proud and would not give up so long as breath was in her chest.

Still, despite her prevailing spirit, she asked herself: “How did it come to this?”