RoJ One Shots

Blood Moon

"I want to tell a story about the Wolf spirit that adored the moon," Michaela said quietly, the Night Owls watching the fire in silence.

She stared into the heart of the fire, watching as the wood beneath sparked and cracked.

"It's a story passed down by my ancestors. In days of old, when the spirits were respected as they should be, my clan relied on the Wolf to lead us. Every second generation, a Wolf would be chosen beneath the rising moon of that new season.

"He would be brave, and strong, able to protect the village and its people. The Wolf fought thousands of battles, and each time the new Wolf was chosen, he'd be given the knowledge of the previous Wolf, and his eyes would glow, just like the colour of the fire."

She smiled sadly.

"One day, an ancestor overheard the Wolf talking to the Moon, saw its light shimmer in reply. A last howl, and the Wolf turned to face the village, teeth bared. The ancestor saw the rage in his eyes, and ran toward the village, the Wolf taking the way down through the rocky mountains. It would be a shortcut for the nimble Wolf, but tonight, the ancestor hoped the Wolf would stumble."

A piece of wood in the fire cracked in half.

"Racing into the village, the ancestor told their people the Wolf was in a rage, that they should pray, and prepare for arrival of the vengeful Wolf. What had they done to insult him?"

She turned her eyes upward, toward the moon.

"The Wolf sprinted into the village, heading straight for the soothsayer's tent. Before the entrance stood five of their warriors, friends of the Wolf.

"'Let me pass,' he ordered his friends, but they stood firm, spears raised at him. The Wolf was unbothered by their action. His friends didn't understand the gravity of the situation. The Wolf leapt over their heads, into the tent where the soothsayer was completing a ritual."

The Earth Elemental looked at the Sun Mage across the fire.

"The Moon sees everything, just as the sun knows what lies under his jurisdiction. And in the night, the Moon rules all, even what lies in the very dark. The Moon knew what she was sending her Wolf into; a final battle that would cost him, and her, everything."

"The soothsayer threw a tuft of the Wolf's fur that she had gathered, into the fire. The fire raged, a darkness in the smoke that disintegrated the tent, exposing a beast of such absolute toxic dark, that the soothsayer had become."

Her eyes glittered with tears.

"Beast against beast, their fight destroyed half the village. The soothsayer had no skin for the Wolf to tear through. The battle changed for the worse when the Wolf was struck in the side, red-lined-with-silver blood dripping down his stomach.

"The monster hissed, however, and the Wolf finally knew its weakness. His blood was laced with the moon's love, kissed with her bright silver. He asked his friends to strike him, lines of red across his body. With a last leap, he barrelled into the heart of the toxic midnight smoke and ash."

"It swallowed him. The monster laughed, the Wolf nowhere to be seen; dead. Inside the smoke, however, the Wolf continued to fight, continued to see the moon even in the darkness. He fought his way through, his claws slashing through the beast to leap down, having clawed his way out through the monster's heart."

She paused.

"It took a moment, but the darkness imploded, before a silver shimmer exploded outward. The Wolf had succeeded, but at the cost of his life. He barely breathed, and for the first time in the history of the village, the Moon herself came down. Her hair was darkest red, eyes of grey, skin of midnight run through with silver beneath a white dress.

"She kneeled before the Wolf, running her hand through his fur, comforting him. The moon turned a blood red, the same colour as the tears dripping down her cheeks."

She shook her head.

"No one dared to approached the grieving moon spirit, until an hour before dawn. A little, dark brunette girl escaped her mother's grasp, running up to the Moon, still in the same position she had been in when she arrived.

"The little girl sat down next to her. 'I'm sorry,' she said to both the Moon and the Wolf, her own hand brushing his fur. His breathing remained shallow, but hiccuped under the girl's touch. His eyes glowed, and so did hers, the Moon remaining silent as she watched. The Wolf breathed his last, and the Moon stood up."

She glanced at the Riders that surrounded the fire, sitting on various logs, and the benches she had carved from dirt.

"Her Wolf Spirit followed, his body a silver shimmer as he stood up, walking away from the grey wolf's body as it lay motionless on the ground.

"'Your courage impresses us, little Wolf. You are one of ours,' she said, and with the next gust of wind, the Wolf and Moon swept away with it. The little girl was the only one who could still see them, high up in the sky. The Moon blew her a kiss, and the little girl's hair turned a dark red; a blessing received as the full moon returned to its original colour."

Michaela looked up at the Moon that had started to turn a blood red, the reason the Riders, Night Owls especially, had settled for the evening.

"And every generation, she reminds us of this very story - about the Wolf Spirit that adored the Moon."