The War for Eventyr

17 | Tale of Stjernestov

"There's more to the story of Eventyr than just your father's quarrels." Runa looked out over the fjord. Jagged stone walls stretched down beneath them, disappearing deep below in the shadows where the moonlit sea swirled. Colborn took one look over the edge, then stumbled back.

"What does that have to do with a cliffside?" he asked, his voice almost a shout. They had to be loud to be heard over the whipping of the wind against their fur.

Runa lifted her muzzle to the sky. "The stars have to do with everything."

Colborn could hear the awe in her tone, soft and soothing. He went to settle down next to her, following her gaze to the dark expanse above.

"My mother once told me a story," she began, "about creatures formed from stardust, way above us. The Rulers of The Sky."

Something tickled the back of his mind. He echoed the words in his head, sure that he'd heard them before.

"She said that one star in particular grew lonely––that he yearned to share his love. His name was Litlirefur."

That name. Colborn was sure now that he knew it. His own mother had told him the tale of the fox star.

"He created Eventyr, and he filled it with creatures made in his image." Runa passed a glance between the both of them. "Though we are of flesh and bone, instead of light. Much more fragile, much less perfect, but beautiful all the same."

Colborn dipped his muzzle and closed his eyes, searching the depths of his memory for the words that came next. "But he fell in love with a vixen of his creation..." he timidly repeated––the words his mother whispered in his and Jakob's ears, all those dark nights that they hid from their father. "He broke the laws of the realm of Stjernestov. He passed through the clouds and came here, where he fell in love."

She hummed in agreement. "But Litlirefur didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. Darkness passed through the same, glowing bridge he formed in the sky, and Stjernestov's dangers became ours."

The rest of what Colborn could remember of the story was a blur. The fox star had to unite Eventyr's foxes, once creatures of independence, to destroy it.

"But not without gifts," Runa added, glancing slyly at Colborn. "Formed from the very stardust he was made of, he shared with four earthly foxes one of his abilities. One with the essence of destruction, one of life, one of deception, and one of fate.

"Together, they saved Eventyr, forever changing the way foxes would live. Even as Litlirefur was punished for his deeds, banished to this realm and stripped of his powers, our world was united. But as the Rulers of The Sky sealed the bridge forever, they didn't know that the fox star had kits on the way."

Colborn turned his muzzle to watch her eyes. They twinkled in the moonlight, in the glow of Stjernestov above.

"It wasn't as simple as that––nothing ever was. His mate couldn't bear the half-bred offspring, too weak to give birth to foxes that were part flesh and part stardust. She would die before they could be born." Her voice grew solemn. "Litlirefur did what he had to save her. The Rulers could never remove what he was in essence, what we all are in essence: stardust. So he gave her the energy that was his life, and four kits were born with the gifts of their father."

She pawed at the ground. "But even you should know, with power comes struggle. Their mother tried to teach them that, to be responsible with their gifts. Each of their powers had strengths and weaknesses, but together they were unstoppable. But on the day their mother finally died, a fight broke out to claim leadership of the mighty nation their father had created.

"Legend doesn't speak exactly what happened, but three of the kits waged a long and bloody war against each other, while the most powerful of the gifts disappeared into the unknown."

Colborn cocked his head. Her tone had grown grave and serious, like the words she spoke were true. That this was more than just a story.

"Now, all the gifts are long gone," she said. "But the war still rages on. Most don't believe in the legend." Runa took a deep breath, pausing in her story to glance at him. He wasn't sure if he believed it.

Her gaze drifted out toward the fjord. "This here, is where Litlirefur struck the earth. The land cracked from the impact, and the sea filled the gap, forming a perfect barrier for the land across from us to be claimed by one of his kits. Each did the same, separating a world that should be united. The way each skulk is led has changed over many, many moons. But for your skulk, Colborn, one thing has stayed the same."

His brows furrowed, regarding her with a slow up and down. "What do you mean?"

"Hate begets hate," she said simply. "There are very few foxes that are willing to stand against the violent ways the Flameborn have followed for ages. Leaders like your father grow more evil and twisted with each generation, and can you blame them? It's all they know."

His muzzle drooped. He'd never thought of his father in that way. But he shook the thought from his muzzle, angered instead. The Jarl did know another way. He'd never had to do the things he asked of Colborn.

"But the tale of Stjernestov doesn't end with tragedy." Her voice rose. "In fact, the legend ends with a promise––a solution: Three strangers, two secrets, one key."

Rolling his eyes, Colborn stood. He was tired of this story. His mind was too exhausted to uncover some cryptic riddle.

Runa continued. "Three strangers. One fox from each skulk will pave the way for change."

His ears twitched, and he turned his gaze back to the vixen.

"Two secrets. Each of them will hold a pair of dark truths: one of them, they keep, deceiving others––and themselves. While the second is one that's kept from them, a life-altering secret that will change them forever."

Colborn couldn't help but repeat the words in his hollow mind. He'd never heard this part of the story. His mother never said anything about secrets. Just like the one he kept from his father––that he could never truly follow in his footsteps, and he only wanted to stop this war.

Then there was the secret his father kept from him. He was the same as Jakob, a weaker littermate that only claimed their rule because the true heir had left. His head ached as he remembered the lies, and his heart panged at the thought of his brother.

"One key. When they learn the truth, able to tell the secrets they hold, then peace will come. When the lies are over," she told him, "these strangers will come together, and they'll stop the war."

Colborn turned to face her completely. How long had he been listening to this now? Why had she brought him here to tell a bedtime story?

She stood, turning from the cliffside. "Because if the fighting doesn't stop, you will destroy each other. Worse yet, you'll anger the skies who grow weary of our cries."