Once upon a time, in a land long forgotten, the nights were dark and dangerous, for there were no stars or moon shining on the sky.
During those times, a young elf called Tilion used to walk every night over paths and ways with his red, bright torch to show lost travelers and merchants the right way through the darkness. Tilion spent many lonely nights wandering over hills and plains keeping away the absolute black with nothing more but his evershining torch and his strong voice. All along the way he used to sing the most beautiful songs so that everybody lost knew there was hope, because Tilion was close and he would guide them safely back to the nearest town.
Many of those who had once been lost and saved by him described feeling a wonderful overwhelming sensation of warmth when they heard his voice, for it was one of the brightest they had ever heard: even brighter than his torch. And so, one night, Tilion met a girl named Ithil that could not find the way out of the forest where she had fallen asleep that same afternoon. On their way back to the nearest village Tilion began to sing, as usual. The girl, who knew the song suddenly started to sing along, and the two together would shine through the night with the most beautiful voices the world had ever heard.
The following night Tilion met Ithil again, and the two would walk through the often lonely night, singing with such splendorous and marvelous voices that for those who heard them, the night would seem to be as clear as the sunniest day. Night after night they would meet to practice, sing and to teach each other new songs, only to become better each time. What they didn't know was that their misfortune was already sealed, because the gods could not accept that anyone on earth sung better than them.
One night they descended to earth and Tilion had to see how they took the young Ithil with them. From that moment on he never was the same again. The following weeks were silent and mute, no voice and no song would shine through the dark. Only his red torch, now dim and flickery, roamed the lands with the only hope to find Ithil again.
The time passed and so did 999 dark nights, but on the night one thousand, Tilion couldn't believe his eyes. There she was: silently crying, Ithil was kneeling on the middle of a narrow path that went through the very same forest where he first met her. But again, his fate was foretold. The gods had forbidden Ithil to talk or to sing ever again. Tilion didn't know this and soon his joy faded when he saw that she would not speak. In fact, Ithil kept crying not even looking at him.
Confused, Tilion started singing in hopes that maybe she would start to sing along. But she did not. He didn't give up, and once again he tried to sing the most wonderful songs he could remember from their time together. At that point, his voice was weak and fragile because he could not understand what was happening to the once glorious Ithil. For hours he kept trying and trying: but Ithil didn't move. Only when she heard Tilion fall to the ground, defeated and lost in the darkness of his own soul she turned around. What she then saw, she could not bear: The once happy and confident Tilion in front of her, shattered on the ground under the light of a weak glow of ember. And that moment, she knew that she would give her life to hear him sing once more.
Slowly and as silent as a whisper, Ithil started to speak the first words of a song. Then, the words grew louder and turned into beautiful melodies which her soft voice carried to Tilion. She kept on, and soon she saw how the young man raised his head and looked at her motionless. Ithil stood up, gently taking Tilion by his hand and helping him up. And as the flame of his torch started to glow stronger and brighter also his voice started to soar through the air. Both finally held each other close and looked into each other's eyes when they started to sing, once again together, a song so beautiful and pure that it shone through the night like one thousand suns and their voices so magnificent like no one has heard ever again.
...
But once the song was over... a deafening thunder struck the earth and from high above descended the furious gods to punish those who had dared to disobey them. Ithil was condemned to eternal silence: from that day on she would live in the sky and look upon the earth each night as the moon we now know. Then, her tears became thousand little stars, forced to watch how Tilion was turned by the gods into a red wolf, forever forsaken to walk the earth alone.
And on the clear fullmoon nights, if we listen closely, we can still hear him sing to the moon, Ithil, hoping that maybe, one day, they will once again, sing together.
