Wars of Eredhar: The Dawn of Darkness

"A mother's love"

It took Jane many hours to bring Liz's fever down, making her pain more bearable. Seeing that things were getting better, Jane took the bandages down to the small river to clean them but at the same time to catch her breath. She carefully stepped across the grass and kneeled at the bank of the river, when she saw it. At the far end of it, a mesmerizing creature came from the edge of the forest.

"Oh my... I can't believe my eyes! That's a fello!... and even more stunning than my ancestors described!" she exhaled excited as she gazed upon the beautiful creature. Its white, silky fur was shining under the moon's light, making it sparkle as it walked between the trees. It was known as the Queen of the Night, for legends told of wonderous tales about it.

"I can't believe my eyes!" she whispered to herself, looking upon the creature. As the fello walked, it left small silvery dust patches on the grass it stepped upon. Its white hoofs gently brushed the flowers with each step it took.

Legends said that after Lufia's Primordial King, Glithien Astith, fell into darkness, the Moon, his greatest creation, wept. The tear that touched the earth turned into a majestic creature, of immeasurable beauty. The legend told that each time darkness roams the earth, such a creature would roam the forests, shedding a tear for the Moon's sorrow. Jane shivered, for the fello gracefully lowered itself to drink from the river. A tear slowly fell from its blue eye into the river, the very tear from the legend.

"How can such a creature be a result of Glithien Astith? Such grace and beauty..." she sighed, looking at it.

"You are familiar with the legend, it should also reveal the answer to your question", a voice came from behind of her.

As she turned, not recognizing the voice, she saw a tall man, leaning next to a tree. He was wearing a grey hood and a tattered purple tunic. "Greetings, ma'am!" he spoke gazing towards her.

"I... ah, how long have you ...." She slowly took a step back, seeing that he had a belt full of knives of different lengths and peculiar designs.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you, ma'am", he nodded as he saw her reaction. "I am just a mere adventurer, like yourself. For too long I have been waiting for such a chance, to see the legendary Queen of the Night."

"Ah, I see... well, what was it that you were saying?" she lifted her chin up, looking at him.

"The legend tells that the Moon was his greatest creation. Now, what you don't know is that after he was consumed by darkness, Glithien's creations were corrupted and they transformed in their master's image..."

"And what was that image?" she looked intrigued.

"Darkness, evil, death... But, the only thing that he could never change, was the Moon. It was the only light that remain from Glithien, the only good in him. Thus, each time the darkness returns, the Moon loses some of its purity. It does so by..."

"By crying..." Jane sighed.

"Each falling tear turns into a fello. It is a creature made of light, of goodness, but with each arrival of the darkness, somewhere... some light fades away. Thus, the Queen of the Night only has a few moments on Eredhar, before it vanishes in the mists of time." He pointed towards the creature, which slowly faded away into the night.

"That was... I have no words to describe what it felt like..."

"Forgive me, ma'am, but I am afraid I must go my own way now. What I saw, it was more than I could have ever asked for", he nodded towards her and went off between the trees.

"Where will your road lead you?" she shouted after him.

"For now, Thug's Crossing, but after that, who knows", the hooded man replied, fading into the forest.