Categories > Original > Fantasy > Silhouette of a Crescent Moon
‘I need to show you something.’ Darren stated as I entered the small living room. I looked at him as he walked towards me; he took hold of my elbow and pulled me gently towards the way out. As we reached the hole in the ceiling, I climbed out first with Darren following closely behind me.
‘So where are we going?’ I asked in a quiet voice.
‘You’ll see.’ Darren said, trying not to smile at my expression of impatience.
He led me along a winding path and we walked side by side. It was so peaceful with no sound, only the occasional rustle of the breeze through the trees or an animal hurrying through the grass.
As we walked, we seemed to take turns in taking side-long glances at each other, as I was looking around at a grey-haired rabbit hopping through the brush, I felt him take my hand in his, I glanced back at him, startled, and I was greeted by a dazzling smile that had suddenly appeared on Darren’s face.
We walked for a few more minutes; sunlight peeked through the trees casting little specks of light on everything.
‘We’re here.’ Darren said, enthusiastically.
It was a small circular field with trees surrounding all sides and in the centre of the circle there was a stone, which was column shaped and was waist height. On the flat, smooth top, there were words inscribed in a foreign language.
‘What does it mean?’ I asked, curiously. ‘The writing?’
‘I don’t know.’ He answered, his hand grazing over the top of the column. ‘I was hoping you would be able to read it.’
I copied his actions, my hand grazing over the top of the column. I could feel the writing beneath my hand begin to move. Swirling and shimmering, before settling into new words.
The words read,
In the time of the old powers, a spell was woven and a curse was awakened. The spell put the creature to sleep until the time came that the two people who could stop it, met. The curse would stop the two people, who would fall in love with each other from being together.
The words began to swirl and then reform again.
The only way to break the curse is to destroy the creature and reunite the lost ones at the Gates of Old.
Words reformed again.
Ask a question.
‘Who or what are you?’ I asked, quietly.
I am the knowledge of the past generations of the Sun and the Moon tribes combined. They carved me from the life stone of the world beyond the Gates of Old. I am not human but I am very much alive.
‘How can we kill the creature?’ Darren asked, immediately after the words finished taking shape.
The words twisted and began to take form.
You can destroy the creature, with the powers of old. Only the silhouette of a crescent moon will be powerful enough to face the creature and kill it. Find the silhouette and you have the key to unlock all the powers that the tribes possessed before the creature attacked.
‘How do I access the powers?’ I asked, hesitantly.
The words began to move, slower than before, when they finally took shape, they addressed me directly, as if the words were having a conversation with me.
Silhouette, I have been waiting a long time for you and the day has come for me to teach you. Have you found your love yet? And has the creature risen?
‘Yes, I’ve found him,’ I said, glancing quickly at Darren, as I met his eyes I blushed and look quickly away. ‘And yes, the creature has risen.’
Then we have less time than I hoped. The way to unlock your powers is firstly, by facing the creature. And I can tell by your aura that you already have. Secondly, I now have to teach you how to access your powers. We can begin now if you would like?
‘Please,’ I whispered, as I said the word, my vision began to blur and flicker. I could feel something at the edge of my mind, like someone pushing their way in. As the pressure increased, I could hear a voice, ‘Let me in.’ It said, quietly. ‘Allow me to enter your mind. Will it. Want it.’
I closed my eyes and imagined the voice inside my mind, inside my conscience. I could hear it talking right in front of me now.
‘Open your eyes, small one.’ It whispered in a voice that seemed to be made up of thousands of voices.
I obeyed, and stumbled back in shock. In front of me was the creature but it was bigger, at least ten times the size of the creature that had attacked Tristan. There was another noticeable difference, the eyes that stared down at me were ice blue, and they seemed to glint with ruthlessness and severity.
‘Do not be afraid,’ It declared, its voice booming this time, echoing throughout my mind. ‘I will not hurt you.’
‘Who are you?’ I asked, timidly. My voice shook with fear and my legs were hardly able to hold my body upright.
‘I am knowledge.’ It said simply.
‘What should I call you though?’
‘You should call me Master. For, to you, that is what I am.’
‘Ok, Master.’
‘I must teach you everything you need to know in a short period of time.’ He stated. ‘Close your eyes and listen to your breathing.’
I listened to my breathing, in and out. I began to relax and feel all the tension leave my body. I felt serene.
‘Now that you have relaxed, I want you to look inside of you for what helped you when you faced the creature.’
I didn’t know where to start, it just felt right to do what I had done at the time. I breathed slowly, and looked for the feeling of absolute certainty. I began to relive the moments when I had faced the creature and what happened next, took my breath away. As I relived the moments before the creature was forced from the room, I began to glow. It started in the middle of my chest and spread, I began to levitate off the ground, pulled by some invisible force. The force began to turn me in a slow circle which steadily sped up, until I was being thrown around the room. I felt a burning sensation like I was on fire emanating from where the light had started to shine from. I screamed in agony, it felt like my whole body was on fire. I couldn’t breathe and I passed out, moments before the light receded and I was dropped back onto the floor in a heap.
When I regained consciousness, the creature was standing over me looking down. I propped myself up slowly.
‘What happened?’ I asked, rubbing my head at the same time.
‘You were just initiated into the Moon Tribe and the Sun tribe, I think?’ He said, slowly and deliberately. ‘Normally the initiation process, doesn’t involve any pain but I think because you have powers from both tribes, the double initiation caused a more intense feeling. You can now learn to use your powers.’
The creature stared at me through narrowed eyes.
‘Do you feel any different?’ It asked.
‘I feel strange,’ I answered, hesitantly. ‘Like something inside me has changed.’
‘That is your power.’ It stated. ‘Now, you must try to use it. Try to read my mind.’
‘W-what?’ I stuttered, nervously surveying the gigantic creature before me.
‘I cannot teach you to use your power, you must learn on your own. The best way is to try against someone who knows how to close their mind and if I’m right your powers will overcome me.’ It answered, looking at me levelly. ‘You are a lot stronger than me, than anyone.’
I began to search for its mind using my own. I began to feel its consciousness against mine, but everything was clouded, all I could feel was its emotions, it was feeling the gravity of the situation and the stress of what little time I had to learn. When I searched to enter its mind, I began to feel like I was lost in the dark.
I heard its voice boom, ‘Do not search. Know.’
I closed my eyes, and blocked everything out except for its emotions. I felt something click as I concentrated on its emotions. Its thoughts became clearer and I could tell what it was thinking down to the last detail.
‘Welcome to my inner sanctum,’ He said, seriously. It was a he. His consciousness showed plainly, that he was a man.
‘Thank you’ I said, sincerely. It felt strange to be inside someone else’s mind. I couldn’t believe what I had done; I could feel my power inside me. It felt amazing; it felt like I was holding fire in my hands, bending it to my will to create the impossible.
‘I must give you the knowledge you need to fight off Caliban, the one you call the creature. I cannot teach you, what you must learn yourself. I can only give you the knowledge to learn it.’
I felt a string power connecting the Master and I, it seemed to be alive. I could see memories flicking past consciousness too fast for me to fully understand them and as it grew stronger, I felt less connected too my surrounding and more connected the memories of the tribes. As the memories slowly began to stop, I all could feel was through the connection between us was his emotions.
I could sense that he was anxious, about what I didn’t know, but I was worried. I could feel he was hiding something, but before I could investigate or ask him more I began to feel drowsy and everything around me blurred, when I opened my eyes again, I was slumped on the ground with Darren crouching over me with a worried expression on his face.
‘Are you alright?’ He asked, urgently. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up into an embrace.
As he held me in his arms, I began to regain some feeling in my legs and was able to stand on my own. I whispered back to him, ‘I’m fine.’
I turned around, breaking away from Darren’s embrace, I faced the column before me. ‘What should I do now,’ I asked, quietly adding, ‘Master.’
The columns words began to form, they read.
Go, what you must know, cannot be taught to you. It must be lived, experienced. I have given you all I can. O, the creature approaches. Go. Go. Go.
The words reformed, reading.
Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.
The words filled the column, repeating over and over.
‘Run,’ I murmured to Darren who stood slightly behind me.
‘What?’ He stared at me, his eyes narrowing, studying me intensely.
‘Run!’ I screamed, seeing Caliban emerge from the brush in front of us. His eyes burned, flickering dangerously like burning coals in a fire.
As we turned to run, a ring of fire burst into existence around all of us, trapping us in the clearing.
I turned to face Caliban, he was grinning derisively at me, his needle sharp teeth, glistening dangerously in the light of the flames that surrounded us.
‘We meet again,’ He said, sounding like a villain in a comic book.
‘What do you want?’ I asked, calmly, which at the moment, I was feeling anything but.
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ He asked, mockingly. ‘I want you, dead.’
That’s when he pounced, leaping towards me, at a frightening pace He landed right in front of me. His eyes burning holes into me, I could feel him pressing against the barriers that protected my mind. As he continued to try to force his way into my mind, I was in agony, as though a thousand knives were being stabbed into my head. I felt like my entire head was on fire from the pain.
I couldn’t think through the pain. I couldn’t force him out of my head and my barriers were beginning to crumble, as I watched from the inside. I could feel his power begin to subdue me, his will was forcing me to submit to him, I could feel my body give way beneath me and I landed on my knees in front of him.
‘Submit to me.’ He roared.
‘No.’ I whimpered, tears streaming face. Through my tear-glazed eyes, I saw Darren at the column whispering something, asking Master to help us. At that moment, I saw Darren look up. He had a determined look on his face.
He looked back down, and began to chant. I could hear him as clear as day, even though the distance between us would have made it impossible if the words he was speaking had not been powerful.
‘Neatus dei.’ Darren chanted, his voice destroying the silence of the clearing.
‘For the free,’ I translated in my head. The words were powerful, in any language. In most languages of this world, it is a battle cry, to rally us together. In the language of Old, it is a spell, to cast out evil beings.
As Darren continued to chant, I could feel Caliban’s strength begin to wane, the pain he was causing me ceasing gradually.
I closed my eyes and began to use my power, my will, to force him out of my mind. I could feel the barriers around my mind begin to restore. I could see the wall rebuilding itself, bricks which had once lay on the floor of my mind, now returned to their original places. I felt free once Caliban had been forced out of my mind completely. Tired, but free.
I opened my eyes, to see Darren forcing Caliban through the wall of fire, I could hear his screams and his threats but as Darren continued to chant they became fainter until they were so quiet, they could easily be mistaken as the wind blowing.
Darren stopped then, we were still surrounded by the wall of fire. I was still on my knees and Darren was only a few steps away now. He pulled me up and into a warm hug, I buried my head in his shoulder and he whispered into my ear, ‘Caliban’s gone.’
I hugged him back, using all of my strength, clinging on to him as though my life depended on it. He gently pried my fingers off his shoulders and stepped back slightly. I felt relieved until he whispered, almost to himself, ‘Where?’
‘What do you mean, where?’ I asked, taken aback.
‘Where’s Caliban gone?’ Darren said, the hysteria in his voice apparent from the first syllable.
He stared into my eyes, as the fear kicked in. There was no need to answer his question. We both knew the answer. Caliban had gone to the others. All the threats he’d been screaming, telling us he would kill the others then come back for both of us.
‘So where are we going?’ I asked in a quiet voice.
‘You’ll see.’ Darren said, trying not to smile at my expression of impatience.
He led me along a winding path and we walked side by side. It was so peaceful with no sound, only the occasional rustle of the breeze through the trees or an animal hurrying through the grass.
As we walked, we seemed to take turns in taking side-long glances at each other, as I was looking around at a grey-haired rabbit hopping through the brush, I felt him take my hand in his, I glanced back at him, startled, and I was greeted by a dazzling smile that had suddenly appeared on Darren’s face.
We walked for a few more minutes; sunlight peeked through the trees casting little specks of light on everything.
‘We’re here.’ Darren said, enthusiastically.
It was a small circular field with trees surrounding all sides and in the centre of the circle there was a stone, which was column shaped and was waist height. On the flat, smooth top, there were words inscribed in a foreign language.
‘What does it mean?’ I asked, curiously. ‘The writing?’
‘I don’t know.’ He answered, his hand grazing over the top of the column. ‘I was hoping you would be able to read it.’
I copied his actions, my hand grazing over the top of the column. I could feel the writing beneath my hand begin to move. Swirling and shimmering, before settling into new words.
The words read,
In the time of the old powers, a spell was woven and a curse was awakened. The spell put the creature to sleep until the time came that the two people who could stop it, met. The curse would stop the two people, who would fall in love with each other from being together.
The words began to swirl and then reform again.
The only way to break the curse is to destroy the creature and reunite the lost ones at the Gates of Old.
Words reformed again.
Ask a question.
‘Who or what are you?’ I asked, quietly.
I am the knowledge of the past generations of the Sun and the Moon tribes combined. They carved me from the life stone of the world beyond the Gates of Old. I am not human but I am very much alive.
‘How can we kill the creature?’ Darren asked, immediately after the words finished taking shape.
The words twisted and began to take form.
You can destroy the creature, with the powers of old. Only the silhouette of a crescent moon will be powerful enough to face the creature and kill it. Find the silhouette and you have the key to unlock all the powers that the tribes possessed before the creature attacked.
‘How do I access the powers?’ I asked, hesitantly.
The words began to move, slower than before, when they finally took shape, they addressed me directly, as if the words were having a conversation with me.
Silhouette, I have been waiting a long time for you and the day has come for me to teach you. Have you found your love yet? And has the creature risen?
‘Yes, I’ve found him,’ I said, glancing quickly at Darren, as I met his eyes I blushed and look quickly away. ‘And yes, the creature has risen.’
Then we have less time than I hoped. The way to unlock your powers is firstly, by facing the creature. And I can tell by your aura that you already have. Secondly, I now have to teach you how to access your powers. We can begin now if you would like?
‘Please,’ I whispered, as I said the word, my vision began to blur and flicker. I could feel something at the edge of my mind, like someone pushing their way in. As the pressure increased, I could hear a voice, ‘Let me in.’ It said, quietly. ‘Allow me to enter your mind. Will it. Want it.’
I closed my eyes and imagined the voice inside my mind, inside my conscience. I could hear it talking right in front of me now.
‘Open your eyes, small one.’ It whispered in a voice that seemed to be made up of thousands of voices.
I obeyed, and stumbled back in shock. In front of me was the creature but it was bigger, at least ten times the size of the creature that had attacked Tristan. There was another noticeable difference, the eyes that stared down at me were ice blue, and they seemed to glint with ruthlessness and severity.
‘Do not be afraid,’ It declared, its voice booming this time, echoing throughout my mind. ‘I will not hurt you.’
‘Who are you?’ I asked, timidly. My voice shook with fear and my legs were hardly able to hold my body upright.
‘I am knowledge.’ It said simply.
‘What should I call you though?’
‘You should call me Master. For, to you, that is what I am.’
‘Ok, Master.’
‘I must teach you everything you need to know in a short period of time.’ He stated. ‘Close your eyes and listen to your breathing.’
I listened to my breathing, in and out. I began to relax and feel all the tension leave my body. I felt serene.
‘Now that you have relaxed, I want you to look inside of you for what helped you when you faced the creature.’
I didn’t know where to start, it just felt right to do what I had done at the time. I breathed slowly, and looked for the feeling of absolute certainty. I began to relive the moments when I had faced the creature and what happened next, took my breath away. As I relived the moments before the creature was forced from the room, I began to glow. It started in the middle of my chest and spread, I began to levitate off the ground, pulled by some invisible force. The force began to turn me in a slow circle which steadily sped up, until I was being thrown around the room. I felt a burning sensation like I was on fire emanating from where the light had started to shine from. I screamed in agony, it felt like my whole body was on fire. I couldn’t breathe and I passed out, moments before the light receded and I was dropped back onto the floor in a heap.
When I regained consciousness, the creature was standing over me looking down. I propped myself up slowly.
‘What happened?’ I asked, rubbing my head at the same time.
‘You were just initiated into the Moon Tribe and the Sun tribe, I think?’ He said, slowly and deliberately. ‘Normally the initiation process, doesn’t involve any pain but I think because you have powers from both tribes, the double initiation caused a more intense feeling. You can now learn to use your powers.’
The creature stared at me through narrowed eyes.
‘Do you feel any different?’ It asked.
‘I feel strange,’ I answered, hesitantly. ‘Like something inside me has changed.’
‘That is your power.’ It stated. ‘Now, you must try to use it. Try to read my mind.’
‘W-what?’ I stuttered, nervously surveying the gigantic creature before me.
‘I cannot teach you to use your power, you must learn on your own. The best way is to try against someone who knows how to close their mind and if I’m right your powers will overcome me.’ It answered, looking at me levelly. ‘You are a lot stronger than me, than anyone.’
I began to search for its mind using my own. I began to feel its consciousness against mine, but everything was clouded, all I could feel was its emotions, it was feeling the gravity of the situation and the stress of what little time I had to learn. When I searched to enter its mind, I began to feel like I was lost in the dark.
I heard its voice boom, ‘Do not search. Know.’
I closed my eyes, and blocked everything out except for its emotions. I felt something click as I concentrated on its emotions. Its thoughts became clearer and I could tell what it was thinking down to the last detail.
‘Welcome to my inner sanctum,’ He said, seriously. It was a he. His consciousness showed plainly, that he was a man.
‘Thank you’ I said, sincerely. It felt strange to be inside someone else’s mind. I couldn’t believe what I had done; I could feel my power inside me. It felt amazing; it felt like I was holding fire in my hands, bending it to my will to create the impossible.
‘I must give you the knowledge you need to fight off Caliban, the one you call the creature. I cannot teach you, what you must learn yourself. I can only give you the knowledge to learn it.’
I felt a string power connecting the Master and I, it seemed to be alive. I could see memories flicking past consciousness too fast for me to fully understand them and as it grew stronger, I felt less connected too my surrounding and more connected the memories of the tribes. As the memories slowly began to stop, I all could feel was through the connection between us was his emotions.
I could sense that he was anxious, about what I didn’t know, but I was worried. I could feel he was hiding something, but before I could investigate or ask him more I began to feel drowsy and everything around me blurred, when I opened my eyes again, I was slumped on the ground with Darren crouching over me with a worried expression on his face.
‘Are you alright?’ He asked, urgently. He grabbed my arms and pulled me up into an embrace.
As he held me in his arms, I began to regain some feeling in my legs and was able to stand on my own. I whispered back to him, ‘I’m fine.’
I turned around, breaking away from Darren’s embrace, I faced the column before me. ‘What should I do now,’ I asked, quietly adding, ‘Master.’
The columns words began to form, they read.
Go, what you must know, cannot be taught to you. It must be lived, experienced. I have given you all I can. O, the creature approaches. Go. Go. Go.
The words reformed, reading.
Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go.
The words filled the column, repeating over and over.
‘Run,’ I murmured to Darren who stood slightly behind me.
‘What?’ He stared at me, his eyes narrowing, studying me intensely.
‘Run!’ I screamed, seeing Caliban emerge from the brush in front of us. His eyes burned, flickering dangerously like burning coals in a fire.
As we turned to run, a ring of fire burst into existence around all of us, trapping us in the clearing.
I turned to face Caliban, he was grinning derisively at me, his needle sharp teeth, glistening dangerously in the light of the flames that surrounded us.
‘We meet again,’ He said, sounding like a villain in a comic book.
‘What do you want?’ I asked, calmly, which at the moment, I was feeling anything but.
‘Isn’t it obvious?’ He asked, mockingly. ‘I want you, dead.’
That’s when he pounced, leaping towards me, at a frightening pace He landed right in front of me. His eyes burning holes into me, I could feel him pressing against the barriers that protected my mind. As he continued to try to force his way into my mind, I was in agony, as though a thousand knives were being stabbed into my head. I felt like my entire head was on fire from the pain.
I couldn’t think through the pain. I couldn’t force him out of my head and my barriers were beginning to crumble, as I watched from the inside. I could feel his power begin to subdue me, his will was forcing me to submit to him, I could feel my body give way beneath me and I landed on my knees in front of him.
‘Submit to me.’ He roared.
‘No.’ I whimpered, tears streaming face. Through my tear-glazed eyes, I saw Darren at the column whispering something, asking Master to help us. At that moment, I saw Darren look up. He had a determined look on his face.
He looked back down, and began to chant. I could hear him as clear as day, even though the distance between us would have made it impossible if the words he was speaking had not been powerful.
‘Neatus dei.’ Darren chanted, his voice destroying the silence of the clearing.
‘For the free,’ I translated in my head. The words were powerful, in any language. In most languages of this world, it is a battle cry, to rally us together. In the language of Old, it is a spell, to cast out evil beings.
As Darren continued to chant, I could feel Caliban’s strength begin to wane, the pain he was causing me ceasing gradually.
I closed my eyes and began to use my power, my will, to force him out of my mind. I could feel the barriers around my mind begin to restore. I could see the wall rebuilding itself, bricks which had once lay on the floor of my mind, now returned to their original places. I felt free once Caliban had been forced out of my mind completely. Tired, but free.
I opened my eyes, to see Darren forcing Caliban through the wall of fire, I could hear his screams and his threats but as Darren continued to chant they became fainter until they were so quiet, they could easily be mistaken as the wind blowing.
Darren stopped then, we were still surrounded by the wall of fire. I was still on my knees and Darren was only a few steps away now. He pulled me up and into a warm hug, I buried my head in his shoulder and he whispered into my ear, ‘Caliban’s gone.’
I hugged him back, using all of my strength, clinging on to him as though my life depended on it. He gently pried my fingers off his shoulders and stepped back slightly. I felt relieved until he whispered, almost to himself, ‘Where?’
‘What do you mean, where?’ I asked, taken aback.
‘Where’s Caliban gone?’ Darren said, the hysteria in his voice apparent from the first syllable.
He stared into my eyes, as the fear kicked in. There was no need to answer his question. We both knew the answer. Caliban had gone to the others. All the threats he’d been screaming, telling us he would kill the others then come back for both of us.
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