"Brilliance of Moonrays" by M. B. Savchovska

I was walking through the hushed forest hoping that this night my long journey finally would end and I would give into a merited repose. It was about an hour or two before dawn and all around everything was completely calm and quiet. As if even the very grass and the venerable pines were sleeping. Over the woods the stars were winking like brighter then ever, never disturbed by the queens of night – the white and the blue moon. I stopped for a moment and looked the starlit sky through the tree crowns. The best in one night are its stars....

I had already entered my homelands. It was known as Moonwood. From Erythdeil all the way to the Troll Woods it was familiar with its moon-roses and the star-flower bushes. Some believed that even dryads were living in it, though no one ever had seen them.

Into the distance I heard the chatter of a small river – the only sound in the night, and I went there.

This valley had been my favourite place as a child. On this place the river coiled between the white marble rocks dislodge centuries ago from the mountainsides, and it was forming at times small waterfalls, at times wintry pools full of motley playful fish. I loved to walk under the fragrant trees where the river flew into Krestinn Lake. In night this place turned into a wondrous dream because there the star-bushes were everywhere and they were creating an impression that the stars were coming down from the sky to call on the forest. And when the moons shone upon the entangled scrub hundreds of beautiful roses emerged from them and flourished like chiseled from sparkling in blue ethereal mithril.

I went on the shore of the lake and I sat down on the cool stones. Here the high trees gave their place to young saplings and the dark calm water, and their crowns formed something like a window to the sky. I looked at the stars, then their reflection in the lake, and then I had a look at the other side. Some bluish wan radiance glimmered between the trees. For first time I saw something like this. It was like moonlight. Then it died out.... But after a moment before my sight appeared something beautiful – an ethereal creature, as if woven by moon rays. It went around the lake, then stopped near me and looked at me with its shimmering blue eyes.

It was a moonstag, hind to be specific, but it looked rather like an apparition or a pale shade then like a living creature. I stood up and gazed into her eyes. There was such sadness in them that I had never seen before. As though she mourned someone or something lost a long ago. I reached out to caress her, but she drew aside, bent down her head and run back into the forest. I glanced at the lake. Among the water flickered her image, danced and slowly melted away. The stars faded too and died out like sparks in the darkness. Was it a cloud through the sky, or some fog into my mind, I never knew. But something drove me on to follow her in the gloomy forest.

I found her under an old oak, she was lying in the grass and she was staring between the trees. I was watching her for a long time, charmed by her magical beauty, after this I sat next to her. She looked at me with her large eyes like she wanted to tell me something.

A wild rooster crowed somewhere in the woods, the hind suddenly jumped to her feet and anxiously looked up at the lightening sky. Second rooster answered to the first from the side of the lake and I saw how her image turned pale until it disappeared entirely.

By the coming of the day she had gone away.

And I went home. After so many months wandering amongst the dark forest to the east I finally returned to my hometown. My friends welcomed me, and my brother had organized a wonderful meeting, but in spite of this something was missing. The whole day passed somehow strangely.

Later in the evening, though I was terribly tired, I decided to take a walk in the forest. The evening song of the crickets almost lulled me to sleep and I was hardly aware how I got farther from the town, finding myself on the side of the Krestinn Lake.

I peered into its dark and tranquil water. The stars already began to arise and their pale reflections shimmered in the lake, and somewhere on the other side shone a soft blue brilliance.... The hind emerged slowly from the twilight and her image gradually cleared up. She cast a glance at me like to call me, and went through the woods. I followed her.

She led me up in the mountain; there, where the woods turned again into a pine forest, was the spring of the river. There the hind stopped and stared at me with a mournful sight. I fondled her and I said:

“What are you, beautiful being? Are you a living creature or a ghost from the past? Or are you a phantom weaved by the moon’s rays?” She looked at me and a silver tear shone in her eye with its own light. “Why are you grieving? And why did you come here? Why did you take me here? Why were you calling me?....” I was going on talking to her though I knew she probably couldn’t understand me. But then she spoke in Elven with her fascinating quiet voice:

“Because it was only you that heard me.... Thou were the only one to open thy eyes to see me. Only thou for five hundred years, when was the last time I spake with elf and an elf saw me.”

“But why?”

“Drink from the Deer’s Spring and I will tell you.”

I sat down on the cold rock next to the spring and I took a sip of the glowing in blue-white water. The hind laid next to the spring and began a tale:

“Once upon in these forest lived many elves, skillfully hidden their small tree-villages in a way that even the dragons from the Erythdeil Woods never knew of them. Like all the elves from those times they lived in utter seclusion. But in contrast to the rest they had allowed some other creatures to live with them – my brethren – the moon-creatures. We were friends, we lived together and together we took care of our forest. We brooked no foreigners in it: always when some outlander entered our country, by one way or another we were taking him away from the woods. The only exception was one unicorn....

While she was telling this, I felt how I was growing sweetly sleepy. Soon I fell asleep but her voice carried on to echo in my mind, calling effulgent images from a dream forgotten long ago....

“Her name was Aen. She was very old and we all treated her with a great respect. She was very wise and we frequently consulted with her. Moreover she was the only unicorn in the forest and that’s why we considered her as a part of our community. Even more – she became our leader.

Often she gathered us in night and she was telling us tales about the creatures that lived beyond the confines of Moonwood. Most frequently she dwelt upon the orcs, and each time when she mentioned them, she added: “Never forget that they doth exist! Always be prepared to defend thyselves from them.” And she was right of course, but we never realized it.

But one night everything changed. Squalls of awaken birds from the east startled the whole Moonwoods. Some of the elves climbed to the top of the trees to check what was going on.

“Outlanders!” they said when they came down. “They are an entire army. Their links meander like a giant fire snake upon the hills.”

“Thou see, they came!” said the unicorn. “These are the orcs.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“They are preparing to attack the dragons a long time ago....” she answered. “Since their brothers left their bones in Erythdeil, they dream of vengeance. But we are on their way.”

She said it, I realized, she warned us, but we never listened to her, we didn’t believe her, seized by our freedom from all cares. And now? What is going to happen? Are they....

“No” said she, rightly guessed my thoughts. “They are not going to attack us if we stay aside and just leave them pass. But I doubt we shall....”

“Why?” we all asked.

“Because when a rhinoceros decides to pass through a flower garden, it is a catastrophe for it. And they, they are like entire drove rhinoceroses.”

We all lapsed into silence. We had understood that the orcs were not just a threat – they are a disaster. But we hadn’t enough time to prepare for them. And even if we had, we wouldn’t be able to obstruct them. They were too many, and they were approaching.

That’s why we gathered and we quickly decided – the elves would leave sentinels where the orcs were expected to go through, and for us it remained to call the rest of the elves. And we all dispersed in the woods. Before long among the entire Moonwood hidden in the trees’ crowns were already waiting the elves. The shouts and quarrels of the orcs were already heard and the red glow of their torches was visible between the trees and darkened the light of the night roses.

They had entered Moonwood vigilantly spied by the guardians. We, the moon-creatures, were concealing in the shadows and we were also watching at them. Still they were passing by. We began to think that they will leave with no harm, but then suddenly their leader raised his hand and screamed:

“Stop here!”

The entire army gathered near him, the quarrels were almost hushed.

“We will spend this night in the forest” he ordered and he quickly commanded tasks to his men. And they all undertook with their work – some began to pitch the tents, others established themselves in the nearby bushes as sentries, and all the rest set out to hunt in the forest.

The elves stood by. We had decided not to allow them to kill a single animal. It was good that the orcs separated into groups of two or three. This way we could rely on the surprise and to remain in the shadows because when someone found game, the elves on the trees killed him and his companions before they threw the spears and no one heard of this.

But with one of the groups it happened other way. They found a boar and just before they killed it, the elves fired an arrow towards each of them. Two fell dead, shot in the chest, the third also tumbled heavily down on the soil, but he hove right away and yelled for help. The elves startled but they rapidly comprehended that the arrow had bounced off some medallion and the orc had rid of uninjured. He raised and scooted off to the camp; but before he covered twenty meters another arrow fixed in his back.

However they had heard him in the camp and they raised the alarm. Dozens of orc horns thundered in the night, awakening the forest dwellers. The elves took their whips and jumped from tree to tree. Before long we gathered on a small glade near the orc encampment. The orcs’ shouts were drawing nearer – they had decided to chase us. But the elves were too little in count to fight with them, so they separated in several groups and hid among the forest. Most of the moon-creatures went with them, and few remained on the glade to delay the orcs giving some time to the elves.

When all went away, Aen bowed her head; she called me and walked through the forest.

“This night they shall not find anyone.” I said.

“No, they won’t. But there will be other nights.... other days.... Remember what I say, Monial – they will not leave simply like this.”

Aen was right. After the moon-beings misled them amongst the woods, at dawn the orcs gathered on a conference in their camp. Meanwhile the elves drew away to the north. There the forested mountainsides steepened and alternated with deep hollows and passages. But even the same day it became clear that they will not stop the orcs. They had decided to chase the elves to the very end and to deal with them. However during the day we couldn’t help them. Later in the morning the orcs went down in the first hollow, they waded through one river and went on. Then we realized they wouldn’t give up.

That eve Aen gathered the moon-beings and said: “This cannot be left go on this way. We must stop them.”

“How?” all did alarmingly ask.

“Once upon a time the moon-creatures possessed great power. It was due to one relic that one of them owned – the ancient Tellenera, the Amulet of Night. But a long time ago it was lost. Actually it was divided into its components. Nowadays one of them, the Antlers, is kept near the Deer’s Spring; another, the Deer’s Moon, is in the Temple of Neyquenlex which is on the Erythdeil border. Two of you can go for them, but without the third part the Amulet cannot be fit together. It is the bind of them and it represents a pentagonal star. And someone must go to search namely for it.”

“I will go, Aen” I said, “but where am I to seek it?”

“Alas, my child, this I dost not know.... According to the legends amongst the forested countryside to the north of Moonwood there are many small caverns. The Deer’s Star should be there.”

“If it is there, then I shall find it.”

This I said and I rushed through the forest. Her last words overhauled me from afar: “Monial, be aware!....”

Almost an entire week I roamed tirelessly among the rocky mountains, strewn with rare pine woods. I tramped dozens of vales and small plateaus, I found hundreds of small caves and niches but there was nothing I found in all of them excepting bats.

Finally I began to lose all hope. I thought not once that the Star was probably lost forever, and together with it – the hope for us.

One night I fell at random on a small cave. I had passed through this place already many times, but its entrance was hidden behind briars and I hadn’t noticed it. Now I entered it. It appeared that it was much bigger then how it looked. From the outside there was a small gallery in which even the stalactites were few. From it began a narrow corridor with many curves. After one of them I found myself in another gallery, studded with crystals that sparkled in blue and white.

In the far end of the gallery there was one rock protruding from the wall and on it was hanged the Deer’s Star on its long fine chainlet. I stepped up to it and I unhitched it. But then I heard a slight click followed by a thundering rumble. In the following moment I heard some noise behind one of the gallery’s walls. Suddenly something strongly crashed in the wall and it crumbled, and from behind crawled out an enormous cave drake.

I rushed back as fast as I could and the drake was upon my heels. I reached the exit swiftly but it was buried with collapsed rocks. “So this is where the rumble was from!” I thought. The drake’s head emerged from the corridor. His red eyes were shining sinisterly. He roared, then he got out from the narrow passage, and ran towards me. Then a salvage idea came into my mind. I stood a little aside from the entrance. He dashed toward me, but I jumped out of his way and he lodged into the rocks behind. The wall crumbled upon him opening a small hole for me. I quickly wriggled through it and I ran away. Under the stones the drake stirred, but when he had succeeded edge out, I had already been far away....

I had almost reached the glade where we should be waiting each other. It was a little after midnight; there was no moon and this was depressing me, but I was already at home.

But I never knew that these days the elves had returned back here and now the orcs were roaming everywhere in this site. And I got where I shouldn’t and when I shouldn’t. A group of orcs had gone out hunting for game; they saw me and whipped on me. I was tired and they overtook me fast. One of them threw an axe and hit me in my leg, I fell down, and then I felt how one spear stabbed me in my back.

Of course the orcs were extremely disappointed when they saw how my body melted in the shadows and disappeared, and on its place remained only the Deer’s Star. As they could do nothing else, they took it and their leader hanged it on his neck. Then they went towards the encampment. I returned to the glade where Aen had gathered the moon-beings once again. I saw that on her neck were suspended on a thin rope the Deer’s Moon and the Antlers. The other two messengers had returned quickly and now all were waiting for me. However they could see me no more.

Soon the elves learned that the Deer’s Star had got with the orcs. Then the moon-creatures thought that I had betrayed them; they thought that I had brought the Star to the orcs to obstruct Aen to assemble Tellenera. But she never believed in this, nor did she give up.

One night she sneaked in the orcs’ encampment and stole the Star. On the way back one of the guards noticed her and sounded the alarm. Several hundred orcs armed to the teeth pounced at her. Was her magic ever so strong but she never could fight with all of them, so she ran away to the forest. Still their arrows were faster then her, and the orcs successfully wounded her. At the end by a last effort she fit together the Amulet just before they caught her.

Her last words were the words of the spell. When she cast it Tellenera suddenly began to glow with a blinding blue light. Then it exploded and turned into a million motes blazing in blue, green and purple. They swiveled in dizzy whirlwind and they arose up to the sky.

There over the highest summits of Mountain Great where reigns the eternal winter; they shone in the night. The moon-creatures saw them and, feeling an unprecedented power, they flew after the orcs. With their evanescent but immense vigour they banished the orcs away from Moonwoods.

So they saved the forest. But the elves had remained too little in count so they decided to leave it. They migrated to the Elven Forest to the south and since then their songs trailed away forevermore in Mountain Great.

*           *           *           *

As if I awoke from some weird dream. I saw the hind next to me. Now an ethereal amulet was glowing on her neck. She took it down and said:

“Now then I can rest in peace.” She threw the amulet in the spring. After this she turned into a ray of blue light, it rose towards the stars, and I heard her last words like the song of the river into the night. “Inerile, remember this legend and know that thou are one of the last elves in these woods. Thou shall keep it for years but a last day shall come.... and thou shall never may defeat thy last enemy. Before long thy last songs shall fade away forever so they shall never be heard again in here....”

And there, between the stars, the brilliance of moonrays lives even to this day.

Yes, there is nothing better in one night then its stars, shimmering among the wondrous norther brilliance....