Night of the Dark Moon Watching

By: Brianna Lee Hubler

Copyright © 2022 Brianna Lee Hubler. All rights reserved.

__________It was October, the month of the Dark Moon Watching. As usual, Kiben Tel’rim brimmed with excitement. Evil’s favored month fascinated him. It was a chance for something to happen.

__________Nothing ever happened; the villagers of Onsaude lived a dull and routine life. They tended farms and animals. They harvested the fruits of their labor, consumed what they could use, and sold what they could not. When the sun fell, the lodge filled, and the communal fire was lit. The voices of the village elders rose with the crackling flames. They retold the village fables late into the night, until everyone filed out of the lodge and separated along the streets. Families gathered in their homes, and all was quiet until the rooster crowed. Kiben despised the simplicity of his lot in life. He yearned for more. His adventurous heart panged for the fables to bear more truth than his reality. Only the Dark Moon Watching interrupted the malaise.

__________In the days preceding the celebration, the elders placed handcrafted fetishes upon every doorstep. The villagers strung paper lanterns from rooftop to rooftop. All measures were taken to ward off the return of a great evil banished from the village some fifty years ago.

__________When he was younger, Kiben had begged the elders to tell him the story of the Dark Moon Watching time and time again. Nowadays, he knew it by heart. For the last two years, the elders had tasked him with reciting the tale to anyone who wanted to hear it. He enjoyed that task. When Kiben told the story, it affected people. He always contributed this to his unique interest in the tale. Somewhere within him, he hoped each year that this was the year the true Dark Moon would arise, and the evil would return. He did not want to see anyone hurt by his machinations, but he wanted to know the rest of the story. The elders advised him not to seek after dark times. Mostly, Kiben listened to their counsel, squashed his curiosity, or at the very least, hid it from prying ears. Today however, a stranger came into town, and Kiben could not help but wonder if it was a sign of the Great Evil’s return.

__________The stranger walked into town without a wagon. He had only the clothes on his back. His cloak served as both his coat and his blanket. A chain-wrapped, black box proved the only curio the stranger carried. Its lid was securely shut and sealed with a padlock. The lock glowed red, faintly.

__________Outsiders never came to Onsaude, except to trade. For what had this emptyhanded stranger come? The stranger unpacked nothing and ignored onlookers. He walked to the center of town and sat upon the rim of the town well. After a while, Kiben came over and sat next to him.

__________“Sir, might I ask what your name is?” Kiben asked.

__________“Eranidus. And you?” the stranger replied.

__________“Kiben. Do you have business in the town?”

__________“Yes, I do, but I’d rather not talk about it.”

__________“Why?”

__________“It’s personal.”

__________“Fair enough. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just an interesting month of the year.”

__________“Yes, October, the month of the Dark Moon Watching.”

___________“How’d you know?”

__________“I travel a lot.”

__________“I always wondered what that’d be like.”

__________“Yes, you’re the kind who dreams of adventure and excitement.”

__________“Was that a guess?”

__________“No, an observation. I can see it in your eyes.”

__________Kiben shifted uncomfortably. “That’s… interesting.”

__________Eranidus shrugged. “Not really. The eyes show the soul.”

__________Kiben nodded. “I’ll have to remember that.”

__________“It would be wise for you to.”

__________Eranidus tucked the box under his arm and stood.

__________“Where are you going?” Kiben inquired.

__________“There’s an abandoned cabin north of here. It’s in the woods. It once belonged to a witch,” Eranidus rambled, “but tonight, and for my stay here, it’ll be my place of rest.”

__________Kiben’s eyes brightened. An abandoned witch’s hut! he pondered. That’s the second-best thing I’ve heard all day!

__________“Well, could we talk more later?” Kiben asked.

__________“If you wish,” the stranger said and departed.

__________In the following week, Eranidus and Kiben talked often. They became fast friends. They shared past episodes of their lives, anything especially interesting or noteworthy. Of course, Kiben’s tales were far less exotic than his traveling friend’s. Kiben’s stories were about objects he had found in the woods and the work he did around the farm. Once, he recounted the messy and harrowing feat of pulling a breech calf from its mother without killing either of them. Eranidus always listened politely and intently to Kiben, as if the mundane activities of village life were truly something of interest to him. The lack of community in Eranidus’s tales made Kiben wonder what details Eranidus left out. Had Eranidus really spent most of his life alone on the road, never belonging anywhere or with anyone? For someone to choose to endure such loneliness begged the question of why, but that question seemed uncouth to ask.

__________Eranidus relayed his life adventures with a reserved graciousness. He maintained a mysterious and secretive aura about him. He also cringed at the scent of garlic and never smiled. Kiben contributed all of this to the man’s unique character. It was not long before Kiben viewed Eranidus as a mentor. Eranidus always gave him thoughtful advice on any problems he might have. Inevitably, the question of what was in the black box came up more than once, but unlike everything else Kiben asked Eranidus, this question always remained unanswered.

__________“Why don’t you ever answer me about that box of yours?” Kiben asked once.

__________“I choose not to.” Eranidus said, and that was all.

__________Afterwards, Eranidus retreated to his cabin in the woods. He remained indoors silently until the next morning. Kiben could not help but wonder why Eranidus had done this. He worried he caused it to happen.

__________As October ran its course, things grew stranger. Farmers complained of losing large numbers of cattle during the evening. One man said he remembered he left his bed to investigate strange noises outside his bedroom window, but he remembered nothing afterwards, besides waking up in his front yard six hours later. The town well dried up without the weather’s forewarning. These oddities frightened the elders and fueled whispers of ill omens. The village consul—the head of the council of elders—deserted the town in a panicked frenzy. To Kiben, this meant only one thing: the Great Evil was most definitely returning this year. Maybe it was already here. He wanted to share the news with his friend.

__________Kiben sprinted down the woodsy trail that led to Eranidus’s cabin. He reached the cabin at dusk. He knocked on the door, but no one answered.

__________Kiben frowned. Is he still mad at me for asking about the box? he wondered. With everything that’s happening, he shouldn’t be alone. I’ll just go in and check on him.

__________Kiben turned the doorknob. It was locked.

__________He peeked through the window. The room was empty. The lights were out.

__________Kiben sighed. Where is he?

__________He looked around the area. Tracks led deeper into the forest.

__________“He must be that way!” Kiben exclaimed.

__________Though the trail was longer than he expected, Kiben carefully followed the tracks. Overhead, the sky darkened incrementally, as if Kiben’s steps blotted out the sun. Distracted as he was with the single set of tracks, which streamed forward along the ground, ahead of the tracks he planted, and guided him deeper into the woods, he failed to witness the fabled Dark Moon, as it rose and overshadowed the depleted sunlight. The Dark Moon was like an orb of celestial shadow, black as the nightscape, but it emitted a muted light, which formed a ring around it and pulsed from it. Kiben’s focused, stalking eyes were unaffected by the shift in the lighting of the sky.

__________Why travel so deep into the forest? he wondered. He shrugged, located the next few tracks, and marched on.

__________At the end of the tracks, he gasped. His eyes widened. His stomach churned. He covered his mouth and swallowed a pint of stomach acid, which lurched up his throat into his mouth. Somehow, he managed not to vomit, despite the gory scene playing out before his eyes.

__________Eranidus leaned over the corpse of a large, painted cow. His canine teeth pierced the animal’s neck and sunk deeply into its flesh. He gorged himself on the cow’s blood, swallowed pint after pint, two cups at a time, until none remained. When he had his fill, he stood. The shriveled husk of the cow slumped lifelessly onto the forest groundcover. A stream of its blood dripped from Eranidus’s chin. He wiped his chin with his sleeve and turned around. He spotted Kiben, and then his eyes and mouth drooped with despair.

__________Kiben froze. His emotions churned faster than his stomach, faster than his thoughts. Soon his fingers curled into fists of rage, while tears dripped from his eyes. A monster stood where his friend ought to be.

__________“I’m sorry you had to see that, Kiben.” Eranidus offered.

__________“You’re it, aren’t you?” Kiben accused. “You’re the Great Evil that this town is so afraid of.”

__________“No, please you have to believe me. I’m not. Truly, I’m not.”

__________“I saw what you did.”

__________“Yes, I did that, but I had to,” Eranidus stammered. “I must have blood to sustain myself. I never asked for it. I was born this way! I’ve never taken a human life! I swear!”

__________“No more of your lies!” Kiben shouted. Then he turned and ran home.

__________Eranidus did not follow, nor try to stop him; he stood there as frozen as Kiben had been. A spurt of tears drizzled from his eyes.

__________When Kiben reached the village, he told the elders of his discovery. Villagers dragged Eranidus out of the forest, into the center of town, and surrounded him. They readied coarse, wooden stakes to end his life. Eranidus did not resist.

__________Suddenly, moments before the barrage of stakes penetrated his ribs and pierced his heart, the ground shook. A bright light shot out from the well, and a dark figure emerged from it. The villagers lowered their stakes and slowly turned to face the newcomer.

__________“Don’t stop on account of me,” the figure stated. “Kill him. I’d love to watch!”

__________“That would be your real enemy,” Eranidus indicated.

__________The villagers dropped their wooden stakes. They looked the figure over, and gasped. The figure matched the alarming description they had heard every October, first from the mouths of the elders, and most recently from Kiben. The figure’s irises were neon green, his eyelids were outlined with two black stripes, and the skin around both of his eye sockets were tinted mauve against his otherwise deathly pale face. The curve of his self-important smile was both greedy and menacing, like the smirk of a prowling panther, who readied to pounce on his prey.

__________“You see it now? Good. Tremble, for I have come!” the figure commanded.

__________He climbed out of the well and stood before them. From a sheath across his back, he drew an agonizingly sharp sword. He chuckled, swung the sword, and sliced the nearest ten villagers in half. The remaining villagers scattered.

__________“Now I can have some fun. Run all you want! I’ll catch you!” the sinister creature said and gave chase.

__________Eranidus scrambled to his feet and retrieved the black box, which the villagers had carelessly tossed aside. He waved his hand over the lock. The lock ceased to glow and then released. Eranidus tore the chains from the box and slung them over his shoulder. He yanked open the lid and pointed the open box in the direction of the menacing figure.

__________“No! It cannot be!” the figure shouted. His form dissolved into a million sparks. A force from within the open box collected and vacuumed the sparks inside.

__________Then Eranidus shut the lid on the box.

__________Kiben emerged from the panicked crowd.

__________Eranidus pulled the chains from his shoulder and wrapped them around the black box. He closed its lock and whispered an incantation to replace the spell that kept curious hands from picking it.

__________With the box secured, he turned to Kiben. “The box is pure lead,” Eranidus said, “the only substance that can contain evil spirits.”

__________“I see,” Kiben managed to say. He wondered if Eranidus could forgive his betrayal.

__________“I hope your opinion of me wasn’t permanently altered by what you saw in the woods,” Eranidus said. “You’re the only friend I’ve known, besides a small cardinal I rescued a very long time ago.”

__________“I’m sorry about that,” Kiben stammered. “I shouldn’t have turned on you like I did back there.”

__________“Fret not, I’m accustomed to it. It’s why I never stay in one place very long. It’s just one of those things people find hard to accept.”

__________“That may be so, but I’m your friend. I should have trusted you.”

__________“Thank you.”

__________“You’re welcome,” Kiben offered. “My mom makes some great Dark Moon Watching cookies. Up for a little celebration among friends?”

__________“Sure.”

__________Kiben and Eranidus walked to the lodge. Before the attack, though bereft of their consul, the council had prepped and organized the Dark Moon Watching festivities in the lodge. Those who survived the attack gathered there. Although a lot had happened and many had lost loved ones, tonight was a night for celebration. The Great Evil they had feared all these years had finally been defeated. The villagers complimented Eranidus, thanked him for their rescue, and begged he forgive their early misjudgments. It made Eranidus a little uncomfortable; he had never wanted to be anyone’s hero.

__________He had come to Onsaude to finish what he had started some fifty years ago. The villagers would not understand this; they were unfamiliar with immortal beings, outside of fables. Eranidus ate quietly, responded only to those who spoke to him, and allowed the merrymakers to celebrate without disrupting their perspective of what had transpired.

__________Kiben smiled. He had finally gotten to see the end of the story. He glanced at Eranidus, whose eyes seemed to glow faintly, mimicking the lock on his chained, black box. Eranidus’s gaze ringed around the table, stalled intermittently for a few seconds per pause, and met the gazes of each of the partiers, though few words were exchanged among him and them. Suddenly, the effects of the celebratory liquor and the lateness of the hour set in, and Kiben closed his eyes.

__________When he opened his eyes and he found himself in his room. He scratched his head. He did not remember going to sleep, or even walking home from the lodge. He left his house to search for Eranidus. The villagers in the streets gossiped about all that had transpired. Like him, none of them knew how they had gotten home the night before.

__________Kiben sprinted into the woods and down the trail to the abandoned witch’s cabin. The door was unlocked, but no trace of Eranidus remained. Kiben hiked to the place where he had witnessed Eranidus feed off the cow.

__________The shriveled cow had been given a proper burial, complete with a headstone and a ribbon-tied bouquet of lilies. Where had anyone managed to find Easter flowers in the midst of autumn? A scrap of rolled parchment was tied with the bouquet. Kiben retrieved it.

Dear Friend,

I hope this grave amends.

Sincerely,

Eranidus Harkela.