Realm of Monsters

The morning sun bathed Mt. Moonfang in a golden glow, the snow glittering like a wave of jewels in the dawn. Stryg sat at the mountaintop, in the Celestial Shrine’s most sacred place, the Eye of the Moon, and watched the sunrise from the cliff’s edge.

The city of Evenfall lay below in a ring-like pattern, each section of the city behind the natural barriers of the mountain. It reminded Stryg somewhat of Hollow Shade, though unlike the more natural design of Evenfall, the City of Shades was built in a uniform design, with the Commoner and the Trade Districts forming the two outer rings followed by four wedge-shaped districts surrounding the core of the city and the Ebon Tower, the Central District.

The first time Stryg had seen Hollow Shade from atop the shade wall he had felt a profound sense of insignificance. He was small, a mere goblin in a city built by the most powerful mages in the realm. Now he was on his way to joining those mages as an Ebon Lord, yet as he looked on at Evenfall he wasn’t proud to be an Ebon Aspirant, he was happy simply being that mere goblin.

Still, as he stared at his blue hand he was reminded once more that he wasn’t only a goblin. He glanced around the Eye of the Moon and spotted Virella and Aurelia sitting next to each other in meditation. Both Sylvan Mothers were so different and yet they were somehow the best of friends, or so Virella had claimed. Aurelia had made no effort to prove otherwise.

Stryg had spent last night being interrogated by Aurelia while she cut his hair. As the hours had gone by he found himself telling her about his journeys long after she had finished cutting. First Mother was a good listener, the kind that was patient, and only interrupted to ask an important question. Though she did grow angry with him a few times in his story, like the time when he was traveling with Loh through the villages of Dusk Valley and had gotten terribly drunk and tripped and fell into a well and almost drowned.

Yet when it came to the most painful moments of his life the last few years, Aurelia was surprisingly quiet. When Stryg spoke of Clypeus and their friendship and how it all ended, Aurelia did something she never had before. She grabbed his hand gently and sat next to him in solitude. Even when tears fell down his eyes, she did not scold him and instead, simply wrapped her arm around him.

The act of kindness had broken something within Stryg and all the feelings he had been holding within had broken out in a flood of raw emotions. He wailed for the rage he felt at the world and he cried quietly for the helplessness he felt. Aurelia held him in her arms and weathered the pain by his side, as if time had stopped and it was only the two of them in the world.

Stryg wasn’t sure how many hours passed but by the end, he felt embarrassed with his emotional outburst. First Mother didn’t judge him and asked him more about baby Kamilo instead. She disapproved of many of Stryg’s escapades, but she approved of his guardianship over Clypeus and Nora’s child. The life of a hybrid was a difficult one and having Stryg by the child’s side would help him grow up in the Ebon Lords’ city.

First Mother’s words were wise but when Stryg pushed her for answers regarding his own parents Aurelia refused to answer, explaining that a Sylvan is the child of the whole tribe, they have no need for parents. Stryg had heard the answer many times and it still bothered him just the same. If he had been a normal Sylvan perhaps he would have been happy with his lot, but his entire life he had been made keenly aware he wasn’t. His odd lilac eyes and blue skin were a constant reminder of that and who his parents might have been.