Chapter 439: A New Dawn
The words of the Mother Moon haunted Stryg’s mind as he left Silver Hall Keep. Responsibility as Evenfall’s War Master and what that might entail; leading thousands of goblins into battle… or to their deaths.
As if the monumental burden of such a responsibility wasn’t enough to keep him awake, Lunae had told him the reason why his mother hadn’t told him who she truly was, the moon goddess had claimed him as her own; which led to countless more questions. Why did Lunae care so much about someone like him, a bad omen?
But if Lunae’s words were to be believed then perhaps his birth wasn’t necessarily a bad omen, if seen from a different perspective, or something. He didn’t quite understand what she had meant. Honestly, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t find anything good about his birth. It had only caused problems for everyone involved.
Stryg kept to the shadows of the streets and made his way back to the base of the Celestial Shrine’s stairs in the late hours of the night. He took his time walking up the cold marble steps, mulling over the goddess’ revelations; but no matter how much he wracked his mind over her words, he could find no solution for his personal problems or those of the Sylvan. Lunae had asked him to not hold Aurelia’s actions against her, but whenever Stryg thought of his mother his heart clenched in pain and anger burned in the pit of his stomach.
By the time he reached the top of the mountain’s steps, he felt more lost. He stared at the temple’s gates and thought of his mother and the others waiting inside. He turned around and walked back down. He repeated the process over and over, unable to make his way back to the temple. Before he realized it the first rays of dawn had peeked over the mountain range.
The hours had passed by in a blur and despite all his brooding Stryg felt none the wiser. His stomach growled in agreement. Stryg hung his head in defeat and made his way back down the mountain steps and into the city below.
Evenfall was a beautiful city. Many of the old buildings in Hollow Shade had been built by goblin hands, but here, every street, every wall, every home, had been carved out from the face of the mountain, each corner and block chiseled by master craftsmen.
Stryg could not help but smile in admiration. His people had lost much in the fall of Lunis, but the legendary craftsmanship of his people had not been forgotten.
He hadn’t gotten a chance to sightsee or visit much of the city. Ever since he had arrived he’d been whisked to the Celestial Shrine and the Silver Keep, only to be tasked with a quest to Grimstone Mountain and the frost giants.