Chapter 6

The Witch of the Crescent Moon presented a generational chance like no other; the chance to become the most powerful country in the world.

Gealwu was held in an uneasy peace because of the 5 Moons. As long as each remained as powerful as the others, no one would want to make the first move and start a major conflict.

If 2 Moons battled, both would die, that was the common understanding of their powers, but if any country did lose their Moon, the balance of power would shift and war would inevitably follow.

There were always people scheming against the Moons, but they were careful.

In Du Lan, there was a political movement led by the eunuch faction who tried to make the Heaven’s Hammer fall out of favour with the emperor, spreading lies and rumours to weaken and restrict the Moon politically. In the past, Mounsan had attempted to draw a clear line between the Moon and the government, an attempt which failed spectacularly.

Itazmna treated their Moon, Ashlynn Camden, as an honoured guest and she held no power over the country itself. Sigmund was paid a high salary and knew firsthand the horrors of the Icy Beasts, so his loyalty and resolve was unfaltering.

But what about the Crescent Moon?

She had nothing to hold her to any country.

Was she a mercenary for hire? Could she promise her loyalty to someone? Who did she answer to if anyone?

These questions plagued the mighty and so they began to scheme.

Messengers, diplomats, adventurers, knights, mages, sages and more were sent looking for her, all to offer whatever they could to make her join them.

They were collectively called Hunters, the ones who sought the ultimate game.

Some vanished without a trace, others turned up dead.

There were those who had been fanatical in their search only to give up and never say a word about the Crescent Moon again.

Frustrations grew, so did their desire for the Witch.

If anyone could convince her to serve at their side, then they could gain the power to rival any nation.

That was what drove the Maidenhair Sect to search for her.

Charged by their Grand Master, the sages of the Maidenhair were dispatched across the world in small groups to find any and all leads on the Witch, bring her to their side or, if nothing else, gauge her strength.

Bo Zi’s group had been investigating Tetrad when she saw a suspicious animal flying away from the scene of an accident.

“A magpie?”

The disciple nodded with a respectful bow. “This one observed the bird watching the police closely, as if it understood what it was seeing.”

Bo Zi frowned and stroked his beard. “Are you sure it wasn’t simply a scavenger looking to feast?”

“The crows and other vultures had begun circling above the bodies but were being chased off as the police pulled them out of the water. The magpie made no such actions before leaving.”

Bo Zi was rather learned when it came to the mystical and magical.

He, 58 years of age, had been with the Sect since childhood and had seen all manner of spells and arts. Skin turned steel, fire birthed from air, humans who could shape shifts into bears, tigers and even a phoenix, but never a bird as simple as a magpie.

“It’s possible this bird was a simple conjurer, nothing more,” Bo Zi said dismissively. “Your report is noted.”

“This one thanks you for listening.”

So, they carried on with their search for some time around Tetrad before turning west towards La Fay.

It had been some time since they were last in the far west of that country, so it was their next destination.

Each year, Bo Zi’s group of 6 searched all of Gealwu, starting in Du Lan and ending in the Reich, but they had never found anything.

The Grand Master wanted their findings at the end of each year, but they never had anything worth reporting.

Still, Bo Zi carried on, for he wished to earn the favour of the Grand Master.

Per their usual routine, they started close to the border and then went to the nearby woodlands, though Bo Zi had little hope of finding anything.

Until he felt something, a pulse through the earth, as if the ground had moved and the trees had been twisted.

It was only for the tiniest fraction of a second, but Bo Zi was confident he felt it.

“Not one of you felt it?”

His disciples were ashamed to say they hadn’t.

“…Tomorrow, we’ll investigate more thoroughly.”

And he said my instinct about the magpie was nothing. He could feel that thought from the disciple he’d spoken to earlier but chose to ignore it.

It was important that discipline was maintained; he’d scold her another day, hopefully after they found the Witch of the Crescent Moon.

Surely, the Grand Master would understand then if he took more strict measures.

Before the sun rose, Bo Zi had his disciples on their feet and casting spells and charms. When those found nothing, he divided his group into pairs and had them spread out a little bit within eyeline.

It seemed like they found nothing.

But Bo Zi did notice something.

Whenever he tried to reach the northern end of the forest, he always seemed to decide there was nothing worth looking at.

Why do I keep thinking this way? I’ve never felt like that before, but maybe it’s because I know I’ll never find anything over there…or-?

“A ward?”

“Master?”

“This way!”

They flew towards it but, as they grew closer, Bo Zi mumbled, “I guess it was nothing,” before turning away.

However-

“That’s wrong!” Bo Zi touched his chest and activated the paper talisman he kept in his breast pocket, electrocuting himself with lightning.

“Master?!”

It was painful, but it had done its job.

His heart was beating uncontrollably, but Bo Zi had broken free.

“Over there!” He raised two fingers before his lips and nose, yelled, “Heaven’s Thunder!”

A lightning bolt exploded from his fingertips and struck an invisible barrier.

“It’s a ward!”

“A ward with a charm powerful enough to affect even Master! There must be a great sage living in these woods!”

“No, my servants, this is not the work of a sage,” Bo Zi said with a devilish smile. “Formation!”

The 5 disciples fell in behind Bo Zi, forming a pyramid, each member equally spaced out from one another, all adopting the same pose.

“Heaven watches, Heaven sees, Heaven decrees - Raijin!”

Their chant launched a massive thunderstorm of bolts at the barrier, striking it hundreds of times in seconds, eventually shattering it just before they ran out of mana.

“Like I thought!” Bo Zi grinned. “Everyone, follow me!”

“Yes, Master!”

Excitedly, Bo Zi led the flight into the northern forest.

He had never felt so alive before.

He couldn’t see or hear properly because of how excited he was; all he could think about was that he might be able to find her, at long last.

The Witch of the Crescent Moon! She’s-!

Bo Zi couldn’t move.

Shadows held onto his body tightly as the bright day turned to pitch night.

“H-Hey, help-!”

He looked around and saw that nothing was moving.

All of time itself had stopped.

W-What power is-?

“Human.” A voice, deep, booming and menacing resounded in his head as the shadows moved and slithered around his body. “You have 2 choices.

“Death or silence.”

“W-Wha-?”

“You will only speak one of those words.” The shadows wrapped tighter around his throat. “Choose to say neither and you will die in agony. Choose death and it will be painless and quick. Choose silence and you will never speak again.

“Choose.”

W-What in the world is this thing?

The Grand Master couldn’t even perfect such mysticism in 500 years of training and study?! What is this thing? Is it the Witch? Is this the power of the Moon?

I-if so, it’s so…

Beautiful.

Terrifying!

But it won’t let me talk. Does it understand my thoughts?

Does it know that our plan is to bind her to our Sect?!

…No, if it knew, it wouldn’t offer us this choice, meaning if we can just talk-

“Choose. I won’t ask again.”

Bo Zi swallowed and smiled weakly. “I wish to tal-!”

In that eternity, the shadows tormented and tortured Bo Zi.

All his disciples saw was his body fall out of the air, fear itself plastered on his face.

“Master!”

***

“You didn’t have to be so cruel, Daya,” Celine whispered as she tapped her cane to the dirt, sending vines to pull the other sages from the sky.

They were still in shock over their master’s death, so it was easy for her to snag them and bring them to the forest floor before her.

“A pleasure to meet you, sages of the east.” Celine took them out of their trance. “Your master was offered a choice of silence or death, and I give you the same.” She lowered her face and gave them her best smile. “Which will you choose?”

The shrieks they gave her told Celine she still needed to work on her friendly face.

“Y-You monster!” A female disciple stood up and took some form of martial art stance, though Celine knew not which school. “You say that, but you mean to rip out our tongues no doubt!”

“I’d never do something like that!” Celine said indignantly. “You’d just have to swear a vow of silence and-”

“You toy with us, don’t you, Witch? When I heard those stories, I assumed them exaggerated, but you truly are a monster!”

“I’m not, I’m telling you!”

“Sister Hi is right! You won’t deceive us!” Cried another disciple, pulling the bo staff off of his back. “We of the Maidenhair Sect have battled the Demon Sect before! I, Shu, have seen many led astray by your kind before. Simple lies and tricks have no effect on us!”

“What does that have to do with me?” Celine asked meekly.

“If you truly wished to talk, you wouldn’t have harmed our Master!”

Because he wanted to enslave me, Celine screamed in her head, but Daya had already confirmed only Bo Zi and the other senior members of the Sect knew the Grand Master’s plan.

Ah! “You said earlier you knew all of the stories about me, no? Surely then you know there are people who’ve met me who are just living normal lives!”

“After you removed their souls, no doubt!”

That’s a new one-wait, who’s saying that about me?!

Celine sighed and tried to reassure them with another smile. “I-If you’ll just hear me-”

“Don’t be fooled!”

Let me speak!

The 5 disciples took up a defensive stance.

“For Master!”

The 5 disciples sprung forth and Celine could only sigh.

…I’ve got to try and make them see sense.

“Daya, repair the barrier,” the Witch said with a flat tone.

“Already on it!”

Celine tapped her cane twice on the ground and branches spread out from the trees, cutting the sage disciples into 2 groups. Shu swung his staff at Celine, but she blocked it effortlessly with her cane, then slammed its head into his chest, sending the disciple flying. Hi came around on Celine’s left and threw a high kick at her, but Celine bent away from the attack as she stepped backwards.

Hi pursued her, sending kick after kick, but Celine dodged each one. Shu leapt into the air and tried to slam his staff into her skull, but Celine grabbed Hi’s leg and threw her at Shu, sending them tumbling out of the air. The other disciples broke through the wooden barrier and began launching spells at Celine, but her natural aura absorbed them all.

“It’s useless to fight a mage like her with magic! Use your spells to strengthen us!”

“Yes, Senior Brother!”

The 3 disciples at the back began just doing so, turning Hi and Shu’s skin into armour and enhancing their weapons.

“Sister, take the lead.”

“Try not to disappoint me this time, Senior Brother!”

“Show some respect to your elders for once!” He yelled, following behind Hi into battle.

Celine just sighed.

Maybe if I play along for a bit, they’ll give up.

Hi threw a spinning kick at Celine who moved back to dodge, but it was a feint; Hi thrust her foot forwards at Celine’s chest, missing by a hair’s breadth. Shu spun over Hi’s back and got behind the witch, sweeping at her feet with his staff.

Celine jumped over the staff and landed on one hand, before kicking Hi in the face and spinning to bash Shu with her cane. Hi went flying into the other disciples but Shu was able to keep standing as he’d used his staff to take most of the impact.

However, his prized weapon disintegrated in his hands.

Okay, now they must-!

“Don’t give up! We can do this!”

“No luck this time, Master,” Daya said, flying back down after repairing the barrier.

“…I have no choice then.” Celine shut her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

When she reopened them, her aura began pulsating from her body as her cold expression made them quiver with fear.

Just before Celine made her move, she took a sharp inhale.

“Mas-?” Daya saw what she’d seen.

Behind the disciples, out of breath and able to see everything, was Abigail Anjou.

She followed us…

The female disciple saw the change in Celine and saw who caused it.

It was now or never.

If they could capture the person behind them, the Witch of the Crescent Moon would be vulnerable.

They could negotiate.

They could force her to come with them.

Maybe they could avenge their master.

She flew with great speed towards Abigail and got close enough to smell her.

But she was dead.

All of the disciples were.

They had been stabbed in the chest by tree branches.

***

The shadow had been born in an icy field by the powers of a little girl.

It was formless but it could perceive the world around it.

Its eyes looked at its surroundings as the cold winds whistled over the mountain peaks, breezing over the steaming skeletal remains behind the girl.

A dragon? It thought, before it turned back to the child whose vacant eyes looked almost as if she was dead.

“You created me?”

The girl didn’t answer.

“What would you bid me to do, my Master?”

Still, the girl remained silent.

And then, it felt it - the memories of the child flowing into her.

The memories that had birthed her into life.

Fairytales and dreams of heroism.

Loving parents who praised and doted on her.

The miracles she performed.

Smiling faces of a village as it celebrated and cheered her name.

She was happy to help people.

Gazes upon her shifted, as did the gentle hands that once lovingly hugged her.

Blood.

Tears.

Fear.

Acceptance.

Reluctance.

Dread.

And then, silence.

“I won’t hurt you.”

She had been running for so long, so far, unable to escape it.

The memories she held onto tightly in her heart.

The things she lost and wanted to reclaim.

But the chains of loneliness and guilt bound her, refusing to let go.

Humans had wounded her, so she sought love elsewhere.

The spirit looked at the child, covered in blood, cuts and bruises with singed clothes; then, to the dead dragon, a beast that should’ve swallowed her and an entire mountain whole.

The shadow formed into a human and knelt before her, gently wiping the tears from the girl’s eyes. “What’s your name?”

The girl lifted her head up ever so slightly and couldn’t hold back any longer. “W-Will…you…will you be…my friend?”

The shadow hugged the child. “Now and forever.”

Ah, I can feel it - my name, my true form.

I am-

Daya watched from a distance as Celine slowly approached the paralysed Abigail.

Even if the whole world rejects you, I never will.

But there are limits on what I can do. Daya dug her talons tightly into the tree branch. Please, tell me I’m not the only one in this whole world.

***

It was all over so fast that Abigail could barely comprehend what she’d seen.

She was still trying to understand that her saviour was the Witch of the Crimson Moon when suddenly she’d left with great haste.

Abigail hadn’t trained for a while, but she was able to keep up by running and using magic.

And then she saw it all.

The sage who fell from the sky with a disgustingly loud thud.

The disciples who claimed Celine was a demon.

Celine’s attempts to calm them down.

And the visage of death that confronted them when they refused.

This is what she meant.

This is who she is.

Daya had cleaned up the bodies as Celine gently wiped the blood from Abigail’s face with a handkerchief.

Even though she could’ve used magic, Celine chose to do it by hand.

Abigail was unable to see or hear anything clearly as the sight of their deaths was burnt into her head.

She had never seen someone die before.

That was all it took; was the first thing she thought.

Abigail wanted to throw up and runaway, but she couldn’t.

Not because she was scared, because she could see it clear as day, the pain on Celine’s face.

In just a single day, she had seen so many expressions on her face.

Just like the stories about her, Celine had many sides to her.

She was kind and caring, but she was easy to tease and quick to sob at her own shortcomings.

She could cook delicious food and use magic with the flick of her wrist, but she liked picking herbs and vegetables by hand and taking care of others.

She had killed their master but tried to reason with the disciples.

Abigial remembered the first time she’d seen Celine.

That warm, gentle smile like the sun and how quickly she’d changed it to one that made her want to run as far away as possible from her.

What am I meant to think about you?

What are you thinking about, Celine?

“This is my life,” Celine said once she was finished cleaning Abigail’s face. “This is what happens to me wherever I go. This is what it means to be me.” Celine’s expression grew more bitter as she spoke. “After seeing this, are you sure you want to stay with me?”