As Aileen left the hall, she made her way swiftly through the village. The familiar sights and sounds of her home did little to ease her concern. She headed straight for the east barricade, where the tribe’s scouts kept vigilant watch over other tribes. Her mind focused on the message brought by Rurik about the fire, but she was more worried about the Nightshrouds.

She had only seen one when she was a child and even then, it was from afar, shielded and protected by the Starfang. She was with her friend from the Moonclaw tribe. She wanted to do something mischievous, so she took her friend to one of the forests near their previous settlement, the Shadowveil Woods, while the adults—the leaders of both tribes—were discussing matters. In hindsight, it was the most unforgivable thing.

They went into the forest to play, thinking they wouldn’t be found. She thought it would be fun. They played in the Shadowveil Woods until it was dark and the stars in the night sky above the forest twinkled like a thousand scattered diamonds, casting a serene and mystical glow. Through the canopy of towering trees, the celestial display peeked through, creating a delicate lacework of light and shadow on the forest floor. The constellations shimmered with a clarity that seemed almost otherworldly, each star pulsing gently as if whispering secrets of the universe. Its brilliance undimmed by the surrounding darkness. The occasional shooting star streaked across the heavens, leaving a brief but breathtaking trail of light. In this quiet, nocturnal realm, the stars provided a silent, awe-inspiring spectacle that felt both timeless and eternal.

“We should make a wish to the gods in the stars,” her friend said.

“Why? It’s not like they will listen. And even if the gods did listen, why would they grant a wish for us, who, by the way, are not even Luminaries? Just accept it, Atrabus, we will never catch the eyes of the gods,” said Aileen.

“Maybe you could wish to become one.”

“No one from our tribe has become one except my mother. I don’t think the gods like us very much. Maybe it’s because we are weak.”

“There is no one from us either. I wonder how you can become a Luminary. Has your mother ever told you?”

“No, every time I ask, she just says I’m not ready. I mean, I don’t see her do much either. She just sits by the river and stares at it or when it rains and even when it snows.”

“Have you tried doing the same?”

“Of course I have, I’m not an idiot.”

“How long did you stay by the river?”

Aileen silently stared at her friend like she had just discovered her deepest secret.

“As I thought, didn’t even stay for an hour?”

“No, I left after ten minutes. It was so boring, and my friends were playing a new game they invented, at least that’s what they said.”

“Then your mother is right.”

“You traitor.”

Then a sound of a dry branch breaking snapped them out of their conversation and their eyes from the stars. They turned to look at what caused the sound and saw a ten-foot bear with dark brown fur standing on its hind legs. It let out a growl and lowered itself on four legs, starting to walk closer and closer to them.

Aileen made a blood-curdling scream and her friend, a small catlike girl with black-gray fur, hissed and meowed in a different tone. The bear paused for a second and made a deafening bark with its saliva spitting out and covering them both.

With her leg shaking, Aileen gripped Atrabus and shouted, “RUN!”

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With every ounce of strength and energy she could muster, she pushed ahead, dragging Atrabus by her hands, who still wasn’t out of her fear and was following behind her sluggishly.

The bear was catching up with them as it ran on its four legs. They had to find a place to hide or get out of the forest, but that was impossible as they were deeper than they thought.

Aileen looked around for a place to hide as they ran. The bear raised one of its paws and swung it across Atrabus, ripping flesh from the thigh of her left leg. Atrabus released a blood-chilling scream.

Aileen looked back to see her friend’s tears flowing down her face like a river that had just broken out of its blockade, her left leg covered in blood, the metallic smell assaulting her nose. She hated the smell of blood and the sight of it, but they needed to run faster.

‘What do I do, what do I do?’ Aileen thought. ‘Should I leave her here or carry her? But if I carry her, it will slow me down and we both will die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die,’ she repeated.

Just as her grip on Atrabus’s hand was loosening, they heard the sound of a horn being blown. It was the signal for when the chieftain’s daughter or son was missing. That distracted both them and the bear.

Aileen then saw the moonlight shining like a guiding light to what looked like the entrance to a cave. Without thinking much, she dragged her friend and herself into the cave.

The inside of the cave was dark with no light getting in, but it smelled like a rotting corpse. When they sat down, there was some kind of liquid on the ground, and their hands and legs were now touching it. She brought her hand forward and smelled it; it had a metallic scent almost like blood. She brought it in front of her eyes to make sure.

‘It is a dark red-brown. So, it’s not blood; then what is it?’ Aileen thought. She heard a growl from outside the cave.

The bear was not coming inside and was just pacing around the entrance, waiting for them to come out.

‘Why isn’t it coming in?’ she asked herself.

She then noticed Atrabus hadn’t moved since they entered the cave. Aileen looked at Atrabus; the tears on her face had dried, leaving her fur stuck together. The blood on her leg hadn’t stopped bleeding. She shook her friend to wake her up, but Atrabus didn’t open her eyes. She needed to dress the wound first. Aileen tore a piece of her cloth and wrapped it around Atrabus’s left thigh, saying, “You are going to be fine; we will get out of here.”

“You are a terrible liar, Aileen,” said Atrabus, her voice shaking and breaking apart.

“Shush, you need to rest, so don’t talk,” said Aileen while she continued to dress her friend’s wound.

“How about now? Do you want to pray to the gods?” asked Atrabus with slight amusement and let out a chuckle. “Maybe they will hear us now, if nothing else for their amusement.”

“Now is not the time to joke, Atrabus.”

Atrabus was stunned for a minute. “The abyss must be on fire if you are saying that.”

“Shut up.”

“I mean seriously, pray for me,” the last word almost a whisper. If Aileen had not been close, she would have missed it.

When she looked up, Atrabus had already closed her eyes again, but she was still breathing. Aileen did nothing but stare.

‘I was going to leave her to save myself. How am I going to face her after this? I really am a bad fox. How could I even think of abandoning her? I must have lost my mind.’ She wiped the tears that hadn’t dried yet. ‘I am a terrible friend, person, and daughter. But what could I have done? Nothing would have changed except for the both of us dying. If only I had a little bit of power, maybe then no one would get hurt because of me.’

Aileen stood and went a little deeper into the cave. She got on her knees with her hands and head on the ground, the unknown liquid touching her nose and mouth. She almost swallowed some of it, but she steadied herself and started to pray.

“O Goddess of the Night, ruler of Dreams and Nightmares, harbinger of peace and terror, embodiment of contradictions, Nyxara, please help us. Help us both escape, help my friend Atrabus heal and give her sweet dreams. Help me become a Luminary, and I will give you anything you desire; even my soul shall be yours.”

But no reply came from her prayers, and Aileen stayed in that position for an hour. Then came a shout from outside.

“AILEEN!”

“That is my mother’s voice,” Aileen couldn’t believe her ears.

“AILEEN,” came the second shout from the same voice.

This time, Aileen was smiling from ear to ear and let out a sigh of relief. She raised her voice, “IN HERE. WE ARE INSIDE THE CAVE.”

She ran towards her friend, who was now awake from all the shouting.

“I AM COMING, MY DEAR. DON’T BE AFRAID; MOMMY IS HERE.”

“OK.”

“See? I told you we would be fine.”

Atrabus answered with a shaky whisper, “Yeah, that is because I prayed to the gods. They must have heard my prayer.”

“No, it’s because I prayed.”

“You couldn’t even let me have this, could you?” said Atrabus, curving her lips a little.

The sound of the bear growling and the footsteps of multiple people echoed outside the forest.

Aileen, hearing the many footsteps, lost the strength in her legs and fell down, but her smile never left her. Then she whispered, “We’re safe.”