Short Story: Little Moon's Journey

Terathun, 1087 CA

A world’s end, Tvaluk pondered, was more understated than expected.

Lush forest, heralded by a silence sharp enough to slice through steel. There was no wind, no gentle bleats of fauna, no sound of water’s passage. Even the trees, once so talkative in their secret language of creaks, rustles, and groans, fell silent. It almost felt…anticipatory; the held breath of a soul finally prepared to make its last journey. The Absence cut.

And yet.

And yet, he strode. Whistling tunelessly, Tvaluk picked a pathless path through this forest. Serving as final witness to existence’s death knells, he chuckled. Imagining the fauna that would normally be running along with him, he smiled. Face at peace, he drank in the sights of the most peaceful armageddon, pausing only to bear witness to a river fading out of existence. There was beauty in the end, if you looked for it. Speaking of which, he spotted his destination standing at the edge of a cliff, hands held behind their back, looking wholly unconcerned with mortal concerns such as “gravity”, and “plummeting”.

Hurrying up to the cliff, Tvaluk grinned, and raised a hand in greeting.“Ah, Terathun! Well met, well met!”

Fi, of the second day since the ascension of his eminence, the holy one, may our tongues fall out if we dishonour him by [END OF LINE ERROR, PLEASE CONTACT A CLERK FOR ASSISTANCE, LOCATED AT THE 4TH SYMPOSIUM OF HIS EMINENCE, THE HOLY O-]

Just like their sky, the people of Fi were notably odd. Tall, sinuous bodies that left afterimages of their passage, despite the languorous pace they set. You could actually track somebody by tracing their passage if you know them well enough. Their city was a hypnotizing sight as a result, streets composed of a capillary network of mini-lanes, most with trailing phantasms slowly fading out of existence.

“You know, if you want to go visit, all you gotta do is ask!”, peeped out a cheerful, sibilant voice. Choking back a startled curse, Tvaluk ‘casually’ glanced at the child who snuck up on him, and stepped back from the platform he’d been using to peek down on the pulsing, mandala-esque city, chuckling. “It’s fine, I think it’s time for my journey to start back! Besides, aren’t you supposed to be picking up feathers for your mother?”

“Awww, come on Tvaluk!” pouted the little child, facial expressions also leaving afterimages in their wake. “Besides, if you’re going to leave, the least you can do is help me out🥺👉🏽👈🏽”.

Unable to help it anymore, Tvaluk started giggling and picked up the child, while partially shifting form to make his shoulder comfier for her to perch on. “How could I ever resist? I’d be honoured to help you, oh child of his eminence, the ho-” Voice cut off from the small hand covering his mouth, Tvaluk turned away from the city while still laughing.

Choral, 30000045th cycle

Surrounded by water, Tvaluk glanced around at the colourful plants surrounding him, fronds slowly beckoning him deeper. He obliged.

Planet Unknown, ???

Screaming wildly, Tvaluk sprinted directly into a cave, the sound of his passage slowly diminishing. If you listen closely, you could hear whispered footsteps following in his wake.

Fearuth, 1300 sol

Circling around in the air, languidly flapping his wings, Tvaluk glanced at the storm clouds forming below, shrieked triumphantly, and dove.

Delirios, 001

Surrounded by roiling clouds hissing and spitting acid, Tvaluk howle-

He

Corinthian, —

Feels

Fkort, —

Nothing.

Jormung, fimbulwinter year 30

“I promise on me mum! I went to the crying river on a lark, naught but 2 penny ales deep, I heard the sobs meself! Whatever is haunting there is still around!”

Laughter followed this proclamation, interrupted by the sound of synchronized gulps of beer getting downed.

“Sure ye did, Trav, sure ye did. Why, just last week I saw the great Ratatoskr himself!”

More laughs, followed by a slam.

“Aye, get your laughs, but let me tell you…I’ve never heard a more haunting sound, lads. And I promise I’m not crazy but there was a moment when I heard a voice. It….was heartbreaking.”

Something in Trav’s voice hushes the table. A quiet cacophony of shifts and chairs being pulled closer to Trav replaces the boisterous energy of 2 seconds ago.

“A - a voice? What did you hear then?”

“‘Terathun…I fail you day by day.’ Then the sobs started again. I swear, me lads, I've never witnessed such heartbreak before. I’m never going there again, I promise on the norns’ crusty toes!”

The table deflates, everyone gently sipping their beer in a contemplative silence. Outside the tavern, a silhouette creeps away, spell broken. It was time, Tvaluk contemplated, to stop feeling sorry for himself. The mission must begin apace.

The Astral Plane, time irrelevant

A plain, as far as the eyes can see. Just being here calms the soul, restores balance. It was, Erak thought to himself, way different from the featureless world that was described to him.

Ah well, wondering why the world appeared this way would accomplish nothing of greater import than he could manage by simply living in this moment, enjoying it for what it was! Moving quietly and unhurriedly, he set back up his hide and settled down. Maybe this time, that bloody huge panther would be able to get her hands on that Elk.

As if summoned by thought, the elk appears in his vision, bounding gracefully, turning on a whim, dancing atop grass blades. A beautiful phantom leaving no trace of its passage. Following close on its tracks, matching each graceful movement effortlessly, a panther springs. With each bound, the panther gets closer. With each leap, the elk stays out of harm’s way.

Despite seeing this dance endlessly since arriving here, Erak’s pulse is set ablaze from witnessing such poetry in motion. The raw beauty, the vitality. But something is different this time. An infinitesimal…something is off. He knows in his heart that something will happen. Is this-

The elk stumbles. Growling loudly in triumph, the panther pounces. Erak, unable to contain himself, gasps aloud.

Suddenly, a loud, ripping noise reverberates throughout the plane. A rough, jagged circle shows up not 5 feet from the fallen elk, startling the panther. The elk, taking advantage of the distraction, springs away, with the panther back on its heels.

Back to the fucking tear in space and time.

He cautiously approaches, greatsword slowly being drawn. Erak draws on the simmering, caustic rage that bubbles just below the surface, always ready to be used. Bottled violence DEMANDING to be quaffed. Fury grows.

Focus dissipates, thoughts mired helplessly in mist. The answer is simple. A…sharp solution to remind him of who he is. No. No more. He needs no more proof.

Hand trembling, gaze still fixed on this crackling aberration (Hah! Wait till Reides hears him use that in a sentence!), he desperately reaches out to his guardian spirits, requesting aid. Wolf answers, sidling next to him. Erak’s perception instantly sharpens, bringing everything back into focus all at once. His entire world becomes the slowly expanding rift. So of course, a hand shooting through this small circle startles him so much that he nearly drops his sword while yelping.

The hand freezes in startlement, then withdraws. Unconsciously stepping forward a little bit, Erak’s not a little amused to see a nose poke through before the rest of this odd person’s face makes an appearance.

The face looks at him, chuckles mirthfully, and says “You know, you don’t look like the kind of person who’d make such a fantastic sound!”.

“Who-” Erak gets cut off as the face disappears, and the hand shoots back out, reaching towards Erak, with a now muffled, lilting voice continuing, “Well met, oh scarred one!” Bemusement replacing his beserker rage, Erak grasps the extended hand while chuckling helplessly. “Uh, hi? I’m Erak, bu-”

“Erak? A lovely name. Mind helping me here? This bloody portal’s being weird, it’s probably just some calibrations I need to make to account for this world’s manaflow channels or something. Oh, and don’t tell anybody about this, of course!”

Well. That’s a lot to digest while maintaining the oddest handshake he’s ever had. Good grip though! But anyway.

“Sure, what do you need me to do?”

“PULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!”

Laughing helplessly, Erak tosses his sword a safe distance away, and obliges the hand. Of course, this ends with the odd person flying out and crashing into Erak, with a lot of yelled curses being bandied back and forth good naturedly.

“Erak my friend, could you have chosen somewhere to pull me out that wasn’t covered in bloody thorny plants? Also, what do you call those things here?”

“Could *I* have chosen a better spot? We’re surrounded by bleeding plains. Plains! You could have appeared anywhere and been safe, but nooooo, mister extraplanar traveler extraordinaire himself reshapes the laws of reality right into a bloody patch of wild roses. Oh, and they have a couple names, but we tend to call that a briar patch. Speaking of names…”

“Ah! A pretty name for a vicious plant. I like it! You may call me Briar, friend! Also, My actual name’s Tvaluk, but uhh….”

“Briar it is.” “Briar it is!”

Terathun, 1088 CA

A world’s end, Tvaluk pondered, was sadder than expected. Yes, yes, it’s a part of The Cycle. Yes, it’s inevitable. But, gods help him, it doesn’t make it any easier.

Empty plain, betrayed only as a forest by the furrows left in the soil from now absent roots, a pockmarked cry: “I was here! I existed…I did exist, didn’t I? …Did I?”.

There is nothing. To walk, to produce noise, felt almost profane. Each step a mockery of what once stood, each echo a cry from the world itself. “Why do you live? Why do you deserve to exist?”

The Accusation cut.

And yet.

And yet, he strode. Whistling tunelessly, Tvaluk picked a pathless path through this forest’s memory.

The final witness. Face grim, he beheld the sights of the most complete armageddon, pausing only to reminisce of a river’s passage. There was no need to look for sorrow in the end, it was everywhere you looked.

Speaking of the end, he spotted it approaching with a gentle smile.

“Ah, Tvaluk! Well met, well met!”

Trying his best to not let his dismay show at his friend’s obvious degradation, Briar smiled firmly. “Terathun! Tell me, my friend, why does the world expend its last vestiges of energy to meet me? Is it finally my time to leave on life’s final journey with you?”

“What else is a friend supposed to do? And besides...I have a favour to ask, little moon.”

A…favour? “For you, Terathun, anything.”

“I fear it’s a heavy burden I beg you to carry, Tvaluk. Be warned.”

Terathun crouched over the ground, gently decaying bark sloughing off of them with the movement. Tvaluk managed to not flinch at a crack that becomes visible running down their back, and knelt alongside, ignoring the frissons that began to form in the pit of his stomach. “Terathun.”

“Shhhhh…watch. Listen.”

Eyes closed, hand extended over earth, they go still.

Their colour fades.

“Terathun! Please!” A small sprout has formed. Within seconds, the sprout grows, becoming an adult tree, the name of which eludes. Proud, vital, at least 150 feet tall. And yet somehow, Terathun stayed crouched over it, hand unmoved, no more than a foot off the ground, Tvaluk alongside them.

A crack formed in the earth around them, and on Terathun's side.With a sigh, the tree shuddered.

“Tvaluk.”

Tears, silently fallen, attempt to give the earth all the water it forgot existed.

“Tvaluk. This is my request.”

Creakingly retrieving something from the heart of the tree, Terathun pressed something hard and small into Tvaluk’s chest. A seed. Unable to help it anymore, Tvaluk sobbed. “Terathun…please, anything but this. Anything!”

The tree withered. Terathun finally glanced up slowly, roughly, achingly. Cracks began to form at an alarming rate around them. Somehow, Tvaluk is aware that these cracks have encompassed the world. Terathun’s agony is obvious, so fucking obvious. So why are they smiling? Please god, stop, just stop. Rest, please.

“Tvaluk. My request...live. Remember. Find happiness. And...this seed. You’ll know where it must be planted. Now go.”

Blazing heat spread throughout his chest. Right when it became unbearable, mouth opened to to scream, the heat dissipates. The seed is gone, but it’s not. He can feel it inside. Secret knowledge, secret power pouring from it, spreading with each pulse.

He knows what he must do.

But first. He slowly, gently, hugs Terathun, and feels the moment of last breath. I am the end, he whispered to himself, still crying softly. But is the end not just the beginning of a new story? The seed pulses approvingly, spreading warmth throughout.

Standing up quietly, Tvaluk reaches a hand out into the air. “Your story will begin anew, Terathun, this I promise.”

A loud, ripping noise reverberates. A smooth, tall portal appears. Glancing back, Tvaluk looked one last time at his closest friend. The seed pulses comfortingly. Right. Heading back to the portal, Tvaluk squared his shoulders.

And thus, he strode. Whistling tunelessly, Tvaluk picked a pathless path into wherever this portal leads.