The Crescent Key

“Luna, we’ve been at this for days. Don‘t you think it's a lost cause? Maybe we’re wrong...”

Luna could barely hear Ellise. She could only hear the voices. The voices. The voices that made her an outcast by their very mention. She was considered the village witch at six, when the voices first appeared. Back then, they would only appear when something bad was about to happen. The voices, as she called them, whispered to her in a strange language, yet she understood their meaning perfectly. She used to try to warn the villagers, telling them what the voices told her. Things like when the castle guards would ransack their village, or when a blizzard was approaching. But instead of celebrating her gift, they shunned her, telling her she was the one who was bringing these calamities to their town. That she was the cause of it all. So, at six, she fled to Willow Woods. An orphan since infancy, she had no ties to to hold her back. Luna only listened to the voices.

It would seem strange to think of a child taking off to survive on her own. But Luna was no typical child. The voices, her sole companions, guided her, giving her an uncanny intuition. She knew which plants to eat and which to avoid, where north, south, east and west were, and could sense danger before it came, whether as a cougar or a forest fire. All these things came naturally to her. Nature was the home she never had. And nature seemed to welcome her.

She knew this was the right spot. Because of the dreams. The dreams...For the past month, Luna could think of nothing else than the images in her dreams. And the key. There were dozens of notices around the village for an artifact; a crescent-shaped key. A very old one. One worth a fortune.

To Ellise, the prize money seemed almost too extravagant for such a small object. The king was known as an eccentric tyrant, but out of all his majesty’s “hobbies”, this was something Ellise couldn't wrap her head around. Needless to say, she had a family to feed, and asking questions was pointless, especially for someone like her.

Ellise met Luna two years prior, while hunting for some game in the woods. Having caught sight of a large hare, she went deeper in than usual, distracted by her pursuit. She was her family's breadwinner; her father died in a mining accident when she was 12, and being the oldest of 4 children, the responsibility to feed her family fell onto her shoulders, her mother having passed away years before. This hare came as a relief to Ellise; the allure of not having to hunt for days was too strong to be ignored. However, the hare was quicker than usual. After a few hours, Ellise realised the futility of her effort. I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for hours. But she realised her error too late - it was almost dark now. What am I going to do? It was at that moment that she caught sight of something unusual. A barn owl seemed to be circling above Ellise. Its cyclical trajectory caught her off guard.

“I’d suggest you give up. That hare has even outsmarted Litra, and he’s an expert.”

Ellise jumped, surprised to hear a human voice. She turned around to find a person standing less than a metre away. What on earth...She couldn't tell if it was a young boy or a woman, but judging by their voice, she was probably female. The stranger looked Ellise up and down. “Why are you wasting your time in this part of the wood? There’s hardly any game that Litra,” she motioned to the owl, “doesn’t catch. You’d be hard-pressed to find anything.” At that moment, the owl, Litra, landed on her arm, chittering away, glaring at Ellise while doing so. Ellise glared back. The stranger laughed.

“I’m Luna, and this is Litra. What's your name? And what brings you to the heart of Willow Woods?” she inquired.

“Uhh —I’m Ellise...” Ellise looked around and found no one else. Is she alone? I would have known if there was another girl-hunter in the village like me. But her face doesn't ring a bell. Ellise started to cautiously back away: “Who are you? Do you live here? I’ve never seen you before.” Ellise asked suspiciously. She could be an undercover guard.

“You can wipe that look off your face if you want my help. It seems that you made a mistake in coming this deep in the woods. I don’t think you should be worrying about who I am,” responded Luna.

“Huh?” Ellise was caught off guard. People never dared talk back to her at the village. She scared them. But this girl wasn’t fazed by Ellise’s hunting garb, as they were.

“Right now,” Luna continued, “I’m the only person that can help you get out of this part of the woods - people rarely come by here, especially not after sunset, which it will be very soon...” Luna smirked, fully aware of the upper-hand she held. This girl has spunk, thought Luna. “But I guess you think otherwise,” she continued, walking away in feigned innocence.

“Wait!” Ellise called. “Please...help me.” Ellise hated to say it, but she quickly realised her situation, and it wasn’t a good one. Guard or no guard, I’ll need her help. “I got distracted by a hare and lost track of time, and before I knew it I came this far. I should have known better than to come all the way here. I- I’ve heard strange stories…” Ellise was ashamed. How could I let that stupid hare get to me? Ellise hated it, but she saw no other option than the one standing before her. “....please” she said through clenched teeth.

Luna was enjoying this. “Fine,” she said cheekily, while turning, “but you’ll have to pay me back sometime. I might require your….assistance, in the future,” she said, winking. Ellise felt uncomfortable. But now was not a time for comfort. If the stories about this part of the wood were true, she was in a tight spot indeed. How is this girl so comfortable? Ellise shook her head. I'll think about this later. If she knows I've been hunting here, she can report me to the royal guard. Then I’ll be the dead meat.

“Fine,” Ellise replied, flustered. She sure has a way of cornering people. Hmmph, no wonder she lives alone. They shook on it.

That was the beginning of their strange acquaintance. Luna wasn't used to having human company, and the deal gave her some form of human interaction, though she would never admit it to Ellise. She still hated other people for what they had done to her. But there was a loneliness, an ache so entrenched within her, that no amount of nature, or Litra — the closest thing she had to a friend — could remedy. She hadn’t been in direct contact with humans often since she fled her village. She would go into town from time to time, but only in necessity. It wouldn't hurt to have one person that knows I'm here. We could help each other. However, not really knowing how to make a friend, she decided to wait until someone needed her. People will do anything to survive. Maybe they’ll look past my differences.

Ellise felt differently. She couldn’t trust this girl, and the look in her eyes...it was unusual. She felt uneasy. But Luna wanted to make sure Ellise upheld her end of the bargain - or so she said - so she followed Ellise around whenever she went hunting. Knowing the ways of the forest, she could easily keep track of her. Ellise hated it, but was a person of her word. So, resigning herself to Luna’s uncomfortable company, she tolerated it. Tolerance soon became indifference, which soon became familiar, and even comfortable, company. You could even say friendship, though neither would admit - not at first.

All this came rushing back to Luna when Ellise spoke. Other moments also appeared. The pain, the loneliness, Ellise, life in the woods...her past was unfolding before her. It felt like she was being reminded of something...something important. Luna couldn’t put it together.

Luna remembered the day she saw the notices. She was headed to the market to grab some leather for her boots, and saw the picture on one of the stands. The image felt strangely familiar. It was after that the dreams began; vivid images of a cave within the Willow Woods. A cave she never saw before. It was as though some distant memory were resurfacing. As though…

“Luna! Are you even listening to me?” said Ellise, frustrated, waking Luna from her trance. “You haven't been acting like yourself lately. The look in your eyes...it’s like you're in another world.” Ellise snapped her fingers angrily, “Hey! Don’t you dare go back to your staring— I’m sick of your silence!” Ellise threw down her shovel, and started to walk away.

Luna suddenly felt the strong urge to tell her everything. Up until now, she was convinced to keep her secret. But she felt like she would go crazy if she didn’t tell someone. If she didn’t tell Elise.

“Wait!” Cried Luna.

Ellise turned around impatiently, “What?”

Luna continued hesitantly, “Well...uhh...you see….there’s something I haven’t told you—”

It was at that moment that Litra flew down and perched on Luna's shoulder. Carried in his beak was a small, rusted lantern. Luna welcomed the distraction; Ellise had a bad temper, and it usually took long to simmer down.

“Hey there, buddy,” Luna said affectionately. She was used to Litra’s sudden entrances. “Whatcha got there?” She took the lantern, and seeing its poor condition, didn’t give it much thought. “Litra, this is odd, even for you. Go hunt a rat or something — we don’t need this,” Luna tossed the lamp aside. It landed a few feet away, with a loud clunk. Curious, Ellise went to investigate the sound. She looked a little closer and turned to Luna, wide-eyed: “Hey, uhh, Luna, I think you should take a look at this.”

Luna turned towards Ellise, “It’s just an old—” she glanced to where Ellise pointed, something catching her attention. She bent down, dusted off some dirt, and gasped. This was no piece of metal, but an old steel plate. Luna dusted it off some more, and found engravings. Enthralled, she began brushing the dirt more vigorously. “Oh, wow!” she exclaimed.

Ellise was just as amazed: “How did we miss this? I could have sworn this place was just dirt earlier…”

Luna eyed the engravings, which looked like strange runes. Wait...These feel familiar...I can...I can read them! Could it be...Some of the engravings were too worn away to be read, but she was able to make out a few lines:

Enter hearer of our song

Absolve all hate within thy heart

Sing with us, and vanquish wrong

Enter hearer of our song

What Luna saw next, gave her goosebumps. Ellise saw it too.

“Hey, uhh, Luna...is it just me or does that look an awful lot like Litra? He has that same arched pattern on his wing. And look! Isn’t that…” Ellise gasped and brushed off some more dirt, not believing her eyes, “Isn’t that...you?!”

Under the writing were two finely engraved images; the first of a barn owl that looked exactly like Litra, with identical markings on his wing, and next to it a human girl, the same height and build as Luna. She wore the same bow as Luna’s, the one with the crescent emblem. Luna’s head was spinning. Her face, her eyes, Litra, the bow…it was too much to process - even for her. It can’t be…The voices grew louder than they ever were, and before she knew it, Luna collapsed, unconscious.