Moonborn

 Moonborn

By Dreamstar

(This is a sort of prologue.)

The ground of the forest is packed dirt, and damp with rain. And blood, but mixed with black liquid. The trees overhead grow thickly over the forest floor, darkening it, allowing creatures to scuttle across it, unseen.
Deep in the heart of an ancient redwood tree, a girl stirs. She has curly, dark brown hair, and, though they are closed, dark blue eyes that reflect the stars. Her skin is pearly white, like the full moon above her. She wears grey flannel pants and a loose grey t-shirt. A small pool of black-and-red blood forms at her chest, where her heart is.
She is a kind, innocent girl, a touch sarcastic, yes, but innocent, who doesn’t deserve the burden that is on her shoulders. But she can not, will not, know it is there. Not yet. She is too young. But she must-- no. Oh, Heavens above, what am I doing, talking to myself like this? But I must decide soon, she is waking. It is inevitable, that her twin will try to kill her again, it is written in the stars… but will she be able to cope with it? She now has amnesia, so I suppose I will have to wait, watch, and hope that, if she passes all of my tests, she will drive back the Dark Twin in time…

Chapter 1(ish)

Luna woke with a start, staring around wildly. She was sitting on a bed of moss, and she’d be darned if she wasn’t in the hollow trunk of a redwood tree. Small insects scuttled up and down the inner trunk of the tree, and directly in front of her, a gaping exit lay, and Luna could see dark green trees beyond it.
But where was she? How had she gotten there? How would she get home, or was this her home? She felt a stab of pain pierce her heart, looked down, and saw a trickle of blood running down her front. How had that happened? There was only one thing Luna knew: she couldn’t stay hidden in this tree forever. Wincing as she got up, Luna strode to the opening of the tree, and walked straight through it, into the trees.
It was so dark that Luna was sure it was nighttime, and she could’ve sworn she heard the ragged breathing of someone, or something in the undergrowth, waiting. Luna tried to ignore this sensation of being watched.
First things first, analyze my surroundings and situation. Where am I? On planet Earth, though I don’t know where. Who am I? A girl named Luna. Am I alone? As far as I know, yes. What should I do now? Forage, I guess. For food and stuff.
Luna glanced around for things to forage. There were plenty of sticks, stones, and plant fibers on the ground, and she knew there had to be prey around here, so she bent down, selected a sturdy-looking stick and a sharp stone, grabbed some plant fibers, and used them to fasten the stone to the end of the stick. Now she had a makeshift dagger and a pretty good arrow at the same time. Suddenly, Luna heard the fluttering of wings, and the soft twittering of a bird. Realizing that a sparrow had landed on a nearby berry bush, Luna crouched down behind the bird, clutching her makeshift knife.
Taking careful aim, Luna let the weapon fly, hoping with all her might that it would strike her target.
It missed by several inches. Startled, the bird took flight in alarm.
Cursing her aim and luck, Luna retrieved the dagger from where it had fallen, took up her crouched position again, and waited for the next potential prey to come.
It was thirty minutes before she managed to kill a very scrawny blue jay, and by then, five birds had landed on the berry bush, three squirrels had scurried across her line of vision, and, to  Luna’s horror, a moose had plodded by.
But, she realized with a jolt of annoyance, Luna couldn’t eat the bird raw, feathers and all. She would need a fire. But it would be much too risky to start a fire with all of these trees around. She’d have to find a clearing.

Gathering up her collected materials, Luna abruptly remembered that she was still bleeding from her chest wound. Wincing at the pain when she moved, Luna snatched some leaves and fibers, and bound them around herself, staunching the blood. She then picked up her blue jay and crafting supplies, and strode off into the forest again.

Luna had now been walking for hours. Although she had seen little patches of clear ground along the way, they could barely fit her entire body in them, let alone a campsite. Her body was aching with fatigue and hunger, and she was reduced to crawling now.
Suddenly, she heard water rolling over sand. And a shimmering sound, like sparkles falling. Panting hard, Luna inched toward the source of the sound.
It was the most beautiful lake she had ever seen, though she could not remember any others. It was a glimmering twilight blue, and blue-and-white butterflies danced across its surface. Below the water, it looked like it was a pool of stars and planets, reflecting the treeless sky above it. Next to it, a fairly large clearing lay. Luna nearly collapsed in relief, but she stopped herself. First camp, then sleep.
She threw her burden to the ground, unpacked her jay, a bundle of sticks, and two stones, and proceeded to start a fire. She arranged the sticks in a neat circle, then struck her stones together. Nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing. It was five turns before she managed to get a spark. Her new fire was large enough to illuminate the clearing, yet not enough to risk a forest fire. Luna was too tired to be proud. She quickly plucked the feathers from her blue jay, then roasted her pitiful dinner over her fire. She ate hungrily though it was only a few bites, then settled down to sleep, the crackling of her fire and the shimmering of the lake being her lullaby.

(This would be chapter two if this had chapters!)

The next morning, Luna decided to hunt again. She caught a rather fat squirrel, two mice, and even found a little red fox cub that she had taken home, finding the cub’s dead family nearby. He whined softly as Luna gave him a raw mouse. “I know, sweet boy,” Luna said kindly. “It must hurt to lose your entire family. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
The cub sighed through his small nose, and rested his head on his black paws, allowing Luna to pet him. “I think I’ll call you Flame.”
Flame pricked his ears slightly at the name.

Abruptly, a parched dryness filled Luna’s mouth and throat. She couldn’t remember drinking anything since she woke up. Getting up so suddenly that Flame looked around in alarm, Luna made a mad dash for the lakeshore. She fell to her knees, bent over the surface of the clear water, and plunged her head into it.
Cool water surged around her, a pleasant change from the dehydrating heat above. Small turtles and fish swam and darted around her face. Luna made a mental note to make a fishing rod later.
She opened her mouth, and allowed the lake water to gush into her mouth, not even bothering to wonder whether or not it was safe to drink.

"You know, it is polite to ask someone for permission before drinking their water."

Luna gasped, inhaling quite a lot of water. Choking and spluttering, she stuck her head out of the water. A beautiful woman was hovering over the lake. Her hair was pure fire, dancing around and licking her face. Her skin was made of the same water the lake was, churning and swirling, but never changing shape. She wore a dress made of bright flowers whose scent made Flame close his eyes and take a great sniff, and wind seemed to blow around her, threatening to extinguish her burning hair. But her eyes, they were what startled Luna most. One of them was a blinding yellowish-white, like the sun, and the other was darker than shadows. They both had cat-like slits for pupils, though not in a frightening way. She wore a calm, kindly expression.
Luna suddenly felt very dirty compared with this woman.

"W-who are you?" she asked shakily, "what do you want with me?"

"I am Nashai, Guardian of the Elements, and Keeper of Time. Hello, Luna,” Nashai answered, blinking slowly.
“You didn’t answer my second question, and how do you know my name?” Luna questioned, more sharply this time. Nashai smiled serenely. “I want nothing more than to watch over you and protect you, though alas, that is impossible, as long as--” Suddenly she cut herself off, looking slightly wary. “Quite a few people know your name, Luna Starglow.” Starglow. The name sparked something in Luna, though she couldn’t say what.
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why do ‘quite a few people’ know my name?”
“Ah,” Nashai said mysteriously. “That is part of why I am here, Miss Starglow.”
“Just Luna is good, thanks. And, oh yeah, why exactly are you here again?”

Nashai gazed intently at Luna, who leaned back a little. “Would you like to hear a story? A story that will answer your greatest question: Who are you?”
“Umm… sure? I guess?” Luna sat down on the grass. Flame padded over and curled up in her lap. She rested her hand on his warm little back.

Nashai smiled again and gracefully lowered herself to an invisible floor, so it looked like she was sitting in the air over the lake.

“It all started twelve years ago…” Nashai took a deep breath. “Once, there was a man named Corvus, and a woman named Cecilia. They were deeply in love, and got married. Then Cecilia discovered that she was pregnant. With you, Luna. But not long after, Cecilia found out that she was to have twins. Two, healthy, delightful baby girls, named Luna and Umbra. Alas, this joyful family could not last forever. When you and your sister were only two years old, Luna, your parents divorced. They grew apart, realizing that they had nothing in common. Your father took you, your mother, Umbra. And so, you were raised separately, both of you under the impression that you were single children, and that one of your parents had abandoned you. Until…” Nashai paused, then sighed.

“Well?” said Luna impatiently.

“A prophecy was formed no less than three days ago. It predicted that the girl of the moon shall fight the girl of shadows, and neither will live if one does not kill. As you may have deduced, it meant you and your sister, Luna. I am part of the Guardians, who watch over this land. My fellows heard the prophecy, and forbade any of us to speak of it to anyone. But listen to me,” she added, intensity in her eyes, as Luna started to interrupt, “if a prophecy is not fulfilled, the people it is about and their families will die. Your sister, Umbra, found out of this prophecy by getting tipped off by an unknown traitor. She killed your parents, so they wouldn’t try to stop her. You have no other living family except for her. It has been centuries since a prophecy had been ignored, and I am not about to let it happen again.”

Luna stared into Nashai’s eyes. One light, one dark. It was a sign. Suddenly, a cold fury swept through her. So her sister had killed their parents, had she? But all of a sudden, she remembered something else. “Why can I not remember anything?” Nashai looked n the verge of tears now. “Y-- your memory was wiped for your own safety. Your sister had just tried to kill you. We, the Guardians, believed that hiding you would be safe for not only yourself, but for others, others who believed that you would go down the same path as your twin. This forest is a safe haven, you will be protected within these trees. But you, Luna Starglow, you must kill your sister. You will be alone afterward, but it is for the good of--” Abruptly, Nashai stopped. She gazed around fearfully, her hair flickering faster, wind blasting it. Her body seized up. And then she was screaming, screaming as if every fiber of her body was being tortured.
“Nashai!” Luna was on her feet, Flame barking from between her legs. She tried to grasp the Guardian’s hand, but abruptly she vanished, still screaming, leaving nothing but a floating object to fall on a rack near Luna. She fell to her knees, trembling with shock and fear. Flame whined again and pressed his head against her. I have a sister. The thought should’ve sparked joy in her heart, but just felt something cold and heavy there. Not one I can be proud of. Anger surged up into Luna again, driving out the shock. Her sister had killed off her parents because of some stupid prophecy that probably didn’t exist. How did she know that Nashai wasn’t some apparition, or playing a joke on her? But something inside Luna told her that it had all been real. She bent over the item that Nashai had left. It was a map. Of a place called Korthos. Luna spotted a circle of white ink drawn over a patch of trees labeled Silverbell Woods.
“That must be where I am,” she said, mostly to herself. There was also a black streak slashed over an area marked Deathbed Cliffs. “So that’s where Umbra is… but that still doesn’t explain Nashai’s on-the-fritz seizure.”
There was only one thing that Luna could do: Get ready to set out on a journey for revenge. And hope that she would survive in the process.