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‘SEHANINE, MOONWEAVER GODDESS, I thank mew for answering my call. I see mew too have a flair for the dramatic entrances. As to be expected from such a beautiful deity,’ Mitztail smiled, his words like silk, rolled off his tongue with ease.
Barcius shuffled over to me and whispered, ‘He doesn’t honestly think this is going to work does he? Surely not.’ He seemed perplexed by the situation.
‘Perhaps what the owner said held some weight after all. Mitztail himself did claim to be popular with the ladies,’ I said with a shrug.
But the tiefling didn’t seem convinced by my words, he merely glanced back at our tabaxi comrade and shook his head. ‘I don’t like to bet on the ill-well of my friends, but I don’t think this will turn out how he planned it,’ he replied.
‘Bold of you to assume he has a plan,’ Tarasque injected into our conversation, ‘This is Mitztail we’re talking about. He never has a plan.’
I glanced back at my friend, the three of us watched him like a hawk, readying our arms in case he needed us to intervene.
‘We thank you for welcoming us humble morals into this realm,’ Mitztail said, his charm rolling off his tongue. ‘Mew have been calling out to me for many years now. Yet I never did answer mewr call. Mew were always there, supporting me from the side-lines, but I’ve only just learnt of mewr presence. I stand before mew, nothing more than a humble bard, only wishing I could repay mewr kindness. So I ask mew, my lady, how can I achieve that?’
The Goddess was silent, looking over the tabaxi with curious onyx eyes. ‘I ask only one thing of you, Mitztail, from the Keeper of the Moon clan,’ she said softly, not letting go of his fluffy cheeks, ‘Play for me. But no more of those lullabies, after all these years I wish to hear something new.’
The tabaxi’s eyes widened in horror and he shook his head, ‘My lady, I cannot,’ he replied, sadness clung to his words, ‘My creative well has run dry, I have lost my way and I lack the inspiration to even try.’
But the Goddess didn’t change her expression, her lips drawn in a thin line. ‘I will ask only once, child of the moon. Play for me,’ she said, her tone stern and unforgiving.
‘I…I…can’t,’ Mitztail cried out, his paws beginning to tremble on his lute strings. ‘Please, my lady, I beg for a new task. Just anything but that. I wouldn’t want to offend you with an uninspiring melody, it would be a disservice to you.’
Sehanine’s face grew colder, a frown on her lips and her brows furrowed. ‘Very well, bard. A new challenge you shall face,’ she bellowed out to the heavens, closing her eyes.
The moonstone shards released themselves from the stones, swarmed to their mistress, circling her like a halo made of glass. She opened her eyes, a wicked grin now plastered across her face. ‘I will cut you down where you stand.’
‘No, you won’t,’ Tarasque shouted, darting towards the deity. Her greatsword ready in her hand and her shield of courage raised. She kicked the tabaxi away just as the shards rained down on her. The shield glowed with a golden light, yet it wasn’t enough the fire genasi was pinned underneath the weight of moonstone arrows. She screamed many curse words at the deity, ‘When I get out of this, I will cut you down where you stand, witch.’
Sehanine threw her head back, her cackles echoed throughout the amphitheatre. An ear-piercing shriek that brought all of us to our knees.
I shielded my ears, looking at my comrades each in turn.
Barcius fought against her screams, summoning the strength to retrieve his spellbook from his belt. He threw it in front of him, leafing through the pages until he found what he needed. The inky sigils scarring his body burned into his skin, multiplying as he produced twin orbs of midnight-blue energy in his fists. Slowly he got to his feet, his arms limp at his side. The tiefling threw his hands up before him, ready to strike the deity down. Barcius moved one hand in a perfect circle, towards where Tarasque held her position, buried under a thousand moonstone needles. Using his other hand, he held up two fingers, to where the moonweaver stood. She glared at him, hissing like a snake, ready to pounce but awaited him to make the first move, goading him into an attack. Barcius made a cutting motion in the air.
For a few moments, nothing happened.
I cursed under my breath, how anticlimactic, I’d thought, until I saw him smirk.
The night sky lit under, with a thunderous blue hue. Crackles of lightning erupted through the heavens, yet only two bolts grew. One struck the moonstone prison shackling Tarasque to the ground, coiling itself around the structure like a snake. As the eldritch blast collided with the crystals, they shattered into nothing more than dust on the wind, leaving a circle of moon dust around the fire genasi. She grinned and stood, baring her teeth, hungry for battle. The second bolt propelled itself like a spear through the air in an attempt to skewer the deity.
But Sehanine scoffed, holding up her hand towards the heavens and snapped her fingers. The lightning-formed spear stopped dead in its trajectory and disintegrated into moonstone.
‘Shit,’ Tarasque said.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, ‘How is that possible?’ I turned to ask the tiefling but when I glanced at him, I noticed something was very wrong.
Barcius dropped to his knees, screaming in agony. The inky sigils on his body pulsated.
‘Saria, I’m entrusting Barcius to you,’ Tarasque called, ‘Do what you can for him, leave the witch to me. Mitztail, I might need you to lend me a paw.’ He nodded to agree and readied his rapier.
I abandoned my post and hurried to the tiefling's side, the whole time keeping a watchful eye on my comrades to ensure their safety during battle.
Sehanine sighed, growing impatient with us, ‘I only wish to hear the ballad of the greatest bard that has ever graced my city,’ she said, her tone softening, yet I didn’t trust it. ‘Is that too much to ask?’ She began to cry, silver tears streaking down her pale cheeks. ‘For years I’ve watched in the shadows, hoping one day you play a piece for me. A serenade of thanks for guiding you on your destiny, but yet, here I am waiting still.’
I suddenly realised what the deity was trying, with her silver tongue wagging, she was using her voice to seduce Mitztail into a false sense of security. ‘Don’t listen to her. I know praise is all you’ve wanted to hear, but not from her, anything but her.’ I looked down, training my focus on my tiefling patient, chanting a healing spell under my breath.
‘Silence,’ Sehanine bellowed, ‘You, child of the forest driven from her homeland, dare to speak out of tone.’ She raised her hand, making a twirling motion. The moon dust gathered up from the stone and into a small tornado, merging together until they created a crescent bow and a single arrow.
Barcius’s head rested in my lap, my hands rested on his arms, a fraction light caused my fingertips to glow as my magic worked on repairing his body. But the inky sigils did not heal, only the pulsating seemed to die down at my touch. It was all I could do for now.
I returned my gaze to the moonweaver, seeing the crescent bow in her hands. She intended to silence me. I glanced at Mitztail, the poor tabaxi clutched his head, crying out in agony.
Sehanine released her arrow, aiming directly for Barcius and I, both of us sitting ducks. I held onto my tiefling comrade, still dazed from whatever curse had snared him, and braced for the impact. There was very little I could do, even with my magic. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, Tarasque was standing before us, her shield raised and glowing like a beacon. The arrow made purchase with the shield, neither of the weapons giving control over to the other.
Tarasque held her ground, silver sparks flying in all directions. I looked up at the moonweaver, hoping to see her smile falter, but it only grew wider.
‘It’s a trap,’ I said.
But it was too late. Just as the fire genasi considered my words, the arrow exploded, splitting itself into three chains. One snagged Tarasque, knocking her weapons from her hands and driving her into the stone seats. An audible crack followed by a grunt sealed her fate. Barcius was the second one taken, stolen from my arms. I punched the earth, beckoning the roots beneath the stone to her my plea, but no one answered. The land was too barren to give. I rocked back onto my heels, looking up at the final chain and accepted my fate, strung up and hoisted up and forced to sit and watch the rest of the show. Barcius was still half unconscious, but back by my side, his body still repairing the toll releasing a powerful eldritch blast had caused.
I watched helplessly as Mitztail stood in the centre of the amphitheatre, doubled over in agony, alone with the moon goddess. ‘Please fight this. We all believe in you,’ I whispered, knowing well he wouldn’t be able to hear my plea.
The tabaxi twitched, his paws removing his lute from his back, ‘No,’ he scolded himself. ‘I will fight you, you foul temptress.’ He hissed, his tone shifting, his body more willing to give into the goddess’s voice. ‘Pray forgive my tongue, I never meant- yes I do, I meant it. You are a- an angel, who has guided my way here so I might perform- no, I can’t. I won’t.’ He was fighting against his own body, slapping one paw away from the lute strings. A few notes played out of tone.
You are not alone. I called out to him silently.
Mitztail screamed, his lute crashing to the stone and he to his knees clutching onto his head. ‘I… I can’t. Please Lady Sehanine, moonweaver goddess, have mercy. I beg of you,’ he cried. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He drove his fists into the stone, fighting against her temptations with a valiant effort, but in a split second, his posture changed. Mitztail stopped punching the earth and returned to his feet. His hardee still covered his face, he picked up his rapier and holstered it, before taking out his instrument and began tapping his foot upon the stones. ‘I am ready to play for you, Lady Sehanine.’
I glanced at my comrades pinned beside me, neither one of them having any fight left in them to give. I struggled against the chains, a feeble attempt to try and break free and just as I tried to scream to stop the tabaxi from making a huge mistake I was silenced by the chain.
‘Excellent. It appears you’re finally ready to repay your debt,’ the moon goddess said, grinning like a menace while she stroked Mitztail under his chin. ‘But let us make this affair all the more grand and invite some guests, shall we. Stars, Child of the Night, come to me, Mother requires your assistance.’ She called out the prussian heavens.
One by one the stars began to twinkle and flicker before descending to the earth, landing on the white stones with ease and grace. They were curious creatures, slender bodies similar to that of the goddess but shapeless in form with no distinctive facial features. They were merely beings of pure silvery light, marching off to take their seats within the crowd.
‘Now we need some decoration, a performance is nothing without a set,’ Sehanine cried, clapping her hands together. ‘Let’s fix that, shall we?’ Speaking directly to Mitztail, yet his head didn’t raise, he was stiffer than a board.
She scooped up a handful of the moon dust, using the same technique she’d used to create the chains that bound me and my comrades. Instead of shapeshifting its form, Sehanine cast it around the amphitheatre, like a first fallen snow. As she clicked her fingers, high above her head, the amphitheatre was transformed. Back to how it’d been all those years ago, just as Mitztail had described his dream place to perform, down to the fountain erected in the centre of the court.
‘I have given you everything you require, bard, don’t disappoint me,’ Sehanine squeezed the tabaxi’s cheeks in her fingers as she spoke. She let him go, floating up into the sky and laid on a cloud formation. ‘Come now, don’t keep us waiting.’
Mitztail mimicked her movement, raising his paw in the air and clapped. The tiny lanterns we’d used on our journey gathered at his side. He sent them flying off in opposite directions where they multiplied into hundreds of tiny fireflies, adding a soft glow to the amphitheatre.
The tabaxi positioned his lute on his body before adjusting his hardee and revealing his face. His expression caught in a trance, I understand the circumstances. He’d fallen to the moon goddess’s charm. Mitztail strummed on his lute, playing a song we’d learnt had come from his childhood. The same bitter-sweet melody he’d once played for his sisters, many moons ago and the last one he’d song played for his lost love.
Sehanine laid on her cloud formation, her expression too far away to see, yet she didn’t seem impressed he was playing the same melody over and over. ‘Enough,’ she bellowed. ‘I'm tired of this song. I asked for one simple thing, a Mitztail original song.’
The tabaxi stopped his melody to announce to the crowd, ‘Forgive me, Lady Moonweaver, but I am just getting started,’ Mitztail raised his paw up to the heavens, a purple haze started to appear like an aura around his small frame. ‘I would like to dedicate this song to the ones I love, and those whom I lost along the way. Come, Goddess Sehanine and Child of the Stars, let us rejoice for the greatest bard ever grace his presence in the City of Celestria is here. Witness my tale.’
Mitztail adjusted the pegs on his lute, tightening the strings slightly before strumming once more. The melody was reminiscent of his childhood lullaby yet sounded spritely and upbeat than a gentle bedtime song. The purple haze morphed into several tabaxi figures, each one a reflection of someone from his past. Merry, his lost love, kissed his cheek and leapt off in front of the fountain. His four sisters appeared; two held flutes and the other two joined at Merry’s side, all wearing the same costume she’d worn from their grand performance all those years ago. Hawk was next to morph from the haze, wearing his usual hooded cloak, but instead of knives, he held a bass.
‘I welcome you all, to the Ballad of the Moon,’ Mitztail announced boldly, with a purr rolling off his tongue. But what surprised me more than anything were his eyes filled with promise, with hope that this time he would be inspired to create once more. He stood on top of the fountain, his lute seeming louder than before, enough to echo through the amphitheatre.
The female tabaxi’s danced to his melody, spinning around and moving to the beat with lucidity in their limbs. Their white dresses flowed behind them as they danced.
Mitztail opened his mouth. This was his moment, he was finally going to sing his own ballad for all to hear, ‘And yes, I have lost. Goodbye to my family. I will play my happy little song. The one I’ve been dreaming about for so long. Please hear the Ballad of the Moon. Wishing for her to come back into my arms. Life won’t overthrow me no more, no life won’t come and chase me. No, not anymore. I’m just a happy, eager dreamer, waiting for my time to come along, when I can fall back into her arms.’
‘I’d be the happiest man alive. But I spent too many years complaining, after my creative oasis ran dry. Wondering what went wrong in my life, that led me to this point in time. A son without a mother. And a maiden never to be wed. But I saw the light, and learnt to finally fight. In this Ballad to the Moon. I’ve done everything I could up to now. And here I stand till I until my lungs give out. Hopeless dreaming, hopeless wishing, for my love to return to me.’
‘But with her last breath taken, I must find the strength to walk on. Alone in the moonlight. Alone to wander aimlessly. Till I found my calling. For the Goddess wished me to live, and I will live out her wish. I might have lost. And now I’m found. My new family calls out to me.
Goodbye to my old family. I will continue to play my happy little melody in mewr memory, my love. The one I’ve been dreaming about so long. I will not wish for mew to return, I will find mew in the future. And bid my time until I take my last breath and can fall back into your arms, my love. In the Ballad of the Moon.’
Mitztail rang out his last few chords, his voice carrying through the amphitheatre like he’d been training for this his whole life. Tears streamed from my eyes, he’d done it. The crazy tabaxi had actually done it. He’s overcome the one thing that stopped him from creating his music. Overcome the trial set out by the Goddess. To fix his broken heart.
The crowd of stars erupted into cheers, chanting the bard’s name at the top of their lungs. Together they drew light from their bodies, transforming them into single white roses and cast them at the tabaxi’s feet.
Mitztail held his lute in one paw, and removed his hardee with the other before bowing to the crowd. The purple haze that created his entourage dissipated out of sight, taking his sisters and the Whiskerteers with it. The light from the lanterns dimmed and the light of the moon dominated the amphitheatre once more.
Sehanine floated down from her cloudy bed until she was inches away from the tabaxi’s face. Her expression was soft and motherly, nothing like the wicked witch who’d imprisoned us. ‘Child of the Moon keepers, I thank you.’ Her voice gently cooed him, ‘Such a beautiful melody and the lyrics too, how quaint. I’m glad you found what caused your inspiration to run dry. With this new found resolve, I conclude my trial and bestow upon you a gift.’
The moonweaver created space between herself and the tabaxi. She plucked a single star from its prussian bed and kissed the top of its head. The tiny orb of light morphed into a crescent-shaped lyre, twinkling in a silver light.
‘Allow your heart to guide your journey, allow it to swell with the pride of adventure and be sure to tell the world your story, Mitztail Nimble-paws,’ Sehanine said proudly, handing the tabaxi the crescent moon lyre.
‘The second,’ he corrected her. But she didn’t seem amused by his words. ‘I’m sorry, please continue, my lady.’
Sehanine placed the harp in his paws, after he took the sacred relic and she smiled and cupped his paws once more. ‘Be brave little bard.’ She placed a kiss on top of his head before she floated back into the night sky. She raised a hand to the heavens and clicked her fingers.
One by one the illuminated figures launched themselves back up into their inky bed, squealing and giggling as they went. The Goddess turned to us three adventurers, still bound by her chains. She snapped her fingers a second time, the chains shattered into moon dust. We were free to move about. I shook my friends awake, Barcius stirred, snoring loud enough to wake himself and Tarasque woke herself, rubbing the back of her head.
‘Mitztail did it,’ I said, a swell of pride in my heart. ‘He was so brave to stand this trial alone. His song was a truly inspired melody.’
Together we moved as one to rejoin our friend. The Goddess snapped her fingers a third and final time before us, opening a portal out of this realm, and bid us farewell.
‘May your heart be your guiding light.’
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