Hesperia- The Evening Star (b×b)

The Moon Man.

Chapter One.

The river loops and bends. Koray didn't know why, but he remembered that. A new idea blossoms in his mind. As soon as he sees a curve up ahead, he flings himself onto the shore.

"Argh...", he grunted in pain as he pulled himself up. He had made it out of the river, at least. His head hurt from all the memories returning to him slowly. He was an... Ambassador? Looking down at his clothes, he saw a similar crest to the ones the hunter wore, but it was pure black.

The dark emerald leaves sway gently. The breeze doesn't help keep him warm, in fact, he feels even colder. Shivering, he pulls himself up and enters the forest.

It was dark, but it was warmer in the shelter of the trees. "Starting a fire would be dangerous..", he muttered to himself, " What if they see it? It's like lighting a beacon to guide them to their prey."

Peeling off his wet shirt, he spread it out to dry on a nearby boulder. It smelt sweet around there, a comforting and familiar scent. He breathed it in and lay down, but a sharp pain in his leg reminded him of his situation.

He immediately sat up and gazed at his wound. The arrow's shaft had snapped off, sometime earlier that day, but the point was still in. It wasn't barbed, or poisonous, but he was still losing blood. The adrenaline coursing through his veins had made him disregard the pain.

Gritting his teeth, he yanked out the arrow. It pained less than he imagined, but it was still plenty painful.

As his fingers brushed over the cut, a strange warmth gathered in his hands. He saw stars in his vision, and it kept getting blurrier and blurrier until...A burst of light emitted from his fingertips. The skin closed over the wound, leaving not even a scar.

"That's...I can do that?" he wondered. Just then, he noticed the ring on his finger. It was a yellow stone, topaz maybe, on a simple gold band. It was gleaming, and as he watched, it faded away slowly. It was fantastic news and all but... There was a problem.

He felt drained.

It would be dangerous to sleep, in case the hunters found him while he slept, but what else could he do? His eyelids were getting heavy, and his head was spinning with all the events of the day. "I'll just close my eyes for a little.",he promised , but before he knew it, he had drifted off to the land of sleep.

★★★★★

It was late at night. He woke up to the sound of soft ringing, like bells. He got up and looked around him, wondering if he was just delirious from thirst. Cautiously, he made his way to the riverside, and knelt down to drink.

As he cups his hands, he heard the bells again. He looked around frantically, anxious at the idea that somebody was creeping up at him while he slept. It sounded like an anklet.

Then he saw it. Across the river, a bright figure crawled out of the wood. It looked like a man, his hands humanoid,and his body cloaked with a dark robe. But... It was his face that scared him. It was a glowing crescent moon. It stared at him with unblinking eyes.

He rubbed his eyes, but it was still there. He did it again, more violently this time, so much so that it left his vision blurry and dark. He fixed his eyes on the place where the creature was, but it was gone.

"Maybe, I am delirious.."

Koray turned back to the river, cupping his hands and bringing the cool, fresh water to his lips. It was refreshing. Now that his thirst was gone, he focused on his hunger. He looked around for berries, but there were none to be seen.

Sighing with defeat, he returned back to his shelter. It was well past midnight, and he could see the moon starting to dip under the horizon.

He lay down again, staring up at the sky through the canopy of trees. It was a Linden tree. It symbolised marriage. When he thought of it, it felt as if a fist closed around his heart. What had happened to him in the past?

With nothing to do, he sat up and thought about himself. Who was he? Over the day, he had learnt more about himself. He was Koray, of the clan Antlers of Elixir, but why was he exiled? Why was he being chased? He did nothing for the rest of the night but think. Sometime, before dawn, he nodded off again to dreamless sleep.

★★★★★

Koray woke up as the sky lightened. He looked to the east, only to see the pink dawn, dappled with clouds of orange and yellow.

"Great Eos...", he breathed. It was beautiful. There were many cranes gathered near the river, pecking at the small silver fish that darted to and fro.

The river itself, Ooljee, meaning moon, was named after the bright white pebbles at the bottom. It seemed to flow with silver at night, but at dawn? It seemed to flow with ichor, as the water reflected the honeyed rays of the sun.

The golden river contrasted the pink sunset perfectly. The sunlight played on the lush grass in tiny shapes through the now bright, emerald leaves that danced with the newly awoken birds.

It was a new day. And a new start. He sat up and put his now dry shirt back on. Beside him, he saw a leaf with a few shonoberries. They were sweet, nutritious berries found near the Ooljee river,but who had left them? Cautiously, he tasted one and moaned. "Mmh~ Is this what heaven tastes like?"

After having his "breakfast" , he grabbed his coin purse (that was in the shirt pocket), and set off toward the sunrise.

His journey had just begun.

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WHEWWWWW CHAPTER 1!!! do y'all think the moon man is evil or?? whose anklet was it? (wink wink)