Under the moonlight

A ray of hope

“What?” Alexandria involuntarily looked at Selene who had a passive expression, seemingly unfazed by the news. Even if Selene may have already been informed about the situation, Alexa thinks how it’s weird that she seemed so unaffected. What Alexandria doesn’t know is that the glasses break inside Selene silently, she grips and contains them till her hands bleed as well.

“Here,” Heusef turned the book in the table a couple of pages to a part as he continued explaining, “Ghouls are mindless beings, they react to instinct like animals, and are controlled by a Kwin. As they don’t have the capability nor the organs to reproduce, werewolf children under 5 years of age are brought to the Kwin and born anew as one of theirs. Ripped not only intelligence, but sanity as well…”

“What about human children?” King Azar asks, concerned if the abductions would happen as well around the 5 poleis.

“No, the blood of our people are different from yours. It contains the potential of transfiguration, and of physical strength.” Heusef replies as a matter of fact. After all, it was the transfiguring ability that differs them from humans.

“What you should be concerned with is that they treat you like food, and the more there are, the more human lives they cost; adults and children alike.” Selene said, giving unneeded reminder of their purpose which is to prevent that from happening. They’ve risked their lives coming here. A reminder was not what they needed, but a solution.

“If Ghouls have been extinct for a thousand years… How are they still here? alive and many?” Julius asked.

“No books I’ve ever found indicated how and why, but the thing is, a thousand years ago when the moon mirrored the land’s color, covered with blood from war, they’ve all suddenly disappeared… I theorize that in a place we do not know, like animals in winter, they were­– “

“Hibernating…” Alexandria absentmindedly voiced her thoughts.

“Yes.” Heusef nodded, “Great amount of lives were lost in that blood moon a thousand years ago, when those horrendous beasts have appeared in devastating numbers. Though there is a missing piece… their body are all compatible to different environments, what forced these creatures to sleep is something I intend to find out, hopefully it will be enough to save us.”

“You mentioned a Kwin… What of their Kwin?”

“At the end of this book it talks about a Kwin,” Heusef flips through the pages once again to arrive in another page, one Alexandria believes is where the being was aforementioned. “Kwin is the being that controls these ghouls and gives birth to them. It says here that unlike her pawns, the Kwin is relatively intelligent. Though what it looks like and its origin, is a mystery.” Heusef flipped to the next page and traced his finger in between the pages as he continued, “A page was ripped right here… “

“It might contain an illustration of the Kwin or other vital information, but for now, we do not know.” Heusef said, finality at the edge of his voice.

What… That’s it?... Alexandria asked even if it was clear to her that Heusef had nothing more left to give, “How do we defeat them?”

He shakes his head hopelessly, “We’re still halfway through. This is a vast library, and there is only a few of our people who even knows how to decipher.” Alexandria can see the bags under his eyes, indicating lack of sleep, he must have been in the four corners of this room, reading all day.

“I’ll send a letter back at the 5 poleis, gathering literates to be sent here. They’ll help you cover the library faster.” King spoke at Heusef who nodded at the proposition.

The information was a lot to process though there were hardly any. It was a start but they all knew; it wasn’t not enough.

“Are there more to know? Certainly, this isn’t only the reason why you brought us here.” Alexandria asked Selene who was across the table. “Continue your search Huesef,” Selene said and then redirected her attention back to Alexa before answering, “I agree. All of these information could have been sent through a letter. Meaning I brought you here to show something else entirely.” Selene never broke eye contact as she continued speaking, “come with me.”

Selene took them to another room in the castle wherein they kept the body of a dead ghoul her people have killed in a small village east of Helike. In the letter sent by her scout, the dead silence of the night was disturbed by ghouls, who most likely came to abduct children again.

There were only three of them and the villagers were able to drive them out and actually kill one of them, costing several injured villagers and a few casualties. The ghoul’s body was immediately sent to the castle for inspection, but it just arrived earlier of the day, so Selene haven’t seen the ghoul herself.

If this was any other day, Selene would have visited the village herself, to grieve for her people. But all of the chaos and as well as the negotiation for this alliance has kept her in the castle.

She opened the door to the room and the last to enter of the humans was Alexandria. The girl was certainly unnerving; Selene doesn’t know why. It’s just– the first time their eyes met, she felt something coming back to her, like she’s relived an important memory in the back of her mind. The surge of emotions was quite unexpected so she diverted her eyes, after all, she’s got no love for the humans, much less to the person who have killed a lot of her people.

Though Selene couldn’t deny the girl was certainly eye-pleasing. At first sight, Alexandria looked like no werewolf reaper, she had muscles in the right places yet none too bulky. She did not wear any heavy armors, and now when Selene thinks about it, the reason might be to move swiftly and freely. Her auburn hair is arranged in one simple braid that settles down her back, highlighting her facial features that was certainly exquisite, with her alluring azure eyes, sharp jawline, and plumb red lips.

All of these different from how Selene imagined the Reaper to be, but then, Alexandria walks towards them, and by the felinity and the way she holds herself, capable of creating an atmosphere of both royalty and fine warrior, it suddenly became clear to Selene who she is.

Selene found herself focusing less and more horrified to catch herself thinking that the Reaper was attractive.

This is not the time to dwell on such absurd things, Selene thought during the whole journey to Helike and decided on that she would not interact with Alexandria unless needed, especially that the matters they were tackling is a matter of life and death.

Now in the present as Selene entered the room as well, her nose was immediately invaded by a rotten smell, it took subsequent efforts to maintain her neutral face and not contort her face in disgust.

Her eyes immediately zoomed in to the already cloth-covered body in the table. One of her capable healers named Elaine were assigned to inspect on the body, and as they arrived, Elaine instantly stopped cleaning her tools. Selene deduced Elaine just finished inspecting the body, they were right on time.

“Elaine, what have you found out?” At the corner of her eye, Julius, Azar’s Garrison, started removing the cloth on the beast’s body per the king’s request. Selene was curious herself as she’s never seen one of the so-called ghouls, only images in her head that she sketched from the victims’ description.

Now that her eyes laid on one, it is as horrendously ugly as they described it to be. Like what you’ll painted in your head when a person is buried 50 feet deep and came back on the surface, to appear all pale, and not a single strand of hair, nor flesh on the body. The ghoul is tall, like a transformed werewolf, but it had massive wings on its side.

What Selene and the others notices as well is a hole on its upper body.

“This creature has the same bone structure to that of humans and werewolves. Though they are devoid of any other organs, except for its digestive system and the heart,” Elaine said simultaneously pointing out the parts of its body, “It does not breath, nor have the ability to think, I don’t even know how it is alive...”

“Maybe it isn’t.” Selene heard Alexandria speak in a low voice beside her.

“How did they kill it?” King Azar asked.

“Usually, according to those who had encountered with these beast, they have an absurd rate of regeneration, one was sliced in the neck, and moved as if it was nothing.” Elaine continued, “But the father of the child who was nearly abducted, luckily tackled it into a wood spike, piercing it in the back and through the heart. While the two other beasts injured a whole lot before they suddenly stopped and retreated, as if someone was calling out to them, the villagers said.”

It can be killed through the heart, Selene thought, filling up with hope. By this new information, the others as well looked like a ray of light shone over them after years of living in pitch black. Selene involuntarily looked at Alexandria, whose eyes grew brighter with the pleasant news, she found herself fighting a smile yet again, and for what reason? she doesn't want to know...