the valley of the moon

It was a quiet night, similar to any other in Misty Villa. As its name indicates, the misty village was a famous place known for being covered in mist for a large part of the year, mainly because a volcano that had the characteristic shape of a crescent stood proudly near the village.

The villa in question was located in a small valley near the foot of the giant, a place that the adventurers who constantly visited it baptized as the valley of the moon. In one of the small houses in the misty village a loving mother cradled her infant daughter close to her in preparation for a restful night by candlelight, gave her daughter a tender kiss and then hugged her lightly.

- Will you tell me a story today mom? -The little girl asked her mother with pleading eyes.

"Uhm… I don't know, Glasia," the mother replied. She had had a very busy day working the village's grape crops and it was her honest desire to simply rest for the night. However, she thought so herself to see the bright amethyst eyes of her daughter watching her.

"Please, mom." The girl tried her luck again and then looked around her.

The place that little Glasia called home was a small wooden cabin located on the outskirts of the land of the owner of those extensive lands, a small cabin with only one room, barely enough for her and her mother to live.

Certainly his life was not luxurious, but there was no lack of bread on his tables, most of the objects that were in his possession were used or bought from some adventurer or street vendor who would not use them anymore. While the little girl was observing the numerous wooden utensils, some tools and others, one in particular caught her attention.

She observed a candle made of black wax that her mother lit every night without fail along with the other candles of a characteristic off-white color. However, leaving aside the striking color of the object, there was something else that caught Glasia's attention and that was that this candle was never consumed and the flame color was also different from the others, since a bluish flame decorated the modest wick of that candle.

"Why is that candle different from the others, Mom?" Her," she asked, slightly hoping that her weary mother would change her mind about the story she wanted to hear before bed.

"You mean that black sail?" The mother seemed to suddenly change her mood and lifted the little Glasia from her body so that she could speak more easily.

—Yes, our house is the only place where I have seen one like that, is it a magic candle? —For a moment the little girl let her imagination fly.

—No, that candle isn't magical… —replied the mother who, after seeing how her daughter's face changed its expression of curiosity and emotion to a somewhat depressed one, continued —Although on the other hand it can also be said that it is, Glasia.

"So it's special?"

"That's right, do you want to hear the story of that candle?"

-Yes please! the little girl said excitedly.

"Well, let's get started," the mother announced after lightly covering her daughter's little body, to later begin her story. "Legends say that it was a long time ago; long ago there was a terrible and bloody battle between all the races that inhabit this world, a struggle for supremacy to choose the most suitable ruler for the throne of the world, the north. More greed corrupted a desire that was once noble. It is said that at the beginning the objective of the war was to find the carriers of the progenitor's seed to bring prosperity to all peoples.

-Prosperity? Asked little Glasia when she came across a word she couldn't recognize.

—Well yes, prosperity is when we can all lead happy and peaceful lives, where we don't have to suffer or worry about things like food or illness.

"Those seeds can do that?" —Epic battles between knights and all kinds of stories she had heard from bards who happened to pass by by chance flew through the little girl's imagination.

"Legends say that yes, the progenitors can make the land they inhabit fertile and it also says that they provide strength and health to the people they protect. That's why parents were the most important people in the world and everyone looked for them.

"Even more important than a king?"

—This is Glasia, even more important than a king. At the beginning the objective was a relatively peaceful battle in which they only sought to find the carriers of the seed and several of them were found. As the legends told, the parents brought prosperity to the place they inhabited and to the race to which they belonged.

"They sound like amazing people, Mom," the excited Glasia said.

—It is said that all of them were very noble people with good hearts. Until one day, the king of the dwarves Thorimar kidnapped one of the progenitors of another race and tried everything to steal the seed without success, and it was like that until one day the terrible experiments he carried out with that carrier of the seed led him to death. That's when everything changed, Thorimar discovered that the seed and power is transferred to whoever kills the parent, after that several spies in Thorimar's court discovered this and passed the information to other races, which started a bloody war.

"That Mr. Thorimar sounds like he was a bad person.

-It was. That was why they called him the lord of greed. However, that greed only led to his painful and horrible death at the hands of those who wanted to steal his power. Over time the battles intensified, all races desperately wanted a progenitor and at some point 12 of them were found. Legend has it that when that happened an inscription appeared in the temple of the sun god that said: "When the thirteenth progenitor is found, the true battle will begin and the gates of the north will open to whoever deserves it. O bearer of the crown of the world, in you rests the hope or the destruction of the world." After that the objective changed, now that everyone knew that there were only twelve progenitors, the races that had them protected them with everything they had and the ones that didn't tried to steal the seed or tried to find the thirteenth seed. Thus a thousand years passed before the thirteenth progenitor was found in these lands.

"The thirteenth was a human just like us?"

—No, the thirteenth belonged to a race that is now extinct; he belonged to the specter race. It was a very rare race that was said to be under the protection of the goddess of the moon. However, their few numbers prevented them from defending against massive attack by virtually all races, so all of them died in the war. It is said that today they no longer exist and if there are still any, they may be desperately hiding.

"That's very cruel," the girl mentioned as some tears began to accumulate in her eyes.

—At some point, the parents turned from good creatures to practically invincible monsters that were consumed by cruelty and greed after being able to live a thousand years thanks to the seeds they carried. However, the story goes that the thirteenth progenitor was a true monster among monsters. In the final battle all the parents wanted to have two seeds and the easiest way was to defeat the youngest and most defenseless of them, they all thought that if they got two seeds they would be worthy of the throne. Sadly that was not the case, not only were they unable to steal the seed after sacrificing countless lives in the process, but legend has it that the most powerful of them were defeated by the thirteenth progenitor and one of them died. Thus only eleven parents remained after the sudden disappearance of the thirteenth parent. Some say that he died from his wounds after the massacre he left behind him, others that he lives hidden somewhere and a few more say that he sits on the throne in the north.

"Uhm… I don't get it, what does all that have to do with the black candle?"

"Your grandmother used to say that that black candle represents the thirteenth parent and that it brings prosperity to the family that places it in their home.

"So he was a good person?"

"Well, some say that he was the vilest and cruelest creature the world has ever known, describing him as the crimson demon that destroys everything and others say that he was kind, also a very cheerful person." This is not clear, but it is something that is linked to our family and I think that tomorrow will be a good moment to show you something very interesting.

-Something interesting?

—Yes honey, so sleep because tomorrow we will get up very early.

"It's okay, mom," so the little girl finally closed her already heavy eyelids to welcome a new day.

The next morning, the beautiful 28-year-old lifted her sleepy daughter out of bed. Of course she was, children can't usually stay fully awake at 4 in the morning and she took her completely sleepy with her to some ruins that were located at the foot of the lunar volcano. The two of them arrived at that place at approximately seven in the morning.

It had been a strenuous walk of about two hours and then some. When the ruins of what was once some kind of temple were visible.

"This place scares me a little, mom," the little girl said when she saw the white granite walls covered in vines. The whole place was eerily quiet, so it was no wonder that little her was feeling a little restless.

"Your grandmother said to leave offerings at this site every week, and I have done so without fail since your grandmother died. She made me promise that she would always light the candle and that she would come and leave offerings at this site.

-Offerings?

"That's right." The mother pointed to a sizable basket she carried with her.

"Wasn't that food for us?"

—Yes, don't worry Glasia, I also brought some for us.

"Now what should we do?"

—Well, we just have to leave the offering on this stone and go away for a while. When we return you will see something interesting.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-I want to see!

"Okay, let's leave this here and go over there to eat something." The mother pointed to a small open space between the ruins and a nearby forest, and then carefully placed the basket on a white stone that, unlike the rest of the ruins, seemed be pretty clean.

After eating a few sandwiches and talking a bit, they both returned to the place, but not only was the basket empty, but there was a gold coin inside.

-That?! Look Mom! It's gold! the girl cried when she saw the coin.

"Yes, this is why we have been able to live without need for so long, Glasia.

"And how did this happen?" asked the girl with great curiosity.

—I don't know, I've never seen what those coins leave behind. However, your grandmother used to tell me that if I ever have problems or something bad happens in the village, I should come to this place and stay here. She said that whatever lives in this place will help me.

—Now I want to know what leaves those coins…

-Yeah? Don't worry, the truth is that I've never seen it either, so I share your curiosity, daughter.

"Do I have to do this too, Mom?"

—Only if you want daughter, my mother always told me that it was not an obligation and that I could leave it whenever I wanted if one day I got fed up with it. However, these coins were of great help to us after your father's death. So I'll keep doing it," the mother replied with a quiet smile.

"I understand, in that case I'll do it too."

Of course the girl was only curious to see whatever left those coins there and on the other hand she also found it funny. What she didn't know at that moment was that this simple task, which seemed banal and tedious, would one day really save her life.