The Hunt

On Ergold, one of the many planets that exist in the Centauri system, a phenomenon that hadn't been witnessed for many moons had manifested itself.

 A blood red crimson moon eyeing the green landscape, dyeing it in crimson red hues reminiscent of blood.

It was the blood moon phenomenon only recorded in legend only known to few as the mad moon.

And those living on the planet experiencing the blood moon phenomenon weren't enjoying their times on it in the slightest.

Harsh breaths resounded the thicket as screeches and howls intertwined in the air.

A young teen not anywhere close to adulthood was fearfully running for their life in the thicket.

They felt liquid fall onto their brows and quickly wiped off the sticky blood as a body collided against the ground behind him.

But despite it, the boy didn't turn around in the slightest.

Because underneath the mad moon, most of those touched by the red light experienced madness like no other.

And it was all due to the curse placed upon the planet in the first place.

Not that the boy knew of those facts as they ran for their life underneath the mad moon.

The ground seemed to heave as the mud tried to pull the boy underneath its earthen folds.

Scratching themself against the thorns, the twisted sticks reached out like fingers as they attempted to grasp the sprinting boy.

Another body collided against the ground as shouts rang out behind the boy.

"Oi Moon touched! You can run but you can't hide!"

An arrow whizzed by his face and ingrained a scratch onto the pale skin, drawing crimson blood not unlike the moon shining down from the sky.

"Yeah! Just give yourself up like the others!"

Mocking jeers rang out in the crimson night as more and more footsteps joined the chase, arrows thunking and whizzing through the air in a vain attempt to quarter their quarry.

"Where are you running Moon touched!? You got nowhere to go in this world!"

Hearing those words, a series of tears flowed out of the boys eyes as they continued to run forwards despite the roars and screeches around them.

And into the night he ran as the shadows seemed to stretch and contort into monstrous shapes that took pleasure in the young boys plight.

It would be a long and fear filled night for the boy not at the brink of adulthood.

And it wouldn't be the last.

---

'Oh Goddess.'

In a clearing an old man sadly stared at his fellow tribespeople through blurred eyes.

Covered in a series of wrinkles that seemed to have taken over his body, the fiercely muscled body of an old man past his prime stood out amongst his tribespeople hunched over in feral poses.

'Why do you test us so?'

Staring at the tribesmen who were ferally snarling with bloodlust prominent in their reddened eyes, they thrashed in their binds, frothing white leaking out of their teeth.

Not even the children were spared from this manic blood lust as the once innocent and naive children brought up underneath the combined care of the tribe were covered in blood.

Most likely from those that had been near them at the time of insanity as the mad moon made it so friend and foe couldn't be distinguished outside of enemies.

Closing his eyes through the series of tears pouring through his eyes, the cursed bandits of the kingdom whom had finally gone against the ancient pact grabbed another tribeswoman.

Thunk!

A large axe replaced the neck of a struggling tribe warrior, the knights in shining armor forcefully pinning the now still body to the chopping block.

'Why Goddess?'

More knights joined the previous one in the act as they roaringly grabbed with vicious yet excited movements.

Something that didn't escape the aged elders eye.

'Why do you test us in ways I don't understand?' Staring at the moon, the elder received no answer from the cold rock floating in space as the knights repeated their movements with another body becoming still.

A head of a woman slowly rolled over to the old mans knees, causing the old man to recognize the person that it belonged to.

Various memories of said child growing up to the person that they were the day before flashed through the old mans mind before they quickly led up to the still head before him.

Staring at the vicious and feral face the tribes woman adorned before her death much unlike the kind and motherly face she had adorned in his memories, a knight came to him.

Forcefully grasping the old mans shoulders, the knight in armor now slick with rain seemed to notice the rather limp body of the figure in their hands. "Hey captain! This one's not like the others!"

Opening his eyes, the old man sadly stared at the Knight captain that reared their horse right in front of his face at the call of the captain.

Lifting his visor adorned with gold, mocking golden eyes unique to the Er royal family appeared.

"Oh how the might have fallen elder, who would've thought that you would suddenly become enemies of the state."

"...Is that you Anzur Er?"

The Knight captain gave an exaggerated bow from atop their mount upon hearing the lethargic response of the old man.

"In the flesh elder, you really can't tell what the world will throw at you can you?"

Perhaps regaining a sliver of strength, the old man shrugged off the grip on his shoulder only for it to become stronger.

Something that the elder ignored as silver eyes of the moon touched blurred by age and rain looked at the golden ones of the Er prince.

"...Why?"

The Knight captain paused before their eyes curved into crescents as they glanced at the surroundings filled with knights swinging axes down and beheading the tribespeople who were absolutely feral by now.

It was a simple question, but behind it was carried the emotions of the old man in its purest form.

"Well, it's business as usual, you understand right?" The Knight captain took a solemn stance atop their steed unbothered by the rain.

"For example." The Er family member gazed off into the distance.

"You developed the Lunar berries which are now an extremely sought for product for its rejuvenating effects, its fine, the tax is collected by the state anyways."

"You gave birth to a super powerful warrior that aided our kingdom and fought off the invaders from Zaun, makes sense that the kingdom applauds their bravery."

"Moon steel, crafted by the smithing practitioners of your tribe, makes sense that a tribe dedicating their life to the moon can make stuff from the moon.

"And many more."

"All of these are fine when separated."

"But suddenly because its all about you and a good majority of the things that the kingdom enjoys is from you? Well the King is afraid."

"And fear makes us do strange things old man, usually stupid things, but this time I agree, its a rather smart move much unlike him."

"...So it's all about benefits that would've eventually gone to the king anyways? Why am I not surprised."

The old man's tear filled eyes mixed with the rain making it difficult to detect whether or not the water on his face was tears or rain looked at the Er family member.

"So what is the excuse that the king gave to the masses this time?"

"Well it's widely known that the Moon touched close their doors in the face of the Blood moon known to drive monsters mad".

"But what they soon will know is that the blood moon has the same effects with the moon touched, causing them to slay the prince that had oh so unknowingly trusted a den of monsters."

Glancing at the knight besides him who didn't seem surprised in the slightest of the news, the old man let out a long sigh as the Knight captain waved him away as if satisfied with his own answers.

'But that prince had been executed by your own hands...'

Recalling the prince that was backstabbed by his own brother, an unjust expression filling his face, the old man let himself get dragged by the knights to the chopping block.

'...If this is truly a trial set by your own hands oh Goddess of the moon, I plead to you in my last moments as your faithful follower.'

He bowed his head.

'Please protect the last of our kin and let our bloodline live on.'

And as usual, upon offering his sincere prayers, no answer came back to him.

And upon receiving no answer, his face contorted into despair as liquid freely traversed his face in the cruel and stormy night.

Those were the last thoughts of the elder as his eyes filled with tears gazed up to the crimson moon of madness that drove those moon born to the brinks of insanity.

A brief flash of light seemed to flash past the moon causing his despair filled eyes to widen.

The Goddess had answered him.

Nodding his head and placing it against the chopping block the old man disbelievingly stared at the chopping block.

Distinctly hearing the axe get raised above his head, no doubt stained by the blood of his tribe, the old man blinked.

And then the constrained madness hidden away by the rationality cultivated over the years was unleashed upon receiving acknowledgement from the moon.

"AWOOOOO!!!"

An Adult had the duty of protecting the children.

And the old man would fulfil that duty to his last breath even if his insanity driven brethren didn't.

May the moon guide his steps in the night of the afterlife.

For he feared that he wouldn't live to see the next day.

+++

Tree that is trying out an idea stuck in his head