Bristlelimb Village

Bristlelimb Village was located in a flat valley.

Many years ago, it had been home to the Furbolgs of the Bristlelimb Tribe and the Night Elves, who had lived together in harmony.

Though the Furbolgs looked savage and rough, they had once been a kind and gentle people. They lived in harmony with nature and honored the ancient pacts. Unfortunately, during the War of the Ancients, the Wild Demigods who led the Furbolgs, Ursol and Ursoc, died in the war, leaving the Furbolgs without leaders.

As time passed, the once-united Furbolgs began splitting into many different tribes, large and small. Some of them began to fall into corruption, losing their kind nature and growing increasingly feral. The Bristlelimb Tribe was one of them.

To avoid coming into conflict with these unfortunate Furbolgs, the Night Elves exiled them into the forest.

For a long time, the Furbolgs in the forest and the Night Elves of Bristlelimb Village maintained a fragile balance, leaving one another in peace. But no one had expected that calm to be suddenly shattered.

The group slowly entered the valley along its winding path. A faint, pale mist hung in the air, veiling the surroundings like a gauzy curtain and blurring their vision.

Someone up ahead suddenly cried out, "Who's there? Who's that?"

Before anyone else could speak, Laria, walking in the middle of the group, gracefully raised a hand and made a gesture. She murmured, "Elune's radiance guides us."

A faint white moonlight descended from the sky, driving away the white mist shrouding the valley entrance.

Beneath the mist stood a sturdy outpost built around a massive ancient tree.

Several Night Elves stood atop the outpost with bows in hand, anxiously watching the entrance to the valley.

When they saw that Kalei and the others had arrived, their faces brightened, and they cheered, "Thank the Goddess! You're finally here!"

A tall male Elf gave a few instructions to a female Elf. She immediately slung her bow over her shoulder and leaped from the outpost, nimble as a monkey. She raced into the depths of the valley and vanished among the shadows of the trees in an instant.

The male Elf also jumped down from the outpost and called out, "Welcome! I'm Salomon Thunderfist. Welcome, brothers and sisters, to Bristlelimb Village."

Kalei knew the man. He was a well-known gardener in Bristlelimb Village, but Kalei had never realized he was also a Warrior.

Still, it made sense. Night Elves had long lifespans and often trained in several professions. Whenever Night Elf society needed them, these versatile folk could immediately take up arms and join the fight. That was why the Night Elves, despite their relatively small population, were the strongest mortal race.

Salomon Thunderfist warmly invited everyone into the village, and no one declined.

Linda and the others didn't enter the village, however. Arenia had left them at the outpost to take over Salomon's duties.

Seeing this, Kalei couldn't help but admire Arenia's thoughtfulness. He also remembered why he had come, and rode his Saber a step forward. "Good evening, Uncle Salomon."

Hearing the greeting, Salomon glanced back at Kalei in surprise. "Little Kalei? What brings you here?"

"My teacher asked me to come with them to investigate what's going on. Uncle Salomon, what exactly happened in the village? You all look very tense."

Salomon's expression turned grave. "Those Furbolgs have gone mad. They've all charged down from the mountains, biting anything they see. Quite a few people in the village have been bitten, including children."

"How many of these Furbolgs are there?"

"At first, there were only a few. We thought they were stragglers driven out by the other Furbolgs, so we didn't think much of it. We just chased them away without killing them."

"But a few days later, more and more Furbolgs started going mad. First, dozens came running out, then hundreds. We knew we were in trouble, so we sent people to alert the outside world while organizing the villagers to defend ourselves."

"Normally, we can beat an equal number of Furbolgs. There are more than six hundred people in our village, and over a hundred of us can fight. Dealing with a few dozen Furbolgs is no problem. We've fought them a few times, and they never got the better of us."

"Then, the day before yesterday, even more Furbolgs showed up. They were especially huge and savage, attacking us like mad. We drove them back once, but they came again that night. After two battles, we'd lost quite a few people—about a dozen. If you hadn't arrived soon, we wouldn't have been able to hold out. We have too many wounded."

As the two spoke, the others listened closely.

Arenia interjected, "Doesn't the village have a Moonwell and a priestess? Can't she heal the wounded?"

Salomon shook his head. "Priestess Lilin tried. Those who were bitten at first were easier to treat, but the later cases were beyond her. The Furbolgs carry a dark force within them—a terrible one. Priestess Lilin isn't strong enough to dispel it. All she can do is use medicine and water from the Moonwell to slow its spread."

As he spoke, his expression darkened. He placed his right hand over his chest and addressed Laria. "Honored High Priestess, I beg you to heal them."

Laria smiled and returned his salute. "My brother, the Goddess will not forget any of her children. We'll heal them."

As they talked, they hurried into the village.

The village chief was waiting at the entrance with many Night Elves to welcome them.

Kalei had met the chief once before. His name was Bebo Gulag, an elder who had survived the War of the Ancients.

Kalei had no mind for small talk. He kept thinking about what he'd just learned from Salomon.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. He'd heard that the Furbolgs here had once been an intelligent race, but had long since fallen so far that they were little better than beasts.

If they were beasts, why did they still seem to act with such purpose? They knew how to work together, and even when to advance and retreat.

That meant either the Furbolgs were being controlled by someone, or they hadn't lost their reason.

The first possibility wouldn't be so bad. Find whoever was controlling them, and the turmoil could be ended. But if the second possibility was true, they were in trouble. A rational enemy was the hardest kind to deal with.

Thinking of the two possibilities, Kalei's expression grew grave.

By then, the group had finished exchanging greetings. The chief had their mounts led away and arranged for them to rest in the village.

Priestess Laria insisted on seeing the wounded first, and the chief had no choice but to agree.

All the wounded had been placed inside the village's Temple of the Moon.

Led by the chief and the others, the group crossed Moonlight Plaza in the center of the village and headed for the Temple of the Moon at the rear.

As soon as he approached the Temple of the Moon, Kalei felt a gentle power spreading over him.

He quietly sensed where it was coming from and realized it came from the Moonwell in the temple garden.

He had sensed power in a Moonwell before, but never so clearly. It was as if all the water in the well had turned into countless fine threads, flowing into his body and washing away his fatigue, filling him with strength.

In that instant, he felt something he couldn't quite explain. He wanted to embrace that power. If he could only master it, everything he wanted would be within reach.

He followed the others into the temple and reached the Moonwell in the Temple Garden, ready to draw in all its power.

Just as he was about to act, Laria's voice suddenly sounded in his mind. "Child of Moonlight, don't lose yourself in the power of moonlight. The Goddess is merciful; she would never harm her children. But that doesn't mean we may recklessly draw upon her power. We must always use it with care, or it will harm us."

Kalei's heart jolted, and he came to his senses. He realized that he'd somehow stopped beside the Moonwell, eyes closed, mouth agape, head tilted toward the sky as if he were sucking something in like some kind of chuunibyou.

Kalei quickly stopped drawing in the power and glanced around. Everyone else had already followed the chief through the garden and into the temple hall. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness no one had seen him. Otherwise, he'd never live it down.

Wait, Laria must have seen him. Even if she hadn't, she must have sensed it.

Hold on. What had she meant by "Child of Moonlight"? Was she talking about him? Had she noticed that the Moon Goddess had blessed him?

Kalei thought it over, and the more he considered it, the more likely it seemed. No wonder the priestess, who had never met him before, had been keeping an eye on him.

He took a deep breath and suddenly felt a great deal of pressure. Laria might not be very famous, but she was a powerful priestess. He had no secrets from her; she'd seen right through him.

Could she tell that he'd studied Arcane magic, too? Kalei thought it was entirely possible.

Still, judging from the priestess's attitude, he wasn't too worried. She was clearly a devout follower of Elune, the Moon Goddess. Since Elune herself hadn't objected to his practicing Arcane magic, the priestess wouldn't have a problem with it either.

With that thought, he felt a lot more at ease. He also recalled what had just happened. Without Laria's warning, things could have gone badly.

He hadn't realized how easily the allure of great power could make him lose himself. Power gained by taking a shortcut wasn't without its price.

After this, he had to calm down and consolidate his strength. Otherwise, one day, his own power would turn against him.