This tale was woven eons beyond eons ago; When the First World was youthful and damaged by
neither the soulless nor any of their devices. All the land was covered by Dylana's designs:
forests and valleys, deserts and canyons, jungles and plains. When the only things that inhabited
the land were beasts and nature spirits, and only fish and birds claimed the sea and sky.

When the divine walked Lusternia similarly to how mortals do now, with little more responsibility
than to paint the sunset, create a unique species of reptile, create grand melodies or to simply
sit and ponder the mysteries of the cosmos while enjoying a game of chess.
This story takes place then, when the chase between Father Sun and Lady Night was still a game and
Mother Moon was always at Night's side.

When the only walls of stone you would see were mountains and the only cities insect colonies.

This story takes place then.

=====================================================================

Miya clutched the fur of the squirrel tighter as it raced through the woods, meandering between
lichen-clothed trees at a terrific rate. Tiny goose-bumps rose upon the fae's body as the chilly
autumn wind swept upon her exposed skin and combed through her cascading hair.

A gasping laughter, pure as the Sun, escaped her lips. The grey squirrel, seemingly enraged by this,
accelerated in an abrupt burst of energy. Miya grinned at the unwilling steed. She did love these
new creations of Lord Bollinkin, they were so panicky!

She gripped its flanks with her small legs, securing her position upon its back and raised her hands
above her head, looking skywards. She stared at the lazy clouds drifting languidly through the small
windows in the woodland canopy and the rays of sunlight that fell upon the forest floor. She inhaled
deeply, and even as the squirrel chattered angrily, she loosed a breathless, but jubilant cry that
was immediately pulled away by the wind.

As if sensing her moment of weakness, the squirrel leapt and gave a massive buck, writhing wildly in
midair. Miya jerked her eyes from the heavens and cried out, trying to grab the squirrel's back. With
its final heave, her legs were dislodged and she was catapulted into the air, somersaulting
erratically.

Her lilac wings fanned and Miya righted herself, although slightly irked, she still immediately
scanned around for her victim. Huffing, she located him, a grey blur weaving through the trees in
the distance.

"Darn." Huffed Miya, her mouth puffed out sulkily, "What am I going to do now?"

Reluctantly she began to ponder her rather troublesome situation, absently flying upwards through
the crown of a rather ood-looking pine tree.

"Maybe I could pick some flowers? But no, I did that already today." She thought while fingering the
lilies she wore in her belt, the result of that activity. She cut through a low lying cloud, idly
brushing away the drops of cold dew that had condensed on her.

Several minutes elapsed in silence while Miya ascended ever higher into the sky, her mind filled
with possible games she could play. She ran her hand though her russet hair then flipped it over
her shoulder. Droplets of water had begun to from upon her eyelashes and a tiny icicle hung on the
tip of her button nose by the time she ceased flying upwards and hovered in one place.

"The view from up here is rather nice." Miya admitted. The winding rivers that snaked through her
woods appeared as fluorescent ribbons of blue running through a carpet of green and brown. The
grasslands that bordered her home were a uniform brown-gold, with the swiftly moving ripples caused
by the wind running through them.

It really was a nice home, and she was glad she settled there.

A vicious gale, the type that heralds nasty weather, screamed throughout the firmament, violently
jerking poor Miya out of her now forgotten ponderings. She was tossed and dragged through the air
and for a horrific moment, the woodland fae doubted it would ever stop. Just at that, moment the
wind died down to a whisper, leaving a disgruntled Miya.

She peered around and saw the big black cloud in the distance, its opaque exterior dotted by bright
flashes and shaken distance rumbles. Immediately she recognized her mistake; she had wondered into
the Upper Regions, the territory of the celestial Faelords:

Mother Moon, Father Sun, Mother Night and (Miya gulped nervously) Sire Storm.

There was no mistaking it, Sire Storm was moving towards her towards her and it was too late for her
to retreat. Terror filled the pit of her stomach, and a raw panic grappled with her logical self-
control.

She had only heard stories about Sire Storm, commonly referred as the most ill-tempered Faelord.
His wrath had uprooted entire forests and his sorrow filled entire valleys to the brim. Even when
he was in the best of moods, he brought bitter winds and dreary rains that often ruined the day. But
still, Miya wasn't really worried about Him; so much as she was terrified of his fae.

There were the furious Sons of Gale, whose howl could make a rock weep and the Sons of Thunder who
heralded the wrath of Sire Storm with resounding claps of their hands. But the ones that Miya
thought of at the moment were neither of those, she feared the Lightning Wraiths.

Malicious beings of crackling thunder that usually frolicked deep within the body of Sire Storm,
yet even there their flashes were visible. Rarely, they would leap from their dwellings and dive
towards the earth with a delighted screech, simultaneously striking the earth with burning claws.
They attacked so quickly, all anyone ever saw was a single flash. But the effects of their assaults
lasted for a far longer time: wild fires, deep gorges in the ground and sometimes (the thought made
Miya shudder) burnt fae.

Although Miya couldn't completely escape Sire Storm's embrace, she decided she should begin her
descent soon, so she entered a gradual, cautious fall. Even as she began her dive, the thunderhead
reached her and enveloped her entire body.

Miya stiffened slightly, but didn't cease moving. Being within the cloud was a very strange
sensation; every thing seemed muffled, including the booms that the Sons of Thunder made. She
couldn't see farther than her own outstretched hand, after that the cloud appeared as a convulsing
wall of black cotton. Invisible drops of water splattered against her face and arms, chilling arms
and dampening her hair so that it fell limply over her face.

She continued in the uneasy silence, punctuated by the stifled reverberations of thunder. A few
times, Miya would see what seemed like a yellow spark in the corner of her eye, but when she pivoted
to stare at it there was nothing there.

The fae was in complete disarray by the next few minutes of flight. Her wings were soaked through
and she was shivering slightly. Her simple clothing of leaves was heavy with water and her hair
had lost its lustrous sheen and body.

Miya wasn’t bother by this though; she hadn’t encountered any other fae whatsoever, which she
considered extremely fortunate. Biting her lip, she braced herself against the buffeting wing and
continued her dive. She made progress at a painfully slow pace, but she dared not go any bit faster
for fear of being detected.

Finally, several feet below Miya saw a tiny window through which a crooked beam of sunlight shone
through. The black cloud around it had discolored it, making it look a sickly yellow instead of
brilliant gold, but Miya hardly cared.

"The Sun!" she exclaimed all too loudly, breaking the eerie silence that dominated Sire Storm's
body, "I'm almost out!"

She gasped, recognising the volume of her yell, clapping both her hands over her mouth desperately
willing her cry to die away. She flinched as she heard it echo in the distance, and she knew she
had little time.

Miya also recognized what she had to do, if she wished to live. She stopped fanning her wings,
inverted her body and entered a freefall.

Even as Miya felt herself falling a brilliant stream of crackling energy struck through the place
where her body just was, leaving a trail of steam in its wake. A squeal escaped her throat, but
Miya forced herself to remain facing downwards.

The speed of her descent was increased dramatically and soon she burst through the cloud's bottom,
sending wisps of fog twirling away into nothing. Her wings lay folded at her back and legs and arms
pressed close to her body. Her skin had a tinge of unhealthy blue to it and her wet hair whipped
about frantically in the wicked weather.

But, for all this, the moment Miya felt the Sun, however obscured, on her skin, a feeling of relief
and warmth filled her and she knew she had been victorious. She straightened her body and steeled
herself against the chilled air that rushed past her.

She sliced though a smaller cloud that was a ways below Sire Storm, and continued downward, the
distant land becoming increasingly closer. Wobbling tears that ran vertically up her face were
squeezed out of her eyes by the atmospheric pressure and her hair still slapped painfully against
her neck and shoulders.

She had escaped though and was on the way back to her precious woodlands, her home.

Abruptly Miya felt a strange buzzing in her ears and a tingling sensation that ran down the back
of her neck to the small of her back accompanied it. A dizzy feeling enter her head and she shook
it trying to clear her vision. It didn't help, instead the twirling sensation increased until she
couldn't muster up an inkling of focus.

The ground was growing threateningly near and the plummeting fae was aware of that, yet she couldn't
bring herself to take action. She felt she was a safe enough distance from Sire Storm, so that she
could fly regularly, but she couldn't move her limbs properly. Her wings had unfurled limply and now
they were wobbling painfully in the wind. Her arms and legs had somehow loosened and now trailed
weakly behind her.

Her body began to invert itself so that she faced the titanic scar in the sky that was Sire Storm.
Then she saw it, a serpent of rippling light that screamed as it raced away from the cloud from which
it emanated. Then she realized it was soaring straight towards her!

With an inward scream she struggled to seize control of her body, to inject an inkling of power back
into her mind, anything! The warped spear of power sliced through the firmament relentlessly, a
sinister brilliance captivating all who saw it.

Miya ceased wrestling with her body, while tears of defeat and frustration rolled up her face.
Melancholy thoughts hovered into her, as she realized she would never again see the oaks and pines
and maple trees in their autumn dress again or run through the throngs of berry bearing bushes or...

Or...

Then one memory became so sharp and clear to her, and she closed her eyes sadly, limbs flapping in the
buffeting wind and said, "I'm sorry...Mr. Squirrel."

Then the lightning wraith struck her, sending uncountable waves of electricity through her body, yet
she couldn't even manage a scream.

===============================================================

White Hart stopped mid-sentence, a somewhat perplexed expression on his face as he felt a small
object land on his head. Brother Raven looked down at him apprehensible from his perch, while Sister
Snake expression remained typically unreadable.

The great stag look at them apologetically, before shaking his head gently over a pile of dead leaves.
A small creature rolled off and fell limply into the shadows of the Great Spirit.

Brother Raven, chirped inquisitively and lowered his head to study the thing, his immense, dark wings
outstretched to keep his balance. Sister Snake simply flicked her purple tongue outwards once and that
seemingly satisfied her curiosity. White Hart looked embarrassed, for he felt the creature's disposition
was somehow his doing

"She's seriously injured." Raven piped, rather solemnly, "A banged head, to be sure, a few broken bones
maybe and...she's burnt." He raised his head and looked towards the thunderhead high above.

"Aye. T'is Storm's doing." Snake said simply.

"Yes, those demonic fae of his. Even though Moon, Night and Sun have talked to him about them, he
still refuses to budge." Stag said, lowering his snout and nuzzling the poor creature.

"She'll die left like this." Observed Raven, "I suppose we should take her to see one of the Faelords,
and quickly at that."
"...Yes, you're right," said White Hart, "I will take her."

And with no more fuss, he knelt and ceremoniously scooped the fae up into one of the hundreds of crooks
in his antlers. He said farewell to his peers and raced off, a streak of white flying towards the
horizon.

===============================================================

Miya regained consciousness slowly, a strange fog present in her mind. Vaguely she recalled what had
happened, but in a very subjective view, almost as if the attack had happened to someone else.

Where was she? She looked around inquisitively and attempted to sit up. A scathing pain dragged
through her body and Miya was forced to plop back down unto her seat. She had seen enough though;
she was in some strange leafless tree, in an ethereal plain of swaying white grass. She must've
slammed her head especially hard on her landing, because everything beyond that was a blur, almost
as if she were moving past it at great speed.

That didn't matter though, at least she was some-what alive, if not seriously injured. She tried to sit
up once more, know that this would be a better position for her to see any threats. Her arms felt frail
and drained, and even her back was weakened.

Gradually she pulled herself up and, groaning at the pain, she looked around once. This time certain
things perplexed her. The blur certainly didn't seem like an imagination, but it couldn't be real.

Sensing the minute being stirring upon him, White Hart breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Greetings, little one." He said, "Do not be afraid. You've suffered some grave wounds and I am taking
you to see Mother Moon."

A strangled shriek emitted from Miya. White Hart! The Great Spirit of Charune's making! She felt
rather light-headed at the thought that she, Miya the woodland fae, was riding atop his back!

Then she remembered what he had said. Mother Moon! He's taking me to meet the Moon! She shook her
head almost gaily, ignoring the strings of pain she caused.

"You should rest, little one." White Hart said commandingly.

Far be it from Miya to disobey a direct command from a Great Spirit, but she was far too excited to
sleep! Far, far...far...

Her head hung forward slightly and a tiny sigh sounded from the sleeping body.

She awoke to sound of whispers and soon recognized the sonorous voice of White Hart, but to whom the
other voice belonged to she couldn't tell. It was silken and cool, but had pleasant warmth to it that
Miya liked.

She was still atop White Hart's rack, she saw, but now there were in a small clearing within a dense
forest. The cries of distant creatures were softly heard through the swaying beards of lichen that hung
from every branch of every tree. The sky was dark, indicating Mother Night's presence, but Miya forgot
that when her eyes fell upon the luminous crescent that hung majestically in the sky directly above the
clearing.

Stars surrounded it much like maidens surround a queen and even their light paled in comparison to its.
Pallid strands of silvery luminosity hung gracefully from the sky, dancing upon the crowns of the trees
and the blades of grass on the ground.

"Mother Moon." She whispered.

At that moment White Hart leaned forward and deposited to her quickly to the ground, whispering to her
to stand tall. Miya looked around rather shaken by being abandoned by what had become a comfortable nook.
She was still extremely tired, but the light of the Moon somehow strengthened her and she straightened
her back and pulled her chin up.

Even so, pain throbbed though her body and she could feel a trickle of blood run down her neck from her
mouth. She was shivering rather obviously, yet her skin was clammy. Not to mention that horrible
headache that refused to lessen. Nevertheless she stood strong, her wings extended behind her and her
eyes on the Moon above.

The silken voice spoke to her now, and she knew it was the voice of Mother Moon.

"Child...you are dying."

Miya bit her lip and looked down abruptly; those words had not been what she had expected.

"Do not be ashamed. I have spoken with Storm, and he has told me of your deeds. You were very courageous.
You stood before a terrifying situation against foes whose acts have given many nightmares, yet you were
able to escape." It continued soothingly.

"Death is a natural part of being, child, yet even I cannot let such bravery die by doing nothing. So,
even though you are beyond my power to heal, I will try something never tried before. If you allow me,
I will bathe you in my power and being. I do not know what may become of you when I do this. You may
even still die." It went on at the same even tones.

Miya looked up and a fierce determination flared on her face, despite all her ailments and injuries.
Mother Moon needed no words, all the beams of moonlight throughout the glade began to shimmer and sway.
Slowly they all began to move inwards, each heading to the spot where Miya stood.

Some began to increase in speed, racing through the shadows and air, dancing delicately upon the
leaves and stones, the trees and ground. One by one they landed on Miya, and they appeared like a
direct beam connecting the fae to Faelord. They gave her a waxen glow when all of them had landed
on her, and then Mother Moon spoke.

"So it shall be then."

It started as a tiny ripple at the end of the beam which touched Mother Moon, but as it traveled down
it gained momentum and body, becoming a chimerical wave of bright light. The whole beam shuddered and
finally the wave traveled the length of the chain, reaching Miya.

As a plethora of intense moonlight it crashed down on her, as solid and cooling as a sea wave. It
surrounded Miya and embraced her and consumed her, and for a single, gleaming moment she was within
Mother Moon and Mother Moon possessed her once frail body.

Light shot out from every orifice brightening the whole glade, chasing away every vestige of shadows
and plunging it into twilight. Soon the light settled and faded and everything returned to the way it
was before the act was done, except one thing.

In the place of Miya, the woodland fae knelt a tall lustrous figure in a flowing white dress. Streamers
undulated behind her and her wings were as the silver dawn. Her eyes were like winter's touch, but
softer in many ways.

She rose slowly, grace permeating her every move. White Hart, who had witnessed the whole event,
inclined his head slightly in recognition. The stars seemed to leap in a celestial dance, and Mother
Moon seemed content.

The fae that was once Miya, turned to face the sky and proclaimed, "I am the first Champion of the
Moon."