Moonblood

by Martin Ash

  It was a man who watched us, but he was no ordinary man. He was of monumental stature. He stood with mighty hands on hips, dwarfing the shrub beside him. His head reached almost to the windows of the upper floor of the cottage.

  He wore loose brown trews which terminated below his colossal knees, and a waistcoat of grey cloth, his great hirsute chest bare beneath. His torso was more massive than a bull’s; his arms and legs were as thick as ash boughs, and his huge feet were also bare. At his waist was a wide leather belt hung with wallets and pouches.

  As we passed beneath a broken latticed arch to enter the old garden of the cottage, Linvon glanced back. He saw the look on my face and gave a wry smile. ‘Don’t worry. He will do you no harm if you’re a friend. He is Toromdar.’ He approached the giant. ‘Toromdar, this is Master Dinbig.’

  I stared up into the ancient craggy face. Big, pale brown eyes peered down at me from beneath bushy brows. His huge head was bald on top, ringed by a thicket of coarse brown hair. His brow was wrinkled, his nose fleshy and rather flat, set between ruddy slabs of cheeks. The mouth was wide, pensive, the lips a deep red. He returned my gaze contemplatively. There was a searching mournfulness in his look, which vanished when his lips stretched into a smile and he extended a hand I could have sat in.

  ‘Welcome, Master Dinbig.’

  Toromdar’s voice was resonant and profound, yet surprisingly gentle. He grasped my hand. His own massive hand was warm, the skin like toughed hide. He could have crushed mine effortlessly – indeed, had he chosen, he could have squeezed the life out of me with no trouble.

  ‘We’ll eat, drink and talk,’ said Linvon. ‘I’ll bring out food.’

  He moved towards the door of the cottage, then stopped, laying a hand on my shoulder and smiling. ‘It would be more cool to eat indoors but as you can see, Toromdar is a little too bulky to enter without bring the house down around our heads. So we shall dine in the shade, beside the pond.’

  Linvon brought bread, cheeses, meats, fish, fruit and water and wine. He laid them out on a cloth spread on the grass by the water’s edge. I found I was hungry, and ate heartily. Toromdar sat towering over us, but didn’t eat. ‘Our foods are too trifling for him,’ Linvon explained. ‘He will take something more substantial later.’ He turned to the giant. ‘Perhaps you will now tell Dinbig your story, just as you first told it to me.’

  And so I learned how Toromdar had come to Ravenscrag, how he had marched the long, untracked journey from his home far to the north, beyond Wansir, in the wild and unexplored Interior. There, he told us, was where the few surviving giant communities now dwelt.

  What had brought him here, on such a dangerous trek, forsaking the security of his home and the traditional bonds of kith and kin, not knowing if he would ever return? The answer, he explained, was the power of a vision.

  ‘Since birth, and even before, I’ve been possessed by it,’ the giant told me. ‘It was passed down to me by preceding generations, as is our way. It’s a vision that originated many generations ago by your reckoning. We of the Thotán, who you term simply ‘giant’, are collectors of lore and legend. As individuals we have a far greater lifespan than most races, and we know and remember things that others could never recall. We pass down our memories and tales in great detail, building on them, ever seeking to discover, to learn more. Little by little, then, as this vision was contemplated and dreamed and sung over and over, it became clearer and more meaningful. By the time I inherited it, it had acquired a power and clarity like no other I knew. It became almost a part of me; I contemplated by day and let it fill my dreams by night.’

  ‘The vision was that of a young maiden,’ Toromdar said. ‘She stood upon the threshold of womanhood, and around her, focused about her, were strange powers and forces that she knew nothing of. Other factors were involved, for the vision was strange and complex. There was the birth of a monster; an ancient prophecy and a curse; complex conditions involving the cycles of moon and sun, the births and deaths of siblings, the precise timing of the birth of another sibling. These things and more were intricately interwoven, presenting themselves as a potential single manifestation which could occur at some unknown future time.’

  ‘My task was to study this vision, and others,’ said Toromdar. ‘To unravel meaning, find clarity, attempt to discover whether what was seen and dreamed could actually come to be. But as I worked this vision became overriding, and the others paled into insignificance. Such intricacies did the vision hold that it seemed most unlikely that it could ever come about, yet I could not let it go, could not stop thinking about this ill-starred, innocent maiden who was the blood of the moon, still a child, cursed without knowing, beset by demons, bringing about her own destruction and that of her entire line. I could not forget a story my grandfather told me when I was very young. The vision had just been passed down to me by my father, and my grandfather called us both to him. “I shall tell you what I told your father when, many years ago, I first passed this vision to him. Listen well, for it is important,” he said.

  ‘And he explained how, in his youth, his village had been visited by a nobleman from afar. A man, greatly troubled by events that had taken place at his home. This noble had come seeking advice and guidance from the Thotán, and we’d been able to give him little. But my grandfather possessed the vision in its earliest form at that time, and he sensed something of what it might mean.

  ‘Your grandfather…’ I interrupted Toromdar excitedly, ‘was his name by any chance Eldhorn?’

  Toromdar appraised me with sombre brown eyes, and I was aware of Linvon, too, watching intently.

  ‘You know of this?’ asked the giant.

  ‘I know only of a meeting long ago between Eldhorn and Draremont, lord of Ravenscrag. Please, I’m fascinated by your tale. Carry on.’

  ‘Yes, Eldhorn was my grandfather’s name, and Draremont was the noble whose tragic quest brought him to Eldhorn’s village. It was long afterwards that Eldhorn told me of this and he and my father began schooling me in the vision that had become their obsession also. Understand, there is a significant passage of time here. My grandfather was young when Lord Draremont came to his village – less that seventy years of age. When he came to tell me his tale he was approaching his three hundredth year, and his life was almost done.’

  Toromdar paused for a few moments, lost in his thoughts. I glanced skywards, my unease mounting as I noted the sun’s inexorable descent.

  ‘My grandfather advised me to use all the resources and wisdom and knowledge-seeking abilities at our command, and to observe, to build upon the vision. He said we could not know at that time whether it would ever manifest. To manifest in its full destructive capacity would require that all the myriad factors and conditions be met. “You must watch,” he said. “Be constantly alert for any sign that it is coming true.”

  ‘And I asked him, “How will I know?”

  ‘He told me: “Turn to the skies. Know how to interpret the portents there. Understand the movements of sun and moon, of planets and stars, for it’s through these that the first warning will appear. Consult the ancient charts and instruments, seek the wisdom of ages gathered by generations of Thotán star-gazers. Learn the secrets of their art, the methods of calculation and prediction. With luck – or more aptly, with ill-luck – you will one day descry the signs for which you search. When that happens you will know that the vision may be about to become manifest. And if, as I hope, that day does not come in your lifetime, then pass on all you’ve learned. Charge one who you love and trust to maintain the vigil.”

  ‘“But grandfather,” I said to him. “I still don’t understand. What is it I’m looking for?” And he replied: “The Shadownight. It will fall immediately after three nights of darkmoon, within a month of the coming of the summer solstice. That is what’s foretold in the prophecy and the bane. It’s a most rare and unusual conjunction, but should it ever come you will know that there’s every likelihood the other conditions may also be met.”
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  ‘“And if this occurs, what then? What should I do?”

  ‘My grandfather looked at me solemnly, more grave than I’d ever seen him. “I can’t advise you of that,” he said. “It isn’t our way to intervene in the affairs of other races. We gather knowledge and lore. We pass it on freely to those with a desire to know, but we don’t interfere. Yet you, like myself and your father, may come in this case to feel an inexplicable sense of involvement, of empathy and responsibility belying our usual detachment. I’ve no explanation for why it should be so, but if it is, and the signs manifest in your lifetime, I think you will face a profound crisis of conscience. How you respond can be your decision alone. I hope it’s one that you never have to make.”’

  Toromdar fell silent. Insects buzzed and skate across the surface of the still pond. I couldn’t move. Despite the heat of the afternoon sun, a chill had gripped me. Presently, finding my voice, I said, ‘I’ve heard the Shadownight referred to a number of times in recent days, but its meaning eludes me. Tell me, what is it?’

  ‘It’s when the moon is swallowed by an astral shadow,’ said Toromdar. ‘It’s an uncommon event in itself. For it to occur in such precise correlation with the other celestial phenomena I’ve described is to my knowledge unheard of.’

  ‘And what is its import?’

  ‘As with darkmoon, it can be a time of power for lightless forces. In this instance, coming so close after the third night of darkmoon – dark extinguishing the light, following so quickly upon dark – I fear it’s a dire portent. The power of the bane will find its greatest focus in Ravenscrag tonight.’

  ‘For how long does this shadow linger?’

  The giant shrugged his massive shoulders. ‘Perhaps minutes, perhaps an hour – it’s not possible to say. If truly powerful forces are at work, it could be longer. We don’t know. But of course, the forces may be unleashed during the Shadownight but their effects can linger long after.’

  ‘What is its cause?’

  ‘That too is unknown, though there have been many theories. Some claim it’s magic, others that there exists a second moon, invisible to our eyes, which under certain circumstances casts a shadow or even moves to physically obscure the moon we see. We will probably never know the true reason.’

  ‘Why did Irnbold not foresee this?’

  ‘Irnbold? The astrologer? He can’t really be blamed. No human, however skilled an observer of the firmament, as the knowledge or resources of the Thotán. Indeed, I wouldn’t have seen it had I not been searching so intently and for so long.’

  I stared at him for some time. ‘What made you come here, Toromdar? You have forsaken custom and your own kind to come to Ravenscrag. Why?’

  The giant knitted his brow. ‘I’ve no full answer to that. Let’s say that I’ve lived with the vision for so long, have anticipated and come to dread the maiden’s fate and the fate of those around her; when I realized its imminence I was, as Eldhorn had predicted, filled with a sense of responsibility and involvement. I couldn’t ignore it. It had become part of me.’

  ‘But what have you been able to do?’

  ‘Little, I’m afraid. I came seeking to discover whether other factors of the prophecy and bane had manifested. I found that they have. The bane is active, but I bring nothing that can help to combat it.’

  ‘But you befriended Moonblood, meeting her in the dell,’ I said, thinking, yes, for a giant those surrounding cliffs would present less of an obstacle to climb. ‘Did you tell her all you know?’

  ‘Not all. It was alarming enough at first for her to be confronted with one such as me. It took time to overcome her fear and earn her trust. I didn’t want to terrify her then with what I knew, though I was desperate to save her. And there was so little time. I felt helpless.’

  Linvon spoke now. ‘I too was desperate to find a way to save Moonblood. I’d seen the words of the bane, and though its precise meaning wasn’t clear, I was in little doubt that Moonblood was in grave danger.’

  ‘You saw the words of the bane? Where?’

  Linvon reached into his waistcoat and withdrew a stiffened leather tube. He uncapped it and drew out a sheet of yellowed parchment. ‘Here.’

  I unrolled the parchment and read it. ‘So it was you who stole it from Lady Sheerquine.’

  ‘I told you earlier, Master Dinbig, I’m no thief. This came into my possession more or less by accident. I found it in Hectal’s chambers. He took it from his sister, sensing something of its import. He knows – I mean, he knew – much, did Hectal. He was unable to articulate it, and he couldn’t grasp everything, but on a deeper level he understood. And he loved Moonblood. He had befriended me when I first came to Ravenscrag. I felt great affection for him, almost a kinship. It was Hectal who showed me the secret passages, too. As far as I’m aware, only he and I knew about them – apart from Moonblood, who knew only of the passage between her room and the nursery.’

  ‘Not any more,’ I said. I handed him back the scroll. ‘Tell me about your plan.’

  Linvon gave a humourless laugh. ‘We had no plan. Toromdar and I met only days ago. In Moonblood’s absence we discussed what we knew, and grew ever more dispirited. We could do little but observe, and hope that something might change. The bane spoke of corruption, and of wavering from the conditions of the prophecy. We didn’t know if these things had occurred. And there was the child: despite all the predictions, it might still fail to survive the birth, or it might be another girl. Anything might happen… But it didn’t. The boy child was born, as foretold.’

  My mind was working furiously, adding together all I’d been told. I was conscious that, if these two were not all they professed to be, I was in grave danger. Yet, if they planned to menace me they had had ample opportunity. No, I sensed no malice – the opposite, in fact – and I found myself believing their accounts.

  I took a leap into space. ‘So you, Linvon, installed yourself in the armoire in Redlock’s nursery, intending to abduct the child. To what end?’

  Linvon looked at me sharply. ‘All I knew was that something evil was focused around both the baby and Moonblood. So I waited there, not knowing what I would do. Truly, I had no clear intention at all.’

  ‘You were clear-headed enough to take the pitcher of water, thus obliging the wet-nurse to go out and fetch more so that you might steal forth and abduct the child.’

  ‘I took the water, yes, but not for that reason. I was in that cursed cupboard for a long time. It was hot and dusty, and I grew thirsty. Had I left to fetch water for myself I might have missed something. So when the nurse dozed I slipped in and took the pitcher.’

  My eyebrows lifted. ‘So tell me, what happened there in the nursery when Blonna went out to fetch more water?’

  ‘There’s little to tell, yet it’s crucial. The nurse had barely closed the door when a vapour formed, seemingly out of nowhere. It was directly over the crib where Redlock slept, a shapeless, greenish haze darkening the air. It descended, enveloping the crib. The child cried out, then was silent. The haze dispersed.’

  ‘That was all?’

  He nodded. ‘I wanted to come out, to look into the crib, but I knew the nurse would be back at any moment. So I stayed hidden. Sure enough, she was back within a minute. She put the new pitcher on the table then went to the crib to take the child. She gave a queer shriek and staggered back, clutching her breast. Then she fled the room. I immediately came from hiding to see for myself – and there I saw that the baby had been transformed into something hideous. What should I do? I hovered in indecision. I heard cries and footsteps approaching. I darted back into my hiding-place.’

  ‘So you were there when we entered?’

  ‘I observed you all. Most particularly I saw Moonblood, my sweet Moonblood, so pale and frightened.’

  ‘And then?’

  ‘I waited. Eventually I made my way back along the passage to Moonblood’s room. I was afraid for her. The monster of the bane – Ravenscrag’s Iniquity – was born. I didn’t k
now what that meant, but it was plainer than ever that Moonblood too was in mortal danger.’

  ‘And did you find Moonblood?’

  He shook his head. ‘She wasn’t in her room, so I stayed hidden in the passage, awaiting her return. She didn’t come in until very late. She was distressed. Her handmaid, Marshilane, was with her. She too was very upset. Marshilane helped Moonblood to undress, then put her to bed and stayed with her, stroking her hair and singing to her until she slept. Only then, when Marshilane had gone, could I come from hiding. I approached the bed and gazed down at my darling as she lay in troubled sleep. I wanted to talk to her but I thought it would be unwise to wake her now. So I went back to the secret passage, determined to watch over her till she woke.’

  ‘Why did you take the pitcher of water with you to Moonblood’s room?’

  Linvon eyed me curiously. ‘You seem to lay great store by this water.’

  ‘Please, answer the question.’

  ‘Again, simply to quench my thirst. As far as I recall, I left it somewhere in Moonblood’s room.’

  ‘On the floor, by the bedside.’ I shook my head. Thirst. So simple, and so obvious, that I’d never even thought to consider it, and so had led myself down a deceptive path.

  ‘I must have slept, though I hadn’t intended to,’ continued Linvon. ‘When I awoke again it was early morning. I was struck by a sudden horror that while I slept Moonblood might have suffered the same fate as her brother. I leapt up, peered into the room. Moonblood was out of her bed. She was standing naked in the middle of the room, immobile, seemingly in a trance. I went to her immediately, but she was hardly aware of me. There was shock and fear on her face, and she was muttering something incoherent, over and over again. I saw that her legs were streaked with blood. Her night-robe was torn and lay on the floor. There was blood on her bed.

  ‘I thought she’d been attacked but no wound was visible. I tried to get her to speak to me, but it was impossible. Something had possessed her. I covered her nakedness with a dress, then lifted her in my arms. After checking the corridor I carried her the short distance to Hectal’s chambers. From there I led her from the castle via the passage. She was able to walk, meekly, not really knowing what was happening. In the forest Toromdar met us. He carried her here.’