It was dark. The sun had long set behind the near by mountain which had summoned the big round moon and it's companions the stars. Only the dim lights softly brightened the dark streets and squares of the small town of Kammalryne. Usually the mountain village lay in utter darkness once the sun has set. However, once a year the villagers lighten up the colourful paper lanterns to celebrate and morn their ancestors at the same time.

To this day over two hundert years ago the cruellest and most horrid war in the history of Astrin had ended. A war that tore humans appart and forced them to live in the smallest of numbers far away from their former home land. Even when the event was a sad one it was also ment to encourage people and to give them joy in those hardest of times.

Multiple merchants travelled from far away to Kammalryne to join the festivities and earn a coin or two by selling their goods to the villagers. This also lead to a steady increase of other travellers joining them. The usually empty streets bustled with life for that one night of the year. The light, the noises and the masses of people made this fest a dangerous one but for that one night of the year people didn't care. Various smells of different spices and warm meals flooded the air of the village. Laughter and music echoed from every corner and invited to participate in the celebration. Jackson slowly walked passed an improvised stage on which two talented singers sang a joyous song. A soft smile crept on Jacksons face. A smile, that soon after got replaced by his stern and serious face that he'd like to showcase when he's in public. His loyal sword hung on his waist ready to be used at any moment. He had to be prepared to attack. To protect.

Hesitantly, he left the area with the stage to walk follow a path that lead further uphill. Even though the young soldier didn't grow up in this village he had seen it a few times already and therefore knew it's streets and secrets well. The path he's currently on lead to a more sacret part of the town. It's where people usually honoured the high spirits and mourned for the things that's been lost in the past.

The way to this part of the town was steep, dangerous and bothersome but the view made it worthwhile. The path itself wasn't enlightened which would make the climb an even harder one. Each year accidents happen on the climb upwards. Some even ended deadly. Jackson, however, did not care as the dim light of the moon and it's stars were enough to show him the way. He always had seen better at night than most around him.

It took Jackson a while to reach the upper square. However, once he reached he was greeted by another set of dim lantern light. On his right people were already enkindling the traditional candles on the ground. The colourful smoke that was caused by the specially prepared wooden wicks rose into the sky while the people deeply keeled in front of their lit candles while mumbling the all powerful words of prayer they've been thought from very early on.

"Madkum intdus dragkim solapte" [trans. High spirits, bring us light]

The soft mumble of those well known words sway in the air while getting repeated over and over again. Spellbound, Jackson watched the prayers for a few minutes. When he finally turned his gaze away to leave the praying people alone, he softly mumbled the same words as the others and then walked away.

On the other side of the square the villagers built two buildings. For the fest, however, they built a special tent with various little trinkets of bones and wood that rattled in the soft breeze. The tent wasn't very big but it was already filled with people. Their discussions were quiet which almost lead to the impression that it was only the wind itself that created the soft noise. The strong smell of another set of special candles filled the air within the tent.

The villagers had build a small stage in the middle of the tent. This was also a traditional thing to do. On stage three people were performing a silent prayer performance. This prayer kind of prayer had strong similarities with a dance performance. However, the movements gave off the feeling of modesty and plea. Jackson had seen this kind of prayer many times before. Even though his eyes wanted to linger on the prayers on stage he let them wander through the crowed. None of the attending people looked familiar which made the soldier breath a small set of curses before he pushed further into the tent to have a closer look at the crowd. He was looking for someone. Someone, he's been following and protecting for a few years now. Someone, who held his heart and all of his hope.

Jackson had half surrounded the stage when the prayers ended their performance and freed up the space for a elderly looking woman. Her face wore deep scars that somehow blended with the deep wrinkles of her skin. Her hair was thin and weak while here hair colour had already faded away to showcase a pure white colour. Even her skin looked pale. The only colour that still shown through were her bright light brown eyes. The elderly woman wore a long reddish gown with a warm coloured veil. Both the veil and the gown were decorated with various symbols from the the early ages. These set of cloth only belong the the village's eldest women. The cloth are a set to showcase her wisdom and rank within the village. She was the high priestess.

"Come! Come! And listen to my tale!" the high priestess said in a weak voice and gestured the people in the tent to move closer. The people followed her words suit which made the elderly woman smile faintly. She took a good look at the crowed in front of here before she continued to talk: " Long long ago our land was ruled by all the creatures that wander on it's ground and roam through the rivers and the sea. All lived in peace and harmony. It was a wonderful time to be alive as not only the living prospered, the land and the sea grew purer and more fertile as well"

The high priestess stopped shortly in her tale to light a new candle on her right hand side. A sizzling noise joined the other candles. The flame, however, was in a soft blue colour. The high priestess solemnly stared at the candle before taking a low bow at it which made the flame grow higher. The audience lowered their heads as tradition told them to. Once the high priestess rose herself up again the flame grew lower as well. Slowly, she reached for a long piece of wood and held it close to the flame. Before long and another small flame danced on top of the wood. With soft steps she crossed the stage towards a second candle. While lighting it she continued her tale: "That peace was meant to last forever. However, soon greed and the desire for power began to spread in humankind. War with all the other creatures of our land soon became unavoidable. It was the start of the great war"

She stayed quiet while she was lighting up a third candle and took another bow before it. Then she turned towards the audience again. Her hand still held that long piece of wood that now was already halfway consumed by the flame. She held out the piece of wood to be taken from her by a younger member of the village. Once the member left the stage the elderly woman continued: "The war lasted several decades and none of this creatures were save from one another. The fae and humankind both quickly learned to adapt. It was the discovery of their own magic, however, that lead to humankind's demise. Magic that was created to enslave humans and rob them of their own free will. A once proud and powerful race crumbled to n