The Age of Fairy Tales:
The Valkor-Nava
There are many reasons that the simple minds of the native tribes of Anima have come up with for the current state of the Broken Moon. Around ten miles away from the closest civilized town of Lovestead are beaches by the ocean inhabited by a less advanced tribe. They, too, have a cause for the moon's broken form in their folklore, one more interesting than scientific theories of asteroids or lunar volcanoes. This tribe's legend attributes it to the Grimm known as Valkor-Nava.
As the legend goes, a man by the name of Valkor lived in that tribe in ancient times, a fisherman of that tribe, who was afflicted with the greatest incurable illness of all: love. He was in love with the Chieftain's daughter, the princess of that tribe, named Undal. This princess was beloved by all the tribe, and naturally, Valkor had many competitors for her hand in marriage. Princess Undal, one day, had a dream.
She dreamed that she wore a necklace of unparalleled beauty, which shone through the darkest night, hung on a chain of lucent pearls. This necklace was the very moon which hung in the evening sky with the stars as its pearls. She awoke and immediately told her father of her dream. The Chieftain, sensing an opportunity to finally rid his home of the persistent suitors, announced the path to being betrothed to his daughter.
He announced that whoever could craft a necklace that would match his daughter's dream necklace was eligible for her hand in marriage. Meanwhile, no suitor was to approach his home empty handed. Valkor shook his head in disdain; while other suitors thought to replicate the dream necklace with actual pearls, and diamonds or silver medallions from distant nations, he knew better. He understood how idealistic the princess was, and that when she meant a necklace made of the moon and stars, she truly meant the moon and stars.
This was a woman who believed that anything was possible. He grew angry at the Chieftain for presenting this task, and he felt grief for himself, for no man could reach out his hand and grasp the moon and stars. As he contemplated in melancholy on the beach that night, he saw a bat flying in the air, with no limit or chain. He then saw a skinny snake on the beach swallow a turtle egg bigger than the size of its head.
Wishing to the gods that he had both these abilities, he fell to his knees on the sand and fell asleep. Though he did not feel it, the ocean took him into its depths. The next day, in the wee hours of dawn, with the full moon still visible in the sky, a great roar awoke the entire tribe. A monstrous serpent with glistening red, black, and gold scales like a snake was rising from the ocean. It was truly massive, longer than forty rowboats, and thicker than fifteen palm trees tied together.
Around its neck were crimson wings like bats, and it flew into the sky straight to the moon, with jaws bared wide. The princess cried in sorrow when she saw this; it looked like the serpent was intending to devour the moon. She implored the warriors of the tribe to protect their great sky-jewel and destroy that foul beast. When the beast, the embodiment of Valkor's desire and greed heard these words, his heart broke and was filled with wrath.
His skin flooded with black, and he turned into a Creature of Grimm; the world's very first Creature of Grimm, according to his tribe's folklore. Valkor changed his desire from wanting to drag down the moon for Princess Undal to destroying it. He spread the wings around his neck and soared faster and faster into the sky. The soldiers and warriors of the tribe pursued him, riding on the creature's tail. In the morning sky, they did battle.
A great many of the warriors that pursued Valkor died in the battle, and their bodies were cast into the stars to burn. Valkor grew angrier and angrier when he saw that the men whom he was fighting were the same suitors that had courted Princess Undal. One by one, he devoured them and tore their swords and shields apart. Only one warrior remained, hidden behind the corpse of one of her comrades. This one woman was the Chieftain's wife, the princess' mother.
As Valkor turned to shred the moon to pieces, the warrior took her chance. As the creature was busy shattering the moon's rocks, she took aim and hurled a spear deep into the back of the serpent's neck, killing it immediately. Still writhing, it fell back to the earth, and was impaled onto a mountain. Its body melted and flooded the valley below with a black deluge and a poisonous fog.
From then on, Creatures of Grimm would rise and appear from that fog for ever after. Returning to the earth, the princess' mother landed softly as she dove into the ocean. The men and women of the tribe waited for ten minutes before she arose again. After making sure she was safe, the Chieftain asked why she had taken so long to surface.
In reply, she set down a multitude of pearls she had gathered from clams in the ocean and one shard of the moon, shining above the pearls. She made a necklace from them and presented them to her daughter as a gift. From that day forward, the moon necklace became the tribe's symbol of royalty, equivalent to a crown. From then on, as well, Grimm would come to terrorize the tribe and the rest of the world, born from the poisoned unrequited love that Valkor held in his heart.
In exchange for a necklace of beauty, more evil had been unleashed into the world, all for the name of love. Many historians had argued whether this myth holds any water, as tribes cut off from the world seemed to have so many mythologies that differ yet hold always the same element of one single Grimm being the forerunner of all other Grimm. They also argue about whether the necklace, now in custody of a history museum, was truly part of the moon. Some have speculated that it was made from a meteor that fell to earth.
There is, however, one thing in the tale that all scholars could wholeheartedly agree on:
The greatest evils are committed in the name of love.
In the years following that night Aqua confronted Salem and imprisoned her, the Grimm remained a threat but not as great without their queen to lead them. In fact, Poppy had followed Aqua's example and gone about saving villages and kingdoms, allowing people to come and live at the temple that had long since become her home. And soon enough, many warriors had risen with their own Auras awakened and gained the strength to fight back against the Grimm.
But the life of a warrior was not for everyone.
That is what could be said for Valkor, a humble fisherman just trying to make a living, bringing back a fair number of fish from the sea that would be enough to make a small amount of money to keep a roof over his head and food on the table.
Valkor had no ambitions beyond making a living for himself…
Except for one.
As his boat returned to the beach, he gathered the captured fish in the next and set off for the village that was built on the shores. The people here had long ago settled on this coast, finding the water here to be shallow enough to live on without fear of the Grimm sneaking up on them and the cliffs along the beach protected them.
This village was perhaps one of the safest places in the world and Valkor certainly was content to live here.
"Look! It's the chief!"
"And his daughter!"
Valkor stopped and looked in the direction of the largest hut, watching as the chief of the village emerged. A tall tan-skinned man, the Chief was certainly man who projected the strength and authority for a man in his position. Clad in a fur cloak with armor underneath, the Chief was not a man to be trifled with.
And then there was his daughter: Princess Undal.
Wearing a cream-colored dress with a fur cloak falling over her shoulders, the daughter of the Chief was a beauty beyond anything he had ever seen before. Soft dark skin with black braided hair, she exuded an aura of kindness and beauty.
And Valkor was not the only one to notice.
Practically every young man in the village was aware of Undal's beauty and each had tried to prove themselves worthy of her hand in marriage.
Many of them were bigger than Valkor.
Many of them were stronger than Valkor.
How could he, a humble fisherman offer Undal anything worthy of her?
"People of our village, I have news. My daughter, Undal has offered a challenge to anyone willing to accept to prove them worthy of being her future husband?"
Valkor perked up upon hearing those words, as did many other young men.
A chance to win Undal's love?
Perhaps it was not so hopeless after all.
Undal stepped forward. "Last night, I had a dream. I dreamt that I wore a necklace more beautiful than anything I had ever seen before, shining through the darkest night, hanging on a chain of lucent pearls. This necklace was the very moon itself which hangs in the evening sky with the stars as its pearls."
A necklace made of the moon and stars?
"This is your challenge. Whomever can craft a necklace matching the one in my daughter's dream will become her betrothed. Until then, none may come to our home empty handed."
Crafting a necklace made of the moon and stars?
Was this a joke?
Valkor could only watch as the rest of the young suitors went about their tasks, demanding money from their families and to find someone who can craft this impossible necklace.
…Fools.
All of them.
Valkor shook his head in disdain, turning away from this joke of a challenge.
They all thought the necklace would be made of pearls and diamonds or silver medallions from distant nations but he knew better.
Princess Undal was an idealist and what she meant by fashioning a necklace made from the moon and stars she meant it…
Literally.
This entire challenge was a joke.
Clearly the Chief was using this challenge to drive away him and the rest of those idiotic suitors and the princess was going along with it.
She wasn't looking for a husband.
She was not interested in finding love.
Certainly not with him.
Disgusted by the little game the Chief was playing, Valkor turned away and walked down the beach away from the village, wishing to be alone. Hours passed as the sun began to go down and Valkor was just sitting and watching as the sun went down and the shattered moon began to rise.
What was so beautiful about a floating lump of rock that just so happened to orbit this world?
What value would the princess see in it?
A screeching sound made him look up and see a bat flying through the air, awakened by the sun's going down and the night sky now overhead.
It flew with no limits or chains, unlike him.
He looked down at the ground, deciding not to stare up at the winged creature that caused his envy to flare. Only when he looked down he noticed something slithering along the ground.
A skinny snake coming upon a nest of eggs left by a turtle.
Though the snake was small and skinny compared to the eggs, it still managed to swallow one of the eggs completely whole.
He looked up at the moon and wondered to himself. 'If only I could fly and devour the moon…Would she love me then?'
Or would she just find another excuse to spurn his wishes?
He failed to notice his eyes turn yellow for a brief second as he lied down on the beach. As he slept, the water seemingly rose, becoming darker as it reached up around Valkor and slowly pulled him into its depths.
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"What is this?"
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"DO YOU WISH FOR FREEDOM? DO YOU WISH FOR ALL YOUR HEART'S DESIRES TO BE GRANTED?"
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"Who are you?"
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"DARKNESS."
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"Darkness?"
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"I AM THE DARKNESS THAT EXISTS IN EVERY HEART OF EVERY BEING. I AM THE DARKNESS SUSTAINED BY THE HEART OF ALL BEINGS. INCLUDING YOUR HEART."
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"My heart?"
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"YES, YOUR HEART THAT CALLED TO ME. FEELINGS OF LONGING, DESPAIR, AND ANGER. WHAT DO YOU WISH, VALKOR?"
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"I…I wish…I wish to bring the moon down from the heavens…and swallow it whole."
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"AND WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE FOR THIS WISH TO BE GRANTED?"
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"I…I have little to offer…I am just a fisherman…"
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"IT IS NOT YOUR RESOURCES THAT MATTERS TO ME. I AM DARKNESS AND WHAT I WANT IS WHAT YOU MUST BE WILLING TO GIVE."
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"What must I give?"
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"USE YOUR ANGER…OPEN THE GATES TO YOUR HEART AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE POWER TO MAKE YOUR WISH COME TRUE. FEED ME AND I WILL GRANT YOUR WISH."
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"I…I accept. I accept your offer."
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"THEN IT IS DONE. YOUR HEART BECOMES ONE WITH DARKNESS. CAST ASIDE WHAT TETHERS YOU TO THE WORLD AND EMBRACE THE DARKNESS."
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When morning came, Princess Undal stepped out onto the beach. She always awoke early in the morning, just as the sun began to rise.
If she was early enough, she could still catch the moon as it vanished from the now day sky.
Only when she stepped out onto the beach, there was something wrong.
The ocean, once blue, clear and sparking was now tainted by a blackened essence that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
No fish could be seen moving in the dark water.
The water was calm, still and silent as death itself.
This was not right.
Princess Undal was horrified by what she was seeing and sadly it would only become worse.
For that is when the water began to bubble and boil as something began to rise up from the darkened depths.
Undal stepped back, shivering in terror as a large serpentine face emerged from the water and opened its mouth to let out a deafening roar.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The roar was so great that the entire tribe instantly awoke and less then a minute could see the source of what had awakened them as it fully rose from the darkened ocean. A monstrous serpent with glistening red, black, and gold scales like a snake was rising from the ocean. It was truly massive, longer than forty rowboats, and thicker than fifteen palm trees tied together. Around its neck were crimson wings like bats and curiously in the center of its chest was a heart shaped hole.
And unlike a Grimm whose eyes would glow red, this monster's eyes were golden yellow.
Even though she was far from the village where the monster had risen, during her meeting with the new incarnation of Ozma, Aqua turned her head as she sensed…
Darkness.
This is based on a fan World of Remnant story by Lightning-in-my-Hand who has given me permission to use their ideas in this story.
