The Crow and the Moth (as written by Lily)

AN: This story will be referenced IC later and created IC as well. It will be written by Lily in game after enough of the story's related events have happened. I am only taking a head start on writing it as things come together. Yes, it is mildly plot related for Lily and August but not all involved/portrayed in the story will be affected by it's creation or distribution. It will be updated in short chapters so check back from time to time as I fix it up! Please do not reply to this thread until all the chapters are up! One post may not be enough for all chapters.

Main Cast:

• The Crow/Black Knight- Mikhail Montinegro
  
• The Moth/White Witch- Lilliana Morthena
  
• The Hero- August Ashford
  
• The Fair Maiden- Charli Philips
  
• The Raven/The Black King- Leonardo Montinegro
  
• The Wasp/The Red Queen- Jezebel Tahara
  

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The Crow and the Moth
(As) written by Lilliana Nariko Morthena
Inspired by true events

Foreword
Once upon a time, isn't that how fairy tales start? It is for children, and childhood matters most in a world of dreams. Without children we forget our own imagination and wonder. The vibrance and creativity of childhood fuels us as we grow and learn. Our dreams, when we are young, give us the motivation to accomplish goals and achieve great things. When our dreams die we lose our drive to succeed where we should continue to follow our hearts.

This fairy tale is not a work of fiction so much as it is a fantasized version of true events. Any tears shed for the hardship of the characters held within these pages will be for people who have experienced these events as true suffering and sadness. Every sympathy for the characters is as real and true as your own hands. You may not have witnessed the events that have inspired this work of fantasy but I offer you this tale to inspire your courage. For those who have known sorrow take heart from this story, all will be well if you only keep dreaming. For the world belongs to those who keep dreaming and follow their hearts. May your broken dreams find renewal someday. ~The Moth


Chapter One: A New Hope
Once upon a time there was a young moth. She was a maiden of fair being and noble bearing. Her family was one of high standing although reclusive. The sweet, little moth and her younger sister lived with little worry save the tears of their strained lives. Both the moth and her younger sister suffered a frailness that kept them from the sun. The bond they shared was strong but not without troubles as all siblings have from time to time. The moth's sin was speaking out of anger. For her mistakes there was much suffering and sadness. As she lost the things that mattered most in her life she knew regret. Her sister and mother were lost in an accident and her home went silent.

Love became a memory and family became distant. The quiet stretched across the moth's sorrowful existence until finally she forced herself from her home in search of something she had no name for. As she wandered she grew and learned of the world through books and song. Music filled the silence of loved ones lost and stories gave the warmth love once gave. Though the warmth was wane and the sound pale compared to her life before she continued onward. Without direction she meandered through the cities and countryside.

Her kindness she would give freely and without words. Smiles vanished from her face the more she wandered. The longer she was lost the more hope fled from her grasp. Until one day, she happened upon another who took her in. The wasp was kind to the moth but cruel to others. The moth watched and listened to the wasp as she gained power and knowledge by ill means. As the moth witnessed the plight of cruelty in silence her heart ached for those afflicted by the wasp. She begged in her soul that she would have the courage to end their suffering though there was no succor she could offer them. As the screams filled the little moth's dreams she began to learn of something new, compassion.

When the horrors grew too many for the little moth to bear the wasp vanished and the little moth waited. She stayed out of fear and dared not to wander again. When at last she worried over the worst she knew that she could not stay within the wasp's nest. Taking her own things and only the journal of the wasp's doings she fled and began to wander once more. She strayed and hid where she could. In a bleak new world she searched for whatever it was she needed.

Finally, she collapsed in a forest of twisted, black trees and laid herself to rest against the trunk of the largest. While she cried something she was looking for found her instead. The raven heard the moth crying outside his home upon returning and carried the moth within. He held the moth tenderly and laid her to bed without question. The moth slept comfortably but restlessly. As the moth slept the raven wondered about her and the crow who served the raven watched curiously. Memories of the past tormented the moth as she rested from he journey under their watchful eyes.

When she awoke the raven queried the little moth about herself and she answered him earnestly. She offered herself in service to the raven to repay his kindness to her. The raven accepted the moth's offer along with three rules for her loyalty. The first, was that she could decline any task the raven asked of her should it conflict with her virtue. Secondly, she requested that the raven and his servant the crow never seek to exact vengeance on her behalf. Lastly, she requested that they never pry about the journal of the wasp which she still carried with her. The raven and crow both gave their word to accept her conditions of service and took her in as though one of their own. A glimmer of memory flickered in the moth's sorrowful heart and she promised herself to be good company to her new friends.