Luna's Barghest

Advice To Live By

If you are ever walking through the woods and come upon a large pile of crushed, black marble stones. Run away. Don’t walk. Run away and definitely do not touch the pile or try to take any of the stones with you…if you want to keep your soul.

Luna

There once was a free-spirited woman named Luna, who from the time she was born always worshiped the Universe and everything in it. The Moon and the stars were her best friends. She would much rather talk to plants, trees, and animals as to a person. Most humans just don’t understand, so why waste precious time and energy on something that she couldn’t change. 

Home Sweet Home

Luna lived in a magical place where no-one ever went because she had protection spells surrounding her land. Her home was a tiny moss-covered cabin in the woods. Within ears reach was a crystal clear babbling brook that never ran dry. The brook drained into the most perfect pool of water that you could ever imagine. It was so clean and clear that it looked like you would never reach the bottom, yet in reality; it was only about 5 feet deep. She lived off of her land and kept to herself, never asking anyone for anything.

Luna’s Amulet

When Luna was born she was given a beautiful delicately jeweled amulet by her grandmother. It had been passed down through every generation of women in her family. Little did she know, if she did not overcome the events that were about to unfold, she would be the last in her family to ever wear the protective jewel. It contained Magick that even she did not know about.  

Off-Balance

On a peaceful and wonderfully warm, late-autumn morning Luna was tending to her gardens and chatting with her woodland friends as she so often does. As she was digging in the cool fresh earth she came upon an odd-shaped stone. It appeared to be made of black marble. As she reached down to touch it a feeling of doom came over her.

A wave of darkness and misery came over the land. The Sun shone no more and the birds quieted their songs. Her little woodland friends retreated into their homes and the woods stood still. Then there was nothing. No breeze. No movement. Nothing but eerie silence.

Luna knew this was dark magic that she was dealing with and knew that she had to banish it. She did not like to practice in the dark arts, but if she didn’t, it could get into the wrong hands. She kept wondering how it got there. She has lived in this place for years with protective spells surrounding it. Why was it so close to the surface and why did it show itself NOW?

The First Mistake

Luna sat on the ground for what seemed like an eternity. She made a list in her head of everything she would need to banish the dark spirit that was trapped within this marble mystery. She stood up and took the stone inside her home with her. Once inside Luna found a small clay jar and placed the stone inside of it on top of the mantle. Tomorrow she would collect the necessary items to banish the spirit.

By bringing the stone into her home, Luna had unwittingly invited the dark spirit to come in as well. That mistake could cost her everything. 

The Second Mistake

Halloween, also known as Samhain to her kind was fast approaching. She was collecting herbs for her banishment spell when she came to a place she had never noticed before. It was just outside her circle of protection. She had a strange feeling inside of her, but she ignored her gut and stepped through. Instantly, she knew she had made a mistake.    

Her chest felt heavy and she felt dark inside, as though she would never experience joy again. She was frozen in her tracks. She could not move from the spot in which she stood. All she could do was move her eyes around. She could see trees and shadows and a doorway made of large black marble stones. It was the same kind of stone that she found yesterday. Through the doorway, she could see nothing but soul-sucking darkness.  

The Barghest

Without any warning, she heard a sound that would make even the bravest of men’s blood run cold. It was a rumble that came from the depths of darkness. The deep penetrating growl that could only come from one thing. It was the Barghest. She saw the fiery glow of his monstrous eyes. Suddenly, there was the most excruciating pain anyone could ever endure. Not physical pain. The pain of her soul being ripped from her body.

She could hear herself scream.

Then there was nothing. Not even darkness. 

The Next Morning

The next morning she awoke in her bed. She didn’t feel right. Something was off. Her amulet was gone. What happened yesterday? Was it all a dream? Was it a sinister omen? She slowly lifted herself out of bed and tried to remember how she got home and what she did during the rest of the previous day, but it was all blank. The last thing she could recall was the Barghest’s demonic eyes staring straight into her soul.

A couple of days went by and Luna felt more drained and weaker than ever. Joy-less. Her energy was off. The animals no longer came to her. Her gardens no longer grew. She had no appetite and never slept anymore. She just seemed to exist. The only things that seemed to stay the same were the Moon and stars, her old faithful friends. The only thing she could count on was Mother Nature, but even her Goddess wasn't able to pull the darkness from Luna.  

As the last day of October approached and the Moon became more and more full, Luna became more frustrated, angry, and confused. She was stuck. She paced the floor all day and night. She had to do something that she didn’t want to do. She had to go back to the place where she found the doorway. 

Before she could go back she had to finish getting the things on her banishment list. She was going to have to go to the village. She needed to visit the old graveyard past the abandoned church. She needed dirt from the graves of the departed to send the dark spirit back to the underworld where he belongs. 

The Village

The last day of October. The full Moon. Samhain. Luna had to go to the village. She had not been there in years. She had almost forgotten how to get there. It was several miles away. The path was overgrown and difficult to see, but she was able to search the far corners of her memory and get to the edge of the village before darkness fell. Once she arrived, she stopped and looked around. Things had not changed much in the past few years. The same-old, run-down, town with the same-old, run-down, people.   

Luna made her way along the old dirt streets heading toward the graveyard. She had never felt so invisible in her life. She tried to smile and talk to people, but they just looked through her as though she wasn’t there. Nobody spoke to her. She was an outsider. 

Feeling deflated she approached the outer edge of the village where the road led to an old abandoned graveyard. It was overgrown with weeds and most of the stones were crumbled or knocked over. It was a place that was rarely visited by the living. 

Luna noticed a kind-looking old woman standing in the opening of the trees. “Don’t be discouraged my dear.” the old woman said. “They are not a part of our world.” Luna did not know how to respond. “Excuse me?” she said. 

“Do you not know, my dear?”

“Know what?” asked Luna. “Who are you and what are you talking about?”

My name is Veduna and I have been expecting you. I have been watching over every woman in your family for hundreds of years and I am with you now, but the Barghest has your soul. And you must be the one to retrieve it and send him back to darkness. He has been after your family for hundreds of years. You are from a line of very powerful magicians. He is threatened by your bloodline and will never stop trying to destroy it.

The only time you can bring a spirit back from the darkness is on the eve of Samhain. 

To save your soul and stay in the light you must get your amulet back. You must face him. You must look him in his eyes. You must not stand down. Once you have your amulet you must close the doorway. If the door remains open the dark spirits can travel between worlds of their own free will. You must throw the dark stone that you found through the doorway along with the graveyard dirt. 

Luna looked up in surprise, “How did you know of the stone?”

“My dear,” she said with a smile, “there is not much that I do not know.”

As Luna raced away she heard Veduna calling out to her. “Luna, if you do not face the Barghest by the end of Samhain your soul will be lost to the darkness forever!” “You do not have much time!”

Cold Reminder

Without her amulet, Luna felt totally vulnerable. She ventured deep into the woods to the place where she had found the black marble doorway. The closer she got, the worse her feeling grew. She had that same feeling in her gut, right before everything went black. 

Ahead in the setting Sun, Luna could see something lying in front of the doorway. It was not moving. It looked oddly familiar. She slowly approached the lifeless mass. As she knelt to get a closer look, she realized immediately who it was. 

Once again, Luna found that she was frozen in fear. She wanted to scream. To run. To be anywhere but where she was, and yet there before her lying in a lifeless lump was herself. Or what was left of herself. The passing days had not fared well on her decaying body. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Luna came to her senses. She looked down at her lifeless body and saw her amulet. What was once a beautiful jeweled talisman had now become a tainted symbol of darkness. It was black and charred looking. It no longer glimmered in the light. She crouched down to see if she could get it from her dead self. Before she could touch it, she heard the growl again. She yanked the amulet from her dead body and stood up. 

The fear drained from her body and was replaced with a strength she had never felt before. It was as though she had invoked the spirits of her ancestors and she felt stronger than ever.

Luna turned and held the charred amulet in the face of the Barghest. She summoned every ounce of energy and light that she had in her and it exploded out through the amulet. The pure white light scalded the Barghest. He howled in agony. Luna did not back down. She came at him like a mother bear protecting her cub. Blasting him with the radiant light until he was screaming and writhing in pain.   

The Barghest tried to flee but was blinded by the pure light that she had summoned.  

He was now the one frozen in fear. She aimed the amulet at him until he started to take a different shape. He could no longer control his dark magic and was morphing into random creatures of the dark world. The screams continued and got louder and louder, until… there was nothing. Not even darkness. 

The Revival

The Sun shone so brightly that she had to shield her eyes when she tried to open them. Luna slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was lying in the middle of the woods in front of what was now a pile of crushed black marble stones. Her decaying body was no longer lying in a lifeless lump. In fact, her body was feeling and looking quite well. How is this possible she thought? She pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She felt around her neck and realized that her amulet was back where it belonged without a scratch or any other indication of the dark events that had passed.

She made a circle of protection around the pile of rubble where the doorway to the darkness once stood. Hopefully, that will keep it closed for a very long time she thought. 

Return To The Village

Luna needed to see Veduna again. She wanted to tell her about her experience with the Barghest. After getting everything settled at home she was ready for the hike. She arrived at the edge of the village right before the Sun was to set. She quickly walked down the dusty, dirt road through the little town until once again she approached an old, run-down graveyard. Luna didn’t know where Veduna lived, so she came to the graveyard in hopes that she would find her. There was no-one there. It was still just as over-grown as the day before. The stones were still cracked and crumbling. It was a forgotten place.  

As Luna scanned the graveyard, her eyes stopped on something that she did not notice earlier. It was definitely not there the day before. It was a perfectly manicured clearing of grass with a beautiful headstoned carved from glistening white marble. 

The words on the headstone read:

Veduna Proctor

Burned at the stake 

July 21, 1612 – October 31, 1692

Luna finally understood everything. Veduna had passed the torch to her. She was next in line to watch over the doorway to the darkness. From that day on she would always be the guardian of the doorway, saving the spirits of the unaware.

The Legend Returns

If you want to see Luna you must wait until the eve of Halloween. If you search for the crumbled pile of black marble deep in the woods and try to touch it she will knock you over and drag you away from it. As long as the Barghest exists in the darkness, Luna will exist in the light.