Mezomel Luperfang

Myths begin with a kernel of truth, even if it is tiny. The myth that Skinwalkers are influenced by the moon originates with Mezomel Luperfang, scion of moonlight -- though most Telerians are unaware of her tale. After generations of misunderstanding and exaggeration, many wrongly believe Skinwalkers go mad in the light of the full moon, and transform, becoming hulking, monstrous distortions of their basic forms. Bitter Skinwalkers claim that the myth of Skinwalker moon-madness is spread because it encourages mob violence against their kind during the full moon, when a murderous throng can see more clearly at night and find innocent Skinwalkers to lynch. Such tactics were commonly used during the Red Crusade, and tales and images of moonlight battles between Skinwalkers and hunters contributed to the misconception. But there is yet that kernel of truth: Mezomel Luperfang, the Skinwalker who sold her allegiance to the Fae Duke of Moonlight. Mezomel was once a Human living an itinerant lifestyle and doing odd jobs in the land of Yakai. One day, Mezomel was lured out of town and into a thicket by a paramour. Her partner playfully ran from her into the woods and Mezomel followed, but the two became separated. Mezomel searched, assuming it a lighthearted jest, and followed distant cries from her lover, who seemed to lead her on a chase. Following the call led Mezomel to a series of animals, first a fox, then a deer, and finally an owl, but not to her partner. Growing exasperated, Mezomel shouted her frustrations and demanded her partner come forth -- and what emerged from behind a broad ginkgo tree was a spitting image of herself. She froze stiff as the doppelganger spoke in her lover's voice. Her duplicate became the fox she had seen, then the deer and owl, and then her lover, before it finally assumed its true form. She was face to face with a kitsune of folklore, a fox-eared woman who radiated cold beauty. The kitsune announced herself as Hazen-Shu. Mezomel asked why Hazen-Shu had lived in disguise in town, and teased and flirted with her. Hazen-Shu only laughed and twirled on her heels, and ran in her true shape through the woods. Mesmerized and even more confused than before, Mezomel followed as fast as she could. In her haste, she lost her footing and fell, tumbling down a hillside and crashing into a den of wolves. That was a fateful moment, for Mezomel's body crushed several pups and injured the mother, who attacked her at once. Flushed with adrenaline, Mezomel killed the animal with her dagger. She was struck by the Skinwalker curse, and became a wolf-like creature herself, an agonizing process. She grew equally infuriated and obsessed with Hazen-Shu, whom she felt certain had arranged everything that had happened to her, including the wolves and her transformation. Kitsune were known to be merciless tricksters. But Mezomel could not easily track down a shapeshifter. She wandered alone, searching listlessly, and found herself near the Mistwood. The moon was full one night, and she could not sleep, so sat and brooded on a hilltop. There, she was besought by one of the Fae Court: the Duke of Moonlight, a powerful and utterly mysterious being, holder of great but ineffable power within the incomprehensible politics of the Fae, and wielder of lunar magic. Tales say he appears as an Elf, a scintillant white bull, or even as a silver puppet on strings of moonlight. The Duke explained that Hazen-Shu was aligned with one of his great rivals, the Prince of Reeds. Why Reeds and Moonlight should stand opposed was not Mezomel's place to question. He offered her revenge, and answers, if she accepted his suzerainty. She would become Fae-touched, unlike all other Skinwalkers, and share the Duke's connection to the Rhythm -- but only in the aspect of the moon, the Duke's domain. In exchange, she would be his knight and strive against his enemies, and thereby find her chance to confront Hazen-Shu. Mezomel agreed to the bargain, seeing her place in mortal society as already tenuous. They say that the Duke of Moonlight anointed her with dust gathered from the moon itself, and the pact was sealed. Her lupine body grew larger, stronger, and faster. Her limbs and claws elongated, her skin toughened and her fur grew denser. For a few moments she reveled in a surge of newfound strength. Then, clouds obscured the moon, the Duke vanished, and Mezomel returned to her normal Skinwalker self -- but it would not be long before she was called upon once again. For an unnaturally long span of years, Mezomel did the Duke's bidding by moonlight. When beneath those cold rays she could channel the Duke's blessing, becoming filled with terrifying strength and ferocity enabling her to fight like a one-beast army. Confessor Grolus, a Skinwalker-hating demagogue of the Sacred Order, led a party to track her down, only for Mezomel to crush his heavy plate armor like an eggshell and leave him a pile of mangled organs and snapped ribs. The Prince of Reeds once sent his servant Archelon, a wise and ancient snapping turtle the size of a house, to deal with Mezomel -- she bit into Archelon's neck and ripped its head from its body, and feasted on the meat within its massive shell. These and other savage exploits sowed the seeds of a million tall tales of Skinwalkers being touched by the moon. But as to her fateful reunion with Hazen-Shu, and the end of Mezomel's legend, accounts do not agree. Some say the Prince of Reeds was too canny and kept Hazen-Shu well-hid. Others say Mezomel eventually realized she had been tricked again, and that the Duke of Moonlight had discarded his end of the bargain sometime over the decades. And yet others say Mezomel and Hazen-Shu did meet again, but the outcome of that encounter is lost, or was occluded by the Fae themselves.