Witch Adila

The Fable Witch

Werewolves

The first time Adila heard the word was while playing "The Great Fable" with some young witches. This was a set of extremely exquisite porcelain cards, with glazed backs and ivory-carved corners. Though each card was only palm-sized, their fronts were extraordinarily intricate, adorned with various gemstones and even some gold and silver foil.

This precious set belonged to the village’s most glamorous witch, Mida, given to her by an old lover—a fabulously wealthy pirate who often brought her rare imported gifts to win her favor. He had given her what was said to be the most complete and valuable "Great Fable" set in the entire continent. However, after their relationship ended, this precious gift, like many other dust-gathering presents, became a toy for the children.

When Adila first saw the cards, she couldn't put them down. The rules of the game became increasingly familiar. When she drew a black card depicting a human-wolf hybrid, it was like seeing a long-lost friend. Isn't this Werewolf? Adila, who had felt frustrated with her potion-making failures, dominated the game, astonishing the young witches with her cunning and leaving them bewildered.

If only everything could go as smoothly as the game. The girl, satisfied with her winnings, unintentionally sighed a wish that rippled through the serene atmosphere like a stone breaking the surface of a lake. The young witches suddenly grasped Adila’s hands, their eyes brimming with tears.

“It will, Adila! You will definitely be the first among us to offer a werewolf's head to the goddess.”

Still holding the wolf card, Adila looked up to see their earnest faces, feeling as if she had missed some significant information.

"The Great Fable" was not just an ancient game but also a reflection of the Vitocvana continent’s ecosystem. The game had four main factions, representing the four powers that ruled the continent: the Church, the Witches, the Villagers, and lastly, the Werewolves.

The rules were similar to what Adila knew: werewolves preyed on humans, and humans had to identify the werewolves. Witches could use potions to kill or save. Church knights wielded silver swords to slay werewolves and could choose to kill exposed witches, taking their potions for themselves.

However, when this hunting game became a reality, Adila's perception of the world shattered into the same colorful pieces as the porcelain cards on the table.

Vibrant enamel flowers adorned the witches' cloaks; shining silver foil coated the knights' sacred armor. Each finger-flipped page, each day passed, strung together an ancient, enduring fable. Here, people sang of faith, explored mysteries, and feared... disaster.

Among the mostly white porcelain cards, a few ominously black ones stood out. Their surfaces lacked any floral or stellar decorations, perhaps consumed by disaster. Embedded with cat's-eye gemstones, the non-human, non-beast outlines lurked in the night, coldly observing their prey.

Werewolves, wolf-shaped magical beasts, roamed the continent. They were ferocious, with keen senses, able to switch between wolf and human forms and mingle with humans. They also had the terrifying power to spread disaster and plague.

"The Great Fable" was more than just a game. As its name suggests, it was an ancient admonition, constantly reminding humans: werewolves never left; they might even be hiding among us. Some powerful witches could use the porcelain cards for divination, predicting the werewolves’ movements.

Amber had once told her that werewolves originated from the Moon Goddess's silver wolf messengers. Betraying the goddess, they were cursed into becoming these half-human, half-wolf monsters. Unfortunately, Adila had taken it as nothing more than a bedtime story.

Witches hated everything about werewolves, and this hatred extended to any wolf-like, even dog-like, creatures. Ignorant young Adila had once brought home a stray dog she found in the forest, thinking it pitiful and reminiscent of the strays she knew from her memories. She named it Cinnamon, planning to convince Amber it was a familiar sent by the Moon Goddess.

This almost got her a severe beating from Amber, the first time she saw her mentor truly angry. The usually playful woman suppressed all emotions, glaring coldly at the clueless girl. Dragging Adila to a forbidden dark cellar, she made the little girl witness a terrifying transformation.

A living person tore through their skin, exposing bones that emitted horrifying cracking sounds as they reshaped, finally becoming a beast howling under the moonlight. According to Amber, this wasn't even a true werewolf, just a victim bitten by one.

Victims who didn't die immediately from a werewolf bite were cursed. The infection turned them into the werewolf's slaves, under its control. They were weaker than true werewolves and could only transform on full moon nights. Witches called them cursed lycanthropes.

Werewolves and lycanthropes; the former were the true wolf-disguised monsters, while the latter were humans trapped in wolf form. But ordinary people couldn't tell the difference, and the Church considered these lycanthropes traitors who had turned to demons for power, hunting them as they would werewolves.

Only witches pitied these lycanthropes, not only taking them in but also trying to brew potions to break the werewolf's control and alleviate their suffering.

Amber wanted Adila to remember that the source of the curse, the true culprit, was the werewolf—the most terrifying monster and the lifelong enemy of witches.

Amber was half right. Adila, after this shocking education, couldn't leave her bed for a month. But even then, she managed to release Cinnamon before the other witches could drown it. Amber, both angry and heartbroken, punished Adila by assigning her to clean the Moon Goddess's garden and care for the animals there.

The Moon Goddess's garden sounded poetic, and indeed, it was full of strange flowers and rare beasts. At first, it seemed like Amber had gone soft, sending Adila to a paradise away from the village. But Adila soon understood the true meaning of the punishment. When a black cat spoke, asking about mealtime, Adila chose to faint on the spot, only to be awakened later by a soft paw, a scene so pink and dreamy it seemed unreal.

The black cat introduced itself as Phoebe, its name from when it was human. At the same time, rusty red letters appeared in Adila's mind:

**"Those who fail to complete the sacrificial ritual shall be stripped of their magic and eternally cursed by the Moon Goddess."**

So, these unmentioned failures resided in the "Goddess's Garden."

Phoebe, the black cat, was Amber's contemporary. Upon hearing Adila's story, she understood Amber's intent and called upon some "seniors" to educate Adila.

Phoebe had a long scar over her right eye, an elegant one-eyed black cat. She had failed to hunt werewolves, surviving but losing an eye and the Goddess's trust.

The white raven twins, Selina and Ivana, had rare mind-reading powers. Unfortunately, they succumbed to their mutual fear instead of sharing courage. Cynthia, the red deer, was said to have been even more beautiful than Mida, claiming that had she not turned into a deer, she might still hold the village beauty title.

These witches had failed to hunt werewolves before their eighteenth birthday, forfeiting their chance to offer a werewolf's head to the Goddess and being cursed into animal forms.

The Goddess reclaimed the magic and familiars she had given them, transforming them into animals from their familiars. The Goddess's garden became both their sanctuary and eternal prison.

After this second shock, Adila emerged thinner and more devout, placing her last hope in an egg.

Back to the present.

The long-closed door opened with a bang. The black-haired girl, under the gazes of the witches, wore an eerily calm expression. She had always been the smallest girl in the village, now walking with unsteady steps, reminiscent of those delicate porcelain figures from across the sea—one touch and they might shatter. Everyone's eyes involuntarily drifted away.

A waddling, giant white goose happily followed its master, its curious eyes examining the unfamiliar world, its clumsy and sweet demeanor a perfect match to its young owner. Oddly, it was rather cute.

Amber's fierce glare from the door made everyone hold their tongues. Thankfully, the crowd had some conscience left. Seeing the big white goose, they put away their pots and pans, clearing a path for Adila.

Adila had two paths before her: fail to hunt werewolves and become the main course alongside the white goose, or do nothing and be turned into a white goose by the angry goddess, spending her life pecking for bugs in the garden.

Everyone knew these were the only futures for the poor young witch: a terrible death or a miserable life. But no reminders were needed; Adila’s expression was grim enough.

At last, the black-haired girl sighed softly, turned to pick up the still wobbly white goose, and quickly disappeared from sight. Soon, the Moon Goddess's garden welcomed a rare guest.

The garden, true to its name, featured various statues of the Moon Goddess. A lapis lazuli goddess held a silver vase, from which clear water flowed, attracting a herd of deer. Another goddess, carved from marble, offered a resting place for weary birds.

A black cat softly landed on the shoulder of a bow-drawing goddess statue, likely having received the news from the noisy white raven. Seeing the silly big white goose, its furry face showed a hint of pity. "Actually, living here isn’t so bad—plenty to eat and drink. The only downside is you can’t walk on

two legs anymore. But," it added, looking at the wobbling goose, "ah, you can still walk on two legs."

Her attempt at comfort was even worse than Amber’s.