Book One – Chapter 8

To evade predators and potential pursuers, Midnight embraced the shadows and moved silently, her sharp senses ever alert. She manoeuvred through the rough terrain with ease, racing over rocks and roots jutting out from the ground with swift and nimble footing. Her nocturnal prowess extended to a reliance on keen olfactory senses to detect shifts in the rain-laden air that hinted at antagonising presences, while deep-rooted instincts, honed by a life of travelling in the wild, guided her to avoid even the most elusive threats.

When alerted, she would pause, melding seamlessly with the darkness. Here, she would assess the scents and markings in her surroundings, meticulously placing each paw with deliberate care to avoid spreading her presence. She tread lightly for not to stir the beings that dwelled beneath. Yet, she was not always the sole fleeting shadow. At times, she felt detected or treaded upon the territory of an overwhelming individual or a powerful pride, and altered her path respectively. Sometimes she had to fight, facing her adversaries with a fierceness borne from survival and obligation to her wizard.

Like any familiar, Midnight transcends the realm of common beasts. Beyond being a pathera, she belongs to a kind known as midnight stalkers, beings endowed with the extraordinary ability to conceal their presence within the depths of the night. Her mastery of this ability allows her to vanish into the shadows and move undetected by both humanoid peoples and other beasts.

Midnight stalkers exist in various forms and have been known to roam the shadows of the world for centuries. They are highly coveted by wizards, as their unique abilities make them ideal companions for those who seek to explore the unknown and uncharted.

Legends enshroud the origin of these abilities. Some whisper that they were a divine gift from the elusive moon goddess Seyfara. To this belief add rumours of the midnight stalkers’ preference to emerge in the darkest of nights to then seek out wizard children born under the next full moon. Contrary tales paint them as offspring of Myr, the goddess of night. In these tales, midnight stalkers are destined to roam the world and capture moonlight to create the darkest and most magic-infused of nights. Yet, other narratives dismiss the existence of such goddesses entirely, leaving the true origin of the midnight stalkers cloaked in ambiguity.