Arcas
The Romani’s tell a story, which occurred long before the porajmos, of an ancestor of theirs that is not easily forgotten.
Drina was a young romani woman, not much older than fifteen when she first saw Tobar. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. His beauty was incomparable to any other in her surroundings, with cinnamon skin, kissed by the gods, and olive eyes which shone with mischief. She was in love, but Tobar hadn’t noticed her. He had his eye on her older sister, who in his eyes was more valuable as the first born of Drina’s family, of which all children were women. As her husband, he would stand to take over as Drina’s head of household as well as his, so Drina was stuck in the shadow’s of his mind.
Soon, her grandmother had noticed Drina’s infatuation with Tobar, and her older sister’s indifference towards him, as she had fallen in love with a gadjo, an outsider. While the whole family frowned upon her love for a gadjo, her grandmother sympathized as she too had fallen in love with one once, and her first son came from her affair with that man, not that anyone would ever know. The grandmother decided to help Drina and her sister simultaneously.
“Drina,” she began, “In our family, there is a legend from long ago, about a young woman who conjured the moon to receive it’s help in the matters of love. If you wish to know more about it, I will tell you later tonight, after it is dark and the only light is the dying embers of the fire.”
Her excitement was palpable, there was no way she would pass up on the opportunity to be with the man she so loved. When the only light left was the dying ember of the fire, Drina made her way to her grandmother, who told her the rest of the story, including the conjuring rites, but she left her with a word of warning. The moon may grant what you so desire, but the price may not be one you are willing to pay, as the moon is cruel in that way.
Drina paid no heed to her grandmother’s warning, and waited for the next full moon to dance under the stars and procure the love of Tobar. During that time, Tobar became increasingly insistent with Drina’s sister, so much so he would not let her out of his sight, sleeping outside of her tent, preventing her from sneaking out to see her gadjo, which he still didn’t know existed. Drina grew increasingly jealous of her sister, coveting the affection that Tobar had for her, so she grew desperate to the point that she would do anything to gain his love.
The night of the full moon was upon them, and Drina could not sit still the whole day, running around to procure the items she needed. Anise, blue lotus, willow bark, ayahuasca and goat’s milk. At the first howl of the wolf, she made her way up the mountain to its peak. She lit a small fire, putting her small cauldron in the center. The slow burning fire was perfect, and so Drina poured the goat's milk into the cauldron, letting it begin to bubble before putting in the anise and blue lotus. Stirring the mixture, she dropped in some dried willow bark and the ayahuasca. Letting it boil further, she sat down, cross legged and closed her eyes.
“Spirits of the moon and sea, hear my plea. Spirits of the sun and sky, hear my cry,” She said softly under her breath. After stirring the mixture a little more, she took a spoon and began drinking the concoction, leaving half for the spirits of the moon, as her grandmother had said. Drina sat still for another couple of minutes, keeping her breath steady, listening to all the sounds her surroundings made. The soft padding of the wolves against the underbrush, the cooing of owls far up in the trees, the silence of the mouse on the ground trying to evade the owls eyes.
“Luna, hear my plea,” She began, reciting the prayer she’d memorized, “I come to you in my time of need, mother of all things, savior of me. Come forth, save me in my time of need. Luna, I come seeking your guidance and your help, I come seeking your courage and strength. Luna, I call upon you in my time of need! Heed my call!”
She repeated the prayer three more times, beginning to feel faint by the end of the second one. Starting her fourth repetition, she saw two figures approaching her in the distance. The air around her seemed to still, the sounds of the background faded into nothing as an ominous buzzing filled her ears. As the figures drew closer, she began to discern features. A man and a woman approached her, both with skin pale as snow, eyes grey as the grey wolf that paid reverence to the moon, and hair black as the coal her family burned to keep warm and cook.
“I am the messenger of Luna,” They spoke in unison, “She has deemed your call worthy. Daughter, what of her wisdom and courage do you require?” Their voices blended together to form a melody, Drina felt intoxicated at the sound of it. Her head felt light and the beauty of those in front of her was blinding.
“I ask that she make a man love me-” The two spirits let out laughter, raucous and making fun of her.
“You foolish girl, you intend to conjure our mother to give you a man? She is capable of destroying all your world with a blink, and you-” The spirits chiding was interrupted by a woman’s voice that came from behind them.
“Leto, Orion, who is it that you cruelly insult?” The voice was deep, but soft and light like honey.
“Mother, this human intended to conjure you for the love of a man. I don’t believe that is appropriate-” Yet again, the woman interrupted her child, placing a soft hand on his shoulder as he spoke without his sister. Drina got her first glimpse of who they were speaking to, and she found a figure even more beautiful than that of the messengers. Long black hair draped down her body, with dashes of gray and white that could be seen with the shifting of the light, her skin shone in the light, paler than the white snow, and her eyes were shite, with the smallest hint of grey on the outer rim of the iris.
“My child, you have no need to worry. I know what this human is calling me for, now sit and I’ll take care of it,” She placed a soft kiss on Orion’s forehead, followed by Leto’s and they both sat on the ground by the fire, waiting for their mother to take care of Drina. She turned her cold gaze towards Drina, whilst her smile was warm and inviting.
“Drina, you have called me here tonight to make your sister’s fiancé love you instead of her, your jealousy can be felt by all the animals in the forest. Tell me, what exactly about this man makes you love him so? Is he kind? Smart? Cunning? Why would you risk my price to have him?”
“Mother, I’ve loved him since I laid eyes on him, he is the most beautiful man I’ve seen in my life. He is loyal, he is rich, and he has culture, he’s educated. I love him, and my sister doesn’t appreciate him, so I want him for myself.” From looking into Drina’s eyes, the moon knew she was lying about most of what she was saying. The only truth that came out of her mouth was that he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen and that she wanted him for herself. The Mother looked deeper into her eyes looking at her desires. She saw Drina wished much for herself, much that would come from her marriage to this man. She wished for his riches, for his body, not for his mind, she was a superficial little girl, and Luna did not appreciate this.
“You’ll have your man, little girl, but in exchange I want the first baby you birth for him, which will be a son,” Luna spoke frankly, knowing that if the girl agreed, there was no love she would bear that child, for she’d given him up just to have a man she barely knew, so that she wouldn’t be alone. Her first two children had come from deals like this, Leto from a deal with an Aztec woman centuries earlier, and Orion from a deal with this girl’s same family, no more than seventy years prior. This new child would be different though, Luna felt it deep inside her. He would be stronger than any of her children, and he wouldn’t join her in the heavens, but he’d be hers nonetheless.
“Done, Luna, I’ll give you my son if you give me Tobar,” Drina spoke eagerly, she couldn’t wait to see the look in her Grandmother’s eyes when Tobar would come for Drina in the night and ask her father to marry her. The moon gave her a kiss on her forehead to seal the deal, and make her fall asleep. She would not awaken until hours later, when the howling of the wolves drew closer and closer, making Drina wake up startled. She ran home, excited to see Tobar’s reaction to her.
As soon as she ran into her family’s land, she felt a rush go through her as she spotted Tobar outside her tent. As her eyes met his, a smile glazed over her face, he ran over to her, picking her up in his arms and kissing her in the most passionate way she could have imagined. Tobar and Drina were soon married, much to Drina’s insistence that their marriage be as soon as possible. Her dowry was paid for with five of her family's best goats, which Tobar’s family gladly accepted.
One day after their marriage, Drina and Tobar’s love was consummated. Drina had never thought that anything that had been considered so taboo for her since childhood would feel so good, be so liberating. His soft touch with rough hands traveled her body, cupping what could be cupped, gripping what could be gripped, as soft kisses were exchanged between them. As the night progressed, they were rougher with each other, which changed nothing for Drina’s enjoyment. The next weeks were spent always in the arms of one another, they both enjoyed each other’s company, and Drina loved being the only object of his attention, which bordered upon obsession. Wherever she went, there he was like a shadow, following her movements day by day, night by night.
Drina found herself pregnant,something she celebrated immensely having forgotten all about her deal with the moon. Had she remembered her deal with the moon, her future would have been much different, but her arrogance and happiness with Tobar had indeed led her to forget the truth of her baby’s origins. He was never meant to be a part of her family, yet this was something she didn’t remember until it was too late.
Her belly grew steadily, the celebrations never ending as each month of her pregnancy passed without a hitch. Tobar’s possessiveness grew increasingly with each month of Drina’s pregnancy, he would never let her out of his sight, always right by her side, and if a man even dared to look at her, he found himself on the floor being punched until they were no longer conscious. Drina thought nothing of this aggressive change in Tobar, yet his family grew worried. He had always been a calm child, very protective of those around him but never possessive and violent towards others with no provocation.
The nine month mark soon came, and like clockwork, Drina’s baby began its journey to the outside world. Among Luna’s powers was the ability to help women in childbirth, and looking down upon Drina, she took pity on the poor mortal, for she was giving birth to something this world had never seen before, and would never see the perfection of again. Luna helped her along, her soft hands reaching along the girls temples and massaging, eliminating the pain that she felt for a couple of minutes before it was time for her to use that pain to propel Luna’s child out into the world.
When the boy was born, silence fell upon the family inside the tent. He bore no resemblance to Tobar, his eyes grey to Tobar’s olive, his skin white to Tobar’s cinnamon. Not even the shape of his eyes was similar. As Drina called out for her baby, the family stayed still, no noise coming from the tent besides Drina’s calls and her baby’s cries. As customary, Drina stayed away from her family for forty days after her birth, her only company the beautiful baby that belonged to the moon, something Drina had conveniently forgotten. When her time was up, she exited her tent to present her child to Tobar, but she was met with the angry and judgmental eyes of Tobar’s family, and Tobar’s own olive eyes filled with rage at the thought of being dishonored by his cherished wife.
“He is not my son,” His gruff voice spoke out, bringing Drina to tears as he dragged her into his tent. “Who’s son is he? He’s a gadjo’s son, and I don’t want either of you. Get out of my sight.”
He cast Drina and her crying baby off, and she made her way to the top of the mountain, where the moon appeared to her once again. The baby hadn’t stopped crying, his tears and yells mixing in with Drina’s, as she cried and screamed in anguish at the loss of her soulmate over a child that was his, as she hadn’t slept with anyone else.
“Child,” The moon’s soft voice spoke out, “Why do you cry so?” She knew exactly why. Drina’s pride had led her to forget the deal they had made in exchange for Tobar’s love. If she had truly listened to her grandmother’s instructions, she would have remembered not to present this pregnancy ever, and to run away to the forest at the first sign of her growing belly. Yet, she had not done so, and as such she was left to pay the consequences.
“My Tobar has left me, because of this child, our child. How can I make him believe he is his and take us back? I need him back, Mother, bring him back to me, as you did once before.” The moon heard her pleas, but was disappointed at the lack of follow through from Drina’s side so she did not want to help.
“Child, there is no way he will believe this baby is his, as it is neither his nor yours. The dear boy in your arms is mine, my dear Arcas.”
Drina felt dismay and anger run through her whole body, and she pulled the child away from the moon’s hands which eagerly reached towards him. Knowing she wouldn’t get anything else from the moon that wanted her son, Drina ran into the forest making her way back to her family and to Tobar. She would make him believe in her story, but she didn’t know there was no chance of that. Luna had gotten to her home before, spinning a web of anger that would cloud Tobar’s vision until his death whenever he was confronted with Drina.
Drina ran through the flaps, seeing the love of her life in their bed as she ran over to him. He was not as glad to see her, and she soon found herself run through with a knife, blood dripping onto the dirt floor as she looked into her Tobar’s eyes, which showed no sign of remorse or even guilt. Bringing her blood stained fingers up, she caressed his face, leaving red marks that would never fade, no matter how much he washed, as a testament to her love, which never failed. The baby had been dropped on the bed, it’s incessant crying driving Tobar insane, the words in his brain were no longer flowing. They were abrupt, shallow, violent screams.
As the baby in his arms continued to cry, Tobar made his way up the mountain. He heard the wolves howl, and their soft padded feet thundering behind him, following at a distance. He was unsettled at the wolves presence, but he knew as long as he kept a steady pace he would be fine, and as soon as they saw the baby on the mountaintop, any thought of him would leave their minds.
The baby’s eyes opened, in full sight was the moon, calming him down with a soft, soothing voice that assured him everything would be alright. His father set him down on a rock, the wolves beginning to circle them both, yipping, howling and growling. Seeing an opening between the wolves, Tobar took off running, three wolves hot on his heels as the rest of the pack howled and surrounded the infant. No harm was to befall him, Nymeria the wolf made sure of that, as the moon goddess had asked her to protect her son from any who would do him harm, and for her, that included his father. Luna descended from the heavens, her hair pulled back as she picked up the baby boy in her arms.
“My dear Arcas, what an eventful day you’ve had,” she cooed at the child , who giggled and smiled at the sight of his mother. The screams of Tobar were heard as the wolves tore him apart, echoing down the trees to the village, where they were heard by Drina’s grandmother. She quickly made her way to Drina’s tent, the scene horrifying her, Drina lay on the ground, with blood pooling around her. Her eyes were limp and lifeless. Her granddaughter was dead, and Tobar probably was as well.
She felt as if it was all her fault, she had told Drina about the moon’s generosity, but Drina had not followed the rules, like she had. She’d given up her first son, born of the gadjo in exchange for the love of her husband, who would ensure her safety in her home. She let out a scream, alerting those around her of the tragedy. As they all came in, there was a hunt for Tobar, but they would never find him for he was torn apart by the wolves, half of him in their stomachs and the other half dispersed along the forest.
The moon loved the child in her arms. It smiled at her and giggled, easygoing like her other children were, but Arcas would have a bigger destiny than the rest of them. He would be brought up by Nymeria and her pack, running with the wolves through the forest, hunting and howling. The moon had given him a gift that the rest of his pack and his siblings would never replicate.
Arcas would be the first werewolf, immortal and perfect.
