Seek not the hunter.

Stay in the light, for the hunter lives in darkness.

Sleep not in the shadows, for there you are in reach of the hunter.

Set fires before you and fires behind you, for the hunter is ever circling nearer.

Stray not from safe roads, for the hunter makes many a winding path to lure you away.

Step in silence in places of habitation, for the hunter may hear and come seeking a feast.

Sorrow for the waning of the day, for the night calls and the hunter answers.

Safeguard your abode and bring in your kin, for the hunter soon comes.

Scream not in terror, for the hunter relishes all pain and despair.

Seek not the hunter.

The sky was a deep red along the horizon, fading into orange and yellow before finally shifting into a deep blue. Only one of the three great suns shone in the sky and it was lingering low above the distant plains. Some scholars believed it wouldn’t truly set, that it would rise again as it had done in times past. Other scholars believed it would set and never return. The truth was impossible to divine. All three of the great suns had set and risen again in the past, but only in legends had they ever all set together.

As Keas looked over the city from his balcony he could see the signs of panic beginning to set in. People hurried along in the streets below, making far more noise than they normally would do. The irony of the occasional cries for people to keep it down was not lost on him. A few fights broke out here and there but they never lasted long. Most people were too eager to get away and so no one fought for too long.

“Where will they go?” a familiar voice said from behind.

Keas didn’t turn his head to look at The Woman who had spoken, instead maintaining his vigil over the city. She didn’t approve of people looking at her without her express permission.

“They know I cannot guarantee their safety here,” Keas replied.

“There is strength in numbers,” The Woman said.

Keas’ head bowed down beneath the weight of guilt and concern he carried for the people.

“I’m not the one you need to convince,” he told The Woman.

“But you are the one who will listen to me,” The Woman said.

Keas drew his lips into a tight line and he ground his teeth against the thin strip of bark he kept in his mouth just for this purpose. He’d broken more teeth than he cared to admit and his physician had suggested this alternative since Keas had failed to break his habit of grinding his teeth when under stress.

“I don’t know what more I could say to them,” Keas finally admitted. He opened his mouth to continue speaking but fear of the answer held him back.

“Speak,” The Woman prompted.

“Some scholars say the night won’t come,” he began uncertainly. “Others say it will. I never learned to read the charts myself so I can’t tell whom to believe.”

The Woman was silent and Keas worried she had gone. It wasn’t usually in her nature to treat him in that manner but it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been drawn away mid-conversation by some other matter.

“The night is coming,” The Woman said abruptly and with a heaviness Keas had never heard in her voice before.

“And what of the tales?” Keas asked. “What of the hunter?”

Again, The Woman was silent for a long while and when she finally spoke her voice was again strange and serious.

“Tales from antiquity are often exaggerated over time,” she said and Keas felt some hope beginning to grow. “But not so with these. True and unimaginable horrors await you and your people.”

Keas felt his knees threatening to buckle beneath him and he had to lean on the railing for support.

“You have only ever dealt with a weakened hunter,” The Woman went on. “The suns, and all light, drains the hunter of its strength and will.”

“What can we do?” Keas asked her, hoping there was something more to be done, anything to mitigate the approaching doom.

“You have your firewood in good supply,” The Woman said firmly, “and your homes are well designed with rounded edges and few places for the hunter to sneak in. Your stores of food and water should last you several weeks, but after that –

“What do you mean after that?” Keas cut in, knowing he shouldn’t interrupt The Woman but in his current state he couldn’t stop himself. “How long will this night last?”

There was silence behind him and it dragged into several minutes. All the while the sun on the horizon sank lower and lower until it actually touched the horizon.

“I’m sorry my Lady,” Keas said humbly. “Please forgive my interruption.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” The Woman replied but her voice was more distant now. “I am distracted this evening,” she admitted. “I did not mean to leave you without an answer.”

Keas couldn’t imagine what could distract The Woman.

“How long will the night last?” Keas asked again after a few seconds.

“I am afraid that it won’t end,” The Woman finally replied and Keas felt a shiver run down his spine. “rarely have I revealed myself your kind,” she went on, “and never have I fully explained myself.”

“What do you mean?” Keas asked. “You are The Woman, the Lady of the world. You gave life to all.”

“That is your belief,” The Woman stated. “The truth is something different.”

Keas had noticed that The Woman was often silent on matters of religion whenever he got up the courage to ask her about theology but he had always assumed it was because he wasn’t worthy of the answers.

“I and my brothers found this world, already teaming with life, countless millennia ago. The hunter was here already but it was small back then and hardly a threat. As we watched, however, we saw the hunter grow in power and we could foresee the day when it would consume all life here. We agreed to remain here, to bind ourselves to this place and protect it against the hunter. We focused our energies into the three great suns,” she explained, “and drove away the hunter for a time. But as the years have passed, we have grown old and frail whereas the hunter has only continued to grow stronger. From time to time we found it necessary to fall into darkness, to rest ourselves and regain our strength. Normally we would watch over one another during this time but my brothers fell into darkness so suddenly that the hunter found them before I could protect them. They are gone now. Soon, I too will fade and my sun will fall below the horizon. If I am fortunate, the hunter will satisfy itself on you and your people while I recuperate. If not…if the hunter feeds upon me first, then no sun will ever rise again.”

“My Lady,” Keas gulped as this new revelation seemed to change the entire shape of the world beneath his feet and he dropped to his knees. “Is there nothing I can do? Nothing to give you the strength you need?”

“There is nothing,” she told him and there was kindness in her voice. “You and your people are many things, and are capable of much, but this is too far beyond your capabilities.”

“How long will it take you to recuperate?” Keas asked.

“I do not know,” The Woman replied. “My time is calculated differently than yours. A short rest for me could be a lifetime for you, but it could also take but a few hours.”

“And all that you need is a short rest?” Keas asked.

“I need ever so much more than that,” she sighed. “For I am old now and have not slept properly since before your ancient ancestors began keeping the records of their posterity.”

All the while the sun was sinking lower and lower until now only a sliver could be seen, pouring golden light across the land…and stretching out the shadows.

“I am glad to have spoken with you, Keas,” The Woman said and the weariness in her voice was palpable now. “Few of your kind listen when I speak. I owe you a great debt of thanks.”

“For what?” Keas asked, confused. “You’re the one who has been protecting us this whole time, you and your brothers.

“I am thankful,” The Woman said with much difficulty, “because you…you are not angry with me…for failing.”

The sun winked out and Keas knew at once that The Woman was no longer standing behind him. The people down below looked to the horizon and then to the fires that, for now, kept the darkness, and the hunter, at bay. Their motions grew slower, more resolute, and the noise finally died down to the usual hush and swish of hundreds of people moving about, shuffling along and only whispering when speech was required. Those who had wanted to leave would have had to leave before sunset. No one else was going to leave the city now.

Keas looked behind himself, hoping to find some sign, some token from The Woman but there was nothing there.

“Rest well, my Lady,” he murmured and then left his balcony.

If The Woman did indeed fail to wake, then he would need to be prepared for the long, unending night. She had been right to remark on the ingenuity of his people, and if he had any say in the matter, they would find a way to survive.