The full, but not yet complete, moon looks like a crumpled bowling ball in the sky, about to fall on your head. When it touches the horizon, it becomes gigantic, as if Earth were a satellite of Jupiter. You can barely see the Milky Way, a whitish speck sneaking between the trees, and the reddish glow of Buffalo, the nearest city.
The moon is telling you a story, and you, a mere wolf cub with a hero complex, need to give it meaning. After all, a story is only worth something if it has a purpose, right? It's not enough to destroy that disgusting Bane. The world needs to know what happened here. You need to be the legend. You need to be the Galliard!
You call yourself the "gibbous moon," the champion, the storyteller, the legend in the making, the hero your mother always wanted you to be. You'll kill the monster and then sing your victory song, probably a ballad about how amazing you are and how everyone else is a loser.
The icy wind shifts direction. Bane moves toward the forest, his silhouette fading as the cloud of flies scatters, like a haunted birthday cake. You smell the others—Clay, Scarper, and Black Tarn. But they're not here yet, and Bane can escape into the endless forest.
But you've thought about this, haven't you? Ever since your first conversation with the traffickers who serve this creature, you've planned for this moment. You're at your peak, in your most ideal form. The form of the animal you are inside: a wolf with serious self-esteem issues, but who knows what needs to be done.
You have the moon, the history, and the glory. Now, all you have to do is kill the creature without soiling your new fur.