The Halloween Carnival part 1

        The night air was crisp and cold, each gust of wind howled and the full moon hung in the sky as it stared down at the world below.  

            Deep in the haunted forest was the Halloween loving town of Hallows End. Anyone inside the borders of Hallows End would see monsters for their true nature. No ghost could stay invisible and no shape shifter could hide their identity. Villagers of other towns would come to Hallows End for a yearly Halloween party and anyone who knew the magic of the town would be unsettled to see that the moon had a menacing grimace and eyes that fixated on the earth at all times. Many decided to believe it was the magic of Halloween playing tricks, but the creatures of Hallows End knew that they looked upon the moons true face. 

            Charles Orchard, the owner of the Autumn Carnival made his way through the Haunted Forest. The Haunted Forest was full of wild spirits, screaming pumpkins and gray, leafless trees that oozed green slime when injured. Charles Orchard had determined eyes and strode through the dangerous forest with purpose in each step. The man wore a black suit with a bright orange shirt, black top hat with a black and orange striped band at the base of the hat and a purple leaf sticking out of the side of the hat. Charles walked with a cane decorated with a silver pumpkin for a handle.  

            Soon Charles reached a clearing that lead to the ever-popular Hallows End. It was a week before Halloween and the town was lit up with orange, yellow, red and purple lights, brightly lit signs, and lanterns with green flames and Jack-o-lanterns on every corner and by every house.  Charles took one step into Hallows End and his appearance immediately began to change. His clothes stayed the same but his skin turned black as coal and his form became less solid. Charles Orchard wasn’t a human from the Autumn forest, he was a shadow fiend from the Haunted forest. It was entirely possible that he was the only friendly shadow fiend in the world. He delighted in seeing others smile and laugh and if he grew rich from it, then it was even better. While other shadow fiends fed on terror and pain, Charles was nourished from being around happiness and good will. The love of the Autumn carnival and the fun from the rides was enough to feed Charles for an entire year. 

            Shadow fiends didn’t care about hurting humans but Charles didn’t want to see anyone suffer, so he came up with a plan. He would make a Halloween Carnival that would scare AND delight humans once a year. By creating scary rides on the edge of the Haunted forest, the human fear would feed the Shadow fiends and keep the humans safe all at the same time. He would also be able to get a second, smaller meal of happiness and good will each year. He would use this extra energy to strengthen his magic, making it easier to teleport and maintain his Autumn and Halloween Carnivals. 

            Charles smiled warmly as he saw that production was ahead of schedule. His almost featureless face curled into a smile that would send most running for the hills but it was hard to look warm and lovable when he was in his true shadow form. Villagers of Hallows End and even monsters from the Haunted Forest pitched in the help to build the Halloween Carnival. For the residence of Hallows End the carnival would spread more Halloween fun throughout the land, the spirits and wraiths of the Haunted Forest only saw the carnival as a means to be well fed every year. Regardless of motivation, Charles was happy to see so many people working together. 

            The Czars of Halloween stepped out from a pumpkin shaped tavern holding beer mugs. They were both smiling and their smiles widened when they saw Charles. “Charles my friend, how are you?” asked Nyx who was dressed in a black and orange suit, a long sword was strapped to his back, the pommel was in the shape of an angry looking Jack-o-lantern. Poe waved “Hey”. Poe wore a black and white suit and had a large scythe shaped axe strapped to his back. No one was expecting trouble but the Czars of Halloween were not only chill Halloween loving dudes but also the fierce protectors of Hallows End. 

            “Boys! Everything is going wonderfully! We almost have all of the rides ready and when the construction is complete I will be able to teleport everything on the human side of the Haunted Forest” Charles said excitedly.

            The Czars of Halloween were in their late twenties and were still mostly human, but were often referred to as boys by the older inhabitants of Hallows End. Some monsters, including Charles, were hundreds of years old. For the Czars be relatively young humans and still be so respected, was quite a feat.

            Days passed since that day and Halloween was right around the corner, the Halloween Carnival had been completed and all was ready for the grand opening.

            This Halloween day promised to be one that no one would forget any time soon.