Kaguya's Tears

Province of Fuji, Japan

The summons arrived with the peculiar urgency that marks all missions from the Moonvale Boutique—wrapped in the promise of discovery. This time, they sought the legendary Elixir of Immortality, said to have been bestowed by Princess Kaguya herself before her sorrowful return to the celestial realm. According to the tale, the heartbroken emperor burned the precious gift atop Mt. Fuji, unable to bear the reminder of his lost love.

I found myself drawn to this mountain not merely by duty, but by the haunting poetry of the legend itself. There is something about moon-touched mysteries that calls to the deeper currents of Seeker work—they exist at the intersection of myth and reality where our most profound discoveries often wait.

For three days, I methodically explored the sacred slopes. I could not sense any trace of lingering enchantment among the shrines and ancient pathways. The locals spoke of forest trails that no longer appeared on maps, yet even these forgotten places yielded nothing - no hidden vials, no cryptic inscriptions, no whisper of the immortal draught.

Yet disappointment could not take root in such a place. Fuji possesses a presence that transcends mere geography. As I moved through its shadow, I felt the mountain’s ancient awareness - a consciousness that seemed to remember every story ever told in its presence, every prayer whispered to its peaks.

As twilight approached, I ventured deeper into the forested base of the mountain. From my weathered satchel, I withdrew a Lodge Lozenge - one of the more practical innovations of The Seeker's Satchel. Speaking the requisite keyword, I watched as the simple pellet expanded exponentially into a snug cabin, complete with fireplace and a skylight enchanted to provide clear viewing of the celestial sphere above. The lodge’s built-in concealment ward would ensure my privacy for the night’s observations.

I hung my cloak with care - a Seeker’s cloak is more than mere clothing, woven as it is with protections and the accumulated wisdom of our travels. Settling beneath the skylight, I prepared to consult the moon herself for guidance before abandoning this quest.

Sleep came unexpectedly, but my rest was interrupted in the deep hours of night. I awakened to find the cabin flooded with ethereal silver light—moonbeams pouring through the skylight with unusual intensity. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed something that made my pulse quicken.

Within the shaft of light, barely visible as breath upon glass, something shimmered and fell.

I burst out from the lodge so quickly that I forgot my cloak - something which I could not imagine myself doing! But what I witnessed defied conventional understanding. Tiny droplets drifted downward through the moonbeam, moving with deliberate slowness, each one catching the light like glass shards.

Not rain. Not dew. Something far more extraordinary.

Moon-tears.

With precision, I uncorked a vacuum vial from my collection. The droplets entered as if drawn by their own will, settling like captured dreams within the glass. As I held the vial to the light, an overwhelming sensation washed over me - profound sorrow intertwined with eternal longing. Princess Kaguya, imprisoned in her silver realm, weeping for the warmth and connection she had left behind.

These were not tears of immortality, but something perhaps more precious—beauty touched by grief, memory suspended in luminous form. The kind of preservation that reaches beyond mere flesh to touch the very essence of what it means to be human.

Upon my return to Moonvale, the master artisans examined the samples. Their analysis revealed properties that challenged our understanding of both chemistry and magic. From those celestial tears, we distilled something entirely new: Kaguya’s Tears - a preparation that granted not the vanity of youth, but the deeper beauty of memory and wonder.

The Boutique’s clients speak of dreams touched by moonlight, of skin that holds the glow of distant stars. They do not know they wear the sorrow of a princess who chose the moon over mortality, only to discover that some forms of beauty are born from loss itself.

- D.