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The land of Kellabor is a wild place, where snow-capped mountains and deep forests hide monstrous creatures. Medved’ Beis, the man-eating “bear demon” keepers of Kellabor’s wild laws, are said to be the most terrible of the mountain beasts. But the Kellaborn people call these mountains home, and to them, the ancient tales are no more than children’s bedtime stories.
Kaelin Belka, daughter of her village’s blacksmith, was raised on tales like these. But after her father vanishes without a trace, the stories become all too real. Kaelin will soon come face-to-face with myth, and as it turns out, Medved’ Beis aren’t anything like the old stories say.
Bear demons aren’t beasts, spirits, or monsters, they’re just people; as petty, emotional, vindictive, and complicated as any human.
Oh, but the man-eating? That part is very real…
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Welcome! The Moth and the Bear is my ongoing fantasy series about an aspiring blacksmith and her misadventures with giant bear people as she journeys to find out what happened to her father, who's been missing for many years.
Overall, it's your typical “two people from very different backgrounds at first clash, but come to an understanding and venture forth on an epic journey together to find the people they’ve lost, slowly growing closer” type of slow-burn fantasy adventure romance story, only one person is a young blacksmith and the other is an actual giant monster.
The story features my original species of giants called "Kanai" and takes place in a fictional place called Kellabor. Basically picture late-medieval fantasy Russia and giant bear-sphinxes.
Links to some stuff:
Archive of all content related to the story: archive
FAQ
Story art in chronological order on my website
Kellabor lore dump on my website
Kellabor Vibes Playlist on Spotify
Story inspiration Playlist on Spotify
Summaries and content warnings:
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𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓽𝓱 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓻
Book I:
Kaelin Belka, the only daughter of her village's late blacksmith, is kidnapped by a family of giant bear people as part of a coming-of-age tradition for their youngest son, Ruyak. Kaelin tries her best to keep her chin up despite the circumstances, but her captor isn't easy to get along with, and not just because he's being constantly tormented by his pushy older brothers. As it turns out, the whole tradition has quite a dark side, and all the skill and charm in the world may not be enough to save Kaelin from her fate.
≫Read the first chapter here≪
Art and writing from book I
Content warnings for book I:
There are giant bear people and they can be pretty violent. There is gt violence, kidnapping, dehumanization, threats of violence, threats of eating people, and familial conflict involving emotional and physical confrontation. There's quite a lot of gt interaction, and although most of it is scary and threatening, some of it's cute. Some cursing. Absolutely no sexual content.
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𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰
Book II:
Kaelin Belka’s blacksmith father has been missing for many years, but she believes he may be alive somewhere and is determined to find him. She'll need the help of Ruyak, whose older sister may hold the secret. However, as Kaelin waits for her friend to make an appearance, things in her village become more uncertain by the day. As Kaelin struggles with the pitfalls of village life, she finds just as many obstacles rising within her own mind. If and when Ruyak finally comes to meet her, it may be to find her in pieces.
As tangled webs become ever more treacherous, and dark secrets find their way into the light, Kaelin will need to discover for herself the boundaries of her beliefs, her willpower, and her trust.
≫Read the first chapter here≪
Art and writing from book II
Content warnings for book II:
The giant bear people are still pretty violent, but a bit less explicitly. There is familial emotional and physical confrontation, references to eating people (not explicit, but it gets mentioned several times), hella guilt, lots of general peril including rough handling and near-drowning, animal death, and depiction of PTSD symptoms including depression, dissociation, recurring nightmares, panic attacks, anxiety, and flashbacks. There is an absolute shit ton of cute gt interaction in this one folks. Some cursing, and slightly underage drinking. No sexual content except for one extremely vague and clinical anatomical reference.
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𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓻 𝓡𝓸𝓪𝓭
Book III:
Kaelin and Ruyak have already come farther than they’ve ever been: braving the harsh Kellaborn climate, fording raging rivers, and trying not to get lost as they search for the trail of their missing family members. But the road ahead will be even more perilous, and the two of them will need to learn to rely on each other despite their complicated past. The summer wears on, the mysteries deepen, and as Kaelin and Ruyak venture into new lands with nothing but a cold trail to follow, they’ll find themselves meeting allies and enemies, facing shadows within and without, and learning not just about themselves, but each other as well.
≫Read the first chapter here≪
Art and writing from book III
Content warnings for book III:
The giant bear people continue being a bit violent and sometimes casually dehumanizing, with several scenes of peril in various forms. There are more depictions of PTSD symptoms, mentions of child abuse, depictions of blood and violence, and some more explicit animal deaths. The cute gt shit is really ramping up in this one guys, hold onto your butts as things are getting more flirty. No sexual content except for one crude offhand joke.
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𝓚𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓭
Book IV summary (not released yet, don't read this if you don't want spoilers):
Ruyak and Kaelin have made it through the winter far from home, but their journey is far from over. While Ruyak was sleeping, Kaelin received a tip about Piroshka, a smith who might know her father, who is residing somewhere across the Sunders, the great mountain range bisecting Kellabor.
They journey to find what they may, but what they encounter isn’t what they expected. They try to make the best of things in this new place, but just when it all might be finally looking up for the two of them, the very conflict that would tear them apart threatens to destroy everything they’ve come to love.
Can Kanai and humans coexist?
Art and writing from book IV
Content warnings for book IV:
There's a lot. Expect some closer to pg-13 levels of stuff. Things get a little spicier and a little darker. There might be an F-bomb. There are some... let's say "make-outs," and discussions between various characters about physical intimacy, but nothing that'd be considered sexually explicit. There are a few brutal off-screen deaths, several intense scenes of peril, and one fairly explicit and disturbing on-screen death that might disturb readers
