Malecia emerged from her abode into a dull gray hallway. Despite the muted colors, the gray stone shined with a healthy luster. Beautifully preserved. Malecia¡¯s left hand extended to the side, her body moving without her attention from a deeply instilled routine. The handle of an umbrella met her hand gently and her fingers closed around it. She froze in surprise and looked at the figure hidden partially in the shadows of the hallway.
The male servant in question bowed slightly under her gaze. His skin was a slightly blue color, she could see discoloration hidden under the color of his male servant suit that had a bit of modern influence.
¡°Young Madam.¡±, he said in a light and respectful tone. Malecia nodded her head slightly and turned to the right and walked towards the end of the hallway that ended in marble stairs that led downward. The servant walked in step behind her in silence before opening his mouth once again.
¡°Young Madam, will you be with the Young Master of the Luccheses house today? Would you like me to post the Master¡¯s misfortune at a different station for the day?¡± He spoke slowly and carefully.
She thought of the ¡®Master¡¯s misfortune¡¯ and automatically tied the statement to the bug she had as a servant. ¡®I need to keep a close eye on it ¡ Can I trust you to do that?¡¯ Yes, she needed to keep it close and out of trouble for Pa.
¡°Fetch it for me, dear.¡±, she responded ambiguously over her shoulder as she walked down the stairs. ¡°At once, Young Madam.¡±, he said with another short bow. Malecia blinked and he was gone.
She held in the need to breathe in another breath and finished her descent of the stairs. She looked around the sitting room she had stepped into. There were two couches facing one another with a long glass coffee table. A fireplace with wood inside was built into the wall under the stairs. Two long expensive looking black lamps were put opposite ends of the two couches that cast a warm glow onto the room. She looked over the sitting room and to the big metal double doors that stood out more than anything in the room. She hummed and walked towards the double doors that most likely lead outside. The doors opened for her once she got close enough, she had to force herself to keep walking so as not to jump in surprise and embarrass herself. Malecia looked around the room she was in and realized she had thought wrong.
In front of her was a dining room with a very wide and extremely long dining table. To the far left, past the stone walls lined with burning candles and potted plants along the walls, was an empty plate sat in front of an unnecessarily tall arm chair at the head of the table. But a tall wine glass filled with a deep red, almost black, liquid caught her attention. She sniffed and almost sighed in ecstasy at the smell of pure bliss. She knew what was in the glass, she should be disgusted, but she was Malecia Morticia Von Serpens. And lord knows how many times she had already sipped from a glass containing this forbidden nectar. She walked along the dining table with quick steps and picked up the glass. It was warm to the touch, the blood swayed in the glass only a bit, it was highly viscous with some blood sticking to parts inside of the glass. She brought the glass towards her face, sniffing it through her face covering. ¡°Mmmm.¡±. The smell was much stronger, richer now that it was right under her nose, as one would expect. She wondered if the reason the blood smelled so strong was because she couldn''t smell much of anything else. Deciding that it would be best to hurry and drink before she wasted time on thoughts of how her body was even operating, she lifted her veil.
Bringing the glass to her lips and she sipped.
She was ashamed to admit she blacked out for a second. The euphoria she felt was unlike any other, two parts of her mind were firing dopamine into her brain at the same time. She didn''t know if it was possible but here she was, feeling double the amount of delight she should. And even that felt like an understatement. Her body continued to drink the rest of the ichor without her awareness, the only thing left inside being the leftover blood that stuck to the glass. Her injured hand that held the umbrella tingled a bit, she had forgotten about it in all honesty. She held the glass in an iron grip so as not to drop it, cracks appeared on the outside as she tried to gather herself.
¡°Was the meal not to your liking, Young Madam?¡±, a voice to her right asked carefully. She turned her head stiffly.
A female servant dressed in chef''s clothing greeted her flaring red eyes. Under her gaze the servant shuffled uncomfortably and bowed her head deeper.
¡°I-¡±, the servant cleared her throat. ¡°I can make you another more to your tastes, Young Madam.¡±
The chef¡¯s pale face seemed to get even paler when she still said nothing. Staring at her for a few more seconds Malecia sat the glass back onto the table, the clinking of the glass on the dining table made the servant flinch. Malecia heard the servant take a shaky breath before speaking.
¡°Young Madam, please allow me to make you another meal. Please, Young Madam.¡± The servant bowed from the waist deeply.
Malecia opened her mouth, but before she could speak the doors to the dining room flung open.
¡°Miss Serpens, don''tcha think it¡¯s a bit sad of you to be bullying a servant?¡±. And in walked her Pa¡¯s misfortune.
¡°What wrong, Miss Serpens?¡± her blood boiled at the way he said her name.¡±Surprised I have the guts to confront you or ashamed you got caught?¡±
Malecia¡¯s emotions bubbled to a breaking point. His patronizing tone only made it worse, even the ¡®sane¡¯ part of her mind got a little frustrated. Gripping the handle of the black umbrella, she raised it slightly and slammed the pointed end into the ground. The umbrella broke through the concrete floor and cracked the floor around it. Both the servant and Damien jumped in shock. Her hand stung from the knock back, the pain helping her rein in her emotions that threatened to go rampant.
¡°Quiet.¡± she hissed. Her eyes blazing with withheld fury.
Damien closed his mouth and stood silently holding her gaze. Malecia turned towards the servant that stood beside her.
¡°You may leave, dear.¡± Malecia lifted the umbrella from the hole she gouged in the poor floor. ¡°And fetch someone to clean this mess.¡±
The servant''s body seemed to sag in relief, ¡°At once, Young Madam.¡±
The servant walked backward into an inconspicuous door that blended into the walls. Malecia looked towards Damien and walked towards him, her heels echoing in the spacious dining room. Damien stood stiffly in front of the door, alert and watching as she moved closer. His breath hitched as she walked past him and out of the dining room. He whirled around in confusion having expected the usual arguing and fighting. But no, Malecia just continued to walk down the dark hall that led to the entrance of the mansion. Damien stood, feeling a little lost.
¡°Follow.¡±, the words shook him out of his daze, the voice was demanding and demeaning, as if he were nothing more than a dog. He grit his teeth as his purple eyes gleamed with righteous fury, before he calmed himself down. He walked briskly, following his ¡®madam¡¯s¡¯ path, his eyes burning a hole into her back. ¡®This old bitch will get what''s coming to her, I''ll make sure of it.¡¯
??
Malecia finally used her brain and brought up the memory of where the front door was. She was beginning to regret coming out of her room without trying to absorb more memories. For some odd reason she felt a compulsion to leave her house today, at first it was her need to see the little wolf boy but when she had already bottled up the eruptive feelings she still felt the need to leave. Malecia gripped her umbrella handle in worry, she did not like the feeling of being forced to do things she didn''t want to. Not at all.
Finally reaching the front doors of her mansion she put these thoughts to the far back of her mind. The doors opened for her and Damien who was following along. The sun hung high in the sky, giving its signature radiant greeting. It was truly a pity that she would never feel the gentle touch of the sun in her life. Opening her umbrella, Malecia let the handle rest on her shoulder and slowly walked out of the shadows of her home.
The heat was overbearing and fierce. She felt as if she was melting. Damien on the contrary stepped into the sun easily all while smiling cockily. Even if she couldn''t see him she could feel his cockiness ooze off of him. Stepping on the clean concrete, walking down her beautiful front garden filled with Dahlias of all colors, all kept in pristine condition. She imagined it all smelt wonderfully.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Spotting a sports car beyond the metal gate that surrounded her courtyard she picked up her pace. A man leaned against the car that was a polished white color. He was wearing painfully tight skinny jeans that made his thighs pop, he had nothing on his upper body other than a leather bikers jacket. Tinted sunglasses were nestled on his clean-shaven face. His outfit screamed, ¡®Look at me, I¡¯m a bad boy.¡¯ As Malecia neared she stopped in her tracks just a few feet from him, the metal gate having already opened to allow her passage.
The man looked at her and lifted his sunglasses from his face, his unusually golden colored eyes boring into her with barely concealed loathing. ¡°What? Stunned by my good looks?¡±
Malecia gripped her umbrella tightly, this being one of the many, many, many times she has been on the verge of breaking her property since she had woken up. This boy had an intoxicating scent wafting off of him. She could hear the blood running through his veins, it sounded like literal music to her ears. Malecia could just imagine the taste of him. Her fangs peeked from under her top lip, she didn''t bother trying to pull them back. Now she could partially understand the original Malecia¡¯s obsession over this boy.
¡°Yes, yes, you are as fine as wine.¡± She walked past him with some difficulty and opened the passenger side door and sat down in her seat, forcing herself not to slouch. ¡°Now, don''t just stand there boy, get it rolling.¡± Jason stood, astounded at her audacity before he growled lowly.
¡°I¡¯m not your fuckin¡¯ chauffeur.¡±, He glared at her with hatred filling his eyes. The back of her mind seemed to be screaming at her to give in, apologize, make him happy, but she ignored it.
¡°Then why are you here, darling?¡±, she sighed with tiredness that didn''t convey half of the amount of mental exhaustion she felt. ¡°Come dear, end this farce. There is really no need to act like this. The sooner you get me to where I am needed the sooner you will be able to get rid of me.¡±, She needed to talk to her Pa about this engagement she apparently had with this little boy. Pa hated crossbreeding with a passion given his reaction to Damien, why would he agree to this arrangement?
¡°HA! Acting all high n¡¯ mighty today aren''t we, you weren''t all ¡®adult-like¡¯ a couple days ago.¡±, Jason said as he walked around the car to the driver¡¯s side.
Malecia didn''t say anything and glanced at Damien who had also invited himself into the car. Jason peered at him and their eyes met for a split second and they gave each other a ¡®look¡¯ before breaking eye contact. ¡Was she not here? Did they think they did that look of understanding quicker than her eyes could perceive? Malecia closed her umbrella and set it on her lap. Hanging her head just a little and closing her eyes she tried to rest her mind. She heard an almost inaudible sigh of relief from beside her. Wow.
??
Even if she was already dead and would survive a car crash with no injuries whatsoever, that did not warrant the speeds at which she witnessed Jason drive at. She did say the faster she got to the university the faster he could get rid of her, but still. Her dead and dying heart almost gave out a second time.
Cleansing the dreadful experience from her mind, she stepped out of the car and looked up at the truly awe inspiring building in front of her. It looked more like a castle than a university. University V., named after Madame Vindictive, a primordial witch older than language itself, according to the rumors. No one has had the pleasure of meeting the founder face to face, only hearing her voice through the intercoms on campus from time to time. Malecia lifted her umbrella above her head, and walked towards the pearly gates of the school accompanied by other interesting figures, from walking talking animals to blobs of mysterious liquid that moved on their own. She was confused as to why she was at this school. Not to be rude to herself but she felt old, like a middle aged woman mingling with teenagers. A memory of her Pa talking to her appeared in her mind as she looked up at the school.
¡®¡°Little Morticia, as I''m sure you know primordial beings, no matter what they are, are extremely powerful.¡± Her Father was sitting at the other end of the dining table, they had just finished a meal together. ¡°Yes I do, Pa. Why do you ask?¡± she inquired. ¡°I would like for you to attend University V., little one. I have come to believe that the primordial witches of this University are plotting something.¡± Her face scrunched up a bit in thought. ¡°Do they accept ones as old as I, Pa?¡± The man''s face became a little less blurry, just enough for her to see a hint of a smile on his lips. ¡°From today onwards thou¡¯ are 90 years of age.¡± A bit of Old English slipped onto his tongue. ¡°This will allow for a smooth enrollment. I know you do not like to appear weak in the eyes of others, I understand this sentiment very well, but for this to work I implore you to appear weaker than you are. Determine how strong the other top students of this school are and make yourself tens of times weaker.¡± She nodded her head in understanding, ¡°Yes, I understand, but what is this about really, Pa? Is there something you want from the Ancient witches that you can''t get anywhere else?¡± he hummed in affirmation. ¡°I don''t want to purposely hide the fact that they have something special planned, but in order for you to find this item effectively I need you to be unaware of what exactly it is. You will know when you see what it is because it will be extremely out of place, peculiar. You will know when you feel it because it will invoke feelings you yourself can not understand. It can be anything and it can appear at any time. All I know is that it will appear at University V., and those witches are the cause.¡±
The rest of the memory slipped from her brain like water down a drain. The words echoing in her head. She was happy Pa had trusted her with this mission, but he had given her nothing to work with. How did he even know the witches were plotting something? It sounded like he just wanted her out of the house honestly. Damien had appeared beside her at some point during her trip down memory lane.
¡°Never took you for one to get motion sickness.¡± He said with a forced chuckle. Malecia ignored him and continued on her way.
¡°Malecia!¡±, she stopped walking and turned to Jason who had yelled her name. ¡°...¡±, the boy just stared at her without saying anything. She turned again and continued walking. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talkin¡¯ to you!¡± he yelled after her retreating figure. She didn''t want to entertain his absurd behavior.
¡®What a nut.¡¯
¡°Malecia!¡±, a sing-song voice called her name this time. A woman with lanky limbs and skin that glimmered in the light was waving Malecia over to her and two other figures next to her. Malecia changed her course for them. Damien looked between her and the school gate, before deciding on the latter and walking towards it.
¡°No.¡± Malecia said. He turned towards her incredulously. ¡°Follow.¡±, she repeated her order from earlier and continued on her way. A huff of frustration came from behind her before stomps followed her light steps.
Getting closer to the woman that had called her over to the side of the gate outside, a name appeared in her mind to the glittering figure. ¡®Cali¡¯. Cali had no nose nor hair, beautiful dark blue scales that had a hint of gold that shimmered when the light hit it, peppered every inch of her skin. Her eyes were a murky gray and she had a lipless mouth that was pulled into a wide smile, her teeth ended in sharp, dangerous points. She was dressed in a loose tank top and very short shorts. She wore no shoes and her toenails were also very sharp. ¡®Siren¡¯ was what she was, and said siren was running towards her.
¡°Malecia! It''s so good to see you!¡±, Cali said as she jumped onto her, wrapped her arms around her torso, and buried her head into her bosom.
¡°...You as well, Cali.¡±, overcoming her split second shock, Malecia gently held Cali¡¯s shoulder to ease her off.
One of the people in the group stepped up and grabbed Cali¡¯s arm to pull her away all while sighing in annoyance.
¡°C¡¯mon Cali, lay off her.¡±, the person in question that looked almost exactly like Cali, but his voice had a deeper tone to it which was enough to know that this was a male siren. He looked up at her with the same blurry gray eyes and apologized.
¡°M¡¯sorry, Malecia. You know how Cali can be sometimes.¡± Malecia smiled and patted his head in comfort, his shoulder being too far down to reach easily.
¡°It''s alright. I do not take any offense.¡± The boy, ¡®Cal¡¯, smiled up at her before a scoff from the side made his smile drop.
Cali shook her arm out of her brother''s grip and looked towards Damien who was the culprit. ¡°What''s so funny?¡± Cali asked while looking at Damien. He responded with only an eye roll.
¡°I asked you a question you little-¡± Before Cali could continue, a hand landed on her shoulder to stop her.
¡°That''s enough.¡±, Pepp said, its hand resting lightly on Cali''s shoulder. Malecia looked up at Pepp who she had just noticed was here. ¡°It is nice to see you are doing good, Damien. Please excuse Cali, she gets a bit too hyper on sunny days.¡± Cali gasped in vexation, ¡°I soooo do not!¡± Damien only gave a slight nod in response.
Pepp turned to Malecia and spoke, ¡°You as well Malecia, you hung up in such a hurry I was worried something had happened.¡± Pepp said plainly.
¡°I do apologize, Pepp.¡± Her rude behavior was unwarranted. ¡°I have not forgotten my promise to give you ¡®treats¡¯, do look forward to that.¡±
Pepp¡¯s attitude shifted to a pleased one. Cali and Cal perked up at the mention of ¡®treats¡¯, Damien on the other hand looked uncomfortable. ¡°Treats?! Omigosh Pepp you have to share, pleeeeease? I will do your homework for a week!¡± Cali promised, hopping in place. Pepp seemed to think for a moment before shaking its head. ¡°Awww, no fair! Treats are so rare these days most people can only taste one in their lifetimes.¡± Cali pouted and Cal¡¯s demeanor also deflated.
Pepp just smiled and turned its attention to Malecia once again. ¡°Now, before our conversation was interrupted on the phone, I have to tell you about the interesting events that happened when I was attending night school last night. It was-¡± ¡°Omigosh, yeah! One of my friends that goes to night school said there were barely any teachers there. And there was a HUGE earthquake on campus, with all kinds of weird chanting and it felt like they were in the middle of a tornado with how strong the wind was and there was other stuff too but he said he got knocked out by a bench that came outta nowhere. But I think-¡± Cal put a hand over her mouth to stop her from continuing. ¡°Sorry.¡± he said, ¡°Go ahead, Pepp.¡±
¡°Thank you.¡± Pepp said holding in its irritation, ¡°As I was saying, it was refreshing for something interesting to happen at this old school. I felt¡ mixed fluctuations of witchcraft from one of the rooms in the school. I went to look for it but I didn''t find anything, even though I was in the exact room where it happened.¡± Pepp scratched its head, ¡°I think that the room was fake, like a projection, but I didn''t want to dig any deeper because I knew I would get in trouble with the elders.¡± If you didn''t know what it looked like you would think it was a kindergartner who worried about making their teachers angry.
¡®What even is Pepp?¡¯ Malecia asked herself. Nothing appeared as an answer.
¡°Anyway,¡± Pepp resumed its recount of events. ¡°Something has entered this school.¡± Its voice sounded like a kid trying to sound serious but it worked to get the other fours full attention. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cal urged Pepp to elaborate.
¡°I don''t know exactly what has entered, but I can feel it here. And I can feel that it has brought something with it. Something-¡±
Gasps and shouts came from inside of the gates of the school. Some monsters ran to the gate to see what was happening, others stood back at a safe distance. Malecia stepped closer to the gate as well, along with her group.
A shrill voice sounded from the middle of the group of horrors that had gathered around the university gate. ¡°What the fuck?! Don''t touch me! Where the hell am I?! I swear to god I will fucking sue you people! This is going too far for a prank- get away from me!!!¡± Malecia¡¯s ears hurt from the torture of the high pitched voice she was being subjected to.
A figure of a truly tiny woman appeared as she reached the end of the crowd, her extremely long blonde hair flowed behind her as she ran, her doe eyes that looked too big for her head, were wide in terror and confusion.
As Malecia laid her eyes on the little woman, she had one thought.
¡®She is wrong.¡¯
Rain
It was just the same ordinary day for Rain. She was laying on her bed in her room reading a manhwa she had found a couple weeks ago on her phone.
It was basically about a vampire trying to survive and overcome his abusive older sister. All his life he tried to figure out why he hated her but he never found out anything. While he was young the servants would verbally harass him, but as he got older and more powerful they stopped. As he grew he came to realize that his sister would never love him and so his hatred festered. Long story short, the vampire teamed up with the fiance of his sister to set a trap and kill her. After a whole squabble and finding out the vampire¡¯s sister was stronger than they knew, they eventually killed her together. Good riddance. Rain had passed that part and watched the friendship between the vampire and werewolf bloom. As well as others forming a large family that supported him, including sirens, a mysterious figure named Pepp, a catgirl and many others. Rain was currently at the semi-finale of the second volume that was the werewolf man named Jason and his family dying a tragic death at the hands of the vampire lady''s vengeful father. Rain wouldn''t lie, she cried a little.
¡°Vermin, I would advise you to stand down. I have already acquired the life I had come for.¡± The elder vampire¡¯s voice was fear inspiring and deep. ¡°Father.¡± Damien snarled in fear and rage at the vampire in front of him that stood before the corpses of his best friend and family. Damien had come alone, not wanting to put any of his new family in danger. ¡°DO NOT, call me that.¡± The vampire looked him over before stepping closer to Damien. ¡°You, boy, do not see me as your Father.¡± Damien stepped back as the elder vampire leered over him. ¡° And I do not want to be your Father, you are a mistake. You should not even be alive.¡±
¡°Damn what an asshole.¡± Rain said aloud.
Damien started hyperventilating as killing intent leaked from the figure before him. The blood-red eyes of the elder vampire bore into him, his body stood petrified. ¡°You, your whole existence is wrong, boy.¡± Damien¡¯s heart dropped, he didn''t think he was still holding on to the hope that he would be accepted, he had already killed that old bitch after all. But here he was being hurt by the words of someone he should hate with a burning passion. ¡°NO!¡± A voice came from the Luccheses family''s broken door. A girl with cat ears and tail entered and glared at Mr. Serpens in defiance. ¡°Damien''s existence is not wrong! He is one of the best people I know! You do not have the right to insult him when you are nothing but a shitty person!!¡±
¡®You tell him girl!¡¯ Rain cheered in her head.
Damien¡¯s eyes shined in surprise and gratitude as he looked at his friend that stood up for him. ¡°Girl, I do not know who you are nor do I care. But silence your tongue, for you do not know what it is I speak of.¡± The cat girl hissed at him. ¡°Then do tell.¡± A graceful and poised figure walked in the doorway as well.
Rain paused as she tried to think of who this might be, she didn''t see any build up for this character, they just appeared. Rain was really only reading for the characters. The plot honestly wasn''t that good but she felt compelled to see it through as the characters were surprisingly fleshed out¡And hot, but who didn''t read for hot characters? Rain continued on.
¡°Dahlia, my paramour.¡± Mr. Serpens glared in anger at the stunning woman who had made herself known, but if you were to look deeper you could see hurt in his eyes. The woman sighed, ¡°You always loved your insults, Mandrake.¡±
¡°And you always loved your male whores more than I.¡± Mandrake countered. ¡®Ooooh.¡¯ Rain could guess that this was Damien¡¯s mom and she loved the drama she was bringing.
Dahlia didn''t grace him with a response and simply said ¡°Step away from my son, Mandrake.¡± Damien stood stunned for the second time tonight by the words that came from the woman. ¡°HA! You wanted nothing to do with him since the day he was born. Throwing him to me to take care of him! You never cared for him, you forgot he even existed.¡± Mandrake narrowed his eyes and studied Dahlia intensely, ¡®She never cared about either of her children. What has changed?¡¯
Dahlia appeared in front of Mandrake faster than he could perceive. ¡°Watch your mouth.¡± Before Mandrake could open his mouth he was backhanded into a wall that broke on impact.
¡®Oh shit!¡¯ Rain didn''t see that coming but she liked it. ¡°Awww, why did it end right there? Stupid cliffhangers. They should be outlawed.¡±
Turning off her phone and looking at the darkness that spread throughout her room in the night, she decided that it would be a good time to go to sleep. Snuggling under her covers she closed her weary eyes and drifted into the land of dreams almost immediately.
¡
Rain was lying on the most comfortable material she ever felt, her body sinking deep into it before being bounced back up gently. The warmth around her couldn''t be beat, it was just right. She heard sounds around her that she couldn''t decipher, her ears blocking out certain syllables and jumbling up others. Her eyes flickered open, her blue orbs shining with a mystical luster. The sounds became chants she could hear a bit better but not understand. Blurry figures around her dressed in robes waved their arms, their fingers seemingly drawing shapes and sentences in the air. A hunched figure she spotted right above her head was hidden behind a similar robe. A voice echoed in her head.
¡®You are awake child.¡¯ The voice hurt to listen to, it made her head feel stuffy and her brain ache. ¡°Where am I?¡± her voice sounded different to her ears. The voice raked across her head again. ¡®Another place child, far from home. We have gifted you this body and blood sacrifice in order to bring you here, as it was the will of our Mother.¡¯
¡°Blood?¡± Rain¡¯s brain was slow to understand the implications of what she was hearing, but once she did she sat up with a burst of energy she did not know she had. Looking at the large pool of blood she was in she opened her mouth and screeched.
¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!¡± The figures that lined the edge of the pool were blasted back and crashed into the walls around them. Cracking bones and screams of pain echoed in the spacious room. Rain didn''t pay attention to them; she tried to rise but her legs buckled under her. She settled on crawling towards the door she spotted on the far end of the room. The blood sloshed around her hands and knees and she tried not to throw up at the feeling of it on her skin. Suddenly she felt a force strike her back, she stilled and heard the same voice in her head.
¡®Rest child.¡¯ The voice sounded tired and pained. She didn''t have a chance to respond as she flopped face first into the pool of blood. ''Fuck...''
¡
Waking up with a start, Rain raised herself from the suspiciously clean ground and whipped her head around, spotting the same figures scattered around the ground in much the same spots as when she was knocked out. Her breaths were frantic as she raised her hands to her face, they were much smaller and fairer than she remembered. Her hair was a completely different color and was long enough to fall on the floor and stretch behind her. She put her new hands on her face and felt her impossibly smooth skin. She didn''t know where she was, she was in a completely different body and she was the victim of a definitely illegal demonic ritual that summoned her here. If someone had told her that she was going to be transported to another world by evil cultists, she would have recommended they take their pills and never stop.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Standing up Rain felt much more powerful than she had when she had first woken up, she could stand without difficulty now. She made her way hastily to the door, she didn''t want to spend another second here. Putting her hand on the golden handle she felt a tiny electric shock on her fingers, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Opening the door she her world spun before it settled down and she stepped into the hallway of dark brown walls. Rain didn''t stop to inspect her surroundings and ran down the hallway in a random direction with surprising speed.
¡°Hey! No running in the halls.¡± A man that literally stepped out of the walls yelled at her. She screamed as she continued to run down the hallway.
¡°Hey kid! Stop!¡± Rain ignored him as he floated after her and came to a dead end. She looked at the open window and braced herself.
¡°Goddamnit!¡± She heard a curse from behind her, icy fingers just missing her as she dived out of the window.
Rain realized she hadn''t thought this through while she fell out of the window to her possible death. A tree came into her vision and she reached her hands towards an outstretched branch. Grasping the thick branch, her adrenaline filled brain didn''t notice how odd it was that her arms did pop out of their sockets from the amount of force it took to stop her extremely high speed of descent. Letting go of the branch she dropped down the rest of the way to the ground and continued running in a random direction. Rain passed statues, fallen trees and broken benches. The destruction that surrounded her was being picked up by strange figures that looked nothing like humans. As she raced past them they turned to her and she could see things she only thought appeared in her nightmares. They were extremely large reptilian looking beings that shouted at her. Short green-skinned, long-eared and skinny people pointed and laughed at her.
¡°Stop! You can''t be out here!¡± One of the large reptiles yelled after her. ¡°Hahahaha! Who let their treat escape, wanna bet it was, Research Instructor Lenny?¡± A couple of the small green creatures made bets together before being reprimanded, ¡°Shut up! You''re letting it get away! Catch it, now!¡± Some of the little green people rolled their eyes but chased after her as ordered.
¡°''Ey! ''Ey! Stop running! Tell me who yer keeper is! I need''ta win this bet! I haven''t paid my rent in 2 weeks!¡± The group of little creatures laughed and whooped as they gained on her.
¡°Leave me alone!!!¡± She screamed at them running past more strange and unfathomable monsters. She spotted an open gate and picked up speed. A crowd had gathered from the sound of shouting from inside the school. She spotted normal people that mingled in the group that watched her approach and suddenly it all clicked. This was all an elaborate prank, some studio decided she would be one of their unlucky victims and wanted to record her reaction to a horrifying situation. She chalked up the monsters, blood, and voice in her head to amazing props and new sound design that they wanted to test on her.
Arriving at the gate, Rain pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered, a hand from a large hairy figure landed on her shoulder. ¡°What the fuck?! Don''t touch me!¡± she screamed, the silhouette backed off in stupefaction. Rain looked towards a person that seemed relatively normal compared to the others that surrounded her. ¡°Where the hell am I?! I swear to god I will fucking sue you people!¡± Sounds of confusion and laughs rang through the mob and they started closing in on her. ¡°This is going too far for a prank- get away from me!!!¡± Rain finally managed to spot an opening at the end of the horde and forced herself through it.
Gasping, Rain fell to the ground. Her lungs burned, her legs and lower stomach started to cramp. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes from the feeling of her throat burning. Rain coughed making her throat burn even more, she felt like throwing up again. Hearing footsteps approaching, Rain hurriedly looked up. Her head was a mess. She was on the verge of a breakdown and she couldn''t handle running anymore so she simply sat on the ground and faced the form that got closer.
¡°Oh, dear.¡± the figure bent down to as much as her level as they could despite their height. A hand reached downwards and wiped off the tears she thought she had held back from her face. Rain looked at the gloved hand that rested on her cheek, her gaze traveled up the arm attached to it and to the face of the person in front of her. Or as much of the face she could see as the woman¡¯s face was hidden in the shadows of her umbrella and veil. Blood red eyes that studied her with such intensity she felt like she was being dissected.
¡°This, this is the thing I felt.¡± A child''s scratchy voice came from another extremely tall figure that walked up to her. Rain turned towards it and immediately looked away. Her heart threatened to stop beating all together as she tried to remember how to breathe.
¡®What the fuck was that?!¡¯ Rain had never known true fear until she looked at that thing. It felt like she had just gone through a tremendously traumatic experience that she couldn''t even remember. All she knew was that her eyes were never meant to see such a thing.
¡°Hmm, I understand Pepp.¡± The woman in front of her gently tapped her cheek with her palm. ¡°Can you stand, dear?¡±
Slowly coming back to herself, Rain nodded her head weakly. The woman stood slowly and Rain followed, her body shaking slightly. The tall lady held Rain¡¯s face lightly with her fingers and turned her head to the side.
¡°Tell me dear, who is your master?¡± The lady¡¯s voice caressed her ears like a mother¡¯s tender melody. ¡°M-Master?¡± Rain croaked, as the woman searched her skin for something. The lady hummed in confirmation and Rain swore that sound alone could put her to sleep. ¡°Yes dear, who is your owner?¡± The lady¡¯s voice was angelic. Rain didn''t understand how but she felt like a spell was being cast upon her. A small shudder ran through her body that broke her semi-tranced state. Shaking her head out of the startlingly cold grasp, Rain stepped back and looked at the imposing woman in front of her, the aura of gentleness dissipating.
¡°I-I don¡¯t-'''' Rain''s mouth couldn''t properly articulate what it was she wanted to say. Her tongue felt swollen. ¡°Dear, look at me.¡± Rain looked up, she had started hyperventilating. ¡°Calm yourself.¡± mesmerizing red eyes relaxed her mind. Another shudder snapped her out of it.
¡°St- Stop doing that, please!¡± Rain took another step back, getting closer to the monsters gathered behind her. ¡°Y-you''re really scaring me, please stop.¡± Tears of fear fell down her face. ¡°Please. Please just tell me what is going on!¡±
Jeers and coos came from the mob around her. ¡°Aaaaw, it''s crying.¡± a voice that sounded as if it was underwater was heard. ¡°Who does it think it¡¯s talking to? That¡¯s the Malecia, who taught this thing how to act?¡± another voice that sounded deep and gruff said in astonishment. Rain was too deep in her own terror and confusion to pick up on these keywords and instead turned angrily to the mass of people.
¡°Why won''t any of you help me! I''m asking for help! Im about to have a fucking panic attack, what the hell is wrong with you people!!¡± Her voice cracked from the strong emotion she was feeling. The people before her were not fazed by her outburst in any way whatsoever. Instead they laughed and jeered even more so, relishing in her anguish.
¡°Aaaawww. We''re making it angry guys.¡± ¡°Hehehehe, can you believe this thing, what does it expect us to do? Steal it from its owner?¡± ¡°My treat would never do something as embarrassing as this, I make sure to train them properly. I can give you tips on¡¡± They conversed amongst themselves completely ignoring Rain who stood in front of them shaking like a leaf, a pit was growing in her stomach as another realization set in.
Taking another backward step, this time away from the gathering of creatures, Rain tripped over her own feet and crashed to the ground. She felt like a cornered rabbit but she didn''t have the strength to bite.
¡°Dear.¡± The tall lady¡¯s voice came from behind her. Even if she used a weird charm on her, at the very least she didn''t call her a ¡®treat¡¯ and seemed to be genuinely trying to help her. Rain scrambled on the ground and grabbed the edge of the lady¡¯s dress. She had nowhere else to go, she didn''t know where she was, and this woman was the only one who made her feel comfortable even if she did it with some type of spell.
¡°Please, please help me. *Hicc*, please!¡± Rain looked pleadingly into the woman¡¯s eyes. Before the woman could respond the crowd of monsters parted once more for the group of green little creatures that got tired of watching the show, and decided to finish the job they had been tasked to do.
¡°¡®Scuse me Ms. Serpens, but this thing ''ere needs to come with us.¡± The creature with the darkest green skin in the group spoke up, his voice sounded like a sailor''s. ¡°Hmm, I understand my dear Darrkkin.¡± The one addressed as Darrkkin smiled happily. ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand Ms., now we''ll just take this little ¡®treat¡¯ here and be on our way.¡± Its eyes shined with a greedy light. Rain shuffled away and held onto Ms. Serpens dress tighter.
Ms. Serpens¡¯ body shook with mirth as she spoke once again. ¡°I''m sorry dear, but as you can see,¡± She nodded towards Rain that clung to her. ¡°it¡¯s quite attached.¡±
Darrkkin¡¯s face fell. He looked back at his group who shrugged and shuffled awkwardly.
¡°Do not worry Darrkkin, my dear. I promise to give you all something worth your time.¡± Ms. Serpens said sincerely. Darrkkin calmed down a little but did not seem to fully believe her. Darrkkin scratched his head and opened his mouth.
Rain blocked out the rest of their conversation and tried to think of anything that could tell her why the fuck this was happening to her.
¡®I am apparently called a ¡®treat¡¯.¡¯ The innuendo of what that may be was quite broad but at the same time simple. ¡®That thing I saw was named Pepp and the green thing is Darrkkin and the really tall woman is named Ms. Serpens and how the hell is any of this going to help me- wait¡¯ Rain¡¯s mind grinded to a halt. ¡®Pepp, I know that name. Isn''t that the suspicious figure that helped Damien sometimes?¡¯ She forced herself not to look for the thing, she did not want to make her brain explode.
¡®If Pepp is here then is Damien and Jason also¡¡¯ Rain scanned the area around her. Two sirens that were talking to one another caught her eyes, their shimmering scales lulling her into another daze. One of the sirens looked at her and smiled, licking their extremely sharp teeth. She shrunk backwards before a man stepped between the sirens and Rain. Curly hair framed his youthful face in the same way it did in the manhwa. His skin looked like sweet chocolate she could take a bite out of. His muscular body being hugged tightly by his male servant suit. And his eyes, the amethyst irises looked her over with a questioning gaze, making her want to melt into the ground.
¡®Damien.¡¯
Incomprehensible
Malecia¡¯s head was a mess, more of a mess than usual. From the first time she¡¯d laid eyes on the girl that ran out of the university gates, memories that did not belong to her present self intruded upon her mind.
Malecia had died. Fully. Her heart had been ripped out of her chest and crushed. The memory was extremely encrypted, with only her death and the emotions she felt being clear. Who killed her she didn''t know. She did know her fear, her hatred, her horror. She felt it all. For the first time since she had gotten to this world, it became too much.
They sunk back into Malecia¡¯s mind, the trauma of an undying being dying, taking them by the throat now that they had sunken deeper into the fog of intangibility. The vision of death, digging under their skin, encasing them in anguish they never thought was possible to feel. They were now just a cluster of feelings, ideas, and thoughts. They were no longer Malecia. The original Malecia¡¯s volatile emotions raced to the forefront of her mind. Feelings of glee shone throughout the space as Malecia¡¯s clump of feelings took its rightful place. Malecia''s body moved and talked, while they felt themselves being crushed in a vice of negative emotions.
They tried to open their mouth. They had no mouth. They tried to scream. They had no voice. This all felt hauntingly familiar. Darkness surrounded them, darkness they had been surrounded by once before. They didn''t see the absence of color, they saw nothing at all.
They screamed, thrashed and cried in silence. No one knew their pain. No one understood their dread. No one knew they even existed. The mind they were encased in lit with mirth, as if laughing at their suffering. They had died, truly, just like Malecia. They were no more. They had no family to turn too, a life they knew next to nothing about, lost. They mourned the loss of the memories that had been stripped from them. They mourned the blurry faces of family members they couldn''t remember. They remembered that they would never remember them again. And that fact terrified them.
?
They did not know how long they had been here. In never ending darkness, wallowing in their own self-pity. The passage of time could not be felt, it could have been days, weeks, years. They did not know. Only the emotions Malecia may have been feeling at the moment notified them time had changed at all. They wondered what they were. A soul? A glitch in the system? Maybe even some type of monster. They pondered on why this was happening to them. Were they special? Did this all serve some great purpose they couldn''t understand? Was this a test of some sort? No one answered their queries. They tried to talk to Malecia, someone they felt close to. They had been her once, they had lived her life, no matter the small portion it must have been. They screamed for answers, shouted for help, but Malecia did not answer. Their pleas for help soon turned to enraged insults. From racist vampire slurs they made up to demeaning remarks about Malecia¡¯s body, they threw it all at her. Despite this, they did not get any response, their existence not even acknowledged. They had felt concern, anger, and hatred light up around them, but none of it was directed at them.
They were scared. Were they going to die here? They did not want to die again. No. Not again. Not so soon.
They were spiraling. Even if they did not have a body that portrayed the symptoms of an anxiety attack, their mind was still on the brink of fragmenting. Pieces of sentences drifted about in their head, broken up and nonsensical. ¡®..????nic att??ck¡.¡¯ ¡®...help them br????the.¡¯ ¡®Confront your ????????,...¡¯ ¡®..??un away fr??m it..¡¯ ¡® ????thing¡¯s going to happen.¡¯
¡®Focus on your surroundings.¡¯
They wanted to look at anything other than this eternal pitch black, but there was nothing else they could see.
¡®Focus on your surroundings.¡¯
The same phrase appeared in front of them again and again, but they did not understand there was nothing to see.
¡®There is nothing here. Nothing.¡¯
¡®Focus on your surroundings.¡¯
¡®Just tell me what I need to do!¡¯
¡®Focus on your surroundings.¡¯
They screamed in silent frustration. They were sure they were going crazy. The pain that came from their metaphysical body only served to further irritate them.
¡®Pain?¡¯
It had been so long since they last had felt anything.
¡®Focus..¡¯
They understood now. They focused on the pain.
Light slowly creeped into the edges of their vision. Muffled yells of shock and triumphant cheers entered their ears. Their vision became clear and their eyes looked at the woman a few feet away from them. She was small, hair done up in a messy bun and had a smug smile on her lips, her blue eyes squinting from how wide her smile was. She held a gun in front of her that was smoking, having just been shot. They followed the aim of her arm and looked down at themselves. A dark hole in the lower left area of the abdomen of the body they were in gaped, it did not bleed. Looking up slowly they saw the small woman looking at her with slight confusion, behind her were a man, a giant wolf that stood on its hind legs and a crowd of people dressed in servants attire either smiling or frowning, some had already started running away.
¡°Um,¡± The small woman turned towards the man with purple eyes. ¡°This is a silver bullet covered in the blood of a sun elf, right?¡± The man nodded at the woman and held up his bandaged hand, ¡°I tested it myself.¡±
¡°Then why isn''t this walking corpse dyin¡¯ again?¡± The werewolf said in a completely normal tone that looked weird coming out of its mouth. The man looked towards them again and responded unsurely. ¡°I dont know¡¡±
The wolf man growled, ¡°Well im tired of fuckin¡¯ waitin¡¯, Ive waited for months already.¡± Straining his biceps he got into a slightly tilted position, his nails dug and scratched the cement floors beneath him. ¡°Wait! Somethings-¡± It was already too late, the wolf man dashed towards them, crossing halfway with a single long jump. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ die!!¡±
He was angry. But they were angrier. The first feeling of anger that they had ever felt since they had opened Malecia¡¯s eyes. This was no one else''s anger but theirs. They had woken up in a body that was not theirs, they tried to work with it. They were trapped in darkness for so long they almost lost even more of their sense of self, they tried to power through it. Their memories were stripped from them and would never be returned, they tried to forget about that.
And now. Now they were being put into another situation they had no information about, nor control over. They were so angry. They did not feel fear, or worry, only pure blinding fury. Emotions from the far back in their mind melded into their own, sadness, regret, and fear being stripped and burned away only leaving more anger, fury, and hate that stacked atop of one another into solidifying into the only emotion that could hold it all together. Truly defining it.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Wrath.
Their chest rose up and down rapidly taking breaths they did not need.
¡°Wait! Jason, stop!¡±
Tears streamed down their face. They didn''t need to hold it in anymore.
¡°Fuck! Run, run away now!¡±
They opened their mouth.
¡°No! I can''t just leave y-¡±
And they screamed.
¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±
The walls cracked from their ear-splitting cry of wrath. The group that had swarmed around them were thrown back into stairs, walls and destroyed furniture instantly being knocked out from either brain trauma from their scream or hitting concrete. The wolf man that had jumped in front of them bore the worst of the unplanned attack. His skin had been rended from his body, his hand that ended in claws eviscerated from existence, a small half of the flesh of his face hanging off and only being attached by nerves and thin skin. He fell to the ground, his ears popped and bleeding as he rolled on the ground in agony, his broken howls and whimpers bringing a small smile to their face. Poor thing couldn''t even hear his own screams. They watched in malicious elation until he passed out before their feet from the immense torture.
They felt a cold liquid slip past their lips and down their chin, their throat bleeding and damaged beyond repair from their scream. But they didn''t care. They looked up hearing the sound of strained breaths, pained gasps and shuffling. The woman who had shot them looked completely fine, her hair the only thing out of place as it came down from its bun and hung behind her like a curtain. That wouldn''t do. She needed to hurt like she had hurt them.
They stepped towards her, the cracking of bones underneath their feet making the small woman¡¯s head snap up from the man she was trying to pull up. She gasped as she saw the deformed figure they had stepped on. The fearful eyes that looked up at them made their smile stretch a little more.
¡°Y-you, killed h-him.¡± They didn''t respond, they couldn''t, their throat was destroyed. The ground beneath them cracked and splintered from their steps. The small woman squeaked and flopped to her knees pitifully, her baby blue eyes tear filled. They stretched their arm out towards her and she tried to shy away but she was too slow, they pulled her hair, lifting her off the ground. She yelped and cried in pain as her scalp was pulled up, her legs kicked in the air trying to find purchase where there was none.
Raising the woman up to eye level they looked deeply into her blue orbs, the woman stared back through tears. They slowly raised their free hand, bringing it up above their head. The woman¡¯s eyes widened and she reached her little hands up to try and pry their fingers open. ¡°Stop! Let go! Dont-¡± A sharp slap rang through the spacious room, followed by the thud of a body falling to the ground. The woman held her face in shock, warm blood spreading across her palm.
Hunger tried to take over but the wrath they felt burned it away, its own hunger for pain not yet satiated. Lifting their leg they kicked it harshly into the woman''s face. Her head snapped back with a sickening crack. Clutching her neck she sprawled on the ground and cried out in pain. Their jaw was starting to hurt from their smile but they ignored it, the woman would share their pain soon enough. They lifted their leg in order to stomp down on the girl''s jaw but a certain purple eyed figure appeared.
The man had woken up at some point in time and draped himself over the little woman. They stopped the descent of their foot. Setting their foot down, they looked over the boy who shivered like a freezing pup in winter.
They opened their mouth.
?
¡°...mo-oo-ve¡¡± Damien heard the breathy, broken voice above him and twisted his neck to look at Malecia. He blinked at her current image. Her usually picture perfect hair stuck out in odd angles, her eyes were fully red, tears of blood streamed down her puffed cheeks and a smile impossibly wide threatened to split her face in half. Her chest was still heaving even though she didn''t need to breathe.
¡°B-big sister.¡± Damien was so shocked he didn''t check his tongue and called out to the woman in front of him with a title she hated and didn''t deserve. Seemingly confirming his speculations, Malecia¡¯s unnerving smile slowly turned into a flat line as she stared into his eyes. Damien scoffed, of course she still hated so much that even in her maniac state she still recognized the words she hated so. Malecia crouched down and grabbed his shoulder. Damien braced himself for pain but all he got was air as he was thrown to the side. Crashing into the ground he hurriedly righted himself and saw Malecia wrap her hands around Rain¡¯s jaw and yank.
¡°AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!¡± A wail that Damien did not want to ever hear come from someone he loved erupted from Rain. Her jaw hung limply as she cried hysterically and Malecia''s a small smile planted itself on her face. She looked pleased.
¡°GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!!¡± Damien dashed towards Malecia. Pulling back his fist it connected with Malceia¡¯s nose. Damien took deep breaths in and out as he slowly retracted his fist. It did nothing. No bruises, no bleeding, no nothing. He couldn¡¯t hurt her, he wasn''t strong enough. Damien yelled in frustration and threw another punch. And another, and another, and another, and another. He rained punches that did nothing but tire him out. ¡°RAAAAAAGH!!¡± He snarled and threw his last punch which was caught in Malecia¡¯s palm.
She crushed it. His bones cracked and stuck out of his skin. He fell to his knees and cradled his wrist, heavy breaths pushed past his grit teeth. He would not scream, he would not give her the satisfaction of his suffering. Damien held back his tears with all the willpower he had and raised his head. She wasn''t even looking at him. Too busy wrapping her hand around Rain¡¯s neck. She wasn''t even looking at him. Malecia still didn''t care about him. Was he that much of an insect to her? So much so that his suffering was nothing more than air to her? Damien could deal with her hating him as much as he hated her, but receiving nothing but dismissal? His injury was nothing in the face of the emptiness he felt. He didn''t even hear Rain¡¯s gags and gurgles for assistance.
¡°...look at me¡¡± the words grated across his throat.
¡°Look.¡± he stood shakily, his legs threatening to give out.
¡°At.¡± He took out a knife from the hidden belt under his shirt.
¡°ME!¡± lunging he stabbed the silver coated in real sun elf blood in Malecia¡¯s head.
And look at him she did. Her hand unraveled from around Rain¡¯s neck. Her arms hang limply by her sides. Her body stilled and she looked unblinkingly at him. Coming down from his adrenaline rush he looked at her as well. Damien stared into those dead, murky, pale red eyes, and cried. His legs gave out and he cried. His hand lost feeling and he cried. Malecia used the last of her draining life force to reach for him, and he knew she wanted to kill him, to take him with her but he didn''t care. Damien leaned into her cold touch and cried. His ugly wails, hiccups, and whines all being let out. Rigor Mortis came fast to a vampire corpse and Malecia was no exception. She breathed her last cold breath and froze, her deceptively gentle touch cradling Damien¡¯s cheek, being her final act.
Fat tears and snot ran down his face as he released all his sorrows. ¡°Why*hicc* did you*hicc*make me*hicc*kill yooooou?¡± He sobbed. ¡°Why*hicc*weren''t*hicc* you a better big*hicc*sister to meeee?¡± He didn''t cry this much when Malecia slapped him when he was a child. He didn''t cry this much when the servants bullied him. He didn''t even cry this much when his big sister called him a vile parasitic creature.Yet here he was, an even bigger baby trying to find an explanation from someone long gone.
The wall in front of both him and Malecia¡¯s corpse was broken open. Damien whipped his head to look at the figures responsible for the intrusion. In stepped Mandrake Lyre Von Serpens and Dahlia Prinsine Von Longustine. Mandrake looked around the room littered with servants and splintered furniture. His eyes glanced over the twitching small girl, paused on Malceia¡¯s corpse before painfully dragging themselves away and settling on Damien¡¯ snot filled, wide eyed face.
Stepping out of the hole he had created in the wall, Mandrake walked towards Damien, his steps cracking the ground where he walked. Towering over Damien he spoke. ¡°Boy, you will tell me exactly what transpired here.¡±
¡
Incomprehensibility. That is what it was. It was incomprehensible in all senses of the word. No being could understand its actions, no being could recognize its language, no being could realize its very existence. There were many of itselves at all places at all times. It perceived everything, it understood everything. But it was still slightly surprised.
A being of pure, untainted wrath raged in silence at its life being cut short once again.It had purposely sent it to that world in the way it had, stripping them of their memories and putting them in that body. It too had thought that this being had died too soon so it gave them a new purpose, to fix the life of someone who had destroyed it. To solve a mystery larger than themselves, to mend relationships that had burned. They had left remnants of the soul of the original tenant to add a bit of challenge, all beings loved challenges. It expected the being to brave through any challenge, conquer a small part of that world, stay there a few years until they grew bored and killed themselves. But this? This was abrupt. It had literally only blinked and the being was back having gone through a staggeringly quick change. They had come out of nowhere like a random mosquito that maxed out their stealth stats. It watched this curious creature try to throw itself about, scream, hurt and terrorize. Agitating the other beings around it. But in this realm they were nothing but an idea, they couldn''t do anything. It pondered on whether it should strip them of this rage but quickly decided against it. No matter how abrupt anything interesting deserved to be watched and thought about some more. It already had so much to think about, but what was wrong with thinking a little more?
So this unfathomable thing plucked this little vengeful idea out of its metaphysical head and whispered it into existence again. It wanted to see how far they could go and what they could do.
It couldn''t wait to see what they would do.
2. I Swear To You...
The first thing they heard were voices.
They heard voices crying, whispering and talking in a language they could not understand. They were surrounded in a cacophony of sound, rushed footsteps, yelps of surprise and wails that they had no understanding of what the cause was.
After a while, the first thing they saw was the glaring light of a big thing right in their line of sight. They did not know what it was but it shined down on them, bathing them in its warm light as it seemed to greet them with a swirl of bright colors they couldn''t name. It felt increasingly uncomfortable to look at it, but they couldn''t tear their eyes away, it was so mesmerizingly beautiful.
The first thing they felt was pain. The pain didn''t come from the big thing above them or slowly trickle in to warn them of what was to come like they instinctively knew it should. Instead it slammed into them with such speed, such violence, that their small body shook in the arms of a wailing figure. This feeling, the agonizing sting that gripped their entire body was something they should have never known. It was akin to that of all the cells in their body simultaneously exploding. And they knew that was something that they had no right to comprehend nor bear the misfortune of feeling. Their little body twitched and shuddered from the severe pain that they knew not the origin of. Another smaller and weaker voice joined the other sound of crying as they were blindsided by the pain.
Confusion, fear and other emotions they did not yet know appeared in their mind, their body instinctively kicking around, trying to run from the agony they were being subjected to.
¡°WAAAH!WAAAAH!¡± The very first sounds they made were cries of pain, they couldn''t control the way their body twitched and twisted out of shape. A burning sensation crept into their head coming from a pit inside of their soul. Along with the burning came information that slammed against their skull before metaphysically breaking and shattering and dissipating into nothingness. They could in no way comprehend in any sense of the word what it was they were experiencing. Their baby brain¡¯s neurons all fired at once trying to connect to one another to record the fragmented information and decipher it. All firing at a fraction of a second, it took more than half of the 10 billion neurons they had to try to hold the remainder of the incomplete knowledge in their memory. When the final neurons recording the memory clicked together, time seemed to slow.
They saw clearly the face of a man that leaned over their face, worriedly stroking and rubbing the bottom of their feet. His face was tear-streaked and extremely long ears drooped. Sweat poured down his dark chocolate skin making his burnt orange hair stick to his skin. His eyes were a gorgeous orange that glinted like the big thing in the sky, they now knew that thing was called the sun. The man¡¯s mouth was moving painfully slow and they could not hear what he was saying, the ringing in their ears was the only sound that accompanied them. Suddenly they were moved and the face of a woman now came into view. Tears threatened to spill from her golden-yellow eyes but her face held determination. However, in direct contrast to the man, her mouth moved so fast they created after-images. They watched her mouth move lazily, their mind was not processing what was happening at the speed it probably should. Their eyelids slowly closed and a familiar nothingness they felt was coming a bit too soon came to embrace them. But they welcomed it all the same.
They didn''t want to be awake any longer.
?
Tan¡¯Ganda Golden-Tongued looked down upon her child whose eyes were glossy and body was still. She pushed back the fear and panic that threatened to overtake her mind. Her companion Kirv Slick-Fingered was already panicking enough for the both of them. His usually optimistic attitude had plummeted to an all time low. He chewed his lips anxiously to the point where they bled, the Sunlight-Molders that surrounded the both of them tried to lead him down the steps and away from the birthing altar but he shook them off and stared down at his second newborn child in worry. Tan¡¯Ganda focused her attention on the child as well. She felt it, Der¡¯Kandr was coming for her child, it had already wrapped its cold fingers around her Sun-Child¡¯s neck. She could see it in her baby boy¡¯s orange-gold eyes. They stared up and through her, not shining with familiarity nor gushing with life, it made her stomach drop to the ground. No. She would not let that happen. Not so soon. Not after she carried this baby and felt him kick in her womb. Not before she saw how he grew and how strong he would become. She would give her baby life, she swore to the Sun God.
Tan¡¯Ganda took a deep breath, saying a quick prayer in her head she started to reach for ¡®Turnalgizil The Boon Giver¡¯. The power of the sun tangled with the essence of life around her and drew into her mouth as she called upon the strength of her soul. Only those blessed with the ¡®Sight of Exaltation¡¯ could see the strands of light that wrapped around her tongue, lighting it up with a bright golden hue. Looking into her child¡¯s dead eyes she opened her mouth and spoke.
¡°From me to you,
I give a boon.
Under the gaze of the Sun I speak his name,
Turnalgizil comes forth in all his fame.
I ask he gives this baby boy,
A piece of my very soul.
Sitting, aware of my sacrifice,
I am ready for any price.
I, Tan¡¯Ganda Golden-Tongued,
Beg for the boon of life.¡±
Heaving, Tan''Ganda caught her breath and braced herself for the backlash she would receive from requesting, ¡®Boon of Life¡¯, from Turnalgizil. Kirv¡¯s head snapped up towards her in shock. His mouth was hanging open as he looked at her immediately after she finished. She met his gaze softly and felt her energy slip from her, weakly she lifted the child, ¡°It will be okay¡¡± she said breathlessly. Hands reached from the side to take the child from her shaking arms. Her eldest son Kiiran¡¯Gand, an apprentice Sunlight-Molder at only 30 years of age, held his baby brother close as he looked at her as well. He did not fully understand what she had done as he had not yet been blessed with the ¡®Sight of Exaltation¡¯ or ¡®Piercing Discernment¡¯. He had no way of knowing what she said or did yet he still recognized that something irreversible had been done.
¡°Mom¡? What happened..?¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand asked, his voice slow and hesitant. From his brother coming out as a stillborn, waking up screaming in pain before going quiet again, to his Mom speaking rapidly before being drained of all color and looking 20 years older. It all came in quick succession, one right after the other, he was unable to keep up. Before his Mom could answer, Sunlight-Molders quickly crowded around her. The group gently pushed her onto her back, laying her flat onto the metal slab. They all softly whispered in perfect synchronization. Tan¡¯Ganda watched as the golden power of the Sun was gently transferred into her, she sighed in comfort as she felt it flow through her veins. The Sunlight-Molders hummed together with increasing intensity and the power of the Sun swam through the air with extra vigor.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The humming stopped and the last bit of the Sun¡¯s power rested within her. Tan¡¯Ganda¡¯s eyelids drooped as her body and mind grew sluggish, but before sleep could claim her she felt a sturdy hand fall on her shoulder. A Sunlight-Molder with the marking of the Sun in the center of her forehead looked into her eyes intently. She wore a loose black sheer robe that allowed the sun to caress her skin, enhancing her Sunlight-Molding skills, much like the other Sunlight-Molders. Three small black lines were drawn symmetrically on both of her cheek bones making her stunningly white eyes pop. Multiple rubies and sun-drops that caught the sunlight and absorbed it decorated her hair and clothes. A single black line stretched from the bottom of her chin to her top lip which broke when she opened her mouth and spoke.
¡°What you did was foolishly selfless, Tan¡¯Ganda.¡± She scolded her softly even though she made no move to stop her from begging for the ¡®Boon of Life¡¯. The elder Sunlight-Molder reached for her lower abdomen and placed her palm on the skin right above her womb. ¡°Turnalgizil has taken from you your ability to conceive.¡± she stated. Tan¡¯Ganda stared into the sun, her ears drooped slightly. ¡°This child-¡±, the elder Sunlight-Molder turned towards Kiiran¡¯Gand. The boy was looking over the baby in his arms with concern, his hand resting on the baby¡¯s chest, feeling for his younger brother¡¯s heartbeat. As she reached for the apprentice Sunlight-Molder he looked up at her, his gaze questioning. She gently lifted the newborn Sun-Elf from the arms of his elder brother. The elder Sunlight-Molder¡¯s ears twitched, her eyes scanned the child¡¯s still body. Pupilless eyes bore deep into the child, ¡®Piercing Discernment¡¯ allowed her to notice a spark of something that let her know the child was indeed still alive, if only barely.
The little spark flickered and she worried it might go out, apparently it showed on her face as Kirv snapped out of his daze and appeared at her side. ¡°Truth-Seeker.¡± Kirv said in an urgent but respectful tone. ¡°What is it? Please, tell me what is wrong, what can I do?¡± Truth-Seeker shook her head solemnly. ¡°I am sorry, Kirv. But if even receiving the Boon of Life from Turnalgizil cannot help this newborn, then the open arms of Der¡¯Kandr has already-¡±
A shriek interrupted her sentence. Taken aback, Truth-Seeker looked at the child in her arms whose small spark transformed into a raging inferno of Soulfire. The baby''s face was contorted into a visage of agony, veins popping out on his skin and said skin turning a raw red, as if he was being cooked from the inside out. Gasping Kirv snatched his son as gently as he could and rocked his arms from side to side. ¡°Sshh, sssshhh my little baby boy. Oh, Sun God above, what is harming my sun-child?¡± Even with the rocking and cooing from his Father the child screamed and writhed with varying severity. Even choking on his own spit and forgetting how to breathe properly did not stop him from screaming. He would surely screech himself to Der¡¯Kandr if nothing was done. Kiiran¡¯Gand stepped forward but he was cut off by Truth-Seeker who once again picked up the baby. The group of Sunlight-Molders surrounded the elder Sunlight-Molder as she cradled the newborn close to her chest.
The Sunlight-Molders began to hum together but this time out of tune. Some went low while the others high, the power of the sun was gently pushed away from the group; it followed the gentle push willingly. Essence of life came forward instead, a tangled mass of life essence flowed jankily. It constantly twisted and pushed against itself, forming complex shapes that may never bed deciphered. Some Sunlight-Molders picked up the pace of their tune, strands of life essence broke off from the cluster flowing into the baby''s twitching form. As the pain he was suffering from eased the child quieted down just a bit. The inferno focused on tearing into the life essence it was just introduced to rather than the child¡¯s body. Truth-Seeker furrowed her brows, perplexed by this issue. In all her 20 decades of life she had never encountered a newborn elf suffering from something that usually a young adult Sun-Elf would suffer from. Hiccups of sadness made Truth-Seeker raise her head and look at Tan¡¯Ganda who tried to get herself off of the birthing pedestal while tears streaked her face. The Sun-Molders hurriedly crowded around her once more. One pushed her down while massaging her shoulders, another massaged her temples to release the tension that was sure to be building there.
¡°Truth-Seeker¡ why?¡± Tan¡¯Ganda¡¯s voice threatened to crack. ¡°The Boon of Life is supposed to save my baby. Why does he still scream like this?!¡± She could not stop her outburst of emotion. Truth-Seeker looked at her in silence for a long while, Tan¡¯Ganda¡¯s emotions settled at once when she met the elder Sunlight-Molders gaze.
¡°I understand your frustration Tan¡¯Ganda, but you should know that requesting a Boon from the Boon Giver is what the Red-Bloods call a ¡®gamble¡¯.¡± Kirv held Tan¡¯Ganda¡¯s hand and wiped away her tears. Truth-Seeker continued, ¡°You have sacrificed something equal to what you received, Turnalgizil has indeed given you life, but the boon this child needed was something much greater than you could provide.¡± Tan¡¯Ganda looked at her baby boy whose face was still red and scrunched with a look of defeat. Kirv turned to face Truth-Seeker defiantly, ¡°There must be something.¡± He tightened his grip on his companion''s hand, ¡°There must be something we could do for him.¡± He looked into the elder Sunlight-Molder¡¯s white eyes with his own teary-eyed ones. Truth¨CSeeker set a finger on the restless baby¡¯s forehead, Kirv watched as the child¡¯s features smoothed out as he went deeper into sleep.
¡°There is a way.¡± Kirv sighed as he leaned onto the birthing pedestal for support. ¡°I never said there was not one, but you must know that the price for saving a life that should have been lost is something that may scar you deeper than even the sharpest arrow.¡± Truth-Seeker lightly pushed Kiiran¡¯Gand towards Kirv and Tan¡¯Ganda, he shuffled along anxiously. ¡°We are more than ready for anyth-¡± Truth-Seeker interrupted Kirv, the Sunlight-Molders by his side backed away as she got closer. ¡°You do not fully understand young Sun-Elf.¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand stepped away from Truth-Seeker and next to his Father and Mother who waited warily for her next words. ¡°You will not be required to sacrifice your flesh or your organs, nor your Soulfire.¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand¡¯s ears perked up, pleasantly surprised. ¡°Then what-?¡± Kirran¡¯Gand¡¯s sentence died as his Mom sent him a look.
Lifting the child she held close to her bosom Truth-Seeker presented him in front of his family. ¡°This child will hate you.¡± She said it as a fact. ¡°This boy will look at his brother who runs and leaps and wonder why he can''t do the same with even a fraction of the ease or grace, and he will hate. This child will look upon his Mother and not see her sacrifice, but the fact that she let him live with such pain, and he will hate. This little Sun-Child will peer at his Father with a burning anger and ask, ¡®Why do you look at me like I am a burden?¡¯, ¡®Why do you treat me with such demeaning care?¡¯, and he will hate. No, you will not need to ask for any more boons and no your body and soul are not what I ask of you. But I sincerely warn you, for the trials you may face will surely crack and break you mentally. I have seen it before, believe me, a child who was raised by parents that gave everything for them to breathe under the Sun¡¯s rays had grown crooked and twisted. He was spiteful and lonely, no one wanted to associate with this child who should have not even been able to live. Suffering through years of scorn and whispers before he asked a simple but deafening question to the people who nurtured and fed him with all their heart, ¡®Why didn''t you let me die?¡¯¡±
Silence hung thickly in the air as the family of three took in this information. ¡°I ask you to give me your unfaltering resolve. Speak to me under the gaze of the Sun on this day and say you will do everything in your power to raise this child. That you will not waver no matter how harshly he may look at you, that you will not scorn him because of his behavior no matter how uncouth it may be. I ask you to raise him like you did your first born, I ask you to speak to him as you would to any other child you may have had. I ask you not to be too overbearing nor too lenient. Speak your promise to me under the Sun and I promise as well to give you all the resources you may need.¡± Truth-Seeker closed her mouth and looked at them, her eyes taking on a hazy red color. Kiiran¡¯Gand gulped the spit that had built in his mouth to moisturize his throat. Being a relatively young elf, no older than a young teen, he wasn¡¯t fully in the know of much of anything that happened today. The Birthing Ritual was supposed to be a joyous and light-hearted occasion with all worries for the companions being swept away with the birth of their child and celebration of life at the afterparty. From what he had heard the birth of his brother was anything but ordinary. Looking at the baby who was held out in front of him he considered the words of the elder Sun-Molder. His brother would probably hate him but how could he know for sure? Maybe his little brother would be sensible and despite the setbacks he may have he would be understanding of the decision that his parents had come to.
¡°Tan¡¯Ganda Golden-Tongued swears to you.¡± came his Mom¡¯s tired voice.
¡°Kirv Slick-Fingered swears to you.¡± said his Dad.
All eyes turned to Kiiran¡¯Gand as he deliberated.
¡°...Kiiran¡¯Gand swears to you.¡± Surely his little brother would understand.
2. Vindirv
A fanged rabbit hopped around and over the thick branches of roots. her black nose twitched as it sniffed the air following the scent back to her burrow to feed her litter. Fangs dug into the flesh of a young Firelit Kiwi, even if it had died it¡¯s body was hot enough to burn her gums but she powered through the pain. Her children could eat just about anything and they were always hungry. As their mother she would die before she couldn¡¯t provide for them. Her whiskers twitched as the trees that surrounded her broke off into a clearing that she recognized. Continuing on her way she passed giants that rose in the early morning and got to starting their day early. They spoke in loud booming voices in a language she could not understand. She would wonder sometimes what they would do all day, whenever she did see them they were always talking, sitting, or doing a weird thing with their hands and mouth that made her head hurt.
Scurrying under and around their weirdly structured legs, the fanged rabbit comfortably made her way to where the trees meet again. Her children were waiting eagerly for her to return soon, as she had promised. Before she could cross into the thicket of trees a yell from her right startled her into sprinting in the opposite direction. A deep feeling of anger that burned as bright as the sun made her run faster and drop her meal as a distraction. Her little heart beat against her furry chest as her fur bristled in fear. The trees turned into a blur around her as she ran as fast as she could, the scent of her burrow getting weaker and weaker did nothing to stop her mad dash. The adrenaline in her system pushed her as far as she could go before she ran out of stamina and slowed to a slow hop before finally stilling. Sitting on her haunches she surveyed the unfamiliar area around her, trees, trees, and..oh, a river and more trees. Whiskers flaring, the mother tried to find any familiar scents that may be around, but worryingly found none. Her children were still the burrow anxiously waiting for their tummies to be filled. She had dropped the only food she had and to top it all off she was lost in foreign territory.
Shit.
?
¡°Hey! Vindirv, I know you hear me! It¡¯s time to visit your Grandma!¡± Came the voice again from below the tree that a small hammock was hung in.
Gritting his teeth, Vindirv snuggled deeper under the covers of the 6-horned elk fur. His head hurt and he wanted to go back to sleep, not walk 300 meters to that old bitch¡¯s house or dwelling? Whatever the fuck it was called, he didnt know why the word house appeared in his mind when he first saw it as a toddler but apparently it was called a ¡®dwelling¡¯. The fact that it wasn''t called a house made him even more angry on top of being disturbed out of his sleep. Sucking in a breath he counted to 5 before exhaling, it didn''t help but if he forced himself to think it did then it worked well enough. His body always hurt when he got frustrated, irritated or, god forbid, angry. Funnily enough it made him even angrier that it hurt. Everything made him angry, he was convinced that he was the most spiteful organism on this planet right now. ¡He didn''t know what an organism or planet was really. Hearing the shuffling of feet coming closer he held his covers in a vice grip preparing for them to be yanked off of him. And get yanked off they did, scowling he curled up into the fetal position and hugged himself, his nails dug into the skin of his shoulders.
¡°Come on, get up, Vindirv. Dad¡¯s not gonna let you see Sundrop Lake tonight if you don''t get up.¡± His big brother¡¯s voice came from above him. Squeezing his eyes he tried to block out the sound of Kiiran¡¯Gand Sunkissed¡¯s voice. While Sundrop Lake was really pretty it wasn''t worth him suffering from a long walk to get. He shuddered as a wave of pain rolled over his body, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from whining in pain.
¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± Vindirv felt a light hand land on his shoulder, he growled in pain and it quickly drew back. ¡°Sorry, I forgot it hurts to touch, but you know that it will only get worse if you don''t get to Trut- Grandma.¡± Yes, he knew that very well but he didn''t know why and that frustrated him to no end. Why couldn¡¯t he just power through the pain? Why did it hurt so bad? His parents had tried to tell him at one point but he couldn''t fully grasp what they were saying at the time, too doped up on whatever drug Grandma was giving him to bother deciphering it. There were words in that thought he didn''t want to think about how he knew. He snuggled his head deeper into the leaves of the hammock. His head was starting to burn.
¡°*Sigh* Do you want me to carry you? You know, it will probably hurt more than walking.¡± He strongly doubted that. The feeling of walking on needles was worse than the feeling of burning for Vindirv, he had gotten used to the burning. Finally deciding that the pros outweigh the cons Vindirv turned around to face his brother. Kiiran¡¯Gand wore a simple leaf skirt that actually looked more like a loincloth. The waistband which was actually just thin branches twisted and braided together hugged him tightly just below his belly button. Long leaves were expertly threaded into the branches and covered both his front and back area completely. The most attention grabbing aspect of his brother were the black long lines that ran from the back of his hands to the sides of his neck. A single black circle was at the center of his forehead and had three small black squiggly lines that flanked the North, South-East and South-west of the circle respectively. In the center of the black circle was a Sundrop that gleamed mysteriously. The black lines were also on his chest and stomach but Vindirv never paid attention to them that much. Whenever he looked at them he would forget what the lines looked like the second he looked away.
Kiiran¡¯Gand chuckled as Vindirv raised his arms towards him expecting to be picked up. ¡°Aaah, you''re lucky you are such a cute little brother.¡± he said, lifting Vindirv from his armpits. Like a koala Vindirv wrapped his legs around his brother''s narrow waist, he ignored the stings of pain that could best be described as being burnt by hot iron when he made contact with his brother¡¯s skin. ¡°Don''t worry Vindirv, it will be over as soon as we reach your Grandma.¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand muttered as he turned and jumped off of the thin branch he was balancing on. Vindirv always liked the feeling of the wind brushing against his skin when he was experiencing one of his pains. His short orange-gold hair flew wildly in the air. While the Sun had its own soothing effect on him the wind was another story. Closing his eyes he tried to let himself be drifted into the wonders of sleep, the air massaged his scalp in just the right way, his body unclenched as the pain faded into the back of his mind. Sleep was- His brother abruptly grabbed onto a thick branch to break their fall, Vindirv jerked in Kiiran¡¯Gand¡¯s arm. Digging his nails into his brother¡¯s back, his eyes became blown wide, a sound of discomfort came from his throat that sounded surprisingly deep and ragged coming from his small stature.
¡°Ow,ow,ow,ow. Damn, calm down!¡± His brother tried to reprimand him in a harsh/soft tone so as to not cause Vindirv to overreact even more. Kiiran¡¯Gand hung on to the low thick branch before dropping the rest of the way to the ground. Hugging him as securely as possible without being to tight, Kiiran¡¯Gand landed as lightly as he feasibly could.
¡°Finally! I thought you had gotten lost in the vines with how long you boys took.¡± The voice that boomed from below greeted them. Vindirv turned to the voice of his Dad and reached towards him. Smiling Kirv took his son in his arms, he didn''t miss the hiss of pain but if his son didn''t complain about it he wouldn''t either. Rolling his shoulder Kiiran¡¯Gand walked to his Dad¡¯s side and smiled down at him.
During the 20 years that passed since the birth of his little brother, Kiiran¡¯Gand had grown in more than one area. He had grown professionally under the Sun God¡¯s House as he had sprouted from his apprenticeship position as a Sunray-Weaver to a full Sunlight-Molder. Not to mention that apparently he had a super-secret title that was only known in the Sun God¡¯s House. He had most definitely matured mentally as he learned the ways of the outside world and caring for his baby brother. And, taking after his mother, he had grown physically. With the Sun nurturing his power of the Sun and the intense physical exercise he partook in under the Sun God¡¯s House, it wasn''t surprising that he grew to the stunning height of 8 ''1,overtaking his Father¡¯s height of 7 ¡®2.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Kirv smiled back and started a light jog toward Truth-Seeker¡¯s dwelling. ¡°Sun-child, how are you feeling? Can you tell me how much it hurts?¡± While talking to Vindirv he raised his eyebrow at Kiiran¡¯Gand who jogged beside him, Kiiran¡¯Gand just shook his head tiredly in response. At the same time Vindirv only groaned in response to Kirv¡¯s question. ¡°Hmm.¡± Kirv decided to let it rest there and meet up with Truth-Seeker quickly.
A comfortable silence fell over them as they ran through the trees. The foliage dispersed as they came closer to the sound of a flowing river. Kirv smiled at a fanged rabbit who had just finished drinking water and looked up at him quizzically. Ultimately deciding against petting it, he bent down on one knee and set down Vindirv who reluctantly planted his feet onto the ground. Grabbing the branches of the leaf skirt, Vindirv shimmied the leaf skirt down his legs as per routine. Stepping into the cold river water he focused on the flow of the water around him rather than the pain that coursed through his body. His Dad pulled out a ball of something from a pack that hung loosely on his left side.
¡°This is something I got from a friend over on the east side. She''s ways away from here so she shipped this to me through a trusted traveling merchant.¡± Surprisingly enough, instead of going through one ear and out the other, Vindirv was able to take in what his Dad said in its entirety. The only plus to the pains were that he could actually understand things clearer. Nodding his head in response, Vindirv picked up a shiny rock in the water that was as close to a perfect circle as it could get and held it up to Kirv. ¡°Very pretty.¡± Kirv said simply and dipped his much bigger circular object into the river water. Vindirv didn''t think that Kirv understood what he was trying to say. Frowning in irritation, Vindirv took a deep breath and turned to his brother whose back was turned. Throwing the rock as fast as he could, it hit Kiiran¡¯Gand¡¯s head with a satisfying ¡®clack¡¯.
¡°OW! What in the-?¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand turned towards a triumphant looking Vindirv. ¡°You little shitter.¡± he seethed as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Hey, none of that you two.¡± Kirv said as he flicked water on the both of them.
¡°His fault¡¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand muttered under his breath. Frowning again, Vindirv looked away from his brother and trained his sights on the fanged rabbit near them that had resumed drinking water. His father ran the circular thing down his arm and little bubbles appeared on the skin it touched. Vindirv¡¯s arm twitched in pain but he paid it little mind, the dark green fanged rabbit in front of him lifted its head from the river and ran a paw down its snout. Holding his breath in anticipation for something he did not understand Vindirv gave the little creature his full attention. A laugh from behind sounded drowned out to his senses, Vindirv¡¯s ears blocked everything but the sound of the fanged rabbit¡¯s chitter from his mind. It moved slowly to his eyes, so slow he could see the minute movements of the water droplets that fell from its wet snout. Letting out a slow quiet long exhale through clenched teeth the fanged rabbit¡¯s head turned to his direction. A smile slowly etched onto his face as he took in another deep inhale, the cold air stinging his burning throat and lungs. Energy coursed through him as he met the small beady brown eyes of the tiny insignificant creature.
In the fraction of the second that they made eye contact Vindirv felt that this animal understood exactly what he was thinking. Not like his Father that took a while to digest what he said, not like his Big Brother who pretended he understood, and not like his Mother who tried to pinpoint a pattern in his mannerisms and behaviors. This little thing understood what he wanted perfectly in that small window of time and Vindirv loved it for that. With a speed he didn''t expect it to possess, the fanged rabbit became a blur as it dashed away from the river and into the lines of trees. Vindirv lurched from his seated position to follow, the adrenaline making his head feel fuzzy. An intense sting on his shoulder put him back in place, snapping out of his daze Vindirv grabbed the offending appendage off of his shoulder and pushed it away.
¡°Hey, where do you think you''re going boy?¡± Kirv asked, pulling his hand out of Vindirv¡¯s grip. Not responding Vindirv allowed his Dad to pour water over his head to wash the little bubbles he had just noticed off of his body, forgetting all about the fanged rabbit.
¡°Can we make those?¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand asked, pointing at the deformed brownish circle in his Dad¡¯s soapy hand.
¡°I¡¯ll see what materials it''s made of after we get back from our trip.¡± Lifting Vindirv out of the water Kirv waved his hand over his body and the wind followed, blowing off the water on Vidirv¡¯s skin. Letting the air tickle his figure gently he closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of cold and not the feeling of needles in his feet.
¡°Alright.¡± Kirv said and on cue Vindirv picked up his leaf skirt on the ground and put it back on. ¡°Can you walk the rest of the way?¡± Vindirv blinked and held his arms up in silence. ¡°Heh, okay sun-child.¡±
?
Truth-Seeker dwelled in a great Oregon White Oak looking tree that stretched to a towering 500 feet tall. Its hunger for nutrients was so ravenous that no other plant life could live within a 5 mile radius. The roots split the earth at uneven angles and tiny sun-drops lit up with their trademark mysterious luster drawing the attention of insects, animals and other more dangerous creatures. Vindirv liked it here, the old lady may have her faults but her dwelling was not one of them.
The fabled Sunkissers were lounging about on the dirt ground and scratching their backs on the roots of the tree. Six-horned elks, fanged rabbits, Firelit Kiwis, ruby snakes, hell bears and other usually territorial monsters and animals all shared the same space under the Great Anknec tree. He had just noticed that his Big brother and the Sunkissers shared the same name, kinda. Weird, but Vindirv didn''t care much, he was getting antsy now that he was at Grandma¡¯s place.
Prowling towards the group quietly, 3¡¯5 feet when crawling and 10¡¯5 when standing, its black metallic scales gleamed when it caught the sun. It opened thin lips and growled revealing tiny sharp teeth that were also black in color. ¡°Oh, a Sunkisser.¡± Kiiran¡¯Gand said as he crouched low to appear non threatening to the approaching monster. Kirv also stopped and bowed at the waist towards the monster. Its inky eyes scanned their figures, after about 2 seconds it huffed and turned away from them. It crawled around them and under a root disappearing from their sight. Vindirv patted his Dad¡¯s shoulder anxiously, he wanted to get in and out not dawdle about and gawk at overgrown lizards. ¡°Okay, I got it. Kiiran¡¯Gand, you go tend to your business at the Sun God¡¯s House. I can take it from here.¡± Nodding Kiiran¡¯Gand followed in the direction of the departed Sunkisser.
¡°Alright sun-child, arms tight around my neck and legs secure at my waist.¡± Vindirv obliged without question, he had already fallen before when his Father had climbed a tree, he''d rather not go through that experience a fifth time. Grunting his father leaped into the air a good 10 feet before his ascent stopped. They stilled in the air, the winds congregating under Kirv¡¯s feet, he jumped again this time getting to about 40 feet higher before stopping again. Vindirv closed his eyes as he waited to reach the middle of Anknec. The sound of his Dad¡¯s feet settling on a solid surface let him know that he had landed at the entrance to the witch¡¯s abode a few moments later. He was already feeling worse.
¡°Truthseeker, we are here.¡± Kirv called from behind the leaves lined with sundrops that covered the makeshift entrance. A hum of acknowledgement came from behind the curtain of leaves. Wasting no time, Kirv moved the leaves to the side with his free hand and entered.
The bark and branches twisted around one another forming thick knots. It seemed more of a coincidence that the branches stretched away from each other in a way that formed a spacious room. The room seemed wholly untouched and unoccupied, no personal objects or hammocks in sight. Light shone fragmented by leaves through a hole from above. Sundrops glinted playfully, hoping to drag in a curious creature to play a never ending game. The air smelled fresh and Vindirv couldn''t stop himself from taking a deep breath of it in. Kirv walked to Truthseeker who was staring intently at an extremely large sundrop that threatened to burst from the branches holding it. His footfalls drew her attention away from the enormous object, her sheer robe billowed around her from her swift movement. Eyes that held no pupils beheld them calmly.
¡°Welcome Kirv.¡± A voice that you could tell held wisdom echo through the empty space. ¡° Vindirv, your treatment is ready for you.¡±
He felt sick at the thought.