《Oppressed》 The village In a village, an old man was surrounded by a dozen of kids. The village was located in a forest, surrounded by a wall made of mud. The houses were arranged in a circle so there could be a wide space in the middle of the village. The youths were listening to an Elder. The Elders were the old people who couldn''t work anymore. The men hunt, the women cooks and the Elders educates. It is known in every village that the Elders were the lord of words and the children were the lord of work. The Elder was short with long white hair and beard, wearing an old malabary. He is called Koto the favorite Elder of the children. He was telling an angano to the kids. Anganos are stories/tales which are the education of everyone. "Kids, deep in the forest lies a dangerous monster. It is so hairy that it could be mistaken as a bush. The Volovolomanana(Hairy one) preys on children alone in the woods. It hides patiently and throws his long hairy hair to them. He pulls them to his lair and eat them. We won''t even be able to bury you because its favorite snack are bones."As he finished storytelling he gave a warm smile to the children who were frightened by the story. He noticed that all of the kids were scared other than one:Hery. His body was full of black line like tattoos. He gave a ridicule look saying ''you think I believe your nonsense''. The Elder got angry and hit Hery''s head:"You know nothing! These angano are teachings passed down from our Ancestors who even created the awakening of runes!" He sighted and looked at the bunch of kids. They were all bare-chested with brown skin colour. "Ok kids the lessons are go play somewhere else and don''t forget to never go in the forest." As soon as they heard Koto they dispersed like monkeys who just saw a banana. All the kids were gone other than Hery. The Elder stared at him and asked:"Why aren''t you going to play with the others? Don''t try to act tough you''re still 7." Hery''s face darkened and answered " I have no friends. They all say I am cursed because my parents died by the hands of a Kala Noro." He got teary when he looked at the tattoos on his body. Hery''s dad was the most powerful rune warrior and his mom was a the strongest Dadarabe. They went on a quest near a waterfall that was said to be the dwelling of a Kala Noro, the Noblest of the Vazimba. In the ancient angano the Ancestors passed down, it is said that they were there before the Ancestors. They had powerful mysterious powers that made the Ancestors retreat. But one day, they went underwater and took a long slumber. It is said that the mystic powers of the Dadarabe were derived from them. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.After Hery''s parents died, dark tattoos started appearing on his body. Not only the children even the grown ups were sure it was a curse because the Ancestors'' word warned to stay away from all mystical creatures. He never believed his parents were killed. They were hero in his eyes. His eyes started to get teary and shouted at Koto:"Mom, dad, .... I miss them so much. Why did they die.... why did the leave me?!! You were with them, why didn''t you save them?! If you saved them, I wouldn''t be alone!!" Koto''s expression was full of guilt as he slowly hugged Hery."I also wanted to save them Hery ... but I couldn''t I was to weak. All I can tell you is that even if no one likes you here, you still have yourself." Koto stood up and wiped Hery''s tears:" Smokes and tears are easily known, what is not seen is the heart. Find the answer in your heart. I will not always be there to support you child because you are cursed. Rather get chased by a enraged cow than your thoughts. Stand up! You we are the mighty Ancestor''s descendant! We do not cry!" Hery got a little motivated and stood up straight. " Thank you Elder Koto. I''m sorry for what I told earlier." The elder smiled as he looked at the sky" It''s fine child. The depressed will never have... go now it is getting dark. Prepare yourself tomorrow will be a hard day, you''re 7 this year. You will receive intense training until the age of 10 where we will awaken your Rune. " Hery returned in his mud house. He laid on his lonely bed as he stared at the ceiling. He put his hand on his chest and thought:''Find the answer in my heart. I am just escaping the reality... these tattoos are the explanation. They killed my parents and then curse me!'' He clenched his fists and put on a resolute look: '' I will get stronger ...and avenge them'' The lake The next day, Hery woke up from his slumber. It was still 4 in the morning the rest of the villagers all were asleep. Since he was considered as a cursed child, he had to take care of his daily needs such as himself. The Ancestors¡¯ descendant are considered as respectful and righteous people. They eat, mourn and celebrate together but the Ancestors¡¯ words order to stay away from mystical things. The Elders were already merciful enough to let him stay inside the village instead of letting him die in the forest. He took a small pot on the ground and a bowl of raw rice then headed out of the house. Villagers weren¡¯t allowed to go out the forest but Hery still had to because he needed water and wood to make food. He did some stretching before slowly entering the dark forest. There is a lake near the village so he didn¡¯t need to go far for fetching water. As for the wood for fire, he just picks up dried twigs on the way. When he arrived at the shore of the lake he sat down and took some fresh air. Somehow, today he felt kind of different when he saw the lake. It¡¯s the first time he felt this feeling in the 2 years passed here. Its like as if he wanted to be one with water and drown in pleasure. He couldn¡¯t control his body anymore as he slowly walked step by step into the lake. He got slowly submerged in the lake: till his ankles, his chest and his head. The dark tattoos on his body seemed alive as they moved like illusions. For some unknown reasons he could breath underwater, he was walking underwater as if it wasn¡¯t liquid. When he reached the bottom of the lake, the water started spinning rapidly. It seemed like there was a hurricane underwater and he was in the middle of it. Black lights started appearing everywhere until the entire river looked like a black hurricane. Hery couldn¡¯t move but he could still see. Only darkness was in his view. He didn¡¯t get scared but instead felt a sense of security in his heart. ¡®What is that?¡¯ Something started materialise in front of him. Even though the river became pitch black, the figure was even darker. It laughed as it slowly approached Hery.¡± My, my, my¡­ one these old copycats¡¯ descendant. You have talent young one even if you only know a drop of water of our powers.¡± He could see the figure of the dark shadow. It has long has that almost covers her body, long nails and bloody red eyes. Hery was shocked! This fit exactly to the description of that creature:¡±You ¡­you are a Vazimba, no you have red eyes¡­you ¡­ you..are a Kala Noro!!!¡± The Noble Vazimba smiled at Hery:¡±These old geezers sure teach you many things. Ain''t that cute? Just¡­ like your parents!! HGI GI GI GI GI!¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. He shouted at the dark figure:¡± You... you were the one that killed my parents!¡± He tried moving his body with all his might but all his efforts were in vain for he could only make his body slightly shake. His body started shaking as if there was an earthquake in his body.¡±I¡¯ll kill you!!¡± The dark figure only laughed at his useless actions.¡±Boy, you have a strong will but you are too weak to even lift a finger in my spirit realm.¡± She started smiling at him and mocked him¡± If I used just a strand of my mystical powers, would be dead by now.¡± Hery suddenly felt a bad premonition. The wider the Kala Noro¡¯s smile got, the more the dark water¡¯s pressure increased. It only stopped until he couldn¡¯t move anymore. ¡° Do you know you should¡¯ve died 2 years ago?¡± Hery replied¡± Why didn¡¯t you kill me then? You should have for we live in the same house and die in the same tomb.¡± She didn¡¯t expect such serious answer from a little boy. ¡°You and your Ancestors will never change with your wise words. Well¡­ it¡¯s true that I intended to kill after your parents¡± ¡°How would you have killed me even though I wasn¡¯t there?¡± He didn¡¯t believe an ounce of her words. ¡° Your ignorance shames your Ancestors boy. You see everyone has a soul within them. When child is born, there is a connection between the souls of the parents and the kid. I just had to track you with my mystical powers and destroy your soul. Hahaha you won¡¯t even be called a corpse anymore but a cold body!!! ¡°The Vazimba mocked his ignorance. " Your parents also knew all that and we did a deal a very special deal indeed. I will spare you and in exchange, you will free us when you get strong enough." The boy didn''t believe the witch " Lies, lies, lies, I will never free you, never , ever!!!" "Hahaha,boy,you are already one of us. These tattoos are proof. Wether you want it or not you will free us. People will despite you , they will hate you. Don''t blame me, blame your Ancestors and their teachings!! But before you free us and all here is a gift for you. It is the best of all blessings and the worst of all curses. Farewell boy!!" The tattoos on his body rotated and started absorbing the dark water. They became more complex and spread all over his face. The river became normal again as if nothing happened at all, no witch, no spells... Hery was still underwater. He didn''t have to worry about drowning because he could perfectly breath. His tattoos rotated and in a blink of an eye, he appeared on the shore of the lake!! He solemnly stared at the tattoos on his body " What have I become? I do not understand!!! Mom, dad!....someone..... I feel alone!" Tears started falling from his eyes as he cried " I''m never going to free you witch!!You hear me!"
After wiping his tears, Hery went back to do what he should have done. He took water and the twigs and headed back home. Using the spell his mom taught him, a flame appeared on his palm. He was surprised, what was on his palm wasn''t a normal flame. The fire was black and thrice the length of a normal flame. "What is this? Is it because of that witch? Well as long as I can use it" He lit the wood and put the rice in the pot then added water. Not even 5 minutes later, the rice was done ! Once he opened the lid of the pot, the smell of the rice was so fragrant that he started drooling. He took out his spoon and started eating. Even though the rice was still very hot, he ate the rice at full speed. It was too delicious. After finishing his rice, he was full of energy. Something that never happened when he ate rice. "Well, today starts my journey. I''ll be training under the Elders for 3 years and then awaken my rune." The start of a Journey Hery sat there looking at the rising sun. The village started waking up. The woman started cooking food for everyone. The whole village sat in a circle and ate as they talked. After everyones¡¯ plate was clean, the Koto Elder clapped to get their attention. ¡°Your attention sir and madams, today will be the day I will bring all 7 year old kids on a Journey to the North land of Rune Warriors. They will start their training there and in the way then awaken their rune in North. Prepare your sons and daughters for we will depart once the cows goes out( 9 o clock)¡± The sun was still breaking ( 7 o clock) so he still had 2 hours before leaving. He looked around and saw the parents giving swords, shields, spears and bows to their children. He felt a bit jealous looking at them. He could only hide his feeling so he returned back home to pack up. He entered his mud house and took out something covered by a cloth under his bed. his parents prepared him his departing gifts 2 years in advance. He saw where they put it but never touched it. He unclothed the weapons and saw a black sword like stick and a robe. The robe was the size of an adult¡¯s one. It was obvious that it wouldn¡¯t fit him. It was pitch black and had red runes all over it. It was accompanied with a black multifunction belt that could store a sword, potions, hammers, daggers, hidden blades, arrows, It could even be used as a whip. He picked up the sword like stick and touched it everywhere. He felt like a stupid monkey that just saw a banana and didn¡¯t know how to eat it. He spent so long studying the stick but couldn¡¯t find any use. The day was almost elevated(8 o clock) and was still there. He started to get annoyed. ¡°How can I use this? It¡¯s not even sharp and it doesn¡¯t inflict any damages. Ahhhhhrr,¡± Out of frustration, he held the handle with a hand and the body with another and tried folding it (breaking it). His action created no effect so pulled the handle and the body. What happened was surprising. The sword didn¡¯t but it got divided in two: on was the stick the other was the blade! The pot in front of him got sliced by the blade. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. He was shocked by the result of his frustration. Hery was very confused. He looked at the stick and found a hole on the tip. He put the sword in it and took it out. He now understood how it worked ¡®So the stick is the house of the sword! But the blade is so thin compared to the swords in the village and only one side of it is sharpened(looks like a katana). Should this be bad?¡¯ While pondering over his question, he noticed the sliced pot in front of him. The cut was so clean that he could see his reflection on it. ¡°Is this sword that sharp?¡± He got curious and touched the blade. ¡° Ouch!!!¡± With only a touch, his finger was cut so deep he could see his bones!! Not even a second later, the black tattoos on his hand and fingers started rotating and the wound closed slowly till it completely disappeared. If he hadn¡¯t felt the pain, he would think that he wasn¡¯t hurt at all. He was amazed at the sword¡¯s sharpness and his tattoos newly discovered ability ¡°So sharp!! Where did dad find this? But this power of mine¡­¡± He remembered the words of the Kala Noro ¡®It could be a blessing or it could be a curse¡¯ He went out and stared at the village. He was in a deep thought. He then saw the cows getting out of their barn. ¡° OH NO !!!! IT¡¯S 9 o clock!!! I¡¯ll be late.¡± He put on the robe without considering it was too big for him. He tied the belt on his waist and put the sword on the sword slot. While he ran, he didn''t notice that the robe was slowly shrinking till it perectly fit him.
¡°Sir lets go. We still have a long journey to take! We can¡¯t afford waiting for a cursed kid!¡± A middle aged man with an axe attached on his back complained to Koto the Elder responsible of the journey. The Elder nonchalantly replied ¡° There is a time to stay silent, and a time to speak, like a corn that hung for too long, and cereals that were too dried, waiting for the moment it grows.¡± The man got embarrassed and shut his mouth. Then he saw a dark figure running towards them. ¡° Took him long enough¡± In reality if he used the powers of the tattoos (speed), he could reach here in less than 2 but he didn¡¯t want his secret to be exposed so he ran normally. ¡° I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m late sir. I overslept.¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes were on him. He felt quite uncomfortable. They all took a step back seeing the tattoos that became darker and more complex. The Elder only smiled at him ¡° It¡¯s fine. Come on everyone, before we go, you have to listen carefully to my instructions. Never leave the group, if you find anything strange alert me. If any wild beasts, monsters or mystical creatures appears, you shall not take any action for I will do all the fighting. If you understand lets go then.¡± The group that numbered 20, 18 children and 2 adults went out of their village to start an adventure.