《Golden Horde》


 The First Four Weeks

    Day 1


    I woke up to blindness. Everything was so utterly blurred as to be completely unrecognisable. All I recall was watching that meteor shower, with its spectacular colours, before I went to bed. Was it an alien invasion or something? Because while my ears seem to be working fine upon my first attempt at eavesdropping, after a few moments it became pretty damn apparent that I couldn''t understand a thing.


    Worrying. I could distinguish between tones, and the noise was clearly a conversation between a man and a woman. They seemed tired but happy,thoughthat''s beside the point. I couldn''t interpret one single word, heck, I couldn''t even identify the language or dialect they were speaking in. By the time I got to this realisation, it was a bit too much and my brain shut down.


    Day 2


    Waking up this time comes with a jolt. Literally. I am somewhere warm, which in itself is not bad. But I am moving and bumping and generally uncomfortable. Like being wheeled down a flight of stairs uncomfortable. I try to protest, but the words come out garbled. The response I get is a crooning, once again in this foreign language. It is seriously freaking me out. I swear I heard the word kill midway through it. Hopefully it is a word which sounds like kill, but means something nice, like ''you''ll be released from hospital shortly''. I can dream! Which I promptly do as my brain shuts down yet again.


    Day 3


    Still bumpy. And judging from thesudden changein light intensity, which I can now distinguish, I am awake for all of about quarter of an hour before my mind cannot take it anymore.Whatever ''it'' is.And thensaid mindproceeds toshutdown for a long time.Or at least untilnightfall.I cannot gather much more information today because I used up all my time countingthe seconds...Sovery, veryboring.Back to oblivion then.


    Day 4


    Today is a bit more peaceful, probably because it is night time. I''m guessing that all the other people/aliens/unidentified beingsaroundmeare not nocturnal then. There''s a slightly sweet taste in my mouth. Am I being drugged? That would certainly explain my near constant unconsciousness. This is really scary.


    I always used to scoff at fear of the unknown. Chances are that you will die of a known cause so why fuss about some probability totalling less than a single percent? The only reason I am somewhat calm right now is because I am soon to black out. Since I am able to sense the main warning sign for that, a tell-tale sense of fatigue, I try and fight it. But how can I fight against all-encompassing darkness? Still, up to my last second of awareness nothing I can detect nothing entering my mouth. So, they''re drugging me while I am out of it. Fantastic.


    Day 5


    I have come to the conclusion that whoever is doing this to me wants me to be unable to think clearly. The more I think the more exhausted I become. I tried solving quadratic equations in my head and only maintained five minutes of consciousness. I will attempt meditation tomorrow, see if thinking about nothing extends my limited amount of time. For now, though, it is goodnight.


    Day 6


    Find Inner Peace! Now if only there would be less background noise.


    ¡­


    Okay,arough guess, since focussing on meditation and trying to keep time simultaneously is counter-productive to say the least... Thinking time while meditating seemed to be about half an hour? Doubled is pretty good, if I say so myself. Which I have to. In my head to boot, because whatever they are giving me seems to numb the body. My voice is garbled and my entire body is sluggish and unresponsive. On the plus side eyesight is improving so I might get some solid clues next time I come around.


    Day 7


    Or at least I think it''s one week since this weirdness began. This is definitely the seventh time I have been in control of my mental faculties. And I am so hungry! My stomach aches and I feel cold and miserable. I am still unable to see clearly, which might be good, or bad, depending what the circumstances look like. But most likely bad, on top of which I will reiterate that I am starving. Have I even been fed since everything started? I hate this!


    ...That kind of came out as a high-pitched wail. And the noise in the surroundings dropped slightly. Footsteps? I think they were footsteps coming towards me. Someone or something tilted a bottle to my lips and a sweet milk trickled into my mouth. Slowly though, most likely in consideration of my poor throat. At lasta sweet milk trickled into my mouth. Slowly though, most likely in consideration of my poor throat. At least my stomach is happier now. Yay for not dying of malnutrition.


    Day 10


    Over the past few awake periods I have been trying to learn a language. Specifically, the one spoken by the voices around me. No luck so far. Mainly because I cannot see what is being talked about, and moving is impossible so I can''tidentify objects by touch. The joy. I was pretty good at French during senior school, but that was lessons, and not fullimmersion.


    Then all goes dark, for once not because my brain has exceeded the limit, but because the lights around me go out. Still not any closer to solving the problems with my current situation, though I am adjusting. I feel calmer in general about all of this, maybe because of the meditation, maybe because of some form of StockholmSyndrome. I''m not too sure.


    Day 14The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I have come to the conclusion that my previous conclusions... were rubbish. Ihave decent visionnow, whichwas a work in progressbefore but still,Iam ashamed of myself. In my defence, the situation is beyond strange, but at the same time isbeyondall possibledoubt. I have somehow reincarnated. I must have-I am now in the body of a baby. A baby.No wonder my vision was so poor and my range of movement so limited ¨C I had just been born.


    As for the circumstances of my birth, they remain rather puzzling. Both the utterly foreign language spoken by my caretakers, and the surroundings. Though recently several words ofthe languagehavebecome understandable.


    Which leads me to my second conclusion ¨C this timeregarding the blackouts. My infant mind, and it really hurts to acknowledge that, cannot handle the complexities of adult level thought.Therefore,I presume I have a limit per day of ''thought intensity'' orhoweverit is measured. Once used up I revert to babyhood. This is also based on the fact thatthe women who care for me don''t act as if I amanything other than a normal baby.


    It''s probably during those times that I have begun to absorb the meaning of a few basic words. Seems fast for anew-born, but hey, maybe that is the norm? Babies can hardly communicate that they understand the meaning of the word ''horse'' after all. They can''t speak. And people don''t remember their first year so... I don''t know. I really don''t. And though my ''adult thought time'' has gottensteadily longerover the past week or so, all this reasoning hasused it up. Back to being a baby, I guess. At least I don''t have to endure nappy changes. Yet.


    Day 16


    Now that I can actually see, there is the somewhat major downside of motion sickness. Caused by riding in a horse cart for the past couple of days. Don''t know where I am or where I am heading but thrown up milk tastes foul. Oh, themiddle-agedwoman holding me tries to comfort me, despite the nose twists whenever I cough up another mouthful of vomit, but I still feelnauseous.


    On the plus side, whenever the sick is cleaned up my position is raised enough that I can see the outside scenery. Which ishorses, cattle,goats and sheep. The formerbeing ridden or pulling the carts,and the latter threebeing herded by those doing the riding. Everything seems quite rustic, medieval even. Is this a one-offmigration or something?


    Day 18


    Nope, I don''t think this is aone-offscenario. I seem to have reincarnated intoanancient time, and a nomadic tribe of some sort.And the best bit; it''s in another world entirely. Why? Because magic.Might notbeagrammaticallycorrect sentence butit sure isan accuraterepresentation of my current awe. Awe is about all I can currently process due to the shock of seeing stuff being levitated around, and taken in and out of what I presume is a dimensional storageability?I''m just going to go and freak out. And then black out.


    Day21


    I don''t think that themiddle-agedwoman caring for me is my mother. Well I hope my hypothesis is correct, because not only is her clothing simple and coarse she seems to be a slave. Because the collar she wears isconspicuouslyabsent from any of the wealthy/important lookingpassers-by.On the other hand,I am not wearing a collar. And even though babies may be excluded, the tunic I wear and the blanket I''m wrapped in are embroidered and much better quality than anything of hers.


    Well, it is good to not be a slave, and good that my parents seem to be well-off enough to have one... but being in a society based on slavery is hard to accept. Can''t exactlydo anything about it though. Not as an infant, anyway.


    Day 25


    Finally, finally, finally we seem to have set up camp. And it''s a nice one. Camp is actually something of an understatement, given that the tent I am in is the size of abedroom, and has various other tents connectedto it expanding the available space furtherstill. Plus, despite the technology being on par with the Middle Ages, magic and magical items take care of most daily needs.


    Sofar,I have seen a woodenstaff which spouts water from the crystal at the end. That one was used for my bathwater. The bath was then made warm by having a red stone dropped in for a couple of seconds before it was scooped out with a large ladle. Then I was washed, a little bitembarrassingbut after being sick on myself several times due to horse cart-sickness, and only being wiped down afterwards... Being clean was definitely good.


    As was having an actual bed, by that read crib, to sleep in. It was warmer, softer and non-moving. What more could an infant want? I, personally wanted answers, but apparently that was not to be. Because just when I was observing the shadows created by the flickering candlelight, themiddle-agedwoman came in and blew them out. I''m really going to have to learn the language faster, calling her ''middle-aged woman'', even mentally, is awkward. And nowit''s pitch black, without even the moon and stars to look at. Boring.


    Day 28


    Thankfully I have not been stuck inside the tent the past few days. I am frequently taken outby a fairly pretty teenage girl while themiddle-aged woman has been busy with chores. Since she also wears a collar I''m guessing she''s a slave. Particularly given that I have managed to absorb the meaning of one of the more frequent words I hear used.


    "Young Master."


    That''s right, I am a ''Young Master''. Of what rank I do not know. More pressingly, I still haven''t seen any sign of my parents whatsoever. I do understand that they might visit when my mind is in full-on baby mode, and not when I am cognizant. But it has been so many days now that modern day logic dictates I should have met them ages ago.


    Well, the voices I first heard upon waking could have been my new mother and father. But everything is so hazy I only recall that there was a male voice and a female voice. Not much to go on when looking around on a trip outside. ''They can speak''. Pretty much applies to every single person I have seen. And I have seen a lot.


    It looks a bit like amodern-dayfestival. Tents are everywhere. The layout is a sort of organised chaos ¨C everyone seems to know where they are and where they are headed, but I''ll be dammed if I do. I was one of those people who had to rely on asatellitenavigationsystem full time. So, it''s a goodthing I am hitching a ride in my new caretaker''s arms. And being higher up equalsa better view of the surroundings.


    Basically, more of the same. People casually doing magic, kids running around playing with each other. For the record, tag seems to transcend realities, it is the game of choice for the children. Might be due to a lack ofothertoys though? One thing I don''t get at all is that this is clearly a nomadic tribe. We''ve been on the move for about a month. We live in tents which are too well established to be temporary measures. So, yes, nomadic.


    So,can someone please tell me where we get fresh fruit and vegetables from when there is no agrarian element to our society? It''s not stolen. Nowhere to steal it from for a start. And certainly not in such high amounts. Maybe the magic storage skill pauses time foritscontents? That would mean the fruit and vegetables could be bought in large quantities somewhere else and stored for ages... I''ll go with that for now. Because Magic.

 The Next Two Months

    The 2Month


    I awaken mid-scream and finally, finally, finally I have met my mother. She doesn''t seem to be the loving sort, preferring to have someone else hold the drooling baby while she looks at me. Not that I don''t empathize, beinga baby,I can truthfully say that we drool way too much. So even thenIfollow her face with my eyes and smile at her. I get a cool nod in response. No hug or baby talk or anything an infant could interpret as affection.


    Maybe she''s not that expressive though? I don''t know, I really don''t. But she does address herself as ''Mother'', which is one of my most recent entries in the mental dictionary I have been compiling. Because while I see many, many children on my trips out and about, and see them interacting with their parents... They use a less formalvariant. How she says ''Mother'' really doesn''t translate well but it''s the way you address your mumwhen you''ve knocked over herfavouritevase, or some other form of naughtiness.


    It''s strict, stern and non-casual. Honestly, if I was not atwo-month-oldbaby I would seriously think I had done something wrong. But I am a two-month-old baby and therefore can''t exactly do much other than eating, sleeping,slight movements and babbling. And, well, going to the toiletbut nappy changes are done by one of the slaves responsiblefor me so that cannot be it.


    PerhapsI was sick on her? Her clothes are a soft green fabric that''sembroideredheavily. In a world without sewing machines that would have to be done by hand. Which would have taken ages, which in turn makes it expensive ¨C just like how lace used to be worth a fortune in the past. Still, she''s really a beauty, with sharp green eyes, long black hair and an amazing figure.A seriouslyamazing figure. It''s to the extent that I am glad I am bottle fed. If I was thinking as an adult during breastfeeding itwould have been as awkward as hell.


    She says something sharply to the woman holding me. Who promptly hurries over to lay me down on a table with a concave surface. Pale gold lacquerednails reach out towards me. I truly feel like a tortoise waiting for a golden eagle to swoop down and grasp it with its talons.


    Luckily,they aren''t actually that sharpas they twist, turn and otherwise move my body for inspection. I try another baby gurgle and smile, but being creeped out does wonders when it comes to inhibiting facial expressions from seeming natural. In turn that makes me feel... bad. Shouldn''t a mother have an actual child to love? Not some reincarnated old soul trapped in achild''sbody?


    And then I lose it. I take back my guilty emotions.And continue tolose it. Because while I have somecontrol over my emotions, that was beaten out byaninfant''sinstinctive reaction to pain. That woman jabbed her fingernails into my shoulder! On purpose! So,I cry, andscream,andmentally say words which notwo-month-oldshould ever know the meaning of. And then I either revert to baby mode orhyperventilate myselfunconscious.The last thing I see is her pleased face...


    The 2Month &2 Weeks


    There was a lot of shouting coming from outside today. I''m enduring though it istough. At times like this I want to revert to baby mode. But the joy, I have to think in order to exhaust my mind back to that state. And how am I supposed to do that when the yelling is making me unable to hear myself think?! Literally!


    There are horses neighing as well, but I won''t hold that against them. It''s the fault of thehumans who ride them. Besides, they are currently on the move, hooves thundering against the ground as they carry the loud menaway from the tentcomplex. Better for my eardrums, though everyone has become rather tense. I hope we''re not getting attacked. If I am stuckin this world,which I am, I would prefer to be on the higher side of the social hierarchy.


    It is precisely because I am that worried that I push myself to the limits and stay awake for as long as possible. All I do for what feels likehoursand hours is strain my ears for ahint of their return.I wound up falling asleep before any news came my way though. When I woke up the woman looking after me had dark circles under her eyes. And she dropped the bottle with my milk in. It ended up smashed, which was a pity. And the replacement bottle wasn''t warmed.


    I would be concerned about it being spoilt, but it was chilled. Like, fresh out of a refrigerator chilled. Is that a dimensional storage cheat as well? It made a nice change from the monotony of warm milk so I didn''t complain. Besides, she seems stressed enough as it is without a cranky baby. Just let this be over and done with soon. Please?


    The 2Month, 2 Weeks & 2 Days


    We won. Or lost badly enough that the soldiers absolutely have to drink all thealcoholin the tribe before the enemy gets to it. I''m opting for the former, the latter was sarcasm. Terrible, I know, but the drunken carousing is inhibiting anyattempt at genuinehumour on my part.


    ...Some idiot just knocked a candle over and setthe tent on fire. I''m going to scream before I die of excessive smoke inhalation. Or not. As soon as the fire reached palm size a runic pattern on the tent activated and sucked up the fire. Should I be worried to live in a tent with this function?This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The 3Month


    Not that it was cold during the daytime before, it was actually quite pleasant, but recently the weather is muchhotter. The daylight hours are alsolengthening, I presume, because my daily thought limit gets in the way ofconfirmingthat. Conclusion: it is Summer. And then for a dose of reality: Summer is not enjoyable without air conditioning and bugrepellent. Leaving me with the dilemma of boiling while hiding under the blanket or getting irritating bites should I forsake it.


    Well after my caretakers discoveredthe many mosquito bites over my body some kind of incense was lit in the corner of the tent. It stinks, but it does keep most of the insects away, and in the nick of time as well. It is not nice to have a blood-sucking thingcrawling over you and being unable to get rid of it. Other than by rolling over, which takes intense concentration and physical effort.


    I did try squishing the mosquito, but it flew away to another part of me on the first attempt and the second attempt resulted in nearly poking my eye. Not good. I haveno intention of finding out just how lacking medical care is in this tribe until absolutely necessary. Unless they have healing magic, which would be awesome.


    But since that is not confirmed,I like having good vision and will stay away from eye-risking activities. I always wore glasses previously, and still never achieved this level of clarity. Not that it''s worth living a medieval life, but looking on the bright side is useful upon occasion.


    Another positive would be that my language studies are going well. I can figure out one word in ten, on average. Usually what amounts to a filler word ¨C such as ''and'' or ''the'' - though. It would have been even better had I not spent so much time hung up over the differentgrammar. Despite all this I have yet to figure out my name. It''s ''Young Master'' this and ''Young Master'' that from the slaves, and I don''t get other visitors. I really am quite the pariah.


    That was why it was so surprising whenthe witch with the sharp nails, aka ''Mother'',came on her next visit and brought some children with her.So,these are my siblings? There''s three of them in total, two boys around fiveyears of age who are glaring at each other and a little girl who is probably two years old.


    I genuinely didn''t expect this. For a start, my Mother looks to be about twenty-one. How young was she when she had her first child? Ah, right. This is aworld closer to the past than to the present, the age for marriage is going to be younger than themodern-daynorm.


    That aside, she is currently gesturing one of theboy''sforwards with a slight smile on her face. It''s easy to tell the difference between the two, one is strongly built while the other looks like a gust of wind would blow him over. Sickly doesn''t even begin to cover it, even now he''s coughing into his sleeve. A hacking cough, not just clearing his throat. Sounds nasty.


    While on that train of thought, is it really a good idea to introduce an ill child to your new baby? Really? I''m bottle-fed as well, it''s not like I have been fed antibodies through breast-milk so I am more vulnerable to disease. Irresponsible parenting has been added to the charge of absentee parenting. Wait? What are they saying?


    "Tsuri... I...????... first???"


    They''re arguing about who gets to say hello to the new baby first? At least that''s what I think the frail boy was going on about. And the other boy namedTsuriignores him.So,he tries again.


    "Tsuri... I eldest son...???... Eldest son...????... goes first?"


    Eldest first would make sense in a tribal or feudalworld. But I won''t judge just yet -because I could have mistaken thesituationgiven the total scope of knowledge I possess. Then mother speaks and I could have sworn the temperature in the tent dropped. Does she have ice magic?Gone was the faintly pleased smile. Nowwasthe time of the glacial glare.


    "Enough...???¡­????????-????...?? ...Juntel!"


    Juntel. A word which I wasactually, for once, veryfamiliar with. Just never, ever in this kind of context. When I was taken outside, it would inevitably be toa child friendly area. And I was grateful for that. Children havemore limited vocabularies and are morerepetitivein speech.Therefore,learning the language was easier. Along the way I had also picked up a collection of jeers and taunts.Juntelnumbered among them.


    Calling someoneJuntelwas the equivalent of calling them a weakling, useless, a failure, nothing but a burden. It wasdefinitely not a nice word.Upon several occasionskids had been punished for using it within adult earshot. Not that that stopped them using it. Kids can be cruel. Theadult tribespeople seldomintervenedin thechildren''smatters, that showed just how serious this one wordwas.Breaking someone''s nose was less of an issue than calling them it.


    And ''Mother'' had just used it to refer to her son.She wasn''t even that angry! It wasn''t said in the heat of the moment. Itwas just a casual dismissal... which caused tears to form in my eldestbrother''seyes. My other brother,Tsuri, sneered before walking forwards. I didn''t get exactly what he said, it was too formal. But it seemed to be a perfunctorywelcome to the familyspeech? Then they all left, Mother giving me another sharp pinch on the way. What was up with her?!


    The only one to look back was eldest brother. His tears were gone, reddened eyes being the only remaining evidence of them. And he was glaring at me. Then, as if that was not enough to convey his hatred he spat on the floor rug. That triggered another coughing fit, which sprayed even more spit around. Before he finally left. If there was a door it would have slammed shut, but this was a tent so the flap simplyswishedback into place.


    I was left with just my thoughts. Which were mainly on the resent sequence of events. I didn''t comprehend them at all. Why hate me? I clenched my stubby fingers, reminding myselfonce more that I was now a baby who hadn''t even had their first birthday. What wasthereto loathe? I was hardly treated well... the flesh on my right arm still stung as testament to that... I give up. I just don''t know.

 Power Dynamics

    The 4Month & 2Days


    The good news is that I have gained a certain level ofcompetencein this world''s language. It is amazing what effect having nothing to do butmemorizewords has. The bad news is that I have hit a major obstacle. There is only so much that crops up in conversation around me, and I simply cannot remember words I have never heard!


    I have tried pointing at objects and saying a random sound. Maybe then someone would comment on it or tell me the correct word. Said methodworked a couple of times as well.But it cannot be used on a regular basis, purely because of the suspicion it would generate. What actual baby would be intelligent and focussed enoughto learn the language in this manner? No, I have to limitmyself and spend time on other activities.


    And my chosen activity is currently physical fitness and control. I would prefer to learn magic as a means of getting strongerbut, despite meditating like mad, nothing has come of my efforts. I haven''t given up on magic though. Definitely going to ask about it once I can actually speak words, and am old enough to not give myself away. Fornow,though,I exerciseand babblemy days away.


    The 4Month & 2Weeks


    Ican crawl! For a short way, at least. It feels... underwhelming.But what did I expect? It is crawling. I can also prop my body up in a sitting position against the side of the crib. Much better for seeing out of the tent flap, which in turn is much better foralleviatingboredom. The line of sight is limited, unfortunately. I can tell people are moving back and forth doing some sort of task. Don¡¯t know it''s nature. What I do know is that most everyone is busy - except for me.


    I adjust my posture back and forth, but no luck with getting a clearer view.Still, physique wise it seems likethe daily workout of moving my limbs as precisely aspossible until exhaustion sets in is working. Pushing my body upwards used to completely drain me.I haven''t done my exercisestoday though.


    Well, since I''m going to be taken outside in a moment I want to preserve my energy.And, right ontime, theslave girl namedYunare-enters my tent and smiles down at me. She''s the one who has been looking after me the most recently. I thinkthe middle-aged woman, Maya, is busy with whatever it is that everyone else is doing.


    "Young Master, we will now leave."


    It is a veryformal modeofaddressfora baby. Irritating as well. Because of all this respectful speech I still, to this day, have not a single clue about what my name is. Do I even have one? As I muse on the potential identity crisis chaosyou couldinstilin a child this way,Yunadisturbs mycontemplation. Scooping me up gently, she tucks the shawl a little more securely around my small form. It''s sunny, but given the speed of the wind, the temperature is slightly chilly.


    As we exit I realize what all the commotion is about. The tribe is packing up, most likely another migration. Tents are being taken down and the herds which normally roamfree are being rounded up. It''s done with super efficiency. Dimensional storage is a serioustransportation cheat. As soon as a box is filled it vanishes off into wherever and the men and women move on to the next task.


    Yunalooks at a loss for a moment, before she spotsTsuriin an area full of childrenand heads in that direction. It turns out to be a makeshift playground surrounded by boxes which also serve as benches. After settling herself down she sits me on her lap, since the boxes block the wind there is no need for the shawl any more.


    The play is mostly unsupervised. Adults passing by take a glance now and then, iftheyaren''t in too much of a hurry.Stick fightingseemsto be the game of choice here. And despite the fact thatTsuriis only four or five years old, that is something he excels at. It''s not just because he''s big for his age either, he actually has some skill.I watch him knock thestick out of hisopponent''shand, impressive given that said opponent is a head taller than him.


    Of course,any admiration that might have risen upissoon scuppered when he proceeds to kick that boys leg, hard enough that a whimper escapes. Laughter erupts as a result, especially when no attempt at retaliation takes place. I''d like to say it''s justTsuribeing an arrogant brat. I really, really would. But that''s how the pecking order in the playground is established. I''ve seen it all before. JustnotwithTsuriinvolved.


    But seeing him in action iswhy I have decided that today I will begin Plan Prodigy! Starting with my crawling skill...Well, thatisthe only appropriate skill I can considershowingoff.I amexceptionallygood at crawling for my age, yes, but not ridiculously so.If I recall correctly basic crawling should be achieved by six months old.So,four and a half months is early enoughthat Iwill likely beseenas a prodigy.


    Thisis something thatI both want and have to do,fortwomain reasons. The first is thatI have no intention whatsoever of becoming cannon fodder, I want to have a say over my life.This leads to the second factor, whichis thatmaintaining a position as a talented individual willbring benefits.A higher position in this society, a more luxurious life in the future... Is it really so wrong to want this?


    I saw the difference between how myeldest and second eldest brothers were treatednot long ago. Even though the eldestson should be the mostfavoured, because he is seen as aweakling, all the attention is lavished onTsuri. I don''twant to be spoilt rotten, but all this time in my tent has really driven it into me that I need social interaction, company, to not bealone. I want friends, if at all possible.


    "Catho!"


    Tsurishouts out suddenly, happily and most of all,sarcastically. He''s good at sounding gleeful. But his smile is malicious.


    "Whatare you doing brother?Reading? Outside?"


    That''s right. The person he''s addressing is my eldest brother, whose name I now know. He holds an old leather book in his hands, the spine is cracked and the pages are almost falling apart. I strain my neck to get a glimpse, but as expected I cannot read this world''s letters.


    A small groan of frustration escapes me andYunaflinches. Shelooks pale and stats rocking me gently while mumbling a lullaby as quietly as she can. It does make sense, though. If I were a slave and Ifoundmyself in a dispute between noble''s children I wouldn''t want to be noticed either. I do quiet down however. Gut instinct says that I need to observe this. And it is at that moment thatCathoresponds toTsuri.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "Yes."


    The monosyllable carries through the silence. But that silence issoon shattered.Tsuri''sgroup resemblednothing more thanhyenaswho have scentedblood. They crowdhim, pushing and shoving and making barbed comments. Watching to see what he reactsto, what his weakness is.


    Only he doesn''t react at first.Cathojust glares at them ¨C that is untilthey try and snatchhisbook, giving himan elbow to thestomachin the process. Then he doubles over and has a coughing fit. And while they scramble to get out of the way, he directs it all over the book. Before his lips form athin smile.


    "You still want it?"


    He holds out the book towards one of the larger boys. The one who had tried to pry his fingers of off it immediately prior to this. The recoil is immediate, and just like that the roles of predator and prey have beenswitched. AndCathoisn''t letting them escape. Flicking open a page, he draws it along his finger. Blood wells out, a red blot on the parchment.


    "Here it is. Go on. Take it. And maybe you''ll change. Become cursed. Just. Like. Me!"


    At this point the circle around him has formed again, but at a greater distance. No-one speaks up. Does that mean that curses are really a thing here? Well I mean, I''ve seen elemental and dimensional magic, as well as the runes on the tent inaction - soI suppose yet another typeof magic existing isnottoo muchof a stretch. Ah, but I''m lettingmyselfget distracted. Back to focussing on the stalemate.


    Or not. Why? Because am much older boy, earlyteensperhaps,steps forward. Which is abnormal since some of the unwritten rules that I havepicked up on are as follows. Fights between similarly skilled or similarly aged opponents are fine. ButTsuriis what, four and something? AndCathois two years older thanTsuri, I definitely heard that brought up inthe taunts,sohe is approximately six? Even if they joined forces, which would be never, they couldn''t win against an at leasttwelve-year-old youth.


    Not that they want to.Tsuriis the first to react and hastily bows his head. All the children in his group, and most of the othersfollow suit.And not just becauseTsuridid it. That older boy exudes arrogance. And judging by his clothes, which are finer than the ones that Mother wears, and the elaborately decorated sword sheathedon his waist... Well, he most likely has the status and skill to back up that pride.


    After my momentary distraction I realised that I was once again bundled up in the shawl.Yuna, however, was making her way to the exit with as much stealth as she could. Did I just get abandoned? Since I''m already propped up on the bench-like seat,I might as well watch the proceedings for the time being.


    "Now, what occurred here to cause such a commotion? We start forthe Heartlands in a matter of days, was your squabble serious enough to justify a delay?"


    The older boysmiles gently. Still giving off a super-intimidating aura though. Taking a fortifyinggulp of fresh air,Tsuriis the one to respond. Albeit reluctantly, and after checking to see if there was any other option.


    "No. I apologise, elder brother."


    Wait... What?!


    "Apology accepted, do try not to err again."


    Does that mean that everything is okay now?Of course,not, how could it be? I don''t get this? I have a step-brother? Or a cousin called elder brother as a form of respect? Maybe he''s just that high ranking...? While I don''t have a good opinion of my mother, she would have had to be a child at the time of pregnancywerethat the case. Please, don''t let my dad be a paedophile. Though that would explain his absence... Gah!


    "And you, I am very disappointed in you."


    So now he''s moved on toCatho. Literally, the arrogant12-year-oldwho may or may not be my brother steps forwards and plucks the book out of his arms. He then begins to pace in a wide circle. Did I refer to the younger kids as predators before? I was wrong to. This one is the real deal.


    "Your lineage may not be noble, but it is scholarly.Yourgrandfatheris Chief Chronicler of our tribe, dedicated to preserving knowledge for future generations. To defile a book with your blooddeliberately... how could you?"


    So,he was watching everything for a while then. And chose the most opportune moment to intervene, how very cunning.


    "You have brought shame upon your family. Ah, Imisspoke. You are a living disgrace to our family already. But you were not satisfied and had to continue to contaminate your maternalgrandparent''sreputation. How can I tolerate this-?"


    "Young MasterAmbrai. What a surprise to see your illustrious self at the playground. Surely you are not one to indulge in childish fits of fancy?"


    Mother has just arrived,Yunaclose behind. But even though her words are composed, the woman herself is not. Slightly out of breath, slightly less than immaculate hair and accessories... she must have rushed over as soon asYunaalerted her to whatever it is that is so serious. And, par for the course,Ambrai''ssmile doesn¡¯t waver in at all.


    "Naturally not, Third Mother.I was merely attempting to resolve a dispute between brothers. Alas,your sonsseem to have inherited a certaindisposition of disrespect. It truly surprises me. HonouredFather has never had any such trait in his bloodline."


    For the record, I have in no way beendisrespectful. I am a baby, and remarkably well behaved for my age. Though my anger pales in comparison to mothers. Her jaw muscle is twitching and that smile is more of a grimace. But she hides it quickly, eyes flicking back and forth, taking in everything that happened. Before the word I expected forms on her lips.


    "Catho! You wicked child... to steal from my personal library... and to try your brothers so!HadTsurinot prevented you from doing so, that book would be in tatters, would it not?Do you wish to anger me to death? To scorn out ancestral spirits?!


    Thankfully Young MasterAmbraiwas passing by and was able to assist...Young MasterAmbrai, thisincompetentmother offers her gratitude. I admit my faults in raising an insolent child and will accept the consequences of my actions."


    Tears begin to spill down her cheeks.


    "IUzure, willsacrificeto theancestors and beg forgiveness. ButTsurihas barely seen four Summers,and only meant well in preventing hisbrother''sevil actions!Ignorance is bad, but not as insidious as malice.Pleading with Young Master to explain this toHonouredHusband so that justice is done!"


    Ambrailooks deep in thought, brow furrowed as if he is trying to solve an impossible problem. Even his voice, when he speaks is pensive.


    "But a great wrong was still done. And justice must also be served in that regard..."


    Mother looks up through long eyelashes, glistening with her unshed tears.


    "As much as it pains me to say, what can I do but agree?Cathomust face the full consequences of his actions..."


    "Hey!"


    It is at this point thatCathospeaks up, and manages to get all of one syllable out before Mother reacts.


    "Quiet! What did I do to deserve this unfilialchild...?"


    She then sways slightly, as if about to faint.Yunaquickly moves to support her.


    "Madam! Ah, Madam! Your body is still weak..."


    AmbraiwatchesYunafuss over Mother, annoyance brieflymaking itself known on his features. He sighs.


    "Very well then. I shall relay Third Mother''swishes and repentance to Honoured Father, and willlikewisesacrifice to the ancestorsfor your health to improve."


    He then turns and leaves. After everyone else is gone the colour returns somewhat to Mother''s face and she rushes over toTsuri.Yunahurries over to check on me. And a summoned guard is tasked with detainingCathoin one of the yet to be dismantled tents. He''s muttering curses and glaring at me, again. But Mother doesn''t seem to hear him.


    No-one speaks for the entirety of the trip back to my tent, and Mother andTsurido not linger there either. Fatigue mixed with emotional exhaustionhits me hard and before I know it I am out of it once more. Honestly, I''m surprised I lasted this long.

 Chapter 4

    The 5Month & 3 Days


    After that particular incident I temporarily suspended any plans of standing out in favour of information gathering. Because although I had personally witnessed the fiasco, I could tell that there was asubtlerundercurrent of manipulation going on. And I didn''t get it at all.I heard the words, and watched the actions, but I was unable to comprehend exactly how they linked and why the consequences were what they ended up as.


    So, given thatCathowas, according to the gossip, punished so much that even now he was still recovering,learning the unwritten social rules became a priority. Yes, I was still a baby, and not even a year old. ButCathowas only six years old,andhe was deemed old enough for a severe beating. I had to learn the traditions andcustoms of this tribe,otherwise I would pay the price. Oh, and the price would be exacted according to said traditions and customs, not Earth law. Just great.


    For the pastweekand ahalf,I have been crawling around the newly constructed tent complex. That was after we spent over a week on the move, not much could be done during that period. Other than exercise and sleep. So, after thatI eavesdropped as much as I could tomakeup for that lost time. This was not just on the slaves who were my caretakerseither.Since I didn''t cry or fuss too much, and wasanoutwardly cheerful baby, I was allowed to wander the communal areas.Yunawouldn''t stop following me though. It was her job after all.


    Irritating but understandablelimitationson locationsaside, I had gatheredamassive amount ofinformation.The me of today could viewthe sequence of events back then in a wholenewlight. Therewerestill some mysteries remaining, but what I had mentally summarized was enough to giveme serious culture shock.


    So,first things first. My family. My super dysfunctional, super extended family. The head of my family is, naturally, my father. Who I still have not met but is always spoken of respectfully, even when no-one else is listening in and it''s a private conversation. Simple enough so far? Well, whenpolygamyis involved then it gets complicated, and fast.


    I do not know how many partners/loversfatherhas. Though over a dozen names areconfirmed as being in some sort of relationship. I say ''some sort'' because there are different tiers. At the top of the pyramid is the Lady, or First Wife. She not only has the highest status, but her children are also a step above their siblings. And guess whoAmbrai''smother is? Her.Furthermore,he is her eldest son, making him de-facto heir.


    Thenthere arethe secondary wives. Currentlytherearefive, orsix,nottoo sure,and my mother is the Third Madam, meaning that she is ranked below only the Second Madam and the First Wife. But since the Second Madam passed away a year or so ago only the First Wifehas the statusto order Mother around. AndMotherhas an intenseloathingfor that, but I digress.


    After the secondary wives are concubines. They tend to come from less powerful families when compared to the family of a wife. Andanychildren have a slightly lesserstatus than their wife-born siblings.Thisis where I lost countof the number oflover''sfather has.By the time Ireached two dozen I decided it would be better to focus on a different area. Otherwise I could have spent several weeks on it, easily.


    Below concubines are the slaveand servantgirls.Whose childrenautomaticallyhave no claimto the family name whatsoever. Even if a child is born, unless Father acknowledges the infant it has the same status as it''s mother; a servant or a slave. I get the impression that it is bad form to not take responsibility, but that''s it. Child support does exist, butagain,only providing that the baby is acknowledged.


    I kind of feel guilty aboutfeelingthis, but I amrathergrateful that I was born Mother''s child. Money and statuswise anyway. She''s hardly a good parent, butIprobablywillhavea decentpositionin the social hierarchyandsufficient funds that I won''t need to struggle to survive. Probably. Because sibling rivalry is expected here.


    Take that incident at the playground as an example. This is the subtext.Tsuri, as the second son started a fight with the eldest son,Catho.Ambraitook advantage of this to haveTsuriapologize, essentially making him admitnot just to fighting his brother, but also to lack of respect for the tribe by starting said fight. Which would damage father''s opinion ofTsurishould it get back to him. Children are held to fairly high standards here.


    He then proceeded, at least on the surface, to scoldCathofor taking the book and getting blood on it. At the sametime,he again exaggerates the shameCathohas brought on the family. Though the servants didn''t spend much time discussing that, so I still don¡¯t know why he is so disliked. Either way, he had accomplished his main goal ¨C to discreditTsuri.


    He did this because it seems likeTsuriis a genius when it comes to swordsmanship,despite only being four and a half. And our Father is apparently rather fond of him. All of which in turn means thatTsuriis a rivaltoAmbrai''sposition as father''s primaryheir. A threat which should be reduced. And had Mother not come then he would have achieved his goal and told Father of everything.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    But Mother did arrive, and the situation changed. Basically, Mother manipulated everything to a compromise. She would take a small amount of the blame,Tsuriwould get away with no consequences, andCathowould take the rest of the fallout.Not what he wanted exactly, but since it didn¡¯t have any negative consequences for him, he accepted. It was that or have mother accuse him back in front of father.Apparently telling on people to him is a really, really big deal. Something to remember.


    The 5Month & 1 Week


    I have officially started to babble. Enough so that during one of myconscioussessionsYunawas panicking because I was so quiet. I can stay awake for hours now! And I am kind of ashamed that that is an actual achievement for me.So,in order to avoid maidservantmeltdown,I moved around a bit playing with a wooden rattle all the while goingmamaandbaba. And genuine crying because I bashed myself in the eye with it. Hurts.


    Then I had a visitor. A not-Mother visitor, which is an unusualoccurrence. Yet another maidservant entered, this time with a frankly adorable girl who I recognised as my elder sister. Her hair was in a fairly elaborate twin bun style and her dress was pink. I reiterate, adorable.


    Sowhyhad my two-year-oldelder sister, plus a few months cometo visit?The gist of the matter? She was bored and wanted to see the baby. And play peekaboo and other such games, which damn my mental age, I played along with. If I really tried I could pretend I was babysitting or something. Escapism, for both of us, just in different ways.


    That is until she started to talk. And not baby babble either. I tuned her out at first thinking it would be that, then I heard ''Turi'' and ''Caho'' and realised that I had an actual source of information here on my siblings. Sort of. There was another fight between the two of them, or as she referred to it, playing silly. I am going to refer to itas fighting because they have reached a pretty bad level for kids of their age.


    Scary bad.Merla, Ifoundout her name as sheconsistentlyaddresses herself in the third person, doesn''t know who got the snake thing but it was verypoisonous. And, she repeats, very,very naughty.Mother was so angry she scolded all of them, evenMerla, evenTsuri, which apparently is the same as pigs flying. When she calmed down she apologised though. ToTsuri, andMerlawas there so that counts, my sister insists.


    I feelsorry for her. I mean, I was going on about how I had it pretty good without thinking about my siblings would feel living in this kind of environment.Merla''ssweet and even if she seems pretty uncaring about what happens toCatho, ''he doesn''t matter'', according to Mother. I made a rather incredulous face at that, and she laughed and poked my cheek. And repeated it again. Seemingly pleased that she had done something good.


    I think that all that was a bit much because I started crying. Not baby-wailing but that silent crying that adults do when you don''t want someone to know. And thenMerlastarted crying and ended up being carried away by her maidservant. Not a good end to our first proper meeting. I want her to come again though. Hopefully she will be allowed to.


    6 Months


    I like havingMerlaas a sibling. She''s cheerful and active and great at draggingYunaand her maidservant out to watch us play. Because of that I have had some time to observe the changes in scenery up close. Because we are no longer on a grassy plain, but rather in a weird forest of sorts. I don''t know if it actually is a forest because it consists solely of super large, super tall trees which are spaced wide enough apart that you can stampede a herd of horses between the gaps with ease. I know that because I saw exactly that happen. Other than that there are lots of flowers. And bees, apparently even if I cross universes I cannot escape the stingy things. Though they produce honey which I get occasionally so I will admit to mixed feelings...


    I have also started crawling in earnest. Across the grass, across the tent floor and driving everyone in general crazy with my bent for exploration. I like getting more control of this body and hate being shut in a small crib. I want to move! And so I actually threw the occasional tantrum when I am not allowed to crawl but that was far and few between. It was during one such tantrum that this happened. I honestly don''t know what triggered it but I started screaming and I kept on flashing in and out of baby mode.


    Not normal.Yes,I go back and forth but that is every few hours at the most. This was abnormal and I could swear numbers were flashing before my eyes. Then I would have a lucid moment. Then back to black. Everything felt as if it was closing in on me. I did end upinadvertentlymaking the situation worse though. Because as far as I could tell it was all mental. I was not in physical pain or anything.


    Note, if one is screaming when one wakes up as a baby, yes that is correct in most cases, keep on screaming in shock/horror. On the other hand, in my particular case,do notsuddenlygo limp and nurse your sore throat, or your caretaker will start screaming and thinking you''ve had some kind of, I don¡¯t know, heart attack? I didn¡¯t quite understandthe word she used. All I knew was I feltdizzy. Andbecause I didn¡¯t realise quite how serious the situation was, I was still quiet when she went running off, and by that point it was too late.


    As for how serious they thought it was, I''d say very. From my point ofview,it wasn''t that bad. But when a more senior maidservant came over and started talking about the pupils of my eyes being dilated and then Mother of all people rushed over I started to getfreaked out. She didn¡¯t even pinch me? And then an old man was called in who everyone addressed as ''Healer'', in hushed voices no less. Someone important enough that even Mother was less abrupt when speaking. Not deferential though, I have yet to hear that tone from her.


    I had beenpanicking, not really knowing if some bizarremedical ''procedure'' would occurbutallhe did was reach out and touch my forehead and I began to calm down. And then I started to blackout, feelingabsolutelyexhausted. I hadn¡¯t felt like this for quite some time. That in itself was a bit scary, and I was concerned about any consequences of this episode. But for now, I just made out the word ''congratulations'' before sleep claimed me. There was also something about a ''system'' and I don¡¯t know exactly what else...