《Spirit Lord》


 Chapter 1, prologue

    The kid opened his eyes for the fifth time in that week since he had been abandoned on the edge if the forest. Thick trees and plentiful of greenery surrounded him as he awoke, slowly rising his eyes darted around. The kid had learned what carelessness would give him.


    The second day he had been in his little clearing he had been ambushed by a wild jaguar, the only reason he survived was the passing tiger that had stalked the jaguar and killed it in front of him. Needless to say the kid had shit his loincloth and hid for a solid hour before he poked his head out of the fallen tree he called his home. For the next days he was way more cautious and always scanned his immediate surroundings. His food consisted of a few wild berries and a root plant that he stumbled upon, foul and most likely a but poisonous he ate them nonetheless.


    After confirming no threats were currently out to eat him he went to the edge of the clearing to gather his breakfast. The berries were quick to grow, abnormally so, as two days after his first harvest they had already re-grown. The berries were blue and looked like big strawberries, the taste was nothing great but satisfying and very filling. After eating a few he had to sit down and wait for it to be digested before continuing his foraging.


    The early hours of the evening flew by as he got the idea that some of these vines really were flexible and that by combining them he made a basket to hold his earnings. An hour to figure out the method to use and two hours gathering the materials and actually creating the damn thing later and he had the finished product. The basket was nothing special but it could hold more than his hands. Gathering speed was significantly better with his new trusted basket, the berries were already showing their buds. Surprised and grateful for the mysterious berries he gave them a small thanks before he skipped off to his fallen tree to rest for abit before planning the rest of the day.


    Meanwhile in the trees a small speck of light was floating quickly towards the clearing the boy was cheerfully eating another helping of berries. The light pulsed and picked up its speed, the leaves rustling behind it and from the bushes a giant white tiger leaped into the air. The floating light swerved off to the right and barely dodging the gaping maw of the tiger. The light continued on its path to the clearing, somehow sensing a small sliver of hope in that area, and judging it to be the best choice.


    The chase went on as the light each time just got away from the leaping maw of the tiger. The light dimmed with every minute passed and its speed was slowly but surely dropping, the tiger was just about to swallow it as the light broke into the small clearing. The light of the sun touched a fallen tree and on it sat a small creature no larger than a tiger pup, yet the light felt oddly connected to the young man. Speeding towards him the ball of light powered on and gained a little distance from the white tiger.


    The boy startled from his peaceful meal jumped up from the fallen tree and went for a large stone by the bed of the tree. The light that startled him to action paled in front of the entrance of the large tiger as it roared, weary from the long chase. The boy raised the stone above his head and ushered a small hiss to the approaching ''things''. The light was unfazed by the action and headed straight for the boys chest, as it passed into his chest the boy felt the sluggishness that usually accompanied the berries leave him. In his mind he felt a sudden influx of memories and with them an urgent danger that was the tiger. The light offered him a chance at survival, and he took it


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    Wiping the fright and and confusion from his mind he directed his thoughts to the memory that seemed the most important. The scenery changed and suddenly he was at the bottom of a waterfall, the trees all around him were wrong. Not thick and brown with moss growing on them but thin, lean and with barely any colour in them.


    He heard a sound behind him and saw a gathering mass of glowing balls of light, the balls had different sizes and colours and they were moving toward him. When they came close enough they stopped and his vision shifted slightly, no longer did he see balls of light but people, warriors, workers, healers and leaders. The lights were all different, some more elaborate than others, some were a single weapon, other a full set of armor. The lights all lowered their heads to him as best as they could and he felt their devotion to him.


    Along with the memory came a new sensation, euphoric and relieving it told him the next step on his road. Purpose filled him to the brim with the determination to do what the memories said. As he resolved himself the small white light felt relieved as it had found the best possible answer to the tiger, a master.


    The boy started to chant and he felt his energy drain as a connection appeared between him and the small light, the light too felt the connection and complied to the chants purpose. As the bond was formed the light morphed into a glowing white dagger with a simple design but a sharp edge. The boy grabbed the dagger and crouched into a low stance, the pose coming from their bond. Charging, the tiger opened its mouth and roared a challenge to the newcomer in its hunt, sensing the light still here but could not see it.


    The tiger lunged at the young boy ready to tear his head from his body and claim its prize from this thieving little paws. Dodging the blow the young boy stepped in and swiped his new dagger at the second front leg scoring a shallow cut and drawing blood. Backing off the boy readied himself for another attack and was met with the open mouth and glistening teeth. Going under the tiger was too risky and jumping back was too late so the boy went the only way he could, forward. The tiger was startled but could not react in time as the dagger slipped into the bottom of its mouth and into the brain. The shock of the blow was never even transmitted as it died too fast.


    Even with his first successful battle done he did not go unscathed as blood dripped from his arm, a tooth sticking out from it. The adrenaline from the battle passing the pain and exhaustion came rushing into him and he blacked out

 Chapter 2, Reality check

    A sharp sting awakened the boy and as the usual morning ache was multiplied by his rather uncomfortable position. The first coherent thought the boy had was that he felt pain, looking to where the pain came from he saw the tooth of the white tiger jutting from his arm. With the discovery came the memory of his battle last night, the moment he tried to stand up he shuffled someting off his legs. The tiger was definitely dead. Reassured by this thought he tried poking the dwad beast, the head moved to rhe side and got a closer look at his own handiwork. The open wound went from the uppermost part of the skull and straight down, through the brain and past a glowing white orb.


    After a good ten minutes puking the boy came up empty and nothing more in his belly, this reminded him how devastatingly hungry he felt. Walking over to his faithful basket and grabbing a handful of berries he then proceeded to go over what exactly had happened last night. The day had gone well until the appearance of the glowing orb of light and the angry beast, speaking of glowing orbs. The boy looked again at the exit wound from his newly acquired ''servant'', the word popping into his head. In the center of the tigers skull the reflective orb was dimly emitting its own light. The boy plucked the orb out of the skull and, swallowing another round of vomit cleaned the orb against a wet leaf. As it touched the leaf it suddenly flared and a blinding light ensued the curious youngster. The orb he took from the dead beast shifted and morphed into a plain white gauntlet that fit perfectly on his arm. Startled the boy jumped back and tried to claw the new gauntlet of him but no matter how hard he pulled it was stuck. Then he realized that it could be like the other light so he willed the dagger to appear in its neutral form, the light exited from his chest and with it the gauntlet disappeared in a burst of light. The glowing ball of light was bigger and shined brighter but the boy did not know why so he inquired to the light to show him. His answer came from the memories he had gained last night when his vision had shifted so he tried that now as well, with a little difficulty he got it to work


    The light shifted and formed an ethereal body of white with a dagger and a gauntlet being the only concrete things on it. The boy was shocked as he did not expect anything of this scale to happen to the light, it had apparently absorbed the orb from the tiger. The outline was a crouched down humanoid figure with an ethereal cowl hiding its face but the boy could feel that it was staring at him through the cowl, it was eerie but there was no hostility towards him so that was nice. The the light bowed its head and he could feel happiness and relief coming from their bond, he asked the light why it was happy and got a feeling of comfort and safety from the light. With no real apparent answers coming from the glowing thing he set off for the basket of berries to replenish his starving body. The berries were still fresh after a night of basically no protection against the elements so the usefulness of the berries grew even more in the boys perspective. After eating the berries for five minutes he did not feel any better so with brows furrowed he plowed through the rest of the berries. Only on the last berrie did he feel any sort of fullness in his stomach so he was satisfied and chalked it up to the hunger of the battle before, he then went on to the edge of the clearing to refill.


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    When night came he did not feel tired at all so he thought about the battle where he had barely survived on a gamble of a play. The more he thought the more he realized just how lucky he had been, where it not for the light having come to him the predator would most likely have been digesting his body by now. Shivering at the sobering reminder to his truthfully pathetic strength he set out further into the forrest to look for those strange root plants.


    Finding only a couple he returned to his tree to rest for the night when he heard multiple loud howls coming from behind him. He broke into a sprint as the adrenalin rush came back from the night before, he ran and ran out till he had returned to his fallen tree. Slowing down and jogging slightly to an open hole in the tree he hid himself there as the howls got closer, what could the creatures be? He wondered as his imagination ran wild with creating the most grotesque beings possible and a cold sweat appeared on his forehead. When the sound of howls disappeared vand where replaced by low growls he started to shiver but held quiet as a mouse. Whait, what was a mouse?


    Not the time he chided himself as he peeked out of the hole he hid in and was met with five giant grey and black beasts as tall as he was on all four. The beasts where looking around the clearing until the spotted the dead tiger, they approached it and sniffed it carefully to be certain that it was dead. Then suddenly they started tearing the flesh off the tiger and swallowing giant lumps as quickly as he would eat the berries of the jungle. Watching them he noticed a gleam surrounding their bodies and shifting any dirt and blood they tore from the tiger away from their own bodies. Interested in the glow he leaned further forwards and shifted his body to get a closer look at the creatures, but as he did a branch beneath his foot cracked and split in two and the snap reverberated throughout the clearing. The giant beasts heard the crack and they raised their heads to the sky, listening, waiting for another sound to reveal whatever had disturbed their meal. A minute went by and the beasts had not moved from their listening when one of them barked and went back to eating, the rest followed shortly after.


    Another ten minutes of flesh parting and bones cracking later the beasts turned around with one last look at the mangled body of the one proud tiger. The boy had sat on his butt for a good twenty minutes extra to be sure before he exited the tree and looked himself at the tiger feeling a little guilty for the fate of the thing, then he remembered that it had tried to kill him and all pretence of guilt vanished from his mind. The rest of the night was spent hauling bones from the abnormally large tiger to his resting place in the tree, he had the idea that the bones were apparently to hard for the creatures to break with ease so they must be strong. Indeed the bones were heavy and tough things, he used too much time on moving them before the idea of rest resurfaced in his mind.


    With that he patched the opening up with a few leaves and some bones before he let his tired body sleep.