《Madness》 Prologue: Origin "Let them in" The elder priestess whispered in her cracking voice. The monks moved swiftly despite their excessive age opening the door to a tall man and his child. "How long has it been, Verity of Forsenta?" She smirked teasingly at the Great Lord. "I have come here to heal my son from the evils residing in him." he announced seriously in his deep voice as he had no time for pleasantries. The child nodded shyly while looking down, he was a short boy, barely eight years old and shaking slightly. "Well then you may wait outside, I''ll talk to the boy." Verity glanced at his son with stern eyes ordering him to behave and obey. With that, he walked outside leaving a terrified child in the company of what looked like a witch. The room was dark, barely illuminated with candles that showed a dark figure crouched on the floor with a covered face. "Sit." she requested in a kind shaking voice. And he did so hesitantly, crouching awkwardly on the warm rug. "What is your name?" "Nate" he said proudly, as it seemed the only thing he was proud of. "Tell me child, what is it that bothers your father so much?" He looked up with suspicious eyes, as if unsure if he should trust her. "I.. I h-hear things, in my m-mind" he said finally, deciding he had no other choice. "What kind of things do you hear? Do you hear voices whispering in your ears?" she pressed on, knowing he wouldn''t elaborate otherwise. "No, no¡­ they don''t whisper.. th-they shout and yell. They''re afraid¡­ they keep asking where they are, and then they beg me to let them go. But I don''t know how!" He spit out, trembling uncontrollably now. "You said ''they'', how many voices do you hear exactly?" "S-seven. There are seven voices and they talk all at once sometimes." "How long have you been hearing them?" "Forever." "Are they speaking now?" She inquired kindly, interested. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Yes." he had his arms to his head, clearly hurting. "And what are they saying?" "Some of them I don''t understand, but one of them tells me you''re a liar: a scam-artist¡­ he says they had those where he came from." he was no longer stuttering. "Can you communicate with them?" "Yes, but they don''t always listen¡­ and they can see and hear everything¡­" "Ask them where they come from." He froze for a moment, staring down. "Earth. They all said they came from earth" "Earth¡­ alright, bring Verity in." At her signal a monk threw the doors open and his father stepped in a moment later. "You can rest assured Great Lord, your son is not infested with demons or devils. His problem is something entirely different. As he told me, the voices he hears do not control or advise him in any ill way, on the contrary they seem to be confused by the state they are in. The only deduction I can make is that your son has absorbed several dead souls from another dimension: Earth. And history has witnessed a few people with similar situations¡­ they are called Vessels. These souls cannot interfere with the body but they reside in him nevertheless, offering their opinions and experiences." It took several moments for what she said to sink in, and once it did Verity frowned in disbelieve. "What nonsense is this? Another dimension!? Such lies have never been uttered in a monastery before, I brought my son here to cure him from his madness not to indulge him further into these myths and legends!" He took his son''s hand forcibly and dragged him out, leaving the priestess with a sad smile on her face as she knew from that moment how difficult Nate''s life would be when everyone was convinced he was crazy. Meanwhile inside Nate''s head you could hear several voices directing curses at Verity, and those were the only thing keeping him from snapping at this injustice. For once, he felt that those voices were at his side. Chapter 1: Snap *seven years later* "Alright, one more time, Just like we trained!" The sergeant''s shout echoed through the training hall. It was a nice polished training area fit for a noble of Berity''s grade. ~You''re gripping too tightly, loosen up. and lower the spear. ~He''s coming from the left side. ~You should attack immediately. Do not talk at the same time! You''re confusing me! Nate watched as the disciple charging at him feigned a thrust and dashed to his left. Ready for the attack, Nate thrust right at his lungs shocking his opponent, then he took a step forward as he swept his rival''s legs from underneath him, ending the fight. ~Bah! That was horrible! The Xin Yi Quan focuses on ending the fight with one move. You should''ve reached the opponent quickly and drove powerfully through him in a single bust! If you''d have been at my dojo you would''ve been kicked out by now... After the visit to the monastery seven years ago, Nate started learning more about his case. He communicated better with them and found out that they had quite the experience. At first they helped him with his scholar work with great efficiency and that earned him the reputation of the "mad genius" which didn''t help his efforts to fit in. Nate however, noticed something weird, the seventh voice never seemed to speak. He learned to recognize the tone of the speaker and ever since the monastery, that particular voice never appeared. He also had fits oftentimes, usually when all those six voices talk at once which would cause a terrible headache and confusion. Fortunately, after cooperating with them that didn''t happen as much. Of course, for his father it didn''t look like an improvement as he seemed to consider Nate faithless and blasphemous for even listening to them. "Great job young lord, I''ll be sure to tell his lordship of your progress." The sergeant said proudly, oblivious to the fact that his father would simply ignore everything that went after the ''medical report''. ~c''mon, stop standing there, it''s dinner time! I''m hungry! ~A good disciple can survive two days on- ~Oh stop talking old man, of he listens to you he''ll get hypoglycemia in a week! Alright, stop spouting nonsense I''ll eat. He sighed as he entered his chambers and signaled his maid to help him dress. He was slightly depressed at the thought of seeing his father and sister again, as he''d been staying clear of them for a while now, not wanting to hear another comment about his "problem" As he finished he joined his family at the dining hall and sat at his rightful place: on his father''s right on the opposite side of his sister. The food looked as grand and delicious as always. After all, nothing was too grand for verity... Thirty minutes after they started feasting verity announced in his usual loud regal voice: "Nate of forsenta." here we go... This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ~not again... ~hold your temper Nate, you can''t afford to make him mad. Not after the last time. "I have heard reports from the doctors that you are still experiencing the same trauma you were since birth. Now the whole court knows of it and the citizens spare no rumor at the ''young retard''. I announce this before so many of you just so I can get a straight answer. When will you accept the inevitable truth that they are not real?" Several chuckles were heard and he saw Kelsea, his sister, smirk devilishly. ~Don''t snap! Tell him you''ve been having less fits recently, some will back you up! ~No one will back him up and you know it. This is useless. You''re all avoiding the hollow truth. He''s gonna kick us out one day or another and kelsea is gonna inherit his rank. We should go with a fight. ~For once I agree with our sadistic fellow here. Leave with your pride! ~How will we survive out there? You aren''t thinking ahead! ~It''ll be way easier than surviving here! He can become a blacksmith like me if anything. Hell, he can become anything! Literally... Stop...shut up.... ~We should stay "SHUUT UPP!" With his arms around his head he yelled with a high pitched voice drawing even more attention, but he didn''t care anymore. He was angry at everything. "Wether I admit it or not these voices are here. They might be a sicknes or real but that doesn''t matter; they''re here, in my mind and I can''t get rid of them. I''m going to stop wasting everyone''s time and just leave this godforsaken place." He meant every word of it and he got up to leave, not wanting to spend one more minute in the company of the people he loathed most. As he looked back one last time he noticed there was a slight guilt and shock in Kelsea''s eyes. He left, making a quick stop in his chambers to pick up a bag of valuables and the spear he got for his birthday. Everyone stayed out of his way, afraid and disgusted. They even opened the gate immediately at his sight. All the better. He ran out of the town blinded with tears. He didn''t even notice when he began crying. Although a bit sad, that was the beginning of his new life. And for once, not a single voice spoke in his mind. He stopped after a while, exhausted, and rested at the bottom of a tree. Then he got up, took an attack position and started thrusting at the tree. He got stuck in the monotony of his exercise, mesmerized by the sound of steel hitting wood and feeling calmer with every strike. It was an action he always did when he was stressed, and it always calms him whatever the dilemma might be. ~What are you going to do now? "I''m going for a hunt." Chapter 2: Control Author note: First of all, I''d like to thank you for sticking around for chapter 2 I''m not a professional and I will make mistakes and it would be a great help if you mention them in a comment! I know my style might be a little flashy with all the colours, but I found this to be the best way to express ''thoughts'' or things going on inside the MC''s mind. Arlight, now that I''ve sufficiently bored you with the paragraphs that you have probably read hundreds of times in almost every fic... here''s the action: ________________________________________ ~Roll to the right...Now! And he did, dodging the wolf''s lunge and getting back at his feet hastily then thrusting his spear at it''s front legs. With a crippled leg the wolf''s mobility certainly decreased but it still proved a capable threat against Nate, considering that he''s never faced an opponent other than the other disciples and some minor monsters. Nate kept thrusting impatiently, still fed with the anger from before even after his relaxing exercises. The wolf kept resisting with its superior reflexes and instincts as it put all its strength to block every strike with its claws and occasionally counter-attacking. Nate swung suddenly, ignoring all the cries coming from his mind begging him to focus. Taking that chance, the wolf bowed down and bit his foot, returning the favor bitterly. Shocked, he tried to retreat and ended up on the ground after straining his now wounded leg. Of all the voices shouting at him at that moment, he could only hear one over his adrenaline. ~Take out the knife It felt like being possessed, his body moving on its own drawing the dagger. ~Put your left arm in front of you And his arm reacted directly, not bothering to pass through him first. The wolf bit it, and its fangs stuck. Nate was afraid at that point, terrified even and not just at the gory image in front of him and the pain he felt. It was the feeling of someone else controling his body. He couldn''t bare it. The knife he held was now inside the wolf''s skull, but that didn''t matter. The voice moved him. ~Nate calm down, this isn''t as bad as it looks, he saved your life. Our lives. He ran, just like he ran from the castle, now with blood dripping all over him. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "THIS ISN''T YOUR LIFE, IT''S MINE! GET OUT!" He couldn''t get the trauma out of his mind, knowing that his body wasn''t fully his. He couldn''t ignore now that he''s sharing a body and a mind with seven others, and it felt like he was a child again, back at the monastery. Unless... That''s right...it''s so simple, it was obvious all along. I''m mad. I can''t be controlled, not even by myself. ~sto- ~Na- ~You''re gonna bl- The voices continued raining down on him, but he didn''t have the energy to respond, until he noticed that one of the voices were coming from outside his mind. "Hey you! You from around here?" Someone said with a heavy accent, and Nate turned to the voice slowly considering the answers he would give him, or if he would reply at all. "No." He decided finally. He was barely giving thought to anything as this was very different than what he was used to. Voices don''t act. They just speak. That moment seemed to break everything he knew. "Well I would''ve guessed, never seen you around these parts. I could lead you to a village if you''re interested, not safe to spend the night out here" Nate nodded, knowing it would save him from all the explaining. So he followed, numb from all the screaming and dripping blood from all his wounds. *** Nate fainted halfway and had to be carried on the back of the youth. He headed towards his home; a sturdy wooden house similar to every other in the village. "Hey maa! Look what I found in the forest, can I keep it?" His mother, a fairly old woman who nevertheless never seemed to need any rest when working around the house, was quite morified as her son dropped an unconscious annd severly wounded teenager on her floor. After an hour of swearing and arguing that woke the whole family, she was properly convinced her son hasn''t kidnapped someone, rather, he was acting by the goodness of his heart. Nate, already patched up and unconscious was left to sleep on the couch. Chapter 3: Spar Author note: Hope you enjoy! I would appreciate feedback if you have time :D
"How''s the state at Mercui?" "They''re dead, the king denounced them as traitors and had them executed last morning." The man clicked his tongue, frowning. That makes the third execution, and we''re already running out of members. "We need to set up base at Forsenta before they do, who''s idle at this moment?" "There''s the amateur: Kelvin, but he''s just graduated. I wouldn''t recommend it sir." said the advisor as no rookie has been send to a field mission this early. "He''ll have to do. Bring him in." The advisor nodded then went out of the vast room seemingly gliding on the dark floor. They''re already this strong in a week... it took us two years to get where we are. After the rival organization ''Trinity'' was founded, they threatened the existence of the ''Spider''s den'' with their tendency to preform their missions with an unnatural success rate. Moments later, a tall blond youth walked into the room and raised his head meeting the eyes of the overlord. "How may I be of service?" No titles, that was the rule in the spider''s den. There was no need for figures or golden crowns to manifest authority or power. They worked in the shadows after all. "Kelvin, I have several reports about you excelling in the delicate art of manipulation and I seek to test these skills of yours in a mission of high importance." Neither of their faces showed any emotions due to the intense training they had to undergo. They both studied each other, detecting every minor movement and interpreting it to learn the true feelings hidden under all the masks. "I would be honored to accept this quest, whatever it might be." he said in his best dignified voice. "You are to be sent to the town of Forsenta, under the rule of Verity the Honest. Your first duty is to he employed as the royal adviser and to convince his lordship to support our cause. If Verity proves to be stubborn however, you will be bound to devise a coup d''¨¨tat removing him from the throne in favor of his elder son." All his years of ruthless training kept the shock from appearing in his eyes at being chosen to such a dangerous mission. Nevertheless, he agreed knowing he had no other choice. Besides, stripping a lord of his lands and ranks might be quite fun! *** Things were messy at the Anders family, for their son had come home one night with another youth on his shoulder. After a couple of days of resting, this youth still refused to talk or do anything beside stare at a wall. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The family of four however did not kick him out so soon, mainly because of the insistence of their son: Fitch and their daughter: Mitra. Fitch tried to help Nate because of his good hearted nature, but Mitra just wanted an excuse to rest while pretending to be ''taking care of the poor boy''. But Nate didn''t react until he saw Fitch training with a wooden sword in the backyard. He was oddly interested, and he got up for the first time and picked up his spear, his body eager to move. The spear felt comfortable in his hands, and waiting for till Fitch stuck the dummy''s torso with a swing, he aimed and threw it hitting the head of the dummy squarely. ~Nice throw Fitch, already suprised by the spear was more surprised by Nate''s sudden appearance. "I wasn''t sure you could speak, much less use a spear!" Then he grinned maliciously "Want to spar? Dad taught me all he knew." Nate nodded. They both took battle stances, Fitch on the offensive while Nate took a Bajiquan stance which holds the head, torso and feet at the same vertical plane. A voice taught him that stance. ~His stance is weak, he''ll lose surely in close combat. Once the fight started Nate shot out feigning a direct attack with the spear, and Fitch retreated backwards, allowing Nate to rotate around him with strong but quick foot movements. After getting close, he dropped the spear favoring his bare hands. ~Aim at his left joint, his gripping too tightly, that''ll make him drop the sword His arm was stronger apparently, and he did not drop it instead he backed up swinging wildly. Nate ducked and tackled him falling on top, then held him down pinning his arms to the ground. Fitch wasn''t done however, and he threw him off rolling to the left. They both climbed up to their feet, but Nate was faster and he used his advantage to kick his opponent in the stomach ~Kick his right arm, he''s gonna punch With a failed attack Fitch tried to grip Nate using his muscle and height advantage, only to be elbowed in the noise. Being one step ahead he was winning and soon enough the fight ended with Fitch laying on the ground. Looking around he noticed there was a crowd around and they cheered as Nate won. It was almost the whole village. "You have to teach me how to fight like that." Thus began the daily routine of sparring in the village. Chapter 4: New friends Life has never been better for Nate, for simple village life seemed a hundred times better than his old cruel one, mostly because the villagers didn''t notice his occasional twitch and they didn''t inquire about his fits even after he stated he had a sickness. He would work all day in the farms: Planting, harvesting, watering... but he never complained, looking forward to the evening training class. After his little spar with Fitch, every man in the village practically begged him to teach them how to fight. He was more than happy to do it. "It''s been a week... are we really gonna keep standing here doing nothing?" Said Hash, the blacksmith. He was muscled obviously due to his line of work, but had close to no experience in fighting. Several agreed with him, hoping to do some actual fighting for once. "Hash, the stance is the most important thing in a fight, you saw how I beat Fitch using his stance''s weakness against him. Besides, we''ve been doing some shadow fighting." He grumbled, knowing he had no choice but to obey if he wanted to learn anything. That was another thing that confused Nate, why were they so enthusiastic to fight? When he asked them, he discovered that bandits were very common in these parts and it didn''t surprise him that his father''s forces didn''t move in time to help them when they are raided. They had to succumb their supplies most of the time, and that was the main reason the village was so shabby. ~I''m bored. Make them fight! ~He''s actually right, they''re ready. They were already fit enough with all the labor they''re doing and now they mastered their stances! ~Stop lying, you just want to see a fight... "Alright, I think you''re ready; Hash and Jorg, pick up you''re staff''s and get ready to duel!" He said smiling. Cheers ran out between the men, and they made quite a noise for there was thirty of them. Bets started to rise up too, for although Hash was the broadest man here, Jorg was a mean fellow; His eyes gave off a ferocious look which complemented well on his serious face. They all knew well that he wouldn''t hesitate to kill a man. "Fight!" His voice shocked them into action, Hash raised his spear and closed in while Jorg threw his with monstrous strength. Just like I taught them. ~Is this what it felt like when you taught me? ~Yep ~Teaching is amazing, in fact, I was a teacher in my previous life! ~being a student isn''t as fun though, especially in highschool... highschool was a nightmare. Meanwhile Jorg had Hash in a firm grip, while Hash was struggling to throw him off. Finally, Hash lifted him in the air and dropped him on the opposite side. He climbed back at his feet swiftly, then retook his staff aiming low thrusts at him. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hash barely had time to recover and was caught in a surprise. It was over soon, and Fitch took over training them in swordsmanship. It wasn''t much, but his father was a war veteran and he taught him the basics. Nate was glad to rest at his new home. After all, his new mother and sister would have dinner ready by now. "Nate of Forsenta, What would a noble be doing in these parts, I wonder.." A wicked voice sounded behind him and he stopped in his tracks. ~Shit Dad knows where I am He''s gonna kill me Slowly, Nate turned around and asked with a stern voice: "Who are you?" "Well I guess it''s only fair since I already know your name, I''m kelvin. Now that we have that out of the way, I''m here to lend you the opportunity to seize what is rightfully yours, should you be interested." ~Straightforward, huh. Pretend to accept just to see where he is going. ~He doesn''t look like he''s lying... ~That just means he''s good at it. "How did you find me?" "Come on, don''t give me that look, the whole town saw you run into that forest and then all it took was following some very clear footprints. It wasn''t magic." "You can go back then, because I''m happy here." "Oh are you, he said between laughs, Aren''t we humble! Will you be so happy when the bandits pay you a visit?" That caught his attention. "What bandits?" "Didn''t your friends tell you why they were eager to train? They want to fight. And the bandits won''t like that, they''ll get nasty. They''ll take the women." "So? How''s that gonna make me kill my father?" "It won''t, I just have to make sure you survive long enough to replace your father." "What makes you think I''ll trust you?" "We both know you already do, but you don''t have to, you''ll make preparations to defend anyway. Why not ask those ''voices'' what they think?" He said with a smirk, waiting to see his reaction. It took a moment for the thought to sink in, and the inevitable truth that he''s right convinced him to listen to him for now, although not fully trusting him. "Shouldn''t you be convincing me to leave them behind? Or not tell me at all?" "You''ll have found out eventually. besides, I wouldn''t want to start a relationship based on lies." he grinned devilishly knowing that lies were exactly his specialty. "I''m assuming you wouldn''t tell me why you want to do this..." "Get your men as ready as possible, I''ll get the weapons. I''ll add in some extra stuff just for you. We''ll meet again, son of Verity." With a sigh, he head back home tired and starving. ~I have some ideas for a defensive battle