《Hiraeth, longing for a home that never was》 The prologue ¡°He is alone, alone in a world unknown to him. Alone in a place he does not understand. Longing for a home that never was. He who is alone in the world, Hiraeth.¡± I am Hiraeth, a young adolescent in high school walking up the hill on the first day of the year to my school... alone. Why you ask? Here is why. ¡°Who¡¯s the creepy boy¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The one walking alone¡± ¡±Ugh, he IS creepy!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk so loudly he might hear you¡± ¡°Fucking weirdo, reading at a time like this¡± Sigh, this is why I don¡¯t enjoy going to school because of this. I feel like I don¡¯t belong there. ¡°damn, why does he have to be in our class¡± ¡°I dont want to see him¡± ¡°He¡¯s always alone ¡° ¡°Yeah, disgusting right. Why is he always in the corner.¡± ¡°He is so strange, he never talks.¡± ¡°Why do we have to have be in the same class as him.¡± ¡°I know right, he should go somewhere else. Nobody likes him anyways¡± Well at least I have my books where I can escape this sad reality for the tales of other worlds of magic and technology unimaginable to man The only time I can feel at peace is when I can read tales of long foregone civilizations unraveling the mysteries of the universe Stories about mysterious warriors walking the long lonely journey towards their fate. ¡°Hiraeth, Give that book here I am confiscating it unless you want me to suspend you huh¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°And stop looking outside.¡± Well there goes my only respite. Later. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m home!¡± ¡°WHY ARE YOU SO LATE HIRAETH KWANTES!¡± ¡°But this is the time the school ends in the last year of high school.¡± "We have more lessons than we did last year." ¡°DON¡¯T LIE TO ME, TO YOUR ROOM!¡± Being send to your room at the age of 17, this is saddening. The book I was reading was confiscated and I have nothing else to do. I might aswell go to the library. ¡°Mom, I am going to the library.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be gone for long¡± After a short walk to the library The library has always been one of my favourite spots to hang out. There are lots of interesting stories. Even when don¡¯t feel like reading books I can surf on the web. I have always used the library as my escape route from the rest of the world. I have always enjoyed the presence of the librarians. They show me all kinds of the strange or different things they have here. ¡°Hey Hiraeth are you back again, we have a new set of newly books you can take a look at.¡± ¡°Thanks for the tip Julia I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± ¡°Take your time, they are in the back¡± New stories I have not yet read, since Julia suggested them they have to be good.. Now lets take a look, The chronicles of Helias, Book 3: The Blood Moon, The Mansion on the hill and the list goes on but there is one special book that attracts my attention ¡°The Quest for a home that never was¡± oh, I want to read this, I have to read this. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.¡°Julia, can I borrow this?!¡± ¡°Let me take a look. Hm, that is strange. We don¡¯t have that book on the list.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t read it?¡± ¡°Aaaah, of course you can have it, you know what we don¡¯t have it on the list anyways so you take it home and we¡¯ll keep it a secret just between us.¡± *Wink* ¡°Thank you Julia, thanks alot¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind it now go quickly before others notice this.¡± ¡°See you later Julia.¡± ¡°Good bye¡± ¡°I am home mom, I¡¯ll be in my room¡± I still have to live out that ¡®punishment¡¯ from before. Walking up stairs every step seems to take forever. I can¡¯t wait I want to read this book. Finally I reach my room, I step inside. I reach my bed and I take a look at the cover of the book. There is a young man walking down a long forest path. In the middle of the green forest. The young man contrasting with the grass green surrounding him. Long sky blue hair waving like the wind and a face flowing like a calm river. Walking gracefully looking at you through the cover with calm compassionate eyes What a beautiful person. Bewitched by that sight I open the first page of the book. It tells me about the writer I am Hiraeth, he who longs for a home that cannot be reached. I am writing to the me that once lived long ago. I am writing of a time long long ago. When I longed for a home. I will tell you about my journey in the hope that you might reach the home I could not. Follow me into the world, a world where you might find the home you long for. ¡°huh, does it end here?¡± ¡°O wait, there is a sentence at the end¡± ¡°Dilynwch fi fy annwyl, Felly, efallai y byddwch yn dod o hyd i''ch cartref¡± What does it mean? What is this longing? I want a place I can be myself, a place I feel at peace. I long for a place to belong. The moment I think that a blue shining circle appears beneath my feet. Everything is black, I can¡¯t see anything when I hear a voice. ¡°Hiraeth, I am glad I have found you at last¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°That is not important¡± ¡°Let me ask you Hiraeth, ydych chi am ddod o hyd i''ch cartref?¡± ¡°Hiraeth, Do you want to find where you belong?¡± ¡°Yes, Of course I do, who does not!¡± ¡°Yna, Dilynwch fi fy annwyl, Felly, efallai y byddwch yn dod o hyd i''ch cartref¡± I am so tired. *yawn* I can¡¯t stay awake anymore. ¡°Sleep my child, for when you wake up a you will make the first step on a journey of a thousand miles¡± ------------------------------------------------------ Hello readers I want to make a request, would everyone who enjoyed the story and read further chapters comment to tell me what in this prologue peaked your interest and what you would further like to see from this story. Thank you very much for reading :) Chapter 1 The wolves Hey this is an unedited chapter so if you find any mistakes please tell me in the comments I will try to fix them as soon as possible. (tomorrow) Now go on and I hope you enjoy :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I wake up to the howl from a pack of wolves. ¡°I didn''t know wolves moved into the country¡± I say to the giant forest I woke up in the middle of. Why am I talking to a forest anyways. Wait, a forest? Wasn''t I reading in my room. Ok, STOP. Lets organize my thoughts before I do something stupid. Now what was the last thing I remember I was doing. I went to the library, I found an interesting book, took it back home and started reading it in my room. What happened after that. I can¡¯t seem to remember anything after that point. I will just have to find civilization before night falls, I recall hearing some wolves howl in the distance. I don¡¯t want to be caught by them¡­ Argh¡­ Just thinking of what they would do gives me the shivers I should hurry up. Where should I run to? I haven¡¯t even figured out where I am yet. WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT DAMNED I SHOULD JUST RUN! I hear them howling again closer now. I run away from the wolves as quickly as I can yet why are my feet so cold. There is snow everywhere damned! What a beautiful sight though. Even though I am running away from a pack of wolves I can still appreciate the charm of a green forest covered in snow standing on top of a field of red flowers. If I had some time I would definitely lie down and enjoy the sight of this. But running away definitely takes priority right now. As I say that breathing is getting harder and harder. My feet lose their feeling, my sides are starting to sting and my legs hurt like no other. I just can¡¯t run anymore, as I thought of giving up I just fell down like a puppet that got its strings cut. I fell down in a very cold heap of snow covering most of my body. Too weak to stand up or even move I think, am I going to die here? Aah, I should just give up, I can¡¯t outrun wolves no matter how hard I try. I hear wolf paws hitting the snow out in the distance but strangely I don¡¯t feel afraid. I am tired, ¡°just let me sleep already¡± as I said that my mind darkened. I fell into a very long and peaceful sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It feels so warm and nice in here. This warmth brings me peace of mind it makes me feel like dozing off for a little while longer. Its as if someone is kindly embracing me with her soft arms. I remember feeling like this before, when was it again? An image pops up in my mind, who was that again. I think I can almost reach it is just out of reach. Well such things don¡¯t matter to me right now I don¡¯t want to disturb this serene moment. I wish I could stay like this for forever. Huh, a wet nose is calmly pushing up against me. Once, twice and a little lick on my nose to wake me up. I open my eyes and my pupils widen in shock. A wolf is standing right in front of me. All of my muscles tense up as I back away from the wolf in front of me, but the wolf just stares at me. This wolf looks feminine, is it a she? Another wolf walks up to me and licks my wounded arm. For some reason I don¡¯t feel like pulling away my arm. They seem to be nice to me? Are wolves not these hungry beasts that eat everything they find? Why are they treating me like this, when suddenly my stomach rumbled loudly. Shayla, the feminine wolf turns around and picks up a big piece of meat. She walked up to me carefully putting the meat in my mouth making sure to avoid hitting me with her one of her teeth. I eat it despite it being disgusting and raw, Shayla looks straight at me somehow I understand she is asking me how I feel. I show her the best smile I can in the hope of conveying my gratitude. I regained some of my energy after eating a little bit so I start looking around for where I am. I am right now inside of a rocky cave, it is close to the forest I collapsed in. The flowers are still there as well, I¡¯ll go for a short walk to see the surroundings. After climbing a small hill nearby I take a look around. There is no civilization in sight only forest as far as the eye can see. My feet are starting to freeze again I¡¯ll have to go back quickly. If I want to walk around I will need a way to keep my feet warm because I have no shoes. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!From what I have seen so far left of where the sun goes down the forest ends in about 2 kilometers. I came here from the opposite side it seems that when I was running away from the wolves they were just coming back from a hunt before they saved me. I have no idea where I am so I am just going to name the area left of where the sun goes down north and where the sun goes down east the other 2 sides are called south and west for obvious reasons. Phew, I am back in the cave. Shayla and the other wolves start moving out of the cave. When I arrive she is gesturing me to follow her with her head. I follow along the pack I try to keep up with their speed as much as I can but it is a futile effort. Seeing my efforts one of the 2 other wolves I¡¯ll call him Lupus slows down a little bit and goes behind me. He is pushing me forward like a coach pushing me forward every time I try to slow down. But despite that I don¡¯t dislike him he does it with a distinct kindness only a strict father can have. After seeing Lupus Shayle and the other wolf follow along and they slow down, as if to say ¡°You are a part of the pack we won¡¯t leave you behind¡± Moving together as a group Lupus finds the tracks of another animal, probably a big one because the tracks are deep. While we are following the tracks in a high pace we find ourselves the prey we have been searching for. A strange deer like creature with a single horn on its head, a thick white fur that hides it in the snow and a 2 long feline tails. I have never heard of a creature like this before. Shayla starts the hunt, she runs up to the strange but majestic animal and quickly cuts off its escape path while lupus moves to the left and Cane the third wolf stays close to me. The unicorn like creature panics and runs towards shayla with its horn aimed at shaylas neck. Foreseeing the impending crisis I want to do something but without a weapon I stand no chance against an animal like this. I quickly look around me and find a small rock. Shayla can¡¯t jump aside to dodge the horn because the animal would escape. I do the only thing I can do, I pick up the rock aim it at the unicorns eyes and throw it as hard as I can. Yes! I hit his nose, maybe that is not the eyes but I managed to distract it enough for the pack to bite it in its neck and finish it off. Even though I feel sorry for that majestic beast I had to save Shayla so I don¡¯t regret it. Although I would have liked to know more about this strange animal I still find the pack to be more important. Like that we go back together. A week later.. After having had such a big catch we didn''t have to hunt again for a little while in that time I got used to living like this. And I finally finished it I made a pair of shoes with the fur of the unicorn¡­. well something similar to it, at least it will let me walk around like before. So now I can finally really search around for where I am. I walk outside the cave and take a look at the hill, I remember that north is where the forest ended after a few kilometers so lets first take a look over there. As I walk through the deep green forest I look around me in wonder ¡°Whoa, there are so much plants and animals I have never heard about.¡± ¡°A small blue bird that instead of flying seems to be swimming through the air¡± ¡°Several white squirrels each of them working together to build what looks like a small home¡± ¡°Oh, wait there is a big one, I have to be careful now not to attract its attention¡± ¡°It seems to be a big 4 legged lizard, hm a brown skin color it doesn''t seem to be from here there is no way that would camouflage him in the snow¡± Walking through the forest now I finally had some time alone I start thinking, What do I do from now on? Even though I love the wolf pack more than I ever did my own family something just doesn''t sit right. Something feels empty inside of me. I continue walking pondering about this that was until I saw this, a road. A ROAD! I am not alone I can find civilization. Then the pieces snap into place, I don¡¯t know how to express this feeling, but I am missing this magical place in my heart. That one place you will never lose or forget, a place you will come back to no matter how much time has passed. Yes a place I can call ¡®Home¡¯. I may not know what it is, or what it is about. I don¡¯t even know if it exists in this world. But if it does I will find it This is how I set my first step on the journey of a thousand miles Hiraeth chapter 2: The first time I am traveling north with the sun at my side walking into the beauty off the green fields and flowers in the forest. While a bright light is shining onto all of the animals living in the the forest I am looking at the widely varying animals of the forest. Just look at the energetic and intelligent Squibbles searching for their nuts digging small tunnels from the trees towards their home to gather up the nuts in a safe place, or the friendly roaming unicorns grazing the green fields in big herds surrounding their children in a outward circle to protect the younger and weaker ones, Take some of the mightiest hunters in the area Ezekiel as big as a bear yet build like a wolf. There are all of these fascinating creatures that living here moving around on the plains, flying through the wide blue sky or exploring the deep forests gathering up their share of the more than abundant food there is in this place. However there is one thing missing in this forest so full of life filled with the sky blue trees and bright shining flowers shedding their light on the plant life of the forest. However dazzling the sky may look when the air is filled with hundreds of translucent sylphs. There is one thing staining this seemingly perfect place. There is no water in sight, at least that is until now. A blinding light is reflecting off the surface of a crystal clear lake with such clear water you can see the starfishes lying on the bottom. And in the middle of that lake is a being as crystal clear as the water it resides in. I admire the beautiful sight as I hear ¡°A ydych yn colli yn, ifanc?¡± This lucent lady in the water asks me in a soft soothing voice ¡°Who are you young one?¡± Her voice like the oceans tide helps me calm down a little bit. After I managed to regain my composure ¡°My name is Hiraeth¡± I tried to say it in a self-confident manner *did she notice?* I see her staring at me, unable to belief my words nevertheless her eyes spread wide open. Is my name that strange? After a short silence I heard a voice in my head say ¡°Why are you here young Hiraeth?¡± *Phew* a sigh escaped from my mouth ¡°I am on a journey¡± I wasn¡¯t even aware I was holding my breath. I tried to keep the conversation going by asking questions. ¡°Excuse me may I ask you something?¡± ¡°Of course my child¡± Her tone calm and like the mothers I saw in elementary. ¡°Were you the one talking in my head?¡± Her quick reply startled me ¡°Yes, little hiraeth by any chance you don¡¯t know about us. The Ynni? ¡± Huh¡­ ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We communicate by showing our mind to others. We can¡¯t talk like you humans¡± ¡°But how can you understand me?¡± ¡°By hearing your thoughts, just like all Yni beings we hear and send thoughts, even though humans can do it too¡± ¡°They are just not so good at it¡± she explained ¡°If humans can learn it, could I as well?¡± ¡°Well yes they can¡± She understands what I want to ask ¡°If you would you like to try you can rest here for a little while on your journey, No need to rush you are still young Hiraeth, you can take things slowly¡± ¡°Stay at the lake if you want, there in the middle of the woods¡± I want to ask one more thing before I go¡°Wait a moment, one last thing. May I know your name?¡± ¡°My name?¡± I am Ysbyrd, and these little friends of mine are the Ynni. *O so that is what those little Sylphy¡¯s are called* Saying ¡°Thank you, for letting me stay here¡± I tried to be as humble as I could. While I was on my way to the lake, walking through the woods I hear a unicorn. ¡°Why can¡¯t you let my herd drink some water from the lake!¡± his hoofs violently stomping onto the ground. *Are the unicorns not allowed to drink from the lake?* I can¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at this sight. That is all I can do, I have seen this happen many times in my past. Those in power will always get their way, that is the way it is. Sad but an unchangeable truth no matter where you go. Hm, now that I think about it was the unicorn talking like the Ynni do? Maybe all animals are able to talk like that here. That thought gives me a little bit more confidence in my ability to learn it as well. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Animals of all shapes, sorts and sizes are drinking from the lake. *It looks so peaceful here* The bright shining sun reflecting off the water just like the way it did when I saw it in the distance. It is an even more breathtaking sight up close, the perfect place to unwind. I lie down the grass gently touching my skin, with the sun shining kindly, warming up my body. I let the wind softly blow all my worries away. When you hear the waves touch the shore, unconcerned with the world them all the things that happened today don¡¯t seem to matter all that much. In this peace my exhaustion starts catching up to me, I let my conscious slowly slip away, to the serene world of my subconscious. ¡°Ew, it is him¡± ¡°Ugh, THAT boy again¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look at him guys, he might infect you with his creepiness as well¡± ¡°Why do WE get HIM in our class again¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t they just expel him, nobody wants him here anyways¡± ¡°Yea, I know right¡± ¡°H-Hello, w-w-what are y-you t-talking about?¡± ¡°Blegh, he came over here¡± ¡°Go away you¡¯re disgusting!¡± ¡°He is creeping me out¡± ¡°You hear that you¡¯re creeping me out, go away¡± ¡°Actually don¡¯t just go away, go away and die alone somewhere in a muddy ditch¡± ¡°Yeah exactly where he belongs! Ha ha ha¡± ¡°Ha ha ha¡± ¡°Ha ha ha¡± ¡°Why did I give birth to such a son.¡± ¡°God, where did I go wrong?!¡± ¡°What did I do to deserve such an abominable son¡± ¡°It is all your fault Hiraeth!, IT¡¯S ALL YOUR FAULT THAT YOUR FATHER LEFT HIRAETH¡± ¡°Just die already I want nothing to do with y-! ¡± ¡°Waaah!¡±, foo haa foo haa Du-dump Du-dump Du-dump ¡°It was just a nightmare¡± Phew, Ba-dump. My heart is still beating rapidly, the nightmare was so realistic. I fell down onto the grass with a big oompf. ¡°That dream again, sigh¡± How long ago did it start again? Too long ago, well it is about time to start hunting. It doesn''t take too long to find an animal to hunt in this lavish forest. But just when I was about to go for the kill when ¡°STOP! You aren''t allowed to hunt others in this place, you can only eat plants or animals that are already dead¡± ¡°But Ysbryd I am a hunter, how am I going to eat if I am not allowed to hunt?¡± Her reply ¡°You have to search for some dead animals or eat the plants¡± I recall the unicorns eating plants in the valley nearby, they will most likely know what plants are edible. I should probably be able to get by like that, at least for a while. Grugurgrpgurrghghghg, it is already afternoon I should eat something so time to go. After foraging for a few hours I repeat what I have been doing so far. Look at what the Unicorns are eating but when I am planning on taking a bite from a plant I heard an old sounding voice ¡°You shouldn¡¯t eat that plant, human¡± ¡°That one is poisonous¡± Phew, I was about to take a bite, if he hadn¡¯t warned me I might have been in danger. I said ¡°Thank you for the warning Sir Unicorn¡± as politely as I could. ¡°Please tell me if I can do something in return for you¡± Yet he gave me a surprising answer ¡°you can¡¯t speak in medi lydd?¡± The old unicorn shook his head, clearly not expecting an answer. ¡°Human, if you want to survive in unknown lands you will have to learn how to rhannu medi lydd¡± ¡°Did damn Ysbryd not teach you how to rhannu medi lydd?¡± I am only able to show my disappointment with a short head shake. ¡°Sigh, I can¡¯t let a human roam free like that¡± and starts walking into the forest. ¡°Human walk along, I will teach you¡± I move follow him towards the forest. Side by side we walk into the forest both with our own intentions and purposes we move along together. Despite our differences we are still able to walk alongside one another. That is one of the most beautiful wonders in the world. Don¡¯t you think so. With these thoughts in my mind I continue to follow him. I follow him to discover the future yet still unknown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "I couldn''t find anyone to proofread it. I just hope nobody notices" Hiraeth chapter 3: Ys-Bareth When do you give up, the moment you don¡¯t know how to go on? Do you give up when you don¡¯t believe you can make it? Do you give up when your body gives out? Do. you. give. up.? When you are about to die, do you give up? These proud Unicorns kept on going in even the most perilous times. When they were driven of the plains by the Ezekiel. They continued on, in the face of the Winter Forest with neither food nor water. Not even the desserts were safe for these wise but mortal beings. Yet despite all of their suffering there was no end in sight for them. Even after they reached the lake of Ys-Bareth, centuries of suppression has brought their once proud race to ruin. Yet despite facing absolute extinction they have not given up and are still trying to live to this day. Under the leadership of Uguane Irian Kashuan they managed to create a small lake for themselves, digging from the furthest parts of the underground river flowing to the Ys-Bareth lake. ¡°And that is how we have lived for the past fifty decades¡± ¡°We¡¯re there, at the lake of Ys-Bareth. The only place where you can drink water in this forest. That is without the permission of the Ynni¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to train you here. what is your name?¡± ¡°My name is Hi-.¡± I almost forgot he can¡¯t understand me. Nobody here speaks, only the Guardian of ¡®The Lake¡¯ can understand what a person says. This is the only way I can give him an answer; ¡°Hiraeth¡± In my thoughts I apologize to him. ¡°Hm, Hiraeth. Well then lets begin¡± I nod my head in acknowledgement, I have to listen very carefully or I might miss something. ¡°NO! Don¡¯t sit down, stand up. You have to be listening to this world not sitting down and doing nothing¡± *Stand up and not sit down? You would sit down to learn something normally wouldn¡¯t you?* I stretch my legs for a moment after standing uncomfortably for a while. ¡°Hiraeth calm down, there is no need to be so nervous. You will learn it, it just takes a while¡± *Although I am not really nervous, it just feels uncomfortable to stand up all the time. It is still a nice thought, and its the thought that counts* ¡°Now think of what you want to convey to the other, include in every small detail you can think of. When you are ready stomp on the ground¡± *I should start with a simple message, that should make it a lot easier to learn the basics* *Everything I want to convey. Hm, a hello wouldn¡¯t do it since they would only hear the word. What should I think off then?* If you can¡¯t convey the word then what can you? Words are supposed to have a meaning right. What is the meaning behind a word? I think I need to use an example to understand this. ¡°Tick tick tick¡± I notice my fingers ticking on my legs. ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient, you have the time¡± ¡°Phew¡± His words help me calm down a little bit and I manage to stop my fingers from ticking. *Would hello work as an example? Any word should work I think but what is the meaning behind hello?*.... *Does hello have any meaning or do we just say it to start a conversation?* *Is hello only there to start a conversation or is starting the conversation the meaning of Hello?* My shoulders begin to droop *This is all just so complicated! It is just hello, for gods sake! How can it be so hard. Just thinking of how difficult the normal words will be makes me want to give up.* ¡°Hiraeth are you giving up? If you give up in this wretched world, you will never be able to find the way you want to live the rest of this short life and you will be forever in a place not meant for you... If you don¡¯t want that to happen, change fate with your own two hands¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, I already know I can¡¯t give up now damnit!¡± ¡°That sounds a lot more like it Hira, even if I don¡¯t understand what you are saying you seem to be ready to go¡± ¡°Now lets start again¡±. *The meaning behind hello. hm now that I think of it, didn¡¯t I already answer that? It is just trying to get attention for a conversation right* *It is so easy, why was it so hard before? The answer is so easy, I just had to persevere before I even started.* ¡°Dum¡± I stomp on the ground, letting him know that I am ready. ¡°You¡¯re ready? Then feel it leave with the ¡®Egni¡¯ in your body¡± *What is ¡®Egni¡¯?* *No point in giving up now lets just try it* I try to search through body and mind. *I can¡¯t feel anything, there is nothing. Nothingness* That is all I can feel falling into the abyss of my mind. Oblivion, when nothingness fades into forgotten times. In the place where everything ends, even darkness cannot escape. It is a place I am very familiar with, have known it for a long time. When was it again, that I first became aware of it? Ah, I reme- ¡°Wake up Hiraeth, we have to get away from this place the Ynni are starting to become suspicious¡± Ah that was a dream but when did I fall asleep? ¡°Hiraeth! Ugo yelled. Why do we have to get away from here?¡± I don¡¯t understand, what is going on. I can still hear my heart beating in my ears from before. I think it¡¯s for the best if I follow him for now. ¡°Run faster Hiraeth! We won¡¯t get away from this place in time! We can¡¯t let them discover it!¡± Umpf huf huf, I can¡¯t keep running for that long. ¡°Don¡¯t give up keep going they are getting closer!¡± *I can¡¯t run anymore I already feel my legs giving out on me* My knees hit the rocks underneath ¡°ARGH¡± they feel like they are burning! *Ignore the pain, keep on running* The memory Ugo portrayed so vividly of the unicorns being slaughtered running away from the lake pushes me to run forward but I can¡¯t keep up . Ugo looks back noticing me on the ground struggling and is forced to make a quick decision. ¡°Get on my back we won¡¯t make it otherwise¡± I force my legs to push me up one more time to climb on his back, it hurts so much. But when I imagine how Ugo must have felt having lived like this for his entire life ¡°I can bear it¡± ¡°How long are you going to take? Quickly climb up¡± ¡°How can the Ynni be so terrible that they drive everyone they don¡¯t like off the lake¡± *Just like the bullies back in elementary school* *And I thought being hurt by those bullies was terrible* thinking that I can¡¯t help laughing at the insignificant pain I felt back then ¡°Hahaha! ha ha haa¡± thinking how stupid it was I stare out in front of me. The green hills passing me by faster than the wind. I think still with all the adrenaline in my blood *I am running for my life so why is this so much fun!?* ¡°I have only ever read about stories like this but to experience them yourself¡± I feel the wind breezing over my face and Ugos back hitting me with every step he takes as I see the sun setting in the evening sky with the stars starting to twinkle in the seemingly alive night sky. I reminisce over the last few days *So much has happened I can¡¯t believe I have only been here for a few days* I think of my life in school how my life was nothing more than getting by from day to day. I think back to the book I found in the library and the voice I heard when I was reading the same book. Yet none of that concerns me anymore. The forests , the flowers, the animals everything here is unknown to me. Because. I am no longer living in the same world I once lived in. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What would my mother be thinking right now, I suddenly disappeared from there after all¡±... ¡°Would there be an uproar over me disappearing?¡± Sigh I don¡¯t even want to know the answer. ¡°I miss him though¡± My one good friend in my old life ¡°Jamie, I wonder what happened to him¡± He was a good guy despite everyone avoiding me he still came and talked to me all kinds of stuff, the books we read, the games we played or just what we would do when we got out of school. He would always distract me from the pain I had to go through every day. But one day he disappeared only leaving a personal message for me ¡°I will be going for now, see you soon Hira.¡± Where did he go? I thought he might have killed himself but he never had a reason to. He wouldn¡¯t right? Then where did he go? I wouldn¡¯t know. I want to meet him again. He was just as important to me in school as Shayla was to me in Winter Forest. Always taking care of me when I needed it most and supporting me in what I wanted to do and enjoying it with me. They are alike. Hira-, *is that him?* Hirae- ¡°Jamie?¡± ¡°Hiraeth are you alright?¡± *Ah it is Ugo* ¡°Ye-s, I am alright now¡± it actually still hurts but I can bear it for now, I can¡¯t stand upright though my legs gave in on me. ¡°Hm your legs seem to be hurt let me take a look at it¡± approaching me his horn reflects the light into my eyes. ¡°Is something wrong? O of course, you¡¯re hungry. I will get you some food later¡± *Why is he helping me so much in this world of the fittest* ¡°You know Hiraeth, we Unicorns have always felt responsible for the destruction other animals have caused. We were the ones who gave them the power and the knowledge. Once the unicorns ruled the valleys with our knowledge of the world, of Egni we governed all that was sentient. We did so in peace, we solved fights, we helped the weak and supported the strong. So we all could live in peace. But we shared our knowledge, our power with the weak Ynni and intelligent Humans. They turned on us they destroyed everything we stood for and still stand for today then drove us from our own lands.¡± ¡°Here you are all good now¡± I looked down at my leg *It healed?!* ¡°You¡¯re hungry right let me get some food for you¡± Looking at Ugos back becoming smaller and smaller. Left to my own thoughts I think back to when I met Jamie. ¡°Hey I am Jamie, do you also like reading Terry Brooks?¡± *Why is some random guy talking to me* ¡°No, go away¡± ¡°Did you read his book Running with the Demon? I really liked how he described the main character¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t read please leave me alone¡± ¡°You have got to read it here I¡¯ll give my copy to you. Tell me what you thought later! see you soon¡± *Finally he left* ¡°Sigh¡± at last school ended I¡¯ll go by the library before heading home. Walking to the library listening to the chirping of birds ¡°What a strange sound, why do they always make such high pitched sounds when they chirp¡± ¡°Yo you read Running with the Demon yet¡± *Not him again* ¡°Yo are you ignoring me?¡± ¡°Come on don¡¯t be so cold lets find you a book at the library!¡± ¡°Hey stop pulling me!¡± ¡°A you talked to me¡± *Shit now he is going to be even more stubborn* ¡°Don¡¯t start ignoring me again, you are no fun¡± Poke ¡°...¡± Poke ¡°...¡± Po- ¡°Stop it! what do you want from me!¡± ¡°I want to get along with someone who shares my love for books. I saw you reading Terry Brooks in class¡± ¡°I read it ok, I really liked the wolf guardian how he was disliked by everyone yet still protected the girl with all he had¡± ¡°I know right! and how he gave up his life in the end what did you think of the endi-¡± ¡°Ah no spoilers please¡± ¡°Oh you haven¡¯t finished it yet¡± ¡°No I am still reading it, I was planning on going to the library today to get the second book of the series¡± ¡°Lets go together I want to find a new series to read I have finished the last one¡± ¡°What do you think of Earths children that is a good series¡± ¡°O yeah I have heard of it what is it about?¡± ¡°Its about a girl in the Ice age whose family just died and ended up in the clan who are slightly different. They are slightly smaller and wider strong as well. It is an amazing novel¡± ¡°You have to show it to me at the library they have it there right¡± ¡°Yeah I read it there as well Julia recommended it to me¡± ¡°Is Julia the librarian, you know her?¡± ¡°We regularly talk about stories and their meaning she sometimes recommends me new books as well¡± ¡°Cool you have to introduce me¡± ¡°You know she doesn¡¯t like pushy people¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry don¡¯t worry I am a real gentleman when it comes to woman haha¡± ¡°Hey Julia did the sequel to Dancing with the Demon arrive?¡± ¡°O Hiraeth yes it came in this morning and who is that boy over there. Don¡¯t tell me you have made a friend! o I am so happy for you¡± I feel my face becoming hot *I became like a tomato didn¡¯t I* ¡°Julia!¡± ¡°O sorry sorry haha so what is your name boy¡± ¡°Hey nice to meet you I am Jamie, Hiras friend¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not you just pestered me all day into talking with you¡± ¡°Oh come on ¡®Hira¡¯ don¡¯t be so embarrassed¡± ¡°Hira told me about Earths children do you have it here?¡± ¡°You like reading as well? So that is how you managed to get through that thick head of him¡± ¡°Haha it isn¡¯t that bad he is just a little cold¡± ¡°Ah I can¡¯t take this anymore I am going to read where is the sequel Jule? ¡°it is over there ¡®Hiiira¡¯ ¡± ¡°Ugh that grinning of you, I¡¯ll be leaving now¡± ¡°See you tomorrow Hira¡± ¡°Oh yeah, there is a new batch of books coming in a few days if you like you can come by there are some good works in there¡± ¡°Ok thanks Julia¡± ¡°Have fun with your ¡®friend¡¯¡± chuckle ¡°He is not my friend! stop it already¡± ¡°Yes, yes get on your way you were going back right¡± ¡°See you later¡± *Seriously did she really have to keep teasing me that I have no friends* *Why does she think we are friends anyways, I don¡¯t get along with him at all he gets on my nerves but...* *No, I can¡¯t trust Jamie. But getting along with him for a bit is fine right. that can¡¯t do too much harm can it?* ¡°Hiraeth I gathered some food for you, there is even some meat in there a few animals died yesterday, seemingly they got chased away from the lake by the Ynni that is why they got so close to us in the lake¡± the dried out meat looked beautifully roasted *Unicorns cook meat?* My mouth opened so wide I felt like it would hit the ground. Ugos eyes stared at me for a second before he laughed merrily ¡°Haha are you trying to take an overly big bite or are you surprised that we cook our meat¡± ¡°We may not eat meat but are not so self centered that we don¡¯t know how to take care of others¡± The joyfully glittering horn on top of him makes me feel at peace in my mind while his kindness warmed me to the brim of my mind. *it is so peaceful in here I feel like I can doze off being at ease. After remembering my past I¡¯m worn out. I just want to sleep* Hiraeth chapter 4: Medi Lydd ¡°Learn from the past¡± ¡°Fight in the present¡± ¡°So you will change the future you once despised¡± ¡°Holding the strength you once desired¡± ¡°In which the future you desire is made when you decide to stand your ground¡± ___________________________________________________________________________ *Ugh I don¡¯t want to wake up yet* *I just want to sleep for a little while longer* ¡°Sigh¡± *Light shining in my eyes. Is it morning already?* ¡°I have nothing to do right now¡± ¡°I might as well collect my thoughts I may be able to think of something I didn¡¯t consider before¡± *After traveling for a few days eating from the hunt thirst started getting to me although I did find enough water to drink before, when I reached the end of winter forest I started finding less water with every passing day. Despite the lack of water the forest seemed to be in full bloom the only thing I could think of there was some underground river flowing here so if I wanted to drink I had to look for water. After some time I noticed that more and more animals were in my surroundings. Thinking there might be water nearby I followed the trail, though on the way I did notice that most of the animals didn¡¯t really look very healthy but back then I thought it might just be my imagination. Now though I really begin to realize how wrong I was* ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like the middle ages with taxes so high the farmers are starving and their families are with the aristocrats partying on their hard work throwing it away with the garbage¡± ¡°The creativity of the unicorns impressed me a lot, even though they were forlorn making everything look hopeless they forged a path with their own strength working on building their own future day after day with an unrelenting determination. Continuing their battle for a home with bodies battered and crippled by time longing for a future tears dripping down from their eyes they worked so hard and held on for so long now but they haven¡¯t been rewarded at all¡± *That just doesn¡¯t sit right with me, why does it have to be this way? Why is it like this* the disparity in this world is just so unforgiving, it is unfair but what can they do? Even though they did everything only pain and fear are left to them but even that not for long. It is only a matter of time before the Ynni find this lake even though they don¡¯t seem that strong they are all powerful in this place for they are the children of Ysbryd. Ysbryd the ¡®Guardian¡¯ of the lake protecting it from all the ¡®threats¡¯ of outside. *Why am I despising her so much?* Isn¡¯t it obvious. She is suppressing everyone she doesn¡¯t like, the Unicorns, the Ezekiel, the Wolves. *Why the wolves?* I ask myself. Isn¡¯t it obvious. They are all living inside Winter Forest when here it is so much better, The Wolves are nice they let everyone live in their home they even take care of someone like me who found himself lost and freezing in the cold forest. These Ynni just look too much like the people in my hometown, the hating, self glorifying, condescending¡­ ¡°Sigh¡± *I am just like them thinking poorly of them behind their backs* ¡°I should have known better than that, didn¡¯t I learn anything from the pain I have felt all of those years?¡± *Despite all of the pain Ugo has felt he is still so kind to others* The corners of my mouth go up smiling in awe ¡°Those who are hurt the most are the wisest. Was the saying, right?¡± *Could it also be like that with Jamie? He was always so kind to me even in the hardest of times. I always miss Jamie at times like these. He would always be there for me at times like these, helping me get back up when I was feeling down* ¡°I have to do it on my own now, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Come on Jamie isn¡¯t here now I will have to make myself stand up now, I can¡¯t afford to sit around all day anymore¡± ¡°It is time to go¡± I force myself to stand up even though I am feeling so insecure, I don¡¯t really know what I can do. ¡°Urgh, my body still hurts when I try to move it¡± But I won¡¯t give up now even if every part of my body hurts I can¡¯t let the people so kind to me going through the same pain I did for all those long years suffer that same fate before my own eyes. Feeling like blood is burning through my veins I recall a verse from a game I played a long time ago ¡°I am the bone of my sword Steel is my body and fire is my blood I have created over a thousand blades Unknown to Death, Nor known to Life Have withstood pain to create many weapons Yet, those hands will never hold anything So as I pray, unlimited blade works.¡± ¡±Recalling this verse always makes me feel like I have the strength to go on.¡± *How must he have felt while chanting this? I can¡¯t even imagine how he must have felt* ¡°Hiraeth was that you just now?!¡± I think I can hear Ugo off in the distance ¡°Well then. Lets go!¡± ¡°Hira was it you just now who shouted out ¡°I despise Ynni!¡±?¡± Huh what does he mean? ¡°You can talk in Medi Lydd now! How did you suddenly learn it?¡± ¡°What do you mean I am just thinking?¡± ¡°Hiraeth, by any chance do you not come from these lands?¡± Though it would be dangerous to tell others carelessly after all of the help Ugo gave me up till now how can I hide something like this from him ¡°Yeah, I think I come from a different world. Where I come from something like Egni doesn¡¯t exist¡± If you don¡¯t count something like Physics four forces of nature there would be nothing right? ¡°How did you know that though Ugo?¡± ¡°I recall old, now lost documents in the old library talking about the appearance someone without Egni in our lands, this being came from a far away place unknown to us it tells the story of a person who called himself ¡°He who longs for a home that never was¡± interested in his story I searched for more about him but despite there being a lot of documents before I could read them our lands fell and we were banished¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.I am feeling delighted now I am finally able to talk with Ugo ¡°I can finally talk to you now can¡¯t I Ugo?¡± ¡°Hmm did you say something Hira?¡± ¡°No nothing, Ugo could there still be some remains left from those documents over there?¡± ¡°The kingdom should be fine even though they did banish us from our home plains the reliques should still be there, those who banished us do not have the knowledge of how to destroy the structures and buildings afraid of losing the progress we worked hard to create for our children we created our buildings with technology that repairs it on the records it has of our building those records are spread out through the building so every part of the building has every other part of the building as a record and a nearby area when destroyed will be repaired by the remains of the building. Everything up to the individual letters in books were recorded, it was one of the masterpieces of our civilization and up to this day everything should be there¡± ¡°But if everything was recorded why would you keep all those books stored?¡± ¡°We found out that even though recording would hold all the information the books have nobody enjoyed reading or dream about the world¡¯s stories would tell off. Recordings simply weren¡¯t the same as stories even though they held the words they did not show the dreams off the writer, they simply could not convey all of the dreams and thoughts of the person writing it¡­ It simply felt empty¡± ¡°But how did he simply get the ability to speak like this almost out of the blue if he did not have Egni?¡± ¡°We would have to go to the library of my land to find the answer. I am sorry Hiraeth but for now I can¡¯t guide you to my lands I have to take care of my people¡± ¡°I know I can¡¯t take you away from your people in this forlorn place, Uguane Irian Kashua. I want to honestly thank you for the kindness you have shown me. You helped me a stranger you know nothing about. You taught me how to fish while still giving me fish to eat and live. You even went as far as showing me the hidden lake that your life depends upon¡± ¡°Sniff¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cry Hira o boy eeehm, eeehm what do I do, what do I do¡± ¡°Heheh, ¡°Sniff¡± I am fine now Ugo ha seeing you such an old man so flustered calmed me down haha¡± ¡°Hey I am not old, I¡¯m still in my prime! ¡­ although I did lose count after a thousand sun cycles sigh.¡± ¡°Holy, do you unicorns live forever?¡± ¡°Well we die like everyone else but some of us were allowed the remedy to aging so we could help our people for longer. Unicorns that were great inventors or those who have proven their skills or expertise but most live for about 550 sun cycles before they die of old age¡± ¡°Ugo how long does a sun cycle take to be exact how many days¡± *I made a sun clock before and measured the time in seconds and a day is about 15 hours both day and night so around 30 hours a day knowing that I can figure out how long a year is in here* ¡°A year has around 1230 days and a day has about 15000 heartbeats¡± *Wait, 15000 heartbeats I measured about 30 hours so that would be 30 times 3600 heartbeats how can that be* ¡°Hmm¡­ Of course unicorns have a lot slower heartbeat. This world is different after all so how big an animal is doesn¡¯t mean his heartbeat has to correlate with that over here¡± ¡°Oh so you figured something out, tell me Hira I want to know¡± ¡°It is nothing important really I just made a stupid mistake comparing your heartbeat to mine¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound right you talked about something you called ¡®hours¡¯ while measuring it in heartbeats¡± ¡°It is nothing really¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go out on me like that you are leaving me in the dark here I want to know!¡± ¡°Haha! You sound like a little child Ugo¡± ¡°First calling me old and now a little child your rascal I am going to teach you a lesson¡± ¡°Waah, don¡¯t pick me up all of a sudden¡± ¡°You are going to take a ride on my back try to not fall off young one!¡± ¡°WAAAAAAAAH! THIS IS TOO FAST!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I didn¡¯t warn you hahaha¡± Looking at the surrounding we are riding through talking with Ugo for the first time in my life I think *I am glad to have been born* I don¡¯t want this feeling to end but at least before I go I have to do one last thing. ¡°Ugo, before I go I will at least repay your kindness. I am going to try and find a solution for you and your people¡± ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t even bother kid I have tried for the last 500 years and found nothing it is hopeless¡± ¡°Sometimes when facing a seemingly insurmountable mountain no matter how high you are right now sometimes the only way for you to climb over it is to climb down and start anew finding out what there is to do along the way¡± ¡°You won¡¯t overcome a problem by giving up or staying stuck where you are but by trying again from the very start not giving up until the end. ¡°Sigh¡± how could I have forgotten that. I am indeed getting old. Very well Hiraeth I will trust you with our future, show this senile old Unicorn the way!¡± ___________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Learn from the past¡± ¡°Fight in the present¡± ¡°So you will change the future you once despised¡± ¡°Holding the strength you once desired¡± ¡°In which the future you desire is made when you decide to stand your ground¡± ¡°Show me how you will forge the future with your own two hands, Hiraeth and also you¡± Hiraeth chapter 5: A fight of the past Hey there, I hope you guys enjoy this slightly short chapter but before you go I want to ask something to those who are interested, I have been quite unsure about whether or not I should add names behind sentences and thoughts for clarity or not. I personally prefer to read it without but I could totally get it if others would like to have some clarity on who is talking or not, so if you have a personal preference please tell me about it in the comments if not I will keep it the way it is for now. So now that is out of the way go ahead and enjoy the chapter ^^ and as always have a wonderful day and I hope to see you guys, down in the comments below. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Life is like a tree, with every step you take you deny yourself countless others So think before you take that next step for only time can decide if it was the right one ___________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Hiraeth there is one thing I do not understand... What do you mean with to climb down and start anew. How can you do that? You cannot go back to the past you know. So how?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to go back to the past to start anew, to climb down from the mountain means to forget what you were so you can become what you want to be¡± *The answer to all of the misery in my life was so simple I never realized it. I always had the ability to stop feeling miserable. It wasn¡¯t like I wanted to feel pain but I never knew what I could do about it. That was until I understood I had the power to change it, to change who I am by not being who I was. ¡®That strange kid¡¯ they might have kept on calling me that, but why should I listen to them? I can just stop listening and change who I am inside because who you are inside, is what truly matters, what others say you are is not who you truly are as long as you don¡¯t believe what they say* ¡°When you know who you are you forget what you can become Uguane, the leader of the Unicorns.¡± ¡°We are not who we were Hiraeth, times have changed¡± ¡°So lets go back to the time you when you were¡± ¡°The past is impossible to attain... Hiraeth, not even god can reach it once the past has gone by¡± *Just like I once thought it is impossible to change, but I know better now * ¡°The past is always inside of you Uguane. Remember it, remember the times of old, the place where you once lived and ruled with wisdom¡± ¡°We have fallen long ago I have already failed and I should not repeat the same mistakes now!¡± *The Unicorns have never fallen they have simply forgotten who they were* ¡°The times of your youth Ugo recall them¡± ¡°I forgot about that time long ago! I cannot remember it even if I had wanted to¡± ¡°Remember the person you once were, Remember who you are supposed to be Ugo!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to remember it Hira don¡¯t make me recall all the times I failed my people!¡± *I don¡¯t want to say this to Ugo but he has to remember* ¡°Do you want to fail them again young leader of The Unicorns ¡± ¡°DON¡¯T BRING THIS UP AGAIN!¡± *Ugo I am sorry I cannot help you overcome this fear* ¡°Sigh, I will try to figure out another way Ugo¡± ¡°I am sorry Hira, just give me some time. I have to think¡± ¡°No ugo it is my fault, I¡¯m sorry I shouldn¡¯t have forced it. I will think of a different way¡± ¡°I may not understand what your intentions were hira but I am sure you tried your best, just give me some room for now, good luck¡± Sigh *That was not how I wanted it to go, how can I make others understand?* *... is there even a way to make others understand?* ¡°Alas I can¡¯t do anything about it for now. I have to start thinking about how to solve this problem¡± ¡°This is too fucking big for me how the hell do I solve this! God why did I say I would do this. Stupid me stupid stupid!¡± ¡°Phew, ok calm down now take a good deep breath, do things step for step, don¡¯t take things too quickly¡± ¡°Ok what is the first step? Check what you know and write it down¡± ¡°Ok first what do I know: about the Unicorns The Unicorns are a very technologically and philosophically advanced race, they got banished from their own lands by some kind of mistake. How did that happen when they are so advanced?!¡± ¡°Ok stop, step by step I can figure that out later. First write down everything you know and then start asking questions¡± ¡°After not being able to find a home they ended up here in this area. But they were not allowed to drink from the lake or at least it was very limited and most of the Unicorns started dying from dehydration. Ugo after leading his race for so long came up with one last idea of creating an artificial lake connecting to the underground river that supplies Ys-Bareth with water. Despite having solved the water supply problem they still had to confront the Ynni and Ysbryd who most likely are against them having a lake taking water from the underground river, so they had to live in hiding. The lake was hidden in a spot that up till now was forest but if you looked very carefully there was a canyon, in that canyon with a roof made from rock to conceal it from whoever may walk by. This spot was perfect for hiding it from plain sight and the only way to get there is by walking over the thin sides of an abyss. Nobody would expect a lake to be there, just no way you can expect one right then and there in that impossible place. How they found that place is a wonder in and of itself but even more impressive, or should I call it ridiculous? JUST HOW THE HELL DID THEY MANAGE TO BUILD THIS GIGANTIC LAKE RIGHT THERE! Their technology is just ridiculous it baffles me in how they did something like creating a lake there but I digress I have to focus on the task at hand¡­ man why am I such a procrastinator¡± ¡°Where was I again? Oh yes, what do I know about Ysbryd and the Ynni?¡± ¡°Hm, I actually don¡¯t know that much about them¡± ¡°That is problematic to defeat your enemy you have to know them first¡± ¡°Are they really my enemy though?¡± ¡°Nevermind that what am I talking about, I have to look for information about them¡± ¡°Time to go¡± ¡°Go back to your roots.. sigh, what would the me of the past have done if he was in my hooves right now? Maybe could the me from back then do something about this right now? Did I become just another old fool like them?¡± ¡°Could I have done something to prevent that from happening? Maybe at that time if I had just noticed what was going on I could have done something?¡± ¡°The time when nothing had started yet¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.¡±I can still remember it so clear like it is still happening right in front of my eyes¡± ¡°The game I loved to play; Ring toss¡± ¡°Yes! I hit the furthest ring maybe I can place the peg even further away now¡± *Someone is coming here, maybe I can ask them to play Ring toss with me!* ¡°Hey, do you want to play Ring toss with me?¡± *Why are they looking at me that way. Did I say something wrong?* ¡°You play that stupid game, only dumb Unicorns still play that game¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Stop it Mat, apologize to that¡­ Unicorn, I am sorry dear Unicorn he didn¡¯t mean it that way¡± ¡°What is your name child?¡± ¡°Oh, my name is Ugo ma¡¯am and it¡¯s alright I don¡¯t believe he held any bad intentions so I don¡¯t mind¡± ¡°Oh no! I am so sorry for my son¡¯s behaviour Lord Uguane¡± ¡°No no it is alright he didn¡¯t say anything wrong I should be sorry I seem to have disturbed your son by playing at his playground I will move somewhere else¡± ¡°No Lord Uguane there is no need to leave Mat will apologize, just please don¡¯t tell the other Perekonnas. Now apologize to him Mat, quickly!¡± ¡°Grrr, I am not sorry, stupid mom the Unicorns deserve to die!¡± ¡°No Mat! I am so sorry Sir Uguane I will punish him harshly so please turn a blind eye to this one offense I will make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry ma¡¯am I don¡¯t think he meant to harm anyone¡± *Is she nervous, she looks like she might be* ¡°Are you nervous ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°No no I am not nervous thank you for your consideration I will go home to punish him so please excuse me¡± ¡°Bye ma¡¯am¡± *I just hope he doesn¡¯t get punished too badly though, he didn¡¯t mean to be mean to me he just didn¡¯t want to play with me* ¡°Well lets play somewhere else, I can¡¯t keep on disturbing others¡± ¡°Hm, where would be a good idea. Oh I know the perfect place¡± *Where was the entrance again, ah there it is. Even when I know where it is it¡¯s so hard to find the opening* ¡°Brrrt, every time I look down over the ledge I get the shivers¡± ¡°It looks so deep and cold down there¡­ is that flowing water I hear down there?¡± ¡°This is the first time I heard that, AH! nonono don¡¯t look down I¡¯m going to scare myself to death¡± ¡°Phew, ok I have to take more care walking or I might fall into the canyon, luckily I can already see the end¡± *Note to self: don¡¯t run over a ledge when next to a canyon... you might wet yourself* ¡°Every time I get here I have to stop for a while you just can¡¯t come here without looking around at this astonishing sight¡± ¡°With the roof hiding all the sunlight away from my eyes I can see all the colourful small sparkling stones in the great stone dome surrounding this lake¡± ¡°To just watch the playful reflections of the twinkling stones on the surface of the lake listening to the soothing sounds of the waves¡± *This is my sanctuary, the place I can truly relax at* *Always when the outside got too hectic for me I didn¡¯t know what to do* *Until at a time I stumbled upon this small hole when I was running away at one of those hectic times I didn¡¯t know what to do and in my panic I tried to hide myself in there but in my astonishment I found a great cave hiding itself away from the blinding daylight* ¡°That is how I found you wasn¡¯t it, though I made the same mistake I did the first time didn¡¯t I, I almost fell back then. Back then I thought it was the abyss haha, when I think about it now it sounds so ridiculous¡± ¡°When I look up I can¡¯t help but think how does this place hold up when it is so close to the surface I always thought if someone stepped on the ground above this place the roof would break and my hiding place would be discovered but to my surprise even when a landslide hit the roof still held up against all of that weight¡± ¡°After that I never had to worry anymore about anyone discovering my hideout because nobody would ever find the entrance¡± ¡°Mom and Dad should be getting worried by now, I haven¡¯t come home late in a while¡± ¡°Hehe, what would mom look like if I came home late¡± ¡°I am sure she would be worried, I shouldn¡¯t do that to her when she works so hard every day¡± *Tap tap tap *Oh, it is the boy from earlier maybe he has come outside to play I could ask if I can join him, oh but I would first have to make sure his mother didn¡¯t punish him too harshly because it was partially my fault that he got so angry* *Oh but I can¡¯t play I would come home too late then I will have to decline them* ¡°Huh there seems to be others maybe they are already playing?¡± ¡°Yo, do you remember me ¡®Lord Ugo¡¯ I hope you want to ¡®play¡¯ with us¡± ¡°Sorry Mat I don¡¯t have time right now¡± ¡°Oh you will have all the time in the world after we are done ¡®playing¡¯¡± ¡°Haha good one Mat¡± ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± ¡°Can you guys let me through please I have to go home?¡± ¡°O come on Ugo you just have to ''play'' with us for a little while¡± ¡°It won¡¯t take TOO long for you we promise heheh¡± *That grin, I don¡¯t like this feeling at all* ¡°Let''s play a game together Ugo it is called Football, you have to kick the ball as hard as you can. But oh how stupid of me, there is no ball. Well then, you will have to be the ball for us right guys¡± ¡°Hahaha¡± ¡°Hahaha¡± ¡°Hahaha¡± ¡°Ugo! Where are you, you have to come home!¡± ¡°Mom I¡¯m here I am coming!¡± ¡°Tsk, damned you will get away this time ¡®lord¡¯¡± ¡°Where were you all this time Ugo, I was worried you know, you were gone for so long¡± ¡°Haha, sorry mom I was playing out and I forgot the time¡± ¡°Did something go wrong Ugo you look a little bit nervous¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing mom I¡¯m just tired from playing all day¡± ¡°I am hungry mom, lets go home¡± *What was all that about though, ball? football? they were acting odd, well whatever I don¡¯t know what it was* ___________________________________________________________________________ When you don¡¯t know what to do just stop, and listen for the answer is being softly whispered into your ear by your own unconscious you just have to listen closely Hiraeth chapter 6: Yni Hey guys I am sorry about all the grammatical and possible spellings mistakes I have made in here I wrote it in the middle of the night I will possibly read over it tomorrow to see if I can find some but for now enjoy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The real challenge of solving a problem is not finding the solution to it but finding the end result it is preventing Because knowing the right goal to reach is just as important as reaching the right goal ___________________________________________________________________________ ¡°God, I made Ugo so mad what am I going to do about this?!¡± *Sigh ¡°I should just do whatever I can to help him solve his home problems and hope he forgives me for this¡± *Now where is the best place to go to look for information* *Hold on a moment, I can¡¯t just go around and ask for information if Ysbryd found out about the hidden lake all the work would be for naught* *But what can I do but just ask around?* ¡°ARGH! Why can¡¯t there just be a simple solution to anything in life!¡± *But I can¡¯t just leave it alone now after I made such a high and mighty statement* ¡°!@#$ Frazzlin, dadgummit why did I have to act so high and mighty¡± ¡°Just because you have a little experience being bullied doesn¡¯t mean you get how you can overcome systemic oppression. I¡¯m such an idiot¡­ now how am I going to solve this mess I¡¯ve made?¡± *Bump ¡°Ouch, my butt I didn¡¯t mean to fall down instead of sitting down¡± Ugh *I know being angry about it isn¡¯t helping me at all but I just don¡¯t know what to do* *Great now I am making excuses not just to others but to myself as well* ¡°I¡¯ll just watch the sun set¡± I watch the sun set slowly but surely. Closing my eyes I can¡¯t help but feel a little bit anxious. ¡°What is going to happen to them if I do nothing?¡± *Well I already know the answer to that question though* ¡°I watched it happen hundreds of times in the past. They¡¯re just going to be isolated and hit until they are bored of it and leave them to suffer on their own¡± *But here they will die the moment the Ynni lose their patience. Even though I know that I don¡¯t dare to say it out loud because of them* ¡°It is completely dark now¡± ¡°Just like the setting sun, if I wait for too long it will be too late to do anything when it finally sets and I am losing time with every moment I spend doing nothing here¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay like this forever I¡¯ll have to make a decision soon even though I know that¡± *Why don¡¯t I feel like doing anything? Actually now that I think about it my mood has been changing so rapidly ever since I came here to this new world. Hm would there be a reason for that or am I seeing too much in it?* ¡°Though I don¡¯t want to wait too long before doing something but now that it is night I can¡¯t really do anything¡± *Although now that I think of it I have vaguely feeling this Yni for a while now and I think I might actually be able to use it like an echolocation, if I succeed I could go out in the night even though there is no sunlight* *Well when I am like this I can¡¯t really sleep anyways so I might as well try it out now* ¡°Ok first I have to empty my mind¡± Breathe in, breathe out Breathing in, breathing out *Now focus and let out a pulse just like a loud yell* ¡°Ha!¡± I feel a pulse of energy leave my body all around me and in the same moment I feel the surroundings. ¡°I can only feel about five steps away from me. I can¡¯t really use that now it seems I have think this over again but I won¡¯t give up on searching for clues tonight I just have to think of a new plan¡± ¡°Hm¡± I let out a low sound while sitting down to think of a way to see in the dark. *Actually now that I think about it I talk an awful lot to myself don¡¯t I? No no I have to focus right now* ¡°Sitting still in the middle of the night was not exactly my best idea, brr this is cold¡± Well at least that woke me up. That is it, the Ynni are beings of Yni and even though they look translucent but you think of it if Ynni are visible and made of Yni that means Yni has to either reflect light or send out light.But being translucent they don¡¯t reflect light so even though I didn¡¯t notice it in the middle of the day I can make light with Yni. ¡°Now I just have to figure out how to make light with Yni, yeah right that isn¡¯t going to be so easy¡± Sigh ¡°This is going to be an all nighter¡± I am going to need a way to make light sooner or later in this place without lamps so if I can figure it now that is better than bumping into that problem later so I¡¯ll have to push information gathering forwards to tomorrow or is it today I don¡¯t know the time right now it might be after midnight? First try: I gather Yni from all over my body and try to concentrate it in one place thinking that the difference between an Ynni and my echo is just the concentration. Well obviously that failed at the concentrating step. *When talking to others I just let it flow out naturally but how do I actually manipulate that?* *In all of my books you just had to imagine it but no way that works, not even muscles work by imagining them to do so why would something like this do?* *I can¡¯t see it, I can¡¯t hear it so the only thing I can do is what I have been doing is feeling for Yni and see if I can notice something I can use* Having finally found what I am supposed to do right now I start searching for a way to manipulate Yni. I think the best way to search for a solution is systematically so I should focus on one thing at a time from down to the upper part of my body resting on the things I feel are peculiar. Toe for toe I search for something peculiar while moving my way up my body I go from my toes to my feet to my soles through my legs into my knees over to my back and into my back when I take a break. ¡°I have searched all the way from my legs to my back and found nothing interesting but one hell a lot of muscle pain, I didn¡¯t even know it was hurting that much. But even though I haven¡¯t found anything interesting I have realized something, thinking about this. Yni is something new to me so looking over every part of this body I have known for 17 years is kind of pointless I would have noticed if something was different so maybe I should be focusing on something else¡± There is only one thing new in my body to focus on and that is the slow river flowing through my body¡­ that is so obvious why didn¡¯t I think of that before: New thing Yni + new thing flowing like water through me = obviously the same. If I was watching myself from somewhere I would surely facepalm at this sight. ¡°But now I have a clue I can do something now¡± Saying that I start focusing on the flow of energy in my body and start experimenting. Exercise 1: try to stop the energy flow at any point in my body. I try to stop the energy at the most convenient place for me if I am going to explore, my hands. Strangely enough there is nothing to stop it with so why would it stop? This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.But if there is nothing to stop it with how is it flowing through my body then? Normally you¡¯d stop it at the place it starts flowing from but where is that? Thinking that I try to search through my body quickly before finding the place where everything is flowing through and from my stomach. ¡°If it comes from my body could it be a physical process? Then maybe it could be something really running through my body if I make a small wound then it would flow out with my blood I could try that out¡± Wanting to make a small clean wound I am searching for something in my surrounding I can use because I am not going to be so stupid as to try and make a small wound by biting on my thumb that is just stupid you would crush it before it would start bleeding. ¡°Ah, a sharp stone here perfect!¡± I make a small wound in my arm near the place I perceived my Yni to flow through and just as expected I found my Yni flowing out through the wound. ¡°So that means it is going through my body physically, but if that is true how did I send out that echo wave and how can others hear my thoughts through Medi Lydd then?¡± ¡°If they can hear me then it has to go out of my body somehow¡± ¡°Maybe if I try another echo and focus on where my energy is going out from I could figure it out¡± I breathe slowly to calm my mind while trying to focus on my Yni as hard as I could before. ¡°HA!¡± I send out the echo making the answer as clear as day. *It goes right through my skin, but if it doesn¡¯t leak out normally does that mean there are some kind of pores to let out my Yni?* *If it works like that I could try to find and focus on how to control them* With that thought in mind I trained until: ¡°Ah, the sun it is morning already?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even notice the time I took to figure out how to control these pores¡± ¡°But I really should stop calling them pores because I have no ideas what they are so what should I call them?¡± ¡°Well anything will do a name is not really that important anyways, I¡¯ll just call them mandels¡­ yeah my naming sense is still terrible like always seems like my mood changes haven¡¯t affected that in the least¡± *Yawn Despite being as tired as I was I forced my body towards the lake of Ys-Bareths to gather information. Having gained confidence from solving the mystery behind the flow of Yni in my body I decided to challenge the remaining question I had. ¡°Who is the best person to start searching for information?¡± ¡°... maybe I should just go there and see what I can find that feels like the best solution¡± *That didn¡¯t take very long, to lose my confidence that is. I could figure out the secret behind Yni flow but thinking of who to ask for information is too hard for me* Sigh Moving towards Ys-Bareth I start looking around. My mind comforted by a softly blowing breeze following the waving leaves and the trees swaying at the rythm of the wind. Feeling the grass flowing with the wind touch my feet and the bright blue sky floating above I see the slow Ynni hiding in the shadows. ¡°See what do we have here, the human is walking alone out here damn if I was to decide we would have rid ourselves from this human the moment he came here. Why would Ysbryd leave him alone to do as he pleases he is ruining our wonderful land!¡± ¡°You think he is bad the Unicorns way worse, they¡¯re really terrible trampling all over our land galloping over the plants poisoning the drinking water with their terrible smelly mouths¡± ¡°Well at least they are not like the Ezekiel they just leave their prey rotting everywhere that is just disgusting at least you can talk some sense into the human and Unicorns but the Ezekiel are just ugh¡± ¡°Even if you say you can talk some sense into the Unicorns they are so stubborn on drinking from our lake, why can¡¯t they just go somewhere else this is ours. Why do we have to share with others!¡± ¡°Ysbryd really has to do something about this I don¡¯t want to live together with these beasts nearby it is nauseating just thinking about that¡± I just can¡¯t keep on listening to this. *I moved away because I just couldn¡¯t bear to hear any more slandering of his name. But do they really hate everyone else so much? Well it¡¯s time to figure it out because that is what I went out to do over here* Thinking that I walked around until I heard some Ynni talking. ¡°There is some wonderful dew today don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°Yes indeed, sadly the wind didn¡¯t bring any good rain today so we are left with nothing but air moisture¡± ¡°Well we can always go bathe a bit in Ys-Bareth¡¯s lake haha¡± ¡°Well lets just hope there are no beasts around¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry we have been keeping them away wonderfully lately, almost none have been coming by to defile our sacred reservoir¡± ¡°Well that wasn¡¯t awfully useful¡± *Lets continue for a while I shouldn¡¯t give up too quickly* It didn¡¯t take long before finding another conversation. ¡°These unicorns have been pestering us for way too fucking long damn cursed beasts¡± ¡°Ha! you haven¡¯t even been here for half as long as me they are way worse than you think they are, stepping on OUR lands destroying whatever they please just because they are ¡®hungry¡¯ goddamn egotist and if that wasn¡¯t enough already they also dare defile our woods!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even speak of defiling woods they are terrible, everywhere I go I find their vile yellow water it¡¯s abhorrent¡± ¡°You¡¯re dreaming, you thought that was the worst they¡¯d do? Look at their excrement I¡¯m not even speaking about the Yni it leaks even just the sight of that brown sickening mass of toxicity they spread, what depraved beasts would drop such a thing!¡± ¡°If that was the worst of it it could still be acceptable but oh god the attitude, disgusting self righteous ¡®everyone deserves to live¡¯ people it seriously revolts me to even think of it. As if any one of them deserves to have a place on this planet¡± ¡°Stop being so nice to them, just call them out on their all nicey social act it is bogus! They are just as bad as all the others the self centered wankstains. They should just be eaten by the Angrezi that would teach them a lesson¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hold it in seeing the images these people are sending out, I wouldn¡¯t wish upon anyone such an end¡± Sadly I ended up vomiting after trying to hold it in the images kept on flashing through my mind of the unicorn¡­ I don¡¯t want to imagine it again. ___________________________________________________________________________ A person without a purpose is like a man walking in a labyrinth without an end No matter how hard you walk you will never reach the end of it But a man with a purpose can walk through ignoring the labyrinth For the labyrinth was a fabrication of your mind to begin with Short message rewriting Ok people I will be rewriting the chapters I have written up till now because I am not satisfied with the quality (at all). The terrible writing before is stopping me from continuing the story in an interesting way so that is why I want to do it over again. I will keep the general plot line the same although the pacing might be different . Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.For the rest only the plot line is going to stay the same (including characters although they might seem different because I couldn''t express them all that well before) In a moment I will post the prologue (short prologue the rest of the previous prologue will be in chapter 1) here. Hiraeth: prologue (Revamped) ¡°I am alone, alone in a world of my own¡± ¡°Living in the world that banished me¡± ¡°Forced to live in the place that denied my existence¡± ¡°That is where I live, but not where I belong¡± ¡°I am like you, one who longs for acceptance¡± ¡°I am just like you, seeking a place that never was¡± ¡°I am Hiraeth¡± My feet carefully treading the road trying to be as silent as possible. I feel fear coursing through my veins. ¡°Please don¡¯t notice me¡± Is the only thing I can think walking through the streets. Every time in the morning I wake up I just don¡¯t want to get out of bed knowing that if I do I will have to go through this again every single time. I see the corner closing in on me but the moment I walk around the corner I ¡°Phew¡± sigh out in relief because there is nothing there. Knowing that I am not there yet I refuse to let my guard down. Now moving up the street I start hearing voices in the distance. Moving closer with every passing second I started to tense up afraid of what was about to come. After the I turn the next corner I know the end will be in sight as long as I can get past that safely. I turn the corner with my heart racing when I see them. I try to act as normal as possible as to not grab their attention. I keep on moving closer to the wall hoping that they just might hide me from them. I unconsciously hide my face behind a book pretending to be reading. Walking past the gate towards the entrance my hands start shaking. Just a little bit further please just please don¡¯t notice me. ¡°Hey our little bookworm is back again¡± No! why me?! That moment my heart stops and all of my hopes come crashing down on me. ¡°Hihihi I didn¡¯t think he would come back after what we did last time¡± ¡°Can you believe it?! So tenacious just like a cockroach right¡± ¡°What tenacious he is more like a maggot an infestation you gotta get rid of, right Maggot?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.I can only bite my lips in frustration knowing that if I say anything they¡¯re going to use it against me. ¡°Haha silence is agreement, how should we get rid of this pest girls¡± ¡°Flushing them through the toilet is a fitting way to go for them¡± ¡°Right to the place where he belongs¡± Their laughs sounds through the skies to the masses. The masses that were now looking at this as if it was a spectacle¡­with glee looking at the burning bookworm in sadistic pleasure all laughing at the pain of an inferior being in a strangely beautiful chorus of hate and demise. But to me their maniacal laughs just sound like the last ring of the bell for my funeral, a bell that keeps on ringing in my ears day after day, month after month, year after year it keeps on ringing without end. ¡°Do you like the toilet water eh! well do you like it!?¡± I can¡¯t breathe ¡°He better be happy about it he is helping us rid the school of pests¡± My lungs feel like they are burning, am I going to die? ¡°You¡¯re being too soft on him Sophie he is a cockroach, cockroaches are tenacious¡± ¡°Eww, you¡¯re touching his bag it¡¯s infested with him you know. Throw it into the toilet we don¡¯t want to make our lovely teacher touch this disgusting infested guys homework now right¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re so mean. I like it¡± I don¡¯t care anymore. ¡°Come on girl you can do better than that, you gotta push him down deep into the water, LIKE THIS!¡± I feel the pain fading away but I don¡¯t care. I thought I maybe could escape them if I was smart but everything is hopeless anyways I have tried for so long don¡¯t I deserve a short rest now. ¡°Oh, he stopped resisting¡± ¡°Crap let him out I don¡¯t want to be found out killing this guy¡± -Cough, cough- can¡¯t I just have a short rest already. I feel my conscious gradually slipping away from me in just a moment everything is black.