《A Weaver's Step》 0. A Kings Dream All the laws in the world emerge from one source. All the energy is born at that source and returns to that source. It is connected and not connected to everything at the same time. Through many accounts in history, it is evident. Once upon a time, to access the source power, Prana, you had to be chosen by fate. Only a few could access its power. Only they could perform miracles. But one wanted to change this. The King of Rose Valley Plains. This king took it upon himself to travel all over the world and find a way to realise his dream to make this world an equal place. In the far west end of the world, he met a group of beings who built The Ferrous Blood Temple, hiding within the Smouldering Mountains of Ash. Using their abilities and knowledge of Prana, and what he found in the five Temples of Origination, each scattered across the five continents, he found a way to make Prana accessible to everyone. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. After holding a council with the nine strongest beings of that time, he decided to break the seal that could lift the limitations. He made the world aware of his intentions. But then one by one, his brethren began to fall. Betrayal was rampant. More and more people revealed themselves as the king''s opposition. Determined to fight them, the king taught everything to the nine individuals, one chosen from each different race, led a war and disappeared. Nowhere to be seen or heard. But with his disappearance, the barrier to Prana was lifted too. Eidolons, the individual Wills formed at the source of creation, emerged across the continents in hordes, unlike at specific secret locations like before. They formed bonds with people to become their Daemons. Through this way the Daemons anchored themselves in the world and granted people they are bonded to, the access to Prana. Rumours spread that specific races were aligned against the king. As they are the ones with the most access to prana, at that time. History doesn''t reveal how it began. But a purge was waged by the seven races, against the dragons and demons. Driving the dragons away from society and enslaving the demons. ¡°Straak, sir!¡± Is it time already? I closed the book I was reading. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Everything is ready sir. The vice-commander ordered me to tell you.¡± Well, there''s my signal. It''s time to return to the battlefield. 1. Onion Soup I smell like soil and mud. In fact everyone in this town does. It does not bother me. Dad always says that we are the people of the land. ¡°Since the times of my grandfather and his great grandfather, we have lived in this mining town¡±, my father always says. We live here, mining the beautiful Deathglow stones. They are extremely pretty. Jet black in colour with specks of white blended in. Each stone looks like a shard from the night sky. It was two years ago when I started working in the mines. I was 13 years old. Before I started working in the mines, I will be honest, I didn¡¯t really pay much attention to the people around me. But now that I started working, I have no choice but to do exactly that. The one thing I find strange about our town is, almost all of us are miners. If I had to separate people into different jobs, I would say there¡¯s us the miners, then there¡¯s guards/soldiers and the very few nobles who we see once a month. ¡°Others have more importance than us, as they have the duty to protect us and rule over us¡±, my dad always says. My dad says a lot of similar things. I enjoy the work, but I walk every day for so long that my feet always have blisters. I carry the stones from where they were mined, to the assortment centre. There they separate the waste from the Deathglow stones completely. Because of this my feet burn so bad some days they keep me up all night. ¡±Oi Straak!¡± I heard someone call out to me. I hope it¡¯s not the same old guard from last time. Jheez It¡¯s him. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°Bring me my lunch from the Southern gate. I need it now.¡± ¡°Certainly, if you could be so kind and allow me to leave my mining cart here¡±, I asked curtly. ¡°Yes, leave it here and go.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡±, I said awkwardly, giggling and started a slow jog. The last time I went because of this old man¡¯s request, my foreman got angry at me. Mining areas in the town are divided into blocks. I work in block number 32. We have 79 blocks in the town. You can¡¯t say no to the guards. Folks who oppose them always get punished. I don¡¯t want to deal with that. I just need to roughly walk for 1200 paces more to get past these mining blocks, and get to the Southern gate. It is one of the only two exits to our town. In front of our northern and southern gates, stands and merchants are littered. To me it¡¯s an exciting place to go. One rarely gets to go there without a valid reason after all. Once I reached there I realised there is a problem. The stall for the guards who give food for free, seems to have vanished. It doesn¡¯t seem to be in its usual place anymore. I¡¯m going to get into trouble now. Where is this thing? I don¡¯t want to get slapped again. I wandered around trying my best to find the place. I frantically looked around. At that exact moment I heard it. I heard sounds I never heard before. Is this¡­ music? I can count on my fingers the number of times I have listened to music in all my life. It is fascinating. Intrigued, I followed the sound. It emerged from the centre of a massive circle of people. I was still quite short for my age, so passing through the crowd was easy. I just had to be mindful of any guards and make sure I didn¡¯t bump into them.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. When I got past everyone, right in the middle, I saw a man in a cloak. Dust settled on his thick black curly hair which clumped together. His skin was also brown unlike us. He was tall and skinny in nature. Nonetheless, there was this confidence about him as he strummed on the strange instrument in his hands. It looked like a triangular wooden box, attached to a thin longer wooden bar on the other side. He was plucking on what seemed to be metallic threads. I heard smooth sharp metallic sounds that were strangely in harmony without any chaos. It was calm yet invigorating. Behind him. Within the crowd on the other side, I spotted my sister. It¡¯s not usual for me to spot my sister when I¡¯m working. Since Riv is six years older than me, she works in the block she has been assigned to when she was 13 years old. I kept my hands low, but waved them towards her slowly. After what felt like a minute, she noticed my hands, and waved back frantically. I felt happy seeing her feeling well, but when I saw something on her arm, it made me pause. She had a bruise on her right arm, a big bruise too. She seemed perplexed since I suddenly stopped waving. Then she noticed that her bruise was visible. She slowly retracted her hands. She looked at me again and left the crowd. She¡¯s been getting more bruises lately. ¡°Let us through.¡± Two soldiers went through the crowd hurriedly. Not too happy are they. I hope they let the stranger continue. ¡°I think you have attracted enough attention, young man.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound good. As the guards approached him, the stranger continued to play. I thought he was definitely going to get thrown across the crowd, so I was on the edge. My mind raced. ¡°Let the people enjoy it a bit more, lads.¡± ¡°We would have to arrest you then¡±, one of the guards said with his arms stretched. The stranger stopped playing and eyed the soldiers in silence. While the guards were escalating the tension, the stranger put his instrument away, and waved his left arm that was covered underneath his robes. In the middle of his arm, built into his gauntlets from the top of his arm to his wrist, were several metallic strings. He pointed his arm at one of the guards and plucked a string. There was no sound. The guards started getting closer to the stranger, after deciding to apprehend him. But while they were walking, something strange happened. ¡°Ahggg!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± The closer they got to him the more they began to shake. As if someone shook them side to side. One of them lost balance and fell down. The other one walked further towards the stranger, but he got hurled in the air sideways. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for spoiling people''s fun¡±, said the man cheekily. He relaxed his posture and put his instrument in a case. Giving no further attention he slowly walked towards the gate, looking back just one last time at the crowd. In seconds he got further and further, and then, disappeared from my sight. ¡°Wait wait wait. What was that?¡± I stood transfixed. It was like he shook the air with some strange power. I never saw anything like it before. People murmured. Most people were scared. But some old folks knew what the stranger could be. They called him; A Weaver. I did find the cart right after. But alas, was the old guard not happy. ¡°When were you supposed to be back boy?¡± He asked angrily, tapping his feet. ¡°Ha ha ha, the cart was moved, so it was hard for me to find it. I apologise.¡± He grabbed the food from my hand. ¡°I had to have an argument because of you¡±, he scoffed, staring at my face. Those eyes again. Why does everyone have these eyes of disdain? Like they are looking at an insect. Time felt slowed down. And I saw the guard raise his leg. Next thing I knew I was kicked to the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go so you can take a break and you take advantage? Even kids such as you behave like lowlifes, just like your parents. Go back to work.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha ha, sorry sir¡±, I said apologetically and got up. I¡¯m used to this now. I would rather get kicked once or twice, than talk back and get a lashing for it. Not worth it. Although I must say. Every time I get punished like this, I lose myself. I feel smaller and smaller. Strange thing about work is, you do not know how days go by. Miners like us do not have clocks. I have seen them once. Fascinating things they are. Even among soldiers only a few of them have clocks with them. Not like they would tell us the time anyway. Usually folks like us, we guess the time depending on the amount of work we finish. Because my job mainly is moving the stones from one place to another, I measure the time with the number of carts I carry in a day. Work flashed by. Before I realised, it was evening. So I walked back home. My mum says that my fathers family has lived in the same house for generations. Apparently people cannot move houses, unless it¡¯s due to marriage. Even then, they can only move either into the husband¡¯s or the wife¡¯s ancestral home. My grandparents used to live with us till I was 3 years old. Then they passed away. It didn''t take long before I was home. I went inside, and there they were. My mother, father and elder brother. Everyone seems to be back. Except my sister. Again. ¡°You know where Riv is, mama?¡± ¡°No, but you know she will be back. She¡¯s a good girl.¡± I do not like how nonchalant my mother can be sometimes. Riv used to spend time in the evenings at home, but nowadays she comes home late, eats and sleeps straight away. Saying that, we do not have much time before sleep anyway. ¡°Wait, is that onion soup I¡¯m smelling?¡±, I said in excitement. ¡°Haha, you sly boy, I was trying to make it a surprise¡±, my mother smiled. Onion soup is hard to make as cooking oil and flour are hard to come by for us. It¡¯s always a meal to remember for me. Everyone loves a good old onion soup. Knock* Knock* Just as we were about to get down and eat, I heard it. A loud banging sound of someone aggressively knocking on our door. 2. Possession ¡°Did everyone make sure to do their bits today?¡± my father asked. My heart sank. All I could think about was what happened this afternoon. It didn¡¯t seem like such a big deal to me. But you never know. Nonetheless, my brother went to open the door. ¡°Oh hello there! Sorry I was not sure if anyone was in¡±, said the visitor who looked like a high ranking guard. I have seen him in my sister¡®s mining block before. ¡°Apologies, sir! I wonder on what occasion a respected guard such as yourself is visiting our house?¡± said my brother. ¡°What do you mean? I was invited to dinner by Rivia. Your sister?¡± I couldn''t help but think. Since when do guards come to our homes for dinner? Father got up from his chair immediately and went to the door. ¡°Hello sir! Oh yes, of course! My son must have forgotten¡±, my father said respectfully. I couldn¡¯t help but whisper to my mother. ¡°How did we get the onion soup, mum?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Your sister brought the ingredients and asked me to make it today.¡± Rather strange that is. Well, even if there was an issue, father should be able to handle it. After all, he¡¯s a man known for his work and dedication in the town. He''s a smart one. ¡°She didn¡¯t tell us about it, did she?¡± blurted out my brother in confusion. Understandably, my father got flustered. I don¡¯t think he can cover it up anymore. ¡°No, no. She did, to me and mum. Didn¡¯t she dear?¡± my father asked my mum. ¡°Yes, yes. She said an esteemed guest would be coming today, so prepare a good meal.¡± The visitor became irritated. ¡°Enough of this farce! First your daughter invites me and disappears. Now, you all don¡¯t even have the courtesy to invite me in. Am I a joke to you?¡± ¡°No, no, we didn¡¯t mean to, sir¡±, said my brother trying to repair the damage he¡¯s done. ¡°Enough! I will go find that wretched woman. She keeps trying to slip away from my fingers. I will find her and bring her back. Then we can all eat together as planned¡±, he said with a scheming look on his face. My father looked scared as if he realised something. I couldn¡¯t tell what it was. I slammed the table I was sitting at. I couldn¡¯t help getting angry at the things I¡¯m hearing. The guard looked at me for a second. Shit! I need to cover it up. ¡°Ah brother, I think I inhaled too much Deathglow stone powder today. My hand is hurting!¡± I pretended to get hit by a sudden surge of pain. My brother left my dad¡¯s side and came to me. My mother frantically replied to the guest, ¡°Please, I beg you. Kindly come inside and wait in the warmth. There is no reason for you to remain out in the cold. My husband will look for our daughter.¡± Slap! The guest slapped my father in his face. My father fell silent. The guard scoffed but just as he turned, we heard a loud growl. So loud that I thought my ears would burst. It did not sound like the growl of a man or a dog. it sounded like the growl of a beast. That sound alone frightened me. What is this? The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I heard screams in the distance. Once again, mum asked everyone to come inside. ¡°Tremble inside like the cowards you are. I will be back to show you a lesson once I find what¡¯s happening¡±, said the guest and walked away. My father eyed everyone immediately, ¡°We need to look for Rivia¡±. My brother offered to go with him. I felt like I should go too. ¡°Should I come dad?¡± ¡°No, stay with your mum. Me and your brother will go.¡± They left the house and shut the door behind them. I could still hear people shouting. I wanted to divert my attention. Mum sat beside me. ¡°Hopefully they find her before the soldier does¡±, she said. She¡¯s probably worried I¡¯m frightened. She kept talking to me while we were eating. To be honest, they might be punishing someone, my mum said, trying to assure me. ¡°Every now and then someone goes hungry and they resort to stealing. Punishment for stealing food is 50 lashes. It could be some of those people.¡± Not the most reassuring thing to hear after what happened. But yes, I knew about that. People don''t care about the lashing still, and steal though. My problem is, these screams sound different. But then mom said something I have only heard about twice before. ¡°Or¡­ it could be a possession.¡± Bang! The whole house shook. It sounded like colliding stones. I felt shockwaves through the house. My mother too became visibly worried. I want to check what¡¯s going on outside. Because if I don¡¯t, I know my mother will. ¡°Let me go and see, mum.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t go, Straak.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to go. I will go¡±, she said as she got up from her chair. ¡°I will walk to the next two blocks towards the southern gate. If I see anything dangerous I will return right away. Stay here¡±, saying that she left. I don¡¯t know. I got a really bad feeling about this. Especially when she brought up possession. I have never experienced it myself, but I hear stories all the time, as it happens in the town every few years. An evil spirit takes over the body of a human being and transforms them into a monster. Bang! Another sound of collision. I got up from the chair and walked around in the house to keep myself calm. I hope they find Riv. The sounds got louder and louder. I became all the more worried. I should go out once around the corner and have a peek. Not for too long cause mum might come back. As soon as I opened the door, I saw our neighbours, also standing in front of their doors. Unlike military buildings our homes do not have windows. Our houses are built this way to protect ourselves from the air outside, as it is heavily filled with dust and smoke. Everyone looked just as confused as I was. People are trying to talk to each other without making noise. They¡¯re probably scared of the guards. Right at that moment, three guards walked into our street. ¡°Why are you all outside?¡± ¡°Can someone tell us what¡¯s happening? What are the screams we are hearing?¡± One of the soldiers fidgeted. ¡°Punishments. People are just being given punishments¡±, he said without hesitation. ¡°The ground was shaking, you know. Is it a possession?¡± ¡°S-Shut up and go, or else I will have to lash you too.¡± A sharp sound rang in my ears. It''s the sound you hear, when you swing something so fast that you cut through the air. I heard that exact sound. Before we knew the ground shook as if a huge boulder fell from the sky. Something crashed into the ground far behind the guards. The shockwaves from the crash were so strong that they made me lose balance. I wobbled, but still stood with my eyes open. Silence filled the air for a moment. From inside the dust cloud, where the crash happened, emerged an abomination. It was stony and large. It reminded me of a snake but something about it felt dangerous yet majestic. Six snakes protruded from its back, which made it look like it had 8 arms. It had long sturdy legs, both of different sizes. It wasn¡¯t of a normal height. For all I could tell in the darkness, it was as tall as 4 men. Someone screamed. ¡°It''s a possessed! Run away everyone!¡± Everyone ran. I began to run too. One misstep and I can be stomped to death. As I ran without looking behind, someone¡¯s chopped off leg flew over my head. It rained blood. People were flying. I screamed in fear. Although I chose the wrong time for it and tripped. Luckily I was beside an alleyway before I was stomped on. I quickly turned and leaned against the wall. I was panting. I wanted to stay there, but I knew I had to move. Where are mum and dad? My brother and sister? Fresh blood splashed on my face from a man who was thrown beside me. I have to go now. I ran and ran. People were scrambling like me. I ran so far that I passed the next two mining blocks. I didn¡¯t understand any of it. In the first block I went past, there was no damage. I thought maybe the monster didn¡¯t come from this direction. But towards the end of the second block, I started seeing the damage. Droplets of blood, broken windows, broken walls and dead people. I tried my best to avoid looking at the bodies. I stayed vigilant and walked. The monster still seems to be in the direction where my house is. While I was turning my head, looking around, I heard a mumble. I want to say the sound reminded me of a child or even maybe a baby. The last thing I want to see is a baby dying in front of me. I tried to avoid meeting eyes with anything. A few steps later, I saw it. A lone baby boy clapping his hands and saying random things. He was on the edge of the road surrounded by rubble and dead bodies. I approached slowly, looking for any adults around. He seemed to be alone. ¡°What are you doing here little boy?¡± I brushed his hair. He clapped more. ¡°Mama boo¡±, he said and pointed towards the direction where I came from. I wish I understood baby language. I heard the gravel sound of that monster again. Like stone and stone rubbing together. Suddenly the baby boy raised his arms. ¡°Aa?¡± He said, with an innocent look on his face. I was going to take him anyway, but it felt like he almost asked for my help. I couldn''t help it. ¡°Smart boy aren¡¯t you?¡± I peeked behind me and looked at the little guy again. No danger yet. Stretching my arms out to pick him up, I said, ¡°Come here boy.¡± Then, poof. He was gone. I blinked my eyes several times and looked around. Huh. What just happened. While I was trying to figure out what happened, suddenly I felt a searing pain on my back. Boom! I felt a burst of black flame erupt on the back of my body. An agonising scream left me. Nothing burned on me, but the pain was as real as it can get. I tried to tap my hands on my back and put the fire out. No use. It was so painful that I couldn¡¯t help falling on my back. I didn¡¯t know what I was doing from the pain, but I still tried to roll on the ground. I need to put out this fire. The flame did not let go. I screamed from the pain. I screamed and kicked and kicked. Before finally giving up and passing out. 3. Forever Caged Ugh, I got a headache. I got up on the cot I was on. Wait, I''m on a cot? Where¡¯s mama and the others? I looked around properly. I seem to be in a treatment tent. I looked at each and every cot. Each and every person around me. I remembered what happened before I passed out and immediately checked myself for burn marks. I looked normal. At least most of me. I noticed that on my lower back, towards the side was a large mark on my skin. I couldn''t make it out. Then again, I don''t want others to see it. My body is aching like hell. All around me, everyone is tending to someone else. ¡°¡­It had scales of metal. People had to run as fast as they could. Otherwise they were grabbed by the eight serpents on its back¡± I heard someone recount what they witnessed yesterday. How can a human being turn into something like that? I thought. With my thoughts, fear returned. I started feeling extremely disturbed. I began to sweat. My heart started pounding. I need to find my family first. "Excuse me!" I tried to talk to one of the overseers. "I''m in a hurry, kid." I saw somebody else and called out to them, but no answer. What happened to that monster I wonder? Did anyone kill it? I noticed my shirt was torn. I need to go back home and get myself a new one. I don''t want anyone to see the mark on my back. They could think I''m going through a possession myself. My sister Riv and the rest could also be back home, for all I know. I felt tired. But I didn¡¯t let that stop me. I reached the street where we live. Lots of guards were stationed. No one from the mining families or people I know of were in my line of sight. Are people not back yet? "Boy, what are you doing here?", one of the guards shouted at me. "Hello sir! I¡¯m just here to check my home for my family." "You live here, do you?" "Yes." "Well, everyone is at the treatment camps. No one is back yet. We are guarding the area. Since the attack happened here yesterday we are just taking a measure. No one will be in your house." I looked towards my home, and the door was slightly open. I peeked at the guard and back at my home again. I just have to make sure. I just gotta run. Whoosh* "Wait, boy!" "Oi!" I went inside the house. Phew, that was quicker than I thought. The onion soup from yesterday¡ªI can still smell it. Everything is as we left them. I walked all around the house. Our house isn¡¯t big, but I had to make sure to check everywhere. I¡¯m surprised the guards didn¡¯t follow me. Usually, they run and stop me. Maybe they think they¡¯re just going to punish me. I changed my clothes, walked out, and closed the door behind me. When I turned around, I saw the two soldiers standing there, staring at me. "I¡¯m sorry, boy. I didn¡¯t realise your younger brother was left inside. We didn¡¯t bother checking. We thought everyone was at the camps." I was surprised by their attitude, but I was surprised even more by what they said. "My brother?" I suddenly became aware of the weight on my shoulders. "Yup, the one on your shoulder. Is he not your brother?" "My shoulder?" I said and turned to my left. I first felt something touch my cheeks, and the next second, I saw the baby from before. Only he looked a bit older. He was rather plump too. He clutched his hands around my neck, hanging over my back.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I froze. I was going to scream but didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t realise someone was on my back. "AHH!" I screamed in shock. Okay, I couldn¡¯t help it. The soldiers flinched. "Cough! Cough!" I need to stay calm or the soldiers are going to cause me trouble. I have enough on my plate. I still need to look for everyone. A dry laugh escaped me. "Yes. I came looking just for him. Sorry, I¡¯m just tired." "Okay¡­ Go back to the camp where you came from, boy. We can''t let you be here for long." "Yes, thank you." The kid on my shoulder just looked around silently. I started walking away. Then the kid blurted out giddily, "Knube says hi to Straak!" I tried to stretch my arms to get him off me. He just moved from one shoulder to the other. No use. "Get off my back you brat!" ¡±Straak don¡¯t like Knube?¡± He said sheepishly. I turned to my side to look at him. Where did this boy come from? ¡°Is Straak not going to look for his family?¡± I eyed the kid again. He fell silent. I am almost certain this is the same baby boy from yesterday. How did he change? Where was he? And why is he here? I don''t know. I was able to reach him after trying a few more times, but he wasn¡¯t budging. I give up. ¡°You better get off my back, before I find my family kid!¡± He stayed silent. I went back to the camps and tried again. "Sir!" "What kid?", one guard finally replied. "I¡¯m looking for my parents. Where can I find them?" "All the injured people and the ones involved have been moved to blocks 27, 33, 34 & 35 where the treatment camps are prepared. If they are not there, it means they¡¯re probably dead." Dead. Those words rang in my mind. "Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll find them," the kid said. Strange. It¡¯s like this little guy can read my mind. Still, I decided to ignore him for now. I have better things to do. My fear of everyone possibly being dead overtook me. I thanked the guard and searched for my family in the first and second blocks he mentioned. Not here. Not here either. No. No. No. I was walking to the last two blocks. I couldn¡¯t help it. Tears just started rolling down my eyes. They said some people were so badly injured it¡¯s hard to distinguish who¡¯s who. Many people were crushed too. I hope everyone is safe and sound. Outside the camps in block 34, I asked one of the overseers of the camps for any information. "Are you from Ivo¡¯s family?" "Yes, sir¡­ That''s my father", his tone scared me. The guard went silent. "Come with me." He took me past the tents and beyond the block. We are going quite far. In fact we might be going to the middle of all the blocks where the treatment camps are. My nerves were building up all throughout the walk. He''s taking me outside the blocks where they are treating people? Clank* A tile slipped from one of the rooftops. We were caught off guard, so I looked up where the tile slipped from. ¡°Not easy to find like the other one, are you?¡± I saw a largely built man. He had short black hair, shaved sides with a ponytail. On his back were two giant swords. They looked half his size. The man jumped off the roof. ¡°Knube?¡± The boy on my back was puzzled. Just like him, I looked at the man in disbelief. Is he crazy? What is he jumping off a roof for? Nonetheless, the look on the stranger''s face was a bit frightening. ¡°Why is a rat like you playing around with a Daemon?¡±, he said calmly, turning around, pulling out his sword from its sheath. He eyed me and the boy sharply. The next instance, he rushed forward with his sword. He moved gracefully. But he was not so fast. I turned my legs to the side and jumped. With all my will hoping to dodge him. It was then, a miracle happened. Something that should not be humanly possible. I found myself 10 paces forward in a second. It''s like I skipped the space between where I am and where I was. Wha- How did I gain such distance? I dashed away in panic and ran. ¡°Now that I found you too, the minister will be overjoyed¡±, his manic laugh was as loud as thunder. "You need to run away quickly, Knube.¡± At the size this man is, he can catch up to me on foot easily. What should I do? Move Straak! Move! Then it happened again. I disappeared and reappeared. All within seconds. I was perplexed. But now I have a way. ¡°I need to use this.¡± I was almost about to be caught but that''s when I began to do the magic over and over. At first I appeared to transport to random locations. I did not travel more than 10 paces at a time. But I could only use this ability when nothing too big was blocking my way. I could hear the tiles again. It sounded like¡­ Someone is jumping. So I looked up. I was not wrong. He is still chasing after me. Instead of running, he is jumping again from one roof to the other. The thought of my parents came to my mind again. I wanted to stop. But something tells me I will cease to have my life as mine, the moment I stop. ¡°Pesky brat. Don¡¯t think your useless Intent can save you.¡± I got past whatever guards and blockades there were till I reached the southern gate. I was not that fast because of the roundabout way I was going. But I was fast enough to pass people before they realised. ¡°What¡¯s this magic?¡± I asked myself. ¡°You''re using your Will, Knube.¡± I don''t get it. But it sounds like it''s a big deal. I was a few metres away from the gate. Seeing it reminded me of the man who was here yesterday. With his strange instrument and strange power. Power that no one else could defy and gave him the freedom to stand up for himself. ¡°I see you!¡± Before I was 2 jumps away from the exit, one of the massive swords on the man''s back came flying at me. The sword luckily missed me, but it struck the ground. The impact sent me flying forwards. Predicting the effect of his move, he threw the second sword at me. I didn''t even have the time to use my ability. At the last moment, Knube pushed me just about enough to dodge the sword. Its impact too made me fly, this time completely throwing me off balance. ¡°Raven''s Reach!¡± My assailant screamed, and jumped off the roof towards me. He did not fall to the ground. No. He defied gravity and flew with such speed, that his movement reminded me of his sword. He flew like he could imitate its speed and reached where his second sword landed. Before I recovered, he drew his sword from the ground and pierced the one who was the least nimble. Knube. ¡°Str..a..ak?¡± As I watched him, Knube¡¯s voice slowly faded, and his body turned to dust. I tried my best. But my ability stopped working. Now I, who was on the floor, am stuck right in front of the gates. Visible to all the guards in the area. Unable to move. ¡°I''m guessing the kind sir is a Weaver! Your power is incredible¡±, I tried to play the sucker. My assailant just stood still, with a victorious look on his face. He grabbed my hair and growled at me. ¡°Rascal. I''m amazed you thought you could escape me.¡± Slowly the gates began to fall in front of my eyes. The metallic grilles reminded me again that my destiny is to be caged forever, just like everyone before me. ¡°Your Daemon will not be able to materialise for an hour. For me that''s enough time to take you to the minister.¡± I didn''t hear anything that was said. Knube turned to dust. And with him, my chances of escape did too. Maybe this is for the best. I need to check if my family is alive anyway. It might be better for me to stay put. I should just let him be, and do what he wants to do. 4. Fish in a Basket ¡°Tie him up, guards. You! Get a carriage ready for me right now¡±, said Waller. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Two guards came up to me and tied my arms behind my back. They were going to tie my legs when another one came and stopped them. ¡°Lord Waller said there is no need to tie his legs. He has no means to run away any way.¡± So that''s his name. Waller. Well, he''s not wrong. A carriage came soon after. I was kept on the ground, restricted to make even the tiniest of movements. ¡°Lord Waller is going to be here in a moment, get him in the carriage before he returns¡±, said one of the men. I was pushed into the cart. Questions rapidly ran through my mind. Why was he looking for me? What do they need me for? Where are they taking me? Since I have 4 walls enclosed around me, even if I could activate my ability, I won''t be able to use it. I sat there in silence. Why couldn''t I use my ability while I was on my knees? I heard a thump on the roof of my carriage. ¡°How cruel! To kill me like that¡± a voice said. ¡°But fret not. Knube is a daemon, therefore Knube is invincible, Knube¡±, it continued. Knube? I immediately tried to open the carriage door. It was locked. A few arrows crackled the wind, while flying past. One even pierced into the carriage. ¡°Stay away from the center, Knube¡±, I heard from above. I don''t know what he was planning. I heard Knube jump on the roof a few times and dodge the incoming arrows. Finally, I heard him take a big jump. That''s when he came through the roof like a boulder, smashing through the roof. I had to stick to the carriage walls to escape the fall. ¡°You almost killed me¡±, I said looking at him. ¡°If I didn''t save you, you would''ve been dead anyway, Knube.¡± Knube looks much different from before. He looked in no way similar to his previous form of a child. His face resembles a monkey''s. He has hair is tied into a bun. His hands were big, almost half the size of his forearm. Small wing-like bones protruded from the back of his shoulders. He has a thick brown mane at the base of his neck, growing till his shoulder. He also became 6 paces tall. Half a pace taller than me. The only resemblance to his former self was his pale white skin. I jumped out of the cart to see a few people struck by arrows. Waller, who was walking towards the carriage, stopped in his tracks. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± Knube jumped. ¡°Sorry Straak¡±. He kicked me with all his might and rebounded into the air. Thanks to him I dodged an arrow. Whoosh* While we were focused on the guards surrounding us, Waller sprinted towards us. He will try to repeat the same moves from before. I looked to my side where the gate switch probably was. Multiple guards gathered in that spot. I need to get away from Waller. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Seeker''s step!¡± In the next moment, I appeared behind Waller, diagonal to him. Knube is just standing where he was. What is he doing? While I was thinking through all this, Waller got his sword. He lunged at Knube with all his strength. Knube dodged every attack. ¡°Phase 2: Breaker¡¯s Onslaught!¡± Waller activated a new ability. I was shocked. ¡°A second ability?¡± Waller pierced his sword into the ground. With his call, cracks appeared on his sword. With shards of metal protruding out, almost as if his sword has scales. He raised his sword and pointed it at Knube. Whoosh* A metal shard shot out from the sword, at an unbelievable speed. Knube dodged it. ¡°I won''t let you kill me a second time, Knube.¡± Knube continued dodging Waller''s barrage of shards. Knube''s movements were athletic and fluid, without a single wasted movement. Tired of not getting Knube, Waller looked at me. I ran to my side and headed towards the gate switch, dodging some of the projectiles. ¡°Seeker¡¯s Step!¡± Most of the guards stayed away from the fight, but there were still a few protecting the gate switch. Not sure what I should do about them, I came up with an idea. While Waller is using his ability, if I use my ability towards the projectiles and dodge them, they should go behind me and hit the people guarding the switch. I can use my ability again to open the gates. Waller kept fighting Knube with his sword while attacking me with shards from a distance. ¡°Breaker¡¯s Onslaught!¡± ¡°Seeker¡¯s Step!¡± I used my ability when the projectiles were a few feet away. Yes! I skipped past. Or so I thought. Agh! I fell on the ground, down to my knees. Wait, what happened? Cough* cough*. Blood leaked from my arm. I realised that I got hit by a shard in the back of my shoulder. How did the shard still hit me? Waller reached me, with Knube behind him. He swung his sword at my skull, with full intention to kill me. If that sword hits me, I will be split in half. ¡°Oho you can''t do that, Knube!¡± At the last moment Knube slid under Waller''s legs and reached me. Just as Waller''s sword was about to strike, a shield appeared in the shape of a half moon before Knube. Waller¡¯s sword struck the shield and its trajectory was pushed away to the side. So were his next attacks. ¡°Straak, I know what to do, Knube!¡± ¡°Don''t wait then. Just do it!¡± The shield disappeared and Knube made a stance, as if he was going to pull a sword from his side. His body shone with a halo of light outlining it. Waller panicked. Like he knew what''s coming. He jumped back. In the next moment, I only saw and felt one thing. Emptiness. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. Ugh! I''m getting deja vu. I struggled to open my eyes. I felt my hands around to feel where I was. Wooden floor? I opened my eyes fully, only to find out I''m in a cart. Am I being taken away? Suspiciously, I was not tied up. And the cart had a lot of wooden crates, blocking my view of the back of the cart. How long have I been out for? I slowly got up, trying not to make a noise. I remember Knube doing something. I don''t know what happened after. I peeked slowly past the crates. No one was in the cart. I crawled and reached the end of the cart. The cover is on so I opened it slightly to see around. Can''t see anyone in the back. I quietly stepped out. Hiding behind the cart I looked around. 20 paces across the cart, there was a small lake. Two men were there drinking water and fishing. "Haaa! How can water feel this good? It tastes so nice too", one said. Neither of them look like they could be a guard. They are the only ones around. Is this their cart? For a moment a cool breeze caressed my face, bringing my attention to the surroundings. I looked around once again, paying attention to what''s around me. I''m outside the gates¡­ I thought I would feel a rush of happiness. But no, instead I felt guilt and worry. I still do not know if my family survived the attack. I peeked at the two men again. I should get away from them. Tip toeing away from the cart, I went to hide in the bushes. "What the hell are you doing here, kid?" Said one of the men. I turned around to look, and found one of them right behind me. "Hello there, I was just looking for water. I would not want to disturb you so I wanted to take a leave and return later", I said smiling. Then I looked at my clothes. I looked more like a runaway than someone looking for water. The man hurriedly replied, ¡°No, don''t make it hard for yourself. It is a decent sized lake, please do what you would like¡±. His companion returned to the cart with a few fish. Unlike the one who spoke with me this man seemed very different. He had white hair and blue eyes. Which both made him look like a noble. He had a large and a short sword on either side. A necklace with a blue stone hung around his neck. His clothes were all in white and sky blue. His hair was long. Almost like a woman''s. I walked along with them to the edge of the lake. "What are you gentlemen doing here?" The same man spoke again, almost bashful. "Haha gentleman." I don''t know what came over him. After he said that to me and turned towards me, he fell silent. There were a lot of things I could ask, but something tells me that I should be cautious. "Where are you from, kid?" "Oh I''m just from a town south of here. Have you heard of a small village called Fostir?" Of course a town like that doesn''t exist. I just hope these men aren''t sharp enough to know that. The chatty man put his hands under his chin and said, "Hmm does not ring a bell. It must be a rather small village¡±. ¡°Yes it is.¡± "You must be tired from getting lost here. Come let me give you some food", he said and showed me a basket with grilled fish, wrapped in leaves. I am tempted by the offer. After all, I never had fish in my life. I declined the offer, but after the man''s persistence, I gave in. 5. Soul Revelation Bam* Suddenly I was pushed to the ground. "Wai-" "Wow! You''re trying to fool me with a fake name, kid? Especially when you''re unmarked? You got guts for a slave", he said, tightening the grip around my wrists. I was genuinely confused this time. "Wha- What do you mean?" The man shrugged his shoulders. "Don''t play dumb. It''s hard to find a slave like you running around without a birthmark. We can sell you and make a massive profit. What do you say Haslow-" At that moment, out of nowhere, the white haired man drew his slender black sword from the sheath on his side. He looked deadly serious. "Let him be Garald. He''s just a kid." Gerald looked dumbfounded. With a mixture of confusion and laughter on his face. "Oh you must be joking, Haslow! Not when someone like this walks in our path? It''s not everyday you see an unmarked kid, you know. He doesn''t have a black mark like us or a red mark like the market slaves. Which means he is up for grabs! Why miss this chance?" For a moment, there was only silence. No one made a move. But I could tell, they were communicating somehow. Slowly, from the hilt of Haslow''s sword, blood flowed down his blade. He is a Weaver! ¡°I will warn you only once, Gerald.¡± Gerald looked visibly shaken, seeing Haslow unleash his ability. ¡°You don¡¯t need to go that far, Haslow!¡± Haslow calmly replied, his face neutral. ¡°I am the one who decides that.¡± Haslow swung his sword swiftly, splashing the blood on it like an arc. Gerald conjured a wall of stacked glass between us and Haslow. Blocking the blood from reaching us. Bang* Small but explosive bursts of red flame erupted where the blood landed. Most of the glass shattered. "Give up Gerald, I wouldn''t hesitate to cripple you to free a kid.¡± Dust clouded over due to the flame bursts. Before the smoke settled, Haslow reappeared further behind Gerald who was still on top of me. Gerald called for his Daemon. ¡°Meriar!¡± Immediately, from thin air, emerged a monstrous being between us and Haslow. The monster reminded me of Knube. Human-like but different. It looked strong with padded arms and legs, with a lizard-like head. His tail was scaly and rocky in texture, almost as long as his legs. Meriar deflected Haslow¡¯s attack with his tail, but he lost a chunk of his tail in the process. ¡°Glass Heart!¡± Gerald Immediately used his ability, creating a multi-layered flower shaped glass shield in front of him, which is behind Meriar. As soon as the shields formed, the padded areas on Meriar¡¯s limbs turned silver. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Bloody Death!¡± Haslow activated his ability yet again without waiting. He threw arcs of blood Meriar¡¯s way continuously. The air was filled with bloody mist. Meriar blocked all the attacks with the pads on his arms. Haslow¡¯s attacks did not seem to do any damage. ¡°Haslow, why don''t you listen to me my friend? We can choose a good master for that boy. He can be safe like that too.¡± Haslow ignored Gerald. With his call Haslow''s Daemon appeared. ¡°Rojak!¡± Rojak looks divine but fierce. He is completely different from Haslow. He looked like a red dog, with red fur and white stripes. Except, it appeared much more wild and vicious. With horns on its head, Its hunched posture made it look extremely cunning and menacing. ¡°I was wondering when you were gonna let me dance, Haslow.¡± ¡°Blood Borne Dance!¡± Rojak set his claws on scarlet flames. The size of his horns grew. There was no wasted moment. He ran towards Meriar like a beast, on all fours. ¡°Eep!¡± Gerald squealed in fright. ¡°Gerald, increase your defences¡±, said Meriar. Meriar was ready to brace Rojak, but Rojak was too quick. Rojak went for a triple slash attack with his claws. Surprisingly, Meriar held him off. Somehow the pads don¡¯t take any damage from blood and fire attacks. But then, unexpectedly, Rojak ran around Meriar, directly attacking Gerald. Or rather the flower shaped shield in front of him. Right after he appeared in front of the shield, Rojak slashed his left arm with his right hand¡¯s claws, spilling blood on the shield. Bang* Blood flames burst through the glass shield. Meriar caught up to Rojak and threw a kick. At that moment Haslow appeared, deflecting the kick with his sword. ¡°Sorry Meriar.¡± Meriar screamed in anger. ¡°Haslowww!!¡± Utilising this opportunity Rojak slashed the rest of the shield rapidly, breaking it completely. When this happened the silver sheen on Meriar¡¯s padded limbs disappeared. Defenseless, he succumbed to Haslow''s blade and its heat. That''s when Haslow cut through him. Slowly from the wound, the rest of Meriar¡¯s body turned to sand, and he crumbled. Gerald fell on the ground. He saw Meriar taken down in silence. Rojak said with a begrudging face, ¡°Meriar¡¯s gone and he cannot spawn back until an hour. What will you do Gerald?¡± Gerald gulped and looked down on the floor. ¡°...You win. Do what you want with the unmarked¡± Haslow beckoned. ¡°Let''s go Rojak!¡± ¡°Wait¡±, Rojak walked up to Gerald and picked him up off the floor. ¡°If you ever speak of anything that happened here, I will come and find you. Haslow does not need to come for you. As long as he is alive, I can chase you down anywhere in the Severed Continents myself. Remember that.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I won''t.¡± Haslow walked up to me slowly. "Come here, kid", Haslow said. Immediately I walked up to him. Haslow ripped a part of his cloak and wrapped it around my neck. This man is a proper fighter. He might be as strong as Waller. ¡°Sir, why-¡± ¡°Just call me Haslow¡± ¡°What''s this scarf for Mr. Haslow?¡± Haslow sighed. Pulling his armour and clothes aside, Haslow pointed to the base of his neck. A black mark about the size of a fist was there. It looked like a winged beast. ¡°You don''t have a mark like this. If people find that out. You will be in serious trouble.¡± Rojak jumped into the conversation. "In the Severed Continents all newborn babies are given a black mark as a symbol of freedom and belonging. If you don''t have one by the time you''re a year old, you''re deemed as unwanted, making you open to being claimed. You can rarely find older, unmarked people, so they make expensive slaves." All this information started to give me a headache. I heard of many people from my town being taken away for different work when they do not meet the demands of the nobles. Usually they do not return to their homes. Maybe they are sold as slaves. Just like Gerald wanted to sell me. ¡°It''s not safe here. What''s your name, kid?¡± ¡°I''m Straak.¡± Haslow led us away from Gerald. ¡°I¡¯m Haslow, and this is my Daemon, Rojak. Look, I know someone who can help you, Straak. I was going to see them today anyway. We can take you there if you wish.¡± I''m not one to trust people easily. But for some reason I feel like I can trust these two really well. Not because they saved me or because they look like good people. I don''t know. I have a feeling. ¡°If you don''t mind.¡± ¡°It''s not a problem. I''m going to take you to the District City to do that, but it''s going to be through a rather¡­ unconventional route¡±, he said. Rojak didn¡¯t look particularly excited. I think less than half a day has passed since we started walking. I have not seen any people so far. Haslow is probably keeping us away from people. "Where are you from, boy?" The question finally came from Haslow. "You might know the place. I¡¯m from the Mining Town of Fractis." Haslow was surprised. ¡°Fractis? How did you escape that place?¡± I scratched my head. ¡°Well, it''s a long story. Before I escaped I was chased by a large burly man. So I had to fight him.¡± Haslow turned to look at me. I can imagine him thinking that I must be joking. ¡°I''m a Weaver you see. During our fight I almost lost to him, but then Knube did some trick. Next thing I knew, I was in your cart, sleeping.¡± Haslow almost choked on the jerkies we were eating. Tasty things these jerkies are. ¡°Me and Gerald were just there in Fractis. But the cart was thoroughly checked before we left. You could not have hidden unless you could become invisible.¡± I smiled in defeat. ¡°My ability doesn''t do that unfortunately. One minute I was on the other end of the town, and then I was in your cart. I myself am not sure what happened.¡± ¡°It sounds like that isn''t your standard ability. Can you call your Daemon? He''s called Knube, I presume?¡± ¡°Yes¡±. I tried to sense Knube or see if I could summon him somehow. ¡°Knube!¡± I shouted his name like the others did in the battle before. He didn''t come out. ¡°Hm¡­ I suspect you used Soul Revelation¡±, said Haslow after thinking for a moment. ¡°What''s that?¡± ¡°Apart from the skills you and your Daemon have, you have a combined skill. It''s usually the trump card people only use when they are in trouble. Your Daemon willingly sacrifices most of its source power, to manifest the ultimate skill for you to survive. Only problem is once it does that your Daemon cannot respawn for a day.¡± ¡°Sounds very powerful.¡± ¡°Well, not exactly. Because when your Daemon dies using soul revelation, the source power you have access to will be limited to a very low amount.¡± ¡°Are you saying I can''t even use my ability as I wish, when that happens?¡± Just then we reached the edge of the forest. ¡°Yes. It''s just like you said¡±, replied Haslow, just casually.