I jolt upright, the sound outside startling me from my sleepy trance. Am I the only one who heard that? That sounded too big to be a squirbunny. I creep out of bed and toward the door, opening it slightly and peeking through. It's dark but I can make out the surroundings. Barely. Looking around at the other buildings, I don't see anyone else awake. Great, just me then. I sit and stare into the darkness, my eyes slowly working their way to night sight. I spot a pair of thick devil-like horns glinting in the moonlight, but these horns are about fifteen feet off the ground... Surely this thing isn't that big, right? I watch carefully as it steps out of the brush enough to make out its figure. It got the body of what looks like an Ox, with a human-esque torso attached where its head would be. The horns sprouting from the creature's head, which looks like an ox's skull on top of the torso. Oh my god.. what am I looking at? I have to wake up the others somehow. But this thing can probably see at night, so I can't leave without alerting him. I hear a gurgling from within the creature, almost like a guttural growl that causes all my hair to stand on end.

While watching the beast, I hear the faintest creak and look over to see Silven poking through his door. He sees the creature, then looks toward me, and puts a finger to his lips in a shushing manner. His door opens silently and I watch as he sneaks around behind his building. He crouches down and moves, so quietly it's as if he's slithering, to Joffrey's hut and slips inside. I look back at the creature and see it has made its way out of the brush and into the clearing with us. This doesn't look good... I thought Joffrey said there weren't any predators out here?! I watch as Joffrey and Silven slip back out, weapons ready, to the side of the building opposite the creature. Silven grabs a rock and, using his bow fires it against a tree past the beast. It turns its back to them and Silven quickly escapes into the forest, Joffrey waiting patiently.

The beast promptly forgets the rock, hearing the light footsteps behind him, and turns, letting out an ear-shattering guttural roar. I cower behind the door and cover my ears. After a few seconds, the roar dies down and I peek back out to see Joffrey with his swords ready. An arrow flies out of the woods and right through the eyes of the beast. A blood-curdling screech escapes it as it flails around blindly. I watch as Joffrey charges the beast. The creature, hearing the heavy footsteps, clobbers in Joffrey's direction, sending small tremors through the ground with each stomp. Joffrey slides between the beast's legs, slicing the back of all four hooves with a spin. The monster falls to its knees with a heavy thud, then an arrow lodges into the creature's neck. It lets out a demonic howl, piercing my eardrums and rattling my core.

Joffrey doesn't waste time and jumps on the back of the beast, attempting to pierce the skull before being thrown into one of the buildings with a vigorous shake, knocking the air out of his lungs. It pushes off the ground one leg at a time, until fully standing. A few more arrows embed themselves in the side of it, no longer having an effect. It turns to face Joffrey and a red glow forms in its belly as it draws in a massive breath, the glow moving up toward its now-unhinging jaw. The air begins pulling in toward the beast, growing warmer. I look on in horror. Why does this energy feel familiar? Silven's arrows aren't affecting it. I have to do something... But.. I feel dizzy...

The beast spews out a monstrous ball of fire, jetting directly at Joffrey, and my body pulses. I feel a fiery energy escape me, dragging me upward… only… something feels off. The force pulling me stops a few feet up. Startled, I screamed. But nothing comes out. Beginning to panic, I look around and see my body, lying on the ground unconscious. Okay… This is new... Wait. Joffrey. JOFFREY. I push forward and notice there’s no resistance. Wow… I’m actually flying! I move and peek through the opening of the door. The fireball is barely inching forward, crawling toward Joffrey, who is slowly putting his hands up. I move forward and my form shifts through the wall. What.. is this? I examine my hands and immediately notice I can see right through them. It’s almost as if my outline is traced in a golden flame. What happened to me? Am I still dreaming?

I fly over between Joffrey and the fireball, gently raising my hand. My palm rests against the roaring inferno. This feeling… It feels… Serene, almost ethereal. I push against the fireball and to my surprise, it begins to slow more. Maybe this will work…? I place my other hand on it and begin flying against it. I feel the fireball stop and begin creeping backward. After forcing it a little further, I release my hands and watch it continue back. I really hope this is real... I fly back to the hut, taking one last look at the fireball to make sure it didn’t turn back around. Returning to my body, I see the veins in my hands and feet begin glowing orange, slowly creeping up my arms and legs. It.. it burns… it feels like my hands and feet are roasting from the inside. I recoil in agony as this sensation continues halfway to my elbows and knees. I have to get back into my body. NOW. I fly down and grab my body’s lifeless shoulders. Suddenly everything goes white and I’m back. I barely regain my senses when everything speeds back up. A massive explosion fills the air, and smoke covers the field.

Oh god, did it work? I go to stand but wince as a sharp pain in my foot takes me back to the ground. I look down and see faint scars that resemble tendrils up my leg. Checking my other leg and arms I see them all over. I take a deep breath and try to stand up once more, wincing again but making it upright. I gingerly step out of the hut and inch forward, the smoke from the explosion making it to where I can’t see but a few feet in front of me. I move toward where I remember seeing Joffrey, stumbling occasionally in pain, and… I can faintly make out a body lying on the ground in the distance. Did… It didn’t work…? I continue to step closer and the body begins to shift gently. I let out a large sigh of relief. At least he is moving… I look over to where the beast was, the wind beginning to clear the area of the smoke and see the lower half of the creature slumped on the ground. The top half was nowhere to be seen… Silven rushes out of the woods over to me and begins dragging me to Joffrey.

"Is he alive?" Silven's worried, he's panting. He reaches down to feel for a pulse.

"Well, he was moving. I think that's a good sign..." I chuckle nervously.

He sighs, and begins checking Joffrey for injuries, before shaking his head in disbelief, "Not even a burn mark…” Silven’s eyes meet mine, “Did you see what happened?”

“O-oh. Well, I think... I think I had something to do with it..” I sputter out.

“Wait... Seriously?” Silven asks incredulously, staring with his mouth agape.

“I... I think so. I saw the ball of fire leave the creature and my body just… it was like I was on fire. But floating above myself. And.. Everything slowed down. I flew..” my words trail off as I try to hold on to the feeling I experienced. Why is it so hard for me to remember these things afterward? I don’t get further in my thought before coughing catches our attention.

“Oh, Christ... I could really use a drink right now.” He sputters. Silven cackles while he and I help Joffrey sit up.

"How do you feel?" I ask worriedly.

"Sore... But I'll make it." He sees the smoldering half of the creature. "Ugh… What happened to ugly over there?"

“Uhm…” I scramble to find my words, “I think... I think I happened.”

Joffrey smirks through his pained breathing, “Oh yeah? I don’t-” his words interrupted by a rough cough, Silven instinctively leans forward to check but Joffrey waves his hand, pushing himself up to a slow stand. “Damn, that was a hard hit.” He chuckles.

"You stubborn bastard," Silven laughs.

"Damn right, I am," he stifles a chuckle and looks over to me, his happy demeanor contorting into horror, “Oh my God. Kid, what the hell happened to your arms?” His voice grew in anxious volume.

Silven, who was caught up worrying about Joffrey, sees me now too, and his expression turns distraught, “Salem, are you okay?!”

“Y-yeah, I think so..” my head still feels fuzzy, “I can’t... Remember what happened..” He comes over and examines the scars, growing increasingly worried. “It’s.. on my legs too,” I say wearily, “It hurts..”

“Don’t worry, we’ll see what we can do.” Silven, trying to hide the panic in his voice, picks me up and hurries to the campfire, Joffrey following behind with a limp. Silven quickly lights the fire, illuminating the area, so he can get a better look at my wounds. After a short examination, Silven speaks up, “I’ve.. never seen something like this before. It’s like your scars are... Inside you? They almost look like… wait. Salem, did you use your Specialty?” Joffrey, who is sitting on a log drinking some fermented berry wine he made, chokes hearing Silven’s words.

“You used your Specialty again? What did we just talk about?” Joffrey sounds more concerned than aggressive. It’s nice compared to what I’m used to, although I can’t help but wince a little.

“I...” My memory of what happened is in pieces, like an impossible puzzle, but maybe I can remember just a few. Anything, please… “I remember... Being outside my body... And... I pushed the fireball?”

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“You were saying something about how everything felt slow,” Silven recalls, trying to spark my memory.

“Yea.. that sounds right. Like time had stopped.. Or at least, almost.” I wince as Silven pushes on one of the scars on my leg. The sensation from his pressing sends memories flashing almost too fast to perceive through my mind. “It.. it was my power... That did this. I saw my body... I think it had the same glowing veins you were talking about before... Except... Something was off about it. You said the energy started in my heart…” My words trail off as I look to Silven and Joffrey, “But.. this started from my feet and my hands... And it burned. Hotter than anything I could ever imagine... It hurt really bad... Like, uhm, lava was being injected into me...?”

Joffrey stares into the fire with his elbows on his knees, hands interlocked resting under his nose. “This power seems like it’s too much for your body.”

“What does that mean..?” I ask sheepishly

“Oh Christ, okay. It means..." he winces as he draws in a breath, "There are different kinds of Specialties.” His body moved raggedly as he took in each breath, and he spoke quietly and concisely, “There are Controlled Specialties, which are under complete control of their user.”

“Like... You and Silven?” I gawk.

“Yeah, Like me and Silven,” He chuckles softly, “And probably any Noble you would meet in the Kingdom had a Controlled type. But.. There are two other kinds as well, not seen nowadays, and they are complex and dangerous. There are parasitic Specialties, and these powers caused incredible damage to the user, who had no control over when it happened, to the point they couldn’t be saved. Very few made it past 16.”

“Why is this the first I’m hearing of this?” Silven huffs.

“Well... It was never relevant,” Joffrey turns rigid again, his voice tightening, “And they’re not really around anymore. Ever since the ceremony began at least..”

Silven and I exchange a look of confusion and, practically in tandem, ask, “What do you mean by that?”

His expression drops, realizing he’s backed himself into a corner, and sighs, “The ceremony, it’s used as a way for the King to determine who he thinks would be useful to him.”

My whole body shudders, and Silven, piecing things together, speaks up, “So... All of those kids on the other side..”

“They were deemed ‘not useful’ and, well... You know.” Joffrey’s voice was solemn and low.

“Christ..” Silven squats and stares into nothing.

“But.. What about the other type?” I ask hesitantly.

“What?” Joffrey looks up at me.

“The other type of specialty, you said there were three right?” I ask again.

“Oh, right,” Joffrey looked defeated, “The last kind is called Symbiotic.”

“What does Symbiotic mean?” I look on quizzically.

Silven speaks up now, “It means two different things are associated with each other and provide for each other in a way that benefits both,” He pauses for a second, before asking, “But how does that apply to Specialties?”

“Well…” Joffrey explains, “There isn’t much known about Symbiotic Specialties... They are said to have incredible potential but at a great cost. The further you delve and gain control... The more essence of yourself you lose. What exactly that means isn’t known, and supposedly no one has been able to achieve full control.”

“Whoa..” I whisper barely loud enough to be heard.

“And that…” He points to me, “Is what I think you are dealing with.”

Silven’s eyes widen and he looks at me, “Holy crap, Salem.”

“Well don’t look at me like that!” I chuckle and push Silven’s shoulder, “How would I have known?”

Silven shoves back, laughing too, “I don’t know, you tell me!”

“Boys.” Joffrey’s tone cuts our laughter short, and we sit straight up again, “This isn’t something to take lightly. If this power is the type I think it is, then you need to be extremely cautious when you use it. If you aren’t careful, it could potentially do much worse than ending your life.”

His voice was chilling. But something was gnawing at my mind… “How do you know all of this?” I ask confidently, “I’ve never heard of anything like it before.”

He hesitates, staring into the fire, before looking at Silven and me on the edge of our seats. He groans, “I really don’t think that’s important.”

“Aww, C’mon!” I push him harder to answer.

“Yeah, now I’m curious too!” Silven piggybacks my pestering.

We push more and more until Joffrey finally has enough.

“OKAY! Fine. You two win.”

“YAY!” Silven and I holler at the same time.

“Well... I guess there’s no real... Easy way to put this, so I’ll just say it,” He shifts uncomfortably in place, “I… Used to be the archivist. For the King.”

Silven and I sit in stunned silence for a moment. Silven catches his words before I do, “So… what happened?

Joffrey looks like he’s hesitant to answer, “I overheard him talking to himself in the Archives. Like he was searching for something. I was hidden behind some shelves trying to hear what I could from his mumbling, but couldn’t make much out. Not soon after, he left the room for some reason. I decided to take a peek at what he was reading, but it was in some language that hasn’t been seen for centuries.” His brow crumples, “Although, there was this one symbol that kept appearing through the pages. It looked like a crest with a phoenix on it.”

“Hmm..” Silven stares puzzled, “I’ve never seen something like that before.”

“Neither have I…” I ponder.

“Needless to say, I got a little too caught up searching through the books and the King’s head maid came in to see me scouring. I barely had time to think before I was outside the gates, exiled by order of the King. I don’t even remember her saying anything.” Joffrey explains.

“Wow, that’s rough..” says Silven, “What was it like? Working for the King?”

“I had a surprising amount of freedom compared to most of the rest of his staff,” Joffrey continues, his hesitation no longer present, “They’re all expected to perform exactly what task needs to be done with exact timing. I was just tasked with upholding the quality of the old scrolls, books, and illustrations. The King specifically sought out a Specialty like mine, for exactly that reason. He asked me to never read them, only to preserve them for His sake, not that I knew how to read at the time anyway, but, I managed to teach myself over time. Read plenty about the history of the kingdom, but those are stories for another time. It’s getting late.” Joffrey gets up, wincing slightly from his injury, and begins walking toward his hut.

“Wait.” My voice stops him in his tracks. “What was that thing that attacked us?”

Joffrey, with his back to me, groans and stretches his back, “We, uh, aren’t exactly sure. There’s no record of them in the Archive. At least not that I could find or understand. I think it’s some sort of demonic entity,” He looks up to the clear star-spattered sky, “We haven’t seen one for around 6 months. Thought they had finally left or starved… If they even can starve.” He creases his brow, "They weren't as strong as this one was, though... This was something else."

Silven hops up almost excitedly, “Yeah! I’ve never seen one just shake off my arrows like that. And the way it stood back up after you cut its legs that badly?” He sounds like he even misses fighting those things...

“Yeah. That’s concerning to think they’re still out there... And getting stronger as well.” Joffrey surveys his surroundings. “We may need to move camp.”

Silven groans poutily, “Seriously? I finally got used to the forest around here.”

“Why do we need to move?” My question causes Joffrey to look over his shoulder at me.

“There’ll be more.” He said coldly. “But we should be okay for tonight. We need to get some sleep for tomorrow’s journey.” He walks into his hut and closes the door.

Silven and I sit for a second before my curiosity gets the better of me. “Hey, Silven?”

His head perks up, “Yeah, Salem?”

“How did the other two end up out here? Raina, and Gontu.” I sit in front of the fire and hug my knees to my chest.

“Ah.” He stares into the fire pit, “Gontu was never a part of the Kingdom. I met him and Joffrey when I was first exiled. They were.. Very welcoming. It was almost unsettling, compared to what I was used to.”

“Yeah… It was a little bit of a shock meeting you all for me too.” I empathize with Silven.

He snickers, “Yeah...”

“And Raina?” my curiosity still not sated.

“She, uh..” Silven stops, he seems stuck on his words, “I don’t know. We don’t really know much about her. She showed up several months ago... Told us her name, and put herself to work. That’s about it. We haven’t seen much reason to complain but... Something seems off about her. I swear I feel a little, uh... Fuzzier... When she’s around. I don’t trust her completely...” He stretches into a stand and extends his hand out to me. I grab hold and he hoists me up. “We really should try to get some sleep though. If Joffrey says we have to move, then we have to move, and we need our energy for that.”

Silven says goodnight and heads off to his hut, leaving me alone by the fire. I sit in silence for a few minutes, processing all the information I just took in. So… I’ve got a power that can seriously hurt me. I run my fingers along the scars under the skin of my arms. I need to be really careful if this much happens while using it. What did he mean when he said ‘The more you delve, the more you lose the essence of yourself’? I don’t know… I should probably head to bed. I kick nearby dirt onto the fire, extinguishing it. Walking over to my hut, I take a quick look around, double-checking there are no more monsters out here, and open the door. As I’m about to step in, a glint in the bushes catches my eye and I look over, I notice a figure gently slip through the brush behind the camp… I huddle behind the door and watch until I can make out enough details. As the figure approaches, I see it. The faintest red glow wisps from the ends of the figure’s hair, illuminating her face for only a second, so short I had to second guess whether I really saw it. But it’s unmistakable… It’s Raina.