*Slap*
This was the first reaction after Imogyeran saw the two of them and tried to be friendly with
them. A slap on the face from Kassandra.
To him the reaction was entirely obscure and mysterious, almost aggravating.
<
The harsh attitude, the defiant posture and the strong will in his eyes convey more than his
words.
*Slap*
She does not explain her actions and instead feeds into the fire of conflict before turning
around to blink away the tears in her eyes.
Imogyeran is still helplessly lost in confusion and looks over to Kasim to check on what’s wrong
but the latter hides behind his friends not even looking him in the eyes to reciprocate his
gesture.
Toward the end of the battle Imogyeran was flickering in and out of consciousness while trying
to regain control over his body against ‘Mabo’. In the end he succeeded in regaining his mind
and body for himself but in the process he lost something important.
<’Mabo’ must have done something to him. I better apologize.>
Due to excessively hitting his head against the ground as a last act of regaining control over the
twisted spirit Imogyeran suffered several concussions and is currently under a strong case of
amnesia. To this person a large amount of today’s actions is covered behind a blur in a physical
and mental sense. Even if he tries to remember the latter parts of the battle, his mind is solely
able to focus on the numerous occasions where his link with the spirit drove his body to self-
destruction.
He tries to remember a kick he used against Kasim but the boy only feels his leg twisting like a
wrung out piece of cloth.
He tries to remember his rush against his opponent and what his face was doing in the
meantime but his tongue starts tasting iron and his eyes start burning forcing him to blink
several times.
Only the numerous bruises, fractures and concussions are proof of the battle and only the
very very end of the battle serves him as prove of his victory.
<
<
Before being able to explain himself the still inexperienced child is interrupted by Kassandra
the gaze of her eyes evoking one of the few experiences under his own belt.
No long words, a cold demeaning stare. ‘I wish you were never born’. ‘I wish I had never met
you.’
Once again he tries to look for help from Kasim, his eyes watering up as tears well inside them,
his breathing becoming more and more ragged.
But this time not even that is allowed to him as Kassandra blocks his line of sight towards what
he had hoped would become one of his very first friends.
The situation becomes as hopeless as the light in his eyes as he once again falls into a feeling
of despair he had now thought to have finally been released from.
The tears dry out and his face becomes calm, expressionless like a withered field in the winter.
For some reason a picture resurfaces inside his mind that he had forgotten about for the last
few days. A vast expense, a tidy patch of field where crops are harvested. And the winter. The
cold winter.
In the end all that remains is ash.>
In the midst of Imog sinking deeper and deeper into the old hole of vanity he had once been
born into Kasim lightly pushes Kassandra aside and walks up to the boy, seemingly wanting to
say something.
The pale boy raises his head and looks at him with a hopeful gaze. He remembers the
conversation the two of them had held earlier today. It was the same situation as now,
Imogyeran looking to the ground and Kasim raising him up with his words.
Once again Kasim raises his head and looks deep into the into the expectant ruby eyes.
His entire body is visibly quaking, his lips are quivering but he still does not immediately avert
his gaze from the boy; nobody can read Kasim Rojora’s thoughts at this current moment.
But he does not speak. Imogyeran decides to be brave and speak the first words.
<
His voice is quivering and rushes out a pitch higher than usual.
There is still no reaction from Kasim, neither in posture nor expression
<>
The shy boy grabs some newfound courage and his speech becomes more fluent. His quivering
goes down each second and his eyes are filled with a small determination to get back out of
the hole he fell into.
<
That is until he hears the response that sends him tumbling down once again.
<>
In a matter of moments his limbs go limp his face becomes rigid and Imog’s eyes dry up
making his face at least appear a lot older than he really is.
<>
Imogyeran’s thoughts have gone entirely blank and unreadable as he lowers his gaze to the
ground.
<
The dejected boy doesn’t even bother to look up as he listens to the shouting exclamation
from the person that rejected him.
<<3 Years!>>
?
<>
??
< think of you then!!>> ?? Imogyeran is left speechless as he looks up to see a weeping Kasim Rojora run away while a Kassandra Klefaria is chasing after him, her look of confusion mirroring his own. A plethora of negative emotions rushes through his mind, most of which being anger and indignation. In any other circumstance his reaction might have fallen out to be exceedingly negative but this case was the sole exception. Right now all he can do is to silently accept his acquaintance’s(?) proposal and appear in front of him three years from now. Imogyeran decides to ask the spirits around himself for guidance while also having a talk with ‘Mabo’ about earlier today. His body is still in an unstable state and the short time of recuperation might do wonders to the current him. … Behind a position hidden behind forestation the figure of Kasanova Rojora is hiding, having brought along three capable warriors of his household and having witnessed the puzzling exchange between the two. It seemed like too complicated a mess to unpack it all but he decided to leave it at the level of mild admiration and continue on doing what he was doing. Originally, he brought his warriors with him to swiftly deal with Imogyeran in order to make him ‘disappear’. It was a decision derived from experience and authority as well as from responsibility: he did not regret making that decision but now he hesitates in going through with it. young spirit-channeler. In that case I might even be able to pull him into our family or at the very least I might be able to create some ties between us and him.> The veteran warrior does not immediately take action but rather remains cautious to survey the boy’s current state both mentally and physically. Mentally the boy’s fortitude might be commendable for him to still keep standing and continuing to work as he starts communicating with the ambient spirits and strengthening his connection with them while doing that. Commendable but should he not focus on seeking medical attention right now?> Kasanova does not realize or maybe underestimates the importance of money for medical treatment and overestimates the amount of budget the young boy possesses. The entirety of the price-money he received might be a lot but it would still need to serve him for the next few months until Imogyeran is able to find an occupation that earns the boy his living. But alas the difference in life makes this misjudgment an inevitability. Speaking of Physicality, the boy has suffered major damage to his limbs and torso needing urgent attention and probably months to cure under normal circumstances. Judging by the amount of spirits participating in an exchange with his body the wounds should start forming scars and healing in about a week’s worth of time. The word healing is used very loosely here. Healing a broken bone with the help of letting spirits permeate through the flesh into the broken area will help generate artificial tissue connecting the two parts back together. With enough time the fractured or broken part will even be stronger than it was before the injury. But due to the uncontrollable nature of the spirits as well as the precision of the human body the broken area will leave behind a swelled area, which may impede the future growth and utility of the damaged area. For the people in Kasanova’s range of age this discomfort might be negligible but in the case of the tremendously young Imogyeran his body might get a growth deficiency preventing the boy from reaching the natural limit of his height. In other words, even though he might be able to heal from his injuries today with relative ease, the boy’s future will undoubtedly be impeded by the many severe injuries he has sustained today. All this is said and done without even acknowledging the series of concussions he has inflicted upon himself. The actual repercussions of that act are too wild to be properly predictable but the luckiest outcome might be severe personality disorders, emotional and social disability, short-term memory loss or in his specific case the possession through an outside party like the incident from today’s tournament but in a permanent setting. introduce myself.> Kasanova simply acknowledges these facts as a beneficial opportunity for himself and decides to come out of hiding and to confront the boy personally. A rustling of leaves is heard as the group steps out of a small bush formation, Imogyeran makes an attentive but not concerned expression as he notices their arrival. The scenery is a light forest dwelling close to the worn-down bridge Imog visited earlier this day. The light of the night shines on the dimly covered ground, the trees are sparse but lush. They are adorned by a special type of leaf that is colored with a vertical sweep of violet, they are formed like a drawn out heart. On the ground next to Imog’s feet there is a nest of resin-loafers, a small type of bug that is drawn to a special type of liquid underneath the ground. Their green trunks fulfill both the role of their sensory organ as well as a mouth while they shimmer with light blue patterns that make them look like jewels of the ground. As the name implies they typically gather and stay around the special resin area and rarely come to the surface, which makes their appearance a rare occurrence. The sky through the roof is colored its typical dirt-dark color as Kasanova draws closer with his usual confident gait. < A simple question from the boy to start things off. < A short answer straight to the point. <> If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. An implied threat derived from authority. Imogyeran simply nods not finding this type of exchange unpleasant. < <> *Stagger* < <> Honestly, Kasanova did not expect this type of answer after eavesdropping on the last conversation so he is left a bit perplexed as the man is considering his next move. Once again the experienced elder relies on his wealth of experience to derive his next point of importance. However… < <> With this simple answer all hairs on the grown man’s body start standing up as a cold shower rushes through his body. This boy truly dared to admit to an indirect death threat to his son??? Kasanova’s fist clench together until the knuckles adorning them appear a blank white color like the winter snow. His body starts shaking from anger before… Before becoming as still as a lake of poison. < With the order two of his goons start moving at once. One tackles the heavily injured boy to the ground while the other stuffs his mouth with a narcotic herb that acts both as sound insulation as well as a means to sever the boy’s connection with the spirit-realm. Imogyeran starts struggling fiercely but is ultimately completely incapable of doing anything against the two grown men. His eyes dart over to Kasanova giving him a look filled with something dangerous that not even the boy himself properly understands. < killing him. That alone is already more than enough reason for you to vanish from the face of this earth.>> Kasanova starts speaking his final words, perhaps out of the last remaining pity inside his heart, perhaps a futile effort to justify his actions or perhaps the man simply likes hearing his own voice. During his speech the two goons start tying up the boy with the rope they had prepared beforehand and the third one makes his way back to check on the young master and get to it that a proper medic shall take a look at his wounds. < Should I take the initiative against the opponent of my son, who has set you as his next goal to defeat? Do I have the right to decide about your life and death simply because I am holder of a bit of authority? Am I really prepared to kill a child as young as you are? I was hesitant or perhaps scared of the consequences. But right now? I don’t feel a single thing. It is surprising how cold my body feels, how little I care about you, is it not?>> He looks up at the two goons hovering over the boy, whose eyes have started going blank from the narcotic. < be. His death shall be enough.>> They nod and he focuses his gaze on Imogyeran for the last time before turning around and leaving him to his own fate. < any thanks. You can hate me, loathe me or do whatever you want. I am prepared to carry this sin for the rest of my life.>> … [“The rest is kind of blurry. I remember some things but most of the time I was out of it because they gave me some kind of sleeping drug or something. Next thing I remembered...”] We are now standing in front of the edge next to Medalia village. Behind the high cliff there is a gigantic forest of green, purple and blue spreading like a door to a different world. The height of this plateau is high up in the ear. High enough that any non-reinforced human being falling from this height would undoubtedly die a near-instant death. < Realistically speaking, an Imogyeran Ashenwald in optimal condition might be able to survive this fall in various ways most of which being pretty easy to manage for any spirit-channeler. Though it is doubtful that he would be capable of the same thing in his current condition, it wouldn’t hurt to be safer better than sorry. *KICK**SLAM**PUNCH* Also there still is the matter of bad feelings between the goons and Imogyeran for roughing up and embarrassing a close friend of theirs. *SMACK**KNACK* < And these people really need to vent their feelings about this person right about now. < The ropes are no longer needed as the boy’s arms and legs are already too broken to function on their own. The excessive beating actually benefited Imogyeran in a weird way. Due to the distribution of adrenaline throughout his body increasing, the narcotic lost a bit of its effect making Imog’s head clearer than before. While being beaten up, Imogyeran has tried various means on communicating with his surroundings without these guys noticing. But now would be the deciding moment. Would it be enough? Would he survive? [(Did you survive?)] [*Thud*] [(OWWW!)] But before answering the obvious question, another important player needs to be introduced to the scene. Not everybody experiences a story in the same way. Kasanova experienced a tragedy of betrayal. Values are as good as the person that holds them. Then how good are his values? Kasim experienced a story full of Action and Horror. Was everything truly as the surface suggested? Should he cower before the symbol of his fear or would he raise himself back to the sun again? Is it grace or education? What holds importance in his life. Kassandra experienced a Drama going through all emotions. What is reality? If a person has a thousand faces, which face is its real face? Can you ignore all the rest in favor of the face you like? Can you give up a face you don’t know for the faces you do know? Can you forgive the face? Can you look into your own if you don’t? Not everybody experiences a story in the same way. Once upon a time there was a beautiful Aranero Ciempies. He was bigger than his brethren and stronger. He feasted upon them and grew larger through each of them. It was a story of predation. But as is the law of the jungle, the bug was squashed by a bird and died a natural cause. The limbs were teared from its body. The head was crushed to bits. The Aranero died and the spirits inside the body tore free from this husk of chitin and spread out to the world until there was nothing left. In the place that was devoid of nothing, there existed a single thing lingering behind. The will of predation. Even after the husk dissolved back to the earth, even after the predator killing the Aranero died a natural cause, this speck of self remained. And it consolidated. Years passed and the world changed with them. Dense forests grew thinner and the sky changed shape. Everything changed and at the same time this was the only stagnant constant of this forest. And it consolidated. The smallest animals of the forest began to take an interest in the imaginary matter. They disconnectedly drew closer and closer to the substance drawn by a feeling akin to instinct. The prey searched for its predator. And it consolidated. Spirits of the forest started gathering around this mysterious singularity. It drew them in and even absorbed some of them as time passed. How much time? Nobody knows since nobody was looking. And it consolidated. And it developed. It started devouring. It started feasting on the spirits and bugs. It started to ask itself “What am I” It was then that ‘Aran’ was born within the jungle that is the forest beneath Medalia village. ‘Aran’ was born an untamed spiritual familiar. His type of being is what is called ‘Altara’ or a lone spirit. Aran usually adapts the appearance of a red imp with two small horns of fire jutting out of his head. He possesses cunning and impish facial features and often wears a wide grin on his face. His two legs are relatively short, which does not matter to him since he chooses flight and levitation as his preferred notion of travel. His existence symbolizes fire and the act of predation, which is a rare attribute to have for spiritual familiars when they are first born. The ‘act of predation’ implies both the actual action as well as the disguise of acting suggesting an innuendo that this spirit both encompasses the nature of an actual predator while also possibly being nothing but a disguised prey. Is he the prey or the predator? This existential crisis has greatly contributed in developing ‘Aran’ over the years. Instead of only staying true to his original nature during his previous life ‘Aran’ realizes that he is but a small rock in a mountainside dominated by huge avalanches. Currently, he is on the prowl for an appropriate target. He has locked onto a so called “Chispa-Sata”, the sparking fledglings. The Chispa-Sata are small mammals the size of human babies in their first year of life. Their round body is covered with short-gray fur that is spotted with yellow thunder-like symbols. Their huge brown eyes dart around very quickly and they are very fast in comparison for their disproportionately small feet and practically nonexistent legs. This type of animal often feasts on a specific diamond-shaped green fruit in the jungle; a still nameless type of fruit having close relations with legume though their outer shell can still be eaten and digested by the Chispa-Sata. ‘Aran’ usually feasts on them for nutrition for a myriad of reasons. Number one: Most of the locations of the diamond-fruit do not fall into the territory of bigger predators. Number two: *CHIIICK* Even before the Chispa-Sata realize ‘Aran’’s presence and let out a warning screech to each other, ‘Aran’ transforms the part from his neck down: His torso quickly starts cracking multiple times and the cracked parts start swelling in size before in-turn cracking themselves and repeating that process. In an unbelievable time ‘Aran’’s body has both the girth of a human adult male’s trained biceps and the length of 3 human bodies neatly lined up in a linear formation. The limbs of the humanoid form become sharp thorn-like claws and from the many compartments of his transformed body many pairs of sharp red claws break open to illuminate the dark of the night. If he intended on doing so, ‘Aran’ was enlarge his girth by twice the size and his length by 3 to 4 times the size but for efficiency’s sake the Altara usually uses this size for hunting the smaller monsters on his dietary menu. *CHICK CHICKKK* Upon realizing the situation, the Chispa-Sata unleashes the spirits stored in the yellow specks on his body and conjures forth a small spark of electricity intending to shock its foe and to immediately run away from this spot. *Inhale* The humanoid head hanging at the front of this convoluted body stirs up and quite literally inhales the sparking spirits emitted from his prey before feasting on the now defenseless victim. The second reason for these animals being his ideal target is their inability to damage him due to their bad compatibility in nature. *CHOMP**CRACK* After being done with sucking out what he needed from their now soulless carcasses and after clamping down on their body to turn them into dry paste ‘Aran’ finishes this meal in a satisfied manner. He transforms back to his smaller form and starts surveying his surroundings for other suitable prey. This is just another day of life in the ‘life’ of ‘Aran’. 'ARAN': _____ I smell something unusual. It’s an enticing smell, that is unnatural to this forest. Either somebody new just entered this forest or something fishy is going on. Should I check it out? ? Wait a minute, what is going on now? I can feel many smaller presences at once revealing themselves and moving in the same direction I originally wanted to go to. My nonexistent brain rattles as I try to wrap my mind on the situation. Meanwhile my body is already circling around the area keeping an eye out for some of the presences that revealed themselves. Case 1: Something really strong accidentally fell down here and now some of the weaker guys want to compete for who gets to devour it. Realistically speaking they might be able to advance to something similar to myself if they actually pull it off. In this case I should at least lurk around a distance away from the lethal spot to check out potential pray and to gather some knowledge on the situation. Case 2:The thing luring in all the monsters has been a fabricated accident that was designed with the purpose of luring them and suggests that they are either being used for the humans living atop the cliff, that is located in the same direction the smell is coming from, or they are lured to be eaten or absorbed by another predator. In this case I should pack my things and keep away from that spot to avoid being targeted by the big guys. Case 2 seems a lot likelier than Case 1. Nah, it’s definitely not worth the risk to go against these guys the way I currently am. Maybe in a hundred years but not now. < What is that sound? Originally I planned to go away and forget about this incident but suddenly a voice popped into my head from somewhere. < Ahhh, so this guy must be the one causing this disturbance or at least he must be connected to it in some way. Well, it can’t hurt to listen to him without getting involved in this, can it? < from this height.>> And with that my interest wains again. I poke my ears and turn around to look for a nice place to survive the daytime in. Bah, if you think that even for a second anybody is going to help you just because you are asking us then you aren’t even worth listening to. My self-pride is very developed and the idea of being asked to do something for another person I have never met before just to save their sorry behinds makes me furious. In fact I am actually getting so furious that the thought of going there and making sure that this brat really does die briefly crosses my mind. But it immediately gets discarded. Risking my well-being for some petty act of self-righteousness just isn’t my style. <>, the voice continues. Here it comes. I actively roll my eyes out of exasperation, an act I learned from a group of humans wandering through this forest before. <> The words of the disembodied voice surprise me for the first time it has sounded out in my head. I would have bet everything I had, which basically is nothing at all, that this brat wanted us to save his life, but no. I turn back around and almost unconsciously start walking back to the source of the voice. Maybe this human might be more interesting than I thought? Right as I think that, another set of shocking words resounds inside my mind. < as a present. Even if I don’t do anything, I will probably die in a few minutes from now. That’s why...>> The voice cuts out for a second before cutting back in, a slight strain heard from it. I start accelerating while waiting for it to continue. < guys and I convinced them to team up with whoever decides to take over my body after I die.>> What is this guy saying? *RUSH* < to use it but I can promise you that these two guys are really strong!>> *RUSH**WOOOSHHH* Why isn’t he begging us to help him? < you get to know him better.>> *RUSH!!!* Why is he accepting his death so easily? I remember the time I died. Even though I can’t remember most of my previous life, the memory of death is still etched into my body. < friends after learning about each other! But be careful, he is a bit bossy.>> *RUSTLE**RUSH**RUSH* That’s because I experienced the strongest and most important memory of my life at that moment: The fear of death. It is still etched into my very being, a cold dripping of death, the darkness enveloping my vision, everything coming to a crawl; the sounds, the pictures, and finally my body. < there and I hope I can be of use to you. And, uhm… Be Happy! Goodbye!>> ____ His mind was entirely blank as he rushed out and transformed right in front of the gathered horde of insects and beasts, that were attracted by the bait thrown down from above. He spread the full majesty of his limbs to a gigantic length and his entire body immediately enveloped the small speck of dust falling down from the cliff and veiled it in a wall of fire and flesh from any predator wanting to feast on the small being. *ROOOOOOARRR* ‘Aran’ let out a gut-wrenching roar that completely dissipated the animals from engaging in any further quarrels and threw out a wall of flames on the few that were left before being left alone with the mysterious human being. Imogyeran is not wrapped in the Altara’s body like a small animal in a serpent’s wrap. No, ‘Aran’ has knitted his own body in such a form that Imogyeran is now inside a sphere that is now burning blazing red from the inside and is an obsidian brown from the outside. The outside looks like a forbidden jewel while the inside… < This is all Imog’s tired mind can think of when he sees this display of red and gold like burning magma. It would be searing into his eyes were it not for ‘Aran’ displacing some of his spirits to protect the boy from the flames. < For some reason ‘Aran’’s voice now is a lot smoother and gentler than it ever had been. His usual tone reminds the listener of crushed coal, both rough and high-pitched but ultimately weak. But today it is as smooth and filled with warmth as a heart made of molten lava. < had a special name for it. In their language, there is a word for bright lights and luminated places. Apparently it is also the word for a certain spice, that my kind wears on its skin or something. It is called ‘Hell’>> < < He tries his best not to fall asleep before having been granted allowance from the large Altara. ’Aran’ feels something inside him change ever so slightly as he watches the human child inside of his sphere of being and… he accepts the change. < < <> < little more than a low mumble.>> < <> < < I like you.>> With these last messages the wounded boy fall into a deep sleep. ‘Aran’ takes the boy’s body to safety and decides on what to do next. ‘Aran’ decides to ‘eat’ Imogyeran Ashenwald. “*Whistle**Clap*”