“Research regarding the development of affinities remains inconclusive. If it can’t be forced, how do the barbarians of the Adjhin’torian tribes wield the same few Arts? If the environment is the reason, how come frost affinities manifest in the desert?

From Environment, Circumstances, Or Genetics? A Comparative Study Regarding The Manifestation Of Affinities In Children by Isolda van Hjelmstad

Amber-colored eyes met his own.

In front of him stood a small, wooden creature, his big head tilted to one side. Silas immediately scrambled away from the creature, his back hitting the wooden wall of the little niche he had slept in. Mirroring his actions, the creature stumbled towards the entrance. His shape was comparable to a human, but that was where the similarities ended.

Around seven inches high, the creature was made almost completely out of gnarled, gray wood. Dark green specks decorated the torso and head like freckles. His two small legs and arms resembled vines braided together and ended in three similarly tangled toes and fingers.

The head was unusually big for his small size, also having the same grayish, gnarled wood the rest of the torso was made of.A few smaller twigs stuck seemingly random out of his head, as if someone had tried to imitate human hair.

Yet, the most striking feature were his marigold eyes. Swirling patterns of silvery threads wove their way through them, drawing Silas in. The striking lack of pupils gave the creature a mystical appearance.

“What kind of creature are you, little guy?”

One arm pointed at Silas’ chest. “Creak.” The sound that came out of its mouth reminded him of bending wood, similar to drawing a bow.

Silas frowned. He saw parts of himself reflected in the little creature, sensed feelings that were similar to his own, yet not of him. For a moment, he floated in a dense, white mist, once more unable to escape.

The breath he was about to take got stuck in his lungs, his heart hammering against his chest. Something within him flared, filling him with a tingling warmth and banishing the fog. The creature had taken a cautious step forward.

“Creak!” it once more pointed at him.

Where had that sudden warmth come from? Silas reached out with his hand, stopping just before the creature. Taking another small step forward, he now stood mere inches in front of Silas’ hand and looked up at him. After a moment of hesitation, he started to climb up his hand, letting out another drawn-out creak as he sat down. Silas carefully raised his hand to his face, inspecting the creature from close up.

He was truly a marvelous creature. The threads in his eyes created ever-shifting patterns that Silas could not even begin to comprehend. Although no nose could be seen, a mouth and two small, flat ears decorated his head.

Arms reaching for Silas’ face, the boy moved the creature a bit closer until their eyes were only a few inches apart from each other. Arms stretched out, six wooden fingers took hold of Silas’ nose.

“What are you?” he asked again.

The creature tapped his nose with one arm. “Creak,” he responded while continuing to stare into his eyes. Was this the same creature whose presence he had felt in his nightmare? The nightmare. His parents stopping the carriage at the clearing, his father just about to begin his tale.

Silas shuddered, his eyes defocusing. He knew what came afterwards. He knew, yet did his best to keep it all locked behind the decrepit door with the lock dangling from its handle, daring him to open it.

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The warmth from earlier abruptly intensified and flowed through him in waves, making him hold his breath momentarily. A high-pitched creak sounded in his ears. Silas looked at the creature in front of him with glassy eyes.

“Did you do that?”

The responding creak was so low Silas could barely hear it, despite their faces being only inches apart from each other.

“Where is your home? You should really get back to your parents, you know.”

With a creak that almost sounded like an exasperated sigh, the creature tapped his nose again. “Creak.”

Silas’ stomach grumbled loudly. “It was nice talking to you, but I have to leave now, my little friend. Do you know where your parents are?”

“Creak?” the creature squinted his eyes.

“Yes, your parents. Somewhere outside near the tree, maybe?”

Instead of responding, the creature continued to gaze up at him with obvious confusion.

“Shall we go outside?” Silas gestured to the entrance of the niche.

The creature’s mouth immediately curved upwards. Using both of his arms to hold on to Silas’ nose, he began to hop on his hand with sudden enthusiasm. “Creak!”

Silas yelped in pain as he tried to crawl outside. Overnight, the scraps of his shirt had glued themselves to the half-dried blood on his back. Every movement tore at the fabric, reopening the wound and causing new blood to flow down his sides. ,

Vision blurry, Silas took a few deep breaths before continuing his slow crawl. A reinvigorating surge of energy suddenly washed over him and dulled the pain.

“Creak!” The creature stood just before the entrance, encouraging him to keep going. Once fully outside the niche, he tried to focus on his goal to find the creature’s parents. However, there was nothing to indicate where he had come from. The dense copse of trees from his flight the day before stood somewhere to his right, bringing with it unwilling memories from the previous day.

A contorted, hate-filled face with bleeding eyes focused on him. Two crude axes dripping with blood hung loosely in the barbarian’s hands. Silas clenched his fists, his broken nails sending sharp pulses of pain through his fingers. His breathing accelerated and his nostrils flared. It had all happened so fast. Worst of all, he knew it was his fault. All of it.

It was his fault that he was where he was now, somewhere in a foreign forest, hungry and alone. Unrelenting and absolute, the guilt washed over him like a crushing wave that threatened to drown him in its reproachful currents.

“Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak.” The wooden creature pulled on what remained of his ripped pants and looked up at him. “Creak,” he voiced, shaking his head.

Silas took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, my little friend. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Kneeling down, he let him climb onto the palm of his hand. “Do you have a name? I’m Silas, by the way.”

“Creak?” the wooden creature tilted its head, frowning with its brown eyebrows.

“Should I just call you Creak then?”

The small creature stared dubiously up at Silas. “Creak? Creeaak.”

“Maybe that’s too simple. Hmmm, what about…” Silas’ eyes suddenly lit up. “Gnarly!”

Wooden eyebrows shooting up, its high pitched-creak was enough confirmation for Silas. “Alright then, Gnarly, let’s see if we can find your parents, or someone who can help us at least.”

The lock rattled against the door that it kept closed, threatening to set loose an avalanche that would bury him under its weight. Silas focused his eyes on the creature in front of him, amber eyes big with worry. Once on his hand, he slowly lifted Gnarly up to his right shoulder. He held on to Silas’ earlobe, gaping down from his perch.

“You like the view from up there?”

“Creak!”

Silas turned around, the wooden behemoth towering before him. Gnarly followed his gaze. “Creak.”

“Quite impressive, isn’t it?”

“Creak. Creak, creak.”

One arm held out as if to touch the tree, Gnarly’s eyes were focused on the tree before them. The creature suddenly stumbled and pulled heavily on his earlobe to regain its balance.

“You okay there, buddy?”

He edged closer to his head, now using his other arm to hold on to a few strands of Silas’ thick, brown hair.

“You should make a knot to tie yourself up, Gnarly.”

“Creak?”

Crouching down, the boy picked a long stalk of grass to demonstrate how to make a knot. His little friend seemed confused at first, but eventually got what Silas tried to tell it.

With a knot of hair around the creature’s waist for safety, Silas took a look around, trying to get a sense of direction. Maybe he could reach Bryme and somehow pay for the appraisal by the Guild of Mages? However, that also meant going back to the road. Silas shuddered, faint cries of despair surfacing from his repressed memories.

“Where do we go, Gnarly?”

Squinting his eyes, Gnarly’s gaze wandered around the forest. “Creak!” he said suddenly, pointing somewhere to the left. While Silas could not fathom why Gnarly had chosen this particular direction, he was also out of options.

He glanced at his companion. “Are you sure?”

Eyes shining with determination, Gnarly rose on of its fists in a heroic gesture. “Creak creak!” it voiced, pulling on Silas’ earlobe to urge him forward.

“Alright then, let’s see where you lead us to, my new friend.”