The light from outside the cave has dimmed and brightened twice since you’ve stabilized the creature. Judging by the current light level the sun is just sinking below the horizon for the third time, and you’ve stared to feel twinges of impatience, a feeling you’d all but forgotten. The fire finally beginning to lose some of its intensity, the dancing shadow of your silhouette growing taller on the irregular walls of the cave, the creature stirs.

Still curled up, you stretch your neck towards the creature, exhilarated by this development, tilting your head slightly to bring one eye as close as you can to observe it with utmost scrutiny.

The creature is laying on its front, head facing the fire, you watch from behind as it slowly returns to consciousness, stretching its limbs and making small noises before pushing itself up to sit before the fire. It swivels its head, looking about the cave, its pale grey eyes narrow slightly when it looks behind itself to where you watch it, while unable to perceive you, it appears to almost sense something. Turning back to the fire it examines the flames, leaning down towards their base where your saliva still bubbles and pops fueling them, the creature's long white head-fur falling to the side, faintly glittering in the warm light.

Deciding now is as good a time as any to attempt direct interaction with the creature, you reveal your presence. The instant you do it whips its head around to face you, body soon following, and scrambles to its feet. Its stance is low, one of its forelimbs still touching the ground, joints bent. Once its instinctual reaction to your presence is over and the creature beholds you however, it freezes, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. You continue to watch it for a short time, somewhat perplexed, then its eyes roll up into its head and it crumples limply to the floor, seemingly unconscious once again.

Well… Hmm. That could have gone better. You aren’t entirely sure what you were expecting from your first interaction with another sapient creature, but it wasn’t this. As the scent of its fear permeates your nostrils, you draw your head back and gaze at its unconscious form. It would seem it is still more similar to the other creatures that have inhabited this world for some time now than you, despite its relatively superior mind.

Still determined to engage with it, you huff and rest your head on the ground, watching.

———

Fairly quickly, certainly faster than the last time you waited for it to wake up, the creature stirs once again. It lifts its head from the ground, pushes itself up with its forelimbs, then folds its legs beneath itself, eyes fixed on the ground.

Then the creature stares up at you, its face shifting through many expressions, eyes staying wide throughout them all, before bowing its head. Assuming the creature is waiting for you to initiate, you reach out with your mind and offer it thoughts of greeting. The creature begins to tremble and stammers out some vocalizations in its language, which unfortunately you do not understand.

This simply will not do.

Determined to have some form of functional communication with the creature, you offer thoughts detailing how you will have to touch its mind to learn how to properly communicate with it. Something of a courtesy as you have yet to meet a being as… familiar, with the non-physical planes as yourself, and you sense this one is no different despite its mind.

The creature’s trembling becomes more intense, and it clutches its head. You really can’t tell if it understands you or not.

Focusing again on the mental plane, you extend offshoots of your conscious to the little silver sphere of light before you, now giving off a healthy glow. Once more entering the creature’s mind, seeking its memories which should now be clear and easily observable.

Moving past its surface level thoughts, bits and pieces of its language and fuzzy impressions of you accompanied by a great, unclear pain in its mind which seems to bear some similarity to the form of your mentally projected messages... oh... perhaps you released your messages with too much force? A roar when a whisper would do? You'd never really bothered to project thoughts before as there was no creature worth sharing anything from your mind with. Unfortunate that you have likely caused this extraordinary creature pain, you'll have to adjust your... psychic volume, you suppose it is, in the future. Regardless, you move past all of that, deciding the best place to start will be the beginning. Flowing deep into the center of its being, you find the creature’s earliest memories, far in the deepest recesses of its conscious, things it may not even know are still hidden in its mind, its mental foundation. You will start here.

———

You are in the creature’s mother, before it was born, an environment not so different from the mental plane. Unlike the mental plane however, it is distinctly warm. You feel the vibrations of the mother’s vocalizations, those of the creatures around it, it is comfortable. You know you have taken the first steps to understanding this language.

You are swaddled in soft furs; it is still warm but less so than before. You look up and see your, its, mother, it holds you close, its face is soft. It coos at you.

You are in a space that seems very big from your current perspective, the walls made of what looks like small trees spun together, their bark covered in collections of fine lines that glow softly. The space is warm, the pelts of various other types of creatures cover the ground upon which you crawl. You hear the vocalizations of the mother and a few others. The mother picks you up off the ground. It sets you down vertically, you take a few teetering steps on two legs before falling over. The vocalizations are very excited now, the mother picks you up, bouncing you and patting you. Its face is warm.

You are in the same space; it is dark now. You are covered in furs, your body pressed against the mother. It looks down at you gently. “Mama,” you vocalize. Mama squeezes you tightly.

You are at home; you are somewhat bigger now. You sit on the warm furs that coat the floor, playing with your… toys. Shaped pieces of tree mostly. Mama has another, little creature, baby, in its… her, arms. You have mixed feelings about this. A fire crackles in the center of home, Papa has put meat over it, it smells very much like something you want to eat. You ask Papa what the meat is.

You are outside in the village; it is made up of a number of woven tree structures like your home. Snow coats the ground and trees around the village like it does for most of the year. You play in the snow with the other children your age, there are not many of you, but you have fun. You and Sister have a snow fight against the other three. The sky begins to darken so you all go home. You have dinner with your family. Afterwards you all talk for a short while then get out your sleeping furs and go to bed. You have your own now.

You are old enough to learn how to hunt, Father made you a bow. You say goodbye to everyone before you and Father leave for your first hunt. Sister is excited for you, Mother looks happy and sad at the same time, she tells you you’re growing up too fast. You hug. You are filled with excitement and apprehension as you go far from the village for the first time with Father. He shows you how to survive in the wild, how to track, kill with your bow, give the animal their rights, thank the wild, and process the carcass. You return home successful with your first kill; everyone is happy for you. You celebrate. Father makes you a coat out of your kill’s pelt.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

You are in the center of the village along with your and all the other families, the crackling, snapping, bonfire casts a layer of heat across your face, almost uncomfortably hot, but not quite. It is dark save for the hints of pale moonlight washing the forest floor through the trees and the jumping glow of the fire across the buildings and people. You are happy, it is Silul, held in the middle of the short time snow does not coat the land each year. The village thanks the spirits of the wild for allowing its subsistence, each family casting a needle from every tree used and piece of fur from every animal consumed that year into the fire. You all sing songs and eat a modest meal, showing respect to the forest by only consuming what you need, not overindulging or taking for granted its gifts. This practice has always seemed somewhat strange to you in contrast with the bonfire burning an excessive amount of wood in one night at the warmest time of year, but it is how things are done. That’s all the explanation you’d ever gotten out of Father at least. You’ve grown taller than him now, in fact you’ve grown taller than just about everyone else which still feels odd to you given your age. Sister has taken to teasing you about it, but you’re fairly certain she’s jealous. Father puts his arm around your shoulders and offers you the small box with your family’s needles and fur, you’ve never done the honors before. You take it and approach the fire, forming a loose circle around it with the other family offering bearers. You cast a glance over your shoulder, Father nods, Mother smiles, and Sister gives you a toothy grin. The corners of your mouth creep up your face slightly as you turn back to the fire. The scent of pine smoke fills your nose and your eyes sting a bit, you say the final chant with everyone before thrusting the box forward, its contents flying into the fire, quickly burning up, twisting with sparks.

You are awakened by shouting outside home, Father is already up, he moves with urgency, throws your bow and quiver at you. Springing from your furs, still in sleep dress you follow him outside. The chill night air carries an iron scent, snow crunches beneath your feet as you run behind father, following him to where the noise is loudest at the village perimeter, other able-bodied emerging from their homes heading in the same direction. Drawing closer the sounds of conflict become more distinct, snapping bow strings, cries of pain, bestial noises you’re unfamiliar with. Sprinting past the last few homes at the edge of the village you are confronted with the sight of a number of your people already engaging the threat, they dodge and roll getting off quick shots between, quickly losing ground to… You nock an arrow, pulling it to your jaw, picking a target out of the mass of thrashing beasts, its profile is not too unlike the forest wolves you have seen on occasion, but it is bigger, dark matted fur hangs in clumps from its body, large areas covered in festering scabs, viscous goo drips from its cracked teeth and torn lips, where you would expect eyes there only are empty sockets that glow with a sickly green hunger. Loosing your arrow, it strikes the beast’s side where you think its heart should be with a low thunk. It pulls thin broken lips up over teeth, turning its haunting sockets to you and charging. Kicking up powdery snow as it approaches, quickly closing the short distance between you, arrow still protruding from its side. Letting another shot fly into the throat this time, it gives a rasping snarl but still rushes toward you. You drop to a low stance, bringing another arrow from your quiver, gripping it near the head, slinging your bow across your back. As the beast is an instant away from clamping its jaws around your neck, you thrust the arrow out holding it for only half a heartbeat while the thing's momentum carries the arrow smoothly into its skull through one of its hollow eyes just before you dive to the side. You spin to face it as it hits the snow behind where you were, carving a trail laced with dark ichor, body sliding in a heap to a broken stop, empty sockets fading. Pulse thundering in your ears, you can feel panic start to wrap its claws around your mind as you look back to the mass of these creatures your people are still fighting. To your side Father’s arms are nearly a blur, his face of stone as he sends shots consistently through beast heads, sometimes it takes one arrow, other times two or three. Seeing his unflinching focus, you steel yourself, moving up to the thick of the fight with the rest. Everything blends together, loosing arrows into beasts, maneuvering around their attacks, sometimes only avoiding them by a hair’s breadth, drops of their foul drool and tainted blood burn your skin leaving red marks. You see some of your people injured, their flesh torn and burned by the caustic substances leaking from the beasts, wounds beginning to ooze pus before they’ve even made it away from the battle. You all persevere however, the last beasts falling shortly after dawn breaks the night sky, a light snow begins to fall, your backs pressed against the outer homes of the village.

You are exhausted. Back still against a wall, you slide down into the snow. You watch as those who still have energy left in their muscles begin to carefully haul the putrid carcasses to a pile and set them alight, an acrid smell filling the air, accompanying the rotting stench of the dead beasts and hint of your people’s blood. The battlefield is white stained black and red, blood, ichor and a number of other unpleasant substances soaking into the snow. At least there is much more black than red. Father approaches you, he offers his hand and pulls you up. Tells you the seer wishes to speak with you. On your way to her home which lies on the village center, you see three mounds under furs, one’s torso is entirely concave, shoulders and hips all that keep its fur covering off the ground, red stain leaks out into the surrounding snow. Nausea twists your stomach; you fall to a knee and retch. If you’d had anything in your belly it would have been coating the snow now. You struggle to your feet, continuing in a cold sweat. You knock on the seer’s door, she opens, ushers you inside. The air is heavy with herbs and pine. Various dried plants hang from the walls, the fire licks a large stone bowl that sites in its center. You cross your legs across the fire from her sipping an herbal tea, it pleasantly warms your core. She tells you the forest is sick, the spirits that have shielded it and your people for as long as the stories tell have been weakened. It will not heal on its own as she had hoped before today. There is a great power in the far mountains, it will help your people and the spirits, she does not know what form it takes, but that it will show itself to you, and you will know. She thinks you are the best one to send because you traverse the forest well and have long legs for travelling, those who could outpace you are more experienced with the bow and are needed to protect the village. There will be more attacks, the village will die, or the forest will heal.

You are in front of your home, prepared for a long journey, mother and sister squeeze you, tears slipping from their eyes, father rests his hand on your shoulder, a solemn look on his face.

You are farther away from the village now then you have ever been, but still deep in the forest. Snow glitters from sagging branches. Half your original rations are gone, but you hunt small game and forage to replenish your supplies.

You are at the place where the trees begin to thin, snow coated rocky hills climbing to steep mountain slopes. You have never left the forest, never seen mountains, they are so much larger and more majestic than you could have imagined hearing the tales of far lands passed down in the village, faces soar above the clouds, white peaks scrape the sky.

You are deep in the mountains; you clamber along a thin, snow covered… path would be a very generous word. Every step could be your last, clumps of snow tumble from your feet to jagged rock formations far below. Angry winds batter you every step. You’re not sure what you could forage in this terrain of rock, ice, and snow, the only animals you see are winged, even if you could land an arrow on one, you’d never be able to retrieve it. You have maybe three days’ worth of rations left if you stretch them. You have no idea where you’re going, you can only hope the spirits guide you, whether some followed you from the forest or merciful spirits of the mountains decide to help you.

You are very high up now, the air seems thin, it’s hard to breathe, you haven’t eaten in days. You’ve lived most of your life in the cold, but it has never burrowed this deep into your bones. It’s hard to think. Making your way along another mountain face you feel hopeless. You’re starting to resent the seer. Each step it feels more and more like she sent you to your death. Your body grows numb. A cave opens up into the mountain, perhaps this is your last mercy, the cold or hunger might take you, but at least you’ll be sheltered from the winds. You stagger into the cave until you can no longer feel the worst of the wind at your back, and…

You are laying flat against a hard surface; your mouth is somewhat dry but otherwise you feel refreshed. The familiar heat of a fire caresses your face and side. You reach your arms and legs out, stretching any stiffness away. Sitting up before the fire, you swivel your head, getting your bearings. The cave is huge, you didn’t realize when you first wandered in, too close to deaths door to note, but your whole village could fit in just the area you can see right now at least once, possibly more. Something feels… off about the space, however. Turning back to the fire, the fire that you don’t remember setting and that doesn’t seem to be burning wood… but rather some bubbling transparent substance. Something is definitely not right about this. Chills begin to creep up your spine, then an enormous presence simply starts existing right behind you. You snap your head back behind you and before you even know what you’re seeing you’ve turned around, knees bent, one hand still on the ground. There is an icy blue eye, watching you, its… its bigger than you are, its long slit of a pupil contracts slightly, your blood runs freezing cold, you…

You are again lying on the hard surface, the floor of the cave. You keep your eyes squeezed shut. Icy blue eye filling your mind, fairly certain you are still alive, this must mean that either that eye was a hallucination or dream of some sort, or whatever it belongs to is very real, it’s just not going to eat you. Or not yet anyway. You’re hoping it’s the former possibility, but judging by the gargantuan presence you still feel a short distance away from you, it’s most likely the latter. Summoning every scrap of courage you can, you open your eyes, push yourself up, and sit on your knees, keeping your eyes fixed on the floor. You look up. It is… just so big. You can hardly wrap your mind around its size, it seems to be curled up now, watching you intently, huge wings folded on its back. If it were to stand, wings outstretched, it would easily eclipse your entire village. A single one of its claws is twice as tall as you are, at least. Even lying down like it is it would rise above many of the forest's treetops, standing on all four legs surely only the oldest trees would reach above its body, though likely not its head unless it were in the most ancient reaches of the forest. After the shock of its size recedes somewhat, you’re able to see its beauty as well, the most magnificent animal… calling it an animal would be a disservice really, you’ve ever seen. Its pure white scales glitter like fresh snow, elegant long spines run from the tip of its snout to the end of its tail, two horns like big silver tree trunks point back from its head with a slight bend near their middle, wings of smooth pale blue leathery material folded and framed by scaled white struts of muscle and bone, great eyes like deep icy pools, a small light from the fire dancing off them. In those eyes you can feel a great intelligence observing you, certainly not a mere animal. Unsure of what to do, what to say? Before this great being, you bow your head, returning your eyes to the ground. For a moment nothing happens, then your world shakes, something overwhelms your mind, flashes of thoughts that are not your own, you don’t understand, it feels as though the air has turned thick, like a viscous soup slowly crushing your skull with great pressure. It must be the being before you doing this somehow, desperately you try to push words of apology past your lips, you must have offended it somehow. You’re not even sure if you managed to say anything, your vision fading at the edges, senses muffled, pains shooting through your head. A new flood of fragmented thoughts pierce your mind, worse than before, you can’t think, your senses are gone, it is agony.

You feel a warm tickling sensation in the base of your mind amidst the crushing pain...