The Tenerens

As a led student, it should be no surprise that I am used to lacking sleep, and that is exactly how I feel right now. As if I slept 2 hours to 3 hours, and not as a nap, that has often been my full night time sleep. I try to do as I usually do, scratch my eyes a bit, it helps me wake up. But my arms don't respond.

I either slept on my arms, or on my back with the arms risen above my head. But their is something wrong and that is the detail that makes me come back to myself. I can't move my arms, but I feel them, if my lack of control was due to oxygen deprivation in my limbs, I would also have a loss of sense. But I feel it fully, no foggy sensations, weird weakness and partial control.

The realization of my condition, that is to say that I am in an unknown location, probably drugged with paralyzing agents to keep me from trying to escape. I was abducted through some truly wondrous means, and the rush of adrenaline and stress I am feeling right now makes my body unable to feel the sleepiness previously affecting me.

Despite the urge I feel to open my eyes and look around, I only slightly open my left eye. Just enough to see, but barely so. That way I can see, even if blurry and darker because of my eyelashes, and even if someone is to look at me right now, they would be clueless of me being awake.

Without moving my head at all I can't inspect everything, but eyeballs are able to turn on themselves, so I will just switch eyes to look to the right. I am obviously on a bed, not in, but on the bed. That is something in don't even need to look to know, sense of touch is all that is required here.

For the rest of the room, there is a light source to my right, the roof and walls are a dark grey, and to my left is just a wall, as well as behind the headboard, I don't know if there is a headboard, but I don't feel like thinking about it right now. I switch eyes, and start breathing really smoothly and close my right eye right away.

Now that I know there is someone near me, I hear it, the slow breathing of the guy sited a mere arm's length to my right. I peak again, and fortunately he is sited at a desk, his back towards me. A quick look makes obvious we are the only ones in here, but the robe he is wearing does not make me want to initiate a conversation.

The room is quite small, something like 3 meters by 4 (9.8 feet by 13.1), so around 12 m² (129.1 ft²). There is only the bed I am on, a stool which the robed man is sited on, and a desk. The light source seems to be some kind of crystal thingy at the tip of a stick planted at the center of the wall to my right. The door is in front of the bed, about an arm's length away from the footboard, the door might not even open completely, it might hit the bed before it can touch the wall.

I try to move again, and that does not work. I try my arms, they do not move, I try my legs, their are the same. My heart and diaphragm works without issue, my mouth is not impaired either, as are my eyes. I try some cranial muscles, and their are unimpaired, I can make my ears move up and down, and my face can make all the expressions I want it to make. So why can't I move anything under my collarbones, heart and diaphragm being the exceptions.

No matter how I think about it, I don't find any way for me to get up and the fuck out of here. So I guess I am at the mercy of those guys then, I can only hope from now on. I take some deeper breaths to calm myself and straighten my nerves. There is no courage without fear, but it is foolhardiness if you don't fear. A final deep breath enters my lungs before I take the first step towards what I can't avoid.

"Hey, where the fuck am I?" I ask with confidence, as if I could just get up and kill him without effort. My emotions are but confident, but I can feign it. "AH!" *unknown language* He jumps, I seem to have surprised him, which make me smile a bit. Hehe, too bad his heart did not stop. What he said sounded like swearing, but the language barrier prevents me from knowing what he said.

He stays seated but turns his torso and head towards me. Seeing me awake and looking him in the eyes, he stands up, takes something on the desk and places it on his ear. It is an earpiece, but the look is off, it looks like it is entirely made of metal instead of the plastic you would expect.

He takes another one and places it on my ear, I hesitated to bit one of his fingers off, but that would only create animosity between him and me, and as I can't move, I would be at his vengeance's mercy.

[Can you understand what I say now?] This is something really confusing right there. What I hear him say, I don't understand, I did not suddenly begin understanding an unknown language. It is as if I have the mind of someone stuck against mine, and I hear what it thinks as if it is a noisy neighbor in an apartment with paper thin walls.

How the hell does that work?! I think to myself both as a test and out of genuine interest and surprise. And change my facial expression to one of questioning and curiosity, and after a few breaths the man speaks again.

[Hey? Is this thing not working?] It seems the ear piece does not send thoughts, good, I can think whatever I want then. While I think that I focus on the man's reaction, I am trying to know if they can hear my thoughts, and he could be feigning not to hear them.

He inspects both his and my earpiece both placing them both back. [Do you understand me?] He asks with a bit of frustration in his voice.

"Why can't I move?" I ask back. [Good, we can begin then.] He begins ta talk, but I interrupt him with anger in my voice. "Why can't I move?!"

That stops him for a brief moment. [It is precautionary measure, there is no reason to get agitated about it.] I use the same tone as before. "I don't know you, nor where I am beside the fact that I was abducted by a sect that obviously made human sacrifices. And Now I can't even move to defend myself, how can I not become 'agitated' in this condition?"

That seems to shut him up. [I can't deny any of that. But I am here to give some explanations, if you don't interrupt me that is.] He says with a bit of frustration toward me. Yeah, showing hostility does draw hostility after all. I calm myself, if he means no harm, so be it, but it is still his sect that abducted me, so let's hear what he has to say.

[I have some questions first, then I will answer yours. You okay with it?] "I don't really have much of a choice anyway, do I? Just ask away, I won't answer if I don't want to though."

[No problem as long as you answer the important ones. So, how old are you?] "23"

[Do you have any disability or disease that endangers your life?] "Apart some occasional suicide thoughts, no."

[No allergy or something similar?] "I do have some difficulty digesting gooseberry, but all it does is give me some gas, so no."

[Okay, how much do you know about magic?] "What kind of magic are you talking about?"

[What kind of- You have multiple kinds where you come from?] "..." "There is the swift hands kind, and the fantasy kind, why are you asking such thing?" Could it be?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

[Swift hand? I am asking if you have a proficiency in casting. Can you describe those magics please?] Casting, huh? "By swift hands I am referencing the ability to distract the eye and make 'magic tricks', like make some ball or die appear or disappear. While in reality you just moved it during the distraction."

[... And the fantasy kind?] "It depends how wrote the script."

[... What?] "It is just as I said, it is a fantasy thing. Someone imagined something, wrote or drew something about it, and with time many others did too. Some systems makes sense, some are pure bullshit, and all they have in common is that none is real. A fantasy."

[So... You do not know anything about magic.] "Indeed."

[Why did you not just say so?] He says with frustration. "Because I know of some things people refer to as magic, the meaning of what you say more or less corresponds."

[Okay, right. Next question then. What is your name?] "Haze, and you?"

[Omegon. Where are you from?] I blink a few times at that, the undemeaning of the question dumbfounding me. "Are you kidding me? Are you FUCKING kidding me?!"

[Wha-] "You people abducted me, and now you ask me where I am from?!!"

[Liste-] "No! You tell me! Where did you fucking shits did you take me from? huh?!"

[OKAY! Okay. Listen, we don't kn-] "Where am I? What did you use to abduct people?" To that, the man seems angry, embarrassed, and hesitant on explaining. I try to contain my anger, and then speak. "Why are you asking me where I am from? You should know."

His jaw contracts, and he waits a bit before giving me an answer. [We used a summoning spell to gather all the candidates, we have no other way than to ask to know where you come from.]

I think for a moment, the weight of my next question evidently heavy with signification. I instead change it for something less misleading. "What is the name of the nation are we in?" Please, make it so I am wrong. Honestly, even if I am wrong it would not be that hard of a blow, but still...

I him in the eyes, he is thinking about it, probably calculating if lying or giving me an answer would be preferable. [We are at Regeny, between Regno and Ornie.] I have no Idea of where that is. "What nation?" I say trying not to change my voice, but I don't think I managed to keep my anxiety unknown.

[Werva.] He says, simply. And I don't remember this name being one of the nearly 200 nations of the world. But there is still the possibility of the name not being the same because of different languages. The longer this goes... I might as well rip the bandage as soon as possible. "Was I taken from another world or are you just technologically more advanced?"

[It is poss-] He begins, but stops, visibly confused. [What do you mean by that?] Even if he did not finish his sentence, he still slipped up enough information. That could be a manipulation though, feigning confusion while giving false information as if per accident. The only way to tell is to learn how he acts, which takes time.

I can't do anything anyway, I can't even move. If I had no anger at all I would be torn between fear and anxiety, but as it is I should be able to keep my 'tough guy' act. Hang in there, you need to be alive to worry about your life.

"Sorry, I let my feelings have the upper hand. To answer your question, I am from a world called Earth." Well, it's only a planet, but they might not know the difference. "If you don't know about anything named USA, Europe, Russia, Asia, Australia or Antarctica, then you don't about my world."

Silence stretches for a moment, and I let my face express my emotions: Mainly neutral, because I have difficulties to show my feelings, with a touch of sadness and disappointment. I have no control over what happens to me, what can I do?

"What will happen now? And how long was I asleep for? I don't have any scabs" I can see my hands, and I don't even have scars despite having been cut... I had dozens of cuts over the entirety of my body, some deep, some benign, but with the quantity of them, I was hemorrhaging. "How did you even stop me from dying?"

[We did not have to do much, the Teneren's integration can heal about anything, even the tortured and deformed]. The tortured and deformed? What is he... Wait, that's not the most important thing he said. What does he mean by 'integration?

"What is that Teneren's integration you are talking about?" Omegon stands up to place the stool in front of the desk and sit on it. He then begins to write something, but I can't see from where I am.

[To explain that, you have to know what a Tenren Is.] "Is there no short version?" [In short, what was in the pit chose you as its host, and it is now living inside of you.]

That... Is concerning. A parasite can create flaws in the immune system as well as impair or make organs fail. But, how can that thing even fit inside of me? "What kind of parasite is it? And how is it fitting in my body? Did it consume some organs are something?" As an answer I get an amused laugh.

[Eheh. You should not call it a 'thing', nor a 'parasite', Tenerens are sapient. Are you interested in the long version now?] Omegon is still writing at the desk, he does not turn to me, and I still can't move a muscle. I don't have a choice but to listen to him for now, I hope to have a second choice in the near future that is not something akin to death.

"If I have a living being inside of me, I would like to know whatever I can that could help." [Good, to ask if you don't understand something, it is important for you to understand.] He stops talking after that, we wait for a few seconds with the only noise being the sound of a feather writing on paper. When he stops writing and begin to turn, I understand he was waiting for a response.

"Oh, you wanted a response? Sorry, I thought you were going to go on and begin to explain. Yeah, I- I'm listening, I want to know." Omegon looks me in the eyes, sighs and turns back to resume his writing.

[What is inside of you, is called a Teneren. It is a being from another realm, one we call the Abyss. Things does not work the same way as here, making there stay in our realm difficult for their young. Without a host, a young Teneren can not survive in this realm, that is why they need to integrate with a being able to do so, that way they can remain as long as their host lives.]

[We call their realm 'the Abyss' because of the mana everything in there have: a mix of space and darkness. Using that mana and their essence, they link themselves to a living being and create a space inside or on their host. This way they are close to them at all times without getting in the way.]

There are some things I am dubious about: Tenerens come from another realm? Does that mean they come from another dimension? Universe? Or just another planet or galaxy? Then, there is the linking thing with mana and essence. What does it mean to be linked, what effects does it have, and what does he mean by they 'create a space inside or on their host'? Is it some pocket dimension, or some non-Euclidian thing? I know a bit about that, and have some experience with that kind of things since not long ago, and it is not a nice experience.

Before Omegon can continue on his inspired speech, I ask my questions. He stops writing and turns toward me. [You are more curious and understanding than I expected.] He turns back and resume writing.

[I don't know where their realm is, you will learn about it from either your link, or from one of your seniors. For the space the Teneren is residing in, I don't know how it makes it, and to know if it is on or in, you will have to wait for them to get out a present themselves.]

"Do I need to be warry of something? Or is it without danger?"

[You are linked, so you should not have to worry too much. As long as you do not disrespect them, they should avoid trying to harm you. A link established between two individuals is something complex, and a difficult feat to accomplish. Only highly capable mages are able to do something like that. A bond links mana, essence and soul. It is a way to progress along with someone else and taking advantage of the natural dispositions of each other. Breaking it can wound and even kill both parties, and if one is wounded, the other will be weakened because you each draw from each others capacities.]

"But a Teneren's youngling can do it just like that?" [What? No, no they can't. To create a link you need an immense control over both your mana and essence, as well as an understanding of how souls work. It was not your linked Teneren who made the bond, it was their elder.]

"Okay, but I still don't understand why they would want to come to this realm, what attracts them to this realm?"

[That is what I was going to talk about next. In the Abyss the aspects of mana are limited, space and darkness are wildly present, but anything else is close to non-existent. It means two things: 1- The Tenerens have no natural capabilities to control or resist aspects other than space and darkness. 2- By being bond with us, they can learn to manipulate other mana aspects as well as gaining capabilities from their bonded partner.]