I'm surrounded by fire. They think I'm sane, and won't do it!
"Haha!"
After all I've been through, I'm surprised I didn't do this sooner. Probably had to do with my optimism. Such a stupid thing. I thought the glass was half full, but it turns out it was shattered.
Like me.
I'm a lot like a delicate glass. I can do a lot, but pound me again and again, and I will shatter into a million fragments, never to be put together again. To be tossed into the ground like the trash that I am.
Well, this way will spare everyone the work of having to do that at least.
"I'm coming, Erép."
(Er-aip)
(Father)
And with that last sentence muttered beneath my last breath, I step back into the warm embrace of what I once cursed so vehemently.
Flames.
They immediately catch, racing up my sides and I am soon aflame. Jumping from one strand of hair to the next, it envelops me. But I feel noting; I haven't for a long time.
Somewhere near there are shouts, but they sound so far away. They are in the world of the living, which is now behind me. I feel my soul depart from this world, and the pain from the fire ceases. The sorrow of mourning leaves me, and all I feel is... happiness.
As I feel more and more at peace with myself, the world around me begins to morph and change. The billowing orange of the fire is replaced with the dull yellow of fields sitting just beneath a cluster of mountains.
The Golden Fields.
The ancestral home of my people.
From the fields come a multitude of shapes, which begin to gain definition as they come closer and closer to me. My Father, my Mother, Uncle, Aunt, everyone who was once dead is here.
I finally feel all that I had lost return. The warm embrace of my family. The smiles of my friends. The soft chuckle of the Alpha. The joy that is found from living a life worth living. Soon, I will have all this back. I will have what I have always wanted: a life worth living.
"Erép! Erém! I'm here!"
"Eneipe, you filthy mutt! What are you doing here?"
"I-I came to see you."
"And what makes you think we want that?!"
"Erép, what are you saying? I-I thought you loved me? You didn't seem to hate me when we sang that song?"
"Oh, you mean the one you sang to get me killed? Everything is your fault!"
"You, you don't mean that! You're my Erép!"
"Eneipe, dear, I think what he is trying to say is that we disown you. You're a filthy mutt, and we don't want you. We never did. Now, get out! Before we tear you limb from limb over, and over, and over again!"
"I-if that's how you feel... I'll go somewhere else."
"The only place is back to those flames. Now get going. Everyone agreed."
"All of them? Why di-"
"Grrrrr..."
Wait, they're... they're serious?
"Alright, I'll stop guys."
"It's too late to stop being a screw-up. You've been nothing but an eneipe (pain). We never realized how fitting that name was. Actually, come to think of it, we did! Now get out!"
"Sorry Erém, I didn't-"
"Don't call me that!"
"Alright. I'm... going."
I hate everything.
A lot.
But mostly me.
Because they are right. I mess everything up. I failed them all. I killed Mom and Dad... well, those who used to be my parents.
I might as well run off and find a nice cave somewhere, go unconscious or something. Escape this eternal torment. Forget about how everyone hates me, even my birth parents.
The Etiord probably think that I'm dead and left me.
So... where did they leave me? Only one way to find out: to return to the pain. To feel my soul sink below the fields, to feel the pain of life once more. To open my eyes to the world again.
Ow owowowow! In a really bright room! Flames! Just give my eyes a minute to adjust, and then let's see where I am.
Alright, that hurt much less. Thank the Alpha. Ooh! I'm in a field! I don't even have to escape! But what's on my back? It's kinda scratchy, and how is my fur not damaged that much?
"Well well well. Look who decided to wake up."
Him.
"You may speak... for now."
"Uhhh... why am I not..."
"Dead?"
"No, no, burnt."
"It's called water. It puts out fires. So we dumped it on you. Surely even you can understand. Now, do you like the view?"
"Uhh..."
"Look, we saw where you were. We can help you to have a purpose, to be something. You can help people, become good. What do you say?"
I mean... I hate him. But I loved my parents, and they hated me, so does it really matter?
"Or we can break you some more. However, we figured you would be willing enough right now."
"Willing to do what?"
"Be ridden into battle against the enemies of the people."
Well... what choice do I have? Might as well just do what he says...
"Fine. I'm in."
Flames, why am I agreeing to this?
"Wonderful. Now, no more talking. We already put the saddle on your back, pup. So let's begin."
Wait, WHAT?! A saddle? A flamin' saddle! Well, it's too late now...
"We'll start off nice and easy, as we recognize that you are new to this."
Why is he being so... nice?
"But first, we'll need to judge your capabilities. I want you to run some laps, as fast as you can. I will tell you when to stop. Do not stop until I say to. Now, go to that gate."
Woah... that gate is beautiful. Dark iron twisting around itself, reaching towards the sky before falling towards the center and finding itself... Maybe this is what this is about: finding myself. I'll have a purpose, and train in this picturesque field, without a care in the world. I just need to do as I'm told. Speaking of which: it's time to head over.