It took me a little while to come to my senses. The room felt lighter now, filled with a lingering warmth from the ritual. The scent of blood had vanished completely. I glanced at my hand where the strange symbol was still etched into my skin, glowing faintly. The pain had faded, but questions swirled in my mind.
What did it all mean?
Grandpa seemed to notice my confusion, giving me a gentle smile as he leaned down to my level. "That was the essence awakening, Kael," he explained softly. "Remember what I told you about essence? This is your first step into learning how to weave it." He gently patted my head. The warmth from his hand was enough to make me relax a little.
Then the elder popped back into view. His calm and unfazed attitude suggested that this was not his first experience with this kind of thing.
"Kid, what happened to you is a phenomenon called essence overload. It's not that rare during the essence awakening ceremony. In simple terms, it happens when you put in too much essence into an already strong core." He turned around and started to walk off.
"Well, I won't go into much detail; just know it was a good thing." His feeble voice faded as he drifted out of my view.
The elder made it sound normal, but there was nothing normal about that vision. The the ground, the figures… it felt way too real.
I was still a little shaken up after everything I saw. I still don't know what it was. A premonition? A bad dream? There were too many questions and way too few answers.
My parents probably sensed that I wasn't alright and hurriedly sent the guests back.
Just as everyone was leaving the cramped room, a huge guy grabbed hold of my dad's hand. He looked about as old as my dad and had a scar lining his face, extending from his forehead all the way to his cheek. He had a scary look and was quite hairy. Enough to be mistaken as a beastman from afar.
As everyone was making their way out, he quickly said something to Dad. I couldn't properly hear it due to the commotion everyone was making, but I could barely make out the words…
"Let me train Kaelric once he turns five." I don't know what kind of training he was talking about, but hearing that, my dad's face lit up quite brightly. So I guess it wasn't a bad offer.
Keeping that aside for a second, how long was this mark gonna stay on my hand? Don't tell me it's forever, is it?
This mark felt more like a brand, a reminder of… whatever that was I'd seen. Would it really fade away? Or would it keep glowing, like a silent witness to something I couldn't explain?
As I continued to stare at the scar with a disgusted look. My mother crouched down to match my level, her voice shaky and worried.
"Don't worry, Kael. It'll fade away soon enough."
I thought I had calmed down, but seeing the worry in her eyes made my chest tighten. I wanted to tell her I was fine, but honestly, I wasn't. So much has since that day on the bridge and it just seems like I can never catch a break.
Soon it was time for my grandparents to leave. Grandpa got in the carriage along with Grandma, who was still there. He promised to send me a gift when he got back and waved us goodbye. On the other hand, my grandmother was back to her cold attitude, looking out the window as if she didn't see us as her own.
I guess she had her reasons.
The carriage took off, soon vanishing into the moonlight, but the clanking sound of the horse-like creatures still echoed in the distance.
...........................…
"Five years, Kael. It's been five years since I came into this world," I muttered, staring myself down in the mirror. My eyes gleamed with determination.
"Today's the day we turn this weak, fragile body into something powerful. Something… irresistible. Something that'll have the ladies swooning."
I struck a pose, flexing my nonexistent triceps and feeling only mildly ridiculous.
"WHERE ARE YOU, KAEL? I CAME TO PLAY!"
The door to my room flew open with a bang, and in bounded a small, white-furred cat girl. She had bright, amber eyes, a tiny body and no concept of privacy.
"What are you doing? Why are you naked? Did I disturb you?" she asked, tilting her head. "Ahh, sorry! You can continue whatever you were doing. I'll come back later." She turned to leave, barely containing a giggle.
I scrambled for something to cover myself, my face flaming. "KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER! AND CLOSE THE DOOR, IDIOT!"
She rolled her eyes, backing out slowly. "Sure, sure, 'Mr. Muscles.' I'll leave you to your important self love session." The door clicked shut, but I could still hear her laughing as she walked away. Fantastic. As if she needed any more ammunition to tease me with.
The person who barged in was Fara, my 'best friend'—a title she chose for herself. Not that I mind, though; she's technically the only friend I have.
I quickly ruffled back into my clothes still flustered and moved towards the door determined to give her a long ass lecture on privacy, but as I was leaving my eyes lingered on the mirror… and for a second I thought that my reflection was waving at me.
"Thats why they say sleep is important." I chuckled to myself, before moving out of the room.
Fara was standing in the hallway back perched looking at one of my mothers runes. Her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
When I look at her like this I tend to forget my anger. Guess that's one of the powers kids just naturally have.
"Come on, kitty let's go…" I said in a playful tone.
She tilted her head to see where I was, her tail swaying from side to side. When she spotted me, she walked right up and…
"Ouch!" I shrieked, as she kicked me in the shin. Beastmen in general tend to have more strength than humans but to make up for that, they are natural airheads.
"I told you not to call me a kitty!" She hissed back.
"Now you have done it kitty cat. You really think you stand a chance against the great Kael?"
Well she would probably win in a fair one on one but by now I had figured out her weaknesses.
I made use of the one opportunity I had while she was brimming with over confidence and caught hold of her tail.
She shrieked in response but one slight pull and down to the ground she fell.
I found this out quite a while back when she was being mean as usual but tail bone of cat folk leads directly into their spine. So when I pull it the various nerves in her spine get stimulated causing her brain to stop functioning for a while.
Basically, it's a natural leash.
"So? Do you give in?" I asked with a sarcastic tone.
"Yes, yes I give so please leave me tail alone." she said, tears brimming in her eyes.
I let her go and she quickly stood back up caressing her snow white tail. With a scared look in her eyes.
"Kael, you are such a meanie. I hope you stub your toe on a rock."
I gently patted her head in response tickling her white cat ears. Her tears sunk back and a warm smiled formed on my face.
"Are you two done being lovey—dovey?" Said a calm voice from the other side of the room. It was my mother. She had a grin on her face as if expecting us to freak out. I have no idea why she thought two 5 year olds would be flirting but it might as well be common in Zerathis for all I know.
We looked at each other then at my mother. Not a single word was spoken but the silence was enough for my mother to realise that we both had not even the slightest of romantic feelings. In fact it would be plain weird if I did.
She broke the awkward silence, clearing her throat and changing the topic,
"Kael it's about time. You and Fara should leave for Neryx's house. Can't be late to your first day at training can you?"
"We were just about to leave ourselves."
Me and Fara made our way to the front door. Ready to leave, as soon as Fara finished wearing her shoes, which could take anywhere between ten seconds to… a few hours.
As Fara struggled with her shoes by the door, I let out an exaggerated sigh. Her shoelaces might as well be a labyrinth the way she was fumbling with them.
"Big brother, are you going somewhere?"
A small, sweet voice broke through the air. I turned to see Lilith peeking out from behind a cabinet, her wide, innocent eyes gleaming with curiosity. At just two years old, she was already dangerously adorable—too much for my own good.
Before I could answer, Fara's ears twitched, and her amber eyes lit up like a predator spotting its prey.
"SO CUTE!" she squealed, darting over and scooping Lilith into her arms like she'd just caught the rarest creature alive.
Lilith squirmed in protest, her tiny fists flailing and thumping against Fara's chest. "Let me go!" she cried, her voice carrying all the authority of a kitten.
I stepped closer, ready to rescue her, when something made me pause.
Lilith's hairband—a simple fabric piece shaped like a heart—seemed… wrong. Just for a moment, I could have sworn it was smiling. Not in a sweet, innocent way, but in a way that made my skin crawl.
I blinked. It was back to normal.
I rubbed my eyes, shaking my head. "I must be losing it…"
"Kael! Help!" Lilith's voice jolted me back to reality. She was still dangling in Fara's grip, her small frame wriggling like a trapped mouse.
I sighed, grabbed Fara's tail—the ultimate equalizer—and gave it a light tug.
"Ow! Ow!" Fara yelped, immediately dropping Lilith and cradling her tail as if I'd mortally wounded her.
Lilith scurried behind me, clutching my leg for safety. "Brother is my hero!"
"Yeah, yeah," I said, ruffling her hair. "Try not to punch anyone else today, okay?"
As Lilith peeked around me with her classic puppy-dog eyes, Fara shot me a betrayed look, her ears flattening. I ignored it as usual.
It took another ten minutes to wrestle Fara into her shoes and get her to leave Lilith alone. By the time we finally stepped outside, I felt more like a bodyguard than a big brother.
The morning sun warmed the fields as we walked, the air filled with the faint clinking of rune-powered sprinklers and the earthy scent of freshly tilled soil. Fara's tail swayed as she hopped over a stray rock, her usual carefree demeanor making me envy her ability to brush off anything.
"You're quiet," she said, glancing at me.
I hesitated. "It's… probably nothing, but I've been seeing things today. Reflections that move, hairbands that smile…?"
She chuckled a little, "Kael… did you not sleep yesterday?"
"Right? I must be sleep deprived…" I gave her a nervous laugh.
Her ears twitched, and for a moment, she didn't respond. Then her voice dropped, taking on a tone far more serious than usual.
"You ever heard of the man who saw reflections in the shadows?!"
I blinked. "No. And if this is another one of your dumb stories—"
"It's not dumb," she interrupted, her amber eyes narrowing. "There was this man, not too far from here. He used to say he could see things no one else could. Shadows that didn't match the people they followed. The kind that looked like a devil's trail. They say he knew things about others that they had never told a single soul. He used to say that the the shadows told him. At first, he thought it was a blessing. Something special about him."
I stopped walking, her tone prickling the back of my neck. "Ehh… so what happened to him?"
Fara glanced around, as if the fields themselves might be listening. "He went insane. From what, no one knows. But every time someone saw him, his shadow looked… wrong. Larger. Almost alive. And one day…"
She leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "He was found dead. Hanged himself from a tree. Left nothing behind but his shadow, stretched across the bark. Too big to belong to anyone else. As if cast by a literal tower."
A cold shiver crept up my spine, and I couldn't help but glance at the ground, at the shadows cast by the morning sun.
Fara grinned suddenly, breaking the tension. "Scared already?"
"No," I lied, quickening my pace.
But her words stayed with me, lingering in my heart as we passed through the village. Just like the shadows she had mentioned. Throughout the journey I was lost deep in my thoughts, hypersensitive to my surroundings.
"Ka— Oiii? Kael!" I was jolted out of my thoughts by a sudden kick to my side.
"What was that for?" I questioned angrily.
"We're here," said Fara, pointing at an old run-down house.
"We were supposed to go to Uncle Neryx's house, not a haunted house, you idiot." I glared at her with disappointed eyes, but my voice faltered when I noticed her ears twitch nervously.
The shadows around the house seemed to ripple unnaturally, pooling at odd angles like spilled ink. My skin prickled as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Fara opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. The air grew heavy.
Just then, something huge tapped my shoulder from behind. Its shadow stretched across the ground, unnaturally long, reaching almost to the door of the house like a spindly tower.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat.
"Kael…" Fara's voice was barely a whisper.
I turned slowly, half-expecting to see nothing.
But when I did, the grin on the massive figure behind me sent a chill down my spine.