If you could do everything over again, go back in time and relive the past, would you? And if you did would you live through it all the same way or do it differently?
A slumped mound of cloth blotched the peaceful green field of soft grass. Minutes passed before the mound of cloth slowly brought itself up revealing a man, the man stumbled attempting to breath as he fumbled around, he began to making small noises for indeed he was choking , for a moment it looked as if he would die then and there before the man pulled out a dagger and cut a slit in the area in between his throat blood immediately began to seep out, the man watched the red waterfall as he took long deep breaths, it would only take minutes for the blood to leave but to him it felt like hours. Finally he began to take in his surroundings, the mans face held evidence of fatigue and he boar cuts over both skin and cloth, his expression changed as if he had realized something. He stood in the field looking at the soft grass, his long shaggy brown hair concealed his face before finally he looked up and nodded a yes as if to answer some silent question. Without hesitation he pulled up his hood and walked forward towards a town in the distance his cut up black coat flowing behind him.
The walk would take hours before he reached his destination, he looked around taking in the sight of a peaceful town, stopping at a tavern he walked inside a familiar atmosphere of alcohol, lively conversation, ad dim lighting engulfed him. The brunet smiled sitting down at one of the stools of the bar. His smile turned into one of tension, his current condition had caused him to become much older than he actually was.
“What can I get yah sir?” the bartender ask coming up to the brunet.
“would you happen to have any Chateau Latour?” he asked
“You serious!?” the bartender laughed “No, my apologies sir we’ve only got beer”
The man nodded, wincing as he touched at the fresh slit in his throat.
“You really should get that fixed you know” the man next to him remarked.
“Yah think so?” the brunet replied turning to the other, for a moment his eyes started going wide then he slowly went back to his former expression.
“Here lemme see that” the man said touching his hand onto the brunet’s neck, a faint glow pulsed out, disappearing just as fast as it appeared. The brunet breathed inward smiling as he felt the slit no longer existent.
“Merci” he said taking a shift drink from his cup.
The man nodded taking a gulp from his own glass. The brunet eyed the other man, his face full of thought, finally he slumped on the bar table and began swishing around what alcohol was left in the glass.
“Êtes-vous un athrú” the brunet muttered out just loud enough for the other to hear him. The man turned eyeing him suspiciously.
“conas a bheadh a fhios agat” the man questioned, concern in his eyes
“I can just tell, I’m good and seeing things like that, for example somethings on your mind, t’s troubling you what is it?” The brunet questioned.
The man slumped now looking into his own glass, he sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
“It’s quite the tale young one” he warned.
“I have time”
"If only I didn't" The man said sarcastically as he started his tale.
Tales from the Old Traveler
The World of Réaltaí Tús a world troubled with wars since it was Created by its gods. To the Dhaoine there are two races in the world, them and the shifters as they called them, a Dhaoine is what you are young one. Now the shifters are thought of as one race by your kind, but in truth they’re three different races. First are the Láidir they are the beast, king of the ground and the only race to live in one single country. Next are the Ársa the oldest of the races that control the highest peaks and are the most deadly of the shifters. And lastly there’s my race the Éin or the majestic rulers of the sky and all of its majesty. Now I presume you’re wondering just who I am well because of an agreement between the shifting races I was named Sionnach or in your language Fox. I was born in the village of Baile in the country of Fís Nua located on the southern end of the Fís Nua archipelago. At a young age I was proven to have an adapt skill in the Dhaoine art of magic, and as such decided to learn more about and grow my magic from the best, the Tionscnaimh academy. Sadly this forced me to leave my home due to the academy being located in a Dhaoine country named Veronica and it also happened to be the only place to learn magic. So I traveled disguising myself as what you refer to yourself as a human, this was partly due to your kind being afraid of shifters (however this was simply just a new form of racism between the two groups but they would never admit to that) and because humans hunt us for sport as shifters are considered to be The Most Dangerous Game. Luckily enough as the name Shifter implies the sifting races can transform between an animal race and a humanoid form. So thankfully disguising myself wasn’t a very complex matter; since as a humanoid it is quite hard to tell the difference by only looks, unless you see their magnificent wings, tail, or scales. So that is how my story begins and it is a story of hatred, sadness, loss, but above all else adventure.
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"Hey Fox," called out a soft voice, "Professor Rerzu wanted to see you is his office right now."
“… fine I be out in a second Victoria." I called out from inside my room as I woke up from my sleep and got ready to leave. As I left through the door I ran straight into Victoria.
"Ow… Wha-What are you doing just standing out here Victoria?!” I said slightly ticked “I don’t need a stocker just to inform you."
"Oh Fox you’re up, how have you been?" Victoria said flashing her bright green eyes at me
"I’m never gonna tell you that” I said sighing and began walking down the hallway “and if you could not realize from the message you gave me a minute ago, I don’t have time for idle chit chat right now"
"N-No you can’t leave yet, I want to talk more!" Victoria said desperately, running to catch up with my fast pace.
She was a skinny tall brunet who loved animals which was to me at the time unlikely to be the truth and was incompetent in doing some of the worse jobs I have ever seen.
I will admit in my youth I was more racist towards humans, and despite the brunetts best efforts to be nice, I could never give her a chance besides that she also had a knack for really annoying me whenever she showed up, in truth I only hated her for her race.
“Alright did Professor Rerzu want to see me, or did you make that up just so I had to come out of my boarding room just so you can talk to me?” I asked eyeing Victoria
“No the professor did call for you, but you do have to g-”
“so he is waiting for me so I have to hurry now otherwise he is gona put my hide up onto his walls.” I said cutting her off completely “So if you will excuse me I must be going!”
And with that done I turned my walking into running, navigating the maze of the college corridors to make my way to the office of Professor Rerzu.
Upon entering the office of the Professor a major change of mood always occurred from the doll and unimposing hall ways that go on forever to a room that resembled more of a trophy room than an academics office. The professor’s office reflected his subject Shifter fiach a class all about killing my fellow shifters as if they were just caged beasts. In reality it was a small room decorated with some furnisher from different Dhaoine countries but that was not the major decorations all along his walls where pelts of shifter in there beast forms, around 38 in total but that was just his minor collections, in the back of his room he had different Láidir stuffed in disrespectful poses of submission, Then there was the worst part of his collection a juvenile Ársa which could be no older than 14 years old since something older could not fit in his office. Whenever I ended up in this office my blood boiled with rage, I could hear the screams of pain every time I looked at a one of the Shifters on his walls; I wanted nothing more than the head of the professor.
The professor himself is a man of short stancher with slim blond hair. His right eye dawned a bright red with a distorted pupil which was most likely the result of a feabhas spell or an enchantment that improves one’s self such as vision of depth perception, this feabhas was most likely to have been cast when he was on one of his hunting trips; the spell it self was temporary lasting for but a few days. Which only helped to make me angrier as the thought of the short man slaughtering some innocent shifters shot through my mind.
“So why have you called me in here Mr Rerzu?” I asked clenching my hands into fist as I resisted the urge to punch the man.
“Well you are rude today aren’t you Mr. Sionnach?” Rerzu had remarked clearly her some sort of tone in my voice “Well I called you here to tell you some news for today. As you very well know, to be advanced into an arc-sage you must master the arts of rialú eiliminteach, feabahs, cneasú, cneasú, draíochta dorcha, Chomhrac daonna, and of coerce Shifter fiach.” He finished his hefty sentence.
“Yes I understand this point, so why have you called me into this place!” I asked my voice getting loud, my patience had worn thin at this point as it seemed everytime I entered his office Mr. Rerzu seemed it was nessicary to explain the requirements of advancing to arc-sage.
“Well aren’t you in a bad mood child, since you are an arc-mage you have only mastered most of the fields of magic and just need Shifter fiachto be done with your studies and become an arc-sage!” he remarked clearly angry with my attitude “As luck would have it your time scale said you would be leaving us in a month meaning you will not be able to advance to that level. Unless you finish your test by killing your first one an-”
“But there have been no shifters that have keep looked up since I have gotten here.” I stated cutting him off with the same excuse I’d been using since I started at the school. Every other class requirement had been good up until I discovered that I would need to kill a shifter to advance… and I had been dodging the task every chance I got.
“That’s is true, and that is why I have called you in here, we have just gotten a new shipment of them” he said with a smile “and you have the task of guarding them with Orenzo and Minavan.”
“And what if I have plans for this evening.” I remarked
“You do not have plans understand, you may go now report here at seven,” and with a wave of his hand he sat at his desk engrossing himself in papers, an acted that was the equivalent to showing me out of his office.
As fate would have it I had been sneaking out and releasing the shifters that had been captured in order to save them from the Dhaoine’s sick games, however now that I had been tasked with guarding them, it was going to be a lot harder to get them out of their cages. Hastily thinking up a plan I had decided to go to their prison to see what they had captured.
Upon entering the jailing house a feeling of despair fell upon me. The building walls were all stone and hung around the places were cages and chains to restrain movement and kill the shifters that try to transform into beasts. After a quick look around it was clear there were 9 of them, it was a cooperation training party 3 of each race of them none of them over 19. As I approached them a familiar voice from one of the cages rang out, "Níl Fan ar ais , ní bheidh mé in iúl duit Gortaítear dóibh!"
As I processed the words I started to realize whom the groups protector was. It was James a good friend from Baile. I looked around making sure no human was in the prison. After confirming only Shifters inhabited the area at the moment I searched the cages for James, finally spotting him I grimaced as his body seemed to be painted with bruises and cuts, his face only showed fierce rage not a single sign of pain or fear was shown despite his condition. I cursed under my breath, I could think of only one thing to say to him.
"Tá sé ceart go leor , James cad happend a thabhairt duit agus conas a rinne tú anseo?" And with that he started to tell me his story of capture.
