It had been many years since Phi had been this far from the Black Coast. He had not been born in the Coast, but for him it felt more like home than his actual birthplace. The trio had been walking for the whole day, only stopping for short breaks. Phi for his part did not feel tired though, not because his body wasn’t exhausted, but because he couldn’t feel much of anything to begin with. In the face of his eternal hunger, everything else felt numb.
Phi winced, there was nothing worse than thinking about how hungry he was to make him more hungry. He needed to distract himself, reaching a hand into his pocket he pulled out the well worn book inside. He flipped to a particular page as he ran his fingers along the raised bumps on the aged paper. He mouthed the words of his favorite scripture as he let the All Mother’s teachings drown out his vile desires.
‘To be a proper vessel of Her love, one must empty themselves of all other wants and vices. Only when one is empty of the evils of mankind can they truly fill themselves with Her holy light. Clear your mind, and your soul will follow.’ His hand twitched as he reached hesitantly to the small markings that had been added in the margins of the page by hand.
‘You are a good lad, don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. -H.’
Phi snapped the book closed as he returned it to the same pocket it had stayed in for decades.
The temperature was dropping quickly, which probably meant that the sun was setting. Probably. Phi could never be sure though, between his skin always feeling cold and numb, and his blindness, he struggled to know what time of day it was. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have another form of sight to compensate for his lack of conventional vision, it was just limited. Phi didn’t see spectrums of light, no, he could sense the bioelectric energy of all living things around him. The benefit was that he could sense this energy in a perfect sphere, the sphere was around thirty feet in diameter in size and could sense people, animals, hells, even many plants.
Though he still struggled to not stumble as he walked.
There was another aspect to Phi’s sight that was tied to his power over blood. Under the soil Phi could sense a family of rabbits, he could pick out their numbers, their size, and a rough idea of their health. More than that, he could feel the blood coursing through the creature's body, the heat and warmth of their muscles and flesh, the intoxicating beat of their tiny hearts. A thin line of drool formed along his perpetually extended mouth.
He sighed as he reached a hand up to one of the chains that wrapped over his shoulder, he pulled at the chain as the hooks on the far end embedded into his back tore into his flesh. The act of flagellation helped center his mind when scripture wasn’t enough to stave off the hunger.
Perhaps some conversation would help, Phi thought as he cleared his throat to speak. “Are we nearing Fulcrest? I cannot be sure, but it feels like night is almost upon us again.” He said.
The voice that answered was Fel’s. There was no mistaking their particular sing-song pitch. “It pains me to say this, but I might have misjudged the distance to Fulcrest. I don’t think we’re making it tonight.” There was a hint of shame in Fel’s voice, a rare thing indeed.
Thoren spoke up next. “It looks like there may be a small village up that way,” Phi felt the man’s arm lift to point to the left of the group. “We may be able to find somewhere to sleep for the night.”
“I would prefer it if we don’t run into anyone until we get to Fulcrest. The last thing we need is a villager alerting someone of our location.”
Phi had a thought. “What is the geography of this path? Are we near any trees or the like? I only ask because it may be best to find a sheltered building to rest for the night, one that would protect us from any passing airships.”
The silence that followed usually meant that someone was deep in thought; in his youth, Phi had had the bad habit of asking people what emotion they were showing on their faces. It had worn out its welcome quickly. Fel eventually spoke. “You bring up a fair point, there is little in the way of cover, and tonight is much colder than the last. We need shelter for the night.” The words came out like a stubborn tooth.
The group changed their course, turning off to the left towards the village. Phi could feel his legs cramp in response to the steep angle they now walked, his body had reached its limit. He stopped in his tracks, legs shaking violently. “I’m afraid I may need help reaching the village.”
“What are you-” Thoren stopped mid sentence. “Oh Gods! Your legs!”
Phi’s knees buckled as he started to fall to the ground. At the last moment a set of hands grabbed him, swinging his weight until he was lifted onto the back of another. “Why did you not say anything Phi?” Fel said. Phi didn’t need to ask to tell that they were disappointed in him.
“I can’t feel my fatigue, this was unexpected.” He awkwardly shifted around while being held aloft by Fel. “And slightly demeaning.”
“You didn’t sleep at all last night, hells, even I needed to sit down for a couple hours.” Fel sounded almost proud of Phi. “When we get to town Thoren will watch over you while I go and ask about a room.”
“Fel, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I thought we wanted to keep a low profile. Would it not be better to send Thoren?”
The storm priest let out a slight laugh. “He’s not wrong. I would stand out the least.”
Fel huffed. “A blond haired man in the robes of the Spire, carrying the symbols of one of their holy warriors? You would stand out more than Phi.” There was a pause as they turned their head back towards him. “I didn’t mean any offense by that.”
Letting out a laugh, Phi said. “You merely speak the truth, I do tend to draw a lot of attention, the kind that causes angry mobs. I would argue Fel that you also tend to stick out like a sore thumb. At nearly seven feet tall with glowing white hair you would have a hard time blending into a crowd.”
“Which is why I will have to change that.” The way Fel said that sounded quite ominous. “That’s if I can trust you both to keep quiet.”
Thoren crossed his arms, Phi could hear the man’s heart rate increase. “You speak of trust, but there is much that you keep hidden from us. Fel, can you speak plainly for once? Should we trust you?” Phi found himself nodding at Thoren’s words. He had lived in the Black Coast for nearly fifteen years, and in that time he had come to learn that the Twins were a very secretive people. They took their time to warm up to outsiders, keeping newcomers at arm's length for quite some time before opening up to them.
None were more cautious than Fel.
Normally Fel would have some snappy retort or some half hearted joke to deflect any direct scrutiny of their odd nature, but not this time. “Trust, is hard for me.” They seemed uncomfortable, vulnerable even. Phi had never seen this before. “I wish I could tell you more, but I am bound to certain oaths that make it impossible for me to elaborate.” Phi could feel them turn their head towards Thoren. “The Night Father knew that I would need help to complete this mission, he was willing to risk breaking the accords between our gods to bring this information to us. He knew I would need your help. This is bigger than you or me.”
The pause that followed was long and tense. “If things had gone differently, I could have been your enemy. The truth is that I’m still struggling not to see you as just some heretic, I was taught my whole life that the Twin’s were a blight on the Empire, agents of the old gods that would stop at nothing to spit in the eye of the All Mother. Conspiring for the day that they would get their vengeance for being brought low.” Thorens voice was strained. “Decades of faith shaken by a single person.”
“Tayla?” Fel said quietly.
Thoren let out a sudden bark of laughter, the tension easing slightly. “Gods no. I like your sister, truly, and given more time I would like to think we could even be friends. But no, I was talking about your grandmother Rosel. Despite all of my hatred and zeal, all of the bitter doctrine that I could muster, I still faulted in the face of such a kind and loving person.” Thoren grew quiet once more. “Are you familiar with the Spire?”
“Not really, I know the name and that you Stormpriests and your Tideborn cousins call the place home, but there is little information in the Keel about the exact nature of the place.”
Phi finally had an opportunity to speak up. “I have heard the stories, The Spire is the holy land of the All Mother’s children. The Tideborn live in grand cities beneath the waves, working tirelessly in their studies of how best to serve the Empire’s needs, while above the clouds the Storm Priests that call those hallowed halls home are the backbone of the Court’s faith. Despite being called ‘the Spire’, there are actually three such pillars. If the stories are true, the spires are made from a glass-like substance that predates the colonization of this planet, each one of these monolithic structures stretching from the ocean floor to the clouds far above.”
Letting out a sigh Thoren continued. “That is the gist of it, what they don’t tell you is that only one in twenty of us make it to adulthood.”
Fel stopped in their tracks. “What! How?!” They sounded disgusted, though Phi wasn’t as fazed; the mortality rate for Hybrid births was horrifically high, usually ending in the death of the child or parent; many times both. Though it was surprising to hear that such a loss of life was seen as acceptable in the Spire.
“Phi, when you shift into your elemental state do you give your body commands?” Thoren asked, changing the subject suddenly.
“Well, not really. I can issue my body specific commands to follow during my shift, but for the most part I still retain a basic level of consciousness. It is diminished without a host however.”
Thoren raised a finger while gesturing with his hand. “And that, is why our survival rate is so low. We are blessed by the storm, granted the ability to shift into pure electricity, with all of the pros and cons that come with it. If a Tideborn turns into a pool of water by accident, they simply fall to the ground and can reform in a moment. If a Stompriest turns into a bolt of lightning without giving their body a rigid set of commands, we are for all intents and purposes, at the mercy of the laws of physics. Faster than our brain can even process the situation, we are hurled along the path of least resistance and our energy is absorbed by whatever we strike. Once that happens, there is no reforming, there is no chance to go back, in the blink of an eye the Stormpriest is dead.” There was a slight tremor to his voice as he finished.
Neither Fel nor Phi seemed to know what to say in response to such troubling information. Eventually Thoren continued after collecting himself. “Do you know when the Celestial gifts manifest?” He asked aloud to no one in particular.
Once again Phi felt his chance to speak up. “Generally the gifts of the various gods manifest around the ages of ten to fourteen depending on the race and the child. Even hybrids like myself tend to fully awaken to our cursed powers around that range.”
“How would you prepare someone that is still on the tailend of childhood for such a miserable fate? How do you warn them that a single stray thought could lead them to oblivion? Centuries of such pointless deaths have made us callous. The Priesthood has used whatever method they could justify to stop the tragic loss of our young.” Without waiting for answers to his questions, Thoren seemed to fidget with his robes. Fel let out a gasp, whatever he was showing must be quite the shock. “My people can absorb the natural currents of electricity, another of the Lifeweavers' attempts at surviving on inhospitable worlds. We can use this energy to fuel our divine powers, there is one catch though; absorbing another Stormpriest’s lightning is excruciating, our body tries to store it but in doing so it burns us from the inside out. This is how the Priesthood prepares us, by burning the grim lesson into our very skin.”
Once more the trio grew silent, the only sound was the footsteps that brought them ever closer to the village. Phi was curious how close they were to reaching the village, but even he could tell that this wasn’t the time to speak up.
Eventually Fel cleared their throat, speaking softly. “Why did you share this? I thought you wanted to know if you should trust me? Where did this all come from?”
Thoren ran a hand through his hair. At least, Phi was pretty sure that’s what he did, that or he liked waving his hand over his head. “Because, that’s how you get people to trust you, you share uncomfortable truths and bear your weakness’.” He turned his head to Fel and Phi. He seemed to be waiting for something.
“I-” Fel started.
“I ate my way out of my mother’s womb at birth.” Phi announced.
Putting a hand over his mouth, Thoren retorted. “By the Saints man! Why would you choose to tell us that now of all times?!” Even Fel stopped in their tracks to look back at Phi.
“You said that by sharing uncomfortable truths, we could trust each other. I thought it was my turn. Did I misunderstand?” Phi was perplexed; first Thoren had told of the ritual to grow closer to one another, and then he had looked towards Phi to bear his weakness’. He had hoped that had finally found the secret to forming bonds.
Fel shook their head. “He was talking to me, Phi. Look, I would love to unpack everything that you two shared, but we are almost to the village. Thoren, I can’t tell you my uncomfortable truths, but I can show you some of my secrets.” Before anyone could respond, Fel placed Phi down on the ground. With a gasp of air they groaned in agony as Fel shuddered and convulsed, their body transforming before Phi’s very eyes. He watched in awe as their bones broke, compressing in on themselves till they were smaller, their organs shifted in the rapidly shrinking rib cage, their hips popped out of place as the pelvis’ shape changed, their cheekbones and jawline seemed to soften slightly. Soon, Fel stood no taller than Tayla.
Despite Phi focusing on Fel’s stunning transformation, he could sense Thoren assuming a fighting stance as he raised his voice. “You’re a Faceless!” There was bitter fury in his voice as he raised a hand to summon his weapon.
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“Wait! Thoren, I am not a child of Chaos.” Fel's voice was a noticeably higher pitch. “Look closely, this is still my own face. All I did was repress my masculine traits! I know this seems crazy, but you have to believe me.”
Phi looked towards Thoren and raised a hand to try and draw attention, but when no one noticed he spoke anyways. “It’s true, I was watching the whole transformation. Fel’s organs didn’t reconstitute. Which is a dead giveaway of a real Faceless.”
Thoren’s hand shook as he kept it raised. “What about organs?”
“When Faceless transform they have to revert to their original form, when they do so their organs briefly turn back into a mass of stem cells, it’s actually qui-.”
“Enough!” Thoren shouted, interrupting Phi. Unfortunate, as the anatomy of the Faceless was actually quite an interesting subject, one that Phi had done a lot of research on. “You can outrun horses, you can withstand blows from the finest Celestial steel, and now you can just casually change your body to suit your needs! I want answers, what are you exactly? And don’t you dare say you ‘can’t say’.” There was a raw pleading to the man’s words, like his world was falling apart, desperately grasping at anything to ground himself again.
Fel tied up their ample hair as they continued walking towards the village on their own, turning their back on Thoren. With an eerie calmness they called back in their new voice. “I can’t say. I’ll run ahead and see about lodging for the night.” A moment later they were beyond Phi’s senses.
Thoren turned, balling up his fists as his body shook with frustration. “I guess that’s what I get for trying to build trust.” He hissed under his breath.
Phi’s legs had officially called it quits, the cramps were so bad that he could see every fiber of muscle in his leg convulse. The pain was quite excruciating, though it still paled in comparison to the hunger. He knew he should say something to Thoren, but he was struggling to know what the right thing was, thankfully he knew where to find the answer to this situation.
Turning once more to his lexicon, he found the passage that mentioned just this situation.
‘When friends fight, be patient, remember to listen to them!’ Phi nodded at the sage advice.
He turned to Thoren. “Would you like me to listen to you?” He said beaming proudly.
Thoren stopped his brooding as he faced Phi. “What? Uh, no. I’m alright.”
Panic gripped Phi, he quickly ran his hand over the entry, had he misread the words of wisdom? No, he had read the words accurately. A wave of shame washed over him as he realized how foolish he was acting, this forced march had taken quite the toll on his mind. Turning back to Thoren once more he said. “Of course, I understand. I can be patient” He tried to smile like he had been taught.
The muscles in Thoren’s face pulled and folded, the corners of his upper lip raised. Success! Phi had managed to bring a smile to the distraught man! Thoren shook his head, no doubt he was being bashful. “We should start moving, hopefully Fel will be done by the time we make it up the hill. I swear I’ll get my answers to whatever is going on, but for now, let’s try and find somewhere to rest for the night.” He said as he walked over and kneeled down to offer his back to Phi. “Try not to lose yourself and drink my blood.”
“I promise to try. Though, are you sure you can carry me? I am quite large.” Phi was half a foot taller than the priest, and much broader as well.
“You seem to forget what I am.” Thoren said while looking over his shoulder. He closed his eyes as he chanted. “Grant me your strength.” Even with Phi’s limited senses he could see a brilliant golden light flowing from Thoren’s eyes, his whole body seemed covered in a thin film of liquid gold. The light flickered and dissipated without warning, causing Thoren to look down in shock. “What? I must still be weakened after casting those miracles during the festival. Let me try the full chant. Oh All Mother, she whom granted the oceans their rich bounty of life, I beseech you to share your divine power with your humble servant. Grant me the strength to strike down your foes, to carry your burdens, to protect your children!”
The golden light erupted as a raging torrent, this time it shimmered and flowed like a living thing as it coated Thoren’s entire body in the warm glow. Phi held a clawed hand to his lamprey-like mouth. “It’s wondrous!” With trepidation he reached out to grab hold of Thoren, as he touched the golden aura, Phi felt his hand burn and blister. He recoiled in pain as he nursed the hand. “Too wondrous for an abomination like myself it would seem.”
The light vanished as Thoren let out a sigh. He moved over and grabbed Phi’s arm, pulling it over his neck. “Looks like we have to do this the old fashion way.” Grunting with effort he lifted Phi and helped support him as they stumbled onwards.
“I’m sorry.” Phi whispered. He was deeply ashamed of himself for causing such a holy symbol to resort to such a demeaning act.
“Well, it can’t be helped. We can’t exactly leave you out here on your own. We’re almost to the village, not much further now.”
It wasn’t long till Fel made their way back to the pair. Thoren seemed about to speak when Fel talked over him. “Look, I know you’re angry, Thoren, we can discuss this more after we get a good night's sleep. Please.”
Thoren huffed. “I’m sure the discussion will be cryptic and short. Whatever; did you manage to find somewhere we can rest away from prying eyes?”
Fel didn’t take the bait, choosing not to get into an argument for now. “One of the villagers said we could stay in their stable for the night. Here’s our story, my name is Fiona, you two are my traveling companions, and Phi here has sprained his ankle.”
“I get why you changed your appearance to not draw attention, but is there a reason you chose to look like a woman?” Thoren asked.
“Well, in my experience people are generally more sympathetic to a young woman in need of help.”
“Oh, and that segmented leather armor that stretches and contracts to match your body. Yeah, that won’t stand out.” Thoren said sarcastically.
“I was sure to cover myself with my cloak. Here, let me give you a hand with Phi, it’ll look more believable.” Fel moved to Phi’s other side and helped support him.
Soon the trio made their way into the village. It was refreshing to walk on even ground again after hiking up the hill for the last hour or so. Phi could sense the odd person as they passed what he assumed were houses, many of the people he detected seemed to be settling in for the night. Finally they reached the stables, and not a minute too soon. Phi wasn’t the only one on the verge of collapsing, he could feel the high amount of lactic acid building up inside Thoren and Fel’s muscles. They were putting on a tough face but their bodies couldn’t lie; they needed a good night's rest.
The stables consisted of six stalls, two of the stalls were occupied by a pair of work horses. The other four stalls were empty; without a word, each of the trio took one of the stalls for their own. Phi struggled to the wall at the end of his stall, he leaned his back against the wall and slowly slid down till he was sitting upright.
Phi didn’t feel his eyes close, his head simply fell slightly as he succumbed to the exhaustion. The dream that followed was one of his fondest memories, balancing as he walked along the old log fence in his hometown. He tried his best to balance along the logs without help. Without warning he slipped on the log, it was still wet and slick from the ocean spray, even as he fell a hand reached out to steady him. Phi turned to face the man who raised him, yet he could sense nothing, he reached his own hand up to steady himself on the hand that was grabbing him, but all he felt was the smoothness of bone.
Something stirred in the stables, waking Phi from his usual nightmare. It took a moment for his senses to focus, there was someone standing over him. Through sheer willpower Phi held still as his heart pounded. He took a moment to center himself as he tried to assess who this stranger was. They were small, barely up to Phi’s waist. They seemed to be holding something in each of their hands. His best bet was that this was a child. Phi couldn’t tell if it was morning, but the chill in the morning said otherwise.
The child crouched down, placing something on the ground in front of Phi. They leaned in close to him. “I brought you a snack.” The voice was that of a little girl. She whispered quietly. “Are you a demon?” A hint of fear in her voice.
“No.” Phi said, hoping he wouldn’t scare the child and cause a commotion.
The little girl fell back, dropping the object in her other hand as she started to scoot away quickly. As she made it to the open stable door she ran head first into a wooden beam. She let out a gasp of pain as she started to frantically feel around the ground in search of something. “Oh no, where is it? Not now!” The girl hissed, panic in her voice.
Phi reached forward along the ground, he could feel the bowl that the girl had left, but moving past it he found the other object the girl had dropped. It was a long thin stick, he wondered what it was for a moment before a realization dawned on him. “Are you blind, child?” He tried his best to sound comforting.
“How did you know?” The girl said, shocked.
“It would seem the God’s have seen fit to bring us together. I remember using a similar stick when I was younger. Here,” Phi said, holding out his hand with the walking stick. “I know how hard it can be to not have this.”
The little girl hesitantly crawled forward until she could feel the walking stick. She snatched it back and held it close. “Are you like me?” There was wonder in her voice. “I’ve never met someone with bad eyes like myself!”
Hearing the joy in the girl’s voice filled Phi with warmth. “Yes, I am blind. Though I have other ways of seeing. Putting that aside, you should return home young lady, it’s dangerous to talk to strangers.” He said as he recalled the lessons of his late teacher.
Even as she nodded, the little girl continued undeterred. “What’s your name?” She asked.
Raising an eyebrow, Phi answered the question despite his confusion. “Phi.”
“Well I’m Alice, now we aren’t strangers!” She said with a smile. Phi was impressed, he couldn’t argue with her sound logic.
Crossing his legs in front of him, Phi leaned against the wall again. “Shouldn’t you be in bed Alice?”
Alice crossed her legs as well as she responded. “How could I sleep? Nobody ever comes to our village, we live on the edge of the Empire!” She was shaking with excitement. Phi extended his senses, he could see Thoren and Fel were still fast asleep in their respective stalls. “If you aren’t a demon, what are you?” Alice gasped. “Are you a half god?”
Phi chuckled lightly. “I think you mean to ask if I am a Minstella, the Celestial demigods. No, I am not such a holy being I’m afraid. What makes you think so?”
A frown crossed Alice’s face as she seemed disappointed by Phi’s lack of godhood. “You don’t look normal, I can’t see much, but your skin looks the wrong color, and you wear the robes of a priest.”
There was a sense of relief that Alice only saw Phi’s skin as an odd color, her eyesight must be pretty far gone if she didn’t notice that his skin was translucent and scaled. Still, it was probably a good idea to move the conversation away from his physical appearance, it would be wise to not scare the child by revealing his true nature. “These robes belonged to the man that raised me, he was a cleric in the village I grew up in.”
“You were raised by a cleric!?” Alice squealed as she scooted closer to Phi. “What was it like?”
“I would love to tell you more, but I really need some sleep. You should also return home before your parents get worried.” Phi said, struggling to stay awake.
Alice fell on her side, kicking her legs in frustration. “Tell me a story! Please, just one story and I’ll leave!”
Phi held his hands out to try and calm Alice’s tantrum. “Alright, alright. What would you like to know?” He whispered.
“Tell me more about that cleric!”
With a sigh Phi rested his head in one of his hands. “That’s a bit of a complicated story. When I was born, my mother passed away. No one knew who my biological father was, so since I had no family I was surrendered to the local temple. The local cleric raised me as best he could. I wouldn’t be the man I am now if not for his teachings.” Phi reached into his belt pouch and pulled out his lexicon. “He even took the time to transcribe the holy lexicon into a form of writing that I could read.” He gently ran his thumb over the worn cover as he held it. Fond memories coming back to him as he did so.
Alice had been quietly enthralled by Phi’s story, suddenly she bolted upright. “You can read?! Can I see the book?” She rushed over to Phi’s side before he had a chance to respond.
Holding out the book Phi said. “I don’t mind if you take a look, but do be careful. This book means the world to me.”
Alice gingerly reached out shaking hands to grab the book. Taking a deep breath she quickly flipped open the book in the middle. She stared down intently. “There’s nothing here!” She whined.
There was something about a child’s honest nature that never failed to delight Phi. He stifled a laugh as he placed his hand on the open pages. “You read it with your hands.” Alice placed her hand on the page with a look of disbelief. “Do you feel those small bumps? They can be used to represent the letters of the alphabet.”
The small girl’s face scrunched with effort. “I think this one is an ‘L’!” She said with pure joy.
“That’s a ‘W’.”
Alice held the book up against her face. “Hm, yeah. I see that now.” Putting the book back in her lap she flipped through the pages, coming to a stop on a random page. “What do these words say?”
Phi reached a hand out to the book, Alice had turned the book near the beginning. “This part is about the long journey through the sea of stars that led us to the holy land.”
“No, not the dots. These words!” She said while pointing to the page. “There’s ink on this page, though, it looks like scribbles to me.”
Blinking quickly, Phi reached out and took the book back. He ran his hands over the pages, but in the end he couldn’t feel anything other than the holy text. “I don’t know.” He whispered as he grew quiet. Were there other messages hidden in his book from Father Herschel? He would need someone to read this note when he got the chance, maybe it was best to wait till he returned to the Coast. Abigail would help him look through the book thoroughly, she had always been kind to Phi and was trustworthy.
Putting that aside for now Phi turned to Alice. “I think you should be heading home now Alice. I should also try and get some more rest.”
Alice curled into a ball, holding her knees to her chest. “I thought I could finally learn how to read.” She sniffled as she spoke, fighting back tears.
Sighing, Phi reached for his lexicon once more, turning to the very front. He reached down and placed a hand on the first page, hesitating for a moment. “Alice, are there ink scribbles on this page?”
“No, there’s no ink.”
“Good.” Phi said as he pulled the page out cleanly. “This, is a very special piece of paper. It has everything you need to learn how to read and write in this script. Every letter in alphabetical order, every number, and when you get better it even outlines the special symbols and what they mean.”
Alice froze, her body grew rigid as Phi handed her the page as she held it reverently in front of her. “Can I keep this?” There was awe in her voice as she spoke.
“Yes. It won’t be easy to learn on your own, but I think with enough time and practice, you’ll do great.”
Staring at the page unblinking, Alice stood. Without warning she leapt forward and hugged Phi. “Thank you mister Phi!”
The shock of it all caught Phi off guard. He could feel Alice’s heart racing in her small chest, her blood pumping through her tiny frame just inches away from Phi’s mouth. Phi began to hyperventilate, the world shrank until the only thing he could sense was the delicious crimson meal before him, his rings of hollow barbed teeth shook as they extended. The only sound he could hear was the rhythmic beating of Alice’s heart. He reached his clawed hands around Alice, slowly bringing them closer to grab his prey, stopping a few inches from Alice’s back.
Lowering his head, his mouth extended forward, teeth twitching in preparation of the coming feast. With a jerk, he threw his head back into the stable wall with the last of his willpower, smashing himself so hard his vision swam with stars. Alice gave a gasp as she leapt back, crawling away from Phi. With a shuddering breath Phi curled into a ball, blood trickling down the back of his head. “Leave!”
“Are you okay mister Phi?” Alice said softly as she tried to get closer once again.
Phi bit into his arm, his teeth grinding and gnashing through his flesh till they found bone. Speaking through his gills, he mustered all of his composure. “I’m alright, I’m just very tired. Now, please leave Alice.”
Alice didn’t seem to notice that anything was amiss, she grabbed her things, holding the piece of paper from the lexicon carefully in front of her. “Goodnight mister Phi, surely us meeting was the work of the Gods!” She waved enthusiastically as she hurried off.
Breathing heavily, Phi curled in on himself, still biting into his arm. He sobbed as he recanted the litany of sin over and over again, shaking uncontrollably as he rocked himself to some semblance of sleep.
Across the building, through the crack in the other stable door laid Thoren. Phi was too shaken to sense the priest was awake, his eyes staring at Phi with bitter judgment. Thoren was holding his hand towards Phi, electricity slowly dissipating around his arm. With a sigh he lowered it back down, keeping a watch over Phi as he cried.
It was sometime later that Phi awoke to the screaming.
In other news, retention is slowing to a crawl on these chapters, which I kinda figured would happen. Epic fantasy is a hard sell. If you made it this far, thank you so much!
Don't feel any pressure, but I would love to hear from the brave few of you that have made it this far chapter by chapter. :)
