Chapter Text
After drifting through inky black for so long, the colourful world before it, is enticing, strange, exciting. There are many things it doesn’t understand, but that’s what makes everything so new, so intriguing. Unlike in space, where one could travel for many, many days without encountering another entity, this place is filled with chaotic beings that are always moving, doing things it doesn’t understand. But it wants to, wants to learn more about this fascinating place, and nothing is more fascinating than the ones that call themselves ‘humans’ and the things they call ‘wishes’. Perhaps that’s why it tries so hard to fulfill them, imparting a small piece of its energy to try to grant the desperate pleas it hears, even if it doesn’t fully understand what it is that the wishers truly want.
To not die, to be stronger, to be heard, to hide. They are all different, but the one similarity they share is how fervently those wishes are held. It tries to grant them all, caring nothing about who the wisher is, or why they hold them. But one wish, in particular, catches its attention, though it is not as bright and sharp as many of the others it has granted before. No, if anything, it is a dull, fleeting, old thing, though persistent, despite the number of years that have passed since it first bloomed. More intriguingly, it is shared by two humans, the exact same wish, once a screaming, gut wrenching need, faded to an aching pain over the passing years. A child they failed to protect during an unforeseen monster attack, and even though his face has long since become a faded blur in their memories, even though he has long been replaced by three younger siblings who have long grown past the age they’d lost him at, they can’t forget their firstborn whom they’d been too slow, too complacent, too weak to protect.
It’s a challenging wish to fulfill, far more difficult than any it has tried so far, but that’s what makes it interesting. It doesn’t have much to work with, just a handful of bone fragments and dust left inside a tiny grave, along with a small collection of faint memories in the minds of the wishers. Regardless, the real problem turns out not to be the body, but what it’s supposed to do with it, afterwards. Even though it’s sure it’s managed to recreate the dead child perfectly, there’s something missing. Without it, the body is just an empty doll, staring into space. Frustrated, it pours more of its power in, as if simply adding more will solve the problem. It doesn’t. The body is still as lifeless as before it started, even as more and more of its energy absorbs into it. And even more. And more. Until something jolts and instead of sitting comfortably in the crater it had created upon its arrival, watching everything from a far, it now finds its field of view changed and narrowed, staring up at a different sky.
What happened? Where was this? Where was the child’s body? Its thoughts derail as a pudgy pink hand waves in front of its view. Then a second one. It takes a moment to realize that somehow it is inside the body now, with no idea how to leave. Just as it is puzzling this unusual development, it feels another energy within the body it’s in, curious and inquisitive. After another moment, it realizes that this is the original inhabitant of this body, finally awake after slumbering for so long.
Who are you? The little one’s thoughts are not as well formed as his parents, but the question is clear enough. The answer, however, is not. It debates about this. Who is it? What is it? Even it is not sure, and any explanation it could provide would probably just confuse this little creature. After some debate, it recalls a word that it overheard while watching the toddler’s family. It doesn’t fit exactly, but perhaps…
Brother, it answers. The toddler mulls this over, still confused, but accepting, oddly pleased. Together they survey their surroundings, somewhere on a mountain based on the steeply sloping ground, covered by trees. They are not in the original crater where it landed, nor near the grave where it had extracted the bones, but somewhere in between the two. Before, it would have been a simple matter to determine the exact location, but now, trapped inside this tiny body, its perspective seems limited. Still, it’s not all a loss. Despite the small size, its new body makes it more convenient to explore this strange new world up close, while its surprise companion is an interesting boon. Brother. Best to get used to that word, now that it decided to use it.
A sudden breeze blows past them and they shiver instinctively. The image of a warm fireplace, a familiar and comforting desire, flits through their minds and as if in response, a small flame bursts to life between their tiny hands.
Ah, so they could still do this, at least. They wave a hand towards the dirt and it responds to their command, shifting and rising until it forms a crude shelter, nothing fancy, but enough to block the wind and provide a safe haven to practice with their abilities. They fall asleep watching a small spiral of water spinning in front of them.
They quickly adapt to their new life, exploring the mountains around them, using their abilities to catch fish and gather herbs and berries during the day, then to build a shelter at night. They get more proficient at controlling them as they practise, their power becoming stronger and easier to manipulate. They don’t meet too many others along their journey; most of the animals avoid them and any human that comes close, quickly leaves after they see the sudden appearance of a fireball, or a miniature tornado.
Monsters are more difficult. Even though their powers should work against them – white teeth, large and pointed, descending - no differently than anything else, they don’t, a fact they learn almost too late the first time. Fear makes them learn quickly how to use their abilities indirectly, using the terrain itself against the monsters and figuring out their weaknesses. After that, they become little more difficult than any of the other inhabitants, just another background feature in their life.
Two winters cycle by and they settle into their habits. They become so used to their situation, that the two soon forget that they were ever more than one and they slowly becomes he.
“Oh my. You were not what I was expecting to be the source of the rumours about the Rik mountains demon.”
The small child freezes, staring up at the smiling golden haired man. The afternoon sun had burned hotter than normal, and he had almost instinctively, summoned a pool of water to cool off. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be here, or if they were, that they would immediately run off like they did every time he'd used his abilities before. But this man must have not only watched him summon the pool, but also waited until he had waded into the water and started splashing around, before approaching closer. The child frowns. He isn’t sure what to do with this strange human who doesn’t seem to fear him, and finds himself backing away, slowly.
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” The man drops to one knee as if to make himself smaller, less intimidating. He still towers over the child, bigger than any other human he has met before, even though he has gotten used to their greater height over him. That and the man’s behaviour, are not the only things odd about him. Studying him closer, the child can see that the man is filled with a mess of energies, all colliding and twisting with each other. They don’t seem to be causing him any immediate difficulties, given his easy smile and relaxed posture, but the child is certain that the smallest shift could bring about great harm. The energies are practically bleeding from his body; perhaps that is why his smile seems to shine like a second sun.
The child’s curiosity halts his backwards steps, even causing him to take a hesitant step forward. This seems to please the man, for his smile widens. Now that he’s calmed down a little, the child notices that the man is not alone; a group of men are watching them from several feet away, their expressions a mixture of tension and uncertainty. The man pays them no heed, only focussed on the child in front of him.
“My name is Kishiar La Orr,” the man continues, now that he’s certain the child won’t run away. The child offers him a puzzled look, as though unsure what he’s going on about. The man’s smile falters slightly and he asks, “…can you understand what I am saying?”
The child pauses, then nods. The words make sense, even if he is not certain of the purpose of saying them. The man’s smile returns in full force and he asks, “Then… is there something I can call you?”
The child hesitates. Living here with no one else around, there is no need for names, but for some reason, he doesn’t want to say that. As he waffles, a distant memory surfaces, a faded fragment of two voices, distorted by time. He can barely recall what they sound like, or where they came from, but he’s pretty sure they called him…
“Yuder,” he finally answers, in a voice that he is hearing for the first time. It’s small and soft, crackling with uncertainty, but the man doesn’t seem to mind. Then to copy the man’s words, he repeats, “My name is Yuder.”