It's a short fantasy story about a Shaman. Who knows, y'all dudes might dig it.
The northern wilderness of Akri is an amazing place. Lush, verdant, teeming with life, populated by ancient trees with trunks larger than many houses, filled with waterfalls and massive boulders, buzzing with the sounds of a million insects and birds, the Akri Forest stands as a planetary focal point. There are humans there, too. Not many, but some have found a way to brave the wilderness and it's various seasons. There is the tribe of the Sekyii, tattooed fishermen and women who live near the coast, sustaining of the ocean's bounty and trading with the few ships that come by. There are military outposts run by the Gautian Empire, in whose territory Akri does lie. This story, however, will focus on one man, a man named Korik. This man is unique amongst the living, in that his livelyhood concerns the spiritual world equally as much as the mundane one which to most humans is the vast majority of their reality. Yes, Korik is a Shaman, a medicine man, and he calls Akri home because of the vast numbers of spirits who live there. One day, on a hot summer morning, Korik had an experience that would be spoken of by the trees in Akri for hundreds, nay thousands, of years to come.
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The shaman was deep in meditation that morning, sitting cross legged next to his yurt, which sat on a small hill that sat next to a steep rocky cliff. He was shirtless, and through a hole in the canopy the sun gleamed off his dreadlocks and light brown skin, shining especially brightly upon his many geometric tattoos. The air shimmered with heat, but Korik did not worry about the oppressive temperature. He sat and concentrated on clearing his mind, allowing the bug noises to fill his consciousness as he held his sense of being in view. He had been at it for nearly an hour when a deep growl emerged from his side. It was Lok, Korik's pet grizzly bear and only friend, and he sounded serious, serious enough that it caused Korik to fully open his eyes and look down the hillside path that led up to his yurt. A little boy was walking up the hill with an uncanny speed. He was not a normal looking boy. His frame was very slight, that of an eight year old boy. and he had long stringy hair. Normal enough features. On his face, however, he wore a Sekyii ritual mask. His mouth was a wide “O” shape, and his eyes were horizontal slits. His forehead was painted with a traditional Sekyii spiral geometric pattern. The mask fit the boys head so well that it very much appeared to be his actual face. This effect was compounded by the strange fact that Korik could not make out the boy's eyes behind the mask, seeing only a deep shadow and darkness. The shaman stood up quickly as Lok continued to growl. The bear was obviously perceiving a strange aura from the boy, and Korik also felt that this boy may have arrived for inauspicious reasons. Though he only walked, he went very fast, his body jolting as if animated at a different rate than the rest of the universe. And his head seemed to tilt and a jarring angle. Combined with the expression given by the mask, he looked to be terrified and taunting all at once. Soon enough he reached the yurt and stopped in front of Korik, breathing heavily, his body still shuddering and obviously coursing with energy. “Hi, friend. Why have you come to this part of the woods?” Korik addressed his visitor respectfully. Rare though they were, visitors did come upon Korik's yurt from time to time, and they were often not your 'run of the mill' types of customers. They were sometimes villagers from the Sekyii trying to remove a curse or speak with the deceased. Sometimes they were people or animals seeking medical treatment. Others, however, came for more mysterious reasons, lost spirits trapped between the physical plane and whatever realm their life stream was flowing towards. Korik helped these beings by sending them from Akri to their next destination, often with a simple word or phrase, spoken in such a way that only a shaman could accomplish. Today's visitor could have been in any category, or none of them. They boy just stared, tilting his head at odd angles, his neck thrust out towards the yurt. Now that he was closer, Korik could see that he indeed did not seem to have eyeballs, but an almost glowing darkness that came from behind the mask, though the rest of his body was fleshly. Korik coughed and asked again. “Hello, boy! Who are you?” Korik grabbed his spear and patted Lok, not expecting anything unpleasant to occur, but ready if it did. Finally, a sound emitted from behind the boy's mask. “The Okhuwan has come to take me.” His voice was monotone and sounded to Korik as if it were charged by lightning, or the electrical technology of the Gautians. “I can run no further,” he added, moving his head violently. Korik of course knew about the Okhuwan. A powerful land god within the Akri forest, Okhuwan existed to defend the forest from invaders. He had many spirits at his disposal, and they usually manifested as strangely patterned birds, or operated through possessed Sekyii tribespeople. In fact, Okhuwan was the patron diety of the Sekyii. Korik was surprised by the boy's statement, as though Okhuwan was a powerful god, he seemed to be relatively tolerant of the Gautian incursions, so long as they did not fell too many trees or expand too far. A disagreement with the ancient being seemed unnecessary, to say the least. “Why is the Okhuwan coming for you? Are you one of the Sekyii?” Maybe this boy had been inadvertently possessed by one of Okhuwan's spirits, and was now confused. “No.” The boy tilted his head again. “I am Wahri. I lived under the forest with the Okhuwan. But I disobeyed. Now I am becoming someone new. Okhuwan is angry with me. Soon he will bring me back. But I,” a crackle of electricity erupted from his voice, “I don't want to go back. Please, bring me to the castle.” “Castle? There are no castles in Akri. Do you mean the Gautian outposts?” “Yes. We must go quickly shaman, please. You will lead me.” Korik stared hard at the boy, his eyebrows pressed together in an expression of seriousness. “First thing's first. I may be able to cure your current imbalance.” Korik sat back down and held tightly onto his spear. He closed his eyes and spoke in a deep voice, “chakra iyke akri mokta.” He opened his eyes and touched the boy on top of the head. Instantly, the boy's body relaxed and straightened, and he seemed to finally be at harmony with the movement in the rest of the forest. He looked around as if he had not yet seen his surroundings, his head and neck no longer twitching and convulsing. “Thank you, shaman. You are truly a wise man. But I still require your help. I am becoming human and cannot stay longer in this forest.” Though his aura was balanced, the boy still seemed terrified, his fear perceivable even through his electrical voice. “I may lead you to an outpost,” Korik agreed. “But I do not wish to anger Okhuwan. Tell me, why are you becoming human?” “I disobeyed. I can no longer be one of the Okhuwan. I took the body of a human. But I...I...” the masked child seemed lost in some memory. Korik raised an eyebrow. “You what?” The boy did not get the chance to answer. A great sound boomed through the trees, a sound which would be alien to most human ears. Immediately, a great circular face appeared where once there had been dirt and grass upon Korik's hill, underneath his home. It was of a similar style to the Sekyii mask, but it's eyes and mouth were wide and vast in a grin of unbelievable ecstasy. “Oh no, he found me,” wailed Wahri in his monotone voice. The vast mouth opened, and Korik found himself looking into a purple and green miasma populated by bright blue orbs. Even for a shaman it was an unbelievable sight. He stared in wonderment, standing on some invisible surface, before he noticed Wahri being pulled downwards at incredible speed, shrieking as he fell. The mouth closed, the eyes blinked, and the massive face of Okhuwan disappeared into a blip, leaving the shaman and his bear in stunned silence. Korik turned to his bear. “I wonder if we'll ever know why he couldn't leave the child's body? I would have sent him if I'd had the time.” Lok looked back at his master and just growled in approval of the mystery, before both returned to their daily routine. The End
if you got any questions about the story you can ask me.
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