NOVEL WEB Chapter 016: The Tales
I watch the three Beastkin retrieve their packs in silence. There are so many questions I want to ask them! I fidget, nervously. I have to be patient – it won’t hurt to ask them a few questions while we are traveling, right? At least I think so; there is one very particular issue that constantly weighs on my mind as I watch them – and I’m not sure if I will be able to hold back until we reach our destination. Anyway, it doesn’t take long for them to get ready and we are soon ready to enter the caves. I am about to go deeper, but I’m stopped by Olka.
“Are we going in blind? I know we can follow our noses, but there is no need to hide our presence – you killed the Tyrant, right?”
“Oh!” I notice my blunder. “Erm… you cannot see in the dark?”
“I can – the others can’t…!” she stops abruptly and frowns. “Are you suggesting it is something you are capable of?” I nod to her question. “How!? You are a Wolfkin, right? That should be impossible!”
“I-I don’t know, I learned about it recently; does that mean it isn’t something ordinary for most Beastkin?” I ask, feeling my blood leave my face, my fears flaring up.
“It’s not usual, no” says Nugund.
“What’s wrong? You seem anxious” Pola walks up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. “Something clearly bothers you – and have been for some time already. Did we do something wrong?” She asks, sounding genuinely concerned and apologetic, while comforting me with her touch; I look down to meet her eyes, filled with worry and willingness to help. I see her vulpine features and the fur covering her whole body and I cannot stop my worries and fears.
“Do I… Am I…” I’m so nervous my throat is parched; I swallow my saliva to finally respond to her with my own question. “Do I look… weird?”
Her brows raise and she opens her mouth, surprised. She holds me tighter and clearly wants to say something, but pauses; she tries again, but she’s too slow.
“You’re unusual, would be a better term” says the Volkhlun and receives a stink-eye from the Lisitha, accompanied by an annoyed tongue click; I also notice with the corner of my eye that Olka also looks at him incredulously. He, however, does not even look our way. “You have a body and a head of a Smoothkin, yet your limbs are more akin to that of a Softkin; it is rare, especially among Kin, to mix characteristics from both parents in such a way” he shakes his head. “Not that it is unheard of. That’s how new species – like Elves – are born” the mention of the Elves picks my attention and rises my mood a little – as well as brings even more questions. “And you may very well be the first of your Species. No, the only thing that is weird about you is your lack of Aura control considering how powerful it is” he sighs and looks me straight in the eye. “I understand you have many questions – about the Kin, about the world, about us – and we are willing to answer them; but we can do that on the way, before we talk about more recent events.”
I can feel he means it – and the other two join his declaration right after. I feel better now, my curiosity drowning out all other emotions, especially since I now know that I am not too unusual. And it isn’t like I didn’t feel accepted by them before – the opposite is true. I nod and we move into the caves; this time, I know about the light – I don’t have any cavy crystals, so I manifest some of my flame; I feel proud over control I now have, regardless what Nugund says. With our way illuminated, we can start our journey.
I use the trip mostly to get to know more about Beastkin. The trio stays true to their word and they answer my questions – even the most basic ones – with enthusiasm. They start with explanation about some elementary biology. I learn that the Kin who are usually covered in fur head to toes and have more animalistic features are called Softkins – from the soft, furry coat they have – while the ones who tend to be more like Humans with animal ears and tails are referred to as Smoothkin – due to the glaborous skin they have. The former also tend to be physically strong, but less dexterous with their hands; the latter being complete opposites, with weaker bodies but nimbler fingers. The third type are Taurkin, who have Human-like upper body connected to animal-like lower one. They aren’t as strong as Softkin, nor as dexterous as Smoothkin, their strong point being mobility.
Different Kintypes tend to use magic – or Aura, as it is called by Nugund – differently, too. The Softkins are generally more straightforward, primarily using it to greatly reinforce their physique, especially strength and regeneration. The Smoothkins are usually more subtle and versatile, often focused on some special ability they have. Taurkin, on the other hand, are considered the best at enchanting inanimate objects. That being said – those are averages and individuals of any type can train, and – with enough dedication – eventually excel in any field.
At the end of the day, what is more important to Beastkin is what beast they take after – despite different types being, in fact, different species; so, I am, technically a Wolfkin – or Volkhrod. Not a Volkhla, though; that name is reserved for Softkin, while Smoothkin are called Volkhsi – and I am no Volkhsa either. It makes sense, since I am technically another species – a Hellhound. Interestingly, it is encouraged to procreate outside one’s own type – or at least species – and kids almost always inherit mother’s species; I guess I won’t be the last Hellhound if I give birth to daughters, then.
Surprisingly, close connection among different Kin species has a mythical explanation: Beastkin are all believed to be related, being thought of as children of Goddess Alarana. That brings up the topic of religion – a subject, turns out, Pola is quite eager to talk about – to a chagrin of Olka and me. I had to stop the Lisitha from overexplainig everything, as there are subjects more interesting to me; luckily, she had no problem with that. In this short period of time, however, I maneged to learn that the Beastkin religion is polytheistic, with a few types of deities. One of the most important is aforementioned Alarana – the Goddess of Nature, Love, Fertility, Hunt, etc., but most importantly – the Mother of All Beastkin. Most interestingly for me, she is depicted as having both female and male organs – and, to my relief and surprise, that trait is called the mark of Alarana and is seen as a blessing; I also learn that Olka has it too, and it is what I could smell initially.
That leads to the importance of smell in Beastkin culture. From what I was told – and from my own observations – it plays quite a big role in society. Primarily, it allows Kin to not only easily recognize others during social interactions, but to discern their feelings clearly as well. That apparently makes people more open and honest, as it is way more difficult to hide many feelings – including arousal. That explains a lot about Pola’s straightforwardness and her casual attitude towards sex. If everyone can smell it – why be prudish about it, after all? It seems that Olka is quite uncomfortable around sex, however; according to the older woman of the group it is due to her age and should pass after her First Heat. Final piece of information I get is that close relatives have similar body odor – and it apparently prevents incest and inbreeding, as similarity is physically not alluring for vast, vast majority of Beastkin.
That was all I managed to hear about; I wish I asked about other species – such as aforementioned Elves – earlier, but there wasn’t really a moment for that, sadly, as we have just reached our destination.
“That… That’s really the Tyrant” says Olka, shocked by the size of the bear. “How were we supposed to sneak by it?”
“Stories told it to be lazy” explains Pola. “We were well prepared and those caves are massive; we would be actually very unlucky – alas, Nadola’s with us!” She smiles at me. “That must have been a great hunt! A very difficult one, too… I cannot wait to hear all about it… in details” as she continues, her voice becomes more and more husky, her smile turns lecherous, her eyes turn dreamy and she even licks her lips seductively; her arousal is palpable.
“We all want to hear such an epic tale” Nugund interrupts from the side. “But we also need to sit down and eat. Kora of the Wilds!” He exclaims, straightening his back and putting his right hand on his heart, addressing me with respect and certain gravitas in his voice. “Will you share your fire and your bounty with us?”
“Y-yes! Help yourself to it! Umm… Should I kindle the wood?” Volkhlun chuckles hearing my answer.
“That’s a traditional hunters’ wilderness greeting” he explains. “I’m a bit surprised you haven’t heard it, considering you being a huntress and how well you speak our language.”
I blush, a little embarrassed and that makes everyone chuckle; Olka tells me not to worry, Pola calls me cute and Nugund says I’ll learn and proceeds to prepare the food. He urges us to sit down and tells me to start my tale – and I hesitate a bit. Should I start with my past life? Or with my rebirth?
In the end, I decide to start with a retelling of past few days since I arrived in the Valley. While the beginning is slow, their eagerness is contagious; I become more and more energized as I continue to spin the epic tale of my adventures so far. My encounter with Boromir and the quest I was given, makes my audience start with a laughter at my naming sense (“Remind me to help you choose a name when you have kids!”) and ends with them looking at Nyx and me in awe and with excitement – well, bigger excitement. But the pivotal point is my fight with the Tyrant – and I end up getting sucked in the epic atmosphere, downplaying the fear and hopelessness I felt during the fight a bit. When I finish, the Lisitha looks and smells enamoured, the Volkhlun looks ponderous and the Risitha looks a bit conflicted; she is the one to ask the question I somewhat feared.
“Okay, but… how did you get into the Valley to begin with?”
I take a deep breath – I promised myself to tell the truth – and admit: “I… I remember my past life.”
“And?” The Beastkin man asks. “My own mother would tell stories of her past life in the jungles of Kutembe and that’s how I got my name” I was surprised to learn all of that; maybe reincarnation with intact memories of previous existence is way more common than what GOD told me? Though I honesty didn’t expect the name ‘Nugund’ would be of foreign origin. “That may explain how you know our tongue, yet it still doesn’t explain how you ended up here.”
I nod and collect my thought, anticipation thick in the air. I’m – once again – not sure where to begin. This time, I start with my life on Earth, explaining my suffering and loneliness caused by my illness, as well as my regrets; it’s a painful process for me. So painful I end up crying – but my audience is fantastic; Pola even ends up hugging me at some point, which helps me carry on talking. Others also react with compassion – I can feel some kinship between me and Olka, while Nugund just smiles, sadly and with understanding.
Finally, I reach the culmination of my story – my death and the meeting with my maker. I describe waking up in a strange lab and talk about the tests I was subjected to… even the sex testing stuff, albeit briefly. Firstly, because I’m simply embarrassed to talk about those things with people who I met just a few hours earlier, even if they are extremely sexually open; secondly – just thinking about the time I lost control over my body makes me feel an intense, raging HATRED. Still, I need to convey the emotions I felt back then. But it is when I start talking about my creator – especially calling them GOD – that causes some unexpected and intense reactions.
“I knew it!” Shouts the Foxwoman, elated. “You are not just the Champion of Gods – you are a Demigoddess!” She looks at me with eyes filled with fervour and desire. “There is no coincidence – we were meant to meet you!” She seems elated, but her remarks start making me uncomfortable; it all screams of some prophecy kind bullshit…
“That might be right” even the Wolfman agrees, fuck! I start regretting calling Alchemist ‘GOD’; it seems it came to bite me in the back in a very unexpected way. Meanwhile, Nugund addresses me. “It indeed looks like you were sent by Alarana; you also did what we were supposed to do – and even more!” His eyes are filled with relief, hope and… pain?! What the fuck is going on?!
I am flabbergasted and unable to say anything – despite questions in my head. I think they take me for someone I am not, and are putting too much hope for me and my future actions; it doesn’t mean I won’t help them – I want to – but their assumptions are making me pretty uncomfortable. They see me as some chosen one savior after all, regardless of what I feel about it. And how did they even connected Alchemist with Alerana… Alarena… whatever their Goddess is called?! I try to think of a comeback, but before I can come up with anything, an angry voice interrupts.
“Arrrgh, just stop it!”
