Name: Orb
Age: 11(approximately)
Hair: white (normal?) Red (anger) Green (excitement) Yellow (fear)
Brown (nervousness) Grey(confusion) Cream(hunger)
Lime(lying) Orange(discomfort)Black(worry)Pink(happiness)
Purple(?)Gold(arrogance)
All with strands of sliver
Eyes: Blue(left) Gold(Right)
Likes: Drawing, Food, Snow Sculptures, Books, Captivant, Wolfie
Dislikes: Being left alone, Physical contact
Height: 152 cm
As I get up slowly from the bed, I see no one beside me. Capti has probably started his hibernation. So, as I slap my face with my hands and say, “I have no time to waste if I want to see Capti. So I immediately head to the study to start my challenge. After getting there, I take a second to take in all my surroundings and realise how many books Capti has stacked away. He did a lot of hard work, so I need to as well. I go up to the desk in the study. It has a giant box with a note on top of it. The letter reads as follows.
Hey Orb, how have you been? I guess fine, I probably am not, but that doesn’t matter, so I will tell you what to do. First, all the books are in a giant cube shape; starting from the door on the left-hand side of the wall opposite the entrance, read all the books column by column. The first few books are all workbooks for the Heroes and Heavens songs that I haven’t given you, finish those and the ones I have given you, and you will be proficient enough to read everything here.
Also, if you get lonely, you can talk to my wife and keep her company, she likes having conversations, so I leave that all up to you. Work hard but don’t forget to eat and sleep.
PS: I left some clothes for you to change into in my room if you grow out of your current ones.
After I finish reading the note, I immediately went to get Draga and said, “Nice to see you again Draga, we will be spending a lot of time together from now on,” after that, I ran and grabbed my workbooks and then got started, “Let’s get started Draga,” I say with bright green hair.
But right before I open my book, I hear a large grumble. “Sorry, Draga, I guess I am hungry,” I say out of embarrassment, so I run downstairs to prepare food. While eating, I don’t know why but it tastes worse than usual.
8 Months later
Books 15%
“Draga was finally finished,” Orb says as he jumps with joy and closes the final book. I memorised four-fifths of the heavens song characters, so I can read and write in it quickly enough, and I have a near-complete mastery of the heroes song. It was hard finishing all these books for both songs, but I succeeded and can’t wait to show off all my new skills to Capti. Now I can get started with the rest of the books, but first I need to cut my hair.So, while using the mirror in Capti’s room, I cut my hair my skill at doing it is nowhere close to Capti’s, and my hair went from a giant cloud, as Capti described it, too messy. But it was lots of fun.
I also decide to put on the clothes Capti made. I am surprised he could guess what size I would be, but he had raised kids before. Maybe that knowledge helped.
Year 6 End
Year 7
One year later
Books 40%
I have been reading nonstop every day from one morning to the next, I fall asleep and wake up in the study; doing this allows me to read books from the moment I am awake.I only started doing this when I discovered my progress wasn’t enough. Eight months passed, and I wasn’t even a sixth done.
All these books were packed with information, and I needed to understand them perfectly. Some days, I go without sleep or eating entirely, but it doesn’t inhibit me. It’s like I don’t feel tired at all, but then I would randomly pass out for about 8 hours, but then I am entirely refreshed. It’s strange. But to be honest, the food has been tasting worse and worse, so I don’t feel like eating it.
I shouldn’t be able to do this. I know that since some of the books Capti left me are about human biology, my body should have stopped working a while ago, but it hasn’t. I feel sharper than ever. I can taste, smell, and hear better. Due to all this, I have been able to shoot through many more books in the last four months.
But on the topic of the books, I don’t understand what some of these books have to do with his process of immortality. All the ones I read have been informational, but I don’t know why it’s like this. I wanted to check the books I have yet to read, but I am scared I will mess them up in some way and won’t be able to see Capti, so no matter what, I can’t do that.
All I can do is keep reading until I find my answer “Isn’t that right, Draga.” That’s all I can do to see Capti again.
Year 7 End
Year 8
Three months later
Books 55%
The book’s stories started to change after I reached the halfway point. Their now less about information, but back to the usual stories; some are books written by Capti, and some are from other authors. Yet this hasn’t helped me figure out how this will help Capti.
Though because of the books I now know why the food doesn’t taste good anymore; its cause I am eating it alone, food tastes better when it’s been eaten with someone, but no matter how lonely I feel it won’t do any good to complain about it just got to keep reading.
6 Months later
Books 85%
But it seems my body can no longer keep up with my demands. When I want to walk, my legs can’t balance, my eyes, ears, and nose bleeds sometimes, and my hair doesn’t grow anymore. My body hurts a lot. But I am almost done and will be seeing him soon, so I put up with it.
2 Months later
Books 100%
I have finished all the books, and have read them all thoroughly in order. Now that I am finished, a part of me wants to go through them all again, but my utter depleted body wants to fall apart just from the suggestion, and I don’t know whether or not that will affect anything.
So, as I pick up Draga beside me, I go to the large box at the top of it and open it up. I see a letter. It must be more instructions, so as I read the letter the first thing I see is this.
Hey Orb, you’ve done well to off gotten this far. I am sure this took you about three years to get through this. I am proud of you. Well done. But to ensure no confusion, I am dead, deceased, and never coming back. I am Mortal.
Huh, what was it? Capti is not immortal, but he swore on his family life. Doesn’t he love his family? What’s going on? All these thoughts ran through my head chaotically. I couldn’t think or breathe. My chest is tight, and my head hurts. I can keep up with this. It’s too much, is what I think right before I fall unconscious.
-Break-
I get up from the floor, breathing heavily. I just had a terrible dream Capti was dead; I guess my mind can go to stupid places without sleep. “Wait, where is Draga,” but with a quick look around, I find her on the floor a little ways away from me.
“Now, Draga, let's go look at the box Capti left, " so I climb onto the table to see it. “Huh, it’s already open. That’s weird. This all feels like déjà vu, Draga,” so as I look in the box to read the note, the only words I can make out of it are I am dead deceased, I am never coming back, I am Mortal.
Huh, so it wasn’t a dream. It happened. At the very thought of what I had read, all I could do was laugh, “THIS IS HILARIOUS”.
“Hey, Draga, I am feeling quite hungry. Let’s go it”.
So, I prepare food for myself with Draga laughing all the while. But after I finish eating, I only have one thought, “This is garbage,” this is the worse meal I have eaten in my life, no way I have been eating this same food for the past eight years. So, food that’s been good your whole life can suddenly taste like this. I grab Draga, and start heading to my snow museum outside.
“If I think about it logically, what else did I expect from the food because that’s just how life is for an existence as disgusting as me!” I say as I smash a snow sculpture.
“This is just what I deserve. I am an abandoned child who no one wants and who everyone leaves. EVEN THOUGH I TOLD CAPTI ALL I WAS SCARED OF, HE STILL MADE SURE TO MESS WITH ME, TO GIVE ME ALL THAT HAPPINESS, SO HE COULD TAKE IT ALL AWAY! WHERE YOU JUST LAUGHING AT ME ALL THIS TIME? I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU. NO ONE IN THIS WORLD LOVES ME. THEY ALL JUST COME AND GO. WHAT’S THE POINT OF ANYTHING!” I say until I smash all the snow sculptures around me.
Out of anger, I run right into the snow. I don’t care about what direction I am running in or what distance l travel; I just know I don’t want to be here anymore. My body which hasn’t had any vigorous movement in a long time, wants to fall, but I don’t care. All I do is run as fast as I can.
“CAPTI YOU LIAR, YOU LIAR, YOU PROMISED ME ON YOUR FAMILY, WAS ANYTHING YOU SAID EVEN THE TRUTH, WAS THIS ALL SOME FUN JOKE TO YOU, LIAR, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!” I run until I am entirely out of breath, but then I realise I am still holding Draga in my left hand.
Why am I carrying this dead weight anyway? You probably aren’t even a real person, your just another lie he told me. So, I prepare to throw Draga at the ground with all my force. But all the snow around me changes to a different colour, a dark blue, and it looks like the snow is floating around me.
“When the moon shines and hits the top of the hill, it is said to be the most beautiful site in the world”, I remember Capti’s words as I look around this mountain. Pretty it’s beautiful. It’s the most fantastic thing I have ever, I say. He didn't lie to me as I cleared the tears from my eyes.
I rush back to the house as fast as I can, and go to read the rest of the note.
Hey, Orb, you’ve done well to off gotten this far. I am sure this took you about three years to get through this. I am proud of you. Well done. But to ensure there is no confusion, I am dead, deceased; I am never coming back; I am Mortal.
Now you might think I have told you a rather wicked lie. I would say I technically have not. In my opinion, the best way you can learn about someone is by understanding what type of stories they like, and Orb all those books you have read is every book I have written and read, so right now I would say you’re the person who now knows me the best. Everything I am has been put into my books, and passed down to you and my family, so I will be immortal as long as you remember me.
All those books were filled with information that will be helpful to you, from now on. I am sorry, I won’t be able to get you out of here physically, but I have enabled you with the ability to leave and survive.
Also, for all your birthdays, I have missed there are two presents here. First, a unique cloth I made by repurposing the materials of my gear, so you can wear something while, going to the bottom of the mountain. Next, at the bottom of the box under the clothes are letters of introduction, so if you ever get in trouble, seek out these people, and they will help you.
Orb sorry I had to lie to you. I just needed you to have motivation. It’s been so much fun, and I know you will bring light into the life of others. as you have done to me. Be good and keep your promises. I don’t hope to see you but tell me how much fun you had when we met.
Tears are flowing down my eyes. I don’t know what to say in response to what I just read, but I know what I must do now. I put on the clothes Capti left for me; a long garment split at the end to allow me to move my legs. It’s a bit big for me, but it’s still okay.
So, I grab Draga and run to the place I was before, and I burry her right next to a large lump of snow. “Now you get to see it every year, goodbye.”
So, after gathering all the letters in the box and finding a bag to put them in, I go in front of the house and bow, “Thank you for keeping me safe. I enjoy staying with you.”
So, as I try to run into the snow, I see a tremendous amount of snow around me form into a giant wolf the size of the house, it is wolfie.
“Hello Wolfie, it’s been a long time.”
“Stop what you’re doing, go back in the house.”
“I refuse. I want to leave”
“There is nothing out there in the world except never-ending suffering. Go back inside, or I will make.”
“I am sure you could stop me, but I must go.”
“Why?”
“Because my life hear will never amount to much. Capti had happiness in the place he was born. but he didn’t settle for that he wanted to find the place where he truly belongs, and so do I. If I do that I am sure I can die fulfilled. because if I don’t all I will be left with is regrets.”
“All that sounds like is a curse to me.”
“But that’s left to me to decide, so thank you for everything.” Putting his giant paw in front of me he blocks my path. “I am leaving no matter what so unless you want to kill me move.”
So, as I run past wolfie with all my might, all I hear is, “You’re a fool” maybe I am, but I have never felt this free and happy, my body feels lighter, my head is clear. I am so excited I can’t wait.
Character logs
Name: Orb
Age: 14
Bday: Capricorn 28th
Hair: white (normal?) Red (anger) Green (excitement) Yellow (fear)
Brown (nervousness) Grey(confusion) Cream(hunger)
Lime(lying) Orange(discomfort)Black(worry)Pink(happiness)
Purple(?)Gold(arrogance)
All with strands of sliver
Eyes: Blue(left) Gold(Right)
Height: 164 cm
Likes: Drawing, Food, Snow Sculptures, Books, Captivant, Wolfie, Draga
Dislikes: Being left alone, Physical contact
Name: Captivant Nightfall
Age: 84
Birthday: Taurus 23th
Hair: Black (Normally), Grey(due to age)
Eyes: Yellow
Height: 179 cm
Likes: Books, family, Orb, potatoes, alcohol,
Dislikes: milk, berries, people who don’t like his family,
Part 1 End
Interlude: Lion’s beginningsThe eternal spider is my country’s icon. It produces silk that is all but impervious to the elements. It can be hard enough to cut through steel while being light and flexible, so its silk is highly valued and brings great prosperity to the country.Everyone in the country is taught at a young age that it is the job of every citizen to protect those spiders, and those who rake in a multitude of achievements and are proved to be trustworthy, are given spiders to keep as their own.The giant spiders constantly crawl around our country to make webs and lay eggs, the webs they spin around the country are said to be one of the five most beautiful sites in the world. Whenever I see them, joy fills my heart.“Lionheart, stop staring at the webs and come over here.”“Ok, brother”-Break-I love my older brother; he has taken care of me and has always stayed by my side since I was a child. He is the only one who has done that since our parents were taken away.I st
Part 2: Reunion of monsters“When am I going to see something other than snow?” This is getting irritating. “HOW MUCH LONGER!”. I have been walking for to long; I had a lot of energy at the start while running down the mountain, but as time passed, most of my energy and excitement went with it. The way Capti framed it, I thought I would only have to walk a little, but nooo, it’s just walking.I could get to the top of the mountain to leave Draga quickly enough, so it seems my little house was closer to the top of the hill. I guess Capti made it further to his destination than he thought. I don’t feel like losing to him, so I start running.“Just watch Capti. I am going to have lots of fun,” but as I am running, I bump into something, which causes me to trip and fall face first into the snow. “Ouch, what was that,” as I turn around to look, I see an adult man with scars all over his body.After I get up, I take a second to ready myself. This is the first person I have met, and I have al
“When we get to the village, I will need you to follow me very closely, you hear me.”“Yes mam, but may I ask why.”“I still don’t fully trust you, so don’t ask questions. Just know that if anyone sees you, you’re dead, that’s all.”You can’t end a sentence like that, all it’s going to do is make me panic. Still, she has got me this far, so let me put some trust in her.So, when we arrive at the village, we sneak around as stealthy as possible, but whenever a crowd of people walk by, she asks us to hide, but I notice she is also hiding.“Why are you hiding with us as well? Aren’t you a member of this village?”“I am, but you see, I went outside against the rules, so if anyone spots me, it will be annoying and waste a of time as they scold me.”So she was already a rule breaker, to begin with. I guess we got lucky with who came upon us.I noticed that everyone’s clothes look quite primitive in that they are made from natural materials, not anything processed.So as the little girl cont
Hey Cole, do you know any songs other than the heroes.”“Yes, I do, but why do you ask Orb,” Cole says in the saviour’s song.“It’s just that I don’t want the guards listening in on our conversation, because I don’t know what information we say, will set the people here off,” I reply in the saviour’s song.“I see, but it could also raise their suspicion if they can’t understand us. There is nothing scarier than the unknown.”“I get your point, but with how they treat us, I doubt they could get any more suspicious of us.”“That is true.”“So now, since we can talk without worry Cole tell me about yourself.”“It is rude to ask for information before presenting your own first.”He is starting to annoy me with this whole moral’s thing, but if this is what it takes to make friends, so be it “Ok, then ask me anything.”“Well, first, why did your hair just turn red a second ago.”“My hair changes colours according to my emotions.”“So, what does red mean.”“It means I am Relaxed.”“Why did y
Φ Arising from my bed, I feel an intense presence right next two me, so out of complete instinct, I go to attack it, but as he is about to make contact, I see the presence is Orb.“Orb, what are you doing here,” I say, shocked“You told me, we start my training today, so I wanted it to begin the moment you awoke.”There is raw determination in those eyes. He must be excited to become one of us. So full of drive. I say, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Orb. Let’s us go and begin your Training.”Φ Since yesterday I haven’t been able to get the taste out of my mind. How did I go my entire life without this? The fact that people eat this every day has filled me with nothing but jealousy, but now I will be able to learn how to hunt animals whenever I need to.-Break-As Sequoia and I walk to the hunting grounds, I look around the town and take note of a few things first; everyone gets up early in this village. Even sitting beside the chief’s bed, I heard people working away outside. I also hear
Today has been unnecessarily difficult: Physical exercise, all the learning, and even almost dying. It was just too much for me today, but at least when I went to dinner, I saw Buloke with both his cheeks swollen, but still he got off too easy for almost killing me. I still can’t punish him for hurting me, but at least I can reward Willow. I should see what I can do for him, but that is tomorrow’s Orbs problem. Right now, I am going to sleep.So, as I am about to get into bed, something drops down from the roof and lands on my back. As I am about to say something, a hand appears over my mouth, and I hear, “Quite down, or I will snap your neck.”Following my instructions, I quieted down, but the voice I heard was oh so familiar to me. I heard it every time I approached Sequoia house, It was Maples.Soon after this, Maple gets off me, and I quietly ask her, “How did you get down from up there.”“They needed to take me down so I could do some things.”“I see you needed to relieve yoursel
Φ As I feel the warm comfort of a bed, I realise what happened. I don’t want to get up because if I do, I have to face the fact that I failed again, even after everything I said to Orb. How many failures does this even make? Mother and father, I am sorry for letting all you’ve done for me go to waste. I genuinely am pathetic.As my despairing thoughts continue, tears fall from my eyes, and soon after that, I hear, “Doctor, he’s crying.”That Voice was Orbs, so I quickly opened my eyes to look around the room, and saw the doctor coming toward me with Orb not far behind.After the doctor gives me one last look, he says I should rest for a few days. Then it’s just me and Orb left in the room as the doctor went to handle other business. Orb has a worried look and says, “Willow, I.”“Sorry Orb, this is sort of embarrassing after everything I said to you earlier,” I say quickly, stopping Orb’s Sentence. “I guess this was a bad day. I still have next time; I won’t give up.”“Willow.”“Don’t
-Break-Φ I have been in this cell for almost six months. The only contact with people I have had is the guards who bring me my food, and the doctor who comes to treat and check on the progress of my frostbite. Still, I do not know why I am still here. If I were an issue, I would be executed if I weren’t, I would be let go, but I was much more likely to be completed.My reasons being, that these people were highly hostile towards outsiders when we first came, they immediately tried to dispose of Orb and me, and if you add in that most of them look at me as if I am some monster, as well as their primitive clothing I can only guess they are an isolationist village that doesn’t let people come in.But how long have they been like this, people have been adventuring the bottom half of Fimbulwinter for centuries, and there have never been any reports of civilisation here, and from the brief look I had around the village, they seem well adapted? They must have been living here for quite some