I remember that day very clearly. The cold wind on my face. My feet pounding into the snow on the ground. My shortness of breath and that dim glow. Oh yes…that dim glow changed my life.
Rushing through the woods towards home, I was late for tribal teachings. Shit. Running and swinging through the forest like a wild beast. My fingers firmly tighten around each branch, my muscles stiffening as I swing. I looked down to see a pack of ice wolves below me, they stared at me menacingly as I choked up and missed grabbing the next branch.
Tumbling down a hill, hearing one of my ribs crack. I got up and looked around in a kind of numbing type of pain. I was gritting my teeth, but my eyes were scanning the woods immediately for these ice wolves. I'm used to getting hurt, so I can take care of myself, but ice wolves can smell any type of injury from miles away. They can smell bone breaks, infections, cuts, anything that happens to a body, and they come attacking.
I needed to get back to the village, so I looked up at the sun to gain some direction. The sun is always in the direction of the north, and my village is north of these woods. So by that deduction, I started walking through the icy snow and through the pain I was in. A couple of hours later, I heard howling. The ice wolves were on my trail again. I gathered up some snow, leaves, and weeds. I tie the weeds in a tightly entangled hoop, take the other end, and tie it to the nearest tree.
Taking the thick leaves I have in my hands, I put them over the hoop. Lastly, covering the place I tied the hoop to with snow to conceal it. The first trap was set. I ran a bit down and set another one. That should hold a couple of them off so I can get to the village, it's not far off now. As I finished setting up the trap, a giant white wolf jumped out in front of me, growling. It roared, and then five smaller wolves jumped out of the snowy bushes. My eyes widen, and I start crawling backwards, my skin scraping against the snow and ice. My clothes are torn from the tumble, and I feel like I'm going to throw up my insides.
I crawl back and back up against a rock with a solid bump. I have nowhere else to run as this pack of ice wolves closes in on me as I hold my breath. The big one crouches down and is about to leap at me when all of a sudden…it stops. It snorts at its comrades, and they all run back into the forest. I take a big exhale of relief and hear a humming. It's a slight hum, not too hurtful on the ears. If you weren't pumped up on adrenaline or trained to be cautiously aware of your surroundings, you would not have heard it.
I slowly stand up and walk towards where I think the humming is coming from. I walked around a thick tree close to the rock I was sitting on. I could hear the wolves howling, the birds chirping, animals in the distance, and the wind rustling in the trees. I hold my breath as I get to the place where this humming is the loudest. I caught my breath, scanning the ground. At first, it was just leaves, smooth and undisturbed leaf cover. There was no snow or ice around the area, which was odd. Then a glow. Faint. Purple. I dropped to my knees. It was buried beneath these thin coats of undisturbed leaves, but it pulsed softly like a heartbeat. A purple egg. A big egg, about the size of an entire pumpkin, but giving off this warmth that melted the entire area around it. That explains the snow being melted.
This egg was sparking and sparkling at the same time. It was giving off sparks like thunderclaps of lightning. Sparkling purple so brilliantly and elegantly, something I have never seen before. I didn't think. I just reached out. The second my rough fingertips brushed it, the forest went dead silent. Like it was listening.
As I touched it, the egg sparked and zapped my hand, causing me to pull away. I take my fingerless gloves out of my knapsack and put them on. Alright, let's try this now, I said out loud as I grabbed the egg. It was still giving off sparks, but I could hold it just fine now. As soon as I picked it up, my body felt a surge of what seemed to be and felt like adrenaline. My body felt different, not necessarily stronger…just different. I should go ask the village chief about this; it's odd. I strapped the egg to my back using roots from the ground, this should hold up by the time I get back.
I get running back onto the best path. Two hours later, I arrived at a rocky cliff covered in magnificent shining snow. Making a footprint in it, one after another, I walk towards the edge of that cliff. To look over the beautiful scenery I've been looking at for nineteen years of my life. I closed my eyes and breathed it all in. I do this every time I come to this cliff to realize just how great a place I am in. The frosty air on my hot, burning skin, the brittle snow beneath my boots, the slight hiss of animals in the background.
I opened my eyes to see the mountains in the back, standing still and quiet like the gods themselves. The village, whom's houses you can barely see under the thick cover of snowfall. The smoke was leaking into the pale blue sky, and the smell of meat roasting on the bonfire in the center of town. I looked back at the egg and patted it, Welcome home, you mysterious eggy.
I walk down the cliff to the edge of town. Knowing these paths better than I know my arteries. I walked past some people who gave me a curious look. I'm the treasured child of the village, so no one takes notice that I have a giant egg on my back. Getting to the chief's hut, he's out there on his porch, in his chair, smoking some bushkta root. Bushkta root has medical properties and is harvested from the ground under the snow. I looked up at him; "Eteran, I have something you need to see."
I turned around to show him the glowing, sparking egg. Eteran looked at me with smoldering eyes. He was a kind, gentle soul with a hardening look all of the time, it often deceives people. He slowly puts his pipe down and stands up. Jumping over the porch railing with extreme and unusual athletic ability for an old man, he approaches me. His eyes darted from me to the egg. Back and forth, back and forth several times before chuckling. I opened my mouth to start to explain, but he held his hand out, shaking his head. "Boy, I know where you got that, what that is, and why you found it. Go home, find your parents, keep that egg safe, and then come see me tomorrow morning."
I nodded and walked home. Past the bonfire, past the other villagers, past the parties, past the looks of fake admiration. They hold me on a pillar because of my lineage, not my skills, and I hate it. They only respect me because of my grandfather, whom I had just come from talking to. They don't respect my skills in nature or hunting. I gave them a scolding stare and kept on walking into a hut a little ways down. Opening the door and sidestepping in so the egg didn't hit the doorframe, I kicked my shoes off. "Dad! Mom! Are you home!?" I yelled into the next room while setting down the egg in the corner of the room.
When I set it down, the egg sparked and lit the sofa on fire. I scrambled outside and got some snow to shove on the fire. Luckily, it worked, but now my sofa is covered in snow. I hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and I slowly turn around, smiling nervously. I came face to face with both of my annoyed parents. I had to hold in my laughter because of the faces they were making. Synchronized, one eyebrow raised, and nose scrunched up.
They sighed and walked over to me, hugging me, "Welcome home, our dear boy," they whispered. I slowly sank into their arms like a snow melting on a summer's day. As I was closing my eyes, they pushed me back and both smacked me on the head with a spoon, "Why was there a fire in here! Also why is there a giant ass egg in the corner! Explanation now!" Oh, right, I forgot my parents are as bipolar in mood as I am.
I shrugged and sat down on the floor, explaining my entire adventure through the woods. As well as how grandpa said to talk to him the next morning. My Mother shifted weirdly throughout the entire story. My dad just paced the entire time. My mother looked at me and then the egg, "Raijin, please keep your distance from that egg from now on. We don't know if it's dangerous or not. Baratos, please tell him that's the safest option."
My dad stops pacing and shakes his head, "No, I can already sense that he is connected with it in some way. Let the boy take care of it, at least until tomorrow morning when we speak to your father." My mother gave me a lopsided grin and stood up. Her eyebrows drooped and gave a face of worry. "Let's all get to bed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," she said mildly.
Getting up from the floor, I nodded to my father as they both left the room. I shuffled over to the egg, gave it a little tap; "Goodnight, eggy, hopefully I get to keep you." I shuffled back to my room and fell onto my hardwood bed. Staring up at the wooden ceiling, my vision was zooming in and out. In and out, in and out. It zooms out through the roof and into the stars. It was like I was floating around above the clouds. Is this what a flying creature feels like?
I looked down and saw myself flying down into my own body. As I shut my eyes completely, I heard a spark in the living room. I figured it must be something with the egg. I'll get to it in the morning.
Back in the living room, little did I know. The egg had started to crack and leak electricity. Cracking open, a little noise came out of it.
Eeergh!