In the beginning

Orame is my home, it is thousands of years old, our people and the majority of the animals here have called this place home for most of those years.

I am Elwe, I am 543 however we do not count time in the same structure, I do not have an age, I know who is older than myself and who is not, the eldest in the clan is Renhiliel. Renhiliel frequently tell the young ones of our clan about the days of her youth, they do not differ from my youth too greatly, the forest was slightly smaller, the animals were timid in comparison to days, the days seemed longer, the lessons were less intellectual. These things have changed, for the majority for the better. Listening to her and her stories will make the disobedient child rectify their behaviour and the good feel better about everything.

Right now I am meant to be teaching a little one, Tidurwë however has a bad habit of becoming distracted by the most inconsequental occurences, leaving me here to debate how my lesson of punctuallity should be passed on. Renhiliel was one of my elders, though my punctuallity lesson my under different circumstances than Tidurwe's.

I had had the unpresedented misfortune of a family death. As you are surely already aware of as Elves of the forest we grow to an old age, death of our kind is expected at such an unblossomed aged. I was mearly 37 human years old when my sister who was 71 human years old was taken from our land by a flying lead projectile which punctured a hole into her head. This lead projectile stole her life instantly, and this was the only thing which calmed me, though my usual immaculate behaviour was temporarily disrupted, I could be found weeping by the lake Gawain or absently whittling.

Tidurwe can not be provided the same lesson as I due to the fact he is mearly easily distracted by the beuaty and and marvels of our land and animals. Another elder of our clan taught Tidurwe how to commit a view of the naked eye to forever tell its story on bark, we call this vewsing, since then he finds distractions in everything, perfecting his vewsing.

I am proud that a student of mine is capable of creating a Vews far better than most of his elders however this one skill will not get him very far nor will it allow his mind to accept new concepts or teachings.

Whilst waiting for Tidurwe I have started my own vewsing, Currently my location is in a slight clearing in our City, a park to humans, when the two suns start to merge, unfrequently do they cross each others path, and even more unfrequently it is believe the suns will cross each other's path during the hours we can view them, again we do not observe the sky continuously and are likely to miss there converging or have the ability to vews it happening.

Vewsing is what we call the process of projecting the desired scene onto bark for all to see, we do this by studying the view, commiting it to memory, and channeling energy through us, passed our intellegence centre (brain), through our fingers and onto the bark. The clearer the vews, the more detail and the longer it stays on the bark the better the vews.

Never having been the speediest vews the suns are separated before my vews is finished and Tidurwe is approaching at a run, just shy of running into my vews sitting on the desk he skids to stop exclaiming "Wow Elwe please tell me i did not just miss that?"
"Tidurwe your manors nessa o"
"I am sorry" he dips his head "please forgive me, your vews is amazing and I am shamed to have missed such a view, I wish your vews has lasted well and that I did not waste my time elsewhere on an unremarkable vews when this could have been caught"

I did not expect that simple act of boredom would resolve me issue with Tidurwe's tardiness.

My world....My plane of being if you will. Is cold, mercyless, no life, only death.
Full of grey, black, white muted colours. Swirling, endless mists of time.
Here, I know all. See all. You cannot hide from me.
Your thoughts, desires, nightmares, hate, love.....Your fate is mine to decided.
One massive black bowl like marble table veined with silver, the water, a swirling mass of mercury like water, with one thought i see your world, all worlds. Running my fingers through this liquid, reflecting.
Time means nothing to me, my birth a forgotten memory, my parents erased. My only companions, sleeping the endless sleep, a hibernation in your words.
Untill I need them.
So old, so tired of this endless lifeless plane, repetitive work, collecting those who have departed from there physical bodies, sending the souls to there own personal, final rest.
In short, when you die, i'm the last person you will see.
Yet in times of dire times of need, you call, summon, plead, beg, i have no choice but to answer.
But, to help. Or to bring you over to my world.....
I decided.

Since my lesson with Tidurwe things have started to get a little busier, Nisannu is in 30 days, this is our festival of light, one of our biggest in the year. It happens on the first day of the year, this is when winter turns to spring. We celebrate with dance, song and a feast, crafts and paintings are frequently in short supply due to the winter months and so we do not have a this as a main event, though if there is some ready for show it will be shown. The main part of this event is the spreading of the seeds which arecollect through out the yearbefore and on this day we spread, plant and celebrate them.

Our biggest festival is the festival Orka. Orka is our core, it is everything, it is what we live off of, we are encased, entirely encapulated and ruled by it, Orka is what some people call mother nature or energy, we all have a bit of it in us, we are surounded by it and it flows all around us. We celebrate this every year on the longest day of the year, well actually the festival and its proceedings tend to go on for several days but the main event, the main party and the part that everyone and everything gets involved in is the longest day.

We do not have many festivals throughout the year, other creatures celebrate differnt aspects of life, some of our number who have been looking to let there hair down (not that we really wear it up except in battle or formal dress), have joined in with these festivals of the night, festivals of the harvest, celebrations of individuals from their kind and so forth. We do not discourage or object to their participation, Keeping the calm and maintaining good relations between races is a fantastic way of living together in harmony.

This nisannu I will not be doing much, I have taken part in the dancing but this year we have had a young one come of age and she now does my role. A place is often only taken if there is a death however because of how well this one danced I decided that I would resign my post and they got a place.

Nisannu starts at sun rise and will continue until sun set, each of our number will start the day by spreading seeds and singing through out our land, our people wear a lot of green and yeallow clothes and we put dried flowers in our hair. At lunch we dine on a fine array of meats and winter plants, the afternoon is taken up with dancing and story telling of the nature and life around us before the evening feast of more meat and winter vegetables.

Due to the reduced hours the sun shines on our land we soon retire for the night, we do not frequently retire to our beds this early however we find we are so tired from the singing of songs which melt any snows left, which awaken the lands, plant and germinate the seeds, the dancing after our brief but enjoyable lunch finishes us off for the day.

It is very much like christmas is for you, the sooner we go to sleep the sooner we can awaken to find the land happy and glowing, the buds of flowers eminating with energy as they grow, reaching for the fresh air, searching for the light which will show off their beauty.

At the moment spirts are lifting, the anticipation for the feeling of sincere joy which we all feel ever strongly after the festival is building to a low humm, over the next 30 days it will become a buzz that competes with the bees.

My home was lost in the great war many a year ago, the darkest times still unheard, still untold. THEY now now hold MY ground, my people's ground which was taken with bloodied hands.......Our blood. Eryll was peaceful in my eyes. With the cool summers dusk breeze blowing through the holy Madancana tree, they came. Any who resisted were butchered, any who fled or surrendered were murdered. The village elders took action but their knowledge and powers of the arcane were no match. All except from small handfuls of us, mainly adolescents lead by Davignon, son of Elder Ravnil. I was one of them. Seeing the fires burn higher into the night with every scream and yell with every stride getting darker and quieter into the night unseen and unheard. Unknown. Possibly a large a number as one hundred made it out, but maybe only half that made it out alive. Our group was five strong, all still possessing possible lethal force. We were all students of Elder Kivo, who taught us the way of the Kiri. The Kiri is a small blade, about six inches long, which is used to take down enemies silently, effortlessly. We were also dressed in light training armour, dents, scratches and blood of previous students covered them. It served it's purpose. We waited for days hoping that news would have spread to other clans, other races but no-one came. By the third night the trees were dark and silent, deadly silent. Davignon decided it was safe to leave our new ground of temporary safety to look for survivors or supplies. Tyri, Jori and I protested deeply but our efforts were in vain. A blue bolt shot through the group striking me in the center of my chest. The heat and pain surging from my chest was excruciating. Davignon's hand lowered, fading as he did so from an aurora of blue back to the natural grey of his skin. Davignon was too an apprentice of the arcane. I could hear Tyri, Jori and even Myra protesting at Davignon's decision to assault a friend, especially as an apprentice. I could feel the gloom of unconciousness consuming me.

I awoke hours later gasping for air which still had the lingering taste of death. The sun shone through the makeshift net like door. My friends had taken me back to the shelter of a fallen yaki tree, which was littered with fruit. Davignon was no-where to be seen or heard. He had been marked with a rough cut stamp of exile sliced into his right cheek. We had seen this mark a few times before from the public exile of traitors of the clan.

That day we were still four strong, today I am alone filled with fury, hatred and sorrow, though the years have been kind to me. My story is for another time though. I have honed my skills to which would now contest even Elder Kivo. All these years of searching for revenge, searching for him, for his soul to join those already of my blade.

He is closer than ever. I WILL have my revenge!

Worlds celebrate, fireworks, drink, all is merry.
Another year gone by.
Laying sideways on the table, watching all this merrymaking. Watching the mass displays of fireworks with a slight feeling of.....Pleasure? Was the exploding, flashing display of colour a pleasure to behold?
How...Confusing, emotion is not a common occurance here, on other planets in visitation maybe.
One delicate, slim pale finger reaches out, the blood red tip of one nail trails across the surface, disturbing the still water.
Full, dark red lips twist into a form of a cruel smile. Perhaps it was time to do some exploring, a vacation.
Looking around the baronless wasteland, a twitch of a finger dispersess the thick fog. Giving way to the endless grey sands of time.
A pop, and another soul appears, the dazed confused look upon its face, then hope as it fixes its eyes upon me.
"Where am i? Who are you? Am i dead? Wheres my family?...."
"Silence"
"You what? Where am i? Who are you? Am i dead? Answer me!!"
"That door, go through it" I point to the door as it fades into view " They wait for you in there"
"Who waits-"
"Just go. Now"

This is what happens when you talked to them.
Like a record on repeat. Every day, every night.

A sigh, a whisper of silk, a murmer of satisfaction.
A pale hand reaches out to clasp the heavy silver goblet of wine, takes one sip and holds the rim to the other.
Another sip, we both watch as a drop of the ruby liquid slithers down the goblet, over the entwined dragons carved there.
A finger tip catches the escaping fluid, holds it to ruby lips, a small pink tongue flicks out to capture an savour the deep fruity drink.
A hand entwines itself in thick, silky black hair "How long will you be gone this time?"
"Not long, just to make sure you dont get comfortable in my chair"
A deep chuckle is the answer as one leaves the bed, leaving the silk cover behind. Amythest eyes watch as the other starts to get dressed, holding a stocking in one hand and underwear in the other, looking for the missing conterparts.
Brown eyes so dark they could be mistaken for black meet the amythest pair.
"Come back, your adventure surely can wait a while longer?" A hand softly pats the space that had been recently occupied. "I've only just been awaken, I need warming up..." The voice deepens with lust. "Afterall, you do have eternity....."

Sometimes, not often, a tinge of longing is left after leaving that unsantiable creature in my bed. Afterall, im on vacation, and the place does need someone to run it.
A deep breath, fingers shifting through the threads of time, feeling the world slip away, colours, sparks, flashes....warmth.
Pupils shrink at the glare of the sun, exhale the tastless air, inhale the fresh new scents of the forest.
Brain loggs, catagorises the sights, sounds, smells and taste of this new world.
Toes digg into the soft warm soil, feeling the life of this planet.
Time to see who or what inhabits this world.

The weather has been slowly improving, the snow has thawed and the dark brown of the tree bark, the fallen dead leaves from last autumn and the mud are clear, there effect on my people is apparent. During this time prior to the Nisannu my people are seen in the drab and inextricably dull colours of browns and blacks, I find my heart increasingly hopeful, the anticipation for the joyous days of spring when bright colours are worn, when nature follows my people examples and the world is a buzz with energy keeps me going. Many find these weeks difficult to even take leave of there bed chambers let alone venture any distance into the world to take in its well hidden beauty, see the animals or take up life's lessons, the simple things you will see by emerging daily from slumber.

The day prior to Nisannu I was walking through the gardens which were sleeping, this feeling of imense energy was vibrating around me, through everything. We had had a few quivers before where the earth split and it scared every one, the last time we had a quiver and the earth split the nastiest beast appeared, I am sorry I under-play the situation it was a whole population of these beast, tiny beasts, barely visable to the naked eye, if they had not emerged clustered so tightly together no one would have see them.

They tried to conquire our world, they teamed up and flooded out animals immune systems, killing many of them, after the animal's death they left nothing, they consumed the whole thing, appearing to waste nothing, it was very disconcerting, the vision of this animal disappearing as if it never was beneith this swarm made our skin crawl with the bumps and chills.

Their reasons for consuming all of the rabbits was never made clear, the only thing that was made clear was they had out right refused them. We discovered this after our long discussions about their reasons in this land and our distaste for them destroying what we know and love. The Erorobos had little understanding of our tongue and their native tongue was beyond any inderstanding we had or could gain. The only way we could communicate never mind whether it was to the level of literacy we pride ourselves on was via the projection of emotion onto the consious of each of them, the power of thought. We projected pictures and frequently sequences of pictures to try and portray our intentions. Through this method we discovered that they were mearly trying to survive whilst exploring the alternative universe which was ours.

An agreement was reached that if they wished to stay they could not demolish everything and had to slot into the world, live amongst us, maintaining the balance we call, life. The Eroboros stayed for one full cycle of our world and then left, every last one, the same way as they came, the earth quivered and with a groan similar to a hungry middle the split in our earth healed itself.

Literature was produced with the knowledge they passed on, details of worlds I was certain would tempt a number of my kind to explore as they had, however, none of my kind found any interest in exploring these other worlds, none of them wanted to risk harming another's world whether it was unknowing as the Eroboros's had been or otherwise.

My kind seemed happy enough to let them be gone and reduced to a mere memory in our history.

This energy growth was nothing like then, it seemed that the world was alive, it felt like the flowers were going to grow early, however after a few moments a pop sounded and the energy died back down, I can not be sure but it almost felt like it had sunk lower then it had been prior.

I realised the lack of energy was just what I felt, I had suspected my people to rise from their chambers, they would rush out in dread as if these Eroboros or worse had come. It seemed nothing was noticed, everything was exactly as it had been before the energy boost.

Well nearly all was.

I did not discover what the source of the energy boost was until the next day, everyone was out in their brightly coloured outfits, singing the songs for the plants to grow, for the animals to emerge from hibernation, spreading the seads.

My conscience had not sat correctly since the energy boost, I found it difficult to settle into the festival of Nisannu, whilst I was spreading the seads, singing, I came across what I could only explain as the core of the energy boost from the day before.

I dont know what happened, I was talking to Issulda About this ability she seemed to have developed, sounded really interesting, though dangerious. I felt fear, fear she was telling the truth, fear for her safety, fear for the damage she could cause to ours or other worlds, whens and wheres.

My understanding of her power was to transport herself from this where and when to another. I have been out cast from my people because I had an ability they could not understand. Most of our people have an ability, these abilitys range from being able to heal ourselfs of any disease to being able to propel themselves through the air with out touching the ground.

As a young one it was not apparent what my ability was, by complete accident the entire land discovered I changed my appearance for an ability.

Well Issulda had only just come of age and was learning her ability, it seems that as she was getting excited and telling me how she had travelled to the past seen herself spawned and her father who she could not remember due to his murder the day after her spawning.

She claped her hands and jumped on the spot as a release of the glee she felt.

The air started to buzz just as she had described, then every thing went white, and as if in a really hot day started to wave, this did not last long, it started to clear and I found myself in a beautiful forrest, it was still brown and bare from the cold season, but it felt alive, it felt happy.

I hope the power surge I felt in comming here, the power was felt here, I dred to think what sort of reception should be expected. My best hope would be this worlds inhabitants were driven by power / energy, that my appearance would have been a good thing.

I have been following the river Ulthwe-san for days, keeping to the forest skirting. Always. The shadow is my good friend. I have come across many peoples on my travels, simple towns-folk, not able to bear sword or bow. They are of no interest to me, only my blade and bow keep me company in these harsh winters. My cloak is aged heavily with the seams ready to give but staying strong enough to see the reaped promise of vengeance. Before next snow his blood will run.

I come up to a bend in the river, slowing from a softened jog to a crouched halt. I could hear leaves rustling and twigs snapping in deep brush. I slowly feel for my bow, it's soft smooth grip yearning to be held, pulling it slowly from my shoulder plucking an arrow from my pouch with my other hand and brought them forward, silently drawing the bow. I moved closer minding each patch of possible alarming noise littering the floor. I could see the owner of the noise. Two giant horns rose long and thin from the top of it's head, each over four foot in length. It was only a stray yhaka. I looked the animal over for any harnesses as the humans used them to pull ploughs in the fields. There were none, it was probably wild. I relaxed my bow, taking a step back. 'SNAP'. The beast snapped it's huge head instantly to the direction of the noise. I looked down to see the remains of a brittle twig under my foot. The yhaka stood up, lowered it's head, snorting and scraping it's giant hoof against the ground. The beast was about six foot to the shoulder, not a force to be taken lightly. Fighting was probably not an option but then again probably nor was running. The beast sniffed at the air. Then it stopped, it's eyes shot open. It had spotted me. It was going to charge!

The next 24 hours were not as I had initially feared. Nothing rushed forward and attacked me, nothing came forward to interrogate me, there was no testing, I wondered around and through my surrounds in peace. This world is very cold, the ice has all gone but the temperatures are not very high above zero My body of a warm is very well adapted at keeping warm whilst sliding through the leaves. My current form represents a worm, a Brightly coloured worm, I have a red hard and a brown scaly body. The sun is bright shining through the trees, the shadow of the branches providing a pretty pattern across the ground, I try to stick to the shadows, more food is found here. My apatite changes with my form, seemingly to the food the species whose form I have taken would eat, in all but my mind I am the creature I take the shape of.

As the day draws on I find people, elves, wandering around doing their daily tasks. Do I change shape and try to become one of them? Will they except me if I look like one of them?

Before I have any time to think about this someone sees me, they stopped, she stopped, her eyes meet mine, I can not tell what she is thinking, she is not scared, well I don’t think she is, if that look was on one of my peoples faces I would have thought curious.

Instint takes over and I change, I become someone, I have a human body, 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 toes, 10 fingers, 2 eyes, etc, I stand tall, 6 foot tall, taller than her, my body is muscular male.

I could barely believe my eyes, a thing was sitting in the grass, the brightest coloured head a brown creature could have, the body was long and thin, very similar to a snake, but the body looked softer, still scaled just better adapted at getting into smaller places. I have never seen a creature like this, though it was still alive it was not moving, it did not move but it changed.

I was stood looking at this creature, quite fascinated by it, trying to remember what it looked like so as the next time I am out and about or one of my people is on a discovery day I can describe what to look for, track. It changed, one moment I was taking in the wonder of this creature and the next I was looking at these feet, a pair of feet, as I looked up the body the male figure as looking down at himself in wonder, checking each bit of himself, as if he had not seen this form before, or infact as if he is pleased.

This has completely changed how today was going to go ahead, I no longer can continue on my course of celebrating Nissanu due to this possible risk. I am aware I have been stood looking at this being who is completely naked, everything is on display, but I can not contain my surprise.

Finally finding my senses I try to feel his energy, from this I should be able to at least determine if he is of threat. Whilst doing so I extend a greeting which is standard between my people to those we do not know “Worthy days, I am Elwe.” I bow my head, ensuring to not loose eye contact with him.

There have been tales of shape changers, in all the tales I have heard there is nothing that specifies toward there temperament, it is as individual as the being that is changing. There is also no specific details on its changing abilities, I feel like a bird who can not fly with out my knowledge I usually face issues with, my hope is that this one is of a nature to not threaten my world.

Time seems to have slowed, I can hear the birds flying and twittering with freight, I can hear the wind in the trees, I can feel he still which comes from a person being stood in front of your protecting you from the wind, I can hear the river in the distance still cutting its path through the land, racing for open water, the deer and the rabbits grazing just out of sight. Nothing seems to have changed, except these last few seconds have felt like an eternity.

A natural beauty, this was the world i had joined. So soft, so rich, so full of life
Kneeling on the soft grass, fingers digging into the soil. Sending out my senses, searching, seeking life. Sending out a small pulse of power, not that i expected an answer, but one has hopes that this planet harboured the highly intelligent species that my senses have hinted at.

But remaining here too long has consquenses, i slowly drain the planets life, unless an effort is made to stop....But a planet abundant with so much life wont miss this and is easily replenished once i leave.

Now where to go? Looking around, mountains behind me, lush forest infront.
Flicking the soil of my fingers while standing, climbing the mountains had no appeal, easily done back home.
Now, a forest full of bright colours, new sounds, sights and smells. All new. Yet...somehow familar, perhaps it was like another world, another time?
Dismissing this thought, its time to explore.
Walking through the thick vegetation, fingers reaching out to touch the silky petals, the waxy leaves, eyes closing in bliss, lost in the feeling of touch.
Laughter.
Eyes snap open, body automactically crouches low, silently moving backwards into the dense underbrush, blending into the background.
Perhaps i wondered too far, too unaware. Careless.
A rookie mistake. Nightfall would be a better time to be exploring this world.
Curling into a tight ball, pushing back against the base of the massive tree trunk, feeling the ebb an flow of life, eyes drift close...

I changed! I have not changed form in many years, I had forgotten the tingle and the buzz of the energy with its feeling of good will it has been that long since I changed, since the first time I changed I have not taken on the form of a human.

This form is not human, it is very close but not entirely human, I still enjoy it, the feeling of being able to walk on two legs, to stand up right, to breathe. There is not description for the feeling of being back in your own body, I know this is not MY body but its as close as I could ever imagine, standing up tall, being able to see as I was brought up and taught to do.

This lady who instigated my change is still stood in front of me, she is shorter than me, and really pretty, the surroundings around me do not see as scary they do not seem to contain as many predators, I am sure you realise that as a worm you do not have many things you hunt, you are at the bottom of the food chain, every bird that flies over head wants to eat you, every human that walks above will probably crush you, we have bodies that are apt at squeezing into small places however we do have a minimum size we can get to, and I was not your standard worm, I had a small level of poison in me which meant I could stun small animals such as bugs, small reptiles and small rodents. I guess this is familiar to a snake in many worlds.

I have now an urge to eat the gorgeous red berries that are growing on that bush over there however I have noticed she is starting to say something, she is saying something that I do not recognise yet I understand it, she is being polite, and open towards all possibilities “Worthy days, I am Elwe” a really calm delicate voice, soft and yet affirmative, I am picturing her to be the leader of the people I have seen running around, happily singing emanating energy, fuelling the seeds growth, she is a fair and understanding leader, she believes in justice, she wants the truth, any lie provided will not be good for the one telling it, as I seem to think it I am saying it.

“I am only after help, I don’t know where I am, I don’t really know how I became to be here, I do not want to cause harm, I am known as Gusano” the language I speak I do not know however I do know that I am speaking her language and that it is literate. I almost forget to say “worthy days to you Miss” and I bow, ensuring that I bow low enough to show the top of my head and that I am of no threat

Waiting was definately no option either. I slowly slid my bow back over my shoulders whilst slowly backing up, making sure to keep eye contact at all times. I slowly reached down to my belt, fingers sliding round the grip of my Kiri. I brought it out, sliding it out of it's case, pulling it in front of me, just below eye level, startling the yhaka. It took one uncertain step back, pausing for thought, then leapt forward, lessening the distance between us to possibly twenty feet. The beast landed heavily on it's hooves, making the earth below my feet and the trees around us shake. It took a deep breath and let loose a huge ear-shattering roar, showing it's giant herbivorous teeth and puffing out it's long hair around it's shoulders making it almost double in size. My back pressed up against a small tree, I could feel my options running out as time passed.

Blinking to ajust to the bright light that is the sun, all senses open and aware.
Seemly alone for now, crawling carefully out of my resting place.
Confidant i was alone, standing up brushing away any dirt. Another look around, inhaling the scents...
Something alien, something that was not native to this planet, the smell was tinted with a sour undertone.
Top lip slightly comes up to reveal the points of two unnaturaly pointed teeth, a confirmation i was the predator, never the prey.
Another inhale, the scent had changed, still with the sour under tone but there was now the slight smell of the natural people that lived here
A shapeshifter?

Not here, this planet was still a baby, still plenty more development yet to happen here.
Making my way silently through the forest, following the scent of this being. A loud sudden rukus to the far left of me, sound carries further than i thought.
Dismissing the new sounds i follow the scent, this being was either here by accident or another intent.
Balance must stay the same, this world must evolve without interferance from outsiders.
A clearing developed just yards infront of me, the scent confirming i was close. Hunkering down, silently making my way forward. Stopping at the edge of the clearing, being carefull to keep myself concealed from view.
First things first, study this creature, and then decided its fate.

That roar, I have heard it before, we do not hear it much as the Yakas is a very sturdy creature and only roars like that when threatened and does not feel it can escape, calling the males for help, usually you will hear it just before the lioness skulks off having been seen, there is once or twice at this time of year when my people inadvertently stumble into there birthing areas and the mothers are immensely protective, the worse bit is you probably wont see the young because you are concerned about the mother and because you were too busy concentrating on your task at hand the young hid before you saw it.

None of my people have ever been hurt by one of the Yakas however there can be a first, with times changing, as they are, the Yakas could be getting ever more skittish, the appearance of Gusano and his energy booms could have upset them more than we realise. I noticed his appearance and his change so why could they not have?

I have to hurry if I am going to aid the one who must have upset this Yakas. Any of my people who heard this cry would have postponed the task in hand and have started the sprint to the site cause of the cry to subdue the Yaka before it causes damage to itself or us.

My reaction to this fear has mean that I have instinctively excused my self and started to travel at full speed in the direction the cry came from, these forests are dense with trees, the sun shines through the tree leaves casting a brilliant bright green glow to our level, making the ground as green as the leaves above.

Because I have grown up in this wood I have had plenty of time to perfect travelling in the quickest was and I am now using the protruding roots of the trees as spring boards to propel myself further and faster than you could just running on the ground and even faster trying to jump over the roots as some of the humans from the outer lands have done, they don’t use the roots, they treat the roots as if they are in there way, stepping over, crawling under them, any way to not actually use them.

The roar must have come from about a mile away considering how load the Yakas roar is and how load I had heard it. It does not take me 2 minutes to travel that distance before I hear it again, this time though it has moved. It is now north west of my location by about 100 meters, it must have charged, I don’t know I f I can help who it was if it has charged.

My eyes flicked over to my right, seeing a dense group of young trees between me and the river, breaking eye contact. The beast leapt forwards towards me, breaking into a charge. I pushed off the tree, sprinting towards the river and hopefully, my escape. As I started into the trees, I heard the sound of hooves skidding on the dead leaves and loose stones that littered the forest floor. The beast bumped into the large tree, which I had backed into before turning in my direction and continuing its charge towards me. As I weaved my way through the trees, branches scraped at my armour, slowing my speed slightly with every snag. The beast entered with a mighty crash, destroying the first few trees with ease. The trees were too thin to stop the beast as a single tree but as a cluster they should slow him enough, maybe even stop him. The branches got thicker and I started slashing with my kiri just to keep moving through, cutting through the lighter stuff easily. I heard the thumps of hooves get closer every second. A tree fell from behind me, crashing just feet in front of me. I dived headfirst over, just clearing the trunk, rolling as I landed back into a run. The beast smashed through the fallen tree, seeming to start to struggle before lunging ever closer. Two horn tips lunged out in front of me just two feet right of my head. I dropped to the ground just as the horns swept across where my head used to be. I glanced over at a large old tree, just twenty feet away, seeing a glimpse of the river underneath one of its huge branches. The gap was maybe only two feet square but it may be the only thing between life and death. I jumped up into a sprint towards the gap, keeping my head low just in case the yhaka made another sweep. I flicked my legs forward to slide under branch. The gap was still too low. I leant back, making my body horizontal. As I did my head flicked back, seeing a horn tip following me under the branch.

I slid out of the other side of the tree. The yhaka didn't. My heart was thumping rapidly, knowing the end of my life was just inches away. I had landed on the stony riverbank, sun beating down on me. The yhaka was still roaring but they were roars of panic, as it seemed to be stuck. I slowly got up, dusting off my aching legs. I looked downstream, sheathing my kiri. A half smile slowly emerged on my face as I started to make my way west.

id not know what to think as I saw Elwe sprint off mere milliseconds after we heard that roar, she was very polite she did excuse herself, She leapt from tree root to tree root and ran the distances in between with astonishing amounts of grace, the grace she moved with was natural. It was a few seconds and she was out of site.

I am now again on my own in a strange world, where I have no idea how I got here, I do not know where anything is and I considered following Elwe yet I do not know the abilities this new body holds is it similar to the one I originally had in my world? Do I move as quickly and gracefully as Elwe just did, I doubt it, as yet since transforming I have barely moved, I did that bow but my feet did not move.

Now as I am thinking about it I am getting very concerned and stupidly scared, for many a year I had remained in the form of a worm, I know I need to do something other wise I will be frozen here forever worrying about how I will move.

One quick deep breath.

A second slower deep breath.

And I lift my foot a few centimetres above the ground and I find it naturally swings forward and my body follows in the stepping motion my people, humans and Elwe do. This movement is the first of many steps, I am not looking where I am going, I am looking at my body, I am watching how it moves, my subconscious must be controlling my direction and ensuring I am not bumping into anything.

The sprint to save who ever it was has left me a little breathless, as I get on site I have seen Uki who points to where the Yakas is she barely gets to say the words “no one is hurt before I start racing past her, I halt, turn and as I start back to wards her a lot slower ask “what happened”

“The Yakas young got its foot trapped in a rabbit run, we tried to help by distracting the mother but she would not leave her young a few seconds ago a fox tried to take down the young yakas and it managed to wrench its leg free, and ran off with a limp.” Uki nods her head, taps her lip and walks back towards town. If it has a limp it might not survive and that would make it perfect for food, I will have someone tail it until it passes on or cures.

It feel s weird that everything is as it should be, I was so worried about the situation, My heart is still racing, my breathing is slowing but I can still feel the adrenaline buzz and to see everyone as calm and happy as ou would expect to see if nothing had gone array. Nothing technically has gone array and I should get back to where I was, get back to enjoying my day.

I start to walk slowly towards where I was and can not get the feeling of ill from me. The energy boost yesterday, the shape changer and now the Yakas, it is not clear but something is definitely not right.

Why has all this happened so close together? What will happen next? More cant happen! Though why would everything stop happening once it had started just because I don’t want what we have in this world to change?

I am starting to get used to this form I have taken on, it has been easier than I thought it would have been, so I guess it like flying a Iceni, (riding a bike), it comes back to you.

More time than I could have thought must have passed as the trees are gone and there is a river in front of me, rolling hills spread out towards my left, flat slightly down hill lands to my right and ahead there is a rise in the land towards the mountains with streams reaching down the mountains and hill side towards this immense river in front of me which seems to stretch as far as the land, as far as my eye can see.

During this whole experience of changing, meeting Elwe, running through the forest and until this moment it has failed to be an issue, I have been unclothed, everything bare for the world to see.

In comparison to my figure with my people this is a very good body, I have muscle definition, I have long legs, caramel coloured skin and there are dark brown coloured hairs on my legs, arms and chest.

I run my hands across my body, the muscles are hard, the skin is soft and the hairs are not as rough as I thought they would be. My hands run up to my face where I have an Adam’s apple and a light covering of hair (stubble) across my chin and cheeks. This hair on the body was something I had never had in my original form, none of my people did, Elwe did not have any hair on her, her arms and legs had really light coloured, fine hairs but none on her chest, which had bumps on as if she was feeding young and my body does not have these bumps. Does this mean she is a different species? or does it mean a different gender? Could it just be a difference in age? What ever it is I would like to know, but first I need to find a way of covering myself up, it appears that there clothing requirement here are similar to the ones in my when and where, though finding something to cover myself with, with out offending people will be difficult.

The water is running too quickly in the river for me to see what my reflection is but the water is cool and clear. I scoop some of the water up in my hands and cover myself in it to get rid of the dirty which stayed on me from when I was the worm, once I am clean and I have cooled off I take a drink from this cool clear glorious water.

Standing up I try to decide what my next course of action will be, how will I get clothes, how will I live in this world, where will I find shelter, will I stay in this form?

Just thinking about everything is worrying.

I will take it one stage at a time; find food and shelter and clothes along the way if I can.

After what must’ve been hours of walking along the fast flowing river, the sun started to set behind the mountains slowly darkening the landscape around me. My stomach started growling angrily at me, demanding to be sated, as I had only consumed water from the river today. I hopped across the grey boulders and up the riverbank to the edge of the forest to find a more concealed area to rest. I came to a large tree, much larger and older than the rest. I began to climb but decided against it, as it would only be a waste of energy. I sat heavily on one of the roots, which wound it’s way down into ground. I pushed back my hood and pulled forward my small food bag, unravelling the tie around the top. I examined the contents.

Crumbs. That was all that was left. A few strands of dried deer meat and a corner of a loaf had gathered at the bottom, no-where near a substantial meal, barely even a few mouthfuls. I picked up the bread, which was now stale, and bit into it. It was hard and dry but had absorbed the flavours of the other foods, which had shared its carry space. I took a second bite and leant back against the tree and remembered the different foods as the individual flavours came to me.

The third and final bite finished off the bread. I took the bag and poured the crumbs into my mouth, completely emptying it and washing it down with a few deep glugs from my water pouch. My stomach let out a disapproving growl as a sign that the morsels were not enough. I re-packed my food and water pouches and took out my kiri, closely examining the blade edge. Still as sharp as ever.

An hour had elapsed since the sun had set, plunging the forest into complete darkness. The sound of the nightlife had slowly raised itself from the low hum now to an orchestra of noise. I had to continue on my way, if not only to find food. I hoisted myself up using a low branch and stretched my muscles and joints before making my way again to the forest edge. The moon was out tonight, engulfing the river in moonlight. I couldn’t risk being seen by any of the larger, more dangerous night animals so I made my way downstream, again keeping to the edge of the forest.

One of the questions that frequently are found to be going around in my head is whether the animals of our world have lives as intricate as we do. They do not appear to wear clothes, they do not appear to hold big gatherings of their kind to discuss relevant or recent problems, and they do not seem to have a language which goes beyond the bare necessities. Or is this how they view us, and they are much more intellectual and have a higher understanding of the world and what is beyond this, than us? I know there is more beyond here than what I have seen and I have heard stories from the elders of these things.

Is this robin something else, just appearing to be a simple robin? Gusano was appearing to be an obscure looking worm, does that mean that we are the only living things that can not change shape, or are we the only ones who have not unlocked the power of changing shape?

If we are the only ones who cannot change shape, why do we not see other animals change their shape more often? Do we really walk around with our eyes blinkered that we do not see these things? Wrapped up in our own lives that the things that are actually happening around us do not even get seen let alone have attention paid to them.

If they can change shape I guess it comes down to why should they change shape all the time? Why would they not like their shape, the shape they are born with? Why would they not only change once into a new shape if they did dislike their birth given form? Do all the changes have to be as instant and dramatic as Gusano’s? If I could change myself in any way I would change my stomach, make it as firm as Lira’s but I would not change how I generally appeared, I would not want to become a cheetah, I would not want to have to get used to something completely different, so is this the same with that robin?

This robins breast is very orange, very tidy, its feathers are all facing the same way, tidy, its legs seem to be strong, it is pulling an impressive sized worm half in the ground, it is alert, the beak is a perfect shape. Is this how this robin wants to look or is this how it just looked in the first place?

Or is it possible that what I believe to be a perfect looking robin is what they think is a really bad look, is this robin actually an ugly robin in the life and world of a robin?

I seem to be going off topic! I am very concerned about the bad feeling that is about, will it effect our crops, will the appearance of Gusano mean more things can get into our world, why has there not been other things that have come into our world in such a long time? How many worlds are there out there? And why would they choose to come here? Are they choosing to come here? If not what is sending them here?

I change direction, this entire time I have been making my way back to where I was spreading seeds when the Yakas cried, I have now thought of how to get this solved, a solution has come to mind. I am going to call to a discussion the best researchers and scientist my people have and will ask them to look into these issues, to try and find some answers, there is one person in this world that will be able to help, I will even let him have clothes and a place to stay for his co-operation with there questions.

It must have looked interesting to anyone who was watching me as I was walking quite steadily towards the eastern gardens when I turned on the ball of my right foot a full 180 degrees and started jogging toward town, toward the discussion elm. Having seemed intent on my destination, a face that most likely reflected the fact I had been thinking intently on something, I had not managed to get as far as I would have expected, I am excusing that on the fact the robin altered my thought process a little, though anything would have done that if the robin had not been there.

It does not take me long to reach the discussion elm and as always there is Flimia and Elisia (the twins) managing the documents and keeping people calm until my arrival. As soon as I walk trough the door today there is no one except the twins here I take my seat at the other end of the room, the biggest chair in the circle of seats carved out of the tree’s bark and I request they summon our brightest scientific minds for the discussion on shape changing before taking up quill and paper for the topics and result of this discussion.

As my journey west continued I could feel my stomach paining for food periodically, each one more painful than the last. I needed to find food. About an hour had passed in the moonlight as I came up to a small stone bridge, large enough to take a horse or yhaka drawn cart. I pulled my hood up and ran up to the side of the bridge, keeping low to keep out of sight if there were anyone. As I reached the shadowed side of the bridge I pressed my back against it and crouched low. I crept over to the edge of the bridge and peered round it slowly. I saw a stone house with a thatched roof in the distance, maybe a hundred yards or so. I could see thick smoke pouring out of the chimney, an indication that someone was home or at least not far from it. I hopped over the wall and ran over to the opposite wall, hunkering down again. I could now see that the trees surrounding the house were all fruit trees, sadly none bearing fruit. The occupants must be farmers of the orchard, probably simple folk. I made my way over the bridge, stopping at the edge just to check it was safe to cross the road without being seen as previously I have been presumed an intruder for entering an orchard. I sprinted to the tree line, cutting out most of the moonlight. I made my way slowly but surely to the cottage, stopping to look and listen for movement every tem feet or so. I pressed up to the wall and slowly peered into the fire-lit room. There were three people in the room, most definitely human. Two adults, one male and one female both huddled round a youngster, possibly a year old. Light gentle noises emitted from the gap in the window followed by the occasional sound of light laughter.

I couldn’t kill these people for their food, let alone steal from these people. I would be as bad as THEM if I did.

I couldn’t stay here for long. I started to slip away into the darkness as the sound of wheels on gravel crunched their way towards the house.

Everyone assembled in the usually promptness, I know it was imagination that it took longer because I am feeling anxious, this issue has managed to get right into my bones and I can not seem to let it go. They did not seem to be happy, I don’t blame them, they have called them away from their favourite time of year festival, my people live for this day of the year.

“Elwe, no disrespect but why on this day have you called a discussion?” our discussions can last for a very long time, well ok, days for the more heated of discussions where people feel strongly about the topic or there is evidence that points both ways the one which people never want to talk about is the afterlife.
“I called this discussion meeting as a preliminary to the inevitable long discussions you are fearful this will be. Something has been a miss for a long time and I would like to resolve it, I don’t know if any of you have noticed there have been some appearances of strange” I here have no idea what to call Gusano “things” will have to do for now “appearing in our world that need to be investigated” I tell them all about Gusano and how I came about him, They listen intently and at the end of it the first person to say anything said
“so where shall I find Gusano to start the questions to him?”
“Zaph’s you shall find him somewhere in or near this forest, and give him clothes and a”
“Clothes? He needs cloths? What are wrong with his?”
“Zaph he does not have any, when he changed from the worm he did not have any on, I did not have a chance to ask him what his situation was, does everyone have an idea of what job you are going to do?” all of those sat in a chair in the semi circle nod in agreement, I do not need to tell them what I want done, they all have specialities, Zaph will try and find Gusano and get him to agree to speak with us, I don’t suppose this would be a difficult thing, “he seems nice enough but then we don’t know him. Caution must be of the highest order I do not want anyone to get hurt over this, I know you can all get excited and committed to a subject but please be safe” my thoughts turn into words I am forming its good as I do need these things said, the tone in my voice is final it’s a conversation ender, everyone knows what they have to do and are happy with it.

The sun has come out, and now knowing that soon there will be answers makes me feel a little bit lighter, I get up from my seat and walk out into the forest, I am feeling very confused and I just want to run, I was to feel the wind rushing past my face, I want to feel the ground beneath my feet, I was to feel as every step I take is a little bump bump bump bump, pasing time quickly, trees and bushes zooming past a blur in my vision.

The years of running these lands is what is quiding me, I do not have a clear enough head to be seeing everything for what it is, I am just racing to the finish but I do not know where the finish is.

I took shelter behind a large bush, probably a fruit bearing bush and peered over to get a view of the possible intruder. It was a horse drawn four-wheeled cart, pulled by quite a grubby and aged looking chestnut horse. The passenger pulled on the reigns and called for the horse to stop. The voice was of a middle aged male. The passenger disembarked from the cart and made his way to the door of the house. The moon shone across his face as he rounded the fence bordering the front of the house. He was definitely human.

He reached out for the door and knocked lightly on it before taking a step back. The door slowly creaked open, throwing glowing light from the fire inside over the garden and the guest.

‘Hey Sven, good to see you’, the man inside exclaimed. He stepped forward and embraced his guest. ‘Good to see ya too, how’s everyone? How’s Tabby?’ Sven asked. ‘She’s fine, just a case of the sniffles, though Annabel has been worried sick about her’. Sven peered in through the door and nodded his head, ‘Evening Annabel, Tabby’. Tabbitha giggled she heard her name. ‘You stealing my man again to take up to town? Should I be worried about you two?’ she laughed. ‘Go on then, go before I change my mind’ she exclaimed, sighing then smiling at her man. ‘Come on Greg, let’s get a move on or the pub will be drunk dry before we get there’ Sven called as he made his way to his cart. Greg went inside and kissed his daughter and wife before joining Sven, closing the door, casting the garden into darkness. As they both mounted the cart, I moved up for a better look, a better chance to follow them.

Sven pulled gently on the reigns, turning the cart round before pulling harder on the reigns bringing the horse to a fast trot. I could see that another conversation had started between them but the sound of the cart on the road made it impossible to hear. I ran back to the edge of the road, keeping to the shadows and trees. By the looks of it the town is a good few miles away. I looked down river round the bend in front of travelling pair to see a low glowing light emitting. There was the riverside town in the distance.

The wind rushing through my hair, the feel of the cool air on my face, the sting of it on my eyes causing them to water, the tears drying on my cheek. My muscles are starting to ache, the forest is no longer as dense as it was, the sun is able to reach the ground here, though only in small patches, these patches have greet shoots in, the possibility of grass or another hardy flower making an attempt to survive this year by taking on the cold to get the sunlight others could have deprived it of.

I am slowing down, I am no longer travelling at my fastest, I am now running at a comfortable run, the ground is soft and springy beneath me, there is little grass and so the roots to the trees must not be as dense as they are in our city, in fact there is at least a trae distance between each of the trees, now as I am slowing a little more than my sprint I have noticed that the tress are much younger.

I must have travelled at least 50 trae. I have never run this far this quick before, now as I have I am coming to understand how upset I have been and wonder if it is really worth it.

This far out from my city we often encounter humans, beside the fact they don’t like us because of our “magic” as they call it, our believes are different, they believe there is a god and that he created everything, and anything they do not understand is passed off as god. One of them asked me why does my species have “magic” when theirs does not? At the time I could not answer her, I have come to realise they would destroy everything if they did have it, their nature is centrally selfish and materialistic, they would want the biggest and most valuable thing they could get out of it.

I am by no means saying that my people are not like this, I do not think we are, but the humans thought we were when banished them from our depths of the forest because they were destroying it, they called us selfish for not letting them chop our trees down for them to make tables out of. I know we live in the trees, convincing the trees to grow in a shape suitable for the purpose we want but the tree still lives, the animals around us still get to live in and around it, the ecology system does not change.

I have now come to the outside of a human town and decide to climb this beach tree, the branches in the middle of the tree are sturdy enough to hold me, however to keep it from struggling with my weight I spread my weight between two branches whilst I watch the humans from my vantage point. They are about a trae away from me and get their voices travel well enough for me to hear.