Cacoethes' Works

 Chapter Eight: The Hvit Library DURING THEIR FIRST day of official lessons, they were instructed to wield weighted swords made of wood. Nilhin struggled to lift his, but even as his body denied him, he struggled to hold his sword up and learn all the movements. Every thrust of the sword, and slash, made him grow light headed as his muscles, what little he had, struggled to keep up with the endurance needed to properly wield them. It wasn’t his fault that he was malnourished, especially because his mother had done her best to provide for him. He was somewhat better than the other children who lived at the brothel in his youth, however. His miracle could only last so much, it seemed, and he was much weaker than all the others.  Gronjas was there for a moment, watching them. He looked straight into Nilhin’s eyes as he struggled, and nodded, giving him the encouragement to continue despite the whispered heckling of Ogar and Kveda.  Lessons continued in a similar fashion for ...

 Chapter Seven: Getting To Storkott WHEN NILHIN ARRIVED at Storkott, he was greeted by tall walls that surrounded the entire clan’s territory. The walls made of brick and stone were impossible to see over, and reached as tall as some of the old trees nearby. Nilhin had spotted them from kilometers away, and they only grew more enormous as he approached. There were guards standing at the top of the walls, and a large portcullis kept him and the other people outside of the large entrance into the Hvit Fortress. Nilhin joined the group standing near the wall, although they were all much more well put together than Nilhin. Well groomed with amenities that Nilhin didn’t have access to. There were only about twelve people waiting to be let in, not including Nilhin.  “Who are you?” one of the men asked, looking down at Nilhin, who was much shorter than even the shortest person there, not including him.  “This one is Nilhin,” he introduced, bowing down. “What should I call you?”...

 Chapter Six: The Madam Speaks IT TOOK OVER a week and a half to get back to Ya Brothel, and as soon as he approached the steps, his aunties crowded around him and tended to him. As soon as he was taken inside and stuck into a bath, he started to cry. He didn’t stop until the second water change. He hiccuped as he tried to stabilise his frantic, broken breathing.  “How’s mother?” he asked Aunty Ogi. “I couldn’t get her a doctor--” he choked on his breath and the tears started to fall again. He leaned forward and leaned his forehead against Aunty Ogi’s shoulder as he cried. “Father doesn’t want us. I can’t do it on my own. How will I save mother?”  “Oh,” Aunty Ogi said, before she too started to cry. That sobered Nilhin up a bit as he shifted in the water so he could properly pat Aunty Ogi’s back to try and comfort her while she cried. On the other side of him, Aunty Dasan was also sobbing. “It’s just too horrible! You poor, poor boy!” Aunty Ogi was in no state to speak af...

 Chapter Five: Power And Imbalance NILHIN'S ARMS WERE covered in dirt and mud. He had tried to wash them off in the water, as well as he had tried to prepare the animals he had caught for the children to eat, too, but dirt stuck in the crevices of his elbows and his forearms, and under all his long nails. He would have to cut his nails when he found an instrument to do so, because no matter how much he wanted to just drag them down the side of a tree, he couldn’t imagine how terribly those nails might catch on his clothes or his friends alike. They were really sharp, just like his mother’s, except she always knew how to be careful with them. Nilhin wasn’t used to them, and had cut his pants in two different places since they randomly grew out. It must have been more magic that he used accidentally.  “Maer?” Nilhin asked, guiding the buffalo back to the cart. He found Maer spread out on the bench, asleep, and the children were all asleep too. Nilhin was shocked for a moment, bu...

 Chapter Four: Breaking His Bonds THE FIRST DAY Nilhin spent fully in his cage, he tried to hold his hands out and make flames appear. It was the most basic spell that one could do, because fire was the base of pyretic energy, which was the dominant force that made mages be able to perform magic. Fire should have come easily to Nilhin, especially because he was a man, who made this energy far faster and easier than a woman might. Nilhin huffed as he failed to even make a spark. He didn’t know what he was doing wrong at all and nobody had been able to teach him either because nobody at the brothel knew magic!  “How’s it coming along?” Maer asked a few hours after Nehe left, giving them each a torn piece of bread.  “It’s not working at all,” Nilhin admitted with a groan of frustration.  “Well, maybe try something else?” Maer asked. Nilhin growled, something inhuman that he didn’t know he could make and then he quickly stopped. Maer sighed, probably used to it after the...

 Chapter Three: Too Cozy For Comfort AS NILHIN HAD described earlier, despite the distance, the best way to summarise Nehe and Tsani’s cottage was that it was cozy. There were thin walkways, shallow stairs, and rugs thrown over nearly all the hardwood floors. Their table was pushed into the corner of the kitchen, and held onto three seats. There were flowers in vases, and drying herbs over the furnace and stove. Tsani pulled a chair out for him, and he slid between the tall wooden back and the edge of the square table. Angla sat across from him, picking up a wooden spoon to scrape an empty plate.  “What do you like to eat, Nilhin? We’ve got berries, fish, and bread,” Tsani said.  “I like whatever you don’t mind sparing for this one,” Nilhin said. Tsani reached down to squeeze his cheek before she gathered him a plate of all sorts of the foods she mentioned. Angla grasped the ornate porcelain teapot -- a much higher quality than almost anything else in the kitchen -- and t...