Chapter Text
Life begins with a cry and ends with a whimper.
This is the rule of the Grand forest. For those who live cannot afford to make sound, lest they draw attention to themselves and cut their own lives short. So when one in this forest rarely hears sound it can generally be attributed to the loss or creation of life.
The next sound to ring throughout the forest was no exception to this rule.
"Wii! Wii!"
The newborn cries of a somewhat rare creature rung through the woodland. Birthed into a life of struggle and hardship, Arras the spirit fox was born.
...
Magic was a... Blessing, some would call it. All races had, in SOME way, the ability to use it. Whether through physical enhancements, spell casting, or various other methods. No matter what form you took, the gift of magic flowed naturally, no matter the man.
Spirit foxes were no exception to this rule. Despite lacking miserably in the ability to use any kind of strengthening they at least somewhat made up for it in raw spellcasting.
And weeks into Arras's life he had begun learning from his family. Afterall, one could not hope to survive in the Grand forest without it.
Despite having no real way to teach each other, spirit foxes were as previously mentioned, naturally gifted in the field. Day by day, waiting at home. Arras practiced alongside his family. While progress would always be slow he seemed at least somewhat gifted and quickly learned the feeling of magic.
The feeling of magic was different for every individual. Some could grasp it more easily then others, as such, those who could naturally developed faster.
Arras, was one of those individuals. Within a month of his life he already had the ability to use illusion and flame based spells. Frankly, par for the course for a spirit fox, but they'd still done it faster then most. Regardless, his life carried on anyways.
...
... Dead silence, that was a necessity of the hunt. Baring down on a Prong Rabbit, a common herbivore within the Grand forest. Which while it could pack a nasty punch if approached carelessly, was mostly defenseless from behind. This one was rather large. Good, more to eat and it's weak.
Arras, alongside his elder sister Raiga, both stalked the poor creature. Both of their eyes flicked rapidly before a loud "CRCK" was heard by the Prong Rabbit. It immediately took off running in the opposite direction, which was straight to the waiting jaws of Arras and Raiga. It was swiftly dealt with.
"Mir... wuh wuh..." (Impressive, you already have a proficient understanding of illusion magic.) Raiga quietly spoke. She quickly sat up straight and proudly beamed.
"Weeh... mm!" (Though you need to be at least that good to be my brother!") Both of her tails wagged happily. Though she was only a few months old, she had quickly grown a second tail. From what Arras knew of this world with his limited experience, it was pretty impressive.
"Weh... wmm wuh." (Thanks... though we should probably take this to the den, before something smells the fresh kill.)
"Hmm, wer weh!" (Let them come, we could totally take them!)
"Whiiiine..." (Raiga...)
"Weh wuh. Weh." (Oh im only joking. Come on.)
Raiga bent down to pick up the body before glancing up at Arras and nodding. He shortly after bent down to help.
Quickly hurrying back, the two retraced their steps and returned to their families den. Eventually they came to a stop next to an inconspicuous gap within the root of a dead tree.
"Smells like... Yes! We're the second pair back!"
"Raiga! Be quiet! Aren't you the older one here? Don't draw any unnecessary attention!" Arras quietly hissed at his older sisters outburst.
"Oops, sorry." She quickly quieted herself before pivoting to position herself to pull the body into the hole. "Ready when you are."
Arras nodded and began to shuffle backwards as the two dragged the body inside.
Home sweet home. "Ok, now you can have your party about the fact that we got back quickly." Arras said a bit mockingly. His quieted tone dissipating within the safe confines of the extensive den his family had created.
"Not without you! You were an integral part of the kill you know. And it's only your second time out! That's gotta be grounds for celebration."
"Oh please, in your own words, we were second anyways. Darai and Siska made it back first anyways, probably with some horrifically small Prong Rabbit in tow."
"Yeah, but still, second? Also known as, back before Akala, Marana, Lassa, and Zanza! Second's really good for your SECOND time out!"
Arras only rolled his eyes in response, to Raiga's dismay. But before she could say anything else a familiar voice cut through the awkward silence.
"Well I definitely wasn't expecting you two to be back before anybody else! Are you sure you haven't been secretly practicing?" A warm voice asked.
Arras quickly turned around and smiled at them. (to Raiga's shock).
"Darai!" Arras happily chirped as he walked towards the two tailed blue coat Spirit Fox and nuzzled his head.
"Welcome back." He quickly returned the affection and nipped a burr out from behind Arras's ear.
"I take it big and ugly there is your catch?" Darai asked calmly.
"Mhm! Did I do good?"
"Yes, you did wonderfully! That should be enough for at least a few of us!... even if if won't exactly be magic rich."
Arras, despite the negative comment. Still beamed happily.
"Hey, hey! I try to praise you and i get the cold shoulder but suddenly big brother says you did good and you're eating it out of his paw?!" Raiga asked in mock hurt.
"I'd rather be told I'm doing good by the winner then by somebody in second place." He playfully stuck his tounge out at Raiga.
"Wh-you're second place!" She flustered a bit.
"So?" He smugly responded.
"Hmmmgh!"
"Now now, no need to get upset you two. If you keep this pace up I'm sure you'll get first place when i'm not a part of the competition anymore."
"Oh yeah..." Raiga perked up. "you are going to the big leagues soon aren't you? Haha! First place here we come!"
"That's the spirit." Darai laughed a bit. "Now how about I help you out with this? It's a little large for this tiny space, no?"
"Oh yes please." Arras said without hesitation.
With a short moment of focus the food seemingly blinked out of existence as a distortion in the fabric of space seemed to erase the thing.
"When we all eat together il take it back out. For now however, I'm taking the chance to train my storage as best I can." Darai smiled happily, though with a twinge of something else on his mind. Likely the spell he was keeping active.
"Mhm!" Both Raiga and Arras agreed. The two heading to rest after the hunt. Even if the prey was easy, carrying it back was somewhat tiring at best.
...
Murmurs rang through the den, Arras woke partially of his own volition, but also due to the conversation right outside of his sleeping quarters.
"I can't believe we were last place..." A somber voice slowly passed by.
"Aw cheer up Akala. We'll do better next time."
"You mean you'll do better next time." The voice that was now decidedly Akala grumpily said. "You did all the work Lassa, I was just along for the ride."
"Don't put yourself down like that! Just because you weren't the one who killed it doesn't mean you didn't do anything..." The pairs voices faded into the distance overtime and all that remained was Raiga's quiet snoozing.
Well, I'm awake now... Arras thought to himself. If everyone's back by now we'll probably be eating soon...
Arras slowly got up and stretched out before padding off to wake Raiga as well. Shortly, he debated against himself as to if he should wake her with a spell or not, but quickly decided against it. That'd be mean.
"Raiga..." Arras lightly tapped her flank but all he got was a roll and some mumbles. "fivvve... five more... minutes..."
"Hmm. Maybe I should wake you with a scare afterall." He stared blankly at her sleeping figure.
"Raiga." *taptaptap*
"mmmmghhh... what." Her eyes flickered open a bit.
"Food's soon."
"Eat... without me..." She rolled over and closed her eyes again, to Arras's dismay.
His eye started twitching, and with a short moment of focus casted an illusion that sent Raiga shooting straight up.
"OH GREAT NINE TAILS!"
"Was that really neccescary?!" Raiga all but screamed at Arras with hackles raised! "Really?! A Rootland Viper!?"
"Should've got up when I asked nicely." He said with a shit eating grin before turning on his hind legs.
"Mmmgh! Il show you asking nicely Arras!"
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
Arras yipped in surprise and almost jumped straight into the ceiling! He rapidly looked around before his eyes settled on Raiga snickering.
"You! You!... Mrggghhh!"
"You always were unreasonably scared of lightning. Should've woken me up nicely." She flicked her tounge out before taking strides to his side.
"Well, you wanted me up so badly! Let's go say hello, shall we?"
"Mrggghhhh..."
"Oh get over it! I just saw my life flash before my eyes and I'm not complaining! You're really far to scared of a little thunder."
"Yeah, yeah... alright, lead the way."
"Heh, after me then Arras."
...
The entire family was back, all eight kids who had played the hunting games were back first. With Darai and Siska being first, Arras and Raiga in second, Zanza and Marana in third and Akala and Lassa in last. To their chagrin.
Shortly after the final pair was back, their parents showed up as well. All in all the hunt wasn't amazing today, being entirely Prong Rabbits. Granted they were common and filling, but they weren't good for actually gaining magic power. At least not any of the common ones.
Slowly, everybody gathered at the center of the den where all the kills of the day were kept. Pale moonlight shone through weakly from cracks in the ceiling. Diluted even further due to the thick tree line.
All the pairs who had participated in the hunting games arrived first. Ironically, in the opposite order of how they initially arrived. Shortly after the four who had actually gone hunting for real walked in. Salam, Nakai, Falama and Yasef. All of whom had two tails. And following even after them were mother and father.
Nikia and Rakki, the former of whom had a brilliant blue coat, and the ladder having a traditional red coat. Both of them also having three tails.
Murmurs rang throughout the place as siblings conversed, everybody here was family afterall. Gradually the chatter and dramatic retellings of admittedly dull hunts quieted down as everybody settled. Shortly afterwards everyone present was allowed to begin eating.
Darai let go of the spell he'd seemingly been holding all day. And immediately the pile of food, which had been suspiciously small, doubled in size. He got a few odd glances but nobody took any real offense to it. Not that he would've cared, he looked exhausted from the effort.
After a long day everyone was content with the simple prey. Prong Rabbits weren't worth much, but nobody exactly cared at the moment. At the end of the day, food is food. Once everybody was almost done Rakki's voice called out, at once, everyone snapped to attention.
"Salam and Falama have made the decision to leave two mornings from now!"
Immediately the attention shifted to the two, whom were sitting together. They obviously weren't the first to ever leave, but saying goodbye was never easy.
A few of the denizens padded up to the pair to give them their well wishes. The mood was somber, yet not dejected either. The general things said were along the lines of, "hope to see you again", or "I pray for your success".
After everyone had finished saying their effective goodbyes to the two Nikia began to speak as well.
"Due to this, we will be going on one final group hunt with everyone present! Tomorrow will be their final hunt with us, with everyone. Rest well." She finished quaintly, before walking out of the room. The group began to separate, with everyone going to do as she had said, rest well.
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Quick notice, the following Beastiary/Dictionary will be extensively long in comparison to any future entries. This is because yknow, first chapter.
Beastiary
Prong Rabbit
common herbivore within the Grand Forest. It is non sentient. Has a large sharp horn that is surprisingly light on its forehead. Surprisingly agile, but rather vulnerable from behind. Otherwise, mostly a normal rabbit. Possesses an innate physical strengthening prowess of agility but is not significantly hindered in other magic categories.
Prong rabbits are generally solitary creatures, they mate frequently but only stay long enough to see their kids safely through a week of life. After that they return to solitude.
The more powerful a Prong Rabbit grows, the sharper its horn becomes and it's body shrinks in size. their lives are relatively short. But as with most creatures, can be extended through gaining power.
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Spirit Fox
Somewhat rare omnivore within the Grand Forest. It is sentient Usually Spirit Foxes have a crimson-white coat, though rare exceptions exist. They're surprisingly agile for their size but are not durable in the slightest. Posseses an advanced talent for magic, especially towards flame, shape shifting and illusive skills. Yet have a nigh inability to use any kind of physical strengthening.
Spirit Foxes mate for life. In addition, they have some of the strongest familial bonds in the Grand Forest. As such, new borns will stay within the families den for up to a maximum of two years before going out on their own. Despite being a rare species, these practices often keep the species flourishing.
The stronger a Spirit fox is, the more tails they will grow. The average one throughout it's full life will grow at most five, with the most ever recorded being nine.
Each tail is an exponential gap of power. Meaning a Spirit Fox with four tails would be equivalent to ten or so with two tails. Their lives are a bit short, but as with most creatures they can be extended through gaining power.
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Rootland Viper
A rare carnivore found exclusively within the Grand Forests middle regions. It is partially sentient. Durable and swift these predators have innate proficencies with strengthening and illusion magic. They are less proficient in elemental magics but are still capable of them.
Rootland Vipers are a small sub species of the more common Swampland Vipers that have forgone their elemental abilities in return for potent illusive and physical abilities. As such they find the most success as deadly ambush predators within the dense woodland of the middle region of the Grand Forest.
Rootland Vipers generally mate for life. This does not mean they stay with their children for a long time however. Usually a Rootland Viper will go off on it's own about a month into it's life. Though they have been known to meet again if the parent and offspring both survive.
The stronger a Rootland Viper becomes the more colorless it's scales are. A small distinction but meaningful nonetheless.
Rootland Vipers have a relatively long base lifespan. Yet gain much less extra time from becoming stronger compared to other creatures.
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Dictionary
The feeling of magic
By coming to terms with ones own goal in life they gain a much greater level of control over their own magic. The more in tune with yourself you are the easier you can learn and use magic.
Everybody to a certain extent can do this. But not everybody can go all the way. No matter how in tune you are with yourself, if you aren't gifted there's simply no way to truly master the feeling of magic. Thus most creatures are limited in their growth. This limit is very rarely not present.
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Lifespan extension
Most creatures in the world have a short lifespan. By growing stronger they can greatly extend this period. Simply absorbing magic will satisfy this condition.
Some races cannot increase their own lifespans. These are generally longer lived races, but exceptions do exist.
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Hunting games
Creatures that tend to have strong familial bonds commonly participate in activities like this together. In order to gain experience with hunting young creatures are paired with their elder siblings and hunt together.
After a few months pass the younger sibling becomes the one teaching a younger sibling and the older sibling generally moves onto hunting larger game. Sometimes with other elder members of the family.
If there is no younger sibling at the time of said switch, then generally both of the participants will move onto bigger hunts, with the younger of the two being primarily relegated to the sidelines.
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Magic
Every creature born naturally can use magic. Some are more or less adept with certain abilities and some can learn it more easily, but everyone can use some form of magic. Magic can be used in practically any way imaginable, but is generally sorted into categories based on the perceptions of others.
There are two main ways in which creatures can grow in power, which in other words means, magic.
Through understanding how to use and manipulate magic, which is an extension of the feeling of magic. A creature can use and activate magic faster, more precisely and with less energy. This is a more indirect form of growing stronger, yet it still counts.
The other way, which leads to more direct power. Is by absorbing magic directly. This can be done in many different ways. With the most conventional of them simply being to eat something with magic in it.
Some creatures that have amassed a large amount of magic throughout their life can emit magical energy by choice. Weaker creatures can absorb this to grow stronger overtime. Alternatively, the same holds true for a creature of the same strength when dead.
Often times the death of powerful monsters leads to sights of competition over the potent source of magic.
Similarly, items that are infused with magic can also have their contents drained or emitted. While this probably isn't the best use of an artifact, it is a use.
Finally, existing in magic rich locations leads to a gradual gain in power no matter what actions you take. There are three prominent magic rich locations, Elara Canyon, Toliama Falls and The Grand Forest.
While the first two are firmly under the control of a kingdom and are thus, limited in their use. The Grand Forest is primarily dominated by wildlife and is available to all. While these are the three largest magic rich locations, various smaller ones exist across the world.
While these are all ways to grow stronger, if one absorbs the magic of a creature or source far weaker then them. There is likely to be little to no growth. However, on the other hand. If a creature attempted to absorb far too much magic for their level of power it would have no benefit at best, or be life threatening at worst.
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The Grand Forest
An extremely large forest that spans hundreds of miles. Three sections exist to this place. The outer region, the middle region and the inner region. The names are self explanatory. The Grand Forest is one of the three promiment mana rich locations of the world. As such, civilization congregates around it.
The outer regions of the Grand Forest commonly find intelligent races settling them. Land in this area is considered valuable as simply existing here is enough to make a person stronger overtime. As such, colonial races have overtaken the outer region. Overtime the density of the foilage in this region has decreased, and while still easily considered a forest. It is not enough to blot out the sun. Various races used to live here, yet were easily pushed out in favor of the magic denser middle region.
The middle region is easily the most lively region of the Grand Forest. Civilization is however, much less frequent. Only tribes and small settlements inhabit the location. Many forms of wildlife can be found within the middle region, constantly in a life or death struggle. Some people attempt to settle the middle region, but are often times pushed out or killed by the hostile wildlife.
In the case of the outer region most of the wildlife was pushed out into the middle region from a lack of care. If the same were to happen to the middle region many races would not survive the inner regions. As such it is much more difficult to force the wildlife out, ergo the middle region has yet to be settled, and likely wont be for a long time.
The inner regions of the Grand Forest host much less life, yet those that remain are a force to be reckoned with. The magic within the Grand Forest pulses from the center. As such the concentration of magic within the inner region is much higher then the outer and middle region. If one was to weak they could simply die from over exposure. Generally the strongest of creatures congregate within this location in order to grow stronger.
Most creatures of the Grand Forest instinctually avoid the grounds of the inner region in an effort of self preservation. Very few have truly reached the center of the Grand Forest, civilized life and wildlife both included. Yet those that return alive grow exponentially stronger. Presumably being given the opportunity to draw magic straight from the tap.
Notably, the Grand Forest is the most active of the three prominent magic rich locations of the world. Both in terms of civilization and wildlife. It is both the most accessible location and is also the most potent of the three in terms of magic. The struggle of life will likely continue, untill either the source runs dry. Or the entire forest is stripped of life.