Chapter Text
Be our light. Those were the words that encouraged me in our final hour; the day we all could’ve lost it all. Yet the sheer wills of those clinging to life and hope sang it out for me. The journey to that moment and time is quite perilous to say the least; depressing to some. Thankfully there are moments of joy and bonds that no force could hope to break, nor acid could melt away. It all began fifty years prior to my birth. Two forests, Nibel and Niwen, rest on the ocean, holding two very important trees called Spirit Trees. The light these colossal barks hold are called Light Vessels. Each of them is necessary for forming the glowing baby blue leaves growing from the trees. For every leaf that falls a creature called a Spirit is born. These were Hooved, or pawed, anthropomorphic beings the size of small children in most cases; with a tail, as well as a distinct set of ears and antenna. These spirits are akin to the tree’s children, and are a vital part of the reason each land is able to thrive. However, one day a toxic substance known as the Decay, raged upon these lands. This caused much turmoil amongst the island and in an unfortunate circumstance, separated the two forests apart. Nibel and Niwen weren’t the only forests affected. My home, Zoe, was caught in the crossfire of this disaster. The divide separated many creatures from their families, and most of the Decay resided in this forest. Thankfully, not all was lost. Zoe, harbored its own tree. This poison has a very prominent weakness, and that’s the spirits. Each spirit holds a weapon or power of their own, enabling them to strike what threatens their home. Nibel and Niwen’s lands were free of Decay in a short amount of time. However, Zoe became a battleground for the light and the overwhelming Decay. Each of the spirits fought hard, but it was a struggle even holding it back from destroying more of the forest. The rivers, tainted, which choked many of the trees at the roots, killing them. By the time the spirits held back against most of this corrupted mass, half of the forest had suffered. By the end of this war on the Decay, the spirits grew so worn, they could not go on any further; leaving the toxic waste to retreat to the ocean below, where it entered a long slumber. The aftermath was devastating, so much so that an entire region was reduced to a mere desert, with the bones of many creatures left behind; their flesh melted away by the Decay. Over the next few years, every animal, and insect worked to clean the death left behind; to make way for new life. New villages were built, plants regrown, and trees restored. Peace was brought back once again, everyone was smiling again. It wasn’t perfect. Unfortunately, the desert was unable to be revived, it was like a scarred reminder, to not grow complacent. The Decay was not dead after all. The warning wasn't enough to keep things in order forever. On the fiftieth year, hell had fallen upon the land once again, leaving a scape in its wake. The Decay has risen again. It had managed to swiftly surround the edges of the island, and soaked a few of its river’s again. The worst was yet to pass; Zoe’s own spirit tree was caught in the crossfire. The spirits tried to come to its aid, but it was futile. The toxic mass had overwhelmed them with its own constructs. Beings the likes they hadn’t faced before. The creatures of the light were obliterated. Not even the leaves of the tree were freed from its intoxicating grip. However, a last ditch effort by the tree was made. Using the light of its vessel, it managed to release a violent flash, which vanquished the corrupted mass surrounding the tree. It hardly saved the land, but it kept the tree from dying all together. Everything comes at a cost though. Most of its power had been used up on that blast, with the spirits gone, the tree had no means to regenerate that energy, and as a result, every spirit infant had perished due to being starved of light… except one. My light was saved, if not barely, and with a gust of wind, I had drifted on the wind, leaving nothing but my faint trail of light behind me, and the sun on the horizon. This is where my story begins.
The wind, with its slightly forceful gusts, twirled me along the river path away from the tree. Obviously I hadn’t been born yet, I had no control over my direction, which means where I land will be my birth place. Little did I know, I was in for a world of agony. The air carried me all the way to a very dense bog by the river. My leaf had broken free of this gust, and slowly I drifted down towards the water; water which had become overwhelmed by the toxins of Decay. With a few slow, and long sways from left to right, I had landed at last. My light had faintly flashed, as I was brought into existence. My body was curled in a slight white ball. The moment my ears could hear, I was greeted with a thick, bubbly sound. I swiftly stretched all of my limbs out, shocked at a sudden pain I could feel. My eyes remained shut, tight and tears began to form, and crying ensued. I flailed my arms and legs around in a panic, trying to ward off this burning sensation making its way through my fur. This was the world a child of light started in; a hefty toxic nightmare. The river forced me down stream, slowly, while also taking me under. The poisonous sludge was so heavy for me, that my legs had eventually grown stuck under the water. The end grew near, and infant screams roared into the bog. My eyes slowly opened, everything was a blur. Hardly anything was understood in my mind, but that didn’t matter, as I frantically looked around. Being a baby, there were no expectations other than to get out of this situation, or for someone to help me. Slowly everything came into view, I could see land, but swimming was impossible, even if I knew how. My arms were exhausted from all of the frantic swinging, they fell at my side. I was sinking fast. All I could do… was cry and hope someone would save this spirit’s life. As my life neared the inevitable, a set of faded purple striped arms grabbed underneath my head and legs and tried to pull me out. My eyes were opened in an instant, and were greeted with a spirit, with faded purple markings on his face. Expelling me from the waters was far from easy, the marked spirit was grunting in pain, trying to save my life. They were trying to tell me something, though the words struggled to come out given the action being performed.
“Don’t… worry little guy! I’ll get you… out of this! I promise!”
I understood nothing they said, but it was comforting to hear another voice. Merely pulling me this way wasn’t working, so he frantically turned my upper body towards him. This method was still slow, but it was proving effective, I was nearly there. Half of my body was free! They quickly grabbed my underarms and began pulling me out. With one last grunt, they got to their hind paws and pulled hard. I became freed from the Decay’s tight grip, finally on solid ground. I was still very afraid, the crying continued, but I was still frail and unable to move from that. Suddenly those same hands grabbed me and pulled my head into their lap, gently, and began to rub my head. I could hear their voice, this time I could actually make out what they were saying.
“There there, Eyr’s here. I won’t leave alone. It’s ok shhhh,” Eyr said gently, while wrapping his tail around my belly.
Slowly but surely, Eyr, the purple marked spirit, helped calm me down. The poison hadn’t completely left me, so the whining was still subtly there. I could hear Eyr muttering something under his hand. I couldn’t make out what they’d said, but that didn’t matter to me. I was exhausted after fighting against the river. A yawn escaped my mouth, I curled up into a little ball and closed my eyes; sleep was a must for this spirit. After some time while sleeping, I could feel an increase in the warmth around me, as well as some slight movement. Was I being moved? It was much more comfortable now, which was lovely. Of course being the infant I was, I merely kept sleeping regardless.
After a couple of hours, I finally felt the strength needed to wake up and view my surroundings. I slowly opened my eyes, blinked them a few times, and saw above me, a different creature than the one I saw earlier. Much grayer and green, with pale yellow eyes. I made a sound of confusion, wondering who they were. The soft creature merely smiled at me, and lowered his head closer to mine, and gently spoke.
“Welcome to the world little Luk.”