FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sun shined down upon the beautiful landscape of the meadows as the wind blew like waves across the fields. A stunning landscape, with the only noise coming from the calm gusts of wind flowing through the meadow and the occasional bird singing a sweet melody. The air was warm and pleasant, and to nearly anyone, it was a serene and beautiful scene that could calm the soul and warm the heart merely by walking along the path. But... even against all the beauty and tranquility, Lykan trudged across the dirt road like a zombie. The beauty of the meadows was lost to him as he solemnly walked along the path with unseeing eyes. In the past, walking across such a beautiful place he would have marveled the entire way and made sure to soak in every last bit of the world around him. But now... There wasn't much left of him; he felt utterly hollow, as if his soul was ripped out of his chest leaving an empty shell of his former self.

After weeks of asking himself why this happened to him and how it happened to him, well now he no longer even had the mental energy to care anymore. But what else was there to think about other than how his life had collapsed in on itself? A part of him almost wanted to cry, but he didn't even have the energy to do that anymore. So there he walked, along the dirt road shuffling his feet along with dead eyes looking forward to a dismal future. Though he'd replayed his memories of that fateful day in his head hundreds of times over, he just couldn't help but play out the events of the past in his head again.

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*CHUNK!*... Lykan heaved as he slammed an axe down over a log splitting it in half. He wiped the sweat off his brow and grabbed another log, slamming it down and cutting it in half as well. He'd woken up early, as he always did, and decided to chop up some firewood. The serenity of the cool morning atmosphere was beautiful, and the songs of birds played as the world began to awake. The sun crested over the hill revealing the shimmering dew across spread across the grass and leaves.

Lykan placed the axe down and took a seat on a tree stump. Sitting there he just looked at the world around him, his family's house, the trees, the grass, and he just smiled. Even after spending quite a while chopping up some firewood, Lykan barely felt tired at all. Around the village, many others would ask him for help frequently as they knew he was always happy to help and also pretty capable. The fact that he stood over six feet tall and was pretty well built made him quite handy.

After a few minutes, Lykan decided to get up and head back inside. He was sure the rest of his family would be up by now, preparing for the festivities later. Lykan stood up and began to walk back to his house, though as he walked he started squinting and scrunching his eyes. A strange sort of burning sensation began to well up in his vision and he brought his hands up to his eyes as he rubbed his eyes, thinking perhaps he had something in them. Lykan slowed down and then let out a grunt as suddenly the pain intensified. The pain had gone from just a momentary slight discomfort to now a debilitating burning. Then, suddenly, Lykan let out a gasp of pain when the sensation welled up and then a bright white light flashed across his vision.

Lykan was groaning out as he rubbed his palms against his eyes. He lit out a few gasps and groans of pain as the burning sensation began to dwindle until it finally it subsided. "What in the skies..." He cursed to himself and then took his hands away from his face. He opened his eyes and his vision started to come back to him. The world around him started to come into view again, and immediately Lykan was left shocked and worried. With wide eyes he looked all around him, quickly turning his body to see everything he could, because whatever had just happened to him... Seemed to have taken his ability to see colors. Lykan's heart beat faster and a sense of worry flooded him as he looked at the now dull world around him. His breath quickened and he was on the verge of freaking out until... He focused more into this vision on he noticed something. He looked at the plants, the trees, and the grass around him and... he could see something. His eyes widened and he bent down to look at the grass closer. The grass, it was almost like he could see something moving inside of it. It was almost like some sort of glowing light, slowly flowing within the plant. And as he noticed, he could see this sort of glowing light flowing within other plants. But then he looked at other things, and he noticed that this flowing light only seemed to exist in plants.

Whatever in hell just happened was not normal, and even though Lykan was worried and afraid about what just happened to him, there was a part of him that was truly curious about it. And with this curiosity, he brought out his arms in front of him and looked at himself. Slowly he twisted his arms around and noticed that same flowing light within his own body. He marveled as he looked at the strange flow of light. It looked like wisps or strands of glowing white light slowly traveling through his body. And even though the world around him was devoid of the beauty of color, he found a sort of unparalleled magnificence in this strange light he could see within the plants around him and in himself.

Lykan's mind swirled with intrigue, worry, curiosity, and countless other emotions. But then, suddenly, he gasped aloud in discomfort as a dull ache throbbed across his eyes for a moment. He blinked his eyes a few times, and then once he steadied his mind he looked around him, and the world had its color once again. Lykan was still shocked, completely confused, and slightly worried about what had just happened, but very grateful that he did not lose his ability to see color. He looked at his arms again and then back at the grass, and then the image of those strange and beautiful strands of light resurfaced in his mind. And as he thought about it, there was a part of him that was almost disappointed. Disappointed because he could no longer see whatever it was that he had seen before.

He steadied himself and stood back up, slowly walking towards the house once again. While walking his mind was filled with thoughts of whatever the hell just happened to him. That pain, the burning sensation, followed by a bright white flash, and then the world around him lost its color. But, instead of color, he could see something new, something just as if not more beautiful than color, and he couldn't describe it. Never in his life had he ever seen or heard of anything like he just saw. However, as he walked into his house, his train of thought was broken when he felt something collide with the side of his leg.

"OOF!" Lykan suddenly felt something crash into his leg. Then he heard a few giggles as he felt his arms and legs wrap around one of his legs. He looked down and gave a great big smile to his little sister, Lilia, who was now hanging onto his right leg like a monkey. "Ah! There seems to be some sort of monster grabbing my leg! I must get it off!" He then started to shake his leg, causing Lilia to laugh hysterically. He knew this was her favorite game, he never knew why she liked it so much but was happy to make her laugh in any way he could.

"Lilia! C'mon, get off your brother." Lilia let her get off his legs when she heard their mother call for her. "Go get ready ok Lilia?" Lykan smiled as he watched his sister run off to go get ready for the day, she was filled with excitement because she knew what today was.

"She's excited about the festival I see," Lykan said as his mother walked by carrying a sack of flour.

His mother smiled as she walked by him, "I can remember when you were her age and you were just as, if not more excited for the market festival."

"I still get that excited." He said with a smile.

His mother put down the sack, and Lykan immediately grabbed it and started walking it towards their wagon as they would be taking a whole lot of goods to the market to sell during the festival. Once a month, their tiny little village held a market festival. Everyone in the village would come together to sell and buy goods. There were always some forms of entertainment like tiny skits or shows, some sort of games, and if they were lucky, travelers from other villages would come to sell unique goods from faraway lands and tell stories of their travels. That was always Lykan's favorite part. He had always been such a curious person, and he always loved to learn of the world outside of their tiny little village. He knew that the world was bigger than he could ever imagine, and every time travelers came to their village they came telling stories. Lykan just couldn't believe the amount of things within the world that he didn't know. The types of creatures, beasts, and monsters out there in the world, the other lands filled with countless different species and kin. He wished he could see it all, and though he was truly happy living here in their tiny little village, there was a part of him that wished he could travel to see the unfathomable wonders within their world. But, he knew his duty. His father was a well-respected farmer and merchant and it was his duty to take over once his father became too old.

He helped load up the cart with goods to sell at the market festival, he wondered who might show up this month. There was always the hope that travelers would come, he could literally sit for hours and listen to their stories of the world. Lykan remembered one year a strange traveler came from a faraway land called The Ipnum, a desert land where dunes of sand stretched endlessly across the horizon. On top of his wagon, he had a massive skull, and everyone in the village was completely in awe. He told the story of the sand wurms, the creature the skull once belonged to. He said that they could swim through the sand like a fish swims through the water and they would feast on anything that walked on the surface of the dunes. Lykan remembered thinking how unbelievable it was that there were so many things in the world that he didn't know. And for years he always imagined, 'What is out there?'. Realistically, Lykan didn't think he would ever become a traveler or someone else who would get to see the world like that, so instead he reveled in every story told by the travelers who came through their village.

The rest of the morning went by as the family all prepared for the market festival. However, as he was getting ready, Lykan couldn't help but keep thinking about the strange experience he had earlier. Whatever it was, it spooked him out quite a bit. The pain, the burning feeling, and then to be left without the ability to see colors! But then... The way things looked, the plants and his body, the strange light that he could see flowing within them. There was a part of him that hoped it was just a one-time experience, but then there was a part of him that couldn't contain his curiosity, almost wishing that he might be able to see those beautiful wisps of light once again.

Once the family was all packed up and ready Lykan hitched up one of the oxen to their cart and they headed off to the market square. Though the festival hadn't begun yet, the entire village was bustling with the entire town setting up. Once they got to the market and set up, Lykan smiled as he saw everyone else. Looking out he could see several different families setting up. While the majority of the inhabitants of the town were human, they had several families of beast-kin living there as well. There were a few canine families, an elken family, a family of otters, and several others. And everyone in their small village lived in harmony with one another. In fact, everyone in the village treated each other almost like they were family, always helping one another as one might help their own kin.

Lykan had gone to help other families set up after his family finished preparing their stand. And as he was working he noticed a wagon coming through the market. The wagon was crafted out of a very distinctive dark black wood, and the beast driving the cart was a great big ox with a brownish-orange coat and two pairs of horns emerging form the back of its head. Immediately, Lykan's excitement welled up in his chest as he knew this cart could only belong to one person.

"TYVAR!!!!!" Lykan yelled out and jumped over the stand. A black hooded figure looked in his direction and halted the cart. He brought a furred claw up to remove his hood, revealing a smiling black-coated panther.

"Haha! Lykan?! By the skies, you've grown!" Lykan hurried to the cart and started to pet the large dual-horned ox.

"Heya Ruka, I hope Tyvar hasn't been wearing you out the past year." He said as he kept petting the big beast. It had been around a year or so since the last time Lykan saw Tyvar the panther. He was a traveling merchant whom Lykan met when he was a kid during a market festival. Tyvar was a lively and jubilant person and he always had the best stories. But what truly amazed him was the little tricks Tyvar could do with magic.

Tyvar reached out his hand to shake it with Lykan's but then all of a sudden his hand burst into flames! Tyvar started shaking his hand wildly and began to blow on his hand trying to put the fire out.

"Oh c'mon, don't think you're gonna get me with that one again." Lykan said laughing, and Tyvar cut the act and smiled back at Lykan and the flame on his hand disappeared. Tyvar had an ability to conjure small flames and the first time Lykan met him he pulled the same act which at the time had Lykan freaked out.

"Holy skies Lykan! You really have grown up!" Tyvar was surprised looking at Lykan up close now. In just a year, the somewhat scrawny kid he once knew was now a well-built and tall young man.

Lykan smiled back at Tyvar, "It really is good to see you again Tyvar. I hope you've got some new stories to tell."

"Oh believe me I do! And I'd be glad to share some of them, and even more glad if you'd be willing to help me set up my cart."

Lykan was more than happy to and was so excited to hear what Tyvar's travels had been like over the past year. So for the next half an hour or so, Lykan helped Tyvar set up his cart. Tyvar mostly sold goods made of black wood. The same wood his cart was made of. It was a very unique wood that only originated in the volcanic regions. The wood was black and was extremely valuable for its rarity along with its resistance to fire. Tyvar had tools made from blackwood as well as some trinkets and carvings made from blackwood. Though they were costly, buying such tools was worth it as they lasted longer than tools made from other types of wood. As Lykan helped Tyvar he got to listen to stories of his recent travels.

Aparently, in the past year, the amount of underbeing attacks and sightings had risen. Lykan had never seen an underbeing in his entire life, but every single person in the world knew of them. The underbeings are demons and other dark creatures that escape from the underworld and feed off of the world above. Lykan asked if Tyvar saw any in the past year to which he nodded his head.

"When?! Did they attack you?! And what do they look like!?" Lykan was so intrigued, though he'd heard stories of what the creatures looked like and seen drawing of them he wanted to hear what Tyvar had to say.

"Well, as you know the skies protect the Merchant's Road from the underbeings." That was something else everyone knew. They were all taught that the gods of the skies protected the villages and cities of the world, as well as the merchant's road from underbeings. "But I saw them, far off in the distance I could see them. Now I couldn't see them very well, and some might just say that I mistook the creatures as underbeings when they might have just been some other sort of monster or beast. But... No, I could sense it, I could feel it. I can't give you the best description of them, but they were dark, and they moved about unlike any other creature would... Unnaturally."

Lykan contemplated all of this, in true fascination with these evil creatures. He, as well as every other person in the world, feared and despised these creatures. Throughout history, they have slaughtered thousands, destroyed villages, and wreaked chaos across the world. However, some in their world almost worshipped the beings, saying that they were the god's way of punishing those who had gone against them. Lykan could never believe something so crazy, the skies were the domain of the gods, and the underbeings crawled out from the depths of hell, the domain of darkness and evil.

Underbeings all came to their world through the World Scar. The World Scar was the name of an enormous canyon that ran along the center of the entire world. The canyon was so deep that it neared the barrier of the underworld. And underbeings could crawl their way from their underworld and out at the bottom of the World Scar. Some were winged, and some were not. Regardless they all emerged from the world scar and spread across their world.

Lykan's small village was so far away from the World Scar that no underbeing had ever been seen even close to the village. But what scared Lykan was the fact that Tyvar said the underbeings had been spreading farther across the world, reaching villages and cities they had never reached before. That truly scared Lykan, and the image of his village being attacked by demons started to haunt his mind.

However, noticing the sort of darker turn the conversation had went, Tyvar quickly changed the subject and began to talk about the Great City, the capital of the kindgom. Tyvar said that a normal day at the market in the capital was just as busy as one of their small village's market festival. Lykan was shocked imagining it always being so busy. But then Tyvar spoke of festivals held in the capital. He doubted that anyone in the village could ever even begin to imagine the granduer of such a festival. Magic unlike anything they had ever seen, thousands and thousands of people, and hundreds of different species all together in one place. Hearing all of this amazed Lykan and also made him slightly jealous. He knew there was so much in the world he didn't know and he only wished that he could see everything the world had to offer. And the Great City was the perfect place, as many people said the Great City housed every known species of the world within it. One could see so much of the world just within one city.

In their village, there was only one person who had ever been to the Great City, and that was their villages healer, Mother Oars. However, she was a somewhat quite and solemn person who didn't talk too much and the few times she described the Great City it was quite boring. But Tyvar spoke of the city in such great detail and had his usual ability to make it seem truly glorious. After some time they had finished setting up Tyvar's cart, and just in time as they heard a bell being rung signifying the commencement of the festival. Lykan told Tyvar he'd return later as he was still very interested in everything he had to say. He returned back to his family to help as the festival began.

Time flew by as the entire village enjoyed the festivities. The market square was filled with the sounds of children running around, people bargaining, and even some folk playing music. Two hours had passed and Lykan's family had sold all of their merchandise that required Lykan's strength to move. Seeing that they didn't need his help anymore and knowing he was dying to go back to see Tyvar his father smiled and let him off the hook. Lykan rushed back over to Tyvar's cart to see a few others gathered around his cart watching the show he was putting on. Everyone around him was watching in awe as Tyvar literally juggled balls of fire. A little kid who was watching yelled out asking why Tyvar wasn't getting burned. The panther smiled down at the child and brough his hands out, holding on of these balls of fire. He told the child to hold out his hands but the kid refused to scared of being burnt. At this point, noticing that Lykan had joined the crowd Tyvar recruited Lykan and asked him to hold out his hand. Knowing about Tyvar's magic already he held out his hand and Tyvar dropped a ball of fire right into Lykan's hand. The ball of fire rested in Lykan's palm and he felt no pain, no burning, instead he just felt a warm pulsating. Seeing that it didn't burn Lykan, the kid immediately changed his attitude and held out his hand, Lykan then dropped the ball of fire from his hand into the kid's hand and once it was in his hand the kid's eyes lit up with excitement and wonder. After a few moments Tyvar snapped his fingers and the flame dissipated.

Lykan loved magic. In their village, it was a rarity and the only person who lived there that could use magic was Mother Oars, as she was trained in the Great City to be a healer. Other than that, the only other times they got to witness magic was when a traveler came through the village and was able to use it. However, Lykan remembered that about a year ago there was someone from their village, a daughter of a wolven family who was able to use magic. However she left the village shortly after as she was desperate to foster her newfound abilities, and she knew that she could never do such a thing in their tiny village.

Tyvar stepped back and began to do some more tricks with fire that had everyone in awe. Lykan enjoyed watching Tyvar use his magic and loved seeing how everyone else reacted to it as well. Lykan was focusing on Tyvars movements when all of a sudden he unconsciously rubbed his eyes as he felt some sort of discomfort. Then, he realized that it was the exact same discomfort he felt earlier in the morning. He cursed the skies as a burning sensation quickly welled up in his eyes. He scrunched his eyes shut as the pain flooded his mind and then just as before a white flash spread across his vision. The pain began to subside and Lykan blinked his eyes open. His worrying increased when he noticed that again he had lost his ability to see colors.

He was started to get worried when he actually took in everything around. At first his mind was clouded by the pain and worry of what was happening to him but now, as he looked around him he was left speechless. All around him he could see people, and within every single one of them he could see wisps of white light flowing through them. It was indescribable, everything he could see was bland and colorless, but then the people and plants he could see were teeming with this beautiful flowing light. With wide eyes, he marveled at every person he looked at. He turned his head and looked back at Tyvar and saw him through this new lens. It was so strange, yet undeniably beautiful. And unlike earlier when he was more worried than curious, now he was totally focused on the beauty of what he was now seeing. As he watched Tyvar, he suddenly noticed something. He saw strands of light, in the shape of a figure skulking behind the carts between two houses. He cocked his head as he soon realized this was a hooded figure, and though it hard to see what or who it was, he could clearly see the wisps of light emanating off his being. The figure was lurking around, crouching as if they didn't want to be noticed. Lykan watched with suspicion as the figure began to move towards the carts. The figure scuried quickly to the back of Tyvar's cart and Lykan saw the figure digging around in the back.

"HEY!!!" The moment Lykan saw the figure messing with Tyvar's cart, knowing that something was up. The crowd around him quieted and looked at Lykan while Tyvar stopped his performance and looked at where Lykan was pointing. The thief surprised that he was caught, looked up and quickly shuffled his hands around and then darted off after snagging something from Tyvar's cart. Tyvar immediately leaped out of the cart and used his feline speed to chase after the thief. Lykan also took off following Tyvar as he chased the thief. Suprisingly Lykan was able to keep up with the feline and the thief and followed them the market square was filled with the sounds of people watching the event fold out. The thief ran into people and knocked them over and also took the time to knock over a market stand hoping to slow down his pursuers.

Knowing every inch, nook, and cranny of the village Lykan made a risky move and ran as fast as he could around the crowd, hoping to flank the thief. At one point the thief ran into a more open area of the market and a lot of people started to look at the event folding out in front of them. The thief was heading down for an alleyway but all of a sudden he saw Lykan jump into the alleyway and darted straight for him. However, Lykan was under the impression that this was just some small-time petty thief, and he wasn't prepared for what happened next. The thief thrust his arm out and a flash of light blinded Lykan. And then the next the he knew, Lykan was on the floor. He didn't even feel it at first, he didn't even understand why he collapsed on the floor. But after a moment the searing pain completely took hold of his mind. All around everyone was gasping and watching as they were shocked, confused, and now concerned that Lykan lay on the floor.

Lykan rolled over and looked down at his gut, and a knife was sticking right out of his gut...

The thief ran up to Lykan and stood behind his body and yelled out to Tyvar. "LET ME GO OR THE KID DIES!" He screamed, his hooded figure still concealing his identity.

The entire festival had slowed to a halt, and when people heard what the thief said many screamed out in horror and fear. And Tyvar slowed to a halt after hearing the thief and saw that he was hovering over Lykan's body.

Lykan's mind and body were totally in shock. The searing pain radiating from his gut, his altered vision, it was too much and his mind felt like it was starting to crumble apart. The world around him no longer existed in his mind and the sounds around him became muffled. It was at this point that the pain inside him grew even more intense than before. The pain spread throughout his entire body, not just in his gut. However, though he didn't realize it, the pain in his gut had actually disappeared. Instead, a sort of burning sensation, exactly like the sensation he felt in his eyes earlier welled up throughout every inch of his body. Except the pain, was so much worse. His entire body felt like it was going to catch on fire. He started to lose consciousness as darkness took over his vision. But, as it did a sort of red hue covered his vision. But soon, the darkness consumed his vision...

...

...

...

Pain... That was the only thing he could feel. Nothing existed, not the world around him, not his thoughts, instead only pain. He didn't know how long it went on for but it was a pain unlike anything imaginable. As if every single fiber of his being had caught fire and that fire neither could be put out nor be stopped. However, after what seemed like an eternity, Lykan's mind was slowly returning to him. He groaned as he moved his limps around, immediately feeling a burning pain as he moved his muscles. His eyes fluttered open and finally, he looked out around him. He still couldn't see anything as his entire vision was completely blurred. Lykan had no idea where he was nor what had happened to him. He realized he was on the ground and slowly tried to prop himself up. He grunted out in pain as with every move he made his muscles screamed out in agony. Slowly, his blurred vision focused and the world around him came into view. Soon he was able to make out a crowd, all standing around where Lykan lay in the market square. Then, he saw the looks on their faces. They were all looked on with fear, and... he realized that they were looking at him.

It was then that he swung his head around and noticed that everyone, all around him was looking at him with fear. Just then he heard movement to his side and noticed Tyvar. While he wasn't exactly looking at Lykan with fear, his face was that of shock as the panther looked down at him with wide eyes. Then, Lykan saw something behind where Tyvar stood. His vision focused on the object and it took him a moment for him to realize what it was. His heart sunk to the floor and he felt horror spread through him as he saw a body lying on the floor. It was then that he remembered everything that had just happened. The thief, the chase... Being impaled by a knife. But all he could focus on was the unmoving body of the thief. At least... What was left of it. Lykan started to feel lightheaded and after stumbling a few times trying to get up he lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground.

...

...

...

Lykan groaned as he regained consciousness. He entire body ached but at least now his every movement didn't cause searing pain to ripple across his body. As his senses returned to him he heard a noise, it was the sound of creaking... Like a wagon. He opened his eyes and was left confused. He didn't wake up in his bed but instead in an unfamiliar place. He propped himself up and looked around to be left shocked. He was on a wagon!... With black wood. He turned around and sure enough he saw Tyvar and Ruka. 'What in the skies is going on?!' He thought to himself. And he then realized that they were no longer in the village and were instead on the merchant's road!

"T-Tyvar, What in the skies is going on?", he said groggily. Tyvar swilled back quickly hearing Lykan and just looked at him for a few moments without saying anything.

"...Lykan, are you alright?" He said in a strange tone, like he was confused and weary.

"Well, I'm aching all over but other than that..." Just then Lykan looked down at his body and noticed a bandage around his waist covered with a few spats of blood. Right then it all came crashing down on him, everything that had happened. And his heart sunk as he remembered... He was stabbed! Quickly he ripped off the bandages not even thinking about it until they were all ripped off. But when he ripped them off and looked at his stomach he was left baffled... He was filled with confusion as where he was stabbed there wasn't even a single mark on his skin... Not even a scar. "Did Mother Oars heal me?" He asked as he kept inspecting his body.

Tyvar looked back forward. "No... She, she refused to."

With that, Lykan looked up confused, and it was then that he wondered what in the skies he was doing on Tyvar's cart on the merchant's road. "Tyvar, what the hell am I doing here? Why am I on your cart?" He asked.

There was a few moments of silence and then Tyvar let out a sigh. "Lykan I... I don't know what to say... What do you remember?" He asked, dodging Lykan's question for now.

Lykan slumped back and thought back... "A thief, he stole something from you and we chased him. Then I cut him off and then I remember a blinding light." Lykan realized that it must have been some sort of magic the thief used to blind him. "Then the next thing I knew I was on the ground with a knife sticking out of my gut..." Then he stopped.

"And?" Tyvar asked.

"T-That's it... I remember my vision going black and then there was nothing... Well, nothing but pain." His memories came back to him and he shuttered as he was reminded of the excruciating pain he felt. "Everything was black, I saw nothing, remember nothing except pain. And then I woke up and..." He was struggling to recall the events of what happened next. "I... I saw everyone, the whole village. And they, they were looking at me. And then I saw... I saw the thief." The memory hit him hard as the sight of the thief's body popped up in his mind. Tyvar merely grunted and hummed.

"Tyvar... Why am I here? What they hell happened?" Lykan asked strongly.

Tyvar knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it all, and he was going to have to tell him. "You really don't remember anything else?" Tyvar asked, to which Lykan just said no. "Lykan... Hmmm. You... You didn't black out." Tyvar said to which Lykan cocked his head in confusion. "After you were stabbed you laid there on the ground for a few moments before you suddenly screamed out so loud everyone nearby had to cup their ears, including the thief." Lykan was in disbelief... Tyvar was saying that he screamed? He had absolutely no memory of ever screaming. "Then. Hmmm, perhaps..." Tyvar halted Ruka and the cart stopped. He turned around and faced Lykan. "Maybe I can show you." Tyvar said and Lykan watched as Tyvar waved his hands and fingers around until a flame appeared between them. Then another flame appeared and after Tyvar weaved his fingers around the flames began to take shape. Soon, Lykan could see two humanoid-like figures. Tyvar began to make his fingers dance, and as he did the flame figures began to move. Tyvar started to narrate the scene he conjured up with flames. "You screamed... Louder than any man could." As Tyvar narrated the flames mimicked the story he spoke. "Then you... You got up. But... You did not look like you anymore. There was an aura around your body... Magic, I don't know of what sort but it was magic. You're eyes went red, blood red. The thief tried to react but before he could..." Lykan saw one of the flame figures dart towards the other one and it began to beat into the other figure mercilessly until parts of the flame figure began to fall off of its body. Then, even at that point the first figure continued smashing into the other figure even though it lay motionless on the ground.

Lykan was in disbelief. There was a part of him that believed that Tyvar was showing what he did to the thief, although, pieces of the puzzle were beginning to click in his mind and he was starting to understand. He then saw the first figure cease its barrage against the second figure only to step back. It's body contorted and from the arms of the flame figure more flames ejected out. Once the flames ceased the figure collapsed. Tyvar snapped his fingers and the flames disappeared.

"I... I killed... I killed him?" Lykan was filled was utter horror. Though he was a thief, though he had literally stabbed Lykan and threatened to kill him. The fact that Lykan had taken a life brought a feeling of horror onto him, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Tyvar merely nodded. Lykan huffed out and started to breath faster and heavier. "By the skies... By the skies!..." Lykan frantically repeated.

Tyvar put his paw on Lykan's shoulder, "Lykan... He could've killed you." Tyvar said, and even though Lykan knew that was true he was still consumed by the fact that another soul had been taken BECAUSE of HIM! And there was still so much more! What the hell was he doing here!

"But WHY AM I HERE!?" Lykan yelled, unable to control his emotions.

Tyvar just hung his head solemnly... "Lykan, the village... You," and then a pause, "you cannot return to the village." Tyvar said lightly. Lykan froze up and he felt like ice covered his entire body and he almost didn't understand what Tyvar just said.

"W-W... What?" Lykan practically whispered back.

"Lykan. Mother Oars looked at you. She was going to heal you but then she... She said she 'felt something'." Lykan cocked his head again in confusion.

"Felt WHAT?!" Lykan barked.

"Mother Oars said you are cursed..." Tyvar said plainly.

...

"What?" Lykan said in disbelief.

"Mother Oars said that you were cursed, and that you were a danger to everyone in the village. And... well if it wasn't for me I fear that you might not even be alive right now."

Lykans eyes went wide... his mind swirled with too much and he didn't believe that this was all real. "What do you mean?"

Tyvar looked back at Lykan, "All I know if that the elders of the village... well. They exiled you Lykan. You can never return to the village."

Lykan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. 'No, no, no, no, no, no! This wasn't real... This wasn't happening. This was all some sort of cruel dream and all he had to do was wake up from the nightmare!' But when he opened his eyes, all he was met with was cruel reality. Tears began to flow down Lykan's cheeks as he was realizing that his life had completely fallen apart.

"I offered to take you with me..." Tyvar stated as he looked forward and hiked the harness causing Ruka to start moving again. "Whether you are cursed on not, and whether you might pose a danger to me I to owe you. What that thief stole, was something I could never get back, it means more to me than my life itself..." Then he started talking under his breath. "He knew I had it... someone must have told him." And then he started talking normally again. "Lykan, I know there is nothing... Nothing I could ever say to express how sorry I am."

Lykan slumped onto his back just staring up at the sky as he felt like everything was lost. He just lay there staring up unseeingly for a long time. "What now?" He wondered out loud. What was he now? He was no one. He had no family, no home, nothing. And he was cursed. "If I am cursed... then I am a danger to everyone. What something like that happens again? What if I hurt more people?... The world would be better if I were gone." He said, completely defeated.

Tyvar swung his head back, "No! Lykan... Believe me, the world is filled with cruelty, anguish, and tragedy. People have lost way more than you have and still continue on." Tyvar said strongly.

"But I am cursed!" Lykan retorted.

Tyvar didn't say anything at first, "Maybe you are, but are you just going to give up? Curses can be broken."

Lykan sat up and shook his head, "Broken... I could fix this? Would they let me return to the village if I did?!" Hope, even just a tiny glimmer of it was all Lykan needed.

"I... I don't know, but what would you have to lose in trying?" Tyvar replied.

That was all he needed, and just with that, he felt himself filled with hope. At that very moment, Lykan vowed to himself that he would break this 'curse' no matter what it cost him.

...

...

...

A month had passed with Tyvar and Lykan on the merchant's road. Every day Lykan wrestled with everything that happened to him. He fought every day to keep the tiny flame of hope within him alive. However, every night he slept he was haunted by nightmares and memories of pain. He also had frequent episodes where his vision would go black and white and he could see wisps of light. He spoke of this to Tyvar and he had absolutely no clue what it was, saying perhaps it was some part of the curse. While they traveled Tyvar spoke about the Great City, and that led Lykan to think about it. The Great City had a culmination of practically all species in the world. That would mean that a culmination of nearly all types of magical knowledge would be there as well. Perhaps in the Great City they could possess the knowledge to break Lykan's curse! Neither of them could think of any better course for Lykan and it was then he decided he would travel to the Great City.

However, Tyvar was not bound for the Great City, so after a month of traveling Lykan sadly parted ways with Tyvar. He'd grown even closer to the feline during their travels and without him he didn't think he could have made it. Lykan found out that the object the thief stole was a rare magical amulet that belonged to Tyvar's family. And as Lykan was the reason he was able to get it back Tyvar left Lykan with anything he could that would make his travels better. The most bewildering and amazing of all was one of Tyvar's prized posessions. He said that he truly hated to let it go but he owed Lykan, not to mention everything he'd been through. It was an enchanted travel sack that could hold more items than its size would allow! Tyvar showed Lykan that within it, the area inside the bag was much, MUCH larger than the exterior. Not to mention the fact that the magic also made the items weight less! So a traveler could carry so much in just one tiny little travel pack.

Lykan thanked Tyvar for everything, and he was truly sad as now he didn't know if he'd ever see him again. Another part of his life... Lost.

"I hope the skies shine our lights along the same path one day Lykan." Tyvar said as he bid his final goodbye to him. And with that... Lykan was left alone in the world traveling to the Great City in the hopes he could break his curse.

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