Talking with the Elder

"I see you have brought humans to the village." The old lion growled. "Did they threaten you for its location? Or did you fall for some lame story about needing help?! How many times have I told you, humans will either kill you or enslave you on sight! Now they know where our village is!" He paused for a moment while trying to regain his composure. "Go to your room Kaitlyn, I will handle this mess and we will speak of it later!"

"But grandpa!" Kaitlyn said.

"No buts!" The old lion snapped back. "Get in your room now!"

Kaitlyn gave up and stormed off to her room. She made a show about slamming the cloth that hung from her door.

After Kaitlyn was secure in her room, the older beast man rolled his shoulders as to loosen them up for battle. He looked down at the small human before him and snarled. "It is a shame you came all this way to die little human. I just cannot risk the safety of my tribe to a human's whims."

Zell sat Donovan's body down on the floor against the wall. "Can we talk about this?" Zell asked.

Before Zell could say anything else the old lion rushed forward to attack. Before his blow landed however his instincts kicked in and he leaped to the far wall of the hut. [What is that?!] He thought to himself as all his hairs stood on end. "Boy what are you?!" He shouted.

"I tried to warn you grandpa!" Kaitlyn could be heard from her room.

The old lion's face changed to worry, and he decided he would attempt to salvage the situation. "Yes, why don't we talk. Have a seat there and we will have a discussion."

Zell smiled and complied with the old lion's request. "My name is Zell Neuval, it is a pleasure to meet you sir." Zell said as he sat down.

"Neuval like the human kingdom to the west?" The old lion asked.

"I suppose?" Zell replied. "I don't really know where I am right now."

"Right, how rude of me." The old lion sat down. "My name is Leon Furtail, I am elder and chieftain of this tribe. We are the ones hidden within the Eastern woods, or as some call it the forest of no return. At least that is what humans call it, since we never allow them to leave it alive… normally."

"I can understand your sentiment on the matter." Zell said. "Kaitlyn told me about what humans do to your people. I had no idea, and I apologize."

"With a name like yours I am assuming you are of noble birth?" Leon asked, trying to find out more about the boy his body was so afraid of.

"Yes, my father is the King's brother." Zell answered. "I don't really know much about the kingdom, today was supposed to be my first day of school. It kind of went off track."

"I see." Leon said. "What happened to that one?" Leon pointed at Donovan.

"Oh right, I regret to say that he was going to kill poor Kaitlyn, so pushed him." Zell said. "I couldn't let a young girl get hurt for no reason."

[Is this kid for real?!] Leon thought to himself. [Humans have never cared about us beast folk, and yet to claims to have attacked one of their own kind to save my granddaughter?]

"It's true grandpa!" Kaitlyn yelled from the other room.

"Stop listening in on us Kaitlyn!" Leon yelled back.

"It's not like it's hard, you are talking so loud!" Kaitlyn responded back.

"So anyway." Zell said to continue his story. "When I pushed him, I accidentally used too much of my power and I accidentally destroyed a few thousand feet of trees…"

Leon crossed his arms, unsure what to do with that information. "Trees are of no concern; our druids can heal any wound of the forest." He said. "What's more impressive is you say a mere push from you destroyed thousands of feet of trees. Are you one with a spirit?"

"Is that what Kaitlyn told me about earlier?" Zell asked. "Where an individual can take in a spirit or a god and gain their strength?"

"Mostly," Leon started, "I understand Kaitlyn wouldn't have explained it well. I have not explained it well to her myself. We beast folk can commune with nature, and that includes the spirits of nature. Through meditation we are able to see and communicate with those spirits. If someone has the appropriate skill of Vessel, they can form a pact with the spirit. Both parties must agree to the pact, or it will not work. Together they create a symbiotic relationship, the spirit is gifted with physical experiences and the beast folk are granted great strength and agility. We call this being one with the spirit because the two become one. Vessels say they can always hear the thoughts of the spirit and never feel alone again. It is both a great honor and burden."

"That's pretty much the gist of what Kaitlyn told me." Zell said. "Has a human ever been one with a spirit before?"

"No." Leon answered quickly. "Humans lack the ability to communicate with nature, the world of the spirits is unknown to them. They are savages who murder anyone who is different from themselves. No offense to the present company."

"From what I've learned so far you have every right to feel that way." Zell said.

"So, if you are not one with a spirit, why are you so strong? What is your current level?" Leon asked.

"I don't honestly know." Zell said. "My level has always just appeared as symbols, and the first person I talked about it to was this old man, and you see how that turned out. I don't know why I just told you too."

"It's my skill." Leon said. "Finder of truth. It burns through my mana but compels whoever I ask a question to answer in truth."

"That skill is crazy!" Zell said. "The professor here has a similar skill where he can see lies. Why would you tell me about your skill anyway?"

"It's a drawback of the skill." Leon said. "While it is activated, I may only speak the truth as well. It makes family discussions quite interesting but impactful."

"How did you end up in my forest?" Leon asked, his skill still active.

"Well, the professor activated one of my skills called Selective memory and apparently I lost control." Zell explained. "He said that I was going to cause a mana explosion that would have wiped out the school if he didn't stop me, so he teleported us to the forest. Sadly, though, my skill reactivated, and I lost all the memories again. He did tell me I told him I was from another world, and that my whole family died."

"So, you must be the one." Leon sighed with relief. "She told me you would be coming."