The Course of Life

Hukkle is the smallest town of a kingdom that of which only the town mayor knows the name. In the far reaches of the town by the protective wall, in the smallest alley between two old buildings, lives Rez who is the poorest of the poor. Rez is a street beggar that only gets beat up and ignored. He is disliked by everyone because the church hates what he looks like. Rez is a small kid that is all skin and bones for he only eats scraps he can find on the street. His hair is as white as the snow and he has skin of porcelain though they don't show because of all the dirt. His eyes are as dark as the darkest night with silver and gold flakes that sparkle within them. The people who have ever looked long enough in them have shivered with all their instincts to hide from them since the depth they have is all encompassing. The others who have looked feel like everything is open and bare to those eyes of midnight and universes.

Rez was just waking up for the happiest day of his life. Today was the day he would finally get a status from the Ceremony of Creation. The status everyone got at the age of 8. Today at midday was when the ceremony would be held in that year. When he woke to the smell of fresh rain he was even happier since he would be able to wipe off some of the dirt and grime that had built up. He went to the old leaky bucket that he had found thrown away. He drank some of the water then cleaned himself with the scratchiest rag until the water was dark and couldn't get any darker.

Putting on the dirty rags that he calls his clothes Rez then started to walk out of his hiding place. He knew he wouldn't be able to buy anything for breakfast since he had tried once long go. When he was on the path that led to the main road he saw no one. When he made it to the main path he saw everyone ahead of him heading in the same direction. He knew they were all headed where he to was headed. He wanted to get to the main square as fast as he could to get in line for the ceremony. While running past everyone he hunched his shoulder and had his he'd down as to hide. That didn't matter because everyone else has skin bronzed by the sun and brown hair.

While running past the people that were walk-in they all shouted insults at him.

"What are you here for rat?" "This is no place for you" "I bet you won't even get a status"

Rez got shoved multiple times from the people that yelled at him, while he was stumbling he thought, 'Just a normal day when I get a status I can finally leave this town and fin a place where I will be respected'.

When Rez got to the line all the other kids that were 8 years old were already there and he still ended up being the at the end of the line. The kid in front of him saw him and pushed forward a little to be as far from Rez as he could be. Rez didn't care, he had never had friends. Everyone had always tried to be as far from him as they could.

At that moment the head priest Amiel stepped onto the stage and went behind a podium that held a stone, that was purple with a bluish tinge. It looked like a perfect sphere that was smooth as ca be. The stage also had a statue that couldn't be given a gender because of the robes on it. It had eyes made of the same stone as on the platform and it was said to be what Creation looked like.

The priest then started to talk, "We are here today for the Ceremony of Creation that will take place soon". He then went on to explain how everyone has a status and how it tied in with religion. Everyone was listening but one.

Rez was not listening to anything that the priest had to say. He had heard it multiple times before and was thinking of other things. He was thinking of everything that had happened to him over the last three years, the only years he remembers.

'Walking aimlessly with no set destination for days on end till he saw a ruined farm that he headed towards. Getting to the farm house and searching for food and water until he collapsed from exhaustion. Crawling to food he saw on the ground and a pail of water. Eating and drinking then falling unconscious. Walking for weeks after the farm and barely surviving after finding a river and random plants to eat while on the road.'

'Feeling so lucky when he was on the road and watched as bandits were torn to shreds by monsters he never knew were there. Also feeling lucky when later in the journey following the road a monster attacked him and he got away with only a cut that spanned from his right shoulder to his left hip, that was now a pearly white scar. Learning how to bandage his wounds an his journey following the road.'

'Finally making it to a town on the road. Learning the name of the town from a nice old guard. The old guard letting him into the town without paying anything. How he called the old guard Old Man. How he was the only person who helped him. How the Old Man taught him to read, taught him some combat techniques, fed him, and finally how the Old Man died protecting him from the church. Amiel standing over the Old Man with an expressionless face a year ago. Amiel saying ~You will never be a part of this town. You will never be accepted anywhere.~ How Amiel looked at him with scorn. Lastly being alone in the streets scorned by all, loved by none, liked by even less.'

Rez came out of his flashback state when the line started moving forward. The first person to go up to the stage was the mayor's son,Lane, and he was the worst of everyone for Rez. Lane always went out of his way to bully Rez. When he touched the stone on the pedestal fuzzy greenish light came out of the stone and floated above the stage saying FROM LIFE COMES DESTRUCTION. After a little while the words changed shape into two symbols one was a bow and sword in a circle and the other was a trees with vines around it in a circle. They condensed down and then seared themselves into Lane's forearm.

"You will have a great future Lane for it seems the Creator has blessed you with two powerful gifts," said Amiel.

Everyone else was silent for that was one of the many things Amiel went over earlier. Silence was supposedly important to this ceremony but Rez just thought that it was because Amiel didn't like noise. The ceremony continued on with nothing as exciting happening like what happened with lane touching the stone. Most of the kids just having clear light that was just barely tinted and only one word forming before have one symbol seared into their forearms.

At last it was Rez's turn he went up and touched the stone that looks so smooth. When he did it left like he had millions of miniature needles stabbing into his palm. Then it seemed as if time had stopped. The statue started to vibrate. Then it stopped vibrating and moved till it was his height. Then it started talking but no noise come out of it's mouth instead light that can't be described came out and formed the words FROM NOTHING COMES EVERYTHING, FROM EVERYTHING COMES NOTHING. When the words formed everything became stagnant. They then condensed down and went to Rez's arm. They then started to sear into his arm while they were doing that Rez felt like everything was fusing into his arm but also felt nothing at the same time. His expression changed between happiness and pain before finally settling into a blank face. When Rez looked at his arm he saw words that were scrawled up his arm to his shoulder, in a language that was extremely ancient but he knew that it said what the light had. The color of the scrawl was somehow exactly like his eyes but different at the same time. Rez felt something different and when he searched around for it he found that everyone else seemed to be stuck in time. Then with a start time rushed back to normal.

Amiel looked at Rez and when he noticed the design on Rez's arm his face turned disgusted. Amiel then yelled, "Get out of my sight you worm. Who said that you were allowed to be part of this ceremony? Even when you touched the stone the Creator didn't give you any words but instead cursed you." Amiel then proceeded to punch Rez as hard as he could.

Rez was sent flying and his stomach hurt but he didn't care. He was too happy to care. He had gotten to see words made of energy and they had been engraved into his arm and no one seemed to know what had happened with the statue.