• Chapter 8
    The story behind the mark



    “ How long was I unconscious for?” Kiobi asked Rin. “ A while” she said “ about three days.” “Jeez” said Kiobi “ that’s the longest spell I've ever had, I've never been out for more then two days.” Rin smiled “ I'm just glad you’re Ok” she said. They sat in silence for a bit, Kiobi reflected on what the monster had told him. “ When will this battle happen?” Kiobi thought to himself “ I must be ready.” “ I saw the mark.” said Rin “ The one on your left hand.” Kiobi looked down at his hand and back at Rin “ “I'm sorry you had to find out my secret like this.” He said “ I wish I had said something sooner, but I didn't want to scare you.”


    Rin placed her hand on Kiobi's “ I would have done same thing” said Rin. Kiobi lifted his hand away and looked at it. “ This mark has made my life a living nightmare, for as long as I can remember.” He said holding his hand over his head. “ But the story of how this mark came to be dates back thousands of years.” Rin looked up at Kiobi “ Can you tell me it?” she asked him. Kiobi sighed “ Ok” he said “ It's a long story.” He looked down at the mark on his hand “ The story begins when the first Nekohito's came to this land.”

    Kiobi began “ They were a group of warriors form the west who decided to settle here, Their leader whose name was Arozad was a ruthless one. He fought many a beast and never lost a battle, When the group finally decided to settle down Arozad proclaimed himself the rightful king of the clan. All was well until one day for the first time in months it rained. At first the rain was welcomed but soon it became a burden. It rained for months on end, non-stop. The people went to the now king Arozad and complained, The soil was so wet people couldn't plant their crops and travel was made difficult by the mud. The king was at a loss, That was until one of his men came to him with a startling discovery! They had learned of a beast, a beast by the name of cumulonimbus. Named for the clouds on top of which he rode. He was also known as the cloud beast. When the king learned of this he became in raged.



    They learned that the beast resided on top of one of the highest mountains in the land, a mountain who’s peaks were obscured by clouds. The next day king Arozad assembled ten of his best men, and they headed to the mountain with the intention of slaying the beast. They came face to face with this cat like beast, its fur flowing and white like the clouds and its eyes red like fire. The battle would go on for days, until finally on the seventh day the beast was slain. But with its final breath it mumbled the words “ May you and generations to come be cursed by my restless spirit.”


    But the men and the king thought nothing of the beasts words and soon with time those words where forgotten. But then just two years after the beast was slain a young boy was born with a strange mark on his chest, similar to mine. His mother and father ignored it and thought it was just a strange birth mark, but one day on his twelfth birthday the boy lost control. His soul was being devoured by the cloud beast. He became enraged with the anger from the beast and destroyed most of the town, that same day the boy was killed. From that point on any child born with the mark would be sacrificed on their twelfth birthday in hopes that the gods would find a way to break the curse.


    One-hundred and fifty years had passed since then and on a warm summer’s day, I was borne. Kiobi the son of Kiobo and Adra. At first all was as it should have been, I was healthy and strong. But then my mother noticed the mark on my left hand. She began to worry she did not want to lose the little boy she had worked so hard to conceive. My family was of noble stature, living with and working for the current what we by then called the Emperor. So my mark had to be hidden, or I would be killed on the eve of my twelfth birthday. My mother would wrap my hand in a silk cloth, then when I turned fourteen my father gave me the gloves I wear now.


    Sometime after he gave me a string of white glittering stones, which he called the stones of light. He told me that a special compound found in those rocks would keep the monster calm. I wore the rocks tightly wrapped around my left hand. For a while they worked my hand did not ache like it once had, and for a while I had forgotten about my curse. Time passed and soon I joined the stealth force which worked closely with our troops that protected our Emperor.” Kiobi told rin.


    “But I didn't forget the curse for long” He said looking down at his hand. Rin looked up at Kiobi “What happened?” She asked intrigued. Kiobi looked away “I don't want to talk about it” he said. “Its ok.” said Rin “You can tell me when you feel you can talk about it.”