Life in Yael is hard enough as is, but when you don't have anyone to look out for your well being, the difficulty sky rockets. This was life for a young boy named Keldar. At just six years of age he experienced his very first hardship. In the wee hours of the morning, before the sun was given chance to paint the sky in hues of orange, pink and blue he was secreted away by his parents, led deeper and deeper into the jungles where he was abandoned. His mother, from the looks of it didn't appear pleased with what she was doing but his father glared down at him with such loathing before the two vanished from his sight. In a panic he ran after them, trying his hardest to keep up but his efforts were for naught. He'd only succeeded in traversing even deeper into the thickness of the jungles becoming lost.
His first day alone he spent most of it trying to find his way back home but it wasn't long before he gave up on that venture and began looking around for suitable shelter. While young, he was fully aware of the dangers that slithered and skulked about just waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Along the way he grabbed anything that looked edible. This ranged from berries, fruits that hung high in the trees all the way down to the grubs and insects that skittered across the jungle floor. He partook of the rivers waters when necessary and bathed when absolutely necessary. He was never keen on being vulnerable for too long. This routine continued on without fail. Gradually, days became weeks. Weeks became months and months turned into years. The sweet little boy with the pinch-able cheeks and adorable baby face had become something more. He was calculating, vicious and wild. Baby fat long since shed, his adolescent body had become toned with muscle from the strain of running and climbing that was necessary to his survival.
He had come to learn how to stalk and hunt by observing the predator faun that called this jungle home and it was while he was observing one predator animals that he was caught of guard by another. Part of his left ear was the first to go as claws sunk into his back. By the rush of adrenaline and through a stroke of luck he was able to dislodge the beast from himself. Grasping a thick branch that had fallen from a tree, he fought back. A loud crack echoed in the air as the branch made contact with it's skull. In retaliation, it struck out and it's claws tore into his face. With one eye demanded without repair and the other blinded by the blood of his wound, he flailed about his weapon attempted to strike down his enemy and caught the beast in the eye. A roar sounded as the creature thrashed about attempting to dislodge the offending protrusion but Keldar would not give him. His hold remained firm and he pushed his weapon deeper and deeper until finally at long last the beast stilled and crumpled before him.
That night after using the soothing aloe of the flora to tend to his wounds, he ate well. Well to be honest, he ate well for quite a few days before he decided to move on and let the rest of the carcass be picked at. Yet he would not go empty handed. He needed a prize...a reminder of what befell him this day and so he pulled the teeth from the creature and crafted himself a necklace. Years later, while wandering the land he'd come to claim as his territory he happened across a settlement. Uneasiness swept over him. There were too many sounds...to many smells and yet there was a sense of familiarity. So he dared to venture further gaining strange looks from the people there and it only agitated him. Why were they staring at him?! As much as he wanted to lash out he didn't. He merely snarled at any who drew to close or who were caught eyeing him and then he heard it. He heard a voice so lyrical that there was no way he could not remember it. "Keldar..."
That voice that was so sweet and pure was the source of his rage. It brought back so many memories of fear and loneliness. His body trembled as he silently seethed. How dare she speak to him! How dare she call out to him as if she was so relieved to see him! She left him there to die and followed after his brute of a father like the pathetic sheep she was. He needed to leave, he couldn't stay in such a foreign place any longer. The jungle was his home now, his place of safety. Suddenly he was jolted from his brooding by the touch of a slender hand and that was all it took to make him lash out. Without warning he whirled around and bit down of her frail and delicate hand only letting go when she snatched her hand back and with a look of disgust he spat her blood to the ground.
"Keldar...please. I had no-"
"Why?!" He hissed, nearly spitting the word.
The woman so soft spoken and frail lowered her gaze to the ground in shame. No matter what her reasons were, none could ever be good enough to excuse her for her deeds She had left him to die and he had every right to hate her for it. The Gods knew how much she hated herself and regretted that night.
"Your father and I were young and foolish. We could barely feed ourselves as it were and bringing you into this mess was unfair. We tried our hardest to care for you, went many nights without food so long as you were fed but...but your father insisted that we give you up. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing another woman raise you...of seeing you run into the arms of another woman and calling her mother. So it was decided to leave you that night and pray that a swift a painless death would capture you."
Tear left her eyes and spilled down her cheeks and eventually evolved into a full on genuine sob of remorse. She truly did regret her decision that night but it was far too late for regrets. Her plight did nothing to move him. If anything it lulled him into an eerie level of calm. His sneer melted away into a mask of nothingness. His posture straightened and he stared at her in silence for quite some time before his lips parted to release a cold voice that was a deep as space was black.
"Keldar is dead just as you are to Keldar. Only Wahashi stands before you and you would do well to keep your distance else a simple bite will be the least of your worries."
He pushed past her leaving his bearer to crumble to her knees in emotional agony and returned to the harsh comforts of the jungle that he had grown to love. The settlement was too confusing...too different. It was filled with others whom he was certain was like his mother and father. Whom he was certain were untrustworthy. The jungle, it made more sense to him having spent so long within its greenery and among its beasts. He understood them better. While they were not predictable, they still told no lies.He knew there intentions the moment he saw them. Survival and he could certainly relate to that way of life. Yes. This would be the life he embraced. Away from deceit and weakness.
Stubbornly he would abide by his vow, even when he made contact with the other denizens of the jungle. They seemed friendly enough but he made no effort to truly interact. He avoided them and gave them their space causing them no real issue if they did the same towards him. From afar he would observe them and their practices, thinking them quite foolish with their superstitions and worship of Gods that they had no real proof existed. They prayed for protection from what he considered to be nothing more than an imaginary friend. Pathetic. It was nauseating really...though they did have their redeeming qualities. Well a small group did anyway. They carried about whips and moved as though they were one with the companion beasts they had. Seeing such a bond struck a cord with him.
That was such a bond he wished to have but how? Where would he even begin such a venture? He pondered over it for many days before admitting defeat and coming to a resolution. He would need to acclimate himself into their society, gain a teacher and learn the ways of the beast from an entirely new perspective. He would need to become one of them once more. His stomach churned with sickness at the very thought but what other options did he have? It was something that needed to be done. Mind made up he dared to seek them out...dared to seek kinship with them. It was only temporary he told himself. Just until he reached his goal and then he could return to the jungle that was his home.
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