Primogeniture

Chapter 9 - Friend

     15 years ago, I was brought into the spirit plane, and I did not know my parents. I was brought to a large building known as the Chamber of Winds, or some would call it the Wind Chambers. I was one of only twenty young wind spirits and I was the youngest among them. The elder there taught us many things from magic to the human world we call Gaia. There is only one supercontinent in the shape of an inverted raindrop and three archipelagos located south of said continent. The Spirit Exodus or Spirit War known to the humans on Gaia was a period of grief and joy. Joy, because many spirit families were reunited after spirits return to the plane as per their spirit contracts. Grief, because those who return needlessly lost a valuable companion brought upon by greedy and cruel aristocrats who wanted to rule the continent known as the Ashian continent.

     I was given the name Anem by Master of the Wind Chamber, who was responsible for giving names to all the wind orphans found in the spirit plane. I formed many, many bonds with the children in the chamber but I knew deep down that I was alone. I was the youngest and newest addition of the chamber. I did not have anyone like me. I was unintentionally left alone by those I call my brothers and sister to no fault of their own. It is just that I was never approached by any of them to form deep connections and I myself did not take the time to approach them to seek a connection. I was usually alone in the chamber, learning alone, practicing alone and living alone. I understood what it meant to be lonely in a crowded room. Neither my seniors nor the elders would pay me attention as my abilities were ordinary and my personality was dull and boring. I had no friends not until one day I turned 10 and was allowed to leave the chamber to venture into the spirit plane. The outside plane was also foreign to me, I knew nothing of its people and culture. The other orphans who had the chance to exit the chamber always returned amazed and in awe of the outside world.

     We usually travelled outside in groups, but I ventured outside alone. The spirit plane is only one large city than holds all spirits. It is a gift from our Gods, and we cherish it dearly, the plane has everything from housing, markets, recreational areas and chambers of spirit training. As he travelled along the streets of the plane, he saw many spirits of different elements for the first time. Spirits who have returned from Gaia littered the streets, and many families were roaming around the plane. After the fallout of the spirit war, many spirits turned inwards to the plane and never left it, they prefer to form families here with other spirits than risk breaking their hearts from seeing their human companions die from needless war. It had been over 180 years since the end of the spirit war and many spirits who left the plane have returned and the spirits who leave now only leave for two places, Temples of Wisteria and Churches of Maxia. All in the region at the south of the continent. What troubled me the most is that I could not find any wind spirit who returned from Gaia. I wonder where they are...

     As he floats down the street, he stumbles upon a recreational park where families visit for leisure. He decided to explore this park and as he continued to walk along the path created for travelling in the park, he looked at the open field where people are happy and he could see that many bonds were formed, bonds that he had always yearned for. Someone who could understand him, someone who he can talk to, someone who will be his real family. 

     "Eeahhhhh !" He heard a sound of someone crying from afar and decided to check. He followed the direction from where the sound was coming from. He found a fire spirit deep among the bushes. She had beautiful long hair, and she buried her face in her knees. Her sobbing was audible and filled with fear.

     "Hello. A-are you alright?" He was nervous when he spoke up to her. He had never calmed down a crying spirit before as he was always the one being calmed down. The fire spirit lifted her head and looked at him with teary eyes and a running nose. 

     "Ueahhhh" Her crying did not stop but got even louder. He then approached her and pat her on the head.

     "Please do not cry, I do not know how to deal with you." He said as she stopped crying and looked at him.