EGBERI

Chapter Two - Hidden Gifts

Unlike other children Razan was unique. He could comprehend very fast, smart to say but a weakling physically. Very sluggish the way he walked with a skinny structure. He would have been the best version of himself if only his spirit self was linked to his body. A very handsome dark skinned, loved by all who sought to gaze.

But evil gloomed as Sei-Teme's minions would stop at nothing, trying not to disappoint their master.
On a faithful day in the camp, spirit possessed Razan was drifted by an ancestral spirit to another camp miles away from his camp. By the time his grandmother fought off the ancestry he was already deep within the camp. When he gained consciousness, with the confusion of a 6 year old, he became overwhelmed with anxiety and panicked roaming around wondering what had happened to the camp. He managed to run into the nearby swamp bush and made a stop by the river bank.

He saw a group of campers of same age group, as they approached him he turned and ran along the river side while they chased. He ran and fell off an edge falling into the water. He struggled but unfortunately didn't know how to swim. The campers ran for the camp masters and they managed to drag his almost drowned, unconscious body out of the river. They assessed him and realized he was not a member of their camp. Fortunately for him a camp master who recognized him as an outstanding learner as introduced when he once visited his camp, saw him and took him back to his camp.

His camp masters saw him as a camp escaper. He was punished infront of an assembly of the entire camp. Soon message was sent to his parents and after a days journey she arrived and took him home. She was very disappointed and needed a good explanation but he too was still very confused with everything that was happening. There was no way anyone would understand if he explained that he was unconscious, as if he sleep walked.

Tarja blamed herself, saying she was not doing enough in raising him properly so she decided to send him to her sister who already had 2 children hoping that he found comfort in the company of them, for she was a nursing mother with Koffe at 3 months. Even Tarja had begun to observe how strange Razan was. At times it seems as if he was lost in thoughts, most times he hears different words than what was actually said coupled with his funny walking pattern convinced to be as a result of his early crippled incident.

He arrived at his aunty Torri's house two days later .
She was a merchant buying from Fishermen and selling at a stall. Her husband Wadit had a poultry farmer at the back of the house. Their first daughter Buxie was a Spiritual making her first drift at the age of 8. Now she was 15 enrolling in a spirit temple. Spirit temples were very expensive compared to skill camps and Wadit was not really a fan of spending so much on a female child but there was a greater worry of her body being possessed and manipulated by an ancestral spirit seeking revenge for their unlawful death with a motive to kill.

Spirituals were usually 10% of any niche but there are spirituals who couldn't afford to learn the mastery at the temples. They were mostly frustrated crazy people, a few go beyond the normal invoking a demon to take control of their body. They however die within a year because the demon drains their energy 4 times the normal and even though sex was a remedy for reviving spirit energy the rate at which the energy drains causes visible cracks in their body almost like wounds with glowing red color leaving them unconscious for hours. They mostly take occupations of an assassin and live in desolate lands with concubines. The rest that refuse this fate end up as crazy street rags hated by the people. They're protected by a law of the innocence of their actions and should only be killed when possessed and in self defence.

Their son Yaden 7 years old was still yet to discover any skill at his camp, currently practicing archery. His father hopes for him to be a famous hunter, it was one of the major occupations as one kill of mighty air beast could give a lifetime worth of gold as difficult as it was, otherwise a range of beasts on land, air and sea could also get u a moderate amount of gold.

Ranzan's arrival turned sour after the first 1 month. When no one else was in the house, an ancestry would posses him, making him steal and burry a stock of his aunties fishes for no reason but he would be unconscious in the act, other times he would find a spear head and stab the birds in the cage without being spotted. Even at camp with Yaden there were several complains of strange things happening since his arrival but he was too young for a spirit drift.

They got tired of all the strange happenings and decided to return him to his mother. Making an excuse that her husband wanted them to move to his home clan.
Tarja had him at home for almost 3 months in custody of Zinik her cousin who watched over little Koffe while she went fishing. She was 17 and a Spiritual. It was also a popular act of ancestry possessing young spirituals yet to master the act for sexual experience with their spirit partners also possessed within the body of another spiritual without causing any damages like pregnancy and leave the body at a safe spot when they're done.

This time, while Tarja had gone for one of her expeditions,
an ancestry possessed both her and Razan of 6 years and molested him sexually, while this was going on, instead of being unconscious his spirit self connect to reality as his spirit energy pumped full for the first time. After the intercourse he's eyes became active. The rest of his body was still impulsive.

A week later he was chipped off to a very famous community Ladam, known for it's vast trade port linking to other continents, it provided huge business opportunities for it's occupants and was seen as a city where dreams were fulfilled. All the houses in the community belonged to the emperor and we're subdued to rent. His uncle Troden was a rich swordsman and served the emperor's guard at rotation shifts in different sections of the city. He had a very lazy wife who was very demanding, easily irritated at the slightest of inconvenience.

Again, the ancestry possessed him as usual, this time he was aware of what happened but could do nothing to stop himself, stealing and burying items in the house for no reason. Troden tried to defend him of accusations for as long as he could but at a point the complains became unbearable and he was returned to his mother.

This time Tarja got worried that they kept returning him so on the advice of her brother she took him to a spirit seeker to inquire about what to do with him. The seeker saw where his spirit self was drifted and unaware of what it was so she told his mother to send him to a spirit temple to master his spirituality.