Ivisals (English version)

Chapter 1 : Which Invisibility Chose Me

In the round clearing of the Branch, a line of children stamped their feet impatiently: today they will receive their name. When it was his turn, a young boy stepped forward and placed his bare feet on the dark rock in front of him. Breathless, heart pounding, he leaped with all his might into the air, under the perplexed eyes of the crowd. Time seemed to stand still, the droplets that had been beading on his pale forehead flew away, he no longer saw, and only felt the dreadful taste of vomit burning his throat. When the young Ivusal finally fell to the ground, a black spot appeared on his tongue.

He slowly opened his eyes, without bothering to push aside the blonde strands that veiled them, and struggled to get up: a high-pitched sound kept ringing in his ears, and his limbs ached. A bit confused, his gaze now turned to the four adult Ivusals tasked with assigning him a name.

It was not a flip of a coin. The Ivusal people aim to be efficient: to be identified within a limited time, individuals' names correspond to the powers they are supposed to have since birth. That's their uniqueness: invisibility on the senses. Powers divided into five categories like the five senses, their number varies, as does their strength. Between one and five per person, this is how, from strongest to weakest, they are ordered: visual (sight), tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste). In the children's names, only, at any position in the name, the first letter of their invisibility is present, as well as, of course, all the unused letters. So, here we are following the adventure of a frail Ivusal.

"Come closer!" commanded one of the adults.

"Being covered in dirt or being far away barely sheds light on any hidden spots!"

The young boy complied, but then the adult made a request.

"Stick out your tongue, we won't be offended, there's just something we need to check."

The boy stuck out his tongue, revealing a large black spot in the center. The four adults conferred, then shouted in unison,

"By the spot indicating a gustatory invisibility, you shall be called Gus." As soon as these words were spoken, the black spot disappeared, and his face and hands seemed a little less dirty.

"I knew it," the boy cursed inwardly. "I knew I would get taste, I couldn't hope for more..."

But since powers improve with numerous efforts, and the lower their number or strength, the easier it is to perfect them, Gus vowed to train hard to make up for the weakness of his invisibility.

The children having all passed through, they were divided into small groups and settled on golden cloths laid on the floor. One of the four adult ivisals took the floor. He suggested to the young ivisals to try using their powers. Gus and his group tried one after the other. The first time everyone tried, there was no result. However, as the turns went on, almost all members of Gus's group had small results. Gus, on the other hand, had none. The daylight slowly gave way to the glimmers of a setting sun, and the children were told to return inside the center. Gus swept the large white building one last time, with long black spirals adorning its front facade, and then entered.
He tried to recall the day he had first set foot in the center. In vain, he remembered nothing. As usual when he tackled a task, a violent headache took hold of him. He was forbidden to mention it, so he had to pretend to be very tired, due to the day's events, to return to his room without even having a meal.
He locked the door to his room, exchanged his long white tunic for plain pajamas, collapsed on the soft mattress of his bed, and drifted off to sleep; at least until suddenly, a piercing scream followed by several more blood-curdling cries woke him from his slumber.