Soul Shifters

Chapter 2

Swinging the door open to a blast of warmth, I slowly regained feeling in my face while I found my way to our dining table. Ma and my sister, Lelith, had not even begun to eat yet.

"Fi! How'd it go? Did he like it?" Lelith asked.

"Oh yes, he loved it and I'm almost positive he's going to be around here tomorrow for a visit, Ma." I said, winking at her.

"Well that's good news... now Fi, let's talk about you." My mother gestured for me to sit down. She already set me a bowl of rabbit stew on the table, which smelled wonderful. I took my chair, catching Lelith's forest filled eyes in curiosity. I wish I had her eyes. Ma glanced thoughtfully between my sister and I, as if she was trying to remember what to say.

"Fi, you're of age now, sixteen! You could marry if you wanted to. Although I'm sure that is last on your priorities."

I nodded in agreement, a small smile almost breaking through my lips. I have never found a man whom I've been allured to.

"Anyways, I'm trying to say, you're old enough now to hold large responsibilities. By now, you should have had an apprenticeship at one of the shops. Your sister has done more work around this forge, and she's two years younger!" She said all this in a quick breath, saying it delicately but firmly to not harm my feelings. "I just think it would be good if you spend more time here at the forge, rather then being the town's trickster. You could help me craft weapons and armor, or learn to cook, hunt, or gather herbs?.." Ma looked at me with softly pleading eyes.

She only wanted the best for me, I know, and she has let me explore and do what I want rather than force me to carry out her work at a young age. It just wasn't that simple. Although I knew how to craft a simple weapon, it wasn't my calling. I've always felt empty, waiting for that one thing to fill the rest of me up. I knew my time was running out too, if I didn't find a trade I was particularly skilled at, then I would be worthless. I feel worthless now.

My sister, who was two winters younger than I, was already a promising blacksmith, walking right into the steps of my mother. Was I jealous? No... Well, a bit.

"Fi?" My mother reached out to touch my hand, snapping me from my inner thoughts.

"Yes, I.. I understand Ma, I'm just unsure of what to pursue. I need some time to think?" Saying this, I stood from my untouched meal, and stalked to my room. I could feel Ma and Lelith's gaze upon my back, until I shut my door.

I plopped on my floor, causing miniature dirt clouds to fly into the air. I ripped my boots off, placing them by the foot of my bed, and lazily crawled on top. My face felt numb, as if I've been crying for a half hour and had just now stopped. Sometimes I wish I wasn't sixteen, instead reborn and could start anew. Of course that could never happen. I pushed my poisonous thoughts away, until my mind was blank, and slowly drifted into sleep, my stomach still rumbling.

I awoke from a disturbing dream panting, with my heart thudding against my ribs. Easing off of my bed, I had to balance my self so I wouldn't fall over from sudden head rush. This dream was too mysterious to blow over. Was it an augury?

In our secluded village, the people believe in magic acts. Many believe they have "foresights" and find messages inscribed into the earth, believing it's from our Soul Mother herself. Just a few moons ago, Ikor, a man near my mothers age whom is a very skilled Hunter, believed the Mother sent him a message. He came running out of the woods, saying ecstatically how the vibrant green leaf he was holding blew into his chest. This would have appeared completely ordinary, and he would have been called the crazy man, except one thing. It was winter. When it was winter in FrostHearth, all of the trees were barren, and leaves may lay in the undergrowth, but were always colored by the dirt.

Any man or woman who seemed to have had a magical encounter always sought help unraveling it by going to the Oracles. Although I've never been to the Oracles myself, it is rumored they see and hear everything of the village, and know who is seeking them before the person decides to find them theirselves. Their home is hidden somewhere deeper into the woods, anyone wanting to find them must seek them out themselves. Villagers have come back but months later, disheveled and weary. And the strange thing is, not one person ever remembers the way to the Oracles, or come back from.

This was just the escape I needed.
So long I have wondered in the shadows, and now I've gotten maybe a small clue to my future. They could interpret my dream, and what lays ahead. I needed to find the Oracles.