Repression

The Tale

Seven men were wandering through the woods when they came to a clearing that had a shallow pond surrounding a large tree. The night sky was very visible and the moon reflected across the entirety of the pond. Each had experienced many troubles along the way, carrying bruises, scratches and scrapes of all sorts. A large sloth-like creature adorned with horns from head to tail emerged from behind the tree. It spoke without moving its mouth saying,

"You have come a long way in search of me. Take solace in the gifts I give you."

To the first, he gave the power to decrease pains by allowing him to endure it in small amounts over the course of his life,

To the second, he gave power to restore his body's condition to that of an earlier time,

To the third, was given the ability to change pain into relief,

To the fourth, was given the power to displace pain to others near him,

To the fifth, was given the power to gain strength as he is wounded,

To the sixth, was given the power to relieve pain by damaging other things,

And to the seventh and final man, was given the power to increase proficiency to relieve pain.

Years later after the men had travelled to the tree, a war grew between nations. Each was called to serve and worked their way up in rank due to their unique ability. Each led their own squad. Armor-clad they readied on the field of battle, with the exception of those seven who wore little or no protection. Beasts of all kinds, armed with weapons of all sorts wailed and roared as they marched into the view of the army. Then the battle began.

Each man ran ahead of his own squad colliding with the enemy and joining the fray. The first man traded blows throughout the battle and eventually he secured his section; however, the amount of damage he took, crippled him and was so great that he would never move again.

The second, received a mighty axe to the shoulder. Calling upon the power given to him, he instantly healed. He took more and more hits, each time recalling a past state. Then, a club struck him and he fell. But this time he could not fight. He had went so far back that his body was now in the condition of when he had just started training. He did not remember how to fight well. A beast lumbered over him and took his life.

The third heartily fought without tiring and defeated many. As the battle died down he gazed about and eventually looked down at himself. He gasped as he noticed the many wounds he suffered during battle. He fainted and later perished due to loss of blood.

The fourth also fought strongly. His wounds healed as soon as they were inflicted. Eventually, all the enemies in that area had fallen. When he looked to his allies to celebrate he found them all to be dead. Realizing that he had displaced his injuries to his allies, he took his life out of grief.

The fifth quickly tore through the enemy lines growing in strength and power. When he got to the very last creature his broken limbs and torn body could no longer carry him and he collapsed, still conscious. He then perished at the hands of the final monster.

The sixth fell upon the enemy tenaciously. He racked the enemy troops. Wounds healed as he went along. He successfully conquered them, winning his portion of the battle. As he made his way back to the base, an arrow caught his torso. He nervously looked around as he pulled out the arrow. Seeing the archer that had caught him off guard, he ran. A mad dash. He hoped to heal himself by taking out this archer but did not make it in time to save his life, and died of fatal wounds.

The final man advanced cautiously as the distance between him and the enemy closed. When he met his foes he dodged and weaved between the enemies' blows only striking when a shot was clear for the taking. He went through taking one out after another but was grazed by a stray attack. At that moment his focus intensified and with it, his technique. Masterfully eluding strikes, he grew faster as he only suffered a scratch or two every so often. In the end, the last monster collapsed releasing a final gasp of air. The seventh stood over him and the others. Triumphant.