Decay

Deformity

Those of us who are different are those who have stories to tell.

I will be long gone by the time this is read, either dead or far away from here. The friends and enemies I mention could very possibly still be alive, though by now I can't be certain.

Read if you wish, and know my story.

I was born the same way all Boggans were: as a Larvae. Infant Boggans are almost identical to insect young. They look, act, and develop relatively the same way, therefore they are called Larvae.
Every time a Larvae grows it molts it's outer skin, making room for more growth, and each time the Larvae molts it shows hints of growing limbs. Sometimes it's the formation of a head, sometimes an arm, a leg, or even a tail. In my case, my first molting was so bizarre that Mandrake himself ordered for me to be removed from the Boggan nursery.

In a way, he saved my life that day.

Both of my parents had died at the swords of Leafmen, and I was destined to be either eaten alive by the stronger Larvae, starve to death myself, or be removed from the nursery for forming 'deformities' that were seen as weaknesses. Mandrake saw what the other Boggans failed to see:

Potential.

For my deformity to Mandrake was not seen as a weakness. It was seen as an advantage in the ongoing war between the Leafmen and the Boggans.

It was the formation of wings.

Boggan anatomy is extremely bizarre. We have the ability to take on many different forms and abilities based on what we are exposed to at a young age. Some are able to hold their breath for an extremely long time, or are able to continuously breathe underwater. These Boggans are submerged in water as  Larvae in order to gain this ability. Others are placed underground, in constant darkness, and in other harsh surroundings in order to gain certain abilities.

In my case, it was animal blood.

Before I was born my "father" was exposed to a large amount of bat blood while he was in combat. Somehow he and his bat mount had gotten wounded by the Leafmen while in battle and some of the bat's blood had been able to make its way into his wound.

Obviously, I only know any of this from Mandrake and Dagda. They told me that they saw it happen themselves, but it's not the best idea to trust everything either of them says, as I've learned.

Before my father died, he was able to impregnate my mother, who then gave birth to me. They both died without knowing I had any deformities since I hadn't molted yet.

Anyway, that was Mandrake's best assumption on how I gained wings, as he's told me. The blood from my father had started a mutation when I was born, since I was exposed to the blood at such a young age.

When I did finally gain all of my senses, the first thing that hit me was the stench. It was a putrid, mildewy smell. Not the most promising first impression for a new living thing like myself.

I remember being alone. It was cool and damp, and very dim. My skin was still the milky white color of a Larvae, but I had fully grown arms, legs, and thin, leathery wings. They weren't very large, only about the length of one of my legs.

There were molted shells surrounding me, and a few bits and pieces of animal bone and fur. Probably the remains of my meals as a Larvae.

Then I also realized something else. I was inside of some sort of pit. I was surrounded by walls on all sides, and the only opening was above me. The pit wasn't very large; if I had stood in the center I could have touched both sides of the pit by just extending my wings.

I tried scrabbling against the cakey, muddy wall but couldn't get any sort of grip. My fragile wings were not yet strong enough to gain any lift, and they flapped uselessly as I tried to climb. Exhausted, I slumped to the ground.

I was just a few days old, and I was already learning. Of course, I had absolutely no idea where I was, how I got there, or even what I was. My wings offered a bit of comfort, and I wrapped them around my knees as I sat in the center of the pit.

So far, the world wasn't seeming to be too friendly.