Theme 03: Eglen - Week 4

I'm aware I'm again late with it << had a rough weekend (3 earlies + summertime switch + lack of sleep) that ended with a migraine. Today I'm feeling okay enough. Very demotivated though, but that's just the current job doing it. And the lack of creativity. And the coffee. And just the state of the world and the country and the feeling that everything you do is pointless anyway.

So find joy in the little things and keep going forward. You never know where you'll be able to get. And speaking of which, I intend to participate in a French crowdfunding for a digital painting learning school:

https://fr.ulule.com/digitalpaintingschool/?mc_cid=b6b598cba2&mc_eid=e133d6dcee

The next step for my writing is being able to accurately portray my world and characters. So, this seems like the next logical step. I do think I've got some grasp of how to draw and even colour, but I need to get better at it, so. (what I need is for everything else to stop being so distracting << )

And meanwhile, life goes on. As always. I'm starting to really look forward to 2017, though I feel it'll be as happy a year as it'll be a sad one. Guess we'll see.

Right then. For the last week of Eglen I've decided to share a bit about Eglen's youth before he became a servant of the King. It's an important part that defined his character to come, as he discovered how much more he was than his peers...

The moon rose above the Elshir town's high roofs, drenching the wet darkness of a rainy night in the warmth of its silvery glow. A young adolescent boy named Eglen sat on the red and purple carpet of his room, right beneath the window, one leg crossed over the other so to have a makeshift pedestal upon which to rest one of his favorite books. 'A History of Rulers', the thick book was called. A precious book, golden-trimmed parchment pages bound in soft red leather that his aunt Aide had received as payment from one of their foreign customers. She had thought he might enjoy it – for once, an accurate assumption. He loved to read it over and over, time and time again, and always felt the same amount of exhilaration once he reached the section devoted to their very own ruler, King Ianus. Eglen smiled as he plunged mind-deep into the book, raising up his knees to feel at one with his beloved treasure. He never wondered whether the tales were true or not – they had to be. Why else would they have been written ?

He read for about an hour, until the lack of proper lighting gave him too much of a headache. He straightened himself up, his back against the wall, and stared at the bookcases lining the walls on each side of his peripheral vision. It was late enough, he thought. Aide must be asleep, and wouldn't come to bother him anymore with her trivial questions – would you like something to drink, Eglen ? – how about something to eat ? Bah. He could take care of himself. He lowered his legs and stretched out a hand, and a book came flying to it at such a high velocity that it knocked itself out of his hand and fluttered open on the carpet. "Ow," he winced, shaking the pain away from his already bruising palm, "That was a little too fast. What did I do wrong ?"

Eglen stiffened, wide-eyed, when he heard a reply to his rhetorical question. He glanced nervously about, pulling his legs up and holding his favourite book close to himself, like a makeshift shield. "I'm not scared of you," he bravely stated in a whisper, his voice trembling, "so stay away from me." The voice did not make itself heard again. Eglen let out a nasal sigh, content that the voice had listened to him. Yet, he did not feel at ease. This wasn't the first occurrence of this voice, this deep, almost bestial voice, to speak to him in comprehensible growls. What it was, why it had come to him, he didn't know – he knew enough not to trust that it was really there. He prefered to read his book some more, even though he felt the walls beneath his eyes grow larger with the passing of minutes. He was not afraid – he just didn't need to sleep yet, that was all. It didn't matter that his eyesight had gone blurry and his head was killing him. Not until small drops of blood fell onto the book's pages.

His eyes opened wide as his eyesight focused itself on the red stains damaging his book. "No!", he complained loudly, trying to scrape the bloodstains off with his nails, "This can't be happ—" Eglen howled in pain and slammed his head into the wall behind him, a hand at his head. Blood trickled down his nose and onto his white shirt, leaving a crimson river in its wake. Eglen pressed the palm of his hand into his forehead, hoping to relieve the pressure by exerting pain upon pain. He gasped and cried, and through the haze he heard the voice again, speaking in its tongue of growls and roars. "No, I won't!", he yelled at the empty room, thrashing about as the pain coursed like an agonizing scream through every part of his body, growing louder and louder until he needed to scream it out himself.

He let out a deep, monstrous roar. Eglen panted, distraught, the scream still ringing in his head as though from across a great distance. He blinked, and narrowed his eyes. All of a sudden, the room seemed to be illuminated by slivers of silver light, which drew the contours of the furniture, lining every book with a soft glow. He let out a deep breath, and looked down at himself. Eglen let out a loud roar of terror. The legs he saw did not belong to him. They were thick and dark and bended one too many times. Even his hands and arms had thickened and developed muscles he never knew he had. Trembling, he felt his face, and let out another roar. That… that was not his face. Soft fur and whiskers, large ears, pointed canines. He howled and sprang upon his legs with unprecedented agility, and lunged at the mirror hanging across the room, tumbling in a flailing mess of wings, tail and limbs before crashing into the wall. Eglen thrashed and twisted and howled as he tried to get himself upright, knotted tight by the excess appendages. His heart went into overdrive when he heard loud bangs and shouts coming from outside the door.

"Eglen!!!", a female voice screamed with hysterical worry, "Eglen, what's going on! Open this door! Eglen! Eglen, answer me, please!!"

Eglen suddenly managed to get himself onto all fours, ears perked, glowing yellow eyes set upon the nearest bookcase. A moment later, the bookcase came crashing down, conveniently sealing the door to his room. The female voice shrieked, and went silent. Another voice came to her, rational and male, and Eglen knew he had but moments to disappear.