The Firstlings

Aaron followed Karla as they came to a cabin on the outskirts of the slums. The home was a rundown, cozy shack, nestled beside a small, forested area. Aaron watched as she stepped forward and knocked lightly.

Sounds could be heard shuffling about as the door opened wide, and a small girl opened the door with a look of surprise and glee in her eyes as she jumped at Karla.

“Karla!” She squealed.

“Hello,” Karla grunted as she looked over Orla to her mother, Cathy, standing in the doorway. “We come to say hello, if that’s alright, mam?”

“Good to see you, Karla,” she smiled, ushering them into the house.

Though she was friendly, Aaron noticed her sideways look towards him but shrugged it off. He could only imagine how his siblings would have acted if a random human knocked on their door. Walking into the house, his eyes went wide when he noticed that it was the girl with the bouncy rock!

Still shining with the abnormally bright core.

Shock and fear froze her in the girls steps as she came closer to Aaron, as if seeing him for the first time. “It's a Firstling!” She exclaimed

“Cathy, Orla, this is Aaron, leader of the Firstlings,” Karla stepped forward, introducing him.

Aaron nodded in greeting, ignoring their awkward stares. He tried to put on a warm smile but had a feeling it was having the opposite effect.

“Whoa, what are you?” Orla’s look of fear was quickly replaced by wonder as she started inspecting him in fascination.

“…,” Aaron didn’t know how to respond and was a little uncomfortable as the girl looked him up and down. She started squealing again after noticing his tail, and he tried to flick her with it, but the damn thing wouldn’t move well enough.

Karla smiled, chuckling at the girl’s enthusiasm. “Aaron and his siblings are going to help us against the horde,” She explained, trying to pull her from Aaron.

The girl perked up at the mention of the horde and put on her meanest face. “I want to fight too!”

“Not this time, kid, but one day when you get your Gift, you’ll become one of the champions of Lightcastle, I’m sure,” Karla beamed at her feistiness, patting the girls red locks.

Orla looked down with a crestfallen look.

Aaron was a little confused at the conversation, as the girl clearly had her Gift already or her core wouldn’t be active. He didn’t speak up; however, noticing the girl looking away, obviously hiding this fact from both Karla and her mother.

They sat at a table as Karla and Cathy talked of the dark times ahead. Aaron could see the worry in the mother’s face and found it rather moving. She cared for her daughter as much as Mother had for them. It was odd to think of humans as having mothers or being anything like them at all.

The conversation soon became more pleasant as the girls began to laugh, talking about things Aaron couldn’t understand. He realized he was wrong about Karla as he had always thought of her as a woman, but could see that she was just a girl by human standards.

He also noticed the gaunt looks of Orla and her mother and found it bothersome. Cathy had said her husband was out hunting for food, but Aaron knew the man wouldn’t find much. He and his siblings saw how baron the surroundings were, as the humans had consumed everything in the area.

Aaron looked over Orla and found that she reminded him of his sisters, and he felt a pang of sorrow. She was too thin and sickly-looking due to a lack of nourishment, a pale face with freckles, and dull red hair. He watched as Karla pulled some rations from her bag and handed them to the mother.

She tried to refuse, but Karla wouldn’t have it, so she thanked her as she tucked them away. They chatted a little longer as Orla asked Aaron as many questions as she could about him and his siblings. She also showed him some things about humans, like a fist bump. Which, in his opinion, was the most amazing thing ever!

As the sun began to set, they bid goodbye as they exited the cabin. Orla made Aaron promise to come see them again and meet her friend Ben, to which he agreed, chuckling at the girl’s enthusiasm. Heading back towards the city, Karla turned to him as they got close to parting ways.

“I just wanted you to see a human family,” she mumbled softly. “I thought you might like to see what you would be fighting for by helping us.”

Aaron smiled at her awkwardness as he scratched his head. “I enjoyed it. I never even thought of humans having mothers.”

Karla laughed at Aaron's remark and nodded, seeing where he was coming from. Aaron found her far more enjoyable when she wasn’t running a city, but he knew she had to be stern when protecting her people. Would he be any different when it came to his siblings?

They parted ways as Aaron watched Karla walk towards the stronghold. When she left his view, he crouched low and crept back through the slums. He hopped across the rooftops, making his way towards the cabin they had just left.

As he looked at the cabin, he wondered what the hell he was doing but shook his head. He had already made up his mind. He had been thinking that if he was fighting for humanity and felt he was part of it, then maybe, just maybe, he could help the girl.

Long after the sun fell and night had taken hold, he found the girl sleeping in one of the rooms and silently entered through the window. Standing over her, hearing her shallow breathing, his heart raced. ‘This had better work,’ he prayed silently. If it didn’t, he would look like the biggest weirdo ever, and he didn’t know how he would face Karla.

Placing his hands on the girl’s mouth to prevent her from screaming, he shook her awake. She jolted awake, eyes wide with terror, mumbling through Aaron’s hand as she tried to scream. He placed a finger over his mouth, making the shushing gesture the Rangers had taught him. She calmed down, noticing it was Aaron, and nodded, intrigue replacing her look of fear.

“Aaron!” She gasped as he removed his hand.

“I will give you a gift. Will you accept it?”

Wha...,” she mumbled, still confused.

“I can give you the power to help your people if you make a promise to me,” he whispered.

Her eyes began to shine in the darkened room at Aaron's words, “What do you mean?”

"You just have to make a promise, nothing bad."

"Okay," she nodded, understanding showing in her sleep-filled eyes.

“Do you promise to never harm humanity, to never harm your people and mine, to protect all of humanity?”

“Always,” she nodded with childish bravado.

Aaron smiled wide, golden sparks forming in his open palm as he raised his hand and placed a single finger on the girl’s head. The sparks shot through her body, carrying a tiny hint of his soul. He watched with his Sight, as it swirled into the depths of her core, causing her eyes to glaze over.

He didn't use as much power as he had with Bently, fearing the girl’s weakened soul wouldn’t be able to handle such a shock. Aaron laid her back to rest as the power circling in her core began to mix with his, and their souls began to dance and converge, already seeing color coming back to her face.

Smiling at his success, he left the cabin as silently as he came, running through the slums, ending at the edge of his camp, overlooking the city. He only did this because he knew that Vassals still had freedom, Bently being proof, and that nothing was required of them except the inability to hurt those he considered his people. He sighed in amazement at what he had just done and even more at the Runes appearing in his vision.

‘What the hell have I done?’ He whispered to the night, still unsure if he had done the right thing.

[You have Bonded with the Saint]

Vassals

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