Goblins are typically very smart, when settled in safer areas, they usually gain a reputation for being quite mischievous. Young Alp however did not have the luxury to spend his time planning pranks, instead he was more often than not running for his life. Today he spent his time doing the latter. Tracking things was something his brother, Amos, usually handled. Alp was always the runner, the decoy, the one who could wiggle his way out of almost any situation. Still just a kid, he depended on his family for much.
Ava, Alp’s mother, used to be an adventurer when she was younger, she would tell Alp and Amos wild tales from far away lands. She passed down her curiosity and strength down to her children. Usually goblins didn't have these traits, never really straying far from their homeland, but Ava happened to meet a traveling orc by the name of Verda. Sensing Ava’s lust for adventure, he let her tag along. It was during one of these trips she met Alvrin, Alps' father.
Alvrin also had an unusual backstory for a mere goblin, he passed his intellect and humanity down to the boys. He came from the first city ever to allow humans and monsters to coexist, Lynrith. The city was eventually destroyed after the Church of Albath attacked it, labeling their peaceful practices a crime against god. While Alvrin lived there, he made great advancements in technology and science. If given the right circumstances, goblins can use their cleverness for far more than just planning pranks. He was one of the leading researchers for a hospital that took in both humans and monsters.
Ava and Verda had gotten hurt outside Albath, both were seriously injured. Rushed into Alvin's hospital, Ava underwent multiple surgeries, but managed to survive. Verda was lucky and pulled through also, he repaid Alvrin for saving his life in training. The three of them spent six months together in Lynrith before the war broke out. They became quite close within that time, especially Alvrin and Ava. Amos was conceived just one month before the War, sad and excited all at once Verda left the group to continue traveling, while the other two decided to move to a forest rumored to be relatively safe for smaller monsters.
Amos was around three years old when Alp was born. As the children grew, the couple made sure to pass their skills down. Amos took after his father, always tinkering with something. He loved inventing things, whether it be new traps or just mundane items to help around the house. Alvrin usually made Amos the leader for most of their hunts, always encouraging the boys to not be afraid of new things. It was a trap most goblins fell into, being too afraid to actually live life, Alvrin wanted his boys to be as free as he and his wife were at their age.
Alp took after his mother, the heart of an adventurer was beating inside him. Alp did most of the fighting when they went hunting, years of training with his mother came in handy. Since he was still young there were times when Alp needed a little help, though less physically inclined, Amos never let him down. When the two teamed up they felt invincible. Amos used Alp as a weapon, coming up with the best, safest strategy to defeat the foe.
As any sibling duo, as often as they fought together, they fought against each other just as much. Even when working together, everything was always a challenge between them. Who could catch the prey the fastest, who could hit the hardest, anything and everything they could possibly argue about. To the untrained eye, the goblin boys seemed to just be goofing around with each other most days. However this was not the case, the more the boys competed, the more skilled they got in return. They still had a long way to go before they would be able to rival their parents.
Goblins were considered easy prey in the forest where his village lay. Close enough to the human’s kingdom to be considered a threat, while simultaneously being hunted by most of the bigger monsters who traveled too close to their village. Amos created a new way of building houses underground, connected to a path of tunnels; anyone who wanted to get to their cave would have to go through a complicated maze. Goblins were known to be physically weak, luckily they were clever enough to keep hidden from most threats, especially alp’s family. Amos discovered it gave off the appearance that a larger more fearsome animal had burrowed down into it, so most monsters didn't care to explore their little tunnels. He taught the neighboring goblin village how to build the intricate tunnels; it eventually became their preferred way of living.
They had been scavenging for food a few miles from their village, assuring that if they encountered a monster, or a roaming group of humans, they wouldn't easily find the whole village, trying to collect extra food for the upcoming winter. The area around the goblin village nearby was almost fully barren besides the few nuts hidden within the ground, so the family went a few miles further away from their home than they usually would. Snow was already on the ground as they picked what was left from the previous fall, they had to get every nut and berry they could to make it through the winter. The other inhabitants of the forest had also been searching for food in the surrounding areas of their village, the land that was once abundant now empty. With the food they already had preserved at home it had looked good for them, or so they had thought.
A lesser demon by the name of Gerald had discovered the tunnel connecting their cave to the land above. He was quite pleased to find a very comfortable home in a good part of the forest in which to take a nap. casting a spell that allowed no one but himself within a fifty mile radius of the tunnel, he quickly claimed the surrounding area as his. He only planned to be there briefly, but he would make sure the seal lasted at least five years in case he needed a place to rest on the way back from his mission. Finding the child of prophecy was no easy task, he had already been injured earlier in his journey too. He needed to rest for a long time in order to recover.
Across that distance, a bright crest expanded on the forest floor, starting from inside the cave, and moving into the tunnel and out to the surrounding land, maintaining the perfect circle the spell originally began in. it created an invisible barrier above the crest, causing all monsters and humans alike out of the area. The barrier simply pushed their bodies away from the area, out of range of the spell. Beasts fell one after another, pushed across the land like they weighed nothing. This was contrasted by the falling of trees and large booms of animals slamming into each other as the crest expanded.
Alp’s family lived in a pretty densely populated part of the forest, hundreds of creatures crashed up against the barrier. The largest ones got shoved towards the bottom, while some smaller monsters managed to stand atop the larger ones. Not all of them were successful though, the smalls who fell off the backs of bigger monsters, or ones who just didn't have such a monster to stand on, were crushed beneath the weight of the others.
Hearing the commotion, and accustomed to danger, Alp’s family climbed to the treetops to see what was happening. Between the four of them, they had seen some very strange things in this forest However, a giant pile of monsters being pushed towards them by an unseen force, was not something they could consider a normal occurrence. With large monsters barreling towards them at record speeds, Amos thought fast. He instructed the other three to cover their hands in the trap jelly they had with them. Usually used to attract and trap small insects or rodents for dinner, trap jelly often was very useful, none of them could've imagined it would've been used this way.
Amos pointed out a large monster, probably some sort of yeti based on its long hair; they were not that uncommon in this section of the forest during the cold season. It was bigger than your typical yeti, most likely mixed with some sort of giant or titan breed, its long legs able to slightly outrun the pile of trampled monsters behind it. When it came near enough, the plan was to jump on its back and ride it to safety, the trap jelly meant to stick onto the beast's hair, ensuring nobody fell on the possibility that they would have to hold on for a while. Yetis tended to have a temper, and seeing as it was already running wild Amos didn't think smart to provoke it. It was imperative that they land in a patch of hair the yeti wouldn't notice.
As the beast neared Amos started a countdown, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, JUMP! Alp’s parents, Alvrin and Ava, landed between the shoulder blades of the monster, Amos landed safely in the small of its back. Poor young Alp, always one to attract misfortune, slipped while trying to jump and landed on the side on the yeti’s thigh. Luckily for Alp, the yeti didn't notice him latch onto his leg. Unfortunately, Alp was still in danger, swinging back and forth against the force created by the monster running, he would have fallen without the trap jelly.
As in any forest, the Azrael forest was filled with plants, small animals, and monsters. With each step the yeti took, Alp was flung wildly, body slamming against trees and animals alike. His skin quickly cut by sharp jagged edges of the surrounding land, oozing thick green blood. He shrieked, sound drowned out by the slamming of bodies behind him. The greenery turned dangerous as he was sent into a patch of thistled bushes, his right leg bloodied and covered in thorns. It didn't take long for Alp to start losing consciousness, whether it be from loss of blood or pain was unclear.
When Alp had woken he felt a raw stabbing pain, mostly on his right side. The sun was already too bright for his closed eyes, he tried to shade them with his left arm but it wouldn't move, instead it just felt oddly cold, ignoring that, he tried to move the right arm instead. A sharp, hot, searing pain shot through him, tears began to stream down his face as he attempted to scream, nothing but low gasps came out of his hoarse throat. The taste of blood covered his lips.
Taking a few moments to regain his breath, he began to take a full inventory of the aches running through his body, eyes still shut tightly. With every inhale, it felt as if his chest was ripping apart, shoving his organs out of the way to make room for oxygen. His entire right side was hot and wet, a fiery heat spreading from his shoulder down to the tip of his toes. There was a throbbing pain in his right ankle, it came in chilling waves causing the sensation of goosebumps on the back of his neck. His left arm felt cold, there was pain in his shoulder but he couldn't feel below that. His left leg felt like it was encased in a coffin of nails.
He almost wished he hadn't woken at all, since he was old enough to go scavenging with his brother and father, Alp was no stranger to danger and pain, but this was on a whole different level. This was not a simple scrape of his knee, or broken arm, he could tell without looking that he was in a bad condition. He slowly turned his head to his right side, grunting from the excursion, he opened his eyes. The light was blinding and he immediately had to close them again, it took him a few tries before he could bear it. Thick green goo covered his body and the ground around him. Alp almost passed out at the sight, looking closer he could see the missing patches of skin on his right arm. Darting his eyes lower, his leg was covered in long blue thorns, blue meant they were not poisonous at least.
His head was pounding, he slid his eyes shut again and drug his head to his left side. He thought nothing could be worse than what he already saw happen to the right side of his body, ignorantly taking solace in the fact that the worst part must have been done. His left side did not feel like it was burning in the pits of hell, but rather cold as if he had fallen into a frozen lake. He opened his eyes slowly bracing for the terrible bright light of the sun. When they were fully open, Alp was not mentally prepared for what he saw. His left arm was gone, cut off at the shoulder. Wet green goo making a puddle around him. Something inside him snapped, went numb, a part of him quietly resigned himself to death. He looked down at his left leg, it looked broken, bone sticking out a little above his ankle. He laughed, it caused his insides to shift painfully, but he couldn't help it. It seemed incredibly funny to him suddenly, just this morning he was having a great time with his family, but now he's here, dying in an unknown field all alone. What an unfortunate string of events.
He ignored the pain in his body, choosing to look at his surroundings instead. He laid in a patch of medium length grass, around two thumbs high, which was covered in bright green blood. The grass seemed to originally be a pale yellow color, a common sign of drought. There were trees to his left in the far distance, likely at least a few miles away. Alp attempted to lift his head, it took multiple tries to endure the searing pain moving caused. Once he eventually lifted his head, he cast a glance from his right side to his left, getting a full one eighty degree view from each side.
To his left he saw a group of trees a few miles away. The landscape was filled with grass, almost too far away to see, there looked to be some sort of building or buildings that were erected a little ways away from the clearing of trees. To his right, he was greeted with the sight of grass, longer than he was currently laying. Alp’s father would talk about all sorts of plants and minerals Alp had never seen before. Long pale yellow grass matched a description of a plant called, ceilist, said to be highly packed with nutrients. If Alp remembered correctly, the ceilist plant also had certain healing abilities, although he couldn't be certain exactly which ones. Either way the possible ceilist plant was his best bet for surviving with such serious injuries, and he would not pass up the opportunity, however slim the odds were.
His right arm was in shreds, though he could still feel every inch, he tried to move his finger tips. Although agonizingly painful, they all still worked somehow, if even just barely. Inhaling deeply he called fourth all his remaining courage, ribs shoved out of the way to make room for more air. With a hoarse yell he used the remaining usable muscles in his back to wiggle himself into a position closer to the plant, fingers now in reach. A new round of adrenaline rushed through his body, it numbed the pain just enough to grip.
He managed to wrap his fingers weakly around the base of the plant, grabbing as much as possible for a more successful chance of survival. Forcing his shredded arm to lift just enough so the grass fell onto his mouth, his lips were chapped and busted, his mouth tasted like blood and some of his teeth were missing. His jaw ached as used his tongue to guide the ceilist into his mouth, he chewed with his left molars, the ones he had left at least.
As Alp swallowed the first few bites of the plant he felt an electric feeling flowing through him, starting as a simple tingling sensation. The more ceilist he ate the stronger the sensation grew, eventually causing his whole body to feel fuzzy. The electricity didn't stop growing after he stopped eating however, it continued to grow, the fuzzy feeling replaced with sharpness, like tiny needles in his veins.
He couldn't scream, throat too tense to even breathe, he just laid while writhing in agony. It felt as if fire were covering his entire body, cauterizing his wounds slowly. Tight skin becoming impossibly tighter, threatening to squeeze his insides out any available hole. A terrible gnawing feeling took over as the skin started to grow and expand, loosening its grip on his lungs. Breathing in much needed oxygen only caused the feeling of needles to slide down his throat. He balled his fist, knuckles turning pale, he clenched his jaw fighting the urge to try to scream. His head felt like it was going to explode from the pressure of the pounding, his right hand instinctively came to press against his temple.
He could feel his skin stretching around the wounds on his right leg, moving the thorns that were still still embedded in his muscles, tearing and repairing the cells all at once. The left leg slowly started to shift, it was like there was some sort of magnetic connection between the separated pieces of his bone, straightening them painfully. It twisted, making horrible snapping sounds the whole time, slowly pushing the bone back into place. He felt every wound and hole in his body fill over time, the burning of electricity almost unbearable as it focused on the worst of his injuries. The stub of what was left of his left arm was especially hot, he could feel the skin growing around some of debire that was still lodged into his wound.
Tears were streaming down his cheeks, dripping to his lips, eyes shut tight trying to somehow block the pain. Then the needles decreased in quantity as his lips began to become much more moist than just a few tears could be blamed for. He took a breath and for the first time in longer than he cared for, it didn't feel like it was displacing his entire rib cage. He exhaled, and inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, for the first time in his short nine years Alp was truly grateful for the air he breathed. Tongue darting out of his mouth to lick his lips, he couldn't taste the flavor of blood anymore.
Opening his eyes, the young goblin felt his right hand on his temple, unsure of when he had put it there, surprised he could see so easily, let alone move his hand. Upon further inspection the once shredded arm was now a sealed wound, this included every patch of grass and stray stick that happened to be stuck in it when he ate the ceilist plant. Turning his hand palm down he saw a larger sized stick protruding from his skin, just above his wrist. He wanted to grab it, try to rip it out, but was unable to. The boy went stiff, still not ready to think about the severity of his injuries. His eyes moved slowly to his left arm, or where his left arm was supposed to be.
The arm was still gone, all that was left was a tight nub with random debris wedged into it. Confusion made his stomach flip unpleasantly, why didn't his arm heal? With his remaining arm he rolled to his right side, gagging, he would have thrown up had he been able to eat recently. They were rationing their food supplies in order to spread it out during the upcoming winter months. Dizziness overcame him, filling his vision with nothing but darkness.