I, The Anomalous God

Chapter 2 Harvest Festival

In the vast forest of Avalund, many tribes of beasts thrive. Magical monsters also run free and unrestrained in the forest. The four continents even marked the forest as a forbidden ground.

In a certain place, where the tribe of sprites live, there is a gigantic tree in the middle of their village. The tree is worshipped by the sprites, they call it “Shacanna” or the “Tree of Life”. Other sprites call it the “Mother Tree”. It was so because the sprites are all born from the tree. The Shacanna bears thousands of fruits for every 50 years. Therefore, a thousand new sprites will be born every 50 years.

Today is the first day of the 7-day Harvest Festival. Each fruit will start to ripen starting this day until the harvest day at the seventh. Each fruit, one sprite is assigned to become its parent.

“Totoani, how is your fruit?” a red-haired sprite asked.

“It is well and fine. My fruit is growing smoothly.” Totoani replied. “How about yours, Bbielonea?”

“It is growing well, too. I wonder what will come out of my fruit. I hope a beautiful girl will be harvested!” she giggled.

“Ah!” a loud scream suddenly echoed around the Shacanna.

“What happened?” an elder sprite flew up the tree and asked. Murmurs can be heard from all over. The elder sprite quickly flew higher over the branches.

“Elder!” someone called.

“What happened, Shakmuni?” the elder sprite asked the blue haired sprite that approached.

“It’s Tatiana’s fruit!” he said.

“Tatiana? What happened to her fruit?” the elder asked worriedly. The two of them flew higher until they arrived near the peak of the Shacanna.

“Tatiana!” The elder sprite called.

“Elder!” A beautiful blond sprite called out. She was crying and looked very worried.

“What happened?” The elder asked. Tatiana pointed at her fruit. The elder’s eyes widened when he finally saw Tatiana’s fruit. “Oh, my gods! What happened?”

“I do not know, elder! I was cleaning the fruit earlier when it suddenly expanded and grew that big.” She said crying. The reddish gold fruits that the sprites are caring for are the size of basketball. However, Tatiana’s fruit is a half-meter tall and a quarter meter wide.

“Call elder Shiina, fast!” the elder ordered.

“Yes, elder!” The blue-haired sprite hurriedly flew down the tree. After several minutes, another elder with a rainbow-colored hair arrived on Tatiana’s branch.

“Let me see the fruit.” The newly arrived elder said. The sprites immediately made way for the elder. When she saw the fruit, a small gasped escaped from her, “I have never seen anything like it!”

“Elder Shiina, is the fruit alright? Will it spread?” Elder Takankan asked. The rainbow-haired elder waved her hand at the fruit. A rainbow light shone over the fruit, then she said, “Nothing to worry about. The fruit is fine. It does not have any disease.”

“Really?” Tatiana interjected. “You can rest assured, child.” Elder Shiina said.

“Will the other fruits grow this big too?” one of the spectating sprites asked.

“I do not know. Let us observe in the following days. However, you can all rest assured that everything is fine. Tatiana’s fruit is healthy.” Her answer.

The crowd was appeased after that. They slowly dispersed, leaving the worried Tatiana alone with her fruit.

In the following days, everything was fine. No other fruits grew as big as Tatiana’s. Her fruit did not grow bigger too.

On the seventh day of the Harvest Festival, different sounds of instruments can be heard all around the Mother Tree. Every sprite was singing the Harvesting song.

It was written in the rings of the Olden tree that the Harvesting Song guides the fruit to ripen and be born as sprites. Tatiana sung the song passionately, still worried at her fruit.

At night, fireflies lighted the branches of the tree. The song sung by the sprites were solemn.

A beautiful sprite in golden robes, sung a beautiful song as she slowly flew up the Mother Tree’s peak. The other parent sprites hum the tune. When the song was finished, she raised her hands holding a wooden cup. Then the wooden cup suddenly shone brightly, and a golden light exploded from it.

Golden specks of light started to rain down the Mother tree and landed on each fruit, then all the reddish gold fruits turned golden.

Everything became silent after. No one made a sound. Only the whistling of the wind and the swaying leaves can be heard around the tree. Then, one fruit started to break open, then another, and another until each fruit on the tree broke open except for one.

Everyone was clamoring, singing, and cheering as they welcome the newborn sprites. But not Tatiana, her fruit did not break. “Please come out!” She prayed.

Minutes, until hours passed, her fruit did not break. She cried softly under the fruit. “Tatiana!” Elder Takankan called softly. “Hush, hush, child. Everything will be fine.” He said.

Each harvest festival, it is not impossible for the fruits to not break. There are occasional situations that 1 or 2 fruits will not open.

“Tomorrow, we will have the Ceremonial Sacrifice.” Elder Takankan ordered.

The Ceremonial Sacrifice is only done in the history of the sprites when some fruit did not break open. The fruit will be plucked from the branch and be buried in the roots of the Mother tree.

Tatiana cried and cried while the Elder tried to comfort her. Then, soft sound suddenly roused the two sprites. “Badump!”

“Elder!” Tatiana watched her fruit with widened eyes. “Badump!” the sound grew louder. “Badump!”

The golden fruit’s light flickered along with the sound. “Badump!” The louder the sound becomes, the shinier the light. “Badump! Badump!”

“Elder Takankan, Tatiana! What is happening?” Elder Shiina arrived along with the other elders and sprites. They heard the sound and hurriedly flew up.

“Pishik!” The large golden fruit fell off on the branch. Everyone gasped as it happened.

“Badump!” the sound continued as well as the flickering light. Then, it suddenly become quiet.

“What is happening?” the sprites murmured.

“Badab!” A different sound emerged from the fruit as it suddenly shook hard. Everyone was surprised. “Badab!” the fruit shook again and again along with the strange banging sound.

“Is a sprite inside?” one of the crowds spoke.

“Yes, it seems to be coming out!” another spoke.

“Oh gods!” Tatiana closed her eyes and prayed passionately.

“Pushak!” The golden fruit broke open. Everyone became silent. All of them has a surprised look drawn all over their faces.

“Whe-where am I?” a hoarse voice sounded from the broken fruit. The being that came out from the fruit was not a sprite. There were no wings, no bright colored hair and most of all, the being that came out is 3 feet tall.

The mysterious being that came out, wiped his eyes of the fruit slimes covering his eyes. “What is this?” the being asked.

The sprites were all silent. They cannot believe what is happening. “Wh-what are you?” Tatiana no longer able to hold, asked.

“Wh-what? Who is there?” The being asked. It seemed to be not able to see clearly still. He wiped his eyes until all the fruit slimes were removed. Then he stared blankly at the sprites.

The sprites did the same. Then, “AHHHHH!!!” the being screamed loudly. The startled sprites screamed as well and flew away in panic and fear. The ones left were the two elders and Tatiana.

“Hey, hey! Calm down, calm down!” Tatiana slowly flew closer to the being.

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” The being panted, he moved back seemingly afraid of the sprite. “Don’t come close!” he warned, raising his hand.

“Calm down, my child!” Tatiana said slowly.

“Tatiana!” Elder Takankan called worriedly.  “Be careful!”

“He is my son! I will be fine!” Tatiana said firmly. She slowly flew even closer. “Calm down, okay?” she said.

The being waved his hand, “Wait, stop! Stop right there!”

“Okay, okay. I will not hurt you. I am your mother.” She said.

The being was shocked at what he heard, “You’re my what?”

“Shush, shush, okay? Calm down.” She said as she touched the being’s hand. “See? I am your mother.”

“No, no, no! This is not true! I am dreaming, aren’t I?” the being pulled his hand and said.

“You are not dreaming, boy!” Elder Shiina said. She also flew closer, eye-leveled with the being.

“You must be joking! This is a dream! How can a tiny winged lady be my mom?” the being said.

Elder Shiina flew even closer to the grumbling boy and suddenly flicked his nose. “Ow!”

“Is that a dream, too?” she asked. The boy widened his eyes in realization. “Oh, my god!” He suddenly stood up and banged his head on the branch of the Mother tree. He fell unconscious on the branch.

“Son!” Tatiana hurriedly flew over the boy.

“Tatiana take care of that one! Elder Takankan call the other elders. The council must convene!” Elder Shiina said.

The two elders left the branch. “I will take good care of you, my son!” Tatiana whispered as she caressed the boy’s cheek.

=====================

Murmuring and clamoring filled the council room as the elder sprites convene.

“We must banish the anomaly!”

“That is right! It will bring chaos to our land!”

“No, that thing is a sprite born form the Mother tree!”

“Correct, even if it does not look like us, it was born from the Mother tree and it is one of us!”

The elders argued about the strange being that was born from Tatiana’s fruit. “Silence!” a loud voice sounded across the room. The elder sprites became quiet.

“Apologies, King!” the elder sprites said.

“Elder Shiina, what do you say about this?” the King asked. Elder Shiina did not reply immediately, she looked at the elders and sighed.

“That creature is not a sprite.” The elders clamored again when they heard her.

“What are you saying, elder?” The King’s voice suppressed the noise of the elders as he asked.

“That creature is a human.” Another bout of noise and clamoring ensued as she mentioned human.

“Silence, all of you!” The King screamed angrily. “Explain it to me, elder!”

“Yes, my King!” Elder Shiina took a deep breath and explained, “I touched the creature earlier and I used my appraisal skill on him. He is human, not a sprite. But it is also true, that he was born from the Mother Tree. As for the reason, I do not know why or how.”

The elders all looked at their King, waiting for his order. “Elder Banaora, go into the Olden tree and see if you can find anything in the rings.” The King ordered.

“The fact that that creature is a human will stay only in this room. Anyone who talks outside will be executed!” the King added.

Everyone gasped. In all their history, the highest punishment in their tribe is banishment. Execution is only given to traitors and the blasphemers of the Mother tree. And there was no one who ever tried to betray the tribe or even blaspheme the sacred Shacanna tree.

“Elder Shiina, you will watch over that creature. If you see it as a threat to the tribe. Kill it!” The King ordered coldly.

“Yes, my King!” Elder Shiina answered. Then the King flew out of the room. The elders started to whisper. Elder Shiina took a glance at Tatiana’s branch and sighed.

=============================

On a big nest, the boy, born from the fruit, slowly woke up. “Hmm!” He groaned. “Oh, you are awake!” a female voice startled him.

“I am not dreaming! It is all true?” he murmured.

“Here, drink this.” Tatiana handed over a bowl of nectar.

“What is it?” the boy asked.

“It is nectar from Wingtail flower, good for newborn sprites.” She said.

“What? Sprites?” the boy sounded confused.

“Yes, son. We, sprites, are born from the Mother Tree, Shacanna.” She pinched his cheek with her tiny hands. “You, sweet boy, is born from the Mother Tree like all of us.” She added.

“Pfft! What?” He spewed the nectar in disbelief. “You must be joking! I am not a sprite. Look at me, look at you!” he pointed.

“So? You are a little bigger than me and wingless.  But that does not deny the fact that you came from Mother Tree’s fruit and it does not deny the fact that I am your mother!” she declared. She handed another bowl of nectar to him.

“You are my mother?” He asked as he received the bowl. Then, he noticed, “Did the bowl just float over?”

“Silly boy!” She giggled. “Drink it now. I will teach you magic, soon enough.” Then she left. She flew down the tree.

“Tiny little sprites, magic, born from some fruit, where the heck am I?” he murmured.

“Knock! Knock!” Elder Shiina appeared on the branch. “Greetings, boy!”

“Oh, hello!” He greeted back.

“You seemed calmer. Tatiana must have explained everything to you.” She said.

“She did tell me some things. Is it true? Did I really come out of a fruit?” He asked.

The elder sprite flew over and sat down on the nest. She sighed, “It is true.”

“How is that even possible? Is Tatiana, really, my mother?” he asked again.

“Yes and no. Tatiana is the parent sprite assigned for your fruit. By the sprite law, she IS your mother.” The elder explained.

“So, legally, she is my mother.” He whispered.

“Do you know what you are, boy?” The elder sprite asked.

“Of course!” a straight answer came from the boy. “I am… I am…” he stammered, “I do not know. What am I?” he asked.

“Say “Status”.” The elder said.

“Status?” a transparent screen appeared in front of the boy. He was startled, “Oh, god! What is this?”

“It is your status. Read it. What does it say?” the elder answered.

The boy inspected his status. It said,

Name: J¤•■ A¤<□♡□$

Level: 1 (Exp. 0.01%)

Race: Human

Class: None

Age: 12 hours

Health: 2000

Mana: 2750

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 100

Vitality: 100

Wisdom: 50

Agility: 10

Skills: Universal Language (Max)

Title: Anomaly (Unawaken), Tatiana’s Son, Contracted

Status points: 0

“What does it say?” the elder asked again.

“I do not understand my name. My race is human.” The boy said.

“You have a name?” the elder was surprised. It was a normal reaction for the elder. All newborn sprites are unnamed. They must first undergo the ceremony of the Father tree before they acquire a name.

“I have but I do not understand it.” He said. The elder turned quiet. After a while, the elder said, “You are a human, not a sprite. However, no one must know it. As far as everyone know, you are a rare kind of sprite. A wingless sprite. Do you understand?”

The boy nodded but asked, “Why must I hide my race?”

The elder sighed and seriously said, “Do you want to die? Do you want Tatiana to die?”

The boy shook his head.

“Then, you must keep it to yourself. You are now a sprite.” The elder expressly said, then he left.

=========================

In the morning, Tatiana excitedly waken up the boy, “Get up, son!”

“Hm… hm… five more minutes…” he groaned and covered himself with his blanket.

“No! You must get up! Hurry!” Tatiana pulled off the blanket. The boy groaned, and complained, “It is very early. Sleep more, talk later!”

“Come now, stand up!” Tatiana waved her hand and the boy was startled awake. “Whoah!” he floated from the bed and suddenly put to stand.

“Ting! Telekinesis acquired.” A plain voice rung in his head.

“What? Did you say something, Tatiana?” he asked.

“I said, you should get up, wash up and eat. And call me mother!” she said while preparing food. Leafy greens floated around her, as well as a big plate for the boy.

“Alright! Mother!” he grumbled. There was a washbasin prepared outside of their tree hole.

After washing up, he went back inside and sat down on the branch. A plate full of leafy greens floated over to him. “What is this?” he asked.

“Its breakfast, silly! Eat up. We will be going to Elderund this morning.” She said.

“Elderund? What is that?” he asked as he pick his plate and eat. “Oh, this taste good!”

“It is, right? Hm!” She smiled sweetly, “Elderund is the Father tree. It is where our King lives.” She explained. “Oh, eat slowly, do not forget to drink nectar. Newborn sprites must drink nectar!” she added. The boy nodded at her reminders.

“Are you not bothered, mother?” the boy suddenly asked. He put his plate down and added, “I am different.”

“Look at you, do not think too much of it, okay? You are my son! I am not bothered that you are as big as a log or that you do not have wings. All that matters is I am your mother and you are my son!” She said to him smiling.

“But…”

“No buts! Now, finish your meal. When the Hornbill calls, the naming ceremony will begin.” She said.

===========================

“Sound the call!” an elder ordered. A sprite heeded the order and brought out a bird cage. The sprite whispered some words over the big beaked bird, then the bird suddenly made out a loud call.

The sprites around the Mother Tree heard the bird call and slowly flew out from their tree holes.

“Come now, son. Its time to go.” Tatiana said.

“Uhm, how do I get off the tree? I don’t have wings!” the boy pointed out.

“Do not worry about that, I’ll bring you along.” She said.

“How? I am bigger than you!” the boy reacted. “Can you hold my weight?”

“Hehe! You silly boy! Come, I will bring you out!” she said. The boy followed her out.

“What do I do?” he asked.

“Leave it to me. Are you ready?” the boy nodded.

“Ting! Float skill acquired.” Another flat voice sounded in the boy’s head.

“Did you hear that?” The boy asked.

“Heard what?”

“Oh wow! I am floating!” the boy exclaimed when he felt nothing under his feet.

“Okay, okay. Calm down, now. You are, indeed, floating. Now, come.” Tatiana flew away from the tree along with the boy.

Tatiana brought the boy in the air. Other sprites also flew in the air. “Tatiana, hey, how are you?” a sprite woman with her newborn sprite flew over close to Tatiana.

“Dana, hi! I am fine, you?” she asked back.

“Is that your son?” she looked at the boy. “He IS big and wingless!”

“He is a great child. He is my son!” Tatiana said solidly.

“I am sorry, Tatiana. I did not mean to offend you.” Dana said.

“No, no, it is okay, Dana. I understand.” She smiled at her friend.

While the mother sprites were talking, the little newborn sprite of Dana went closer to the boy. “Hi!” she greeted.

“Hello!” The boy greeted back.

“My mother calls me, Chip!” she introduced.

“Your mother gave you a name?” the boy asked.

“It is not my name. She just calls me that.” She added, “Why do you have no wings?”

“I… I do not know.” The boy remembered his status. It was written there that he is a human, not a sprite. He understood that it was the reason why he has no wings or why he is big. He also remembered what the elder told him. No one must know that he is a human.

“Hm. Maybe, you did not grow them yet.” Chip said. “I wonder if I will grow as big as you.” She added.

“Maybe.” The boy smiled at Chip.

After a few minutes, they arrived at Elderund. The tree was not as big as the Mother tree, but it was beautiful. Different colored flowers bloomed all over the tree.

“Wow!” the boy said.

“Its beautiful!” Chip also chimed.

“Come on, kids! Let us go inside.” Tatiana called them.

There were sprite guards all over the tree. Some were patrolling in the air while some are standing guard in the tree holes. When Tatiana and the boy passed by the guards, they all looked at the boy.

The boy smiled to them. “Hello!”

Inside the tree, there was a huge hall. Many sprites are there with the newborns. The boy stood out in the crowd. He was the only giant and wingless sprite in there.

The hall was noisy. Everyone was talking and gossiping until a sound of a stick echoed around the hall.

“The King has arrived!” the usher announced.

The king has a blond hair and a golden crown on his head. He flew down and sat on his throne. A beautiful sprite is with him.

“Princes Tabitha has arrived!” the usher announced again.

The King waved his hand, then an elder sprite went over to the King and handed a wooden staff.

“All newborn sprites, gather and line up.” The elder called.

“Go, son!” Tatiana nudged the boy. He glanced at her then slowly moved along with the crowd of newborn sprites.