I sat beneath the Storytelling Tree – the coiling, sky-rooting tree – where everything began. Leaf-dappled light spots poured into my view, soft but viciously bright, as the world around me set sharp focus. Green. Everything was green… the endless fields of grass that carpeted each corner of the horizon, the glistening waters at the foot of the hill– and the leaves that were falling right before me, twirling like a pinwheel over a gentle puff of wind.
My body… felt strange. My limbs lifted with a tender shakiness and hungered for a stretch, and static coursed through my skin. As I sat there, I felt locks of silvery hair, my hair, coil all the way down my back; I felt heat cover my ears, hotness I’ve never felt before. I had a dry, parched throat one would groan to feel after a long nap. Now that I mention it, the light tingling down my back felt… very akin to an after-nap sensation. I stroked my thumb around my hands, which were peculiarly-scarred with brown tissue and coated with a fine, soft layer of dirt. Earth soil. The only thing I could quite feel on my legs were the sharp pricks and stabs of naturally-long, swaging grass beneath me. A padded bed, begging me to stay curled up in its slumber. I would’ve stayed in that comfortable bed for another hundred years, were it not for ‘the surprise’.
BONK! With incredible velocity, a weight smacked the flat of my head with an audible smash, sending my eyes’ gaze to my own pants. Almost a cartoony sound it made, the horrible thing rolled down by my dirty feet. A fruit? Yeah, a fruit… it was orange-pink, with fuzzy leaves adorning the top. It’s not a fruit I’ve ever seen (of course, just like everything else). And for some reason, it never crossed my mind to look up; because when I did, I saw a lightning-quick flash of white in my peripheral. Leaves rustled to the side as it flew, gone in an instant. Finally, my bandage-wrapped legs got inspired to move!
“H-HEY, WHO’S THERE!” I yelled, right before wincing at the sound of my own raspy voice (is this really what I sound like?). Planted I stood at the base of the tree, now staggering on my own two feet, scanning every inch of the monstrous tree above. Even more flighty I felt with adrenaline in my veins, and rabbit-like my heart wriggled in my chest. Eyes left, eyes right, (did I check there already?) But… nothing. There was merely nothing there. Just a sky-swallowing view of green leaves, each bigger than my hand. Rustling softly like chimes.
“Of course, I’m just going insane, of course! I just woke up in the middle of nowhere, and I’m losing my mind. How thick can I get? There’s literally nothing even there…” I scoffed. “Urrgh.”
Grinding my teeth and pulling at my hair curls, I actually got my first glimpse at how silver they were. Was my hair… always silver? Each strand was a varying shade of grey, white, and platinum– metal hues I only know in ‘old people’. That’s a question I couldn’t answer. I knew it was there, the answer, but I couldn’t see it within the thick cloudy fog that stormed my head. Every answer to every question I had was just on the brink of being realized, but they never came. How… how long was I out?
“Shhh…”, a nearly-silent whisper emitted from above, almost mistaken for wind.
“Oh you ‘shhh’!” said another, clearer voice. They both came from the tree. Instantly I widened my stance, picking up a pretty pathetic branch from the ground, and hoisting it in front of me like a grand sword.
“Who goes there!! I know someone’s in there, you can’t fool me this time,” I screamed with fake-confidence that broke with nervous stutters. “Come on out where I can see you!! COME ON!” My voice broke even more.
A deep, exasperated, and incredibly dramatic sigh resonated from the treetop. Slowly turning into a groan, it felt like an entire minute passed before the ‘uggghhh’ finally died out. Silence. A few leaves fell from the tree. A gust of wind, or two. Then, there was the unmistakable harmony of two voices whisper-arguing, like a hurled team of athletes discussing tactics; I’m definite I picked up a ‘no, you!’ somewhere in the mix. Clueless, I stood at the base of the tree, beginning to feel like a little child (well… I guess I kinda am?).
My focus snapped back as white began to reveal itself from the tree, bit by bit. It curled around the back of the tree, already rooted in its deepest branches, like a long snake… how long was it? It kept going and going. The snippets of body I saw peeking through the thick leaves were glimmery, with sleek plumes of pure-white fur. The purest white in nature, I’m convinced; purer than fresh-fallen snow.
It continued through like a pulled shoelace, snapping twigs on its way down. I gulped, my stance becoming shakier… my mouth was exceptionally dry. It landed behind the tree with a thump. Absolutely out of my eyesight, probably on purpose. Suddenly, a completely English, clear, low-booming voice came from the creature, well-spoken and authoritative.
“Awlright awlright awlright– listen. And don’t talk, don’t speak a word until I’m done. I’m gonna waltz out into the sunlight and you’re not gonna freak out on me, okay? No freaking out. Keep a calm head,” he spoke. “I don’t wanna hear you scream like a little girl or something. Sheesh, I’ve already got a headache.”
I sat frozen in awe of his voice alone… so loud it had its own echo, my head racing with what I should say. But nothing came out. I just nodded, holding my stick close to my bare chest. Ready, but not.
I could never prepare for the being that revealed itself slowly, glimmering as it crawled out into the tree’s shade. Dappled with the same yellow sunspots I awoke to. It was massive. Godly massive, in grand length… nearly as long as the tree it roped on. The first thing to grab my attention, however, was its striking green eyes; they were pearlescent and glowing, even in daylight– impossibly green. It had a pair of curling, twisting green horns, shimmering akin to its millions of green spines finely-lining it from head to tail. Its face was only what could be described as dragon-like; the nose of a goat, but with a long grinning mouth. Predatory. Canine teeth lay beneath those lips.
“Hey?”, the creature started waving his paw-like hand in front of my face (my tooth theory proved correct). “Uhhh, are you there? You’ve been kinda starin’–”
I couldn’t bear to make a sound; any vocalization skills I had grew legs and ditched me. Left me in the dust. His shadow loomed over my feet as he stood up even taller on his hind legs; but still, considerably hunched so he wouldn’t block the sun. Every swift movement he made was rich with grandeur. Godly.
“Uhh yeah, I kinda thought this would happen,” he spoke for me. Each word, I noticed, was reflectively spoken with his hands; adorned with emerald claws like pearls. He cleared his throat and withdrew into a whisper: “Ahem– uhh this is required of me, so it’s kinda awkward… just bear with me here, kid, my comrade abandoned me to do all the heavy-lifting.”
He affixed his position. “Ermm… O, Divine Hero of Legend! From the rubble of your predecessors you unearth at the bounty of the legendary tree, the Storytelling Tree, where your destiny awaits over the hills of Faion!… uhh… oh yeah, and I, the Guardian of Heroes, paint the path…”, he stopped. His colossal tail swished through the grass in silent frustration.
“Hmm… no… this is stupid,” he groaned, head in hand. “Yeah. You know what? It is! I did not wait two hundred years in this achy tree just to read off some paperwork from the big guy. If this is my job, then it’s my job; I’m gonna do it my way.”
He added a little “oh, and put that stick down, you’re gonna hurt yourself,” as he outstretched himself, back arching. I hadn’t even realized I was bracing the stick, pathetically protecting me (like it would do anything against him). His fabricated speech still reeled in my head, running laps.
“Come on, let’s take a walk. We don’t need the Tree to tell your story, kid. Faion is plenty full of other great trees, trust me.” He nudged his head over, signaling me to follow. I hesitated, but there was nowhere else to go. Nothing else to do. He’s a Guardian, after all, the Guardian of… wait…
“Hey, uh…”, I said, catching up to the beast, who was already lumbering down the hill. “What did you mean back there? Guardian of Heroes? What happened in 200 years?”
“Oh, so you can talk!” he let out a low grumbly laugh that shook the earth, all while making room for me on his right (still casting me in his shadow). “Hey hey, one thing at a time, you’ll kill me. Ehh, let’s start simple; basic protocol. What’s your name?”
My name… all familiarly came the fuzz in my brain; harsh and loud, and suffocating. But no, this was different; there was nothing there. No words, no sounds I assign myself.
He read my expression loud and clear. “Ah, I see. Happens to most… I’m sorry, kid. Howsabout we get you a new one? Got any ideas?”
I shook my head, pouting at the ground; making sure I didn’t trip on a stone as I walked.
“Well well, that kellberry really took a number from ya, huh,” he snorted– then stopped. “Wait! Aye, that’s got a nice ring, huh? Kell… what do you think of ‘Kell’?”
“Like.. the fruit? That hit me in the head?”
“Yeah! The fruit that bonked ya in the head. Y’know, fuzzy, pink…”
“Kell,” I said. Kell. Repeatedly, Kell Kell Kell Kell… it sounded warm. It warmed my fingertips to say, it warmed my cinnamon cheeks. I felt a smile start to curl.
Yeah… Kell. Kell the Divine Hero.
