Inexperience

The worst thing about a fantasy world is the outrageousness of it all.

Take my situation for example, I almost took the bastard's head off and yet HE LIVES! Only a hair like piece of flesh held it attached to the neck, and using this very small connection, the ghoul was able to regenerate with Aeter.

'How is that even logical?!'

If I had listened to the old man's rambling more seriously, I would have known that the piece of flesh I deemed insignificant, was enough a medium for the ghoul to regenerate its missing pieces, even if partially.

###

Standing with my back turned to the ghoul, Eset's loud voice echoed in my head as my body jolted with alarm.

My senses warned me of danger, but I had no time to react to the attack. The only thing I could do was twist my neck slowly, mechanically even, and wait for my impending doom

Time seemed to move very slowly as I watched the obsidian agents of death inch closer to my neck. Despite its tall height and long reach, the ghoul's intelligence was quite low not using any of those to its advantages as it craned its body over me and hunched over to sink its claws into my flesh.

Yet again a situation that seemed to go in my favor the whole way, turned on me due to my own mistakes, impulsiveness, inexperience.

Helplessness

Despair

Fear

Anguish

Regret

All those words could not even begin to describe what I was feeling. It was an amalgamation of horrid emotions swirling within my chest clutching at my heart.

Yet what was even worse, was how my body was physically responding to threat. I was not steadfast or brave, nor was I an immovable statue with enormous willpower. I was a coward, and my body was behaving just like one.

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach and my legs quivered and buckled. My body would not move, could not.

My fingers shivered, palms dripping with sweat. My teeth rattled and shook, and my eyes widened every second as I stared death, personified into black sword like claws.

At the last second I miraculously closed my eyes, just so the embrace of death could be sweeter if I did not witness it. I waited for it to come, but it just wouldn't. The agony of knowing your death is near is even more torturous than concept itself.

I wanted to open my eyes and ask the damn ghoul what the hold up was. But I was still too scared to open them.

Like a kid under a blanket hiding from the monsters of the night, I fluttered my eyes open hesitantly and peeked at the horrors of the dark, only to find myself a few meters away from where I was standing.

'The tree wasn't this close…'

Confused, I looked around me in shock finding small wisps of sparkly violet mist leaving my body.

'… Eset, she used her teleportation on me'

Taking a few steps forward, my eyes scanned for the demon frantically as I materialized my staff and sent Aeter to my limbs empowering myself. The spot where I stood a few moments ago was marked by a deep scorch on the earth illuminated by moonlight.

Over this scorched earth stood father, axe drawn and beard frizzy, coursing with snakes of lightning.

With quickened breaths and nervous steps I called out to my father, fright visible in my voice.

"I-Is it dead? For good this time?"

Turning to me, he rested the heavy giant axe on his shoulder and stroked his beard downward taking away the lightning traveling through it, returning the lion's mane to its majestic appearance.

"As a goat offered to lord Shiva in sacrifice" he replied.

'Why does Shiva want goats?'

Distracted by these small and silly thoughts, I was purposely trying to take my mind away from what I have just gone through. However no matter how much in denial I was, I could not stop the shivering in my body, nor the rattle in my voice.

"Elias, what happened.."

"I know, I know, I messed up. I let my guard down I'm sorry okay"

I didn't want to talk about it. My failure spoke volumes of my impulsiveness, he need not remind me of it. And those eyes, is that… pity.

"Elias listen, that's not what…"

Interrupting him again and avoiding to have salt rubbed on my wounds, I cut him off, stopping him from opening the subject once more.

"I get it dad. I said sorry, what more do you want!

I am a coward! I am weak!

Is that what you want to hear?!"

I felt an itch in my nose and tears formed in the corner of my eyes. With still shaking hands, I tried to wipe them away with my fingers, but I couldn't steady my hand enough to even touch them.

I flinched when a course and rough thumb made its way up my cheek and wiped away the tears on both sides. Father's hand framed my head and his thumbs rubbed away my eyes comically, trying to get a laugh out of me.

And laugh I did.

"HAHAHH, Alright, stop stop AHHAAHAH there's nothing there! HHAHAH"

Pushing his hands away, I wiggled out of his grip and stared him in the eyes, not quite sure what to do next.

Out of the blue, my father dished out one of his one in a million, needle in a haystack, traffic cone in a group of red heads, wise advice.

"Elias, brave men are not those who have no fear, but those who overcome it.

And strong men are not those who are born without weakness, but those who break through it.

Remember that."

[Well that's strange] a soft young voice echoed in my head

[Really strange… wait, where'd you come from?]

Eset just appeared on my shoulder, even the crack in the air and the mist were very minimal. I completely missed them, distracted by my father's extremely rare wise words. He's quite frugal with those

[Ah well, I SAVED YOUR LIFE. And just hung out on a tree branch, I had a breakthrough with short teleportation.]

"Elias" father grabbed my attention as he unsummoned his axe.

"Yeah dad?"

"We're heading home"

'Okay we're heading home then'

###

"Hey dad" I called to my father as we were walking on our way home

"Yes Eli?"

"You always told me that a good weapon needs a good name"

"And" he rolled on suggestively

It seems my question even caught the attention of a certain owl that fixed her position atop my shoulders, as if leaning in anticipation.

"Well, what's yours?"