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The Golden Stag, episode four: Not Happy Here

Written by Jaeger Dominus

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There was that little snot that stole my heart before, many sidedays ago. That was the reason I was here.

But I was a half-mak, someone that was worth respecting.

You see, the Humaks, as they were called, were overwhelmingly female. Human females born with a humak mother are themselves humak, prime targets for magic to occur. Humak fathers have to be human or partly human themselves.

The reason I didn't remember my training was because my sideways memories were too distorted. Hard to explain, but in layman terms it meant that I came into a new existence as soon as I had my heart stolen. In a way I flipped through the mirror.

It was as if I dreamed while being awake.

And I was the fawn prince, a white-tail deer that was at the first level of my existence.

But what made me interesting was that even though the fawn prince of the white-tail meant little for growth, I was potentially half-mak. Someone that is one in a million, and needed to be found. The one in a trillionth, the quarter-mak, happened only once in history.

The problem was there was little information on the quarter-maks. They were heavily undocumented. And how did I know all this? I couldn't tell you, as I couldn't remember. And that's what led to me, having memories of my old self while living as my new self in the Raven's Shield. I only hoped that me being subservient would let me go back some day.

I still was a bit disoriented. Things continued spiraling.

Tannie Kaya, newest recruit besides me. She loved to tease me about how I was created -- by accident by her -- and that some day I would come to fully accept who I was. Then would be the time when things would be greatest. We were in the Burrow-colonies of the Sideworld, souls and memories of selves transported on the colonizer's dreams. And, being with the Corvid Mother, I found that I couldn't find a way out to the real world until I proved myself ready to return to my normal life.

Someone snapped their fingers in front of me. I heard the clicking.

"He's delirious, because of what you did," The corvid mother said. "He's all mentally zapped and now it's starting to fade."

"It was a long time," Tannie said. "You don't think I caused all that?"

"Half-Maks are known to have trouble recognizing where they were when reminded of their human personalities."

I blinked, rubbed my eyes. I was in the Raven's shield, Tannie was next to me, getting grilled by the raven mother, and all the other mercenaries were there. All a Humak group.

I was the only guy in the group. One in a million, as I said.

"I'm here now," I said, rubbing my shoulders. I felt like I woke up faster and faster.

"How much of your previous memories did you have?" Corvid mother asked.

"I remembered a lot of things," I said back. "I felt as if I lived my whole life then a bit more starting now."

"That's normal," she said. "How vivid?"

"I remember when my heart was stolen, drinking the trackwater, and me becoming part of the sideworld--"

"Those are the most vivid," Corvid mother asked, "Seriously? Your amazing half-mak potential, fawn prince! Wasted! Because of our new girl!"

"I'm Tannie!" she snipped back, then was slapped for real. She spun to the ground as Corvid Mother's arm streaked across her face. I saw blood on the ground.

"Hey now," I cried, "I'm better now."

"You're still delirious," she said. "You'll never go back at this rate. This will be the longest time a Half-mak will be awake without thinking. Oh My-- Tannie, you are so lucky you're my daughter."

That sounded worse than a dismissal from the troupe.

Tannie picked herself off from the ground, rubbed the cut until it stopped.

"So you," she said, pointing to me, "Come to my office. You're still so confused about what's going on."

I nodded. "Yes ma'am."

She walked out of where we were, in the room. We were in a room, a parlor with a fireplace, the hearth. It was warm and I hated leaving the warmth to go into the cold. I didn't like being freezing, and Corvid Mother liked her office to be freezing.

I walked up the stairs, watching her climb the stairs as well. She looked attractive in Half-Mak terms. Which was weird because I did notice a slight difference between my Humak and Human side. Both sides agreeing on something was unique for once.

Into her office we went, and she sat on her desk, a solid stone and marble layout.

"Fawn Prince, you've been sick for a long time. You have been in a coma since you were so young, and only now you've come back to us. Your memory's been completely smashed away, and we didn't piece it together until a few years back.'

"That was a few years?" I asked. "It felt like--"

"Two days," she said. "I know. But that's because you were dead in this body for that long. Two days in the human world is two years here."

"So when I drank the tracks--"

"You awoke subconsciously as the crown prince. Your body no longer needed life support, but you were kinda gone mentally. It wasn't until you approached us that you started healing again. It would have been a lot faster if your comrade didn't mess it up so bad for you."

I grimaced. "Why?"

"She wasn't supposed to speak," she said. "She changed the dynamic, permanently. You may turn into a full humak, or lose all your humakness. Either way, you wouldn't be happy."

Full Humak males died on the spot. Those with No Humak in them ceased to exist. It was the middle where the world-jumping took place, and the extremes were where unique spirit types came about.

"I'm not happy here either," I said.

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Liking the fourth episode? Let me know in the comments or DM'S! A single message keeps me in the game for a week longer!

I'm eventually aiming to get this posted into a novel format on Kindle Unlimited, with a paperback edition! Stay tuned for the Golden Stag.

Commission me for writing projects! My Comm's are open, simply DM me for details!

See ya soon!

--Jaeger Dominus