This is my entry for the Chibera Character Story writing contest that you can find here.
Basic Storyline of Chibera
We welcome you to Chibera, a land that is still recovering from being torn apart and mutated by an explosion that was caused by a mana experiment centuries ago. Because of this accident, a tree was mutated into what is now called the world tree, along with the mutation of humans, elves, dwarves, and animals which lead to the rise of multiple new intelligent bipedal species.
Some races are now fully dependent on the mana for technological, economic, cultural reasons and some even need to consume it just to survive. This has caused a rift between some of the factions and a fight for control over as much of the resource as possible. The only mana sources now in the world are hard mana crystal deposits and the power that the world tree provides which is the only replenishing resource. This has lead to factions fighting for the resource for their own selfish reasons.
Phalem sat there, inspecting the necklace his mother gave him when he was a young man. This habit of his formed after a group of bandits raided his parent’s farm and took the life of his mother. He knew his father still regretted leaving her to sell their seasons harvest in Cameben, the town west of their farm. Remembering the smoke billowing over the surrounding hills, his mouth turns sour from the thought. The smell of burnt hair and flesh seemingly tainted the air, lingering for days. His once peaceful farm life had been torn apart in the span of a day. Now almost three years later the farm had over-gone a massive reconstruction and the crops were once again ready for harvest.
Phalem sat atop his favourite hill, observing the wide expanse of wheat and rice, a soft breeze blowing his chestnut hair against his face. Brushing his hair back into place, he leaned back and looked towards the town to the west, spotting the familiar smokestacks over the hills. A yell carried on the wind, breaking him out of his peaceful trance.
"Phalem! Come down here boy, supper is almost ready!" Phalem looks towards the voice and saw his father standing by the porch of the house. He waves towards him, signalling that he heard. His father turned on his heels, giving one last look towards his son, and entered through the open door. Phalem stood, wiping dirt and grass off his trousers, and made his way towards the more gradual part of the hill. Climbing the stairs of the porch, the voice of his father came out of the open window.
"Take your shoes off, I don't want you tracking dirt all over the floor." A heavy sigh left Phalem as he complied with his fathers order. Upon entering the house, the floor creaking with the added weight. Phalemmade his way towards the bathroom to wash his face and hands, properly drying them as he exited. Walking towards the kitchen he sees his father sitting at the table patiently waiting for his son to join him. A slight look of irritation painted upon his face. Phalem quickly takes his seat across from his father, apologizing for making him wait.
"I'm sorry father, after completing my work and putting away the farming equipment I thought I could maybe enjoy having a few moments of peace to myself.." Phalem quickly explains himself to his father. His father looked him in the eyes, mouth full of bread and swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking.
"Listen son, it's going to get busy around here. I'd like you to be completely focused on your tasks, do you understand?" His father explained while taking another piece of bread and soaking it within his stew. His father always had a gruff and intimidating voice, his thick beard, hairy arms, and muscular body adding to his intimidating appearance. Unlike himself he had always been a scrawny boy. He vividly remembered his father getting into a heated argument with the baker in town, it didn't end well, but at least now they get discounted bread.
"Boy! Do you understand?!" The abrupt roar of his father's voice broke Phalem out of his daydream. He looked him in the eyes and silently nodded his head in confirmation. Phale dipped his piece of bread into the stew. Turning his head towards the window, he watches the suns slow descent, it's orange hue leaking into the house. A gentle breeze flows through the open window, causing what little hair he had on his arms to stand. Glancing towards his father he notices that he has stopped eating as well. His father's beard started to frizz up and the hair upon his own head stood.
"Phalem, what's happening to your ha-what" He pauses, noticing his own hair standing on end. Suddenly a tremor passed through the ground beneath them, shaking the dishes on the shelf and knocking them to the floor. His father grabbed him roughly by the arm and told him in a hurried voice,
"Phalem, get under the table now and don't move!"
Pushed down by his father, he could see his legs move quickly towards the front door followed by the sound of the door being opened. A low crackle could be heard in the wind followed by a booming roar, and the once orange hue was now replaced with a dark, eerie purple. Phalem, thinking it was safe, came from under the table. Looking out of the window he sees a bright light piercing the heavens, splitting any surrounding clouds.
The commotion stopped almost as quickly as it had started, the ominous light disappearing and the sun taking its place. Phalem exited the house to see his father rushing to load their cart.
"What are you doing father? The bright beam has gone," he asked. His father turned towards him, his hair still standing,and muttered only a few audible words.
"Surely, there couldn’t be more…" Puzzled, Phalem opened his mouth to ask what he meant when a thundering boom rung out once again. He looked towards where the beam once was and saw a shock-wave quickly approaching them. Quickly turning to his father once more, he stood there in disbelief, gawking in awe at the oncoming wave. Phalem slowly backed away towards his home, watching as the surrounding trees were ripped up by the root's and flung easily through the air. Gripping his necklace, one thought raced in his mind, this is the end, we're finally going to see you mother. His father was the first to be hit by the shock-wave, watching as he was thrown in the air along with the carriage. A searing pain ripped throughout his body as darkness overtook his consciousness.
Phalem awoke, covered in rubble from his now demolished house. Easily removing the timber that pinned his legs to the ground, he stood. Noticing the new height and hairy limbs he had acquired, he searches the ground, looking for a way to inspect himself. Finding a shattered piece of his old mother’s mirror, he carefully picks it up and looks over himself. What he saw was truly shocking, he fumbled with the mirror almost dropping it. Staring back at him was no longer the pale, scrawny boy with short chestnut hair sitting atop his head. What was staring back at him now a face that closely resembled a bull with a short coat of auburn fur covering his entire body. Atop his head sat a small tuft of hair and horns about 12 inches long. He looked like one of the bulls they used for cattle rearing. Continuing his inspection he looked down at his chest, which was now broader than his fathers and much much hairier. His muscles bulging with every movement of his arms, which were now as thick as pine logs. He looked down at his legs, noticing that not only had he gained an extra 3 feet in height but he no longer had feet. What were now where his feet used to belong are hooves.
Losing his balance, he falls on his behind, now noticing that he has no clothing to contain his shame. Rising to his feet, he quickly searches for something to cover himself in, but finds no clothes that would fit him. He goes towards their old tool shed, now blown over and toppled. Inside, under all the debris, he finds what seemed to be a burlap sack that was used to store rice or wheat, but it was now torn in half. Seeing this as a great opportunity to make some makeshift underwear he searches for something to cut holes with. Looking under the debris he finds the only sharp object available, a scythe, earlier used for harvest. He takes it and carefully cuts leg holes into the corners of the sack and slips them around his new legs, pulling them up.Not entirely the best fit, but it will have to do.. He collects the other half of the torn burlap and ties it into a neat little sack to hold the shattered piece of the mirror, a memento of his past life, and a memory of his mother.
Scythe in one hand and sack in the other he leaves the destroyed shed to search for his father. Remembering how violently his father was thrown, he searches behind the ruins of his old house. Seeing no sign of his father, he continues his search near the foot of the hills to gain a better vantage point. Climbing what used to be his favourite relaxation spot was now covered in branches and twigs. Looking over the grounds of what used to be farmland he doesn’t spot his father, after a few more minutes of searching he hears a faint call.
“Help….someone…anyone..” Upon hearing the voice his ears perk up, the voice had come from behind him where a large pile of rocks and branches now laid. He grew closer to the pile and saw what looked like a crushed leg. With his newly gained strength he lifted the rocks and branches with great ease, removing them from whoever they claimed as victim. As more of the body was unveiled he had started to recognise the clothing as blood stained as it was. It was his father. Phalem quickly removes the last few pieces of debris that kept him trapped, hoping he’s not too late. His face was covered in blood, but what his father saw staring at him had truly given him the shock of his life. Being unable to move, he couldn’t fight off the great beast before him and had resigned himself to being killed.
“Father…it’s me, Phalem.” His new deep voice shaking his father to his core and even giving himself quite a shock. The look on Phalems face must have amused his father as he let out a weak laugh.
“Ha..hah..cough you scared the shit out of me boy… what happened to you..?” His father asked wheezily, struggling for oxygen. The son, lost for words, tried picking up his father, to which his father weakly cried out in pain.
“I don’t think I’m…going to be around for much longer…” His father calmly explained in between struggled breaths. While his father was prepared for death, Phalem was not. Tears rolled down his father's cheeks. He hadn’t seen his father cry since the death of his mother, and apart from that, it was the only time he had witnessed it. Without realising, he had started crying also, knowing he’d be alone after his father was gone. Phalem's tears rolled down his beastial muzzle, catching the dirt along with it as it fell to the ground.
“I’ll finally…be able to see her again…” He says with a whisper, a slight smile on his lips. After moments of quiet sobbing and silence he notices his father wasn’t wheezing for air anymore. He had finally been reunited with his mother. Respecting his father, he carefully picked up his corpse and took him to his favoured hill, where Phalem would look over the farmland and watch the sunset. Collecting a shovel from the destroyed tool shed, he dug a grave and returned his father's body to the earth. Paying respects to his father, he placesstones as a makeshift headstone and gave his final goodbye. Collecting his sack and sickle he made his way through the destroyed farmland, seeing destroyed storage sheds and collapsed trees. The first place he would begin his journey within this seemingly new land was Cameben, the village to the west.
I'd like to give a big shout-out to my good friend 
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