Cryptic Wonder- the Awakening Read online

  Prelude

  Take every myth and legendary creature you know and can imagine, and come with me as we journey to their world. Now you may think they all live in different areas, but that is an old truth. They moved long ago, but they don’t live among us. No, that would make them easy to find. Instead, they created a collection of giant floating islands in the sky far above. The islands are connected like a community by thick vines and roots. Now on these islands is a menagerie of mythical creatures, from the Loki of Norse legend to the Namazu of Japanese myth. But to survive in this smaller space they took humanoid forms, although a few still had signs of not being entirely human. Some of the few had hints or horns or ears that stood up on top of their heads; some had nubs of tails. But in transforming to humanoid they lost the ability to transform completely into their true selves. The hint of Cryptic in a few, though, served to remind all of their history.

  That is, until a process called Feralizer was discovered by a Namazu. This Namazu had a slight appearance of a fish-like being, having whiskers like a catfish, and a gait that gave his back end the impression of a fish tail swimming through water.

  The Namazu of Japan is said to be why there are earthquakes in the world. Those who abide by the legend believe it is a Namazu that lives underground, and that with the thrashing of its body, causes earthquakes. The only thing that prevents constant earth trembling, according to the story, is a young god said to sit atop the Namazu with a capstone to keep it from moving. Sadly, whenever the young god is distracted or tired his focus falters and his grip loosens, and the Namazu uses this as a chance to get free and thrashes its body resulting in an earthquake.

  But this Namazu that we’re talking about, was a curious and adventurous one and found a ring of moonflowers one day as he was hiking around a wild floating island. The flowers were odd and seemed to look up at him. As he crouched down to one, it launched its pollen into his face. Almost instantly he felt a change in his bones as they expanded and changed. It didn’t take long before he was a large catfish just laying on the ground. He struggled for water, but instead, he transformed once more to his humanoid form, but this time with the tail of a catfish at the base of his spine.

  Realizing what had happened he quickly gathered the moonflowers to study them. When he returned to his hut, he pulled out the many vials and other laboratory equipment he used for many different experiments in the world around him, and he tested the differences between the moonflowers and other flowers. Then he went on to explore their effects on Cryptics and how much was needed to get different results.

  He experimented with the help of a few Ahool--or giant bat demons--who let him test the flower’s pollen on them. Eventually, the children of the Namazu’s generation were transformed to have horns, animal ears, or a tail. But the next generations were born without their Cryptic characteristics. And that’s where the Namazu’s knowledge of the moonflowers was put to use.

  Once they turned 18 the young Cryptics were brought to the relocated moonflower circle and sprayed with its pollen to be granted their “Cryptic” features . (“ Cryptic” was the word used by the Namazu to identify the people with either horns, animal ears, or a tail, even an animal aura. )

  Don’t worry the story doesn’t end there. Watch and listen to what happened many generations later.

  Chapter 1

  In a hidden town floating far above the surface town of Bloomington, Illinois, there was an Anansi type of Cryptic . Her name was Naomi Paws. She specialized in creating mischief--as was the way of all Anansis. Her power was shapeshifting and vocal mimicking.

  Humans believed Anansis to be one of the bad Cryptics as it was said they would lead people far from home until they were lost, and then eat them. Other so-called bad Cryptics were Lokis, Sirens, and Shadow Beasts. Lokis weren’t as bad as Anansis since they weren’t said to kill their victims, but they were good at mischief and hiding people’s stuff. Lokis would torment anyone with their mischief--even other Cryptics.

  Naomi woke and stretched out not really wanting to wake up yet, but at the sound of her mother’s voice, she finally got out of bed begrudgingly.

  “Naomi you’d better be up or you’ll be late for the Feralizer!” called a female voice that sounded slightly feral , as it had a bit of a tiger mother’s growl to her cub. It was not gentle like a cat’s purr, it was harsher sound but not a warning growl.

  Naomi smiled as she went to her bathroom mirror and she imagined what the Feralizer would give her. Maybe it would make her part lion or leopard. Currently, s he looked like a normal teenage girl with rusty brown hair and beautiful eyes of green and blue, but at the age of 18, Anansis --like all other Cryptics--go through the process called Feralizer, which gives them animal ears and a tail to match. She changed into a pair of black leggings and a bright red shirt that read “Fangs and Claws rule.” Then she slid on some running shoes and headed to the kitchen. “Hey Mom,” she said, as she grabbed an apple from the basket.

  Her mom was a fair-skinned lady with a tail and ears like a Bengal tiger. She had her back to Naomi as she was preparing some scrambled eggs.

  “So, how was your sleep?” her mom asked as she placed a plate of eggs in front of Naomi, still with a feral sound to her voice.

  “It was good, though I can't believe I slept so well considering what’s happening today,” she responded.

  Naomi scarfed down the eggs before heading out the door with the apple in a pouch at her left hip. She exited the house through a portal door and was instantly in a secret town that spread across several floating landmasses that were hidden in the clouds and only connected via portal doors and thick vines and roots. Portal doors were how Cryptics got around, for the most part. They looked like a swirling galaxy in a doorway made of silver. She took off towards the stadium that was about half a mile away from where she stood.

  She arrived at the stadium, with its high walls of grey stone and open roof, and saw a friend who waved her over. It was her friend Zeke. He stood a good head taller than her with sandy blonde hair. They hip-checked as they high-fived. It had been their friendship handshake since they were young.

  Zeke pointed to a group of Lokis, “Girl, do you see that tall, brown-eyed, hunk of muscle over there? he is so cute!”

  Naomi nodded. “You talk to him yet, Zeke?”

  “I wish, but I’m too shy. Maybe after the Feralizer?” came Zeke’s response.

  “Yeah, maybe after, you’ll have more courage.” Naomi ruffled his hair.

  “So what are you hoping to get? Tiger? Lion? Maybe a cougar?” Zeke twirled around hoping to distract himself from the wait.

  “I’d be happy with anything so long as it wasn’t lame like a sand cat,” Naomi said, noticing a lady walk out of the stadium and toward the groups of 18-year-olds waiting for directions.

  She wore a blue uniform, almost looking like a mix of a cop and a lawyer, and was obviously someone to take seriously--especially with her horns as sharp as they were; she was clearly a Loki with her ram horns.

  The lady sounded a whistle and everyone filed into the stadium and were sent to dressing rooms.

  “Why dress at all when my tail will distract from any dress?” Naomi thought.

  She walked into the lady’s dressing room and looked at some of the dresses. Her eyes landed on a sleek black one. It had small pointed studs along the neckline. Naomi grabbed it and some black boots which she easily slid into. Some of the others were gabbing bright colored dresses as they giggled like little cubs. There was hair and skin of different shades and color, though no one with dyed hair, as that was banned. (Hair dye was banned because hair color transfers to wild form and no one believes in a purple tiger.) Then a lady who looked to
be in her 50’s opened the door to escort them out to the field.

  The field was huge! Seats lined every side, and many thousands could be fit in all of the seating. Today, friends and relatives of the 18-year-olds filled the stadium to watch their young friends go through the ceremony that would show their true being.

  In the center of the field--sometimes used for other public announcements and ceremonies--was a circle of moonflowers. The flowers looked ready to bloom in shades of blues and violets.

  Naomi was seated in a line of seats for the girls, while Zeke sat with the other boys. She couldn’t squeal and chat in excitement with him, though he looked nice in a red shirt with a black vest.

  The lead Cryptics walked out onto the field towards the ring of moonflowers, where a microphone stood behind a massive podium. The Shadow Beast leade r stepped up to the microphone, the hood of her cloak covering her face entirely, as the other leaders stood off to the side. Walking beside the Shadow Beast leader’s side was a glowing blue aura--it looked to be a leopard.

  The Shadow Beast leader announced, “Welcome future Cryptics! Today you go through the process called Feralizer , which will officially make you fully one of the Cryptic people. This is an ancient tradition that has remained unchanged even in light of coming out to the humans ten years ago. I know many will head out tomorrow to do whatever your kind does to feed on human energy, but remember we are not allowed to speak with or be seen by humans, much like they can not touch or speak to us . Now we will start with the Anansis.”

  Naomi smiled at Zeke even though he was a Shadow Beast, her different colored eyes--a rarity among Cryptics--beaming with joy. Shadow Beasts were capable of bending shadows to their will and appearing from thin air. A few names were called before Naomi was called forth to stand in the circle of moonflowers.

  The flowers seemed to turn towards her as she stood among them and the Anansi leader, who was named Leander and had a cougar's tail and ears, tapped one to release its pollen. The pollen awakens the feral side in a Cryptic. The pollen tickled as it landed on her, and suddenly she felt like a wave had crashed into her, forcing her to take a knee.

  She heard a few gasps as she felt something soft brush against her legs. She looked behind her to see a rusty brown tail. Her hands went to her head where she found two cat-like ears with long riffs of fur.

  The leader of the Sirens--her eel-like tail flowing behind her--walked up to Naomi and held a mirror for her to see her ears. They were black, unlike her rusty brown hair and tail.

  Naomi looked at the Siren leader confused and was surprised to see the Siren looked not much older than her. The leader’s shiny black hair was in a constant state of flowing as if in an ocean current. Her eyes were a bright yellow, yet she only gave a small smile as if wanting to hide her teeth. Her tail was that of an eel of some kind.

  The Anansi leader announced, “We have our first caracal after a century!” Naomi looked at him with surprise. She was a caracal!

  Leander, the Anansi leader, helped her up with a smile that was contagious as it made Naomi smile back. She headed back to her seat and saw the shadow Beasts being called up. Now, shadow Beasts didn’t get tails or ears; they got shadow auras. When it was Zeke’s turn to go up, Naomi watched as he got a burst of pollen and his aura revealed itself to be a lynx. He smiled towards Naomi as he headed back to his seat.

  Naomi watched, as then came the Lokis. She watched as the Loki that Zeke liked underwent the Feralizer. He got the famous curved golden horns like the original Loki of Norse legends and like the Loki leader. That was pretty rare and many people cheered.

  Then the S irens were to get their tails. Naomi watched as each Siren got a sea creature’s tail, which like hers, was located at the base of the spine. One even got the tail of a sea snake, though that person burst into tears. Naomi shrugged as she figured that person was afraid of reptiles.

  Another got the tail of a dolphin , her long curly brown hair seemed to also be in a state of flowing like water. There were many loud cheers for her; it seemed she was well-loved among the Sirens. Naomi would have to keep an eye on her in the future, as she looked like she might have some sort of special purpose.

  Once everyone had gone through the Feralizer, they were excused to the after-party, which was being held in the community room attached on the other side of the stadium, about a 5-minute walk away. Naomi and Zeke headed that way together, as the others raced or laughed as they went. It had been rumored that there would be a chocolate fountain at the after-party.

  Once they got to the party, Zeke and Naomi found some punch and looked around, still in awe at seeing all of the tails and ears on their peers. Naomi quickly noticed she was the only caracal while there were a few tigers and leopards. There was even a lion and a jaguar. And the shortest Anansi she saw was a sand cat.

  Naomi once again saw the Siren with the dolphin tail, who was among a small group of others chatting. The Siren wore a slender blue dress that had a few amber beads around the neck.

  Zeke saw the chocolate fountain and dragged Naomi over, as he had a weakness for chocolate. He jumped up and down with joy for a few moments before Naomi gave him a fresh chocolate covered strawberry . He ate it and pretty much swooned, while Naomi laughed at his dramatic reaction. She saw the Cryptic leaders take to a table in a corner and begin talking. Occasionally the Anansi leader would glance over at her.

  Naomi tried to ignore Leander ’s gaze, but it was difficult as she felt like he was always watching. Eventually, she glared back at him after having some drognas , a common drink among the Cryptic people. It was kind of like alcohol, but it didn’t have the bad side effects, like unfiltered thoughts, though it did still make one seem drunk.

  Leander saw this and signaled for her to come over. Zeke noticed and shared a confused look with Naomi, who shrugged and walked over to where the leaders were seated.

  “Please take a seat, Naomi Paws. We wish to have words with you,” said Leander, with a hint of a cougar’s roar in his voice. Naomi sat, though hoped none of her friends were watching.

  “Do you know when the last caracal Cryptic was revealed?” he asked.

  Naomi shook her head in answer, not wanting to speak.

  “It’s been about a century, and there is a prophecy about the next caracal. Sadly it means trouble for our people, and we just want to make sure that you are on the side of our people and not the humans,” Leander said as he looked to the other leaders.

  Naomi inquired, “What is the prophecy?”

  “It says that you will let a human live and he will enter our world, thus changing everything until there is chaos. We believe the change will be a massacre of our people, humans will be guilty, and the human you bring will be a spy.” Leander said with a growl.

  “I never met a human nor do I like them, so I don’t see the problem. Plus I’m the best at staying unseen and causing mischief . Just check my scores from the pre-Feralizer training sessions,” Naomi retorted as she rose from her seat.

  “Besides Anansi’s always see to our victims being lost and wounded.” With that, she walked away and headed home where she quickly fell asleep.

  Chapter 2

  The sun shone through her window and woke her up. Today would be her first time causing mischief for a human! She’d practiced this during training for a long time.

  N aomi jumped out of bed and got ready. She took great care in brushing her ears and tail since she’d never done that before, and then headed downstairs and grabbed an apple.

  “Hey, mom! Bye mom,” she said as she d arted towards the portal doorway . Her mother smiled and waved after her.

  Naomi’s mom called after her, “Be careful my darling cub!”

  She went through a portal door, thinking of the human world, and landed in a large forest. Upon exiting into the forest she had turned completely into a caracal. She climbed up a tree and leaped from branch to branch as she navigated through the forest at astonishing speeds. The forest was the only thing sepa
rating the humans from the Cryptics.

  Once Naomi reached the other side of the forest she leaped from the tree and sneaked into the human town. She transformed into a golden lab as she wandered around. Anansi’s didn’t have to worry about being seen since they could appear as anyone or thing. She wandered the street like a stray, yet making sure to stay out of reach of humans. The humans, for the most part, ignored her, which was perfect considering her powers would react to their touch .

  Occasionally, a small child did notice her, but she was quick to step out of reach. Naomi didn’t plan on getting revealed by a small child anytime soon. It was known that if a human touched a Cryptic in disguise, that Cryptic’s disguise would fail and they would be revealed.

  Her ears were alert for voices as she walked past houses. She saw a decent sized house with a young girl walking out. She decided to dart to the window and find a voice to mimic. She heard two adults and an older boy’s voice and decided to do the boy’s voice. She followed the girl stealthily and unseen to the backyard. Naomi darted towards the forest when the girl had her back turned away as she played with an orange, plastic ball.

  Once Naomi was hidden among some brush at the edge of the forest she mimicked the boys' voice . “Hey sis come play with me in the forest, it will be fun!”

  The little girl turned at the sound of the voice and wandered towards the forest with her orange ball. Naomi had already returned to her caracal form upon reaching the forest, so she climbed up a tree so she could continue leading the girl in. She leaped to the next tree as the girl called out, “Hunter, where are you?”

  “This way. Follow my voice,” Naomi cast the boy’s voice to sound like it was behind a bush a few yards in front of the girl. The girl followed the voice like this for a long way until she got bored and sat down in the forest.

  For several minutes, Naomi sat hidden on a branch above the child, but that began to bore her, and she leaped down to the forest floor, landing behind the girl.