Dominick Reed Jr.

Buah Character Introduction

My shoulder blades finally finished the bleeding process after twenty-two days. A week longer than those fucking animals said they would. And the throbbing only worsened with each passing day, or at least the gaps of time I consider to be days. It’s too dark down here to differentiate sunlight from moonlight. I mostly just sleep anyway— mostly allowing my body to heal. To say the least, I’m actually relieved to feel my shoulders ache as I’ve never felt before. I can feel pain and bruise again— I can feel! 

Now, I just need to be a little more patient with regaining feeling in my wings. Well, I know they are not my wings anymore. But they are— kind of. I can feel that they are there but not much else. Like a limb that has fallen asleep, I cannot sense them. I haven’t been able to feel them since the experiment, as they called it. Even if I could, those sadistic hags have strung each wing up with fucking tin chains and a fucking Tin Master on deck. Even if Tin Masters are not the most proficient of Alchemists, I am far too weak to contest. By myself, there’s no way I’d escape the group of sailors (as dull as they may be) and an Alchemist. 

I’ve been able to feel my link to the Astral for a while now. Every time before I fall asleep, I’ll let my mind slip into the Astral— shouting and pleading to no one listening. I keep telling myself the Guardians only venture so far out, and they only have safe passage in so many skies. They most likely gave up the search for my company weeks ago. To be fair, I am the only survivor, but they don’t know that. Rectoress Saani, despite the wishes of Rector Qenox, would use nearly all the resources and search parties they had to find us— only to find me, but they don’t know that. 

Saani is known for having the most widespread Astral link than any other living Guardian, yet not even she has managed to find my mind. The twins— those animals— must have ordered the sailors back home. Hundreds of miles away from the nearest Guardian stronghold. On the bright side, I suppose I get to spit in the Master of Mercury’s face myself. On the complete and utter shit side, I suppose that the Master of Mercury will take my mind away wholly; a forever servant for the Alchemists— a forever weapon. If they take my mind, they’ll force me to aid in the capturing of more Guardians— more Guardians for more experiments. But I genuinely don’t understand what their goal is? They’re just going to end up killing them— more failed experiments to exhaust their precious metals. I’m the only known experiment on a Guardian to be successful. I heard Ka’Rain say it right before they loaded me onto the ship. I was barely conscious and thought it was a dream at the time. 

On that nearly vacant island, Ka’Rain was standing right above me, examining her part in the experiment. She held my left wing in her palms. Ka’Rain clutched her creation— a part of my body— with her free hand while running her jagged, chromium laced hand across the edge of the wing’s radius. 

“Sister!” Ka’Rain sang out to La’Sorn. “O’ please come look! It’s marvelous— absolutely marvelous!” 

Swaying her coarse, spiked copper arm, La’Sorn trotted to her twin. She, too, admired their pleasing results. La’Sorn gripped the beaming copper wing she forged onto me, and Ka’Rain caressed the chromium wing she charred into my once beautiful feathers. 

“O’ my, my,” La’Sorn gasped, “A copper one! And a chromium one to match!” 

Ka’Rain giggled with her sister, “It’s like he’s our child now!”

“Or perhaps our pet?” La’Sorn nodded, and they both cackled away. 

The Olive Twins— Masters of Alchemy— unmatched savages. I hope they die screaming when I kill them. At least I have this one silver lining as my body begins to shut down again; I get to watch them die over and over in my dreams.