Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Tale of the Forgotten: The Xivealiz

Ilira stared at the dancing fire in front of her, wrapping her arms around her body for extra warmth. The air around her was cold and silent, the only noise being the crackling of the flames. Quietly she shuddered, her mind desperately trying to think of something other than the cold. Vel’s laughter broke the silence, much to her annoyance.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, shooting him a glare. His eyes glinted mischievously, the aura of the fire reflecting in them as he smiled.

“It’s nothing. I just find it funny how hard you’re trying to not talk with me. Am I that much of a nuisance? Or are you having a hard time trying to think up what to ask?”

“Shut up. And stop giving me that look! You’re creeping me out.” He laughed again.

“Don’t be that way, now, I’m just trying to start a conversation is all.” Something came to his mind, causing him to sit up straight. “Would you like to hear a story?”

“What kind of story?”

“I heard about it a long time ago, from a bard from my village. Told it to me and a couple other kids from my village. An odd man, really. Always went on about how we humans weren’t the only intelligent race here. Even stranger was the fact that some of what he said seemed to make sense.”

“Get real, Vel. Don’t tell me this is going to be one of those fairytales parents tell their kids at night. About how there are elves and pixies and a whole bunch of other mythical creatures that live among us. It’s all a bunch of crap.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh. You don’t believe?”

“Of course not!” she shouted. “Why should I? Where’s the proof?”

“My friend, you obviously know very little of the world around you. But to answer your question, no, this isn’t a story about elves or pixies, though I could tell you a thing or two about them. No, this story is about a race of beings that you probably haven’t heard of. Few have, in fact. They are beings called Xivealiz.” Ilira frowned.

“The what?”

“Xivealiz. Would you like me to spell it for you?” The fire crackled loudly, a tiny flare jumping outwards, nearly hitting Ilira in the face. She practically fell backwards trying to miss it, much to Vel’s amusement. “I’ll take that as a no. Now then, where to begin…”

After dusting off the dirt from her shoulders, Ilira perched herself back on the stump. Vel tapped the side of his chin in thought, staring into the fire as if to try and steady his train of thought. Ilira quickly grew impatient and snapped her fingers.

“I thought you said some old guy told you this story? Shouldn’t you just start at the beginning? Or were you lying about that too?”

“Firstly, I heard it ten years ago. Do you honestly expect someone like me to remember word for word a story from my childhood? Secondly, it was a very long tale, not to mention he would often take breaks in between to talk about his view on whatever part of the story he was on. Honestly, have you any patience?”

“Whatever…” she grumbled.

“Alright, I believe I can recount most of the big details. One thing, though, don’t expect this to be like a bedtime story. I’m not the best at telling them to begin with. Now then, to begin. The Xivealiz have been supposedly been around for centuries-“

“Hold on a minute! I thought you said this was a story, not just facts!”

“Well, the way he told it was a story. Just use your imagination, okay? Where was I? Oh, yes. The Xivealiz have been around for just as long as we humans have. They were one of the three sentient races to first exist, along with another race you don’t believe in, the elves. But the Xivealiz are unlike any of the creatures you hear about in fairytales or bedtime stories. They are something altogether…different.”

“So what do they look like, these…Xiva-da-whatever you call them.”

“Xivealiz look human only in shape. Nothing about them is normal otherwise. Firstly, their skin is smooth looking. It’s like looking at a statue, almost, only one that can move. Another primary detail is the color of their skin. Their skin color generally ranges from different shades of blues and purples. The color apparently differs depending on some small detail, like when they are born and how old they are.”
“So you’re telling me they look like purple statues, am I right? That’s it?”

“No, that’s not it! And I said “like” statues. Besides, their skin glows.”

“Their skin glows? Like fireflies you mean?”

“Somewhat. You see, the Xivealiz, they…they’re a race of energy beings. They aren’t made of flesh and bone like we are. They don’t have bones, in fact.”
“What about blood?”

“No. They do have something similar, which is usually the same color as their skin, only lighter in color. Apparently, this fluid is energy in liquid form. But I’ll get to that later. To continue with their physical appearance, the Xivealiz’ bodies are covered with strange, tattoo-like markings, usually on their arms, legs and backs. These aren’t tattoos, but in fact a part of their skin that are engraved into them when they are young. This is a part of their culture and causes them no pain. Doing so is supposed to be sacred for them.”

“Why though?”

“I told you. They are energy beings.”

“So they’re made of energy, then?”

“Not made of energy, actually. From what I remember the old man telling me, all living things possess a kind of energy within them. A life force, if you will. It has many names depending on who you ask. But the thing is, we humans generally don’t know about it. We can’t see it or sense it or anything else. The Xivealiz, though, they discovered how to do all that and more a long time ago. Through some crazy ritual, they unlocked their energy, so its constantly flowing out of them.”

“How can it flow out of them without causing them harm? What, does it fly out of their ears and belly buttons or something?”

“Actually, the Xivealiz have these gem-like protrusions in their bodies that the energy flows from.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, they aren’t actually gems. Apparently, they are some sort of hardened energy object that acts as a portal that allows the energy within their body to flow freely. The Xivealiz have a lot of them over their bodies because they have so much energy inside of them.”

“I thought you said they weren’t made of energy, though!” Ilira stamped her foot on the ground in irritation. Vel smiled.

“Correct. They aren’t made of energy. But they have a lot of energy inside of them. Their life force is incredibly strong, hence why it has to flow out of them. That’s also why their skin glows and the very reason for their odd skin color. It’s all because of the energy within them. It is so vast in amount that it pours out of them at all times. I thought I explained that already. Oh well.”

“So you’ve gone over their skin color and their energy and all that. What else about them makes them look non-human?” She paused. “Wow that really didn’t make any sense. I can’t believe I’m buying into this garbage…”

“Where to begin…well, they don’t have hair anywhere on their bodies. None at all, really. Instead, they have a rather interesting little trick. Before I go into it, for me to make sense, I should tell you that the gems that I mentioned before, the things on their bodies that energy flows out of, they can be moved at any given time. What they do is they arrange them on their head in different ways so when energy flows out of it, it looks like actual hair. I’m not sure why they do it, since the old man never really went into great detail there. Other differences…let’s see. Well, their eyes are a big different. Xivealiz don’t have pupils. Their eyes are pure white save for a red slit in the center. Okay, I suppose that would be the pupil, whatever. I guess the biggest thing about the Xivealiz aside from that is that they have no gender.”

“What do you mean no gender? That isn’t possible.”

“For them, it is. They do not have the same…parts…as we do. There are no males or females. They do, however, tend to emulate one gender or the other, in any way they can. Xivealiz that emulate women will speak in a female tone and alter their shape according, as will the Xivealiz that emulate males. They can’t replicate the, er…private parts, though.”

“Then how do they…you know…breed?”

“That, I do not know. The old man didn’t go over it. Apparently he felt that, with us being children at the time it would be unorthodox, despite the obvious lack of that need. Well, just leave that to your imagination. Oh, and to go off of a previous comment of yours, they do not have ears, noses or navels. At least, they aren’t born with any of those. If they choose to, the Xivealiz can give themselves said ligaments, however.”

“I don’t get one thing. How can they give themselves new body parts or change their appearance?”

“Again, I’m not sure. The old man didn’t go into detail in that area either. Perhaps it is due to their genetic makeup that allows them to do so. Then there’s-“

“Alright, alright! I’ve heard enough, thank you very much. I don’t believe a word of it, either. I don’t care what some crazy old man told you, its just another fairytale. Now then, I’m going to bed before I have to hear any more crazy stories from you. Good night!” She stood and stormed off to her poorly pitched tent, almost tripping over the stump she had been sitting on. Vel stared blankly as she waltzed off, amused at how defiant she was.

“My, my…” He quietly removed the cap from his head and let loose his golden brown hair. With a sigh, he lightly scratched his head, grazing a pointed ear with his fingertips. “How little she really knows.”

Random notes:
- My first official post on this site. Might not be the best, but I try.
- Very long in length. The formatting of this site doesn't help. So, sorry.
- Vel and Ilira both are pronounced as they look. In Ilira's case, its (Ill-ear-ah).
- Xivealiz is pronounced (Ziv-ale-is).
- All comments are (obviously) welcome. Tips are fine, constructive criticism is okay too.

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