Faulted

I remember the words of a once young man saying, 'A smile is so mystic; it could be fake or true. It covers pain like a silky hood; emotions hidden under this tool rise to cause hate and neglect of the greater good.' Legend had it he was so wise that he was known as the tortoise many years ago; he ruled the hearts of many even under shackles of oppressors and led the tyrannized to freedom. His selflessness was bespoke, and it led him to conquering the world without moving a muscle. He made mystics and elites give their worth to seek advice.

His tale, a tale of Gofers and Valors and Maidens and witches and gods; mystics of a long-forgotten land, Licon. Licon, a clan of creatures known as Radixs: creatures that walked the earth many years ago in the days of the elves and dragons; one of the greatest times in the history of the Hirox (a realm of various magical creatures).

Amongst the Radix that nature brought into Hirox was Aura, the eldest member of the clan. He was at the time responsible for their feeding and shelter. One night, Aura went for his daily scout for food, and when he came back, he found a wild animal in the midst of the young Radix. He quickly dropped the leaf-woven basket and pulled a stick from the tree above in preparation to attack it. However, it didn't seem like the Grolt was going to attack the young Radix; he seemed fascinated by their blue eyes and white hair that complemented the moonlight.

Notwithstanding, Aura still chased it far from the clan, for fear that it or some other wild animal would harm the young Radix. He dug a burrow where he and the young Radix lived. Aura took twigs and stone and aligned them in the holes he dug. He built rooms in the tunnels enough for each one of the nineteen Radixs.

As time went by, Aura had some help with the food; he and a group of Radix would go into the forest at night to pick fruits for the morning, trying their best to stay hidden from other creatures because they thought it was safer. The little Radixs had grown yet Aura would still make them hold hands while walking into the forest and peel all the fruits they brought in before they ate them. This made the Radixs feel belittled.

They would sometimes run off to avoid holding hands and peel their fruits as they brought them down from the trees. However, this couldn't stop Aura. When the second generation of Radix came in, Aura continued to peel fruits, weave clothes for the new Radixs. Their parents started to warn their kids against seeing Aura with various threats; some would say he was a monster that would kill you in the clothes he weaved.

As they grew, their parents told them more lies about Aura. Meanwhile, the elves learnt many surprising tactics to maintain the forest, one of which were tree whispering, mystical pruning, elemental balancing. The elves also fancied hunting a lot, and the Radix formed a habit of stealing the Elven game by night. However, the elves hardly noticed it because the Radix only took little to complement what they got from the forest trees.

They were very happy staying with the elves, most likely because they were able to keep the forest at its best with their mystical skill. However, the Radix weren't the only creatures who fancied the proceeds of the evergreen forest. They were a few other creatures attracted to the evergreen forest, some of them became game for the elves, and others, competition to the Radix.

As the competition increased, the Radix had to make their visit to the forest daily in troops of ten, which were mostly Aura's children. They weren't very happy with it, but they did it for their father. One day, when Helix came back tired from the harvest, he asked Jike to help him usher the fruits to the store at the end of the burrow.

'Jike, be a lad and help me carry these fruits to the last room, for I no longer have control of my own hands.' He said as he dropped the basket, hoping Jike would because they weren't on very good terms. 'I'm deeply sorry, I do have full control of my hands, and they will not do your biddings.' Jike says, smiling like he had just put a bomb under his teacher's table and was waiting for it to explode.

'Don't be unreasonable, Jike.' Helix says, trying to force a laugh. 'Help me move them to the last room.' 'I am being reasonable, so I will not do your biddings.' He says with a menacing smile on his face. Helix starts to get annoyed and raises his voice, 'my biddings? I brought this basket of fruits from the forest for us all, and you dare to call it my bidding?' 'Whatever it be, you might say, my hands will not serve you.' Jike says slowly turning around with his hand tucked in his pocket, about to walk away.

'I can't blame you; your mind is like mildew found on shrubs and decaying wood – disgusting and useless.' He yells, using the clause Jike's father had once used on him when they were kids, trying to justify those words with Jike's actions.

Jike stops and turns around, looking like he was going to strangle him to death. 'Mocking me won't make me suddenly obey you.' 'Must I remind you it's not called mocking when you speak the truth?' he echoed, putting on the same smile Jike had put on moments ago.

He seemed satisfied by the look on Jike's face. At this time, Radixs who had gone for the harvest had started coming down into the tunnel and were all wondering what was going on because a lot of Radixs were already gathered at the forest exit, watching the drama unfold.

Helix noticed them coming into the tunnel and screamed. 'The mouths we feed have turned to curse us! They despise us for having done the work in their stead. Jike dares to portray us as mere servants!' Everyone murmured angrily, but still tried to persuade Helix to calm down.

However, it didn't seem to be working, as Helix continued to scream at the top of his voice until the elders came out of their rooms, seeking to know what was happening. 'What rouses you? Why are you shouting at my son?' Unirus says, while looking at Helix like he was going to pick him up and break all his bones.

'Your son has done what no one would expect from a person he feeds. He dared to call my self and my sibling servants for going to get food for the clan.' 'That's a lie, father.' 'Then prove it. Carry the basket to the last room.' 'I maintain my ground. I will not.'

'Look at that; doesn't it prove how much more he thinks of himself than he does us?' The feud was long and seemed endless until they started to hear noises from the wall behind them; they had ignored it at first, but then it started growing louder and louder.

Each of them tried to hush the other to focus deeply on the sound. It was the sound of scraping and scratching, thudding and pounding. Aura was quiet, staring earnestly at the other elders and Helix.

Suddenly, Unirus broke the silence, yelling in fear. 'Nature? It can't be; he hasn't said so much as to arouse her, Aura.' Unirus says. 'He is right, Aura; it can't be her.' Aura's wife supports.

'I would be happy if it isn't; I only said what I thought.' Aura says. The young Radixs were ushered into their rooms while the elders waited at the forest entrance with sticks in their hands.

After a few hours, the wait was over; funny-looking creatures with long noses and even longer claws had bored through the walls.