"And the story continued in the middle of the night."
"She eventually found the little spirit´s light."
"May you share your feedback without fright."
Home and family
"What a beautiful name. Did the Spirit Tree give it to you?" Ori listened carefully to the calming, kind voice of the being that was talking to him. He felt the power of pure love wrapped tight in every sentence, and the reverence with which the name was treated. After all, it only made sense that the name of the mightiest, kindest spirit guardian to ever live would have an awe-inspiring name. Ori wasn't sure exactly what past Ori did, but now his name and soul were his own, and he was appreciative of them. Realizing that he still needed to respond to the kind being talking to him, he gave her a slight nod. As she wasn't expecting such a reaction, her face began to reveal her confusion. Ori…was actually the name of the spirit tree, and it seemed odd that he would name his very first child after himself. She turned to the massive trunk in the middle of the forest, which was, as ever, resting and simply observing the scene like the magical guardian he was. She looked up to the top of the tree where Seir had her place, always glowing in a warm, orange tone. Why would the Spirit Tree pass his name onto his first son? She couldn't find an answer, and the small spirit in her arms began to shift, drawing her back to the present. Resolving to find out later, she offered, "Let´s go back to the village. There's some warm soup there I'm sure you'd like." The glowing face in her arms laughed happily in response. Ori didn´t know what the word 'soup' meant, but he felt that whatever it was, it had to be delicious. Ready to get going, he began to crawl out of her warm hug, surprising her. "Can you walk by yourself?" she asked. Once more, Ori nodded slightly, and she gently put him down. After he took a few steps like he'd been walking for years, she was satisfied with his abilities, though she did think for a moment on the surprising speed of spirit development, as after all, he was only born a few minutes ago. With a confused look on her face and several questions in her head, along with an excited prancing from Ori, they both headed to the village she was talking about.
As the duo continued along the path back to the village, Ori began to feel very strange. Something was wrong with the part of the forest they currently walked through. It was misty, cold, frightening, sun-scarred, and just really not a place where he wanted to be right now. The worst part, however, was the complete absence of any evidence of life. He couldn't even hear a single cricket chirping away, the only sound being the soft brush of wind through the leaves. Ori was really glad that he didn't have to pass through this quiet hell alone, as even with the best partner he could ask for, his mind and body were veering on the edge of madness. Thankfully, however, the warm aura of the motherly creature calmed him back down to a more rational state again. Even as such, he was greatly spooked when her voice pierced the oppressive silence by saying, "We call this part of Niwen 'The Silent Forest.' You don't need to be afraid, it isn't dangerous anymore. Or, well, not as quite as dangerous as it was before at least."
Despite the motherly being's assurances that the evil place they found themselves in was "not quite as dangerous as it was before," the little spirit pulled on her fur and hid behind her. The darkness and the silence made his belly feel strange, almost queasy even, and a little shiver made its way down his spine, followed by several more that got progressively more intense. "The village isn't that far now," she said. "We're almost there." Even as she said this, she felt the shivering little body on her back and knew whatever she could say wouldn't be enough to calm that thing down. "Oh no. Are you really that scared, little one?" Looking over her shoulder, she saw the adorable and heart-wrenching sight of an absolutely terrified baby spirit. Ori hated to admit his fear, but it wasn't like he had a choice or the willpower to do anything but nod. Luckily for him, she already knew exactly what to do. She gently picked up the fearful being and laid it into her strong, comfortable arms. "Don´t worry," she assured, "I will carry you." Feeling the safe embrace of her arms, and the ridiculous strength that such a heavy-set being could output, Ori relaxed and felt great wave of safety overtake him.
Suddenly, something disturbed the oppressive, eternal silence. A nearby bush began to shake violently, producing a loud rustle. No longer safe, the spirit felt himself tense up, and the safest place he could find in the short panic was behind the wall of black fur. From there, he grabbed her shoulders from behind as to not tumble down and dared a look from behind her head. More annoyed than anything, the somewhat braver being called out, "Is someone there?" She had hardly finished turning towards the bush when a little black shadow shot out of the bush, right into her chest. Ori, terrified more than ever now, screamed in fear and rapidly began to make plans for escape, but the shadow began to talk rapidly in a slightly fearful tone itself: "Hey, hey, hey, I´m sorry, I´m sorry. I really did not mean to scare him" Realizing who it was who had just scared them both, the mother became a little angry, her face emanating a deep disapproval in the cheeky little moki sneaking around at night. The moki moved to apologize, but he saw the face peering over her shoulder and forgot his intentions, fascinated by what he saw. "Is that…a spirit guardian?!" he asked, full of childish delight. The mother sighed, a bit annoyed, but grudgingly dropped the original conversation, her face moving back into a smile. It was important that Ori met others around his age, and despite the moki's rude entrance, she offered him the opportunity anyway. "Do you want to say hello, little one?" Despite his fear, Ori was curious enough to climb down to stand in front of the moki, observing it just as much as it did him. Oddly enough, it was now that he had another onset of déjà vu, as if he had seen this creature somewhere before. Meanwhile, the moki was examining Ori with glee, describing his thoughts as he went. "Wow! That is amazing! Just show yourself. Don´t be shy." He walked around the confused spirit and observed him from every angle, barely restraining himself from poking or prodding. Ori was particularly embarrassed when the moki looked at him from behind, causing him to draw in his tail. "You look exactly like him, just…smaller!" By now, the moki had begun to calm down and be more polite, but his enthusiasm soared to new heights when the adult explained, "Not only does he look like him, he also shares the exact same name." The eyes of the moki widened. "Really? That´s amazing! Are you Ori? The one we all talk about? Has the life as a tree become boring? Well, I would have become veeery bored, if I was a tree," he laughed. The little spirit responded by shrugging his shoulders humbly. "Oh, you can´t talk yet, can you? You were just born hours ago, right?" Again, Ori nodded.
Seeing an opportunity to change the topic, the larger creature asked, "What were you doing here in the middle of the night little moki? Your parents must be concerned." He groomed his ears and answered, "I know, I know, I got lost in the Silent Forest and all that. I just wanted to find a perfect stone to use as a tool, just like the old Gorlek does! I was even starting to get a little worried maybe, up until I saw a bluish light and knew it had to be the way out." Mollified, she put on that moon-like smile again. "Let´s go home together. I´m sure you'll find that stone tomorrow. Maybe you might just be able to convince Ori here to help you find it!" She still hadn't gotten over how she felt about "Ori's" name, if new Ori actually was old Ori's son. Oblivious to her internal struggle, the moki jumped into the air in excitement. "Oh yes! You hear that Ori? We will play together tomorrow! I'll find you, just you wait!" He hugged Ori tight in pure joy. The little spirit was overwhelmed at first, but eventually he hugged the moki back with a soft smile on his face.
After a short while, only a few meters separated the odd trio from their destination. A high, stony wall was blocking their path forward. Fortunately, there was a stairway, leading all the way up to where the moonlight shone through.
Never the silent type, the moki child presented the situation to the others cheerfully. "We´re here, the Gorlek village! See the beautiful glowing plants illuminating the roofs? This is our home." The moki giggled. "Isn´t it pretty Ori?" The little spirit looked around in awe. It indeed was really nice to look at, with wood and leaf houses big and small finding their place almost everywhere, from the flat meadow, to hanging from strong branches and even the unconventional ones dangling down off of some of the thicker limbs. The houses were illuminated by the silver moonlight, as well as by the same pretty flowers he just recently found in the other part of the forest where he had started. In the middle of the village, a mighty tree trunk extended into the sky, touching the clouds above. It was here that the moki split from them, explaining, "Well, I have to go now. My parents are probably concerned about me already, and I don´t want them to get mad at me." The motherly being, somewhat relieved to have the moki going, turned to him and said, "Get home safely, child." "Don´t worry, I will. Also, I almost forgot, my name is Raiki. See you tomorrow my friend!" After the little moki ran back to his home, the little spirit mumbled his name. "Raiki…" He had just called him a friend. Ori didn't know what that meant, but he definitely liked the word, and it was obvious that the moki liked him a lot. It was nice that everyone was so kind to him.
They walked past many little houses, placed almost randomly in every corner. Every building was unique in its own way, but one building in particular stood as a clear outlier from the rest, extending far higher than the others. "This is our house," the motherly being said. A warm, yellowish light flooded out from the doorway. Someone was already awaiting them there.
"Naru, you're back! I was beginning to get a little concerned about you." "Oh you," Naru sighed, "I heard a call come from outside that sounded so helpless and… familiar, I couldn't help but go out and check what it was. It almost felt like that special moment years ago, when that bluish glowing leaf flew past me." While they continued with the conversation, the shy little spirit was considering his opinion of his mother figure's roommate, a bit afraid of his appearance at first. He was a round creature with dark-grey fur and very long arms and legs that gave him the appearance of a large spider. He didn't seem dangerous, however, so eventually Ori showed his face. The creature had already seen the bluish light coming from behind Naru´s back, but pretended to be surprised anyway, exclaiming, "It´s a spirit guardian! I haven´t seen one of them in ages! And a what a pretty one." From here, Ori could already smell the fragrant, delicious aroma of the soup inside, and his glowing ears pricked up high in excitement as he stuck out his little nose to take a sniff. "Of course, you want some soup! Wait just a second, I´ll get you a bowl," said the grey creature. "Make yourself comfortable, little one." Naru pointed towards a place he could sit down at. Ori took a seat on the soft straw floor, crossing his legs as he did so. "And here you are. Be careful, it´s quite hot." The round creature´s arms were so long that he could easily hand over the meal from almost a quarter of the way across the room. The little spirit stretched out his paws excitedly to the bowl and grabbed it quickly.
He took a little sip. The soup had a creamy consistence that was quite enjoyable. Its taste was similar to its aroma, that is to say that it was delectable. He could sense that it was made with pure love. His eyes became bigger in pleasure, and he could no longer take the bowl off his lips, instead determined to eat it all. However, the warning from earlier was accurate, and his tongue screamed in pain from the heat and tears began to roll down his cheeks in reaction. "Careful little one!" Naru said, "He warned you that it was hot." Her kind face showed her concern. "Are you alright?" He wiped his tears away with his right arm and nodded, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. "Naru?" The round creature with very long legs turned to her. "Is this little guy his first child?" His voice sounded a bit rough. He was getting old. Naru thought for a moment, and responded, "I think so. I found him near our first son, the Spirit Tree. He was enjoying an icy shower beneath the waterfall coming directly from Baur´s Reach. I had to look twice, I couldn't quite trust my eyes the first time." He laughed slightly. "Well, I know how cold that water is. He's quite tough if he spent any length of time in there." The little spirit felt comfortable in the company of these friendly people, it made him feel at home. "Has he told you his name yet?" Ori, sensing an opportunity, looked up from the empty bowl he had just finished licking out completely, and answered by himself: "Ori." The round creature turned to the little spirit. "Ori? That was his name before." He was visibly confused. Naru just gave a slight shrug with her shoulders. "I don´t know. The Spirit Tree gave him that name. I'm also confused, but maybe he just wanted to relay it to his first son, like a tradition. That was the only explanation I could think of." The spider-like being turned back towards Naru. "That makes sense to me. After all, it is the name of a hero. I guess he must be proud of it."
The little spirit became increasingly restless after a few minutes and began to nervously move his small legs back and forth. "Looks like someone has to answer nature's call." The round creature smiled. "Little one, if you need to go, I can go with you, only if you want. I know that the night can be creepy sometimes," she offered with a kind voice. He nodded, a bit ashamed. "Okay, I´ll go outside with him briefly. Come on, little one." He slowly got up to follow her. The round creature excused himself, saying, "I´ll be waiting for you." He saw them both stroll out into the night, and began to reminisce about the past. "Simply adorable, how he slurped that soup in pure enjoyment. It felt like he had just come back after ages, he really does remind me of him."
The soft breeze cooled their faces, like the night was smiling down on them. It seemed that they were the only ones out that late. "Do you need help, little one?" Naru asked. After all, he was a newborn. The little spirit shook his head, however, and vanished into the tall grass quickly, with his glowing fur thankfully hiding his blushing cheeks.
After a minute or two, she heard the soft, tiny steps of his hooves brushing through the tall grass. His glowing face looked out of the green fiber.
"Do you feel better now?" she asked. He nodded, but at that moment, he sensed something dangerous and pulled on her fur. Smiling, she asked, "What´s the matter, my child?" He pointed with a finger at the sky. After she looked up to the dark clouds, it became clear what was frightening him so badly. The giant owl from before had seen his bluish light from a far distance and was excited to finally see the first spirit guardian. As softly as she could, she landed right in front of her adoptive mother and her new brother. "Ku!" Naru´s face showed her euphoria as she saw that her once little daughter had finally decided to pay a visit to the village that once was her home. The little spirit shivered, daring a quick look from behind Naru's back. "You shouldn't scare our new family member like that," she said with a smile and a soft voice. The owl tried to stay as calm as she could, and very carefully, Ori moved closer to her. "Don´t be afraid, little one. This is Ku, and she belongs to our family." Slowly, Ku moved her head down towards him. He stretched out his little arm and opened his paw, pressing it softly on her face. Somehow, he felt a strong bond to her as he inspected her giant body. The little spirit laid down his head on her forehead and closed his eyes. To Ku, it felt like a feather softly touching her, and she repaid the touch by doing the same thing very softly to Ori.
Naru was visibly touched by the scene. Even though Ku was a proud giant owl now, she still had her soft heart that she had from before as a child. "Aw, he really likes you, Ku." Ku was a bit overwhelmed by the strong love coming from her new sibling, it was like he had the same soul as Ori. "Maybe"—she thought—"it was Ori?" She didn´t know. However, she definitely knew that she already kept the cute, little spirit close to her heart. She looked forward to the day where he would be old enough to climb onto her back and fly with her over the gigantic landscape.
Ori, on the other hand, almost fell asleep on the soft feathers of her face. His brain had to process through so many impressions and thoughts at once that he became very tired. Naru picked the sleeping child up as if he was as light as a feather and gave a soft wink to the owl. "Goodnight, Ku," she said, as she faced away to return home again.
Very carefully, she lay the snoozing spirit on top of a soft bed made of straw and hay. The mattress lay on a neatly cut branch so that the bed could have a higher layer. It was built by Gumo, the old round creature with the friendly soul. He had known that they would need to care for a new child someday. "Sleep tight, sweetheart," she said, and softly kissed the spirit´s forehead.
Eventually, Naru and Gumo also laid down to sleep. Gumo tried for a while, but he had a thought in mind that kept him awake. "Something's strange about that little guy. don´t you think?" Naru turned to the round creature lying on his hammock. "What do you mean, Gumo?" He sighed, immersed in memories. "He glows with our son´s light. He has the same voice, the same appearance, the same name, he's even acting like him…" Naru, half-asleep, responded, "I don´t understand. Who's on your mind, Gumo?" He took a couple of seconds to think about what he wanted to say. "Well, I want to say it feels as if he has been reborn." Naru frowned. "Don´t be silly. Our first son was reborn as the Spirit Tree. It was his destiny. This new spirit is his son." Gumo sighed. "I know that. But why did he name him Ori? He must have another reason other than just being a tradition. I mean, why should a father name his child after himself?" That question awoke Naru's mind, and she began to think. "Well, we can´t talk with the Spirit Tree, only spirits can do that. Maybe 'Ori' can tell us the truth someday. Now try to sleep, the night is almost over."
The little spirit´s ears twitched slightly while he was sleeping. It was as if he could hear every single word.