Here I am running through the woods right now, full tilt, hurdling roots, ducking under low hanging branches, just barely stepping on rocks hoping I don’t twist my ankle, but none of this bothers me, or is a problem in any way. For some reason I know these woods, have I been here before, sure maybe a couple years ago on a family trip, but that was just visiting, but I know these woods. I had to shake my head and concentrate because my knowing these woods is not the problem. The problem is I’m being chased and I know my life is in danger. I can hear the panting of the dogs in the distance, and I can hear their owners’ voices on the chill of the night air “C’ mere boy! We ain’t gonna hurt ya’ too bad”
“Yeah, we just like hearing folks like you scream…” Another one chimed in. Disgusting I thought, and kicked it into an even higher gear, ‘I know these woods’ the thought wouldn’t stop pulsing in my head. The dogs are still hot on my trail, and I know that the people chasing me really want me dead. I know, I do not exactly have a why, or a what, but the words they are saying feel eerily similar. So, I just keep on running, my lungs feel like they are going to burst, I check over my shoulder again and then, WHAM! I thought I ran into a tree, but that’s impossible because ‘I know these woods’ There was a flash of light, surely, they caught me, but nothing touched me, maybe I died on impact, a scary thought came to my frontal lobe leading me to choke out the statement, “I’m definitely dead.”
“No, child” An angelic soothing voice said to me. I did not know how to respond to this presence, it was warm, yet oppressive, soothing, and yet a gentle fury radiated from the direction the voice came from.
“W-Where is this” I was absolutely overcome with confusion, and a twinge of fear. My heart was still beating a million miles an hour. “I was just running from those racist assholes” I started and I felt the rage well from the direction of the presence, I was still way to scared even to look up, confusion and fear trumped curiosity so I just stared at the marble like floor I was currently on all fours on.
“I understand, my child, you shall look upon my visage and understand I mean you no harm.” With this I felt myself compelled to look up and there stood a woman, “I am All-Mother, and this is not the first time we have met my child.” She looked at me with what I could only describe as true compassion as she continued. “That first time we met” she trailed off for a moment as if reminiscing on eons that I could never fathom I could not help but be transfixed by her presence. Before long she started speaking again “So, your current predicament, let us say, is similar. It appears the divisive concept of race has taken too strong of a hold in that world. I understand that you have been separated by lands and language, but to not recognize your own kind as equal and necessary.” The sadness in her eyes deepened, those eyes which beamed with the very power of the cosmos held pain. “The last time we met you said to me that humans can learn to be together again, and this country was the way to do it.” “So, I let you reincarnate, and they killed you, over, and over, and over, every time you fought, whether with force or peace, you were stripped of your identity, history, your wisdom, and your love.” The force behind her words resonated through my very soul, and I immediately understood as she continued “You said to me they can do it and they will. I gleamed the future, and what I find is this your soul reborn here in this false ‘modern’ age running in the middle of the night from what you call racist? How can they be racist if you are all but human? Tell me boy by my name Gaia the All-Mother, why I should not raise the cancer of humanity and send some of my children to a better place?” I understood what she was saying, but a response I didn’t have. “I apologize” she said with a slight bow “I let my emotions get the best of me for a moment, there shall be a time when these humans do figure out togetherness under Love. However, I will not allow you to go back.”
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“Um, excuse me?” I was totally taken aback, she just said I can’t go back, “why not though?”
“Because I refuse to allow you to simply die and reincarnate again with the weight you seem to carry on your soul.” Her answer was straight forward, but filled me with more questions. “You have questions, I know, but I wonder if the answers will afford you any relief, really.” Her eyes showed great care after uttering those words as if to say to me it okay. “I’m going to send you to a world truly of multiple races, where racism has implications, and my task for you is to bring all the different races of this world under a single banner while there will be prejudices, and many hurdles that you have dealt with before and I believe you have the will to do this and keep a level head. There a threat from outside forces that the people of this world must come together to fight this threat.”
“Wait I don’t know anything about combat, or fighting, or bringing people together. I feel like you are expecting a lot from me. I’m just a black kid from Boston, what am I supposed to do?” I was panicking maybe now more then I was running from those guys trying to lynch me.
“It is alright my child,” her words had a way of soothing all the panic that was amassing within me. “I will grant you ten blessings, to aid you in the task, three of which I will bestow right now and the rest you shall unlock through due diligence, along with any skill or power you may need for your fight ahead.” I had this sudden feeling of warmth that enveloped me and just as soon as a felt it, it had vanished. “I know in this life you have become complacent in the recent years, neglecting your body a bit, so my first blessing is a race promotions and age reduction. To you in the moment this may not seem like much but in the other world this will be very beneficial to you for various reasons.” I wanted to ask like what but she continued “Your second blessing is appraise all” I cut her off
“What in the isekai? Are you going on about, appraisal is a necessary skill for merchantlike work, but how is it supposed to help me in a worldwide battle.”
“Which brings me to the third blessing, Gaia’s Wisdom, this is a discernment skill like appraise all, with the added effect of storage of accumulated knowledge and conceptualizing new information, also this skill will be crucial for your rapid literacy and communication, it may even be able to help unlock some of the deeper secrets of this world.” She smiled inferring that an adventure that I longed for might be possible.
“Okay, so, how old am I and what exactly is a race promotion?”
“Why you are now a high human! You have to ability to evolve even more if you work hard at it, and I turned the clock back on your current age some eighteen years or so.”
“What!?” I gasped, unable to make heads or tails of what any of what Gaia had just said. As I looked to her for answers she smiled, and she just waved to me. ‘Her smile is so beautiful’ I thought as a portal opened beneath my feet and I faded in to black.
