The Story of Enkidu, The Wild Man

Late one-night travelers and comrades sit around the fireside, sharing tales
of adventure, heroism, intrigue, and woe. When a tall Au’ra with ocean colored
hair that flows like waves, walks out from the woods, he sits on stump by the fire.
He throws another log onto the fire; embers rise up illuminating his face. His skin
resembles tanned leather, eyes that smolder like the morning sun, crimson
stained teardrop flow forever under his eyes. The scars across his body, a
roadmap to his life, this man has seen many conflicts and has not always walked
away the victor. He sits hand folded in front of him and speaks in a low rumble,
booming but calm, “So you want to hear my story?”

*The fire erupts into a flash of light*

“I can’t remember when or where I was born, but I can remember where I
was abandoned.”
A blue haired baby lays swaddled on the forest floor, it’s cries echo in the
mountainous woods. It was high in the mountains of the Wellwick Woods of
Eastern Thanalan. The creatures of the forest come to investigate the unfamiliar
cries of the child. As they gather around one of the onlookers cautiously
approaches, a wolf, he opens his maw, bears his fangs, and slowly closes in to
devour this innocent child, when it is swiftly slapped away by large gorilla. The
wolf yelps and runs away, the mother gorilla with a child on her back picks up the
swaddled newborn and holds it close, his cries begin to cease and be replaced
with joyous laughter. She places the child on her back with the newborn gorilla
the two will grow as brothers.

***
“When I was a young boy, I had made friends with almost all of forest’s
inhabitants. We played together, laughed together, grew together, from dawn to
dusk. Life had a carefree air to it.”
 A boy by the age nearly 10, runs freely as a jaybird through waterfall and
jumps into a lake.
“Cold, cold, cold.” the boy repeats, wading through the rippling clear water.
“Ah nothing beats a refreshing swim on a hot day.” A young gorilla swings from a
vine and lands next to and splashes about.
“I’m right there with ya! ” Babi the gorilla says, eek-ing with laughter, as he
splashes the boy. Rapid beating against the dirt of forest floor and shuffling of
leaves can be heard charging towards them, the two boys look in suspense. A
coeurl leaps into the lake and splashes about.
The boy turns to him and says, “Geez you sure took your sweet time,
slowpoke.”
The coeurl Barong, snaps back “We can’t all swing through the treetops, I
bet I’d beat you in foot race any day.”
The three boys laugh and sink into the water, floating lazily on their backs.
The wind rushes through the trees rustling their branches as leaves fall gently
riding the breeze. “I hope we can stay like this forever.” The boy says in a dreamy
tone.
“Babi was my brother and Barong my friend. We lived out our lives without
much thought, as if nothing could ever take away those warm sunlight days, that
was until…”
One the way back from the swimming the hole boys hear a commotion and
rush towards it. A snake of unimaginable size looms over a crowd of animals and
hisses.
“What offeringsss have you brought me?”
The crowd is distressed and looks around anxiously with fear in even the
most ferocious beast’s eyes, they avoid even glancing at the giant snake. This was
the first time any of the boys had seen such a creature in their wooded home. The
boy quickly sprints towards the crowd Babi tries to stop him. The boy with no
hesitation or fear, stares back at the giant snake and yells
“Why are you here? Just go away! Can’t you see no one wants you here!”
 The brooding snake hanging overhead responds slowly, in a hushed tone
with authority in his cold voice “Ahh what manner of sssnack is this? Unusual in
size and color but will suffice all the same.”
The snake opens giant mandibles and swiftly descends onto the boy, and
before anyone can act, in the flash of an eye, the boy is thrust out of the way by
his mother. She stands in his place, with fear swelling in his eyes, the world seems
to slow down almost stopping, turning the seconds into minutes, into a lifetime.
The boy watched helplessly, knowing there was nothing he could do, powerless to
change fate. Failing to protect the one closest to him, his protector, his mother.
With a powerful thud he hits his head against a massive tree trunk, and
everything goes black.
“It was only after the beast left; I woke hoping it was all a bad dream. That
was when Babi and I learned his name was Vritra, guardian of the forest, who
wakes every ten years to feed. The last time he showed up was around the time I
was found, and it had taken Babi’s father, and now his mother because of me. I
promised the next time he came I’d be ready, and my friends would no longer
suffer in fear of this monster.”

***
The boy now a young man slender and lean, walks with confidence and
determination in every stride. He wears an animal skin loin cloth and carries a
sharpened stick. The squeal of boar is heard through the bushes, his prey. Leaping
from his spot behind the trees he has the advantage and with one fell swoop ends
the charging boar and secures dinner.
“Babi! Barong! I got dinner! AHAHAHA!!” he says with a hearty chuckle
carrying the boar over his shoulder.
“Oh yeah!” Barong says licking his lips. Their teeth dig into the raw flesh of
the boar.
“Where is Babi anyway?” the boy asks. But before Barong has a chance to
answer a hurried rustling of leaves can be heard from the canopy above. Babi
lands on a branch just above them.
 “It’s time, he’s here.” Babi says with fear in his voice. The boy’s fun
lighthearted nature quickly fleets from his face and is replaced with a stoney
resolve.
“The time I waited for had come, and I was ready.”
The summer sun blazed high above as the animals of forest once again
gathered to meet with Vritra. The shadow of the beast looms over head as he
once again behests:
“What do you bring to offer me?” Vritra hisses in a quiet somber tone. The
animals stand around frozen in fear, unsure who would be taken this time. Babi
walks to the front of the crowd and makes eye contact with Vritra.
“Ahhh, another big one thisss time, an offering of thisss quality will keep
me full all ssslumber long.” Vritra chortles as he rears his head, ready to strike.
Just as he dives in a jolt to the side of his face that makes him miss, the boy kicks
face knocking him into a tree nearby.
“Sorry but you won’t be eating any of my friends today!” the boy boasts.
Vritra ascends to full height and the animals begin to flee the area, sensing the
incoming battle. Babi and Barong run to the boy’s side to offer support.
“You dare mock me? Your insolence will be your downfall! Oh? You’re that
boy from before, the one I should have had before. Then this will be a special
treat, I might even have all three of you!” Vritra snorts, towering above them.
Babi beats his chest as he readies to fight, Barong lets out a fierce mighty
roar that echoes through the trees. The boy’s face blurred by shadows, his eyes
glow violently as he steels his resolve. Vritra lunges forward at the three of them,
they leap in different directions. Babi can’t control his anger any longer, he rushes
towards Vritra and unleashes a flurry of blows with his massive fists into the
snake’s side. Vritra hisses in a mix of anguish and rage. Barong leaps off a nearby
tree and rolls in the air his claws making shallow cuts across the snake’s belly.
“You fools are far too weak to even pierce my scales. Your attacks are
palpable at best. You are mere fleas to me, now it’s time for you all to meet your
doom.” Vritra coils himself up and unleashes his tail in a forceful spin knocking
Babi and Barong into surrounding protruding boulders. Vritra’s gaze feels
paralyzing to the two of them.
“They weren’t meant to kill; they were striking to distract.” The boy’s voice
can be heard but he remains unseen.
“Afraid to face me? Will you sssit idly by as I eat your friends?” Vritra says
as he scans the tree line.
“No just waiting for you to look this way!” The boy leaps from one of the
treetops and plunges his spear into the snake’s eye. It howls in pain and squirms
across the forest floor. Vritra starts charging recklessly, wildly flailing into trees
and starts hurriedly barreling through the forest. The boy is hanging on to his
spear jammed in the snake’s eye for dear life, as he swings and sways, not giving
an inch to the harrowing snake’s vile rebuking.
“You won’t get away this time I’ve made sure of it. You end is today.” The
boy wraps his arms tightly around the wooden spear and kicks off the snake’s
nostrils, pushing himself up on top of Vritra’s head. He yanks the spear to drive
the beast in a different direction. They quickly approach the cliffside of a sheer
rock wall, the boy again yanks the spear causing Vritra to dive full force into the
cliff face, causing a rockslide. Getting struck with a stray piece of debris, the boy
falls and tumbles down the snake’s long wriggling spine before getting tossed off
and slamming into the ground. The two-lay motionless for a few seconds before
Vritra again raises his head into a striking pose. The boy was able to roll to the
side just in time. He was back on his feet, but now with no weapon and only his
wits about him. Panting heavily the boy grabs a thick branch and brandishes it like
a club. He charges Vritra and plunges the tip of the branch into the small cuts
Barong had carved into the serpent’s underbelly, causing large amounts of blood
to cascade like a waterfall. Vritra writhes in pain bites the boy on the shoulder,
one of his fangs impaling the boys should. A warm sensation running down his
arm, followed by a viscous green fluid oozing from the wound, numbing his right
side. The boy uses his free hand and stars punching Vritra in his damaged eye.
Managing to free himself he runs for cover in the surrounding woods, finding
shelter near an uprooted tree.
 “You are brave boy, and ssstronger than mossst. No one hasss challenged
me for a very long time, but it alwaysss endsss the sssame, in death.” Vritra’s tone
filled with malice and contempt for the boy.
“You have incurred my wrath and now it won’t just be you or your
friendsss, but every damn creature in thisss forest!” Vritra’s mouth opens wide
and aether begins to pool in his mouth, then combusts launching forth a large
beam of energy setting the trees ablaze. The beam narrowly misses the boy as he
jumps out of the way. The earth begins to break apart at his feet and rocks are
tossed into the air.
“Is this it? Was it foolish to try and defy a god? Does his life end here? Was
his rash decision making going to cause more loss of life? First his mother and
now his friends?” The boy’s mind raced with each passing breath, his heart
pounding in his ears. Just then he felt a firm grip on his shoulder, Babi had caught
up with him.
“What are you doing? This isn’t like you, where’s that fearless smile?” Babi
said as he gave his brother a hug. Then a warm wet sensation with grit like
sandpaper on his shoulder, Barong was licking his wound.
“Don’t move too much, I can nullify the venom with my silva, but only for a
little bit.” Barong said lapping the blood.
“You guys?” Joy filled the boy, what seemed like a hopeless situation with
inevitable death only moments away had turned into a heartfelt reunion, just
another day playing games. “He doesn’t know you’re here yet; we can probably
get the jump on him.”
“ Do you have a plan?” Babi said ready for whatever the boy was about to
say, even if it meant death.
“Not yet but I do my best thinking on the spot AHAHAHA~ ooooh” The boy
groaned, feeling was starting to come back to the boy, a sensation of pain like no
other. “Alright, lets end this quick.”
The forest ablaze and the ground torn, the three boys readied for the worst
and ran into action. Barong ran at breakneck speed weaving in and out of the line
of fire and dug his claws into Vritra. Babi carried the boy on his back as they
swung through the trees. That’s when he saw it, the key to victory.
“Babi, I need you to get me close to him, then we’ll separate. You try to
keep in one spot do whatever you need to, just keep him there.” Babi nodded and
changed course mid stride to circle the snake. The boy leaped off Babi’s back and
leaped from branch to branch himself, without a word they went their sperate
ways. The boy knew victory was within his grasp, the next few moments were
crucial.
Barong was flung into the air with the whip of the snake’s tail, he landed
with hard thud. Barong was at his limit he saw Vritra charge his beam again, his
vision blurred, and it looked like he was at the end of a long tunnel. Babi burst
forth from the trees and snatched Barong up just as the beam tore the ground
asunder. Babi gently placed Barong behind an uprooted boulder before rejoining
the fight. Babi didn’t know the boy’s plan but knew his part, and placed all of his
faith in the boy it was now or never. Vritra snapped at gorilla and was punished
for was heavy handed downwards punch to the nose. Vritra hissed and Babi
hopped on his head and ran down the serpents scaley back. Vritra began to coil
himself into a ball, chasing his own tail. Babai only took his eyes off the snake for a
second to see if he could see the boy anywhere, that’s when it happened Vritra
spearheaded his tail with brutal force into Babi’s abdomen. The with lightning
speed wrapped the gorilla tightly within his coiled-up body. Babi heard a loud
crack followed by immeasurable pain, he howled and roared in pain, squirming in
a panic. Vritra reared his head back ready to strike when the boy’s voice echoed,
grabbing his attention.
“Hey up here! Leave my friends alone!” The boy was standing on a small
outcropping of the mountainside. Vritra, taken aback by the boy’s sudden
reappearance, slackened his grip around the gorilla.
“Oh, good I can ssstil kill you. I wasss afraid you had run away ssscared.”
Vritra said starting to make his way to the boy.
“Babi now get out of there!” The boy shouted down to his friend. The
gorilla started to run towards the woods.
 “Now it’s time you paid for all the lives you’ve stolen, families you’ve
destroyed, all of the pain you’ve caused.” the boy said, ripping a large thick
branch out of the cliffside.
“Ha is that your plan you attack me from above with that twig? I’ll swallow
you whole the moment you jump” Vritra retorted and opened his mouth wide.
Then the ground began to rumble. All of Vritra’s arrogance was replaced by fear
as he saw what the boy had done. The branch had grown into the side of cliff
from a large old tree, it had been there for hundreds of years, it was also the only
thing holding half of the mountain together. Giant boulders began to tumble and
fall, crashing to the earth. Vritra panicked and went to dive out of the way.
“Damn if he gets too far away none of them will hit him.” The boy thought,
knowing this was an all or nothing plan. Vritra was slithering away when suddenly
he was halted by a great force. He thought maybe he had been struck by a
boulder, but as he turned around, he saw the gorilla gripping his tail. Babi with
broken ribs and almost no energy left held on to Vritra with unimaginable
strength. The falling boulders began to increase in number and size, a rapid
torrent of earth.
“Babi !? No get out of there! You need to run!” The boy now panicked,
overcome with fear that his friend will meet the same fate as the serpent. Babi
looked up at the boy and smiled, the look conveyed I know my part of the plan
and it’s to keep him here. Babi and Vritra were both caught in a deluge of stones.
It was quiet now; the dust was rising into the air. With each passing second the
boy looked for signs of life, but he could not see through the thick dust that was
beginning to choke his lungs and burn his throat. A cold sweat came over the boy,
he wondered, did he just kill his best friend, his brother?
The dust hadn’t even begun to settle, and he saw the top of the rocky pile.
Hope and joy filled the boy’s heart, he was ok Babi was going to be ok. Although it
was not Babi who rose from the rubble, but Vritra with glowing red eyes. Vritra
swiped at the boy, but the boy dodged jumping on top of the snake’s head. He
ripped the remnants of his spear from the snake eye and slid down his back to the
ground. Vritra again went to attack the boy mandibles agape. The boy thrust the
sharpened through the roof of snake’s slimy maw. With a heavy thud it was over,
the fighting, the fear, the hopelessness were gone, it was finally over. The boy
climbed to the top of the rock pile when he felt something hit I his face. A mix of
the smoke from the fires and dust from the landslide caused it to rain. Lightly at
first a few drops then torrential downpour, washing away the blood, dust, and
muck from the boy, cleansing him freeing him from a long burden.
The creatures of the forest began to emerge now that the fighting was
over. They were timid in nature, glad it was over, glad Vritra will no longer haunt
them or feed on them and their families. Barong emerged from behind his resting
place and leaned used a nearby tree to support himself when his eye fell on the
boy, who had saved them from such a terrifying foe. The boy looked up to the sky
and released a scream, a howl of victory and pain, a roar of pride and loss. Then a
few chunks of rubble came lose and everyone turned on the spot, the boy ready
to fight again. A massive grey hand erupted out of debris. Barong and the boy
rushed to hand and began hurriedly removing slabs of stone, revealing Babi
injured, but alive. The three of them laughed, forgetting about their pain, and
rejoiced in this new era of peace they created.
***
Slowly the denizens of forest grew distant from me. Some feared me, others
scorned that I had ruined a centuries old tradition and worried they might be
punished for my misdoings. At least Babi and Barong always stayed by my side. I
found myself in less company, creatures would flee when I came around. They
were terrified, acted as if I was the new Vritra, I was surrounded by loneliness.
After some time, I made my way to the outer edges of the forest, I never
told Babi or Barong where I was going. The further away I got from them, the
better it’d be for them. I made sure to keep a close eye on all of my old friends, but
from a distance. Hiding in treetops, in the brush, always out of sight. I think I
might have even perfected my stealth. It wasn’t til a few years later that I would
meet that man, the one who would forever change my life.
The boy, now a full-fledged man, sat crouched high in an evergreen tree. He
watched his old friends Barong, his slender coeurl body was more defined,
muscular, his whiskers flowed like an elegant mustache. He had three cubs
around his feet, jumping over each other and playfully nipping at their father’s
ears. Babi much larger, very bulky with a few battle scars across his arms, he had
now been made chief and replaced his father as leader of the Ufiti of the woods.
 The man felt a warmth followed by a wave of sadness, as much as he
wished he could be with them he knew he couldn’t join their fun. A crisp spring
breeze flew through his hair as he inhaled deeply the fresh mountain air. He
grabbed a vine and swung to another tree, then slid down the trunk of an
uprooted tree, he continued between singing and sliding through the wooded
landscape with ease, after all he had been doing this for years. Then he hopped
down from a branch and came to rest in a clearing shrouded in trees, vine, and
other various overgrowth.
“Ah home sweet home.” he said as he plopped into a loosely strung banana
leaf hammock. The sun felt nice on his bronze skin, he smiled and snapped a
banana off a nearby tree.
“Yup this is the life.” He said to no one then sighed before taking a bite of
the freshly peeled banana. Again, that same wave of loneliness came over him.
However, his thoughts of self-reflection were interrupted by a nearby rustling in
the bushes. With lightning speed, he leaped back up into the trees not sure what
to expect. The creature the man saw nothing like he had ever seen before in the
forest. It was strange a four-legged creature that stoon on its hind legs, and its
hide was different colors perhaps for camouflage? Or for mating rituals?
Whichever the man did not know, but what he did know was that this stranger
couldn’t be trusted he wanted to live. The best approach, jump down and grapple
it from behind then-
“Whoop.” The man mumbled as he dropped the banana in his left hand. It
fell to the ground with a soft thud. The creature walked up to it and inspected it
with puzzling bemusement.