Synthetic
An Innocuous Constructed Entity
This roleplay is a part of the Isekai Hell group. If you want to join or learn more about it, follow this link: Isekai Hell
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Eric, the Weird Kid
The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon. In the humble forest village of Lanost, with the trees as high as they were, the sun had already dipped below the canopy, with little more than the occasional ray of sun glimmering down to illuminate the patch of huts and thatch and log walls. It wasn't an especially populous town, and it certainly wasn't an especially wealthy one, but it had been around for quite some time. It was one of the frontier villages responsible for providing lumber to one of the more significant towns nearby, which in turn provided the food that the people of the village needed to survive the winter.
Within one of the many huts of the village, there were two rather thin fellows, one a thin man clad in decaying leather armor, and the other a lithe woman in several layers of home-made clothes. There was also a child, the likes of whom looked well-built and athletic. The father looked down at his son with a warm, if confused smile. "Alright, Eric. You've had your meal, so now it's time to earn your next one. The elders would like you to help the other children help the merchant get his belongings back into his cart. You know where he is, right?"
The child nodded, and grinned excitedly. "How heavy are his supplies, father?"
His father tilted his head, smiling more, but looking even more confused. "Oh son. I have no idea. Just go and help. And please try to make some friends this time."
His mother, who was grinding away at some wheat kernels with a grindstone to make some flour, added in, "If you don't make a friend this time, Eric, so help me Oerlindel, I'll give you ten spankings."
The child lowered his head a little, looking ashamed, but still pretty energetic. "Yes mother, father. I will try to make some friends today!" He then rushed for the door.
Before he completely left the house, his father quickly interjected, "Don't be too ambitious, son! Just one will do!"
His son waved a little in recognition of his father's words as he raced out the door. His father and mother looked to one another knowingly, with a little bit of concern, then went back to their chores.
The kid raced through the village. Since the sun was going down, people were already preparing for the night. Some people were dipping cloth-tipped sticks in tar to get some torches ready for the night watch, whereas others were stringing their bows and filling quivers. A few maidens were helping one another carry water over to their houses for evening baths, and others were scurrying about to gather some firewood from the community pile. However, the kid seemed to pass over these as minor details - he was more focused on the various children rushing in the same direction he was going.
There were a few playful cries like, "I'll get there first!" and "I'm going to lift more than you!" and other such things. Eric just followed along with the others in silence, smiling as he thought of something pleasant. Once he and the other kids arrived, the merchant greeted them with open arms. The fellow was wrapped up in a cloak and a headwrap, and was evidently a traveler from far away. His voice was crackly and whiny, like that of a smoker. "Ahh, more helpers! Wonderful! Please carefully raise these crates into the cart. Be careful, they're very valuable!" Around the merchant, several of the kids who had already arrived were carefully placing certain objects into the remaining empty boxes, as the merchant directed. The orphans were among these kids - evidently, they were sent to help much earlier than the rest of the village children.
Eric effortlessly performed the desired tasks. He lifted the crates with his chiseled muscles - crates that several other children had to work together in order to lift - and cautiously moved them over to the crate. However, the other kids snickered at his clumsy attempts at getting the crates he lifted into position. The Merchant scolded Eric for his clumsiness, and instructed several other kids to guide the crates he lifted into position. He did manage to speed up the process significantly, however. Minutes passed, and the merchant's possessions steadily started to accumulate on the cart.
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Eric, the Weird Kid
The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon. In the humble forest village of Lanost, with the trees as high as they were, the sun had already dipped below the canopy, with little more than the occasional ray of sun glimmering down to illuminate the patch of huts and thatch and log walls. It wasn't an especially populous town, and it certainly wasn't an especially wealthy one, but it had been around for quite some time. It was one of the frontier villages responsible for providing lumber to one of the more significant towns nearby, which in turn provided the food that the people of the village needed to survive the winter.
Within the village, most of the adults and children were impoverished. There was a continuously-growing mountain of tasks to be completed. Things needed to be moved, other things carved, other things dug, and other things gathered. The forest was bountiful, but also dangerous. Without the thatch and log walls around the village, the surrounding monsters would have already torn it to shreds. The villagers regularly left the safety of the walls to collect the resources that they needed to survive, but only with the protection of the combatants that they hired from the Adventurer's Guild using the proceeds from their logging ventures.
However, several families and a group of orphans were especially impoverished. Those who could not help out with the logging were deemed 'a burden', and were looked down upon. Among those families was the Paul family, headed by Paul and his wife Jane. Theirs was a small family, including only one son, Eric. Their other children were too frail to survive long after childbirth. Even Eric was born unusually frail, but he was remarkably energetic, and ate very well, so he pulled through. At first, Paul and Jane thought that this was a blessing. However, as Eric continued to grow, they realized that his behaviors were very abnormal. Rather than being playful and running around, Paul seemed to continuously do repetitious motions for hours on end, with every spare moment he had to himself. His parents would often watch him do these motions in the corner of the hut in disbelief. Eventually, rumors began to spread of Paul's demon-possessed son and the various rituals he performed.
Following the rumors, his parents once called a holy man to have their son evaluated for demon possession. Of course, this was not cheap, but his parents were terrified for their one and only precious son. The priest reassured them that, although their son was extremely abnormal, he was most certainly not demon possessed. While that was a huge relief to his parents, once the rest of the village heard of it, they decided to change his nickname. He went from being known as Paul's demon-possessed son to being Paul's weird son. Everyone tried to stay away from him when he started doing his weird repetitious exercises, and they were hesitant to interact with him even when he was acting normally. In that way, Eric was somewhat ostracized throughout his childhood.
However, several families and a group of orphans were especially impoverished. Those who could not help out with the logging were deemed 'a burden', and were looked down upon. Among those families was the Paul family, headed by Paul and his wife Jane. Theirs was a small family, including only one son, Eric. Their other children were too frail to survive long after childbirth. Even Eric was born unusually frail, but he was remarkably energetic, and ate very well, so he pulled through. At first, Paul and Jane thought that this was a blessing. However, as Eric continued to grow, they realized that his behaviors were very abnormal. Rather than being playful and running around, Paul seemed to continuously do repetitious motions for hours on end, with every spare moment he had to himself. His parents would often watch him do these motions in the corner of the hut in disbelief. Eventually, rumors began to spread of Paul's demon-possessed son and the various rituals he performed.
Following the rumors, his parents once called a holy man to have their son evaluated for demon possession. Of course, this was not cheap, but his parents were terrified for their one and only precious son. The priest reassured them that, although their son was extremely abnormal, he was most certainly not demon possessed. While that was a huge relief to his parents, once the rest of the village heard of it, they decided to change his nickname. He went from being known as Paul's demon-possessed son to being Paul's weird son. Everyone tried to stay away from him when he started doing his weird repetitious exercises, and they were hesitant to interact with him even when he was acting normally. In that way, Eric was somewhat ostracized throughout his childhood.
Within one of the many huts of the village, there were two rather thin fellows, one a thin man clad in decaying leather armor, and the other a lithe woman in several layers of home-made clothes. There was also a child, the likes of whom looked well-built and athletic. The father looked down at his son with a warm, if confused smile. "Alright, Eric. You've had your meal, so now it's time to earn your next one. The elders would like you to help the other children help the merchant get his belongings back into his cart. You know where he is, right?"
The child nodded, and grinned excitedly. "How heavy are his supplies, father?"
His father tilted his head, smiling more, but looking even more confused. "Oh son. I have no idea. Just go and help. And please try to make some friends this time."
His mother, who was grinding away at some wheat kernels with a grindstone to make some flour, added in, "If you don't make a friend this time, Eric, so help me Oerlindel, I'll give you ten spankings."
The child lowered his head a little, looking ashamed, but still pretty energetic. "Yes mother, father. I will try to make some friends today!" He then rushed for the door.
Before he completely left the house, his father quickly interjected, "Don't be too ambitious, son! Just one will do!"
His son waved a little in recognition of his father's words as he raced out the door. His father and mother looked to one another knowingly, with a little bit of concern, then went back to their chores.
The kid raced through the village. Since the sun was going down, people were already preparing for the night. Some people were dipping cloth-tipped sticks in tar to get some torches ready for the night watch, whereas others were stringing their bows and filling quivers. A few maidens were helping one another carry water over to their houses for evening baths, and others were scurrying about to gather some firewood from the community pile. However, the kid seemed to pass over these as minor details - he was more focused on the various children rushing in the same direction he was going.
There were a few playful cries like, "I'll get there first!" and "I'm going to lift more than you!" and other such things. Eric just followed along with the others in silence, smiling as he thought of something pleasant. Once he and the other kids arrived, the merchant greeted them with open arms. The fellow was wrapped up in a cloak and a headwrap, and was evidently a traveler from far away. His voice was crackly and whiny, like that of a smoker. "Ahh, more helpers! Wonderful! Please carefully raise these crates into the cart. Be careful, they're very valuable!" Around the merchant, several of the kids who had already arrived were carefully placing certain objects into the remaining empty boxes, as the merchant directed. The orphans were among these kids - evidently, they were sent to help much earlier than the rest of the village children.
Eric effortlessly performed the desired tasks. He lifted the crates with his chiseled muscles - crates that several other children had to work together in order to lift - and cautiously moved them over to the crate. However, the other kids snickered at his clumsy attempts at getting the crates he lifted into position. The Merchant scolded Eric for his clumsiness, and instructed several other kids to guide the crates he lifted into position. He did manage to speed up the process significantly, however. Minutes passed, and the merchant's possessions steadily started to accumulate on the cart.
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