Attack: Thunder Strike
Defense: Inner Strength
Movement: Electrified Dash
Water flooding my nostrils. That’s the first thing I remember. I could only see out of one eye when I tried to search my surroundings. Warm wet sand kissed my cheek as I found myself spread out on a stretch of beach.
Who am I? Why am I here?
Two very good questions I didn’t have an answer to. Wind ripped all around me, bending trees and creating a screeching howl. Behind me, a wave crashed onto the shore and drove water up to my face again, covering most of my body as well.
Part of me warned me of danger. Part of me reveled in the turmoil of nature surrounding me. I pushed myself up on two arms, bulging with sinewy muscles, my hands pressing deeply into the moist sand. I forced my body to roll over, a desire to see the incoming storm I knew to be approaching.
Two things stood out as I could make out some details in the dim greenish hued light. One, I was completely naked of any clothing or possessions. Two, and far more concerning, were the sparking arcs of electricity dancing off my body and into the sand beneath me. I swatted at them but realized quickly they ran along my arms as well and when I came close to touching my skin in any location, the energy painlessly arced from my skin to my fingertips.
I flicked my fingers to cast the crackling discharge away from me. In the receding water several yards from me, lightning cascaded out of the sky and a loud Thunder Strike blew the water outward in a fine spray. Instinctively, I rolled over and sprinted further up the shoreline to find shelter behind the broken trunk of a fallen palm.
I moved with an unexpected rapidity, the current flowing from my toes into the earth as I made my Electrified Dash to safety. I hurled myself over the makeshift barrier and crouched into a fetal position. Rain began to pelt the ground all around me. Large droplets that created craters in the fine sand but had no discernable impact on me beyond making me wet.
Why wasn’t the barrage hurting me? I wasn’t expecting broken bones or anything, but a mild sting at least.
The storm grew in power. More intense lightning flashes. Massive concussions from nearby strikes. The wind blew sprays of water from the enormous body of water in concert with the steady downpour. I kept hunkered down for most of an hour, surprised by how little the storm affects me.
A loud crack shatters my contemplation. I watched as a nearby palm tree shattered and was carried up into the air out over what I determined to be an ocean, based on the salty taste in the air.
As the storm continued to build, reaching a fevered pitch, inspiration grabbed ahold of me. I stood and faced the onslaught and breathed in deeply. The fury around me wasn’t a threat, but a thing of beauty. I desired nothing more than to bask in its might and draw the power in, fueling my INNER STRENGTH.
I spotted the palm that had been dropped into the ocean and something moved beneath it. I rushed forth, unintimidated by the weather and with my energized speed, I sped into the water. The diminishing waves crashed against me and swelled up to my chest as I ran through them.
A large creature without arms had been caught beneath the fronds. It splashed around, trying to fight its way free. It squealed and chirped in distress. I sloshed my way to the trunk of the tree and tried to lift it, drawing on my empowered Inner Strength. It moved slightly, but not enough to free the pinned being.
I strain with all my might, grunting with effort as I summon my Inner Strength for a second try. I didn’t wish to see this unusual creature harmed. An unknown sense within me linked the powerful storm and the trapped entity as part of the same whole.
With every muscle in my body in cooperation, I lifted. Simultaneously, a lightning bolt sizzled on the shore several feet away, followed by another Thunder Strike. The palm tree rises and the creature swims into deeper waters and disappears.
I walk back to the shore and take a seat in the sand. I don’t know anything about myself beyond that somehow, I am one with the nature around me. The world is a powerful and magnificent place, but it can be threatening and frightening at the same time. I want to know more about it. What will my place in it be beyond a protector of life?
For some reason, I felt drawn to watch the weather before me diminish. Eventually, a bright light appeared in the sky after what must have been several hours. I caught myself in the thought. What is an hour? What is weather? How do I know what sand and trees and so much else is, but I don’t know the name of the creature in the ocean? How do I know an ocean has salt in it?
I realized I have much to learn, or possibly relearn, in the days ahead. The storm may have passed, but the crackling flecks of electricity continued on across my skin, letting me know that the power of the tempest still lived inside of me.
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