To Be Human

Prologue

Today was not a good day at the Seven Standing Rocks Temple. First, the head priest had come down with the flu, leaving the assistant priest (who had nearly conquered that stuttering problem... really... next month, at the latest) to lead the rituals. Then, a skunk had wandered in and sprayed half the shrine maidens. Finally, a stranger had come to the temple. He had asked to visit the Inner Shrine. The assistant priest tried to explain how the the doors to the Shrine weren't to be opened, save every 100 years, and now was not the time. The stranger had not liked that at all, and... well, things kinda degenerated to the stranger trying to open the doors with a fireball.

Well, the fireball took down the doors... it also took out one of the support beams of the temple's roof. "Eh-eh-everybody, out!" the assistant priest yelled, running to the door to see that the other occupants made it through. He started counting heads... everyone made it out... but one.

"Help me!" The priest saw one of the shrine maidens trapped beneath derbies at the far end of the temple. He turned to go assist her.

Crash! Another support beam fell down, blocking the priest's path. He tried to climb over it, struggling in his cumbersome robes and coughing from the dust and smoke.

A draft from a hole in the roof cleared the air in front of him. The priest saw the stranger who had caused this catastrophe standing before the shrine maiden. "Help me... please?" the shrine maiden looked up at him.

The stranger regarded her as if she had suddenly sprouted horns and declared herself a holder of a piece of Shabranigdu. He seemed to mentally shift gears before moving over to the derbies that trapped her. He knelt down and lifted them away -- a task that would have taken at least two normal men. He then walked over towards the derbies blocking the priest and cleared them in the same effortless way.

"Th-thanks," the priest said. He refrained from adding, since this was all your fault, anyway.

The stranger seemed to sense the unsaid addition. "You better hurry and see to her. She was hurt badly." He turned to leave.

"Wait! Wh-who are you? Where are you going?"

The stranger didn't answer. He just walked off into the distance.

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