World of Tamers: Chapter 1

Hi all, 

Here’s a new original story idea, a change-up from the usual schedule. The Pokemon: Resurgence chapter will be out tomorrow.

Chapter 1 - Awakening

Myles' toes gripped the slick rocks as he stalked through the tide pools, the incoming tide lapping at his ankles and cooling his skin.

He adjusted his grip on the handcrafted spear, its prongs worn smooth from years of use. The weight felt right in his calloused hands—an extension of his arm rather than a tool. A school of fish darted through the shallows ahead, their silver scales catching the dawn light.

A splash of blue caught his eye.

His muscles tensed—an electric blue streak cut through the silver mass. Six years had passed since he'd seen that colour, yet his palm burned at the memory, the crescent scar tingling beneath his thumb.

The strange fish swam through the school with deliberate grace. Myles' breath slowed, matching the rhythm of the waves. He'd learned young that patience meant success.

The water became deeper as he followed the monster, first to his knees, then his waist. Beyond him loomed the barrier—a transparent dome that trapped him and the residents of this island for as long as he could remember. The barrier was permeable to every breeze and shaft of sunlight but solid as a diamond when humans touched it.

Another splash of blue. His eyes narrowed into slits as he drew back his spear. When the moment came, Myles struck. The spear sliced through the water with practised precision, but the blue-scaled fish moved with impossible speed. 

He wouldn’t let it get away again.

He kicked off the sandy bottom and dove, the cool water closing over his head. Underwater, sound compressed into a muffled heartbeat, and the world narrowed to shades of blue and grey. The fish turned towards him, no longer fleeing. A tiny thing but experience taught him not to underestimate it.

The fish darted left. Myles thrust. Missed. Another blue flash, this time to his right. He jabbed again, but the monster slipped past his spear. Each near-miss drew him deeper into the sea, the fish staying maddeningly close—close enough to taunt hum but too far to strike.

His lungs burned. His lung capacity was excellent, but he'd stayed under too long. The fish led him towards the barrier, its electric blue scales pulsing brighter with each twist and turn. His chest screamed for air.

One last try. He kicked hard, propelling himself forward, spear extended—

The fish swam straight through the barrier.

Myles' eyes bulged. He shot to the surface, gulping air in ragged gasps. What the hell was going on?

After three deep breaths, he plunged back under, scanning the water. Nothing. The fish had disappeared. His gaze fixed on where the fish had passed through the barrier. Swimming closer, he reached out, pressing his palm against it. The transparent wall remained unyielding, with a subtle vibration humming beneath his hand.

He pushed harder, searching for any hint of weakness. Nothing. The barrier stood firm. monsters couldn't cross the barrier—it was a law as certain as sunrise. Yet he'd witnessed the impossible. 

Myles returned to the surface, his mind racing.

If one monster could breach it, others might follow. Stronger ones. The thought sent a chill through him. The villagers lacked the ability to tame monsters. It had been that way since the villagers were imprisoned on the island. So, they had to rely on the barrier to keep dangerous monsters outside while keeping the weaker monsters inside.

There was a finite number of monsters inside the barrier. Their population had to be carefully managed, or the villagers risked losing a vital resource. These fish were different from typical monsters. Their meat didn't need to be specially prepared to be eaten safely. Furthermore, ordinary people could easily catch them.

The electric blue fish puzzled him. Their paths crossed only twice in six years, which seemed unusual for such a small area. Someone else should have spotted it by now. But if it could phase through the barrier at will, it explained why sightings of it were so rare. It could come and go as it pleased.

An audacious idea struck him. If he could catch it, hold onto it as it passed through—

Freedom. A way past the prison walls.

He shook his head, reminding himself to get his head on straight. Even if the fish did possess such an ability, would it extend to anything—or anyone—touching it? The possibility seemed too perfect, too convenient.

Myles waded back towards the shallows. He speared several fish to complete his quota for the day. Unlike his blue adversary, these fish were easily caught with his years of experience. 

He made his way up the beach to the wooden hut. He was greeted by the familiar scent of dried herbs, which hung in thick bundles from the rafters. 

He shared the space with his mother. The single room served all their needs, though space was tight. Two narrow beds lined opposite walls. A wooden table stood in the centre, one his father had built before passing away from illness.   

Myles automatically went through the familiar routine—gutting, salting, and stringing up each fish. After he finished, he went outside to the back garden, where his mother was tending to her herbs.

His mother looked up when he stepped into the garden. Despite her illness, Nerissa maintained a dignified posture as she worked among her herbs, her black hair neatly braided down her back. 

"Finished already?" 

Myles nodded, crouching beside her, and watched her as she worked. 

The garden sprawled before them—a testament to his mother's expertise and hard work. Rows of medicinal herbs intermingled with edible crops. The meticulous organisation reflected his mother's orderly mind; each plant had a specific purpose and season. The garden ensured their survival even if they didn’t have fish to subsist on. 

"I saw the strange fish again," Myles said. 

"The same one that gave you the scar?"

"Yes."

"How long has it been?"

"Six years."

"Goodness. That long?" 

"It’s not a memory I would forget easily,” Myles said, pausing. “It passed through the barrier." 

Nerissa's hands stilled. "Are you certain?"

"Of course I'm certain." 

She frowned, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from her dress. "How odd. Keep an eye out for it and see if you can catch it doing it again.”

"Hopefully it won't take another six years." 

She ignored his sarcasm. "The villagers can't know."

"Right, because I have so many people to tell." Myles stood. "Our social circle's gotten pretty exclusive these days."

Nerissa returned to her plants, but the crease between her brows betrayed her disquiet. Her hands shook more noticeably now, though whether from her illness or the conversation, Myles couldn't tell.

He stood to leave, knowing that speaking was pointless. Every attempt to learn the truth about their exile was met with the same wall of silence. The gap between them had widened with each passing year and each time she deflected the question. His mother's secrets stood like the barrier itself—transparent but impenetrable.

"It's your eighteenth birthday in a few days." Her voice stopped him at the garden's edge. 

"I stopped celebrating my birthday years ago." 

"That wasn't what I meant." She plucked a leaf, rolling it between her fingers. "The mayor is likely to show up."

His back stiffened. "What for?"

"To see if you have a Tamer’s Mark. Most Tamers awaken around this time."  

"What's the point? There's no chance of that happening."

"He checks everyone," Nerissa said. “Maybe he’s hoping for a miracle.”

Myles headed back to the house. His mother's behaviour seemed stranger than usual. Her illness had taken its toll over the years, turning her once-athletic frame frail. Everything about her was controlled—from her carefully maintained appearance to her prolonged silence.

Something was different about tomorrow's birthday. He could feel it in his bones. His mother knew more than she was telling—she always did. He could only wait and see until it was revealed to him.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Myles went out fishing again the following morning. After securing enough for his daily haul, he spent the remainder of the morning searching for the electric-blue fish. 

It had become his only source of excitement in an existence defined by sameness. Most days blurred together, each sunrise bringing the same tasks, the same silence. Only his mother's illness kept him moving some mornings—her need for care shaped his otherwise hollow days.

The barrier imprisoned their island, but his world was smaller still—confined to this cove for the past ten years. He remembered that day with knife-edge clarity: the mob's torch-lit procession, the taunting voices, the way his mother's hand had trembled in his as the villagers marched them along the narrow coastal path.

Fisher's Cove lay isolated from the main settlement, pinched between sheer rock faces that rose like prison walls against the sky. A narrow trail and a weathered gate marked the only exit. The gate served as a deterrent rather than an actual impediment. The threat of punishment for breaking exile was restraint enough.

Myles broke through the surface. His muscles burned from the endless diving, yet the electric blue fish remained elusive. He squinted into the depths until he became distracted by his reflection.

The face staring back startled him. Living in isolation meant he rarely cared about his appearance. But who was this stranger in the water? Time had chiselled away the roundness of youth, leaving only a sculpted face behind. His mother's green eyes glared back at him. Besides the messy blonde hair he inherited from his father, he got his features from his mother.

A flicker of movement drew his attention to his raised hand. Something dark marred his skin, but before he could focus—

Blue lightning streaked beneath the surface.

His body moved before his mind caught up. Spear forgotten, his hand plunged through the water, fingers grasping for the fish. The memory of that first encounter six years ago surfaced too late—

Electricity ripped through him. His muscles locked. The sea turned to fire in his veins. His jaw clenched against a scream as white-hot agony pulsed from his fingertips to his shoulder. The world tilted, darkened—

"Where the hell am I?" His voice echoed in the void. 

One moment Myles was in the ocean, the next he stood in a vast emptiness. His spear remained clutched in his grip—the only familiar thing in this strange space. Blue lightning crackled around the edges of the void, casting an eerie glow across the nothingness.

A tingling sensation drew his attention to his right hand. His breath caught in his throat. There, etched into his skin like a brand, glowed a symbol—a horizontal figure eight.

"Impossible." A Tamer's Mark. 

His knees threatened to buckle beneath him. Only yesterday, he'd scoffed at his mother about this possibility, dismissing it as fantasy.

His mother's endless lessons flooded back—hours spent drilling him on Tamer lore. Every Mark represented an innate ability, the foundation of a Tamer's power and purpose. Combat prowess, crafting skills, monster production—each Mark shaped its bearer's destiny.

He traced the symbol with trembling fingers, watching it pulse beneath his touch. What power lurked in his veins? The question burned, but another blazed hotter—had his mother known? Had she predicted he would awaken as a Tamer? He thought the lessons useless but it appeared that she knew something all along.

The electric-blue fish materialised before him, hovering in the void. Myles snapped his spear into position. At that moment, clarity broke through his confusion: he knew exactly where he was.

A Tamer's mental realm. The battlefield where Tamers fought to subdue monsters with sheer willpower. 

His mother's voice echoed in his mind: “Victory means a lifelong bond with your companion. Failure could mean death. Do not fail.”

Questions churned in his gut. This shouldn't be possible. Tamers had to initiate the connection. He hadn't—

The fish drifted closer, its scales rippling with contained power. Strange. Most monsters attacked immediately, yet this one waited, watching him as his thoughts tumbled over each other. Almost as if... as if it had chosen him, not the other way around.

Myles tested his weight, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His body responded differently here—lighter, quicker. He could use this.

The fish struck first. Lightning crackled across the space. Myles dove left, rolling to his feet. Another bolt sizzled past his ear. The fish was faster here too, darting through the air as if still in the water.

He spun the spear in his hands, muscle memory taking over. The fish swooped in. He jabbed, forcing it to veer away. Its scales flickered with building charge.

"Not this time," Myles muttered. He'd learned from their first encounter. As lightning erupted from the fish, he planted his spear and vaulted over the attack. The electricity scorched the ground where he'd stood.

Landing behind the fish, he struck. The prongs grazed its tail. First blood. The fish whirled, its body crackling with energy. Myles dropped and rolled as lightning forked overhead.

Each near miss left his skin tingling. But he noticed something—a pattern. The fish needed three seconds to recharge between attacks. He could use that.

The next bolt came. He counted. One. Dodged right. Two. Closed the distance. Three—

Myles lunged, spear aimed at the fish's flank. It tried to dodge, but he'd predicted its movement. The prongs caught its scales. The fish thrashed, electricity coursing down the shaft. His hands burned, but he held on.

"You're mine now," he gritted out.

The fish struggled, then stilled. Its electric blue glow dimmed, then flared brighter. 

The mental realm dissolved. Myles gasped as reality crashed back. He floated in the cove, the fish swimming lazy circles around him. His right hand tingled where the Mark had appeared.

Myles ran his hands over his arms and chest, finding unblemished skin. He didn’t feel any pain from his encounter with the fish before entering the mental realm.

As he waded through the surf towards shore, the fish that had nearly killed him hovered like an obedient pet over his shoulder.

His legs buckled as he stumbled onto the wet sand. The ramifications of the past few minutes crashed down on him. He wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation. It still felt surreal. He was an ordinary person one moment, a Tamer the next. Where was he supposed to go from here?

The waves lapped at his feet as he sank onto the beach. The fish—no bigger than his forearm—circled him like a hovering sentinel. Its scales continued to shift from electric blue to deep purple in the sunlight. Razor-sharp fins sliced through air instead of water, and its golden eyes tracked his every movement.

"So you can move out of the water," Myles said. "What should I call you?"

The fish bobbed in the air, its movement reminiscent of a shrug. 

The mark on his palm pulsed with warmth, drawing his attention downward. He flexed his fingers, studying the strange symbol, until the air before him shimmered and solidified, resembling a floating pane of glass. Crisp blue letters materialised across its surface.

[Innate Skill: Infinity System]

[Tamer Level: 1] 

[Attributes: Deficient]

[Skills: Omniscient Eyes (Basic)]

[Monster’s Tamed: 1]

“What’s all this supposed to mean?”

Myles focused on 'innate skill' and the text shifted, expanding into new information:

[Infinity System - A unique skill that allows for unlimited growth through systematic advancement. Unlike traditional taming skills, the Infinity System operates on multiple parallel growth tracks:

• Experience Gain: Earn points through taming, skill usage, cultivating, and discovery. 

• Attribute Enhancement: Improve base attributes with specific actions.

• Skill Acquisition: Learn and master new skills.

• Monster Taming: Bond with monsters and strengthen them.

• Level Progression: Advance through mana ranks starting at Initiate.]

Myles leaned back, processing the information. The Infinity System was like a blank slate, waiting to be filled. Every action could lead to growth, and every challenge an opportunity to expand his capabilities. 

The power to learn skills set it apart from others his mother had described. Most Tamers specialised in one area—some with more flexibility than others. While you could extract skills from monster cores, the chances of success dropped dramatically when they fell outside the tamer's area of expertise.

Could he become a specialist in all areas? Become a combat specialist? A breeder? A crafter? A healer? A transmuter?

Of course, this was just speculation. Other tamers may have similar skills that have evolved beyond the previous limitations his mother described. Her entire world revolved around this island, so her knowledge was probably biased and outdated. The villagers had been trapped behind this barrier for several generations. How much has the world outside it changed and progressed since then? 

Myle returned to his window and focused on the next two entries, expanding them to reveal more information.

[Tamer Level: 1] - An indicator of the Tamer's overall strength that’s unique to the person wielding the Infinity System. Provides benefits at each level.

[Experience: 0/500] - Tracks progress toward the next Tamer level. Experience points accumulate through successful monster interactions, skill usage, cultivating, and overcoming challenges. The required points increase with each level, making advancement progressively more demanding.

[Initiate Realm: Stage One] - The first step in cultivation, where mana pathways are just beginning to form.

[Physique: 3] - Measures overall physical capabilities. This governs strength and stamina, determining how quickly the body recovers from strain. It affects natural healing and builds resistance to the physical toll of using tamer skills.

[Magic: 2] - Represents raw magical potential and control. It determines the magic capacity, necessary for taming monsters and using skills. Higher levels allow faster magical energy recovery.

[Command: 4] - Shows mastery over tamed monsters through mental commands. This affects control range and the ability to manage multiple monsters at once. It strengthens bond stability and improves monster obedience to complex instructions.

[Resonance: 2] - Determines a tamer's compatibility with monster essences. Higher resonance increases the efficiency of core absorption, enhances the chance of gaining monster insights, and improves the likelihood of learning skills from consumed cores.

The lesson he took from this was that the higher his attributes, the better. Since there were only four, he assumed they were all equally important. However, determining this would require time and practical experience.  

Myles focused on the "Skills" entry in his window, zeroing in on Omniscient Eyes.

[Skill: Omniscient Eyes (Basic)] - Reveals basic information on a monster below level twenty.  

The skill sounded incredibly useful. He turned his gaze to the hovering fish, activating the skill. Blue text materialised before his eyes:

[Monster Name: Phase Serpent]

[Monster Level: 1]

[Rank: Elite]

[Specialty: Combat/Utility]

[Attribute: Lightning/Space]

[Evolutions: ?????]

[Innate Skill: Barrier Phase - Allows the monster to pass through magical barriers. It can extend this ability to anything in direct physical contact.]

[Skills: Lightning Strike, Static Pulse, Electric Shield]

His pulse quickened. Barrier Phase—it confirmed what he'd witnessed. The fish could bypass the barrier, and more importantly, it could extend that skill to others. 

Calling it a fish was no longer applicable. His first impression was that it looked a little odd for a fish. It resembled a snake more than anything else.

Myles sprang to his feet, scanning the path leading to their cottage. He didn’t see any sign of his mother. Good. 

He preferred to conceal his tamer status for the time being. Partly out of spite. How many times had she deflected his questions about their exile? About the incident that led to it? For the moment, he would have a secret of his own. 

"Right then," he said to the serpent. "Let's see what you can do." 

So, what do you think? This chapter may get expanded upon into a full story at some point. I have been struggling with my first original story due to its sheer scale.

Thanks for reading.