by Viola Grace
Habel has dreamed of the day that she would transform like the rest of her family, from soft human to sturdy troll. The day that was to be the first of her truly adult life turns into a mix of light and confusion as things don't go to plan.
Habel thought she was going to be a troll, dark grey, sturdy, with claws and fangs. She ended up transformed into something smaller, more delicate, that streamed blazing light into the world around her. What had she become?
She has to change communities, change her plans and change the ideas that she had of what the world was. She's going to make it over in her image, one new friend at a time.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Born Human
Copyright © 2021 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-989892-56-5
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Smashwords Edition
Look for me online at violagrace.com.
Born Human
Habel Trollblood Book 1
By
Viola Grace
Human at birth, troll by design. Destiny had a sense of humour and made her something else.
Habel is beyond excited. She has reached her changing day. Turning twenty-one brings new life, new responsibilities, and a new body. She will finally be a full-fledged member of her community—a troll.
Since the great cataclysm, every person was born in human form and transformed into their adult form the day they turned twenty-one. Habel is no different. She was born to a set of troll parents, raised in troll society, and watched her siblings transform from unchanged to trolls.
Tonight it is her turn, but while she transforms, things do not go precisely to plan.
Part One: Trollblood
Habel ran across the rooftops with her siblings and the other unchanged. Her fingers couldn’t dig into the tile like Vanel’s and Miiba’s could, but she kept up. Racing the dawn was an ancient right of passage for those who were going to change. Habel would be able to see one more sunrise without protective gear.
She jumped from one roof to the next in their settlement, landing as lightly as she could. The sky was going from midnight blue with stars to a pale purple as they ran, and then, they reached the outcropping that overlooked the ravine where the empty track twisted through.
Habel stood with her family and the others she had grown up with, watching the dawn approach. “Last morning.”
Vanel smiled. “It is. Last time you will be able to see it with your own eyes. Tomorrow you will be a member of the community with all that goes with it.”
Miiba muttered behind her lower fangs, “You can finally help me with the trading station properly.”
Habel laughed. “As opposed to me moving all the shipments into place during daylight? Fine. You get to watch me work from now on.”
Vanel snorted. “Miiba, she is going to be Korwin’s apprentice, not yours. You don’t have a right to control her work hours or habits.”
Miiba huffed. “I am the eldest. I have a say in what she does or doesn’t do.”
Habel grinned and kept her gaze fixed on the horizon, watching the colour change. “I will deal with it when we figure out what kind of troll I will become.” She stretched out her hand toward the coming dawn, and Vanel extended his wide, claw-tipped hand next to hers. Miiba sighed, and she did the same; her slender, blade-tipped hand looked huge next to Habel’s human digits.
The light brightened, and she saw their hands waver. She sighed. “Go on, I will meet you back inside. Get to shelter.”
Miiba nodded and left her, but Vanel remained next to her with his protective lenses in place until his skin was feeling the effect of his skin crackling.
Habel smiled. “Easy, Vanel. I can do this. It is my last morning. I need to think about what is going to happen tonight.”
“You are a strong one, Habel; I bet you end up in controlling class.” Vanel put a hand on her shoulder.
“I will kick your ass into the shelter, so yeah, I am feeling controlling. You are powdering up. Go.” She waved her hands at her brother, clasped the hand he held out to her, and then turned back to the sunrise.
She looked to the sides, and there were only two unchanged left with her, but they covered their eyes and turned back toward the shelter when the light got too intense.
Habel stood in the blaze of light and let it wash over her, her face tilted toward the sun. If this was her last dawn with her skin feeling the heat, she wanted to feel all of it. Making sure that she was alone, she took her boiler suit off and stood naked in the daylight, her last day as a human.
Today she was twenty, tonight she would be twenty-one, and as happened across the globe, she would transform into the magical creature that she was meant to be. If she wasn’t a troll—and she hoped she was—she wished to become a goblin or giant. She already knew the languages of all the creatures who walked in the darkness, had friends in both nearby communities, and was familiar with their social structures.
The sun touched her, and she felt the warming on her skin until the rays were starting to sting a bit on the chalky bronze of her body. She got dressed again, laced up her boots, and walked to the shelter. Everyone was gone. She headed down the steps into the darkness and entered the tunnels. Her skin still smelled like sunlight as she walked the concrete corridors where her people were winding down for the day.
It took her half an hour to jog through the main corridor to the area owned and run by her family. The preparations were already underway for the ceremony, and her mother looked at her with a sleepy smile. “How was the morning greeting?”
Habel smiled. “I am going to miss that.”
Her mother came up to her, all four of her tusks gleaming with the silver bands on the lower ones denoting her status of matriarch. She snuffled at Habel’s neck and sighed. “I love the smell of sunlight.”
“I know. It will be kind of sad that I can’t deliver it to you again.”
Haladen lifted her head and ruffled her hair. “I am glad I could smell it this last time.”
Habel smiled back. “Love you, Mom. Now go to bed. I will work on the final arrangements and the snacks.”
“These are formal feast items that are considered lucky for those who are here to witness your transformation.”
Habel grinned. “Whatever. You look exhausted. Have a nap; I will wake you in five hours so you can pretend you did all the cooking.”
Her mother folded her in a careful hug. “That’s my girl. Don’t forget to meditate during your preparations.”
“I won’t. Now, shoo.”
Her mother lumbered off to her chamber, where Habel’s father was probably already snoring. It was a good thing that the sound put his wife to sleep like a lullaby.
Habel looked around, made a mental list, and got to work on the preparations and decorations for her transformation day. She was the only one awake during the daylight hours and didn’t sleep much in the evening. This was when she got things done.
Her mother looked her over and smiled. “There should be plenty of room for you to grow in this. Are the laces loose enough?”
Habel looked at herself in the mirror. “They are fine.”
“How about your braids. Too tight?”
Habel took her mother’s hands and held them away from her head. “They are fine. Plenty of room if my skull expands. I am fine, Mom. Go and sit down with the others. I will be i
n when I am summoned.”
Haladen sighed. “You look lovely. When your skin greys over, you will look beautiful.”
“I hope so, but I could never be as lovely as you, Mom.” Habel smiled and squeezed her mother’s hands.
Haladen pressed a kiss to her forehead and then left. Habel was alone to wait until the hour of her birth.
She looked at herself in the mirror and lifted her arms. The panels of leather that covered her were laced at the sides for concealment, but they were threaded in such a way that when she gained her full size, they would fit her comfortably. Right now, she looked like a child playing dress-up, which she was. She held her arms out and twirled, the long laces spinning out as she moved. The two braids that held her hair off her face were the ones that she had watched Miiba wear when she was younger. Vanel’s hair had been braided into the traditional crest.
She had watched both of her siblings go from the dusty brown skin that they had been born with to the glorious metallic grey that her family was known for. She was looking forward to her moment and her change.
Habel stood and pressed her palms together, humming softly to focus herself. She had been doing it all afternoon when the excitement got too intense. She had half an hour to herself before the chanting and summoning started.
She hummed and started dancing, stepping, and twisting to the music in her mind. Her sister said it was weird, but her sister was out in the ritual area with all of the others. Her dance was her own.
When her body was warm and her humming had stilled, she heard the chanting start. It was time.
She pushed her hair back over her shoulders, stood straight, and walked out of the preparation room and into the chamber filled with friends, family, and her upcoming community. It seemed that everybody had shown up tonight.
Habel moved toward the spot that had been marked by generations of her people. Seven hundred years of trolls had gone from human to night dwellers on this spot. Her mother stood with her chief’s frown and the metal staff studded with gems that was her right and mark of responsibility. “Habel, are you ready to complete the change as all who are born to this world complete the change?”
Habel smiled and nodded. “I am.”
“Will you abide by the form that the fates have given to you and live in the ways and customs of that new form?”
“I will.”
“Are you prepared to become a citizen of this world?” Haladen smiled.
“I am.”
“Then, as this is your twenty-first year, accept the judgment of the fates, and take on your new form.”
Her mother raised the staff and brought it down on the floor precisely. A string of light moved from the impact point of the staff to the groove under Habel’s feet. The ground warmed up, and she stood with her back straight as the spark lit the fire, and the fire consumed her soul. Her humanity was gone in a roar of flames, and all that was left was light.
The cries of distress got her attention, and Habel looked down at her hands, looking for the claws. Glowing pearl skin and elegant hands were all that she could see. Her body was still small, her feet were delicate and pale, her entire body was still human-shaped. What the hell?
She looked to her mother, and Haladen was turned away. Tears formed. Her mother had turned in disgust. A second later, her mother had swathed her in a cloak and lifted her in her arms. “Come on, Habel. It isn’t safe for you here.”
Being carried like an infant wasn’t something she was used to. Still, there were shouts that sounded angry as her mother sprinted through the halls and flipped her over her shoulder to climb the ladder to the surface. Once they were at the surface, her mother cradled her again and ran for an unused portion of the settlement. She was running for access to the rail system.
“Mom, what is happening?”
“You are not a troll, baby.”
Habel nodded and swallowed. “What am I?”
“Something else. You are definitely something else.” Her mother was moving with slightly hesitant steps, but she got them into the shed that had a door that opened onto the monorail track.
Once inside the shed, her mother set her on her feet. Habel pulled the cloak back, and her mother gasped.
“I have heard about people with eyes like those. I never thought to see one in my lifetime. Habel, you have to touch that switch.” Haladen whispered, “Now.”
Habel turned and grabbed the switch that her mother was referring to. At her touch, it started to glow, and the energy charged the room they were in.
“What is happening?”
“We are now locked in until they come for you. Our people will not be able to come in, but I can’t get out. It’s a good thing that I never made it to the buffet.” Haladen chuckled.
Habel pulled the cloak around her to hide her glow from her mother’s sensitive eyes. “I am sorry that you don’t even have goggles.”
“Oh, Habel. Don’t be sorry. I just had to get you out of there before the xenophobia took over. The glow is awkward, but you are just as beautiful as I imagined you would be, just in a very different way. Your eyes are rainbows, dearest.”
Habel touched her cheek. “I feel really pale.”
“Touch your ears.”
She slid her fingers to her ears, and she found points. She laughed. “That is right, at least. They are not as big as I would like, but they are pointed.”
“You are an elf, sweetie. You are taller than you were by about a foot. Almost a respectable height. Your skin is iridescent to repel radiation, your eyes can see on a multitude of spectrums, your ears can hear for miles, and you will never age from this day onward.” Haladen smiled. “Or so the legends say. No one here has seen an elf for ages.”
Shouts were coming from the top of the ramp. “Mom, why are they coming after me if I am leaving?”
“They want to hold you for ransom. Once the elders saw what you were, they knew that they could hold you for ransom. The elves would pay any price to have another of their kind. They don’t breed, so the changed are all they have.”
The shouting was irritating Habel. She was trying to have a conversation with her mother, and they were interfering. How dare they?
Habel went to the glowing door, and she touched it, stroking the wood softly and asking it for a moment.
Her mother yelled, “Habel, no!” but it was too late. Habel was outside and looking up at the people who should have been her community.
She spoke softly, but the tone reverberated to those she talked to. “Why are you here?”
Her uncle Cornadon looked at her with his lip curled. “They will not take you unless they pay.”
She cocked her head. “I am a citizen now, protected by the laws of this place. Were you not at the ceremony?” She removed her cloak and set it aside.
“It doesn’t count for those like you!” He roared.
She looked at him and whispered, “Hush!” The blast of sound knocked him back into the rest of the crowd.
She looked them over and spoke calmly. “Tonight is my last night with my people. With my mother. You would turn it into something twisted and violent? I don’t think you understand what I have changed into. I am not a new troll; I am the dawn.”
The fire that had been pushing at her veins burst through her skin in bolts of light that blinded her relatives and knocked them back. She counted to five, and then, she pulled the light inward again. With a smile to the only one who had been wise enough to cover his eyes, she waved farewell to her brother and returned to the building where her mother waited.
She was leaning against her mother’s shoulder, her body completely covered by the cloak again, when she heard a hum coming from the distance. “The train is coming for me.”
“I know. Thank you for letting me stay with you.”
Habel smiled. “I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else. Well, maybe Vanel but not Miiba. She would have whined through the whole thing.”
Haladen nodded. “Did you hurt them?”
&n
bsp; “Well, I am sure that it hurt, but they will recover. Uncle sure looked surprised when I used sound on him.”
Her mother chuckled. “That is because you aren’t supposed to be able to. It is a troll gift, not one that anyone has heard of in an elf.”
“Oh. That explains the surprise. Well, they all got a bit of a tan, and Vanel was there to see me off.”
The sound was getting closer. It was a whirring hum that was moving quickly. Habel asked, “So, what are you going to do without me?”
Her mother hugged her close. “I will be bereft, but I will continue on. I will also console your father. He is going to miss you.”
“I know. I am going to miss all of you.”
Her mother whispered, “Not for long. They will take your memories the moment that you arrive. I am very glad that I had this time with you, though. It will give me some brightness to the darkest nights. I will consider you my favourite star, Habel.”
Habel smiled. “And I will consider you my mother night for as long as I can.” She gave her mother a huge hug and was nearly crushed in return. The humming grew louder and ceased. Her ride was here.
She looked toward the door as it opened with a hiss. A bright figure stepped out, and in a commanding tone, he said, “Unhand the one of my kind, troll.” He sent out a dazzling burst of light.
Habel squeezed her mother. “Eyes closed and don’t interfere.”
Her mother nodded, kissed her forehead, and let her go.
Habel got to her feet just as the other elf stepped forward, his hand out to grab her. He paused, and she kicked his feet out from under him, sending him to the floor with a thud.
She calmly removed the cloak and placed it in her mother’s lap.
“Now, elf, might I remind you that you were speaking to a woman and her child. Use some fucking manners.” She stood over him, and he stared up at her before getting lithely to his feet.
