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Wemmbu was 14 years old when he first experienced sleep paralysis.
It’s a terrible feeling, honestly. You wake up randomly in the middle of the night, your heart racing with the last bits of panic from a nightmare you can’t quite remember and a burning hot sensation taking over your body. You try to move your body - probably to remove a blanket or two in an attempt to cool down - only to find yourself frozen in place. You can’t move a muscle, you can’t even twitch a finger or a toe. Your eyes roll around in their sockets as you get that creeping sense that you’re not alone. Something’s there in the dark. Shadows dance just out of your visions reach and your heart rate picks up all over again-
And then suddenly, movement returns.
The first time it happened, Wemmbu threw himself from his bed with a terrified scream. A sound that he hadn’t made since his brothers first took him in and he still had night terrors. The sound that would stir up Mane’s instincts and Wemmbu wouldn’t be able to leave the older boy's bedroom until sunrise.
Just his luck, Mane was gone for the night. His 22 year old brother was staying at a friend's house (probably someone's birthday, but Wemmbu found Mane’s friends boring and had stopped listening to his explanation). His other brother, 18 year old Flame, barged into the room instead. The man's tail whipping behind him, ears flat on his head and his sword gripped tightly in his hand.
“What?!” Flame swung his head around the room, possibly looking for intruders. When he found none, he dropped to his knees on the ground next to where Wemmbu had collapsed and placed his hands on his shoulders, “What happened?! Wemmbu?!”
Wemmbu gripped Flame’s arms, claws cutting into flesh, as he heaved around panicked sobs and coughs. He buried his head in his older brother's shoulder with a shuddering wail as Flame gripped him harder in confusion.
“Wem? Lilac,” he tried the boy's nickname, hoping he’d answer better to it, “what happened?”
Wemmbu just shook his head, he couldn’t speak. It was like he was 8 again, unable to string together the right words to explain the situation.
Flame sighed softly and eased his grip into a gentle cradle, “It’s okay, Lilac. We can try again in the morning.”
The two sat on the floor of Wemmbu’s room as the sun rose, neither able to go to sleep after the experience. Once the room was bathed in the warm light of the morning sun, Flame dragged his brother downstairs for breakfast and a drink. He was sure Wemmbu’s throat was scratched and sore from all the crying and he hoped that some water and food would get him calm and talking before Mane got home.
Flame was - of course - wrong.
Mane walked into the kitchen with a bright smile, freezing at the sight of his youngest brother leaning against Flame, cheeks streaked with dried tears, eyes red and distant while cradling a half empty glass of water in a loose grip. His plate of toast remained untouched.
“What happened?!” Mane gasped as he knelt in front of Wemmbu and Flame.
Flame shook his head, “I heard him scream around 1am and found him crying on the floor. He hasn’t said a word the entire time.”
“Lilac,” Mane called, cradling his brother's face and tilting it to face his uncovered eyes, “won’t you tell me what happened?”
“Ah-” Wemmbu started before clearing his throat, “I-I woke up and it was hot. Like burning hot. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I swear there was someone there. T-the shadows we-were moving and I-”
“Shhhhh…” Flame soothed as Wemmbu started to cry again.
Mane hummed, “Sounds like sleep paralysis.”
Wemmbu and Flame stared at him with matching blank faces, something they both did when they were confused, “It’s where you’re temporarily unable to move or speak after waking up. It can cause an intense feeling of fear, hallucinations and that burning feeling you had, Wem.”
“So,” Wemmbu began, “there wasn’t anyone actually there?”
Mane gave a soft smile as Flame sighed in relief, “No, just a hallucination. It’s one of those things that just happens sometimes. You’ll be alright.”
Flame leaned back in his seat, “So, can I go back to sleep now?”
Wemmbu yawned, “Me too…”
“Come to my room,” Mane demanded, his instincts very upset that he missed this happening, “We’ll all have a nap together.”
Flame groaned, “Bro, I’m too old to be taking a nap with my brothers.”
Mane smiled sweetly at him as he helped Wemmbu stand, “I don’t care!”
Flame grumbled but followed his brothers up to Mane’s den, dragging his feet and quietly whining about being an adult. Wemmbu called him a princess and told him to toughen up, causing Flame to hiss at him. Wemmbu hissed back.
Mane hissed at the both of them, causing them to shut up.
~
Over the next week, Wemmbu followed the same routine of waking up paralysed and burning hot, panicking as shadows danced around the edges of his vision. He ends up in Mane’s den so often that he just falls asleep there, feeling like a little kid but he’s so tired that he doesn’t give a shit. Mane tries to stay up and catch the episodes when they start, but they’re not predictable and he always falls asleep.
And then - because the universe seems to love Wemmbu so much - whispers started during his episodes.
He couldn’t tell what they’re saying, but he thinks it’s in another language. They get louder each night until the whispers were actually screams. That was a fun thing to explain to Mane, who then wouldn’t let Wemmbu out of his or Flame’s sight ever, even during the day.
Which wasn’t all that bad, considering Wemmbu was too tired to train and much preferred resting during the day.
Just when the older two started discussing the possibility of taking Wemmbu to a doctor, the younger managed to sleep through an entire night. Which ended up also being most of the next day as well. Mane ended up having to wake Wemmbu up because he was worried that something was wrong.
Wemmbu - although still sleepy - was a lot more refreshed than he had been all week. No fear, burning or frozen limbs. Most importantly, no more dancing shadows or whispers in a foreign language.
It was finally looking up for the family! That is, until night fell once again and Wemmbu went to sleep in his own room.
When he woke up the next morning, he stood barefoot in the chilly air of the training yard. The same training yard that was a hundred blocks away from the base of their treehouse.
Wemmbu’s tail flicked as his disoriented mind tried to figure out how or when he had gotten down there.
“Wemmbu?!” Mane’s panicked voice rang out from the house above.
Wemmbu wide eyes turned to face the open window where Mane was hanging out, a look of concern painted on his face, “What are you doing out there?!”
Wemmbu stuttered as tears of confusion and frustration welled in his eyes, “I-I d-don’t know!”
Flame ran out onto the field and wrapped Wemmbu in a jacket before pulling him back inside. He set his brother on the couch as Mane rushed over with a towel to wipe the dirt off his feet.
“What’s happening to me?” Wemmbu fearfully whispered as tears started to spill down his cheeks.
Mane and Flame shared a glance, they didn’t know what was happening but they didn’t want to panic Wemmbu even more.
“I’m sure it’s nothing serious,” Mane attempted to sooth his brother.
“This is scary.” Wemmbu sobbed, the sound stabbing the other two in the heart.
“Hey, hey,” Flame sat beside him with an arm around his shoulder, “both me and Mane are here. I’m sure that whatever this is will pass soon, there’s no need to worry.”
Wemmbu relaxed a bit and leaned into his brother's shoulder as their tails intertwined.
Mane and Flame locked eyes, unsure what was happening. They can only hope that Flame’s words were true.
~
The sleepwalking only got worse over the next few weeks.
Wemmbu didn’t do it every night, but every time he managed to get out of the house his brothers would find him further and further away. He could never remember getting up in the night or wandering around. He’d just remember going to sleep and waking up in a random place. Until he started dreaming of the whispers again.
“Something’s wrong!” Wemmbu screamed as he pulled at his hair.
Flame held his arms, trying to pry away his brother's hands before they dealt any damage to himself, “Hurting yourself isn’t going to help!”
“It’s like something is trying to lead me somewhere!” he sobbed and dropped to his knees.
Mane held him, “Why do you say that?”
“The whispers,” Wemmbu whimpered, “everytime I dream of them I wake up further away from the house.”
Mane and Flame didn’t know what to do, this wasn’t something they could easily fix. It was like Wemmbu’s episodes were waiting for them to fall asleep before he left the house so they couldn’t stop him. The stress was affecting their sleep as well as Wemmbu’s.
In all honesty, Flame thought Wemmbu was faking it at first.
Before all this started happening, Wemmbu had been pissy about Flame being an adult and getting to do things that he still wasn’t allowed to do. Mane had also been going out a lot more as the both of them had gotten older, trusting them to be able to take care of themselves for a night or two. Flame had thought that Wemmbu was faking it for more attention.
It made sense at the time, even though Mane had been furious when Flame brought it up to him.
‘How could you say that about your brother?! Sure he was annoyed, but you heard him yourself that first night, he was genuinely upset!’
Flame thought at the time that he’d just let Wemmbu have his way this once. He’d get his attention and then he’d be all better and they could get on with their lives. But he didn’t get better, he got so much worse.
Wemmbu was exhausted with dark bags under his eyes. He was unsteady on his feet and was losing weight because he refused to eat. Flame was about to admit defeat while they were talking about a doctor, when Wemmbu finally slept through the night. Flame had felt vindicated, thinking that Wemmbu’s body gave out and he couldn’t continue the act anymore. That day, Flame gave his brother as much attention as possible, joyous in knowing it was finally all over even if Wemmbu had gotten what he wanted.
And then he woke up the next day to Mane’s panicked calls for their younger brother. Wemmbu was nowhere to be seen. While he searched the kitchen, he glanced outside and saw Wemmbu’s distant figure, standing in the morning light and staring at seemingly nothing.
After bringing his brother inside and seeing his growing distress over the next few weeks, Flame finally admitted defeat. Wemmbu wasn’t faking it for attention, he was genuinely terrified. And Flame thought that was a worse outcome.
“We’ll… tie your wrist to the bed,” Mane stated slowly, “that way you won’t be led anywhere.”
Flame hesitated, it was a good idea in theory. This way, Wemmbu wouldn’t be able to leave the house (or be taken) but it didn’t really solve the issue and he didn’t like the idea of tying his brother up like an animal every night.
Wemmbu slowly nodded, “I’m willing to try anything at this point.”
Flame conceded and sat down on the ground with his brothers, purring in an attempt to calm Wemmbu down.
‘It’s going to be alright…’
~
Mane woke up the next morning, blinking as he listened to the sound of rain. He felt like he had something he really needed to do, but what was it?
WEMMBU!
Mane shot up from his bed and rushed down the hall. Wemmbu’s bedroom door was still closed, which was a good sign. Mane threw open the door and rushed in before he froze.
Wemmbu was collapsed on the ground fast asleep, his hand was still tethered to his bedframe and his blankets were pulled off the bed.
He was still here.
Mane heard Flame sigh in relief from the doorway as he gently picked his brother up off the ground and placed him back in his bed before throwing the blankets back over him. Mane ruffled the long purple hair before leaving the room and dragging Flame down to the kitchen to start breakfast.
It worked.
~
But it didn’t work for long.
The whispers started getting more aggressive, to the point where Wemmbu would zone out during the day and start walking towards the door, following the whims of unknown voices. Mane or Flame would rush up to him and carefully guide him back inside.
At night time, he’d pull at the rope on his wrist. He’d wake up in pain and almost start crying again. Wemmbu wasn’t an overly emotional person, but fuck this shit is making him feel like he is.
Mane would bandage the wounds carefully while on the verge of tears himself. They’d started wrapping layers of soft cloth around his wrist before tying it to the bed, even going so far as to use the lion and tiger's blindfolds just to provide a bit more comfort and protection. Wemmbu had also been demoted back to Mane’s den and Flames door stayed open during the night.
Which was good because Wemmbu managed to snap the rope one night and woke up Flame as he passed his room.
Flame got Mane who went to guide Wemmbu back inside before being blocked by the tiger, “Wait. Let’s follow him.”
“What?” Mane asked, “Why would we do that?”
“To see where whatever this is wants to take him.” Flame ran to put on shoes and grabbed a jacket for when Wemmbu woke up and Mane rushed off to get his own and a pair for Wemmbu.
They rushed out of the house and caught up to Wemmbu before starting their journey into the forest.
~
They had been walking for hours before Wemmbu finally stopped. They were in a clearing surrounded by birch trees, flowers scattered the ground and a small pond lay in the middle of it all.
Mane crouched down and picked a flower, holding it up with a little laugh, “Lilacs.”
Flame’s eyes never left Wemmbu watching for any sign that he might move. Which was good because Wemmbu suddenly spirited to the water. Flame followed with a shout, causing Mane to drop the flower and chase after them.
Wemmbu fell into the water before his body simply disappeared, leaving his brothers stunned and worried.
“Wemmbu?! Lilac, where are you?!” Mane panicked, clawing at the water before digging around it.
Nothing.
Except whispers.
Flame drew his sword with a sharp hiss as Mane swung his head around and growled viciously.
They couldn’t make out the words at first, but it got louder and clearer as it kept repeating itself.
Wait.
The only thing they could do was listen.
~
Wemmbu woke up in an unfamiliar room.
His head swung around, trying to find how he got here or where his brothers were. It looked like a trial chamber, but it was completely abandoned. Not even the spawners were there. His hand shot to his wrist, finding the snapped rope still around it. He ripped the rope from his body and unwrapped the blindfolds to check his injuries.
Gone?
What the fuck?!
“What’s going on?!” Wemmbu called into the empty room, “Why am I here?!”
The whispers started again, that same language that he didn’t understand. The sound got fainter, like it was trying to drift away from the boy. Wemmbu got the hint and started to follow it through the empty trial chamber, hoping something would answer his questions. His bare feet echoed on the ground with every step, it was cold and he wished that whatever led him here had guided him to put on shoes.
Wemmbu never thought that his first time in a trial chamber would be like this, he had hoped that his brothers would take him. That they’d run through it together and he’d get some cool loot. But he was alone.
He didn’t like being alone.
He had enough of being alone when he was 8.
The whispers led him to an area with a desk, some almost empty bookshelves and a chest. When looking inside the chest, there was a stack of breeze rods sitting there. Cool, free stuff! Wemmbu put the rods in his inventory before turning to the desk.
On the desk sat a long since faded out lantern, a quill in a pot of dried ink and a large cube of stone covered in dust. Clearly, nobody had been here for a very long time. Wemmbu tried to pick up the stone cube and found it was unbelievably heavy. He decided, fuck it, he’ll move on to the shelf.
The bookshelf was nearly falling apart. The lumber used was scratched and dusty, nails were rusted and any design that might have been carved into it once upon a time had well and truly faded away. Cobwebs scattered in the corners and a single book set on a shelf that still managed to hold itself together.
Wemmbu picked up the book and opened it. The writing seemed to be in another language - probably the one that had been spoken to him earlier - but there was one word at the top of the page that was written in the common player language.
Mace.
The word paired with the illustrations made Wemmbu gasp and turn to the stone cube- no.
The heavy core.
The core paired with the breeze rods in Wemmbu’s inventory made the boy let out a hardy cackle, “Is this what you wanted me to find? A mace?”
Wemmbu put the book in his inventory and reached for the heavy core. Once his hands made contact with the core, the world spun and the ground felt like it disappeared from under his feet.
When the spinning stopped, Wemmbu found himself and the core in a new room with what seemed like an old enchanting set up.
A glowing book on top of an anvil caught Wemmbu’s attention and he approached it slowly. The title was in the same language as the book, but the words underneath it was what really got him going.
Wind Burst III
Density V
Fire Aspect II
Unbreaking III
Mending
This was an enchantment book. Holy shit. Wemmbu may not be the smartest, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.
“So - whatever you are - you’re just going to give me a mace and enchantments for it? For free?”
The whispers returned, but for once they sounded calm. Happy. Content.
“This is crazy. Why? After tormenting me for months?”
They didn’t answer him. Wemmbu decided to just get on with it. Might as well take advantage of it even if it seemed too good to be true.
He pulled out one of the breeze rods and put it close to the heavy core, focusing in the way Mane had taught him to do when crafting. The two objects shimmered before blending together to make something new.
A large hammer-like object was held in his hand. The head was bigger than his entire body and the entire thing was taller than his eldest brother. It was beautiful.
He struggled to drag the object towards the anvil, but managed eventually. Wemmbu huffed but continued on. He pulled the enchantment book over the anvil as well before focusing again. He’d never actually enchanted something himself before, but it surely wasn’t that different from crafting, right?
It took a few tries, but he got there in the end. The book merged with the weapon in a flash of purple light. Carvings appeared all over the mace and a long purple ribbon hung from the head. Amethyst crystals decorated the carvings elegantly.
He did it.
Wemmbu went to pick the mace up, nearly toppling himself from using too much strength. It was a lot lighter than it was previously and he found himself picking the weapon up easily. It must have looked ridiculous having such a young boy lift this monster of a weapon.
He focused on the weapon, seeing that the name had changed to the name of the enchanting book he used.
⊣ᔑᒲʖ╎ℸ ̣
He wished he could read it.
The whispers started again, sounding like they were singing. Oh wait, that’s common-
Gambit.
That… sounds right. Gambit must be the name of the mace- his mace.
Holy shit, he has a mace!
This is so fucking cool!
~
Mane was going to pull his hair out in frustration and worry. He paced around the pond, the same thing he had been doing since the sun started coming up three hours ago. The whispers hadn’t explained anything more since telling them to wait and it was killing Mane to not know how his brother was doing.
Flame was taking this whole thing remarkably better than his older brother. He sat among the lilacs, watching them sway in the soft breeze.
The water of the pond started to stir, causing Mane to freeze and Flame to shoot up and rush over.
One minute passed, nothing.
Two.
Three.
Fou-
Wemmbu broke through the surface of the water, gasping for air, “Fuck, it’s cold!”
Mane let out a protective growl, ripping his brother from the water and wrapping him in a tight embrace, causing him to yelp.
“Flame! A little help?!” Wemmbu whined.
“No!” Mane growled, despite the fact that Flame had yet to move, “Where the hell have you been?!”
“I don’t know!” Wemmbu started, “I woke up in this old study room. There were some books down there, but they weren’t in common so I couldn’t read them!”
“Do you have them in your inventory?” Flame questioned, finally kneeling down with Wemmbu's jacket to shove it between his younger brother's body and older brother's arms.
Wemmbu shook his head, “Every time I tried to put something in my inventory, the whispers would get so loud that it hurt until I dropped it again.”
Flame doesn’t know why, but something about that didn’t seem right, “Bro, how did you get out?”
“I wandered around until I found what looked like a nether portal. There was nowhere else to go and I couldn’t break blocks, so I took the chance.”
Mane hissed as his tail lashed out behind him, “You could have gotten hurt!”
“But I didn’t!” Wemmbu whined, “There wasn’t even anything there! When I went through the portal I ended up in the pond!”
Wemmbu continued to whine to his eldest brother as Mane forced some shoes onto Wemmbu’s feet.
Flame had a weird feeling, something about this didn’t add up. After terrorising their brother over the last few months, suddenly they just take him to a strange room and let him leave with nothing of value? It just didn't seem right. But why would Wemmbu have a need to lie about it?
Then again, last time he thought his brother was lying to them, Wemmbu had suffered for months. Maybe he’s just being paranoid again? Surely if something happened, Wemmbu would have told them.
Right?
~
When they finally trudged back home, the three brothers collapsed on the couch, not even attempting to go upstairs. Flame and Mane fell asleep quickly now that they had their brother safely in between them, purring happily as this was seemingly all over.
Wemmbu glanced at the mace, breeze rods and book in his inventory.
He lied. It was the biggest lie he had ever told his brothers. He never mentioned the abandoned trial chamber, the mace or the book he had on him. He knew that neither of his brothers would take it well.
Flame hated people who used what he considered to be underhanded tricks in combat. He only really tolerated Mane because he was Flame’s role model. He thought that a person should use their own strength and skills in a battle. If Flame knew Wemmbu not only had a mace, but was planning on learning how to use it, he’d be disappointed. And that was worse than him being mad at Wemmbu.
Wemmbu could handle anger, but not disappointment.
Mane, on the other hand, would be worried. He’d take the mace away and say that it was too dangerous for Wemmbu to use. And he’d be right, if it were a normal mace. Wemmbu didn’t have the physical strength needed to buffer against the backlash of an average mace. If he used one, he’d likely shatter every bone in his arms on the first hit, that’s if he could actually lift the thing.
But Gambit wasn’t a normal mace. It was his, made specially for him to use.
So he kept Gambit hidden.
He stared at the book. Theoretically, Wemmbu could translate it on his own. He knew six letters already, it would take a lot of time, effort and trial and error, but Wemmbu could do it. The problem was that he would get caught. Even if Mane and Flame couldn’t read the language, they’d see the pictures and it would become very obvious what he was trying to learn. Then the questions would come and he’d have to lie more and more to cover it up until he’d eventually trip up over his own made up story.
Then it’s game over.
Wemmbu would keep quiet. He’d keep the items hidden in his enderchest until he could find someone to translate the book for him, or teach him the language. He’d do something that he didn’t usually do, he’d be calm and patient.
As long as he was careful and stuck to his story, everything would be fine.
For now, Wemmbu purred as he settled between his brothers, resting his head on Mane’s shoulder as his tail wrapped around Flame’s leg.
As long as Wemmbu had his brothers, everything would turn out okay.