"Noone."
Sally's voice shook Noone out of his reverie. His breathing faltered for a second as he came out of his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Sally a few paces away, standing at enough of a distance to not startle him.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Noone blinked, collecting his bearings. "I didn't realize how much time passed." The gentle light from the sun preparing to rise over the eastern horizon lit the world around him. Inwardly he was slightly shocked. Noone wasn't sure when it happened but at some point he must have completely lost himself to his cultivation.
After absorbing the first thread into his dantian, it became increasingly easy to spot the energy in the world. There seemed to be patterns which the energy would appear from. On the leading edge of a soft breeze, around the crackles of a fire, or within the miniscule vibrations of the stone around him. Noone wasn't sure if the energy was reactive to these natural events, or harbingers of them.
He became absorbed into hunting for energy.
"It's okay. Prepare yourself though, we are heading out soon." Sally's hand scratched behind her ear, her eyes looked to the side for a moment before focusing back on Noone.
Noone nodded, retrieving the axes and placing them on his waist. Sally started to walk off but turned her head at the last moment. Noone saw a smile on her face, but he was unable to interpret the emotions behind it.
"How was your meditation?" She asked.
Noone looked at her for a moment. He had become aware that she once came from a monastery. He learned the monasteries of the surface trained in a similar manner to the people of Tapestry. Although they harnessed very different types of power, Noone kept this information in mind.
"It went well. I think fighting for the first time yesterday allowed me to contextualize a few things. It also helped me reaffirm some of my own thinking." Noone had no problem telling this level of truth. Deceit wasn't something that was a part of Noon's upbringing or nature, but he was smart enough to know that some things should be withheld.
"That makes sense." She nodded. "Not just for battle prowess, but many times being forced to fight with your life on the line is used to train one's mind and spirit. It can help a person understand more about themselves and force a person to decide what kind of individual they are." The way she said the last sentence made Noone uncomfortable, like there was some small judgement hidden in the words.
She thought for a moment. Sally wasn't sure how Noone saw the surface world. He had not even seen a small corner of it, but when she heard about what kind of place Tapestry was, she could only imagine how he thought about it.
"Noone. There are more humans – and other races – in the common world than you can imagine. And within them there are a million types of people. Some of the world is violent, cruel and uncaring. But only some parts… don't forget that most people aren't like that. Fighting takes place everywhere, but not everyone…" Noone watched as Sally struggled for the words. He couldn't help but feel that she was talking about idea's that she herself was struggling with, but he chose not to mention that.
"I understand Sally, don't worry. I know I have a lot to see." He made his voice calming, understanding where she was coming from. However, he also had his heart set.
Sally just sighed, upset at herself for becoming so flustered. She nodded to Noone and walked back to the cart, summoning a spotted white and brown horse on the way. Noone watched on determining his own feelings.
Noone joined the group, sharing rations for breakfast. Although he was rarely actually hungry, old habits are hard to break and he would eat consistently with the party. If he wanted to push it, he could go a few days without eating. For some reason though, Noone felt even less hungry than usual.
Noone considered this while he chewed on dried jerky.
"Most likely… the absorption of energy last night replaced whatever energy I would need from food." His mind considered the repercussions from this. As he got better at the process and absorbed more power, would he be able to go longer without eating? Drinking? And how long?
He looked over at Sally. "I need to be careful about sinking into meditation, I didn't even feel her approach. If I am in a situation that is risky, I can't afford to be as careless."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
His thoughts railroaded from one to the next as they walked through the day. Noone watched the environment shift, the stone under his feet became softer as soil and dirt replaced the hard stone.
The skeletal trees and bare shrubbery he had grown used to, began to shift into a field of patchy grass. Thin leaves developed on the trees reminding Noone of the rare plants they had back in Tapestry.
"So that's grass huh?" He knelt down, his hands brushed through the scratchy blades of foliage which sprung up through the cracks in the stone. Soil patches were scattered throughout the landscape.
"Well, yes. Kinda." Sarah responded. "Compared to what most people talk about when they say 'grass' this is too dry and off-colored. You will see real grass soon enough, though." She smiled thinking about the town her temple was in. It was surrounded by grassy forests, not too thick but not barren either. She looked forward to Noone's reaction to it.
According to Noone, the only flora they had in Tapestry were fruit trees, and only a few at that. Sarah could imagine how Noone would see a world full of green trees and grass. She herself missed it. Every day on this assignment she had spent in a world of dead stone and dry arid air, she couldn't wait to be home.
Noone grasped a handful of rocky soil, crushing it in his palm and watching it fall through his fingers. It was nothing like stone, or sand. It was soft and almost squishy. It felt more… alive. He couldn't help but look forward to seeing the world they had described to him.
The next few hours were a tapestry of shifting tones and colors. Noone watched each new plant with wide eyed curiosity. At one point he noticed that the earth they were walking seemed more worn than the land around it. The grass which had become increasingly present was restricted to the sides of their route. At some point they had begun on a pre-tread path.
He noticed that everyone relaxed, their postures becoming less guarded. Even Tobias, who always remained alert, wore an expression of ease and comfort.
We must be close. He thought to himself.
"We are close." Sarah said, catching Noone's gaze as he observed them. "Only a day away. If that." Her voice was strong with whimsy as she thought of Jakobson and the temple. She pointed a finger out to the distance, a few hours away Noone could see the vague outline of green and brown trees. "That is the south-western-most forest of the country of Cinapul, just within the forest is the town of Ardglass. Our town, with our temple."
Noone nodded, trying to picture what the town must be like. He had heard much of their societies on the surface world, and even then they would constantly remind him that these were still only a small percentage of all the ways of life on the surface.
Noone instantly recalled some of the information he had been learned about the surface.
Ardglass is the western most town on the south-west end of the continent. Cinapul was the second southern-most country. The only country more south was… Montese. A barren landscape similar to the one they had just trekked through. An entire country rendered basically uninhabitable by the standards of the surface world.
Noone found the whole business with countries odd. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the concept. Even more so when he was told an entire region was uninhabitable. With these surface human's abilities… certainly they could do something about it?
But he said nothing and filed the information away for later. There was too much to learn, and he couldn't question everything.
Raelith's voice cut in, offering some more explanation.
"Ardglass is basically a far outpost town, a group of people at the edge of the world far from society. Maybe only a few thousand people, at most. Nothing really of note. However," Her eyes softened. "It is home to the branch of our order we picked up Sarah and Feylin from. To them, it is home."
Feylin and Sarah both nodded. They knew it wasn't much, but it was all they knew. Sarah came from an even smaller satellite of Ardglass, so neither of them could say anything about the other's viewpoints of their town.
"Raelith, will you please catch us some fresh dinner? We will reach town tomorrow and restock. Tonight, we can stop eating rationale food." Tobias's voice leaked hints of calm and happiness. No matter how strong he was, even he would feel excited at the prospects of returning to society. They had been away for a year now, and everyone was ready to interact with other people.
Raelith nodded and bounded off in the direction of the forest. Her long legs allowed her to move at an impressive speed, and Noone noticed small blades appear between her fingers as she ran. Noone couldn't help but like Raelith. She was always upbeat and extremely capable. She reminded him of Adria slightly, if a little less fiery.
Noone considered if all elves were like Raelith. If they were, Noone imagined he would get along with them well.
Shortly after, Raelith returned with 6 small fluffy creatures Noone had never seen before tied to her waistband. They looked similar to the rodents they would see sometimes which would scurry between the stone in the desolate land.
"Squirrels." Raelith said. "It's the season they are at their fattest, makes for good eating." With one hand she untied and tossed one to Noone, leaving the rest dangling for later.
Noone snatched the small creature out of the air. It was extremely furry, but underneath Noone could tell that it was thick with muscles and fat. Noone had never seen an animal like this until now, but apparently, they were extremely common.
That night Raelith showed Noone how to skin and gut the meat. Tobias kept an eye on Noone through the process. Unsurprisingly, Noone was not even slightly squeamish.
They all ate well, and proceeded to go about their training.
Noone sat by the fire, meditating and absorbing threads of energy from the spaces between spaces.
Raelith, Sally, and the two acolytes trained their combat ability. Despite being so close to home, Raelith believed there was never a good reason to miss training. Nearby Tobias was knelt down, presumably communicating with HQ.
The night passed quietly.