Adapt or perish
Chapter 1 part 4
Dreams and nightmares persisted for weeks as I struggled to understand what was real and what was an illusion. Was I awake or asleep I could not tell? All I could do in the end was try to stay sane as my mind was turned against me. Pain and pleasure were so mixed up I couldn't even tell hot from cold. In the end, I just rested and tried to survive.
Feeling the energies of the heavens gave me brief moments of clarity and a release from delusions. Voices I could hear and movements I could feel had no references. Only the heavens were constantly consistent; Even if it felt like a blind man touching a spider web of glass fragments while trying to understand its shape and function. And to make it harder parts were missing. Others near the center of the web are more intact but all showed damage if I could but see.
Lucid moments slowly lasted longer and awareness of my surroundings made sense. I was in a hammock in a covered wagon with many supplies and equipment stored around me. A panel of cloth moved aside and a healer began washing me. I didn't know his name but he has a face I have seen before. Trying to speak was difficult. My throat was sore and parched. Whatever noise I made caused him to stop and get a water cup with a chute. It had the best tasting water I have ever had. Nodding thanks, I fell back asleep.
As I slowly recovered, I learned the harvested ferns and moss were being refined as we traveled between the settlements. Clay and iron also had been gathered recently as well as many other resources. My time of illness lasted just over seven weeks and two days before I could return to my friends. Some of the value in merits I earned from the potted red fern known as a crimson flame was lost in the treatment of my illness and time spent in recovery.
Once I was able to meditate I soon realized that my blood had evolved a bit and may have gained a new aspect. It could carry far more energy than before but most was used by the need to recover my stamina. I was given an iron-rich diet of meats and nuts to promote the production of blood to replace what I was missing. The extra rations cost me some merits but they were very effective. Leaving the healer's wagon and rejoining my companions was an easy hike as the healer was kind enough to set up near our wagon.
I could see my companions working on stripping fonds and fern leaves of the plant fibers and stems. Large fern leaves were a very time-consuming item to process. The need for plant fibers is very high due to many trades and crafts requirements. A single basket can use up a single plant harvested leaves. The larger ones can take several as the leaves are woven into the fiber mesh with branches from trees as a frame or bone if appropriate.
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"Finally, you're able to help with the workload again" was a shout-out at me as I approached. William did a fist punch into the air. He was so excited by my return.
A grunt and a look of displeasure from Cile but he kept his thoughts to himself so I ignored him. While both girls smiled at me, they stayed focused on the slicing and weaving. James nodded but didn't move much as his leg was in a splint. His job was gathering the clippings and shavings into baskets. William's job was as a runner to get baskets of freshly harvested and return the full baskets of processed materials. Cile was sorting the quality that William dropped off. With me gone they must have had someone else doing the pressing and rolling to remove the sap and water.
With a few words, we rearranged so I could speed up our efforts, and our evening passed quickly. I found out it wasn't the snake beast that injured his leg! "Wait, what do you mean that you broke your leg trying to ride a kern!?" My shock and if I'm being honest, I was a bit envious of his chance to ride a kern.
"Well, it was because of my training in beast harvesting. I was along for a hunt to see new types and learn from the local guards how to handle them. While the hunt was going satisfactorily we encountered a wild pod of kerns. They were smaller than the guard's kerns. Maybe still just a young group so we decided to see if we could capture a few and send them to the ranch compound. I was on a guard's kern who was chosen to lead them and his kern didn't like that as I found myself thrown." With a shrug, he just went back to work.
I shook my head to clear that image as we continued to do our work. When we had used up the week's harvest of fern branches we could do our meditation. The feeling I had of lost time was a pressure that made it harder to focus. I was finally able to enter a state of energy awareness and commenced cultivation. The amount absorbed by my blood was amplified by the changes in my blood. However, I noticed a difference between my organs and mussels that had not changed, only my blood. Using the higher concentrations in my blood to store the energy I could slowly saturate my organs and muscles until they reached a similar capacity. Understanding this change I pushed and pulled as much energy into my lungs for the blood to soak up.
While this would eventually yield results and allow me to replace my lost time of development. I still had hope of not falling behind my group of friends because of this change. Soon a rhythm was set for us and a few weeks went by.
Those who chose to cultivate have known risks and rewards were two sides of the same coin. Death and calamity were common along the path of Cultivators due to limited resources, and conflicting philosophies. The Great war we lost so long ago that shattered planets and moons was a minor skirmish between two major forces with opposing philosophical views. A time of Calamity was approaching us and none of us would be ready for it.
End of chapter 1 part 4