Floating Along the Sea
> ”The boys are who I have left. I can’t bother Katherine now.” ~Selfiya Lunasensia, Void Mother
The salty breeze bothered Venry Stepholm, forcing him out of his concentration. His hair, despite being tied in a wolf tail, fluttered relentlessly. He opened his eyes, black pupils tired from lack of regular sleep.
More than a week had passed since he met the Vyndivalian knights and Void Mother Selfiya Lunasensia. Since then, he had been focused on regaining his strength, while his new friends—acquaintances—assisted in his acclimation to the Nightmare Lands.
Truth be told, it was a surreal experience.
His Meiyal Arts had no effect in dissuading the Nightmare influence. He had repeatedly lost his mental faculties, succumbed to Art fatigue, and had entertained the thought of submitting to the Nightmare multiple times, only to be rescued by either Hal, Ral, or Dystro.
After a few days of repeated close calls, they came up with a rather peculiar solution.
“Gathering and Milling for Meiyal Arts, Mining and Smelting for Meiyal Armaments,” Selfiya began. Her Soul’s Walk had taken the form of clouds, barely maintaining her shape as the wind blew past them. “Essentially, they are the same, proof that these two disciplines were meant to work together. While Meiyal Arts primarily work to influence the world outside by Drawing, Meiyal Armaments focused mostly with the internal self. Hence, Reinforcing the body.
“Siffera, in a sense, was initially classified as a Reinforcement, but as it is with our history’s chaotic nature, it was now more commonly known as a Drawn Meiyal Art. But even today, Vyndivalians still use the Full-Clad Reinforcement, providing them their absurd resistance to Meiyal Arts.”
“While I get that,” Venry said, trying to manage his tone in order to remove any hint of complaint in his voice. “How is this one able to resist the Nightmare influence if they’re the same in the first place?”
Dystro, who was sitting beside Selfiya, tilted his head, pointing spiky red hair towards Venry. The air barely made them sway. “It’s because the influence came from the outside. If you have a strong and full inside, nothing from the outside can push and fit in.”
Selfiya nodded, barely noticeable by how puffs of her features struggled to hold its shape. “Your Siffera, the version that you use, has been diluted by modern practices that it barely resembles the Reinforcement. And while the same can be told about the case of today’s Full-Clad itself, it’s not as useless against the Nightmare influence because of its internal approach.”
“We should let Venry take a break, Void Mother,” Dystro said. “He’s been at it for a few days nonstop now. We should let him exercise his Meiyal Arts, or he might forget what it’s like to Draw. Then, he’ll be completely helpless.”
The former Lord Knight stood. “I’ll check on the twins. See if we have a remote island we can land on. Our ride’s probably getting hungry too.”
“Very thoughtful of you, Dystro. Good work,” Selfiya said, turning to Venry. “I’ll take my respite early, then. Do not force yourself, Venry. It will take time, but it will be very useful for you. Not to mention a pure Iristan employing the Meiyal Armaments discipline is unheard of in this day and age. You just have to remember that it’s not impossible, and eventually, you will pull it off. Then, you can Forge that rock spike that almost took your life.”
As the Void Mother’s Soul’s Walk dispersed into nothingness, Venry sprawled on the scaly skin of the Floating Dream Amidst the Nightmare. It was the second day of their journey, and he had pretty much acclimated with their current altitude.
This docile Nightmare, a concept beyond his comprehension, had provided them its services after the three Vyndivalians hunted down the few Fallen that had roamed their previous location. He couldn’t understand how it worked, if he was being honest. For some reason, they gathered the Nightmares they killed and eventually this gigantic, sky-swimming manta ray glided by and ate them. And just like that, they were able to ride it.
Ral and Hal drove the Floating Dream, gliding well above the Great Sea Dividyr just beyond the safe zone. This way, Dystro could use the Nightmare’s influence to provide pointers for Venry while he learned Meiyal Armaments.
After two days of constant flight, they were now running low on supplies. And while the sea was a constant source of food, risky as it was outside of the safe zone, their problem was more directed at the lack of clean water supply.
“Hey,” Dystro returned, nudging Venry’s foot. “We found an island not too far away from Brymeia territory.”
The Guard Knight followed and the two headed for the Floating Dream’s head. There he found the other two former Lord Knights, each handling a large feeler of their own.
“Over there, Venry,” said Ral, pointing towards the west. He no longer had neatly maintained hair. Still black, but the lack of preparation time had left them disheveled and the slight patch of beard had given him a more mature appearance than his twin.
Hal had the same hair, but the facial hair avoided him. He also had brown eyes, unlike his twin brother who had black. It was almost unrecognizable for Venry at first, but since he was essentially forced to spend time only with them, he had to learn quickly.
Venry looked over the horizon. To his east, he saw Befall’s scorched earth, a basin of brown and desolate desert, surrounded by the luscious green of the Eastrise Region’s mountains. It was hard to tell from the distance if something was amiss, especially since the constant rising smoke and the aura of decay emanating from cursed land was a common sight.
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To his west, where Ral pointed, much closer to them now, was a small island. Calculating their distance, Venry surmised it was well outside the safe zone and Brymeia’s territory like Dystro said.
“This must be the First Settlement. Order of the Void territory. It’s where recruits from Irista Nation first land to acclimate to the Nightmare Lands.” Venry recalled as much information as he could. “There should be an entrance there leading towards the Western Sanctum, but if I’m remembering this correctly, reports said that it’s now rundown by Nightmares.”
“The entrance?” Dystro clarified.
“Yes. It’s locked either way. Only Atlas Sid regularly visits it to check for any changes.”
“That’s perfect,” Hal said. “We can probably find something safe to drink in there and we can hunt some Nightmares to feed our Floating Dream. We’ll find a safe spot for you to train as well while we wait for Mother Selfiya’s further instructions.”
“I agree.” Venry didn’t have much of a choice. As wide and accommodating the Floating Dream was, he was still starting to miss stable footing. “We don’t have to go to Befall right away. The longer we wait, the better we can pinpoint her location.”
“The riskier it gets, though,” Ral pointed out.
“She knows the risk. And she’ll let us know.”
“Then let’s head for it,” Dystro said.
The twins meddled with the Nightmare’s feelers and with a soft, deep moan, it started to change direction.
Without much else to do than wait, Venry meditated and began Milling carefully. The constant exposure to the Nightmare Lands had allowed him to slowly get used to its influence. As long as he took his time, Gathering tiny strips of meiyal and Milling them as refined as possible, he could manage to refill his meiyal marks with only thrice the amount of time it usually took him. It was a slog given that he didn’t have a Purifying Stone, but at least it was something to keep his mind busy.
They slowly began to descend. And throughout, Venry could feel an ominous sensation. The Nightmare’s influence deepened, heavier now than the one near the safe zone. A chill crawled up his nape, as if something had been staring at it while standing absurdly close for comfort.
He snapped back, looking for Dystro specifically. The guy was one for pranks and mischief but he never did something creepy like this. Still, he wouldn’t let it past the guy. But there was no one behind him.
Only…something was moving on the clouds above, disappearing beyond the cover. It was something big, probably, he wasn’t sure.
“What’re you looking at?” Dystro crept beside him.
“Those clouds seem odd,” Venry said. It was far, but amongst the clouds that gathered, moving along with the wind, one particular patch remained still.
“Some clouds move fast, some slow,” Dystro dismissed. “Some extremely slow. Nothing odd about it.”
“No,” Venry insisted. “There was something behind those clouds. Pretty sure. I just don’t know what it is.”
“Well, whatever it is, it’s far enough that it won’t bother us anyway.”
“I hope so.” Venry didn’t bother asking what sort of creatures could hide behind clouds. Nightmares, he assumed.
The thought soon left him as they arrived on the island proper. They surveyed from the air, and immediately, they found mobs of lesser Nightmares following Those That Fell Off a Cliff. He observed the three as they nervously looked from one side to the other.
“Anything in particular we’re wary of?” he asked.
Ral turned to him. “We’re in legitimate Nightmare Lands territory now, Venry. Even if you’re above ground, you’re not safe. Even if you feel safe, you’re not safe. No matter how much your mind tells you you’re safe, whichever voice it comes from, whether it’s yours or someone else’s, you’re not safe. It might be hard for you to keep that thought, but try not to feel safe.”
“You sound weird,” Venry pointed out.
“It helps to be logically chaotic with your choice of words in situations like this,” Dystro said. “Keeps you aware that something’s always wrong.”
“It really doesn’t,” Hal said. “The oddity helps drill it in your head, sure. But you’ll still fall for their tricks whatever mnemonic or weird mantra you follow. If you can’t fight it off with your meiyal, you’re still practically helpless.”
“That’s reassuring,” Venry said sarcastically.
“Just try to avoid the actual Nightmares, Venry.” It was Ral again, this time. “We’ll deal with them. And you can help by covering us against the lesser Nightmares. You too, Dystro. You’re not particularly trained for this.”
“You got it, chief.”
“Those ruins might be our ticket,” Hal pointed out.
It was a ruined stronghold perched on the side of a small mountain. Half of the structure was destroyed, leaving most of it out in the open. Venry could see Nightmares roaming around, but they were everywhere anyway.
“You really can’t tell them apart from the undead from up here,” he commented.
“If you hone your observation Meiyal Art, or Reinforce your eyes in a particular way, you can tell the difference,” said Dystro. “See the difference is, these guys still have meiyal in them, affected by Nightmarification. Undead, zombies, walking skeletons, mummies, and whatever else only have meiyal around them.”
The Floating Dream Amidst the Nightmare settled just above the stronghold. It did so with utmost stealth that its huge body could perform. Tendrils extended from the ends of it flaps and slowly tied themselves on the cliff face beside it like an anchor. How it knew to wait was beyond Venry’s understanding.
“It expects us to feed it within the day, or else it’ll leave tomorrow in search of its own food,” Ral said after observing his confused face. “If we let it leave, we’ll be stuck here for who knows how long, so our priority is to hunt as many Nightmares as we can.”
“Get the big guy some food, and at the same time, make a safe space for us,” Dystro said, Donning one of his Forged Armors and Wielding a Forged Weapon. Both Armaments were of simple nature. The Armor was a breastplate with one obvious Embellishment, and the Weapon was a generic longsword.
But for how simple they appeared to be, they were brimming with so much concentrated meiyal that Venry didn’t have to Draw an observation Meiyal Art to see it. Arts that conjured the same items were nothing compared to the dense energies packed tightly into these Armaments.
“I told you, Dystro, you’re assigned to the small fries. Ral and I will hunt the big ones.” Hal prepared his own Weapon and Armor. It looked oddly the same as Dystro’s, but Venry could tell the quality of meiyal was different. Hal’s was more compact and solid, while Dystro’s flowed like a crawling skin.
“We’ll ditch if we meet a Forest Jaws or anything stronger,” Ral said. His Armor and Weapon was more similar to his twin. “We’re not equipped to deal with anything stronger than a Fallen.”
“Then I’ll go look around the stronghold,” Venry said finally. His task was clear, locate any lingering lesser Nightmare within the area and report to Hal and Ral for anything else stronger. He wanted to find clues about this place at the same time. Dystro would be there to help him in case of sudden danger.
“Use a red flare if you need help,” Hal said. “We won’t be far.” He headed off and his twin followed soon after.
“Looks like I’m on bodyguard duty,” Dystro said, smiling. “Probably the best job ever, if you ask me.”
Venry smirked. “I have a bad record of getting into trouble, Dystro. You better keep that sword handy.”
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