Intermission #15: Annalina
Ann tightened the blanket around her shoulders, seeking its warmth despite the daylight sun overhead, and plucked a nut from a tree. As she did so, a notification appeared in her vision.
Skill Level Up: Good job reaching level 4 in Forage! Items you forage from the wilderness will be 6% larger and will taste 15% better. You have gained 35 experience from leveling a skill.
Before the radiant light from the ground could merge with her, Ann intercepted it. With the nut nestled between her teeth, she studied the light. It slithered around her fingers, never truly touching her. The filament was more delicate than any she had encountered within The Gloom, reminding her of the finest thread. She suspected the width of the strand correlated to the volume of experience it embodied. With a minor expenditure of her divinity, she playfully sent it towards Adir, who was also gathering resources. The light seamlessly melded with him, prompting him to glance her way.
> System Error: Experience points for skill level-up not received. Your Forage skill has been reverted to level 3.
“What are you up to?” He inquired, his eyebrows arching in curiosity.
"Receive a notification?" She tilted her head, her voice echoing her intrigue
"Yes, and rather unexpectedly. I gained thirty-five experience points without any apparent reason," he mused.
“So strange…” she pondered aloud, her fingers caressing a nearby plant, instantly turning it to ash.
You have been afflicted with Bonding Sickness x383. Time until next phase: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 23 seconds You have satisfied 96.4% of the current phase’s requirements ahead of schedule.
“I'm struggling to grasp how this light equates to tangible experience points,” she murmured, lost in thought. “And that the shadows are somehow a corrupted version of this light.” She paused and her eyes opened in realization. “This means that Trina could control experience points all along.”
Adir, his arms laden with fruits and nuts, approached her. “She did architect the system, so it stands to reason she could always do that.”
Gently biting her lip, Ann responded, “I’d always believed experience was a direct result of our actions, and not something controlled by Trina. Now, I’m not certain what to think.”
Handing her a piece of fruit, Adir's gaze sharpened, “Tell me more.”
“I transferred that experience to you from my own skill improvement,” Ann clarified. “If I have such capability...” Her voice trailed off momentarily as she turned another plant to ash, capturing its light without absorbing it.
“Ann…” Adir started.
Then she let it flow toward Adir once more, focusing on her intent for helping him. “Was that more experience?” she asked after it vanished into him.
“Seventy-eight.” He answered after some hesitance.
Her eyes glimmered with realization. “Exactly! If I can do this, surely Trina could too. Perhaps she could even tap into the source of these strands.” She pointed to the ground beneath them. “Imagine how powerful you could be if I could send all of that experience into you.”
Adir handed her another fruit, “So, you think experience comes from Palitern itself?”
She bit her lip, then nodded. “It’s a theory. When I try extracting light directly from the ground, I only make it barren. That doesn't happen when the system rewards you for killing a creature. It must come from somewhere.”
Adir patted her shoulder gently. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
Her inquisitive nature took over as she asked a question she had long been considering, “What lies at the heart of a gloom?”
After a moment, Adir shared, “Newer glooms often anchor above assembler locations, like dungeons or pits.”
“And the older ones?” She probed.
“They’re trickier. Ancient maps sometimes offer clues, but they aren’t always accurate. More often than not, they hover over ruined cities, landmarks, or other significant points.”
Lost in thought, Ann whispered, “What if I could starve a gloom by accessing its core and manipulating the strands from reaching the sky?”
Adir chuckled, “Let’s ensure you’re safe first. Once you’ve regained your strength, The Watch can help us challenge them.”
Smiling faintly, Ann nibbled on a piece of fruit before stopping, feeling satiated. Noticing Adir's concerned expression, she queried, “What’s on your mind?”
He sighed deeply, “Ann, you’ve been eating less each day, and you’re noticeably thinner. Your divinity might not sustain you much longer, especially with Randar still weeks away. Be honest with me, what afflictions do you have?”
Ann’s eyes flicked over to her afflictions, but she already knew it was there.
You are afflicted with starvation. You are not consuming enough energy to sustain your body at its current energy requirements. You feel cold, 20% chance of random dizziness every two hours, resistance to disease and infection reduced by 45%.
Struggling to maintain composure, she reassured, “I’m managing.”
He fixed her with a penetrating gaze, “Ann, your appearance doesn’t lie. Your clothes are looser, and there’s a weariness in your eyes.”
Ann brought her hands up to cover her cheeks. “Alright, fine! I’m afflicted by starvation.” she confessed. “I just can’t stomach food right now. I’m going to be sick if I force myself to eat.”
He nodded solemnly, “That’s what I suspected. As fascinating as your new discoveries are, they're accelerating your decline. Your bonding sickness is still severe, and until we reach Randar, we need you to focus on sustaining yourself. Would you consider eating multiple smaller meals and only using your divinity to manage your bonding sickness?”
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Biting into a piece of fruit with a hint of reluctance, Ann murmured, “Yes.” Deep down, she was aware of Adir’s sound reasoning. However, the new truths she was beginning to uncover about her world had granted her a newfound purpose, something she felt she needed right now.
Adir, already packing away the fruits of their forage, inquired, “How much is left on your bonding sickness for this round?”
“Three and a half percent.” she answered.
“Alright. When the timer ends, select your health. Given the small percentage, a weaker mixture should suffice. We should give your body a rest for the next fifteen hours or so. I can carry you.” He bent down, indicating for Ann to mount his back. “We’ll start using the mixtures more now.”
Despite her afflictions causing her considerable discomfort and her bones feeling fragile, Ann climbed onto Adir's sturdy frame. With his strong strides, they swiftly navigated through the forest, dwarfed by the majestic old-growth trees with their ethereal purple trunks and azure leaves. The serene beauty, combined with the gentle motion, soon lulled Ann into a fitful slumber. But her rest was short-lived, disrupted three hours later by her timer's insistent alert.
Your Bonding Sickness now requires treatment. Please select how you will treat the remaining 3.5% of your bonding sickness.
Feeling her awake abruptly, Adir's voice, laced with concern, reached out, “Is it time?”
“Yeah. Only 3.5%.” Ann replied, her eyes hovering over the health slider, contemplating pushing it further. “I could do more, you know? Get ahead for the next cycle.”
“Stick to the plan, Ann,” Adir responded with urgency, handing her a small mixture. “Let your body recover.”
“But I've fully regenerated my divinity,” she reasoned, trying to make him understand.
“That's precisely it. The rest of your energy is dedicated to your body's healing. You can't keep draining yourself this way,” Adir's voice wavered with a mix of frustration and worry.
Resigning herself, Ann downed the mixture, immediately feeling its warmth radiate within. Confirming her selection, she experienced a tug of light from her body, a minimal disassembling of her body to satiate the bonding sickness. Fresh sores briefly emerged on her skin, but the concoction's healing properties quickly remedied them. Her timer reset, indicating a new cycle.
“Time for another meal?” Adir gently coaxed.
Feeling the pain of her bonding sickness return once again, and feeling slightly defeated, Ann murmured her assent. As she nibbled on the food he offered, Adir's head, usually focused on the path ahead, kept darting to the side, as if trying to catch a moving target.
“What's wrong?” she asked, noting his unease and tension.
He paused, hesitating before sharing, "I’ve been seeing signs of a great number of creatures that have passed through here recently. I saw it when we left the gloom, but I wasn’t sure which direction they were headed. Now I think they’re going to the same place we are."
“They’re going to Randar? They can’t possibly attack the stigandar capitol,” she stated.
Adir hesitated again. “I think the situation is more dire than you might know. Before I was assigned to work with you, I was working with Carda. He and I were fighting off an invasion some distance south of Randar. We were barely holding our position when I left. I know Valtor was not optimistic that we would be able to sustain ourselves there for long.”
“Oh.” Ann murmured. “Valtor’s people… where will they go?” she asked, fully aware that the stigandorians didn’t have any other place to go. This continent was their only home.
“There’s discussion of moving them to Lampasa. We’ll probably all end up there eventually since The Darkness’ creatures can’t use the portal rings. We’re all just having a hard time giving up on finding Trina.” Adir admitted.
Ann sighed. “So now The Darkness is attacking Randar from the south and the west. Will the city even be there when we arrive?”
Adir was quiet for a moment. “It’ll be there.”
“We should have helped Carda and Zera. We all could have been fighting The Darkness.” Ann lamented from atop his shoulders.
“Don’t say that. It was much too dangerous for you to be there. Besides, Gij took my post and is helping all of them now.”
Ann smiled, remembering meeting Gij for the first time. She was everything Ann imagined her to be. Gij was warm, smart, and hardworking. “I hope I get a chance to work with Gij too.”
“You will,” Adir reassured her. “The twelve are going to be fine. It’s the people without aspects that I worry about.”
Ann swallowed hard and nodded although she was certain Adir couldn’t see her. She was quiet for a long time as Adir continued walking. She began to see what he saw as well. The claw marks in the dirt, long scratches on the trees, and smaller plants that were uprooted all gave evidence that a large number of creatures had moved through the area recently. “Why would The Darkness move against the Stigandorians now?” she thought to herself.
She had lived a rather sheltered life in Termily, but she found much of what she learned was true. Only a few facts had been fudged by The Watch. Many members of the twelve were not in fact all powerful and had been replaced numerous times in history. Sometimes The Watch did very bad, downright evil things, but it was always with the goal of making the world safer and more united against The Darkness. She had initially been dismayed, but slowly she had seen the need for their work.
Now The Stigandorians needed them. There was little doubt in her mind that they definitely needed Adir. She couldn’t help but be a little frustrated that Vina had locked down the portal rings back in Halos. If not for her actions, both of them could be in Randar now. “She doesn’t know what I know though.” Ann reminded herself. “If Vina hadn’t killed Ebba… everything could have all been different. Her masterpiece wouldn’t have been created. I wouldn’t have gone to Halos…” her mind spiraled as she tried to imagine how things would have changed.
Some time later, they took a brief pause by a clear stream. Adir bent down to allow her to dismount. He handed her a canteen of water and she drank it until it was empty. She moved slowly over to the water and began to refill it. The canteen gurgled as water escaped the vessel until finally it was filled and the water was still, reflecting her face back at her.
There she saw her long blonde hair, now very dirty and tangled beyond her ability to maintain hanging down. The face, however, that stared back at her didn’t seem familiar to her. The eyes were the same, but her cheeks were sunken and her jawline was more pronounced than she remembered. There was a tautness to her skin that hadn't been there before, almost as if it clung to her bones a bit too closely. Her collarbones stood out more prominently and her shoulders seemed narrower. The weight she'd lost was evident in her gaunt appearance, emphasizing the fragility of her frame.
She touched her face, running her fingers over the hollows of her cheeks, tracing the skin that stretched over her facial bones. The sharp jut of her cheekbone under her fingertips felt almost alien. The realization was jarring. How had she let herself deteriorate to this extent without really noticing? Her eyes wandered down, noting the way her clothes, once snug on her body, now hung a looser, the fabric sagging in places it hadn’t before.
She took a deep breath, watching her reflection perform the same action. She realized then this body wasn’t one capable of bearing the responsibilities she needed to handle. Her weakened state was no longer just a personal concern. Every choice she made affected not just herself, but everyone who was counting on her, on them. It wasn't just about fulfilling a mission or remaining loyal to her sisters; it was about saving a world and its people. She had a responsibility now, one that stretched beyond personal sacrifices.
Ann felt a strange mix of sadness and alarm. This wasn't just about eating less or pushing through pain; her body was clearly screaming for nourishment. If she didn't start taking better care of herself, her body would fail her before the journey's end.
Behind her, Adir cleared his throat, having given her a moment of privacy but also very much aware of the changes in her appearance. He leaned over her, nearly blocking the sunlight that provided the reflection she was looking through. Their eyes met in the reflection, his filled with concern.
She lifted the canteen out of the water and handed it to him with a now shaking hand, filled with new understanding. She quietly walked back to a tree where his backpack rested and reached in, taking out a root vegetable she had declined earlier. “The people need us,” she said between bites.