Light flittered across the faces of the villagers as Salim stared at his feat, his shadow staring back with the same conflicted expression. That tree was, obviously, a direct sign that they worshiped Fallon, who had undoubtedly succeeded in creating life. Did they count as his children?
But despite Salim’s musings, the ceremony continued, more hymns rose into the air that venerated the being that peered at them from the sky. The branches of Starlight’s tree stretch further and further out, a large dome slowly forming over the entire amphitheater. And while the tree was made of transparent light, Salim felt as if he could reach out and touch it, feel the bone against his hand.
Salim looked away from the branches when the hymns stopped, silence filling the air and knocking Salim out of his trance. A young man was standing at the edge of the platform in the center of the theater, the robed individuals standing behind, silhouetted by Starlight and the tree. The man stood, his arms outstretched to the tree, head flung back as he looked straight up.
“I HAVE COME OF AGE TO BE BLESSED WITH A CALLING.”
“Another finds their calling.” The responding chorus was subdued, echoing with a deep reverence in their voices.
“AS MY FATHER AND MOTHER BEFORE ME I AM A [FARMER].” The name held a weight that Salim had felt before, the ‘calling’ they had mentioned before most likely being their [Class].
“Till and toil for survival and family. To grow that which fills you and your family with fulfillment.”
Was that a [Class] description? Salim wasn’t sure but it had a similar phrasing that mirrored that of his classes.
But why is he leveling up so late? He has to be at least twenty, if they have been able to gain levels since birth then maybe this is his second or third class? Does that mean they are all way stronger than me?
Salim thought about the two kids that had found him, could they have overpowered him? They didn’t look that tough, no visible muscles that might indicate [Might] and Oak did hit him with a rock. If they had increased [Might] then it would have done quite a bit more than annoy him.
So why is he receiving his [Class] now? It was impossible to discern simply by watching the ritual. He just made a note to ask Starlight or whoever was going to deal with him when the ceremony was over.
As Salim turned back into his surroundings, the ritual seemed as though it was finishing up. The tree began to dim as the moon moved from its peak in the sky, the tree that surrounded the amphitheater gradually fading away into the darkness like it was never there. At the same time, the villagers began to slowly hum.
The tune was soft, with a hint of wistfulness or maybe wanderlust that rose and fell along with the robed figures on the stage. They danced all together, in a slow rhythmic pattern as Starlight joined them as they moved off the stage. They began to slowly walk up the stairs of the amphitheater, villagers slowly following behind them in the same solemn walk.
You have witnessed the fruit of your suffering
Major Event has been Logged.
You have gained a Level!
You have gained a Level!
You have gained a Skill!
Bright light flashed in front of his eyes as he flinched, before taking in his gains from ‘the fruit of his suffering.’ Don’t understand why it needs to be so grim.
Skills
Meditation (Class)
Lvl. Max
Calm against the disruptive chaos.
Open Mind (Class)
Lvl. 9
Think true, see the world as it is.
Discussion (Class)
Lvl. 4
Convince others of your view.
Manipulate (Class)
Lvl. 1
Move yourself and others.
The skill was as vague as all the rest, and Salim especially wondered what moving really meant. Would it help his hand eye coordination? Was it a social skill? Not feeling any different he decided to deal with the new skill later and focus on leveling up.
Lvl. 7
Stats
Confirm
Might: 20 (22)
-/+
Finesse: 20 (23)
-/+
Resilience: 20 (22)
-/+
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Acuity: 18 (20)
-/+
Resolve: 19 (20)
-/+
Depth: 0
-/+
Oddly, when he confirmed his selection and felt his body change around him it wasn’t wholly unpleasant. Instead of painful pushing and aching it felt more like he was stretching, his arms and legs shifting as his body changed. What changed?
A figure stood in front of Salim, silently peering at him with glowing eyes, his gray hair barely visible in the moonlight. Noticing how close he was, Salim pushed the menus away, and straightened his back.
“I hope you enjoyed the ceremony, it is not often when we have an outsider witness a member of our village come of age.” Starlight spoke, his breath a bit more rugged than before.
“Of course, it was wonderful.” Cheap words flowed easily as Salim hid his feelings from the old man.
“Come with me, we have a place for you to stay.” Starlight departed, walking slowly as he began to move in an unfamiliar direction. Salim followed, trying to pick out the right words to ask so that he wouldn’t compromise his already suspicious cover.
“The ceremony was amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it. I just have a few questions to ask, if you are willing of course.” Walking in tandem, Salim tried to start up a conversation.
“Of course, although you are meaning to say that you do not worship the Mother?” The old man studied Salim, who felt like he had messed up again.
“I… Where I am from, the concept of the mother is more abstract, like a natural phenomenon like a storm that we venerate!” Salim strung together a belief from whatever he could come up with.
Starlight looked disturbed at the idea, his eyes narrowing at the strange man who had been brought into the village.
“Not that I mean any offense! My people are made up of all manner of individuals, and we bear no singular belief. I pass no judgement onto you and I venerate the mother as well just in my own way.” Backtracking was always the way to go.
The old man said nothing as they walked in awkward silence.
Wanting answers, Salim continued. “Your ceremony, for the boy, is a subject of much… debate where I come from. Most of our members have already found their calling by the time they join us so we argue on the cause of the calling.”
“We dare not speculate the objectives of the Mother.” The answer caused a wave of annoyance to well up within Salim, but he quickly pushed it aside and continued on.
“That is fair, and I should not have questioned a man such as yourself. I am simply curious about many things, about the world and my place in it. If I am not at risk of offending you, could you tell me about any nearby villages or cities I may go to?” At this point he was fishing for any information he could get.
Again, Starlight held silent as he watched Salim’s face under the moonlight. “To the west and south you will find the villages of Tree Birth and Long Walk. We do trade with them every second cycle of the Mother. They are a few days walk from here, since the forest blocks the most direct path, and from where you came from.” Salim couldn’t help but feel like the last part was a dig at his lie.
Stopping in front of one of the larger buildings in the village, Starlight pointed at the doorway where a man emerged from the darkness. “This is where you will stay, they will make sure that you are safe.”
Staring at the unknown muscle bound man standing in the doorway, Salim could only imagine that they were there to watch him instead of ‘keeping him safe.’ Still he said nothing as Starlight and the man said hushed words to each other most likely about keeping an eye on him. Honestly Salim couldn’t blame Starlight or any of the villagers for being suspicious, especially with his half baked lies and weirdly leading questions.
Finally, they pulled away from each other, with Starlight waving his hand as he walked away into the night. The unknown man moved closer to Salim, before opening his mouth to greet him.
“Nice to meet you! I heard from our chief that where lost? We have an extra spot for you to rest while you get back on your feet so come on in. The name is Fire.” A boisterous voice filled the air, eliciting groans from further inside the building. Still, the man seemed to care little from the complaints coming from within.
“Yea, Salim. Hey.” His brain froze for a second trying to form words.
“Alright, come right this way. Yes, watch out for the divot in the floor. We’ve got a spot right over there just for you.” Salim strained his eyes as Fire pointed over to a dark corner in the room. Walking over revealed a bedding that seemed to be made out of thin pelts and straw, which honestly looked like the most glorious contraption Salim had seen in months.
But right as Salim was about to lay down on the bed, Fire grabbed his arm, stopping him as the other man's arm barely moved an inch. Both seemed slightly surprised at Salim’s weakness.
“Hey, get to bed we can talk in the morning about what we are going to do with you and all that.” The words were spoken incredibly casually, accompanied by several groans around the room at the volume of his voice but the phrasing just seemed slightly ominous.
“Yea.” It was all that Salim could whisper, as Fire broke his grip on his arm, pins and needles rushing across it. He quickly laid down with slight worry and apprehension in his heart, what were they going to do to him? Why had he lied to Starlight? What was he even going to do no-
Bliss.
Pure bliss enveloped him as he lay down on the combination of pelt and straw, the bed had a small amount of give to it that felt absolutely heavenly. It obviously wasn’t anything when compared to his apartment, (which felt like memories of years long past) but it was everything when compared to his experience on this plant.
Even with the musk of body odder and ammonia filling the building, all of the discomfort was easily disregarded with a comfortable place to rest his head. The outdoors had nothing on civilization that was for sure.
Someone turned over in the dark, the rustling straw distracting him.
It was unfortunate that he was probably stuck in the building until the morning, but there were worse places for him to be. To distract himself, he perused through his menus until his eyes got heavy.
Titles
Number of Titles: 5
The First
You were the first to step upon the path of sapience.
Alone?
Whether by creation or genocide, your existence is unique.
Deathless
Through medical marvel or mystical means, you have come back from the dead.
Moon Touched
The moon has marked you as one of its own.
Centenarian
You bear the scars of a hundred years passed.
The newly added title was moderately interesting but didn’t really add anything. He wasn’t even sure of their purpose, what value did they give especially to him. The question mark that had been added to [Alone?] didn’t get past him either, he truly was the only human on the planet.
For what felt like hours, Salim lay in bed, enjoying the comfort but unable to fall completely asleep as the people around him moved occasionally. The boredom was really getting to him as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on falling asleep. Numerous plans for the future filled his mind as he tried to predict what would happen in the morning.
Maybe they would kick him out, accept him, sacrifice him (although the last option was a little far fetched). But what did he truly want to do, at least in this life. He knew that he wanted nothing to do with Fallon and thus staying in the village seemed like a poor choice due to their religious practices.
The fact that other villages existed and actually traded with one another was a good sign, maybe there did exist cities far away, where the land was a little less overtly hostile. Setting up shop right next to a murderous forest didn’t strike Salim as a particularly good idea. Maybe the village was made of outcasts, although he wasn’t sure how much he could actually get out of Starlight, the man seemed completely suspicious of him now.
The true technological level of the planet was still a mystery to him, clearly they had the ability to forge tools, since the wood houses of the village seemed to be cut to a standard shape. But how long had it been since Fallon created this true sapient life? He supposed it didn’t really matter as long as he could enjoy the fruits of said technology like the wonderful bed.
The moon danced in front of his eyes, taunting him with an ill-fitting mischievous gaze.
Roads stretched out in front of him, leading to nowhere.
Soon he shifted in bed, just like everyone else.