As our Hero continued to grow stronger in preparation for his impossible task, I would like to take a moment to shine a light on a valued comrade. The forest sage was and is still a great source of wisdom and calm. Without them, the quest might have failed, but at this time in the story, Hero Agaton and the forest sage are only meeting.
Excerpt from a Hero's Journey, appendix the companions.
By Naomel Amazonik
The Wood-kin sat on the branch of a giant tree, enjoying the few beams of sunlight making it through the forest canopy while listening to the wind. An intense burst of wind suddenly rocked the branches, and Leaf fell. The Wood-kin had decided that name right at this moment, as none of their kin required one. They were the strangest of all kin, as their bark-like skin, amber eyes, and leaf-like hair made them stand out from the more natural-looking kin. And while the Shadow-kin can also stay outside the fortifications all other kin built, Wood-kin are the only ones not using them at all, as they had no need for them.
The androgynous kin turned deftly in their fall and landed on their feet, without apparent trouble, instead looking up into the bristling leaves of the giant tree. A tree, the Wood-kin know as mother trees because when a Wood-kin is ready, they will plant a seed between the tree's roots, and in its shadow, another Wood-kin will sprout. The Wood-kin often pondered and meditated about their ancestry. However, with so much history lost and the contact with other kin gone, they could never find the answer.
Some might now argue that if they wanted to know that badly to spend days on end meditating about their heritage, the Wood-kin should have looked out for other kin and asked questions. However, it was not their way, just as so many things weren't. While the other kin killed the monstrosities roaming through the wilderness, the Wood-kin lived side by side with them, or at least neither killed the other.
With the residual magic in the wind telling Leaf the secrets of the world, they started to ponder precisely that. Why was it that only the Wood-kin were unbothered by the monstrosities? Was it because they had no inherent magic, and their bodies were not of flesh and blood? Leaf rustled their hand through the green leafy bush that was their hair. Anyway, the answer to that question was nothing for a young sprout to ponder. The elders will do that enough. However, since the wind had blown Leaf from the tree, the sun had traveled quite a bit as the Wood-kin stood there, lost in thought. Not needing to eat, sleep, or do other things a flesh body would need had made their feeling for urgency and time wither away. Also, the magic energy permeating the air and the ground was especially tasty, as Leaf absorbed it through their bark skin.
The young Wood-kin stood there for another few hours until the sun had vanished, basking in the natural energies, when a second Wood-kin appeared. Leaf had the bright brown skin of a young oak, with big leaves as hair, while the newcomer had the dark greyish color of dying wood, the bark skin already cracking in spaces, and the last remnants of their leaf-covered head dyed in reds and yellows.
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"Seeder," Leaf said, in the rustling and groaning of the trees, while nodding to what, for other kin, would be mother or father. For the Wood-kin, they were one and the same.
"Young one. Did the winds speak to you?"The withering Wood-kin asked.
"It did, elder," Leaf answered.
"Your decision is made?"The old one asked.
"It is. I shall be known as Leaf. Because when the winds chose me, I fell to the ground like a leaf in the wind."Leaf stated.
"Leaf in the wind. A good name. Since the grand war, you will be the first of our kin to seek contact with another kin. And I am proud it is one of my seeds that was chosen for this task." The elder Wood-kin said.
The old Wood-kin looked at their seedling. Leaf was the fortieth sprout that they had planted below a mother tree in their four hundred years, and they would be the last. The elder oak would not be able to sprout again, but that didn't concern them. As their seeder before them, the old Wood-kin would also return to the circle of growth and withering and leave the rest to the young ones coming after.
"Seeder?" Leaf asked as the withering Wood-kin fell silent.
"Don't worry. I was lost in thought. Something that is happening more and more to me. A normal occurence of the elder." The old kin said.
"I understand. I grew concerned for a second when you did not react to the greeting of the morning sun."Leaf stated.
"You shouldn't be concerned with me but with the challenges ahead of you. The other kin are living faster lives than us, and adapting to it will be one of your hardest challenges. However, for now, you need to go. Thunder had struck at a home of the Stone-kin, and the storm is brewing. It is time to do our part as kin, " the elder said.
"I felt it in the wind, and the trees told me where to go. A place untouched by ground and trees, flying up high, seeking out the fruit tormented by shadows."Leaf explained.
"You remember the speak of the other kin?" The elder asked.
"I do," Leaf answered.
"Then go forth, my sprout. Nature is reeling and wants our healing touch, " the elder said. The two Wood-kin nodded to each other, both knowing they would never see each other again, but they were not concerned because even if the shell withers, the soul speaks in the rustling of the leaves.
"I'm off. Don't worry. I'll make ya proud," Leaf said, fighting with the words of the other kin, unfamiliar with using their mouths to speak instead of their leaves. However, the road was a long one, and travel would give them the time to practice.