“Hmm~ mmmm~” A blissful hum serenated the passersby.
“What a bright morning!” Sache, having learned of her previous misdeeds, blocked the sun’s light with her hands. “It’ll be even more perfect if- eugh. Watch where you’re going, pal!”
No longer was she out in the wilderness of nature. She’s now lost in the chaos of the city.
“You watch it kiddo!” A delivery boy ran past her, his hands filled with newspapers.
“Why the… You’re the kid here!” Menacingly raising her fists, Sache was once again consumed by the crowd. “Yeah, that’ll show him.”
She, in fact, did not show him.
She did not know where it led her out in the midst of the sea of people, a hand reached out for her. Taken deeper in, people constantly bumped her around to who knows where. It was a struggle to figure out just which direction was which.
“Sache, reach out!” A soft voice shouted towards her. A welcoming one that grated against the uncaring population.
“This better not be a bad Tale, I’ve been seeing far too many of those lately.” Sache took that hand. It grabbed her tightly and pulled her out of this senseless crowd.
“I thought I was going to be lost there forever!” Sache collapsed on the ground, only being held up by her own limbs. “Thanks, Wandering Samaritan of the Lands. I knew you would come to rescue me.”
“I told you to call me by my real name. You know how much I hate that title.” This was an elven man, towering quite high over Sache. It was as if his very theme was white and gold, everything he wore perfectly matched the aesthetic. He crossed his arms, waiting for Sache to properly play along.
“But your name’s so long! I’ll definitely mess something up. How about your nickname? That’s cute.”
“Elegant! Not cute. I’m too old to be called cute.” He sighed, Sache’s as playful as always.
“Alright, Eli, help me up. My back’s killing me over here!” Sache was burdened by her oddly large bag. It was filled to the brim with questionable objects.
“I hate that nickname too.” Elias reached out his hand, pulling her back up. He didn’t even need Sache to say anything else as he immediately brought her bag for her.
Sache bobbed up and down, waiting for Elias to send her to one of the only fun places in a dreary city like this. It was hopeless really, Elias had no other choice but to play along with Sache’s whims.
At the sight of the biggest tavern in the city, Sache zipped off, running inside. She had completely ignored the person who both helped her and was carrying her backpack.
“Oh, she finally grew some common sense. Yes, I accept your apolo-”
Sache came running back and jumped on Elias’ back. She took out her lyre and ran back inside. Elias was left there confused yet regretful.
“Of course, she didn’t learn anything. That’s just like her.” Elias opened the door. Men singing along and music filling the air made for a very jolly atmosphere. “And just like her, she makes everyone just a bit happier. I don’t know how she does it but that’s a talent.”
Sache was directly on top of an empty table, playing a little show where she sang the local drinking song.
“And jolly, eh!” They drank what filled their cups. “And oh!” They brought it down. “Til the sun, it rises. Til the sun, it falls. We drink to the last. Hey, ho!”
“Gahahahahahaha!” Everyone just joined in on the fun.
“You’re alright. Here’s a little something.” One of the men was fully clad in golden steel, a material that was more durable than any normal metal. He flipped a golden coin in Sache’s direction.
“Many thanks!” Sache dropped her lyre, reaching out both hands to grab ahold of it. Elias knew this was bound to happen as he appeared directly beside Sache, grabbing ahold of her lyre before it broke on the ground.
Elias raised her lyre up to her face. Sache looked to the side, shrugging, “H-How… did that get there? That’s weird, isn’t it? Haha…”
Elias bonked her on the head. It was then followed by a series of scoldings.
~~~
“I get it, I get it. I shouldn’t have left you alone back there.” Sache pointed her fingers together. Elias could only give up once Sache acted like this.
She was a good person. She just has her priorities slightly jumbled up.
“At the very least, you made progress? You know, spreading your own Tale?”
“No… but! I have a very good reason why I haven’t been able to! You see…” Sache leaned in closer, building up the suspense. Elias was now curious as to what Sache was about to say.
“I met a dragon! A dragon of Legends! Gaelhe the Calamity of Ages Past! He gave me a letter, hold up, let me get it from my bag.” Sache ran off, proceeding to take off numerous items from her bag. Some were impressive like a shovel, while others were more… questionable, like a series of empty glass bottles.
“Aha, here it is!” Sache took a crumpled piece of paper. She opened it up only to find that the ink that was written there was long gone. “Huh? I swear it’s not how it looks like-”
Bop.
“I haven’t… really, hehe. Done anything so far.” Sache covered her ears just in time for Elias to blow his temper. She couldn’t hear what he was saying so she might as well pass the time by looking at what Elias’ current status was.
Eli’s a Folklore now, he should be pretty popular.
Title {Wandering Samaritan of the Lands}
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Name {Elias Fertuliun Ent…}
Reputation {7 Kingdoms}
Honor {Absolute Good}
Gravitas {88%}
Affiliation {None}
Blessings
Inscribement {Goodness from the Heart}
[Good deeds are blessed. Those who are aided will be compelled to help others.]
Engravement {Source of Belonging}
[The more good deeds are performed by those influenced, the stronger the Tale’s magic becomes.]
{Additional Lock: Become an Epic}
“I wonder if Eli will let me eat those cream puffs. He might be loud but those cream puffs didn’t hurt anyone.”
Eli’s Gravitas went down by 1% the last time I saw him. He’s definitely not acting as nice as he should be. He’s so mean to me! What did I ever do to deserve such treatment?
The Gravitas of a Tale is how true their personalities are with their respective Tales. The lower their Gravitas, the harder it would be to spread their Tales, and the slower their growth would become.
This was why Gaelhe has not reached beyond a Legend despite being alive for countless years. His Gravitas was 1%, and he was not true to his Tale. Then again, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. If he really was as his Legend described him, the world would’ve been destroyed a long time ago.
Elias’ mouth opened, asking Sache something but she could only mouth it.
“Are… you… even… listening… Of course, I am!” Sache looked to the side. Elias had no other choice but to see just what Sache has been doing this entire time.
“Wait don’t do that!” Sache tried to pry Elias off but she was far too weak to do anything.
Title {The Fool Who Dreams Of Immortality}
Name {Sache}
Reputation {3 Listeners}
Honor {Neutral}
Gravitas {101%}
Affiliation {Tales}
Blessings
Inscribement {Seeker}
[Able to seek the truth behind lies and deception for what is desired.]
“Don’t look at it!”
“There are two more people that heard you. You made massive progress!” Elias furrowed his brows, this was a pleasant surprise that Sache actually did something.
“And here I thought, you would’ve just spread other people’s Tales instead of your own. Good job, Sache.” This was great progress. It took Sache twenty years of her human life to find someone who listened to her Tale. That being him.
Now it only took two more years to find two more followers. That is an impressive improvement.
“You could’ve become a Bard-based Tale instead. Like everyone else chose to. In all my years, I’ve never seen someone be so bold yet so stupid.”
“Your Gravitas is going down the more you insult me, you know? Hmph!” Her puffed cheeks that was supposed to show her annoyance only looked adorable.
“That’s a small price to pay if it means you’re making progress for your dream. Immortality is extremely difficult, so difficult that everything pertaining to it is always designated as a Myth. Do you really want to spend your human life searching for something so out of reach?”
“If I can live forever, then I can keep learning and telling stories forever. That’s the dream.” Sache nodded to herself. If there was anything that was going to stop her then it would’ve already happened.
“If that’s the case, I won’t hold you to it. Want to spend the night drunk telling each other about the Tales we’ve seen and heard?” Elias raised the cheap liquor that the tavern offered him.
Sache’s eyes widened, “Be right back.” She went back to her bag and took out two pristine bottles. They were still unopened but the design of it alone was enough to catch many people’s eyes.
“We’re using this! You better keep up with me Eli or else I’ll mark your face with charcoal again. Hehe.” Sache brought out some ink and was ready for the inevitable.
Eli sighed, he was never going to win this one. They both opened their bottles.
“Bottoms up!” Sache yelled out in glee as she started this small exchange. “I saw a Fairy Tale turn into a Fable! You know Faewurms? Yeah, I got abducted by its Spirit and…”
Sache’s face seemed to just never light down, a flame of passion that just never seemed to get snuffed out no matter what the elements were. Elias just stayed quiet.
This was never an exchange, it was just Sache rambling on everything she’s seen while acting out some of the people she talked to. This was one of the few times Elias looked forward to, the blatant passion of seeing someone just enjoy life.
For the very few times in his life, Elias was left there. Staying still as everything all around him changed. Some of the people listened in, joying Sache’s Tales as she sang it off. Her goofy expressions as she mimicked high-strung people’s vocalizations. The terrific joy of listening to her sing her songs.
She always says that it’s her favorite but she never repeats the same Tale ever again. Elias poured himself another glass, savoring this short time before he loses it sooner or later.
The night was still young and Sache was still filled with even more Tales to speak of. She never stops going, taking in a few requests to sing some popular songs with an even more melodic tune than even the greatest of the city’s singers.
Clarity that just speaks to everyone who could hear her.
A voice that just seems to lure those who hear her into a sense of belongingness.
But at the end of the day, Sache was still awake while everyone all around her had fallen into a deep slumber. She takes the ink she had prepared and starts drawing on Elias’ face. She did not lie that she was going to do so.
“Hehe, sucker.” Sache was as playful as ever.
After finishing her piece, she started writing on another separate piece of paper. A smaller note that only consisted of four lines. She wrote it with such clear elegance that it could be mistaken for an art piece.
“This should help you out Elias. Take care.” Sache folded a piece of paper and stuffed it in his pocket, the very first place he would look after a time like this.
“Until we meet again but for now… I’ll see where the land will lead me. Take care.” Sache walked off, disappearing from the city.
----------------------------------------
Sleep It Off
Waiting underneath the night’s sky I ponder
Just what truly lies is something full of wonder
I want to see, I want to feel, the grace and beauty it will reveal
I’m tired now, it was far too surreal
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