A sea of white flowers stretched to infinity, they shivered like an ocean, shouldering one another with every breeze. At its center, a young man stood in the midst of it all, black long hair, skins as white as snow, rivaling the drifting flowers.
Here again, huh? He strode forward, the ever drifting white contrasting against the deep darkness of the sky, empty it was.
Step by step, he moved to the end of the flowery river, but reaching nowhere, as everywhere was endless.
Such pointless walking. He sighed to himself. Moments passed, and he was ready for what's to come.
The breeze blew again, this time carrying with it the sweet scent of dew. The young man could almost taste it, the disgusting taste he resented, the taste of hate.
I'll never get used to this. He shook his head. The aroma lingered then intensified, becoming more overwhelming with each passing moment. As the feeling of disgust raged on mockingly, it brought the young man to his knees.
He barfed. The concentrated heat in his chest numbed his mind of reason, whatever he saw, heard or touched had become obsolete, only disgust remained.
Unknowing of the passing hours, he continued vomiting almost endlessly, but the disgust wavered, he grasped a sense of being from it, and looked down at the product of his creation.
And I expected something different. His puking receded, the emptiness he felt was a cause for celebration, not only for his body but his mind as well.
He picked up a piece from what he had puked out一 a white flower, like rest of his surroundings.
It should end by now?
***
In a corner of a silent room, a young man drenched in sweat struggled in his sleep. It had started a few hours ago, the frown ever so prevalent on his youthful face.
Just then he awoke in a sharp gasp, he clutched his chest trying to calm his nerves down. It was an eventful morning indeed.
Having steadied his breathing, the young man climbed down his bed and drew the curtains at the end of his mattress. The soft morning light streamed in, illuminating the small silent room.
In the opposite corner of the pallet, stood a wardrobe made of mahogany wood, with no intricate designs. Between the two furniture rested a desk, a couple books leaned against each other on its surface with a lantern placed not too far away from them.
The young man rubbed his face out of habit then moved to his desk and sat down. He retrieved a small pouch tied to the inner parts of his ivory harem pants. Bright white flowers filled the pouch, its shape comparable to that of a rose.
The young man stretched a hand, picking one from the pouch. He stared at it, emotionless. His nose twitched, the awful dream replaying in his mind. Sighing, the young man ate the flower.
Placing the pouch onto the desk, the young man waited for what's to come. His throat heated up as the flower travelled down, then it was his stomach. A heat exploded in his stomach spreading throughout his body. It was concentrated in his esophagus and stomach, but now he knows no difference of heat anywhere on his body. Just then, a sharp pain gnawed at his abdomen from the inside.
"Ugh."
He yelped in silence. His mind was empty, not from the pain or heat, but the familiar feeling of being eaten from the inside has already become a routine that he became indifferent to.
After a couple minutes, the heat died down, so did the pain, and so did his humanity. The young man was different, a cold, emotionless man replaced the one that felt misery.
The young tied the pouch back to the inner parts of his pants, he stood up and walked to his wardrobe, which held a wooden bucket on its floor. He picked it up, turned around, then walked out of his home, a fake smile hanging on his face.
***
"This meeting is adjourned."
Three people seated at the roundtable, Councilor Viktor, Councilor Tryphon, and Councilor Spyro. They have just discussed the project of building new infrastructure in Sal Village and the need of resources for it. An expedition was planned to take place to gather the needed supply.
In the compact hall, a couple figures stood near the walls, having listened to Councilor Tryphon voice the end of the meeting, they left one by one.
One of the leaving figures wore a simple black robe, he had sparse white beard and towered over the other exiting people. His left hand was fitted with a pine green glove decorated with golden accents.
That kid just woke up? How lazy. The man shook his head in disappointment outside the council building. Just then, he felt a gaze from behind him, glancing over his shoulder he saw Councilor Spyro leaning against the large doorway of the council building.
The man wore white robes, embroidered with white flowers. His height comparable to the green gloved old man. A sly smile hung on his clean shaven face as he drove a hand through his long lustrous hair.
Councilor Spyro took his hand out of his hair then waved his fingers at the green gloved man.
What a child. Ignoring Councilor Spyro, he left unbothered.
***
The young man left his home, from his entrance he could see a circle of similar homes excluding his, which was much smaller with one story rather than two. Their alabaster walls glimmered at certain angles from the morning sun, some of their cinnamon roofs bulged with a sash inviting the warm sunlight to the attics.
At the center of the circle of homes, a large well stood. No one was around it which was quite a surprise. The young man looked up into the sky and he realized.
I really slept in didn't I? He looked down and shook his head, a bit disappointed. The young man cleansed himself at the well, returned the bucket and then strolled deep into the village.
He passed multiple houses, all with the same designs as his until they weren't, there were all kinds, some made completely of blue wood, others looked like a piece of infrastructure pulled from a castle wall.
He moved forward, stopping at a building. He looked right, the structure was made of marble, many columns held the structure with swirling carvings at its capital. The building stretched two stories separated by an architrave, where it extended to another group of columns until they reached an entablature.
The young man stared at the building emotionlessly, but deep within his cold eyes hid a yearning.
It wouldn't hurt trying, right? The young man took a step towards the building and froze.
What did I want to do again? He couldn't remember.
Ahh, I wanted to… I wanted to… I want…
He stood there in a stupor, unable to move forward as his mind lost the very essence of thought.
He sighed, before turning back to the road and speaking under his breathing. "I guess I won't be visiting the library today either."
The young man walked down the road, soon to a lake littered in algae. A boy was at its shore, collecting the algae in a cloth bag.
"Hey Luni," the young man called the boy." What are you doing?"
Luni turned around, he had a child-like face and physique, standing much shorter than the young man. He had short caramel hair and an expression that spoke volumes in what he was trying to do.
Luni walked up to the young man, still carrying the sack of algae, he smiled deviously then said." Come with me Mori, we shall feast today."
He dragged Mori away from the lake towards the hub where drunkards roamed.
At the end of a road, a tavern stood, surrounding it for at least a hundred meters were folks playing cards, gambling with dice at the stone curbs. Many porta potties littered the area. Luni dragged Mori behind one without saying anything the whole way.
Mori looked down at the excited Luni knowing exactly what he was about to do, but he would be lying if he said he was not excited as well.
Luni placed the sack on the ground, opening it." Come on, help me with this." His smile, ever so prevalent.
Mori returned Luni's devious smile with his own, then rolled up his sleeves and picked up a handful of the algae. They skulked into the porta potty and started smearing the green algae onto the walls. They giggled throughout the whole process, once they were done they escaped from the porta potty, hiding themselves behind a tree waiting for their prey to come.
A couple minutes later a man wobbled out the tavern doors, his face flushed and his hair was disheveled. He muttered under his breath."Ugh… It's already noon… hehe the ladies are waiting." He chuckled under his breath.
His belly jiggled with every step, walking to a porta potty he pulled at the door. "There is someone here for memories sake!"
"Ugh, so aggressive." the man muttered through his heavy breathing. He turned around and searched. At the far end of the road was another porta potty, he walked between the gambling men, sometimes he would wander around a bit longer interested in the game, but his gut protested." Stupid shit!"
He wobbled over, bending his back to relieve the pressure, walking into the porta potty he was too distracted by his gut to notice its walls painted green. He closed the door behind himself, squatted down and then started relieving himself. Raising his head, he peeked through the slit at the top of the porta potty, its size was big enough to fit a head through.
They waited a couple minutes, before running back to behind the porta potty. Mori and Luni both had devious smiles on their faces. Whispering, they argued.
"You do the talking."
"What? You were the one who… It is my plan so you do the talking."
"Exactly! It is your plan. Let me do the hard part."
"Brother, you are no Learner, you don't have the strength to throw this over." Luni pointed at the remaining sake of algae.
"It is your plan! So you do the talking end of discussion."
"Alright, alright."
The drunk man almost fell asleep from squatting down, he would rub his face then look into the sky to chase away the sleepiness. "The wife is gonna be… hehe." he mumbled under his breath.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A knock came from the door, waking the drunk man from his stupor. "Huh?"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Another set of knocks. The drunk man cursed under his breath,"for memories sake! Which grown man does such a thing?!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
"THERE IS SOMEONE IN HERE YOU FUCK!" The drunk man cursed, almost toppling from his anger, but he didn't touch the walls.
A voice of a man sounded from the other side of the door in an uptight tone."I… can't…hold…it…any…lon-"
Before the voice finished something covered the entry of light for the porta potty, making the drunk man look up.
Splat.
His face and body were covered in slimy substance.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man yelled, as he attempted to wipe away the algae. During his wiping, he lost balance and touched one of the walls.
Feeling what was on his hand he yelled more."UUUUGGHHH! YOU PIECES OF FUCKS!"
He fell from the shock, right into where he was doing his business." AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Outside, Mori and Luni laughed so hard they panted on the ground."HAHAHAHAHA!"
Calming down a bit, Luni looked at Mori still and asked."Did we go too far? Hehe."
Mori stared at Luni, raising an eyebrow, just then."AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
They glanced at the porta potty then at each other."HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Bam!
A moment later the door of the porta potty bashed open almost coming off its hinges. The drunk man rushed out, his face still covered in algae, his pants at his knees and an ass painted brown.
Mori and Luni would still be laughing if the drunk man didn't charge at them."YOU IMBECILES!"
He rushed Mori, but he was on the ground, unable to dodge in time.
Ain't no way am I getting shitted on! He closed his eyes as if in surrender to what's to come. At the last moment before contact, Luni swooped Mori into a bridal carry and bolted. His speed measurable to that of a dog as he carried Memor away from the chaos.
A Learner's physique is no joke, huh? Mori sighed internally, he watched as the shrinking figure of the drunk man attempted to chase after them, and the ensuing laughter of the gambling crowds before they returned to their games.
From the initial attack, Mori had concluded that the drunk man was a Learner, but his tipsiness must have gotten to him.
Luni ran all the way back to the lake, then threw Mori onto the soft vibrant grass, breathing heavily from his sprint to safety. He turned to Mori and they made eye contact before bursting into laughter.
"That was fun." Mori said, releasing a sigh of relief.
"Oh, we are not done yet." Luni said smiling,"we still got a whole lake of pranking to do." He chuckled.
Mori and Luni laid in the grass for a while enjoying the breeze, at times old grandmothers would pass by, handing them dubious looks.
It seems word has gotten out quite quickly. Mori smiled at the thought.
Just then, Luni sat up from the grass supporting himself with both arms, he glanced at Mori with an excited look and said."Hey Mori, I'm going on a hunting trip with my sister in a few days, want to join?"
Mori thought about the proposition for a moment. He was no Learner so he wouldn't be able to stand on his own if they were to go out. On the other hand, Mori had no money, so it would be a great opportunity.
Mori was about to answer, but at that moment a voice resounded in his mind.'Memor, come home now.'It was hoarse, and tinged with a little impatience.
I guess it's time to go. Memor smiled at Luni then said."Sure, as long as I get paid."
"Of course I'll pay my partner in crime." He giggled a bit.
"Anyhow, I have to leave."
"Already? We only ditched one person today. We got a whole lake to ourselves." Luni said, raising his eyebrows.
Memor stood up brushing his clothes, of weeds."It's my uncle. Yo-"
"Nevermind brother. Just go. I don't want to mess with your uncle." Luni laid back down, closing his eyes as if acting asleep.
In Memor's head a voice sounded again,'what a rude child.'
"Seeya around." Memor said as he left, shaking his head.
The backside of the village held a large boreal forest stretching miles away. Hidden within its shade, was a cabin, two stories high, camouflaging against the brown chutes where squirrels cruise. There were no paths, not even to the cabin.
Just outside the cabin, was a round table with an elegant cup of tea rested on top. Two chairs sat opposite one another with one occupied by an old man with sparse white beard and a pine green glove on his left hand.
The old man waited patiently, at times he would sip some warm tea, other times he would raise a hand and summon a wavering space, from it, all sorts of items materialized. A sword, a chain, a carved mini figure.
Memor walked through the taiga, the scent of wood and jasmine flying through the air.
What's that smell? Memor could only pick out two scents from his surroundings.
'Saffron'
Yes. Yes it is. Anymore?
'Amber grey.'
Yeah… I don't know what that is.
'Maybe when you visit the sea some day.'
Maybe. Memor walked deeper into the forest, soon in sight of the cabin and the man sipping tea at the table.
The old man stood up, stopping his fiddling with the summoned items, then in the hand of Memor who was closing in, he summoned a wavering space, like a ripple a jian appeared in Memor's hand.
At the same time in his hand a longsword appeared, despite its large size it looked average in his hand.
Memor moved forward, now standing just a couple of meters away from the old man.
Brandished his sword, Memor's eyes only focused on one target, Uncle Ceres. Uncle Ceres, placed one of his hands leisurely behind him as he stood without a bother in the world waiting for Memor's attack.
"Oh. If it isn't a father and son moment here." A voice came from the forest.
Memor and Ceres both looked in the direction of the voice, it was Councilor Spyro.