Chapter 9
Donovan never cried again after that night spent on the forest's floor. He had already seen so much pain and felt so much suffering that he simply closed himself off to the world from that moment on. No tears would be shed; no loss would ever mean anything.
As he saw it, he now had no purpose, no home, and no one in the world. Everything he had loved was now gone. The young man's entire life had been torn from his very soul.
With his self-inflicted banishment from Gestalt, he had nowhere to go. Anywhere had became his new destination. The broken warrior wandered the woods outside of Bella's pig farm for at least a week. His armored form continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest on his travels. He simply had nothing else to do.
The potion given to him by the herbalist continued to work its magic. A continual numbness pumped through his veins for days after. As he walked, simple scrapes from random branches would go on being unfelt. Cuts and bruises from whatever he stumbled into would leave tiny marks of blood. He did not bother to bandage them; he did not see the point.
Basic needs governed by his body did eventually force him to sustain himself. After the seventh day of his aimless travels, he came upon a small forest stream. He drank from the muddy waters, re-hydrating his cracked lips and throat. The water slowly flowed down into his empty stomach.
His stomach ached from hunger; a pain that the potion did not help to subside. He surveyed the area for possible nourishment, his survival instincts now governing his motions. He located a thorned bush with purple berries several paces from the forest stream. They could have been poisonous, but his body didn't care: it needed food and needed it now.
Donovan gorged himself amongst the berries. Smears of purple flesh stained his lips and chin. The fruits' strong flavor tingled upon his tongue. The berries were both sweet and tangy. As he ate, the juicy seeds reminded him of the sugared tarts that his family used to occasionally bake.
He began to lose focus, and his vision began to blur. The world began to spin and a dizziness fell over him. "This must be from the berries," he thought. "Oh well, at least now I shall die; a fool no less. They will put me out of my misery; a pointless end to a pointless man's life."
He toppled over against the bark of a large tree. His armored frame slid down its woody hide to the forest floor.
Today was not the end of the man named Donovan.
He awoke with his stomach partially satisfied by the earlier meal. Still leaning against the tree, he began to survey the area around him. With the nourishment, his thoughts had become clearer and more distinct. He noted that his current location did not look like any forest he had ever come across. The trees appeared much taller, their trunks slightly twisted in a peculiar manner. The floor was covered with a mix of fallen leaves and a spongy, emerald moss. The distance ended in a subtle mist. A certain odd white glow appeared to emanate from the entire forest's canopy. It felt natural, but foreign at the same time.
The warrior's inquisitive nature had now given him a purpose: explore the strange forest.
He stood up, and searched the area for any life. He could hear leaves landing quietly upon the mossy ground, and he could see the branches above him shift in the slight breeze. He could not sense anything else.
He searched the area for any monuments to track his position. To his right lay more strange trees, and to his left a few steps away were other plant growths climbing a tall hill. He decided to trace the hill in an effort to keep his bearings.
The interior of the hill looked to be made of a tanned rock. A multitude of bushes and trees had intertwined their twisted roots within the stone cavities. Many of the roots trailed down from upon the hillside onto the ground below. Large woody bumps protruded from the mossy floor.
A calm fell over Donovan as his mind became occupied. "Where exactly am I? How long have I been walking through this forest? Where am I going?" He began to speed up his travels.
He noticed that the air felt moist and he could smell the musky scent of wet leaves. He began to pay attention to the minute sounds he created on his search. The snapping of twigs and the compression of the soft moss began to fill his ears. He felt relaxed and took a large breath. He exhaled and felt happy.
A small white cloud began to appear from within the forest's distant mist. It was floating in the air only a few feet from the ground. It slowly wandered along just above the forest floor. As it got closer to Donovan, he was able to get a better view.
Donovan had seen illustrations of the object, but like many things he was never able to see it for himself. Almost ball shaped and the size of a medium pumpkin, it was entirely translucent except for the very center. It had no eyes and it had no limbs. It was a bright white but did not radiate any light. It floated upon the air unlike anything he had ever seen. He remembered that the name that had been classified for this object was "wisp".
He had read that the "creature", if you could call them that, were essentially entities of nothing. In fact, wisps didn't seem to serve a purpose at all in the entire world. No one knew how they might reproduce, let alone where and how they might have originated.
The image of the wisp became clearer and clearer as it made its way towards Donovan. He noticed that, almost logically, it avoided trees by circling around them on its path. He was surprised by its apparent intelligence. During his studies, he had also read that wisps were perfectly harmless and had a peculiar feel.
As the wisp continued on its journey, it passed near Donovan's current position. He removed his right gauntlet and knelt down; placing his hand and arm within the wisp's path. When the wisp made contact, Donovan swore that he could feel millions of tiny whisker-like hairs. They tickled at the touch, but carried no weight. A tiny grin appeared across the young warrior's face.
The wisp did not stop because of Donovan's roadblock, and it floated towards the hill behind him. Once there, it began to trace the hill's base in a direction leading away from Donovan. Donovan stood up and followed the little creature.
The warrior seemed to tail the floating object for what seemed like hours. He didn't mind; this little being had given him something to do.
The pair, both the leader and the follower, came to what looked with a great rockslide. Ton upon ton of stone had tumbled down the hill long ago. Tree roots had already placed themselves within the tiny crevices, and thin layers of moss covered many of the rocks. Whatever had caused this rockslide had done so a millennia ago.
The wisp began to diligently search the giant mass of rubble. It hovered over a number of different spots, floating back and forth amongst the many rocks.
Donovan then saw the wisp suddenly reverse its path, and then enter the mass of stone.
Donovan was partially stunned. "Could wisps move through solid objects? I hadn't read that. Why did it choose to go into the rockslide?" His thoughts paused. "Was there a space on the other side? The wisp had evidentially planned and desired to get into that space. What might be back there?"
Curiosity continued to grow within the young man. He decided he should see for himself what might be behind the mass of rocks.
He began to pull single stones away from the hill. Most of them were small enough being similar in size to a human head. He could easily remove them with just his armored fingers.
The larger boulders, on the other hand, required a bit of ingenuity. He gathered a thin log from the forest floor and was able to pry a few of them loose. It took at least an hour or more to make any progress with the bigger stones.
Sweat had already begun to pour inside of his armor as he worked. His muscles were becoming tired and strained from exertion. He continued until a distinct open space could be seen within the forested hill. There was now a path that he could feasibly enter just as the wisp did.
Now visibly excited, he began to crawl through the fresh opening. It was difficult to squeeze through at first, as his iron armor scraped the rock around him, but he was able to slowly climb through his entrance. He only traveled for a short bit before reaching the other side of his makeshift tunnel. Once at its exit, his armored form tumbled out onto a muddy floor.
Lying upon the ground covered in a thin coat of mud, he could see a faint light in the distance. He stood up, and clanking from his shifting armored plates echoed through what sounded like a large chamber. The warrior's eyes went wide with wonder.
Continue to Chapter 10
As he saw it, he now had no purpose, no home, and no one in the world. Everything he had loved was now gone. The young man's entire life had been torn from his very soul.
With his self-inflicted banishment from Gestalt, he had nowhere to go. Anywhere had became his new destination. The broken warrior wandered the woods outside of Bella's pig farm for at least a week. His armored form continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest on his travels. He simply had nothing else to do.
The potion given to him by the herbalist continued to work its magic. A continual numbness pumped through his veins for days after. As he walked, simple scrapes from random branches would go on being unfelt. Cuts and bruises from whatever he stumbled into would leave tiny marks of blood. He did not bother to bandage them; he did not see the point.
Basic needs governed by his body did eventually force him to sustain himself. After the seventh day of his aimless travels, he came upon a small forest stream. He drank from the muddy waters, re-hydrating his cracked lips and throat. The water slowly flowed down into his empty stomach.
His stomach ached from hunger; a pain that the potion did not help to subside. He surveyed the area for possible nourishment, his survival instincts now governing his motions. He located a thorned bush with purple berries several paces from the forest stream. They could have been poisonous, but his body didn't care: it needed food and needed it now.
Donovan gorged himself amongst the berries. Smears of purple flesh stained his lips and chin. The fruits' strong flavor tingled upon his tongue. The berries were both sweet and tangy. As he ate, the juicy seeds reminded him of the sugared tarts that his family used to occasionally bake.
He began to lose focus, and his vision began to blur. The world began to spin and a dizziness fell over him. "This must be from the berries," he thought. "Oh well, at least now I shall die; a fool no less. They will put me out of my misery; a pointless end to a pointless man's life."
He toppled over against the bark of a large tree. His armored frame slid down its woody hide to the forest floor.
Today was not the end of the man named Donovan.
He awoke with his stomach partially satisfied by the earlier meal. Still leaning against the tree, he began to survey the area around him. With the nourishment, his thoughts had become clearer and more distinct. He noted that his current location did not look like any forest he had ever come across. The trees appeared much taller, their trunks slightly twisted in a peculiar manner. The floor was covered with a mix of fallen leaves and a spongy, emerald moss. The distance ended in a subtle mist. A certain odd white glow appeared to emanate from the entire forest's canopy. It felt natural, but foreign at the same time.
The warrior's inquisitive nature had now given him a purpose: explore the strange forest.
He stood up, and searched the area for any life. He could hear leaves landing quietly upon the mossy ground, and he could see the branches above him shift in the slight breeze. He could not sense anything else.
He searched the area for any monuments to track his position. To his right lay more strange trees, and to his left a few steps away were other plant growths climbing a tall hill. He decided to trace the hill in an effort to keep his bearings.
The interior of the hill looked to be made of a tanned rock. A multitude of bushes and trees had intertwined their twisted roots within the stone cavities. Many of the roots trailed down from upon the hillside onto the ground below. Large woody bumps protruded from the mossy floor.
A calm fell over Donovan as his mind became occupied. "Where exactly am I? How long have I been walking through this forest? Where am I going?" He began to speed up his travels.
He noticed that the air felt moist and he could smell the musky scent of wet leaves. He began to pay attention to the minute sounds he created on his search. The snapping of twigs and the compression of the soft moss began to fill his ears. He felt relaxed and took a large breath. He exhaled and felt happy.
A small white cloud began to appear from within the forest's distant mist. It was floating in the air only a few feet from the ground. It slowly wandered along just above the forest floor. As it got closer to Donovan, he was able to get a better view.
Donovan had seen illustrations of the object, but like many things he was never able to see it for himself. Almost ball shaped and the size of a medium pumpkin, it was entirely translucent except for the very center. It had no eyes and it had no limbs. It was a bright white but did not radiate any light. It floated upon the air unlike anything he had ever seen. He remembered that the name that had been classified for this object was "wisp".
He had read that the "creature", if you could call them that, were essentially entities of nothing. In fact, wisps didn't seem to serve a purpose at all in the entire world. No one knew how they might reproduce, let alone where and how they might have originated.
The image of the wisp became clearer and clearer as it made its way towards Donovan. He noticed that, almost logically, it avoided trees by circling around them on its path. He was surprised by its apparent intelligence. During his studies, he had also read that wisps were perfectly harmless and had a peculiar feel.
As the wisp continued on its journey, it passed near Donovan's current position. He removed his right gauntlet and knelt down; placing his hand and arm within the wisp's path. When the wisp made contact, Donovan swore that he could feel millions of tiny whisker-like hairs. They tickled at the touch, but carried no weight. A tiny grin appeared across the young warrior's face.
The wisp did not stop because of Donovan's roadblock, and it floated towards the hill behind him. Once there, it began to trace the hill's base in a direction leading away from Donovan. Donovan stood up and followed the little creature.
The warrior seemed to tail the floating object for what seemed like hours. He didn't mind; this little being had given him something to do.
The pair, both the leader and the follower, came to what looked with a great rockslide. Ton upon ton of stone had tumbled down the hill long ago. Tree roots had already placed themselves within the tiny crevices, and thin layers of moss covered many of the rocks. Whatever had caused this rockslide had done so a millennia ago.
The wisp began to diligently search the giant mass of rubble. It hovered over a number of different spots, floating back and forth amongst the many rocks.
Donovan then saw the wisp suddenly reverse its path, and then enter the mass of stone.
Donovan was partially stunned. "Could wisps move through solid objects? I hadn't read that. Why did it choose to go into the rockslide?" His thoughts paused. "Was there a space on the other side? The wisp had evidentially planned and desired to get into that space. What might be back there?"
Curiosity continued to grow within the young man. He decided he should see for himself what might be behind the mass of rocks.
He began to pull single stones away from the hill. Most of them were small enough being similar in size to a human head. He could easily remove them with just his armored fingers.
The larger boulders, on the other hand, required a bit of ingenuity. He gathered a thin log from the forest floor and was able to pry a few of them loose. It took at least an hour or more to make any progress with the bigger stones.
Sweat had already begun to pour inside of his armor as he worked. His muscles were becoming tired and strained from exertion. He continued until a distinct open space could be seen within the forested hill. There was now a path that he could feasibly enter just as the wisp did.
Now visibly excited, he began to crawl through the fresh opening. It was difficult to squeeze through at first, as his iron armor scraped the rock around him, but he was able to slowly climb through his entrance. He only traveled for a short bit before reaching the other side of his makeshift tunnel. Once at its exit, his armored form tumbled out onto a muddy floor.
Lying upon the ground covered in a thin coat of mud, he could see a faint light in the distance. He stood up, and clanking from his shifting armored plates echoed through what sounded like a large chamber. The warrior's eyes went wide with wonder.
Continue to Chapter 10
posted by The Floating Cat @ 11:19 PM
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