Chapter 36. Human Barbarians
9 0 0
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

"I don't know how your System usually works," said Ainorrh. "But it isn't like our Nexus answers all our questions. We receive some information about our skills and abilities. We know the moment when it all manifested the first time. But we don't know why and how. Our most educated shamans argued about that for centuries, not bringing any clarity to the matter."

"You are talking about the Fall, right?" asked Aira.

"The Fall?" said Ainorrh, her facial expression becoming amused for a brief moment. "Ah, yes, that's what barbarian humans call the Dawn of the Enlightenment."

She paused for a moment, her gaze becoming introspective.

"Yes…" Ainorrh said. "It was truly the fall of their civilization. But for us, it was a new beginning. Our lives were changed overnight. We became closer to nature, attuned to its forces, the elemental powers. We became who we are now. Who we were destined to become."

"So, you use elemental magic," said Aira. "We don't really have it categorized exactly the same way in my world. Does it mean that all of your skills are related to one or more elements?"

"Your powers are not defined by the elements?!" exclaimed Ainorrh. "How unusual! But how do you even touch the arcane in that case? So strange... And yes, you are right, every enlightened person has skills formed and defined by one of the four basic elemental forces: Earth, Water, Fire, or Air. The latter is the element of our city, Wentouk. All of the enlightened attuned with this place have their skills from the Air element range."

"Ah, that's why all of the names of your skills reference wind or other things related to air?" said Aira. "But why wouldn't you use any other magic? Isn't that a bit too limiting?"

"Limiting? Ha! That's an peculiar way to look at that," said Ainorrh. "But that's how the Nexus works. That's the core around which our society is built. Each city has its element. And it attracts the enlightened attuned to that specific power. We build our skills accordingly, perfect them. Higher the attunement, higher the level of each enlightened and their skills."

Ainorrh looked at her hands for a moment and then fixed her robes.

"But enough about me," she said, "Tell me more about your world, Aira. Never before had any of us met an outworlder. I can see that it has some differences compared to ours, but what else could you tell me about it?"

Aira smiled, a mix of nostalgia and determination in her eyes. "My world… It's a place of magic and mystery, of challenges and quests. And dungeons..." she said, a mix of emotions covering her as a wave. "In many ways it's very different from this world. Or, at least, from the things I've seen in the past months here. We also have a magical System. But it was introduced to us in time immemorial."

"There are no people who remember that moment?" asked Ainorrh. "How interesting! Well, there should be no human barbarians left who had witnessed the Fall. So, I probably shouldn't be that surprised."

"Not only are there no living beings who witnessed that moment," said Aira. "It is lost in the darkness of history and myths, so long ago it had happened. For all of us, it is like it had always been there. It acts a bit differently, but probably you are right, it doesn't matter that much. One thing that boggles my mind, though, is that here you have two separate communities. People who have magic and others who don't. We don't have it the same way in my world."

"Ah…" said Ainorrh, "You mean the barbarians. But had you ever considered that it may have been the same in your world and all non-magic people had just died out?"

"Hm... No, that had never occurred to me," asked Aira. "But why do you always call them that?"

"What? Who? Barbarians? But how should I call them other than that?" said Ainorrh incredulously. "That's what they are. They don't have a connection with the Nexus. They don't progress. They only use what the remnants of their old civilization can provide them. And when the great change happened their first impulse was to destroy what they couldn't understand. To destroy us… That's what barbarians do."

Ainorrh looked at Lila and then returned her gaze to Aira. "I see that your… friend… may be different," she said. "I guess there may be at least some humans who aren't natural born destroyers of everything alive. But I have my reports and know at least about some of your encounters with other humans. Their attitude haven't changed over the past centuries. Even though we don't usually fight with them as much as we had to in the beginning. But, please, let's return to your world. I'm curious to learn more."

For a moment, Aira felt like she was talking to a trader. Exchanging information bit by bit. She wasn't surprised by Ainorrh's curiosity. But for every piece of knowledge about the enlightened community or the history of this world, she had to give away something from her past.

However, it's not like you meet a person from a different world every day. She could understand Ainorrh's curiosity. Aira herself had never met anyone like that before she became an outworlder. Luckily, it wasn't like sharing this information was a security risk for Aira. It wasn't like Airnorrh could invade her world and wreak havoc there. Even if she'd find a way to get there, Aira would also be happy to learn that method. And then, Ainorrh's level wasn't high enough for her to be a real threat.

The discussion continued for a while. Aira transferred it in portions to Lila and returned some of her human friend's comments back to Ainorrh. Every time she gave something to the enlightened shaman, she got something back. Adding more and more pieces to the puzzle of this world.

"My world is also a place where I belong, and I'm trying to find a way back," Aira finally said. "Perhaps understanding your world better will help me on that quest."

"Do you know how you got here?" Ainorrh asked.

"Not a clue," answered Aira. "But hope to find an answer to this question as well. Maybe it will help me find my way back. But I'd pay dear for that kind of information. Something had brought me here. Maybe there is a reason for that. Maybe it was just a fluke of the System."

"Fluke of the System," said Ainorrh. "That's an interesting way to put it. Did you ever know about anything like that happening?"

"You mean outworlders coming to my world?" asked Aira. "No, I don't think so. I would remember if I read anything about that. And it would have been so helpful to have any information about traveling between the worlds before doing that yourself, right?"

Aira paused once again to retell their discussion to Lila.

"Do you think it's wise to tell Lila everything about your skills and our magic?" asked Ainorrh, correctly interpreting the pause. "Not that she can use it. But she could pass it to the wrong people."

"She's my partner," said Aira. "She's been nothing but helpful in most dire situations. I trust her completely. If you excuse my straightforwardness, I trust her much more than I trust you."

"Well, that's only reasonable, we just met," said Ainorrh. "I will trust your judgment concerning Lila. At least for now. It's not like we can make her forget that magic exists after she saw what you can do."

After giving that brief report to Lila, Aira returned her attention to Ainorrh.

"So, we came here for a reason," she said. "I have a strong feeling that your city is important for my quest. I can't be absolutely sure about that. But something pulled me here. And your… spy… his directions affected our decision to come here only in part. We planned to make contact with your people anyway."

"His decision to lead both of you here has stirred a bit of controversy in Wentouk, I wouldn't deny that," said Ainorrh. "It's not like we have human guests here very often. You could probably guess that because of their barbarian attitude toward us, we prefer to keep our distance. But I'm glad that fate brought you to me."

"We are a package," said Aira. "If she's not welcome here, I'd have to leave too."

"No, no, no, don't worry," said Ainorrh, rising and starting to pace. "Let me officially extend an invitation to stay here with us. To both of you. We have so many things to discuss and learn from each other."

Aira looked at Lila and explained Ainorrh's offer.

"Thank you for that invitation. We'd be happy to stay here for a while," Aira said in a moment. "At least until we have a better understanding of our next destination."

Aira's radio chose precisely that moment to speak out:

 

--- Completed Quests ---
1. Make contact with the undead (Reward: 100,000 XP)
2. Defend the base (Reward: 300,000 XP, Skill)
3. Find a better way to communicate with humans (Reward: 100,000 XP)
[...]

 

Ainorrh was a bit spooked by the unexpected sound. "What is it?" she asked.

"That's one of the ways the System communicates with me in this world," answered Aira, slightly tapping on the radio. "I can't say it's the best way. I hate to rely on artifacts. But it is what it is..."

"As I mentioned before," said Ainorrh. "We have a lot to discuss and learn from each other. The way the Nexus, or the System, as you call it, interacts with you may teach us a lot about our own abilities and powers. So, what did it say?"

"It just confirmed that I made the right decision by coming here," said Aira. "I'm on the right path."

"How peculiar..." said Ainorrh, "So, Nexus guides you and gives you directions? Not only by providing you with skills but also in some other ways? I hope you tell me more about that when we meet next time. But now, I have to attend to some other things. I still have other duties and responsibilities."

Ainorrh gestured to a couple of enlightened who were waiting nearby. "These two are my assistants," she said. "They will guide you to the house that was assigned to you. You are free to walk around. You'll be safe here. But it seems that communication may be an issue."

Ainorrh paused, looking first at Aira and then at Lila. "For both of you, obviously," she said, pointedly. "So, maybe, wait for me to come in the morning."

Carried away by their talk, Aira didn't even notice the time passing. The shadows were getting longer, and the day was waning. And even if Aira didn't have to rest, Lila needed to recuperate and get some sleep after a long day of walking and watching the silent conversations of strange people around her.

After leaving the orchard, Aira and Lila were led to a small picturesque quarter of trees that, at closer examination, appeared to be houses built or probably even grown to have their shapes. This section of the city was set aside from other areas of the enlightened settlement. Was it a compound for guests of this settlement? Without any knowledge of the traditions of the locals, it was hard to guess the function. But that was what its function had to be for Aira and Lila. And all the details could be figured out later.

For now, what mattered was that they were assigned one of these houses that allowed them at least a bit of privacy. Like the dwellings next to it, the structure looked like it was grown and shaped by magic. Neither Lila nor Aira could see any signs that ordinary tools were used to shape it. As soon as they entered, it became apparent that not only the house itself but also everything in it seemed to be formed with the same approach, with lots of curves and a lack of straight angles.

Ainorrh was right, of course, there was no way to communicate with the guides other than by using gestures. And even that was a very limited tool.

There still remained an option of upgrading Aira's skill to get more party invitations. But then, offering to Ainorrh to join seemed like a necessity. And it was already a security risk to have one enlightened person browsing through Aira's stats. Adding more unknown people to the party was a dubious idea at best. At least for now.

So, they gestured their appreciation to the guides and were promptly left alone.

"By the roots, they’ve got a nook for a human like me over here," said Lila. "If they’re like you, they’d sooner shadowfoot it all night than bother with beds, wouldn’t they?"

"That's a good point," said Aira. "But we don't know enough about them yet. Maybe they still like to spend their nights resting? This looks like a guest area of their city. Maybe there are different people among the enlightened who need different care and rest routines? Not to rub it in, but your people aren't in a hurry to learn more about the traditions of the undead."

Aira approached one of the beds that, like everything in this house, looked like it was grown from the same stuff the house itself was made of. She touched it, focusing on the arcane energies.

"It feels alive," she transmitted to Lila. "It is as if not only this treehouse is still a live tree, but also everything inside is its integral living part."

"Think you could draw from this place," said Lila. "Like you did with the trees in the forest?"

"I can," Aira answered. "But I don't want to endanger our new relationship with the people of this city. I'm not sure if that's something we can do without asking. I'll have to talk to Ainorrh about it."

She looked around, her gaze becoming distant. And Lila recognized that Aira was probing around with her magical senses.

"By the frost on the pine, what else is it telling you?" asked Lila.

"This area is more intense than any forest I scanned before," said Aira. "Even more than that. But I can't say what it is yet. It is so powerful that it's hard for me to distinguish separate signatures. I'll probably have to focus and meditate. Teach myself to fine-tune my senses."

Aira looked at Lila once again, smiling.

"Anyway, it looks like we are safe for now," she said. "It seems that our worst fears did not come true. But we found even more mysteries to solve. In any case, you definitely have to rest after this long day. And I will consolidate my new experiences in meditation. See you in the morning! Maybe tomorrow we'll find a library where you can read some old books or something."

Lila smiled dreamily and then yawned. Only moments later, she closed her mouth with her hand as if only then realizing what she was doing.

"Sorry, you are right," she said. "I was trying so hard to catch even a sliver of what you two were discussing, but it was like chasing shadows. It wore me out just sitting there, watching you both go back and forth silently, trying to read your faces. And yet, it’s got me rattled like a loose gear. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight. There’s so much tangled up in my mind to sort through. Feels like my whole world’s been turned upside down again!"

"I get that," said Aira, hugging Lila. "But you'll need all the energy you can get. Try to find at least some rest. And I'll try to figure out at least some things through my meditation."

0