HBA – Chapter 20 – Arc 2 – I seriously hate this forest?
46 1 4
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

“Change is invisible to the naked eye.”

 

“Change is invisible because it transpires in every moment you experience.”

 

“How do you understand what Change does to something or someone?”

 

“For something, it is easy. You study what you see. You extrapolate what you saw. Then you condense what you extrapolated at the end and imagine what comes next.”

 

“For someone, you do the same. Only you need to add in extra Change, as Life is the epitome of Change.”

 

“Therefore, Life stems from Chaos, and not Order.”

#3 Quote - Basics Shamanism of Crafts and Rituals

 

*

 

Personally Research Journal of Pa’Li - The Wise of the Twin Suns

Entry #1 

Never thought I would ever return to this place willingly, and I was right. 

 

What I was not right about was under what circumstances it would happen. 

 

After that incident a millennia ago, my younger brother and I swore we would not allow a similar situation to happen. 

 

Compared to how similar we are as twins, we differed quite a lot. It showed itself in how we pursued our goals. 

 

When we were younglings opting to leave the Academy, while we stood out, we were nothing special, but now we are unique. 

 

Our promise to not have the Pride of the Li’On be stolen, by our hands, again was what made us unique.

 

My younger brother distanced himself from the fine control brought by Creation and embraced Destruction. Destruction suited him and his emotional self, but Destruction without any control would only kill him. 

 

Through Forging himself, he achieved Tempered Destruction and entered the elite of our society by pure combat ability. 

 

None would deny him the place, and none dared to stop his rise, at least officially.

 

Unlike my younger brother, I am far more collected. So I sought to achieve Creation through Forging, and while I may be a step behind my brother, all acknowledged that my path was more challenging. 

 

Not only does Creation require a large amount of learning and self-discipline, but it also requires a lot of practice in Forging with the Golden Flame. And if there is one thing everybody agreed on, it is that this path required a lot of materials to reach the peak, and materials were always my bottleneck. 

 

This Mission from the Head Oracle is the perfect little distraction to finalize everything learned in the last millennia and gain resources while relaxing.

 

As the saying goes, I killed two birds with one swing of my claw.

 

*

 

Entry #3

 

I have found the first of the four specimens of the White Streak Fury.

 

As the Head Oracle explained, this specimen is indeed larger than the one my brother and I met a millennia ago.

 

It also bore fewer scars but that probably has to do with being female, and I doubt they are as aggressive as the males. 

 

With that written, I am beginning my observations.

 

*

 

Entry #5

 

Staying hidden and observing this Sapient specimen was easy. 

 

I just had to erase enough of my presence, and the creature barely recognized I was observing it. Although, despite stalking and monitoring it for a few days, I have yet to see this female use her flame on any carcasses, as the Head Oracle described it.

 

Still, just feeling the Flame manifest on its body did spark my curiosity.

 

Again, I must agree with the Head Oracle, despite my feelings regarding Oracles, that he was right. The White Flame, while probably originating from us, is a different kind of Flame. 

 

It barely radiates Destruction in its current form. 

 

Will need more observations to confirm it.

 

*

 

Entry #7

 

I've confirmed that the White Flame has no innate Destruction, as far as I have observed so far. 

 

At least, it does not if it's not regarding dead creatures. Still not confirmed on that part. It seems this female specimen has not correlated the Flame with the possibility.

 

Will have to see if it is possible to help it realize the said fact, but back to the White Flame in question.

 

Despite not using it on anything dead, this female has learned to project the White Flame outside its bodily manifestation.  

 

It is via said actions I learned that the White Flame has no innate Destruction. 

 

For the simple reason that whatever it engulfed did not turn it into ashes.

 

It mattered not if it was stones, grass, bushes, or trees. 

 

My current guess is that if it's not dead in some way, it just will not burn it.

 

*

 

Entry #9

 

Seeing that I was not getting to the main point of this observational mission, I decided to experiment on my own.

 

During one of its Flame Projection exercises, as I have begun to call them, I waited long enough for the female to be distracted when I manifested a tad bit of the Golden Flame and sent it forth to interact with the White Flame.

 

The result was a surprise, I must say.

 

The White Flame on one of the bushes absorbed the tiny bit of Golden Flame, and it was as if it gained a good boost in strength. 

 

It grew in both size and breadth, yet, it still did not damage the surroundings.

 

PS; Strangely, the White Streak Fury has attained a taste for the Flame in question. It kept wanting to eat the White Flame manifested as a result of the experiment.

 

*

 

Entry #11

 

After a few experiments regarding the amount of Golden Flame needed to overpower the White Flame, I found that the results were wanting.

 

While I could overpower the White Flame with the sheer quantity of generated Flame, it was the control afforded to me over a long time of practice that eased the case for me

 

However, anything less than overwhelming the Flame will feed it instead.

 

PS; I wonder if the whole species likes to eat the Flame as well. I wonder if there are benefits to doing it?

 

*

 

Entry #13

 

It has finally happened. 

 

The female White Streak Fury has finally lit a carcass aflame. 

 

It had taken a skillful prodding of my Flame by having it mimic the color of the White Flame.

 

Interestingly I couldn't mimic it fully, no matter how I tried. However, it was enough to trick the simple mind of this female creature. After all, while it may have gained Sapience, it has no formal teachings, and neither is there anybody to teach it.

 

The point is that I have confirmed the Head Oracles observation. 

 

The White Flame does have an invigorating effect on the vegetation.

 

PS; It seems that there are benefits to eating the Whtie Flame, at least if the grunts of satisfaction are anything to go by. At least, if its body language is any indication, as I am 100% sure, I can't speak a nonexistent language, and neither does this creature know about Divine Speech.

 

*

 

Entry #17

 

Many observations have basically confirmed it. 

 

The Invigorating feeling is produced after a dead body got consumed by the White Flame.

 

My current theory goes that the White Flame releases the lingering Life Energy inside the dead body. The released Life Energy then infuses into the White Flame. Then the Flame becomes the medium that transfers said energy to the vegetation around it.

 

All this has made me curious about some things.

 

  1. Is the amount of Life Energy released proportional to the creature and its stage of Ascension?
  2. If so, what would happen if the dead body came from a Sapient creature? And What would happen to one that has achieved the humanoid stage?
  3. Lastly, is it possible for other creatures to be infused with those White Flames? And what would happen if it?

 

With those three questions as the core, I will begin my first experiment to see if other creatures could be infused with the White Flame.

 

*

 

Entry #20

 

The first experiment was neither a success nor a failure.

 

I have failed to infuse the Flame into other creatures, as I simply have no way to control it. 

 

Any of my attempts at doing it exacerbated a conflagration. However, I did confirm that the bodies of bigger creatures produce bigger and longer-lasting flames. 

 

At the same time, the reinvigorating effect was stronger as well.

 

Back to the infusion problem. Multiple times, I have tried the experiment by placing a smaller creature beside the White Flame. It simply was an ineffective method, as nothing happened.

 

However, I did confirm that the White Flame possessed no damage to living creatures even when they come into contact with it. At most, they acknowledged it being there before leaving.

 

*

 

Entry #25

 

After a few more tests in that direction, I came to the conclusion that creatures without Sapience simply can not make use of the infused White Flame. However, I posit that if the Flame was big enough, it could infuse into a lifeform, just as it happens with vegetation.

 

It remains to be witnessed, but it should be possible theoretically. 

 

After figuring that out, it was time to scale up my experiment. 

 

However, there is a problem with my current location.

 

The Wild Zone is a Mana Neutral Area of the Central Continent. With that being the case, it is a small miracle that anything gained Sapience on its own in this place.

 

The circumstance of requiring Sapient creatures for the further experiment will have me travel to the Southern Forest. 

 

Even if I never visited the place, I hate the place. Not only is it full of moisture brought in from the Southern Sea, but it is also full of poisonous creatures. 

 

While the poison could do little to me, I don't want to run into somebody from the To’Ad Pantheon. 

 

The specialty poisons they mix are a danger to me, even if I use the Golden Flame to purge it from my body. If hit with too many of their darts, I will have to run away and return to the Li’On Domain to heal adequately.

 

Yet, that is the closest destination. Two are on the other side of the Li’On Domain, making it a roundabout trip if nothing else. The final one is somewhere southeast of the Southern Forest in the grasslands of the Buff’Alo Pantheon.

 

Will debate it a few more times before making the final decision.

 

*

 

Entry #26

 

After going over everything that happened so far, a trip south became the result. 

 

However, before leaving, I had one experiment left to conduct.

 

How will the White Streak Fury React to my Golden Flame?

 

I was hesitant at first, but it was an experiment worth having.

 

*

 

Entry #27

 

Regarding the experiment in the last entry, I must say that I am glad that I did it.

 

Choosing a neutral ground without anything nearby to cause a conflagration, I waited for the female White Streak Fury. 

 

Once it was close, I summed a fist-sized amount of Golden Flame and had it hover over the ground slightly. The heat it produced was without any of my input, yet it still began to char the earth below it in its natural state.

 

That aside, its golden shine did attract the female. At first, this White Streak Fury was curious about it. It approached, but the heat kept it at bay for a bit. Still, as it circled it, it tried to take a bite, only to yelp away as it realized that fire wasn't just beneficial as it imagined.

 

At that moment, I have to admit, I felt somewhat relieved it could not eat my Golden Flame, but that only lasted before it spewed a bit of White Flame upon mine.

 

It surprised me that it would behave like that. I imagined it would just ignore it and move on.

 

At first, nothing happened as my control won over the engulfing effect of the White Flame, but the White Streak Fury did not give up. It kept on spewing out more Flames. 

 

My control helped, and soon it became a face-off of quality vs quantity.

 

The result was not to my liking, as it took a lot of control to keep my Golden Flame in check after a certain point. By my best guess, it would take at the very least, a graduate from the Academy to not lose one's Flame inside it.

 

All that aside, I kept the experiment going until the female specimen got tired and just gave up.

 

PS; It took a while for it to give up. 

 

PSS; I wonder how my younger brother's Flame would fare against it. Would it engulf his Flame as it did mine, or would his Destruction choke the White Flame instead?

 

*

 

Entry #29

 

During my journey to the Southern Forest, I once more recognized the feeling of somebody scrying me. 

 

I know it can only be the Head Oracle. Still, I wonder what his thoughts are regarding how I was undergoing this Mission of his. 

 

Did he like the fact I was wasting time by going slow as I was?

 

I hoped he did not. Not only did he hide the fact that I would have to visit all these distant locations, but he also made no mention that I would have to visit the territories of the other Pantheons.

 

I could only pat myself on the back by demanding a Time based contributory score. The longer I kept doing this, the more resources he would have to ferret out to me.

 

If he complained, I would have the detailed observations as an excuse. And the best part was that I had my younger brother spread around that I was doing a favor for the Oracle.

 

There is no way I am not getting those resources.

 

*

 

Entry #31

 

I have arrived in the Southern Forest.

 

It is immense, and I already hate it.

 

It will take me forever to find the second specimen in there, all while avoiding everything else.

 

*

 

Entry #33

 

Sigh, I was right. It will take me forever to find the creature inside the forest.

 

During the previous few days of fruitless searching, I came to the conclusion that I would need to seek help.

 

It would come at a price, but from the looks of things, I have no other choice.

 

Unless, of course, I want to spend years inside this damned forest.

 

*

 

Entry #35

 

Managed to find somebody from the To’Ad Pantheon. 

 

It was my first time seeing them, but the characterizations I had of them were consistent. 

 

In their humanoid forms, they were smaller than me, barely reaching adult Li’On female in size. At the same time, they wore little. 

 

Only pieces of leather hid the gender characteristics. 

 

Aside from the practical nakedness, which I cared little for, their square irises and the varying colorizations of hair and skin were the greatest indicators of their Identity.

 

After a small souffle between us, and some more staring at each other, I explained my reason for intruding upon their territory. 

 

At the same time, I proposed to them a Deal. 

 

The spirit of the agreement was they would help me find the creature, even help me research it further, for a share of everything I found out so far, and what I would in the future.

 

Apparently, they weren't fans of the White Streak Fury species as a whole, as it was highly resistant to their poisons and toxins. 

 

That was an interesting fact I overlooked. I thought that had to do with the achievement of Sapience, and not being like that initially. 

 

Anyway, a deal was struck. Tomorrow they will show me where the creature is.

 

*

 

Entry #37

 

The To’Ad Pantheon was a minor Pantheon, at least when compared to the Li’On’s.

 

They neither had the military strength we possessed nor the intellectual heritage we did. 

 

But I have to admit that their knowledge and skills regarding the Southern Forest and its platitude of poisonous creatures and vegetation were incredible.

 

Especially, regarding poisons and toxins. It's definitely superior to ours, as we barely use those.

 

However, when your Special Ability is related to the release and extraction of poisonous and toxic substances, I guess that is natural. 

 

However, I do have this suspicion that their medical knowledge regarding plants is quite good too. It had to be if you lived in a place like the Southern Forest.

 

It is those specialties and the protection of the forest that kept them from being ruled by us. As a downside, it also kept them from expanding outside the forest.

 

*

 

Entry #38

 

After passing numerous poisonous creatures of all sizes, some even rivaling my Primeval Form, although barely in one category.

 

Either way, today, we found the bastard that deluded me so far.

 

It was bigger than I expected, but when I found out it was male, that was par for the course.

 

It was heavily scarred, and from its demeanor, I did not doubt that it was a fierce creature. 

 

It had to be if it was to survive in a forest infested with insectile creatures of all kinds.

 

After some small talk with two of my guides, it was decided that we would first observe it for a while before beginning the next stage of my experiments.

 

PS; I, seriously, hate this forest. Can't wait to leave it and have a proper meat-based meal. Eating insects, even if huge, does not suit my advanced pallet.

4