Koakiran spent the long walk down the trail thinking of how to avoid some of the Aeolon people. He tripped as he walked, his eyes focused on the glowing screen in front of him.
Wayfarer
Koakiran
Class: Wanderer
Level 16: 0.00%
HP: 180
MP: 130
SP: 155
STR: 10
DEX: 10
END: 10
VIT: 10
WIS: 30
INT: 30
CHA: 10
LUC: 10
POINTS: 20
"Look where you walk." He heard Hota say. His father was a few paces ahead of the boy, who had slowed down.
I thought my level was higher. I thought I had more points, too. What happened? Was it the vision I saw? The boy racked his mind, looking for a way to escape his predicament, but had grown distracted. He could see his list of abilities, particularly an instant translation ability, but some were restricted. It was the translation ability that had been the most useful so far, allowing him to easily communicate with people with different languages and serve as a general translator between these groups. Yet Koakiran did his best to avoid the Aeolon groups. He needed to avoid two in particular-
"Help the two young ones with translating again today." Hota, as if knowing he was thinking of avoiding them, interrupted the boy's thoughts. Koakiran groaned but said nothing as the circle of tarps came into view.
It had grown considerably since the last time he had seen it. The clearing had grown with a few trees cut down by Saigan woodcutters, which were then turned into benches around a pit for fire. What used to be a few tarps was now a circle of twelve, and all three of the groups had some stake in what was being sold, usually tools and information due to necessity and shared growth, but anyone could also come to sell trinkets, and even food. Koakiran had tried some Saigon foods, particularly seafood prepared in a certain way. In fact, he was looking for that when someone called his name.
"Kiran! I brought more books for us!" Lyra called to him from one of the wagons, smiling. Next to her was Proclus, who only nodded to him before getting back to his task, unloading a pack from the wagon. Koakiran looked to Hota, who nodded to him. The boy walked over to the wagon, helping them with the large pack. It was a bundle of different scrolls and tomes.
They found a secluded enough spot within eyesight of the clearing to sit down and pry open some of the books. Saigan scrolls and Aeolon tomes that Koakiran helped begin to translate. He found it strange that such stories were converted into such a lifeless form, and a discussion grew from that. Lyra and Proclus, as well as a sibling pair, had taught him rudimentary forms of reading and writing, and the boy felt that the stories each scroll or tome told lacked the presence. Now the three of them sat there, with Proclus silently observing their surroundings.
"It's so strange," Koakiran murmured as his eyes scanned the texts, a story. "I'm used to hearing stories through a voice."
"Your family doesn't write things down, right?" Lyra leaned in from her perch atop a fallen log. "I mean, how can you tell what's right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how is it verified? When we write down information its artefact, proven and tested. When we write down stories, we keep faithful to the original and the time it was written in."
"Well, I guess we verify through example." Koakiran looked up in thought. "And our stories don't stagnate the same way; they are performed, relived."
"Well, I think I would trust a written source over just being told something. What do you think?" She turned to Proclus, who looked at her and shrugged.
"Couldn't say. The Commander knows better than us, and she wrote practically every document we're learning. It's the right way." His eyes continued to scan.
"What are you looking for?" Lyra asked.
"Goldry. I borrowed some of his tools."
"… Did you give them back?"
"They broke." Though he remained expressionless Lyra's eyes widened.
"Oh you're in for it." Lyra laughed.
"I can show you where to hide for a bit." Koakiran offered. Proclus looked down at the younger boy, smirking.
"I might take you up on that."
"In return you can show me how to use those spears. You're pretty good with that."
Proclus blinked at him. He had never demonstrated his use of the weapon tot he boy. "How would you know that?"
Koakiran looked as if he were about to say something, then paused, mind racing.
"You… I saw you practice. Earlier in the year at your camp." He lied.
"Really? Did you see me practice with my bow?" Lyra leaned forward.
"Not as much. Plus, I was more focused on helping with the trading. You guys should really learn how to find food better."
Proclus seemed about to retort, but paused as his eyes lit up.
"Oh! I nearly forgot, I overheard the Commander talk about finding another of those stone monsters."
Both Lyra and Koakiran froze and turned their attention fully to him. "Where?" Lyra asked. Both were hesitant, but for different reasons. Lyra recalled her experience before she had met Koakiran, of falling down, of the object that weighed heavily in her pocket, and the news of her home's fate. She knew no one would believe her. It was up to her, and her alone.
That is, until she met Koa. It was then that the device, now having changed to a thin cylinder, like a handle for a tool, had whispered to her.
Keep an eye on this one.
Koakiran, on the other hand, could not place his apprehension, yet it gnawed at him voraciously.
"A day's travel. I copied it into my own map. What do you guys say? Care for another expedition?"
"Proclus…" Lyra said hesitantly.
"Let's do it." Lyra snapped her head to the pale-haired boy. He looked to her, then back to Proclus. The older boy eyed Koakiran hesitantly.
"Are you sure you have the stones?" He teased.
"I don't. But - oh, stones, very clever - something tells me this is important, and I want to see for myself."
Proclus stared, surprised at the boy's determination, before nodding.
"I think Hota is staying nearby for tonight. We can head out in the morning. Lyra and I can pack some supplies."
"Wait, shouldn't we at least think a little more about this?"
"Why? You already dealt with one. We need to know whether this one is a threat like the other one."
Lyra glared at him, her mind mulling things over. Koakiran wasn't someone to back out easily.
".... Ugh, fine. Let's do it."
They made a few more plans, from where to get the rations to the fastest way there. Koakiran had looked at a map and planned out an easy enough route for the trio, while Lyra and Proclus worried about food and equipment. In the end, they had to rush to translate a few more of the texts, and Koakiran was left to his own devices to write down the translations. In the end, he managed to finish as Hota had set up a tent for the two of them. When Hota eventually fell asleep, Koakiran slinked off, making his way to a nearby stream.
The moons illuminated the forest brightly enough, and Koakiran saw the light through the branches and needle-like leaves above him. Despite the dark night that usually caused him to be on alert, the sensations around him were enough of a distraction. Though the young boy never realized it, his past experiences had left an impact, despite his inability to recall much.
The moon was high in the sky, its otherworldly glow shining down and through the foliage. Patches of light formed strange patterns through the forest floor. Each step crunched softly beneath him. The air was cool and damp, and he breathed in the smell of his surroundings. The crisp, refreshing scent of the trees mingled with the earthy odor of the soil beneath him. The trees around him were tall: Gigantea and Ashen. Every so often, he would feel a cool breeze stirring around him, causing the leaves to rustle and the branches of trees to creak and groan, like the snoring of giant creatures amidst the chirping of insects and calling of birds. Somewhere to his left, an animal called out, a piercing hoot that the boy recognized. A tytostrix, an animal his grandmother, Elder Lisi, favored. A vulpin jumped from a nearby bush, startling the boy as it chased some small critter, revealed only by a flash of red fur. Luminant bugs floated around sparsely, dancing their lights in strange trails. Around him, life was loud, fluttering wings, chirps, and hoots.
To walk through this place, the forest aware of his presence, made Koakiran feel as if he was inside a single, massive creature, something ancient.
As Koakiran made his way down to a river, the roar of the water drowned out the other sounds around him. He sat cross-legged on the bank, his eyes moving over to a screen that appeared at his whim.
Meditation (Active) Lvl 20: 82.22%
With focus comes results. When meeting at the crossroads, with no idea of direction, simply pause to reflect, to contemplate. Reach out with your soul to the world around you, and once communed, thrive. With enough meditation, even the faintest of lights will become a beacon.
HP regen increases by 59% while meditating.
MP regen increases by 59% while meditating.
SP regen increases by 59% while meditating.
Awakening can be achieved through meditation.
Koakiran concentrated, feeling a familiar pull. He would often slip away during the nighttime to practice his abilities, or at least the ones that others didn't know about.
When he felt ready, he waded into the water, holding out a hand, palm forward. It was intrinsic to him, the tug at his core as a young, small sphere of water coalesced into his hand, floating just in front of it. As his hand moved, so too did the orb of water, as if locked to the palm of his hand.
Coalesce (Active) Lvl 9: 27.32%
The basics. Gather ambient energy, elements, or your own Aura into a single focal point.
Aura Coalescing is temporarily restricted.
1kg = 22 mp
It had originally started with thirty of the points, and the size hadn't changed. Koakiran learned that the amount was just a basis, that he could choose smaller or larger amounts of water. He wasn't too sure what the rest of it meant, but he was able to practice it relatively easily. It came easily to him, and he was able to call dirt, water, even a small pocket of stirring air. He had yet to try other things, and he couldn't understand what Aura was.
Koakiran released the water, letting it fall before Coalescing more of it. It took longer, the span of a few seconds, until it was now the size of his head. He released it again. While he never saw where it came from, he knew he wasn't making it out of thin air. He brought up another one, staring at his reflection through it. He noticed his eyes were glowing, a common occurrence when he practiced anything that required mp.
His physical appearance was one of many large differences between himself and his family. Pale hair, pale skin, even his eyes, the color of the ocean water, a blue that turned to green as it reached his pupils. His grandfather pointed out to him that it didn't matter.
"Look at your eyes, then to mine." He had said as he kneeled down next to Koakiran, a bowl of water in front of them. "You have our spark. You look different, but you still carry that with you."
The boy smiled at the memory. Any recollection before them, before having met his grandfather, who had caught him stealing, was a blur. So, when Proclus had brought up a stone construct being found, something in Koakiran bubbled up. A loose memory, a desire to find some place, and a fear of having found it. Dreams of being told to go.
Whatever the case, he needed to see it for himself. He needed to face the fears at the back of his mind.