Charine squinted at Isel, and he could detect the smallest trace of annoyance.
"I had just assumed you were… you know-"
"I get it."
Charine looked away and started to pout so slightly that it would have been missed if Isel had blinked, but the pain in her arm returned and immediately resulted in her face contorting once again. She took a deep breath to distract herself from the pain.
"Next question."
"Right… So is everybody born like this?"
"Yes, everyone. I know it seems unnatural, but that's a feeling you'll forget quickly. No one knows what a different kind of birth would even look like, so don't bother thinking about why the way it happens feels weird."
"I'll take your word for it. So, you got your name the same way I did?"
"And how did you get your name?"
Isel was about to respond to Charine about the origin of his name, and who named him. Except he couldn't come up with an answer. Isel knew that there was an origin, but he felt a fog cloud his mind whenever he got closer to remembering something, as if it was pushed further and further into the back of his head.
"I… I don't remember."
"Exactly, nobody does. The theory is that we all received a name the same way, as when people try to think of the origin they all fail to remember."
"Alright, but what about the second part of your name? Wasn't it Lesvin?"
"We decide surnames based off of the land you were born in."
"So I already have one?"
Charine nods.
"Your full name is Isel Comeidlan."
Isel's lips turned dowrnward slightly. Comeidlan? That didn't feel harsh enough to describe where he was. When he first saw the place, he felt an intense fear, if nothing else. Though, as for why he felt it wasn't intense enough, that was another of his instincts.
"That doesn't fit this place at all..."
"If you don't like it you can submit a request to change it once we're back in Manichae."
He may have to do that, something with the name didn't settle completely right with him.
"And what is Manichae? Just a city, right?"
"No, not quite. There aren't enough settlements in the world for it to be called a city. Manichae is the center of the world."
Charine drew a diagram into the red dust.
She drew five circles, each only slightly larger than the last from Isel's left to right. She then drew a cross in the middle of the third circle, and a line on the first and smallest circle to the left.
"This is our knowledge of the world's geography. The smallest circle represents Manichae. This is the only current land with a widely established human population. The second land is Aeshval. The third is where we are, Comeidlan. The fourth is Hourlal, and the fifth is Lesvin."
Isel didnt recognize Leal's surname, and could only assume he had changed it in the same way that Charine proposed to him as well."
"And all these lands except for Manichae is inhospitable?"
"Not as much as Comeidlan, this is the worst of them all in terms of human habitation."other than Manichae, Aeshval is the only other land that can support human habitation, though only extremely small and talented groups. Both Hourlal and Lesvin are less dangerous than Comeidlan, though more so than Aeshval."
"So why is Manichae the center of the world? On this diagram it's the furthest left."
"These lands do not exist in the same space. You can't get to one another through conventional locomotion.The reason why Manichae is called the center is because it is where the human race originated. Each time you travel to a new land, it is bigger than the one you came from. That is why Manichae is the smallest, and Lesvin is the largest."
"So there is no true center?"
"No, we have no way to currently visualize each of these lands locations in relation to each other. Think of them as seperate realms instead of lands. That concept is familiar to you, no?"
Isel did have an innate understanding of the world realm, and once again could not remember where he had ever learned such a definition. Either way, he now understood the world better.
"Yes, this makes sense."
"Any other questions?"
"Just one more, yes."
"Then ask it."
"What kind of person was Leal?"
Isel had a feeling that the person he was before was someone of importance to Charine, due to her earlier reaction to learning about Isel's birth. He didn't so much care about the man before him for the sake of knowing how he should act, but rather for the sake of understanding Charine more. She was his only accomplice at the moment, and she had been kind enough to educate him.
Charine furrowed her brow momentarily, and then she softened her expression after a few moments of deliberation.
"Nothing special as a person, really. The only thing anyone could ever say about him was that he had what it takes to be recruited on this expedition."
Isel frowned. Something seemed off about Charine's answer. For a person who seemed so distraught about Leal's death, She could only say that he was "nothing special" ?
"I'm asking about your personal thoughts on him, you travelled together for a month."
Charine sighed.
"He was somebody I looked up to. He wasn't special in relation to what people are capable of, but he was special to me because I admired him. I haven't been alive for very long, so I was able to get attached to that figure quickly, and next thing I know he had been around for half of my life."
"And how long have you been alive?"
"Two months."
Another thing that seemed unnatural to him, yet just as with the last time, he could not explain to himself why. He had started to give up trying to pursue the process of trying to remember why such statements felt so wrong to hear.
"I'm sorry for your loss, I know I can't replace him, but let me know if I can help you in any way. Although I'm still trying to understand why I am to do here myself."
"Well, don't be in any rush, Isel. I'm not a good example of how somebody should be so early into their life. The only thing you have to set your mind on for now is living through the trip."
Isel nodded. Charine was right. Above all his other innate instincts, he felt one constantly itching at the back of his mind. Begging him to not forget. This instinct was the most defined of all. A strong desire to find a goal. And at this moment, he was given one. He was going to live to see Manichae.
"And what about Leal, how old was he?"
"He died at the age of 43"
Leal had lived for 43 years, and now Isel was going to walk in his place. He looked down at his own body. Although covered by the multitude of cloths and straps, Isel still had a general idea of what his body looked like. He knew he was skinny, and his skin was fair, smooth, and colored like porcelain. Something about these features unsettled him, and he had to subdue the feeling of uncanniness once again.
"So our bodies don't change the more we live?"
"No. Feels weird doesn't it? It's a similar situation to birth. It doesn't feel natural, but there's nothing proving that something else is supposed to happen."
Isel thought for another moment on Charine's words. Truly, there was no reason for him to assume that his body would change as his time alive did. He couldn't imagine what he was even expecting to change. All he knew is that he felt that it should, instinctively. And this was the point at which he decided to completely disregard the unnatural feeling whenever it appeared.
"That's all the questions I have. Thank you Charine, really."
Charine nodded as she shifted slightly against the base of the spike.
"I'm glad you're satisfied. You'll be able to learn more back at Manichae, but you're free to talk to me whenever. We've got about another month or two of sticking close together, after all.
Isel nodded.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, right?"
Charine shook her head.
"No, this is no longer work. We're going to be journeying now, since Leal has died. In any case, since you're done with your questions, I'll need to rest for a few moments. After that, we'll immediately head to Aeshval and find a small settlement to shelter us before we're prepared to go to Manichae. Understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
With Isel's confirmation, Charine slid slightly down the base of the massive spike, and started to close her eyes.
"Wake me if you start to feel tired, or once the sky turns the same color as the dust on the ground. Unless you need to rest first?"
"No, go ahead."
"Right."
And Charine allowed herself to rest.