Chapter 8: Departure and Bonding
Back at the village, a few hours after the party had departed, there was another commotion in front of the village chief's house. All the villagers were gathered around a middle-aged man, who was shouting in both glee and unease.
"Everything I said is true! I had to go to the nearby Green Toad Village to buy some special medicine for my ailing mother, and the road passes by Shadefall Mountain. As I said, there was smoke rising from the opposite side of the mountain, too much to be a mere campfire, so I made the trek around the base to see what was going on. The entire mountaintop was ablaze! This can only mean the bandits living there have been wiped out! Maybe they finally offended a power they could not afford to offend, and they retaliated!"
"Wait, is the fire still spreading down the mountain? If the forests in the valley catch on fire, that could spread all the way here! It has been quite dry since the summer, so a wildfire will move very quickly!" Another villager yelled out in panic.
"I was thinking that at the time too, but the blaze seems to be isolated to the mountain, specifically near the top where the bandits were said to have settled," replied the middle-aged man.
"Phew, thank the heavens for that. Battling a wildfire is even more dangerous and frightening than fighting off bandits. Good riddance to the bandits, finally."
"Hey Austin, so did you end up going to the Green Toad Village and back? It hasn't been that long since you left in the morning," asked another villager.
"No, I was too busy investigating the situation and ran straight back here to report to the chief… Wait! The medicine! My mother is still waiting for me to heal her ailment!" The middle-aged man suddenly remembered why he had left to go to the Green Toad Village in the first place and sprinted off down the road.
Meanwhile, the village chief was silently contemplating the situation. Being more astute than the other villagers, he had his own speculations that this was no mere coincidence. The bandits were eradicated exactly on the night before the boys departed? Is this a coincidence? If so, there is no issue, but… If not… That boy, how did he accomplish it? Did he gain the assistance of that old man wielding strange powers? If he did this… If he is capable of this much destruction at such an early age… I can only pray he keeps his heart and does not fall into depravity.
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The group of four traveled quietly for the whole day before finally stopping to make camp. After settling down, Jon finally spoke out as they were eating their dinner. "Sir Feylis, could you tell us more about cultivation and the tower? What is your cultivation? How strong is the tower?"
"Now that we are all fellow travelers, you boys can just call me Grandpa or Grandpa Feylis. The cultivation path is separated into several major realms. They are as follows: Node Awakening, Channel Weaving, Circuit Completion, and Inner Fortress. There are rumors of further realms, but that is not something someone of my standing can know."
Jon nodded in understanding before asking, "What's special about these realms? Do they make you more powerful?"
"The higher the realm, the stronger you are. You have more power dwelling inside you, and you gain access to much stronger spells. Also, as you climb to a higher realm, your lifespan will increase accordingly." Feylis explained with a genial smile.
"Oh wow! So you can live forever if you get strong enough?" asked Jon in amazement.
"Well, no. You can't live forever, but you will be able to live hundreds or thousands of years. Also, the cultivators of these realms are called by a title: Initiate, Disciple, Adept, and Warden, respectively, so you should call them as such. These major realms are further separated into the early, mid and late stages. These realms and titles are consistent with both the arcane and auric paths. "
Damon sat alongside the others quietly, not contributing to the conversation but listening carefully. I see… So the two other paths share the same cultivation realms as the mind path. Grandpa Feylis is very well-read to be able to explain everything so concisely. This must be the reason behind Raina growing to be so intelligent and mature for her age. He thought.
Feylis continued, "I am an Initiate at the late stage of Node Awakening. I had to struggle through my younger years as an independent cultivator and did not have the resources to focus solely on cultivation during my prime, causing me to stagnate at only this level. You three children will be able to focus on cultivation and advance rapidly if you are able to join the tower, so you don't have to worry about becoming like this old man."
Feylis was not too strong in terms of his cultivation, but his worldly knowledge was very high. He was over 80 years old and was quite erudite due to his propensity to pore over every piece of written text he came across, be it a journal, travel log, diary, chronicle, tome, or ledger.
"To explain the strength of the tower, I will first need to explain the general geographical and political structure of the continent we reside in…"
As Feylis continued explaining, Damon's gaze became drawn to the campfire burning in front of him. The flickering flames grew larger and larger until they covered his entire vision. His throat became dry as he smelled the smoke… The scent of smoke mixed with the pungent odor of burning flesh he would be able to remember for the rest of his life. His breathing quickened slightly, and the pallor came back to his face. He couldn't forget the memories; they were still vivid as though they were still happening before his very eyes. As he started to sweat profusely, Feylis stopped talking. It appeared he had finished his explanation.
"Wow, there are so many details to learn about cultivation. I am not sure if I can remember all of that…" Jon said.
"Do not fret, as this is all just common knowledge you will come to know from being involved in the cultivation world. It is not something you must stress over," replied Feylis.
"Raina, what about you? Have you already reached Node Awakening?" asked Jon.
"Not quite… I can feel arcane energy and draw some of it into my body, but there is not enough to awaken the node. I can feel that it is very close, but it still eludes me," sighed Raina.
"Damon, aren't you curious about the cultivation world?" Raina drew closer to Damon to ask. "If so, you should ask Grandpa. There is almost nothing that he doesn't know!" On the side, Jon's face distorted for a second before returning to normal.
When Raina got closer to Damon, she discovered his pale complexion and saw the sweat running down his neck.
"Damon, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" Raina asked in genuine concern.
"Oh… Yeah, I'm okay. I should be completely fine after a good night's rest. I think I'm just homesick since this has been the first time I've left the village," Damon snapped out of his trance and replied softly.
"Ah… Okay. Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'd be happy to." Raina's face was still filled with concern, but she left Damon alone and returned to Feylis and Jon's side.
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Huff… Huff… Huff… Damon abruptly opened his eyes and gasped for breath. He was soaked in cold sweat from head to toe. His body was trembling, and he felt sick. He had been trapped in a nightmare. In this nightmare, he could see the bandits surrounding him with half-melted faces and bodies, asking him why he killed them. The leader was also there, holding his own severed head, the face distorted by hatred. Even the very first bandit, with his mutilated mouth, was standing silently and staring at him with a grotesque smile on his face. The most painful part was the women and children. He could not see their faces, but he could see their bloodshot eyes dripping with tears.
The nightmare was so realistic and frightening, Damon reflexively reached for his bow and arrows the moment he woke up. Looking around, he realized where he was. Two figures were lying on the ground close to him, wrapped up in their own blankets on top of their thin bedrolls. They were Jon and Raina. He then noticed the back of a third figure sitting by the campfire. This was Feylis. A thin trail of smoke rose up from in front of him. It appeared that he was smoking a pipe and tending to the fire while keeping watch.
Damon tried to wipe the sweat from his face with his sleeves, but they were already soaked. At this moment, a soft and gentle voice sounded in his ears.
"Did you see them in your dreams? The bandits, I mean."
"Wha- What?" Damon became shocked at Feylis's words. He did not know how he knew about the bandits.
"I may look like a wizened old man, Damon, but do you think I am blind? Did you think I wouldn't notice a raging fire on a nearby mountain in the middle of the night, especially when fire is the element I am most proficient with?"
Damon could only see Feylis's back from where he was currently seated, so he did not know what expression was on his face right now. Was it disgust? Mistrust? Disappointment? He was afraid to find out.
"But… How did you… Did… Did you see...?"
"By the time I arrived, it was all over. There were only the burnt remains of the buildings and corpses lying around. The village chief told us about your past, so I surmised it was you."
"... Yes… It was me… I killed them all…" Tears started to form in Damon's eyes again as he admitted to killing the bandits.
"You did well. The village chief also told us of all the misdeeds the bandits had committed in the past few years. They were deserving of death. Your use of fire was clever, and you must have trained with your bow tirelessly to have become so proficient at such a young age. It must have been hard." Damon still could not see Feylis, but the sound of his voice was encouraging, not disappointed. This made him feel slightly better.
"But… There were some innocent women and children too…" Damon gulped as he remembered their tearful eyes in his nightmare.
Feylis remained silent upon hearing this for a minute while he took in a big puff of his pipe. After exhaling, he said, "Come over here and sit next to me by the fire."
Damon apprehensively walked over and sat down next to Feylis. When he looked up at Feylis, he saw his eyes filled with sympathy and understanding.
"There is no such thing as true innocence in this world. The family of those bandits knew what their husbands or fathers were doing. But to live a better life themselves, they did not stop them from hurting others. Do you still think they're as innocent as you initially thought? No. They may not have gotten blood on their hands directly, but the food they ate and the clothes they wore might as well have been covered in it."
As he heard these words, Damon's lifeless and dim eyes started to regain their color. The tightness in his chest and the trembling of his limbs subsided, and he felt as though he could finally breathe again after having been drowning.
"Although you are still very young, you have experienced far too many traumas already. As you walk the path of cultivation, you will most likely experience even worse things than just this as well. But you just need to maintain your own personal conviction. There is no evil or good in this world. There is only survival. As long as you don't cross the bottom line, everything you do is for survival."
Damon's mind and thoughts were cleared by Feylis's words. Having stayed awake the entirety of the previous night, Damon was suddenly hit by a massive wave of drowsiness. After thanking Feylis for his counsel, he returned to his bedroll and blankets and passed out the moment he lay down.
The next morning, Damon woke up to the sun shining high up in the middle of the sky. He hastily sat up, as the position of the sun meant it was already the middle of the day. He looked around and saw Jon and Raina cooking something at the campfire while Feylis was reading a book against a tree.
"Damon! You're finally up! Here, have some breakfast. Or should it be called lunch now? Anyway, here, eat up!" Raina ran over with multiple plates and bowls filled with different foods. There was definitely too much food for him to finish alone, prompting him to look at her in confusion.
"Hey Damon, quickly finish eating and show me how to use that bow you always carry. My father was adamant that I only learn how to use a quill, no swords or bows or anything. Your father was a fletcher, so he must have been quite good with the bow. As his son, you must be pretty good, too. Eat quickly, I want to learn!" Jon followed Raina and quipped from the side and urged him to eat in a tone that was even warmer than usual.
A look of understanding passed through Damon's face as he realized what was happening. The other two must have been awake as well last night, only pretending to sleep. They must have heard the entire conversation with Feylis and were now trying to cheer him up. He felt the sting in his eyes yet again, but the cause was entirely different this time. He finally let out a boyish grin as he thanked the three people deep in his heart.