"We can help each other." Ren raised an eyebrow at this, 'We can help each other? Just what is he talking about?'
"Do I know you?" He asked. He was certain that he had not seen the boy, but so much had happened in such a short period of time that it was possible he had gaps in his memory.
"No, I do not know you either, but I see threads of fate connecting us, Ren." The youthful voice of the boy soon transformed into that of a grown man. At the notice of this, Ren grabbed the edges of the tables, seemingly keen on attacking. The little boy had seen the wariness and fear in Ren's eyes.
He revealed himself. What was a pale boy of alabaster clad in dark robes soon changed to that of a brown skinned kid with shapes and symbols of dark blue ink painted over various parts of his skin. Not only did this boy change color, he grew, extending like a piece of elastic material and becoming about twice his original size. Ren drifted his eyes about, surely, he was not the only one who could see this— who could see what was clearly magic, and wasn't a public display of magical prowess frowned upon in this city?
However, the scenery was quite far from how it had been a few minutes ago. To Ren, it was like he had been suspended into a liquid, with the surrounding blurring and blending into itself. He raised his arms, waving it across the space in front of him, and instead, a dark hue appeared where he had moved his hands, like a squid that squirted out ink.
"What the…?" Ren was forced to look at the boy who had grown into a man in front of him. The table and chairs were in place, but they floated, drifting calmly in space. Eyes black and deep like the cavernous black depths that trapped the stars. A ring sat on his nose, suspended by a piercing in the septum, also little rings adorned where his eyebrows ought to be, but those were clearly not the last rings. Across his skin, various rings where embedded, from his scalp to his feet, rings scantily laid about.
Strangely enough, Ren was not afraid. He was wary, but not afraid. He swallowed, feeling the weight of the moment.
'No doubt, this must be him.'
"Are you Evo?" Ren asked. Immediately the words were uttered, a smile formed on the shaman's face. To Ren, it felt somewhat alien for one as eccentric looking as this man to bear such an innocent looking smile.
"Yes, it is I. Evo. I have expected your arrival, lived it in the slumberlands."
The slumberlands, Ren knew what that was, or at least he thought he knew. He had seen it the other day in a book he had borrowed from Tuarine. In various parts of the continent, some believed dreams, and the dreamspace to be its own world, and simply not just an illusion or playback of the mind. Even some great scholars believed it to be so. The well known Edagene Losterius wrote, "Let no man say the dream is an illusion. The mind does not conjure continents it has never walked. In sleep we trespass upon a world older than waking, and it is patient enough to receive us." —a commonly referenced line when discussing the subject.
"I saw it in my dreams that you would come here, why? I did not see. I certainly did not see the magicker nor that your comrades would be slaughtered. I feel responsible for their deaths, and I've been pleading to the gods for forgiveness ever since. However, I know you saw Mahābodhivān, I know that you are what we call summons or prophets. I watched your dreams in the days you were asleep, and luckily, the gods did not sniff me out." Evo spoke, he crept closer to Ren, phasing through the table that separated them, and placed his hands on Ren's shoulders.
"I know you have the Tome of Mahābodhivān. You have a wonderful cultivation potential. I believe, I strongly believe that you could be the next Mahābodhivān. The gods are only willing to keep you so strong, only strong enough that you could be ordered around and used. They will never let you reach their heights. To them, you're nothing but an instrument." The shaman paused.
"But you can break those shackles." Those words echoed through the illusory world creating a ripple effect across, and before Ren knew it, he was uprooted from there. The world disappeared just as strangely as It appeared, undoing itself with a pop, and the two were back at the table in the tavern, beer and cake in front of them. The boy slowly lunged his hand uttering the words, "Well eat."
Aside from Erigald's wine, and the few delicacies that Eldrad had learnt from cities and towns across Maldrin, Ren had had nothing of worth, at least in terms of taste in Tunish. The village's poverty reflected in their meals, and although Ren had the levity to make delicacies from his whole world, he was not one to regularly indulge himself. Tunish's ale was shit, everyone knew that but aside from the wine, it was the only other drink that could be used to make merry.
Ren's pupils dilated once he had a bite of the Saltmud nut cake.
'Delicious,' he thought, truly he had never had anything as good tasting. The city was the last place he had imagined he would awaken his taste buds, and with so much fierceness. The cake was spicy and sweet, which was why it was commonly served with ale. Ren washed down the cake with a chug of the beer.
"Haaaaa! So what now? Do you have some more information to share with me?"
The boy's eyes widened in shock and anger, but the rage faded just as quickly as it came. He stretched forward his hand, handing over a scroll.
"Religious anarchy, the gods must be put in their place for our world to be truly free. I would support anything that would put a dent in their authority, and I have a strong feeling that you are going to do great. With me is a letter of recommendation, to the prestigious Crane crab Pavilion." The boy paused and took a chug of his beer. Ren was slightly taken aback for it was illegal for children to drink alcohol from where he came from.
"The sect accepts only the best of cultivators across the continent, and although I sense great potential within you as with most summoned, you are nothing extraordinary now, but with proper guidance, I'm sure, you'll be formidable. This letter has my seal and it's going to have you skip most of the vetting process, however, it is in my name, and it bears my seal, and as such I'm vouching for you, that you'll bear good conduct and proper practice. You must not sully my name Ren Hanaki. I've learnt a lot about you over these past few days, and I have come to learn that you are a honourable man, do not let that part of you change."
Ren was stunned, and at a loss for words, he merely watched the young boy stand up, and just glide backwards, his cold eyes fixated and unmoving from him, until he phased through the door, and disappeared.
Ren was snapped out of the trance as soon as the shaman was gone, he got on his feet, and ran out, through the door, but as he feared, he was gone.
"Ren!" He heard a voice cry.
Huffing and puffing, with icy breath escaping her mouth was Elizabeth.
"I told you to wait up, didn't I?" She asked with a feeling of annoyance, digging her elbow into his abdomen, and causing him to retch.
"Hmph!" She sounded with annoyance, and walked into the tavern.