A Ripening Sensation

He was dreaming, sensation caught his attention he reached out and tried to catch the object in front of him. An instinct, really. His arms outstretched, he landed at on his target.. He fluffed his pillow and rolled over.

The Villagers were worried, they had seen some falls and every one of them had been near fatal or caused many broken bones. The grass seemed to have caught him, raising itself. A prod came in and stuck at Errit's ribs, he turned and opened his eyes. He was surrounded by the Masked Villagers, they had their eyes trained on his every move.

"His connection with the world is great, to have such a blessing." The Elder stood up and waved his hand to push the crowd back a bit.

Looking up at the scene, Errit noticed the Tree. What was once less than a hundred foot tree now easily stood a hundred and twenty feet into the air, its trunk was wider, the ribs on its exterior considerably wider. 'What happened to the Tree?' He shook what looked like debris from his clothing and got up.

His head hurt. There was a feeling that he had been hit, he remembered having slept in the tree, above him, the spot he was laying still had the hides he had spread out on the branches. "I guess I rolled off" Standing in front of the tree, he saw the Villagers all giving him strange body language. Some of them cocked their heads while others looked like they were grabbing something heavy in front of them with their arms outstretched.

He tried not to laugh, his head hurt.

Injuries had healed pretty fast during his escape, surely a fall, one that didn't even wake him up wouldn't be to blame for a longer lasting pain. Using a pitcher of water, he doused his head and shook off.

Feeling a bit more refreshed didn't rid him of the pain. not so much a headache, more of a feeling of strangeness and something he couldn't identify. kneeling down, he jumped, landed on the branches above to retrieve his bedding and grabbed his breakfast.

The Fruits in the tree were ripe, more than the day before. He quickly grabbed all the fruits and stored them away for later.

֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍

One of the Masked villagers was hiding in the mud south along the river, a change had come over the current. It passed around the Moonflower waters, leaving them with a purity unmatched and unchanged after its removal. A pit of mud, once thought to be nothing special was now the focus of several onlookers.

Their armor matched the armor in the ring Errit held. "Search the Area, I want proof." They had been there all night, the mud had been flattened by wildlife, mashed and spread. The Scarab, which had been eaten whole was no where to be found. "Lets go see if they caught him, those lousy fuzzballs can't keep me from what I want." The leader, a Bandicota Rat Heavy Guard with half of his head burned, shouted. "Get back on your mounts, that prize will be mine."

They left, tramping through the mud and following the river upstream. When they came to a Cave Entrance, it was well guarded. They hid behind the trees waiting for a chance to surprise them. 'seven guards?' Confused, they wondered why the Masked Nyankin would bother guarding an empty cave. The leader had figured it out, the Moonflower had been recovered. With the Suns out in full, cloud cover and shadows were much more rare.

They would have to wait until nightfall.

֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍

Picking things up. It had become the focus of Errit's day. Bug shells, fish, rocks and other things periodically came into his view while walking. Picking something up and immediately knowing if it was a good thing or a worthless thing seemed like a useful skill, he didn't deny himself the experience. Then, sometimes an aura was just an aura, with nothing special about those items they were usually thrown to the side.

A stick that looked useful because of its shape was one such item. It was shaped more like a crutch, but it held no aura. He kept it because of the pleasant smell, it was flexible, durable and more importantly, it didn't have any breaks in the sapling's trunk. It would make for a great fishing pole, though, he had lots of fish already and they hadn't required a pole to catch. Still, it was nice to walk with.

Spears were intimidating, carrying a weapon in public would catch negative attentions on Earth. A symptom of enslavement, but also a symptom of a sickness in all who would villainize defense.

Weapons were and always will be an equalizer, but if the public is not allowed to protect themselves and demonized for considering their use, then the ones with a weapon will enslave the rest. Criminals may use a weapon in an act of violence, that doesn't mean weapons themselves are violent. Weapons are tools, Errit was grateful for the storage ring, it kept his hands free.

He had picked a few hundred plants, a bunch of different types and colors of rocks and collected many sorts of debris like bones and claws that were laying around in the forest. Trees sometimes pulled claws or teeth from their guests, lodged in the bark, hidden away.

The Mask was useful in this way, he didn't miss a thing. Doing his best, the mask was studied each day. He looked for familiarity in anything that he encountered, it had only been a day and so much had changed for him.

A mark on his forehead and neck. Etched, he stared at his reflection in the water by the riverside. The only times he took off the mask were to drink and clean himself. He was still hiding from the Humans, his escape from the City was bound to be discovered, they could start looking for him if they wanted.

Shadows blanketed the pasture and covered his body. Something or someone was overhead. The mask was brought down onto his face as he looked up. An Aura filled the sky, pink and purple. Hovering for a moment, it sped off to the Southeast. Ripping in its wake the landscape shuddered and shook.

"What an asshole" Errit watched the low flying rider, his cloak had a symbol on it, he had seen it before in the City on the corners. 'Zao Clan' His fists tightened, he sped off sprinting, trying to follow after the beast. "A Wasted Effort." He spit at the ground and saw the expanse in front of him, he wasn't going to be able to keep up. 'So.. this way.'

Errit grabbed the trunk of the tallest tree he could find and began to climb. When he found the top, he focused his power on his grip and the tree grew taller. He was getting what he wanted, a better view. Stretching out for hundreds of kilometers, a Desert, but in the edge, a field of blue held the horizon.

'It might be a mirage' He thought about proceeding into the desert, he thought about chasing after that flier. 'You aren't even strong enough to fight off the birds yet' His mind went in circles, turning his inner encouragement on itself and forcing himself down from the tree.

"I must know more, The Elder might know" Errit saw a deer-like animal in the distance, its short horns made it look far more interesting than a typical buck, claws of a predator on its feet.

'I am a Hunter..' Errit sat down in the grasses, quiet, motionless.

The Korel'ssen were agile herbivores, but they dug at the soil and rocks to clear their meals. The claws on a Korel'ssen were excellent digging tools and trophies more than their horns. Their sense of hearing was somewhat deficient, a matter of nature giving a balance. It was a good thing, it allowed Errit to sneak closer. His first prey and first hunt on Shiyan, his blood pumped, flooded with adrenaline and a cold spear appeared in his hands.

Errit had thrown a javelin in high school, it was nothing like that. The spear shot out like cannon, piercing the air and leaving a wake and visible break in the air. Sailing past, it hit the Korel'ssen in the neck and pinned it to a tree trunk behind it. 'What the fuck just happened?' Errit expected to have to use the other spears once it started moving, but now it laid lifeless against the tree. The Bark had been frozen, the area around the entry wound had been frozen, cauterized.

Using the Ring, he stored the spear away. It was easier than digging it out of the tree, like claws he had found earlier in the day.

"At least I have meat for tonight." The Korel'ssen found its way into storage and he walked through the forest gathering firewood.