Leaving the Mountain (Shuu)

Shuu had been walking since morning. A few miles ahead was a village. He thought it best to spend the night there so he could also ask the villagers for some directions.

While the letter Elder Mari had given him gently nudged him in the correct direction.

For one reason or another, the magic on it seemed to only work when he was standing still. This meant that he had to frequently stop to check if he was going in the right direction.

He was considering what Elder Mari told him before he left while he helped him with his newly issued travel weighted clothing meant to ensure that he could be identified as a Tethyian on his travels.

Elder Mari told him that the journey would take three months if he walked, so he would have to run at nearly full speed for the majority of the trip to make it there before month-end.

However, his new weighted clothing was around two times heavier than usual, which would not be an issue under normal circumstances. However, if he had to run at such a high speed for an extended period, the additional weight would surely begin to slow him down.

This would be different though if he could get directions that way. All he would have to consider was the landmarks and only stopping if he had to get his bearings.

Elder Mari had, however, stressed that while delivering the letter was important, he need not rush to Ananke and ensure he passed through all the villages for food and shelter.

Shuu thought that it was strange that she said that as when he now looked around, he was still reasonably close to Tethys Mountain, but the area had already changed to flatlands.

In comparison to the lush jungle, he had been used to suddenly replaced by near barren lands with sparse wildlife and vegetation.

It surprised him how different the Barter Lands looked a mere few miles from Tethys Mountain.

The lack of shade would also prove to be an issue moving forward, the lands were not scorching from the heat, but prolonged exposure could also slow him down.

Upon entering the village, the people began to flock to his location. They looked similar in appearance to the woman who dragged Emmett up the mountain.

"I wonder if she is from this village," Shuu thought.

"Are you a healer?" asked one of the villagers.

No, I'm sorry, I can't heal people yet.

"Aren't you Tethyian?"

Shuu apologised again and tried to explain that he had not been taught how to heal yet, as, under normal circumstances, Tethyians don't leave the mountain until they are much older. Though his explanation seemed to fall on deaf ears as some of the villagers dragged him toward a woman lying on a bed made of straw.

"Please heal her," they pleaded.

Shuu's hands accumulated sweat as he thought.

"She seems to be in bad shape. I should just take her back to the village and let Elder--" He did not bother finishing his thought since he knew that was impossible.

Even if the woman was stable enough to move, it was not the Tethys way. The woman herself seemed to have suffered from malnutrition, as did most of the other villagers, but perhaps she ate or drank something that contained parasites.

"Maybe I should try to heal her," Shuu thought.

He felt like an animal in a cage, feeling the villagers' piercing stares watching him from in and outside the hut.

I can't promise I can do anything for her, but I will try.

Shuu put his hands over her body. He focused on trying to sense the source of her pain, pouring his magic into her body.

He closed his eyes and focused, trying his best to sense or feel something.

"This doesn't seem to be working," Shuu thought.

He thought of telling them that he tried and failed but that he would run back to the village to ask someone else to come to take a look at her, though he did not say anything.

As he took his hands away from her, he felt oddly happy and mournful?

"What's happening? Are these my feelings?" Shuu thought.

A rush of emotions flowed into his body.

- he quickly let go of the woman -

"What was that?" he thought, his hands trembling.

It felt like his emotions, but also hers, mixed in somehow. Moreover, it strangely felt similar to Emmett's screams that felt as if they would break his soul, just not as intense. Shuu walked out of the hut squeezing through the villagers to get through.

That was a feeling he never wanted to feel again.

Shuu confirmed that she was not injured physically, so it could not have been the same thing as Emmett.

Flustered with a chill passing through him, he opted to not stay in the village after all. He would also not tell them anything about going back to the village to ask for help.

He figured if he had to run back to the village every time someone needed healing, he would never be able to ask Nima about his father.

He instead told them that he could not help them, but he would send a message to the mountain if he found a messenger along the way.

Is this how the rest of this trip is going to be? Shuu murmured.

The letter nudged him forward.

With sunset quickly approaching, Shuu started to run, holding only his short staff with the sack of his supplies tightly fastened.

I forgot to even ask them for directions, Shuu said.

Honestly, all he felt he needed was a place to sleep for the night. He longed for the solitude of the jungle.

Sorry, Elder Mari, I just can't.

Shuu had decided that he would avoid all the villages on his way to Ananke.

However, the near barren lands of the southern part of the Barter Lands were going to be a problem, with no caves to sleep in, no forests and no animals to eat.

The food he had would only last him a day, maybe two at most.

I need to get out of here, Shuu said.

His feet dug deeper into the ground with each step as the sun went down and as his speed increased, the air around his body became colder, only offset by the heat his body created.

Where am I going again...

Shuu looked at the orange sky ahead with barely visible stars.

Right, I need to deliver a letter...

It had only been a few hours of running at top speed, yet he had already forgotten why he began running or where he was going. He was just happy to be running as far away as possible, away from everything and away from everyone.

He finally stopped at a small cluster of trees. Surrounded by more barren lands, he climbed one of the trees and decided to stay there for the night.

If being a Tethyian was good for something, it was that at this moment, his body could regulate it's temperature such that the elements were not as harsh. Though he could still feel the night breeze, he would not be uncomfortable.

Shuu found himself staring at the stars all night; even though he was comfortable enough to sleep, he could not close his eyes.

He never wanted to feel anything like that again, and if he slept, he would dream, and if he dreamt, he would be right back in that room.

Thinking about how far he had gotten from the slow life in the jungle he had come to love, what scared him most was that he only seemed to be getting further away.

Shuu put his body in an upright fetal position. He tried to block out any unnecessary thoughts—a desperate attempt to satiate the need to empty his mind.

The letter felt warm on his chest beneath his clothes.

I miss those damn monkeys.