Noone opened his eyes with the sunrise and stood up to appreciate the sight. As he looked towards the horizon his mind was moving at full speed attempting to maintain the bubble of sight around his body. He moved slowly and carefully but it only lasted for a few moments until his awareness scattered.
He let out a heavy sigh, expelling the bad air from his lungs. His head throbbed in pain, but it gradually faded over the next few minutes.
"What do you make of that?" Sally asked Rae. They had been watching Noone since he stood up. It was extremely subtle but they could both feel an almost insubstantial amount of magic surrounding his body. It was barely perceptible, and Sally wasn't even sure if it was actually magic or not.
"It looks like he was training." Raelith said. Her hand discretely caressed her spear. Noone, obviously had some form of magic ability. Tobias, Sally, and Sarah all saw when he managed to use Rae's spear with some kind of telekinesis magic, but no one was sure what to make of it.
Tobias too watched Noone. No one was aware of it, but Tobias had stayed awake through the night observing him. He watched as Noone trained, and even when Noone was considering making a run for it. When he saw the strange being decided to stay, a smile broke out on his face. Despite their initial aggression, something about Noone left a good impression on the paladin.
Maybe it just had to do with them being similar builds to each other. Tobias could sense the physical strength which flowed from Noone's body and couldn't help but feel a kinship.
…
Over the next four months the group had gained a new sense of liveliness in the form of Noone. Initially they had been just as hesitant of him as he was of them, but Noone's ability to learn their language proved to be astounding. Although not perfect, he could now speak with everyone well enough to enjoy their company.
No one was sure what to make of his speed. On one hand, he was surrounded by nothing but their language - but even then it seemed shockingly quick. He would only practice for a few hours every night with Raelith and then occasionally with the others.
Something they noticed was how easily he seemed to remember whatever they taught him. Once he understood something, they never needed to explain it again.
Noone assumed this had to do with his upbringing and time spent with Liter in the library. Although he couldn't be sure, he also felt that his mind had become incredibly perceptive ever since breaking through.
Thin brittle trees and low-cut shrubbery cut across his sight. Ever since a few days ago Noone had noticed their presence, no one else seemed to care about them so he merely observed them silently. According to Sarah they were a common type of plant. Noone couldn't help but study them curiously.
Ever since learning their language he felt that there was much he still didn't have the experience to comprehend. They could explain what the word means, but Noone had no object for comparison. Like trying to explain the taste of salt to a man who has only ever eaten sugar, they realized that Noone would just need to wait to experience the world.
"So. You say trees need water, but it hasn't rained once on our journey?" Noone pointed out to Sarah. She thought about this for a moment, but soon she realized she was unsure how to respond. She had not thought about it before, but in the entire year they have been traveling it really had not rained once.
Even the concept of rain was foreign to Noone. If it wasn't for his time beneath the cloud layer during his coming of age trial, Noone would have sworn they were making the entire thing up.
"Uh… well. There are a lot of different types of trees thousands if not hundreds of thousands. It would be weird if they all were exactly the same." Knowing how flimsy her explanation was she couldn't help but look away, tucking a loose strand of gold hair behind her ear. Noone nodded his head as though he understood, letting the topic drop.
The soft clop of hooves to earth distracted him as he looked towards the horse which pulled the cart.
When they had summoned the horse initially it had scared the wits out of Noone. He immediately bounded back nearly ten meters and looked like he had seen a ghost, ready to dash away at any moment.
The entire group was shocked but very quickly realized their mistake. After a few minutes they managed to introduce Noone to the concept of a horse and since then he had become enraptured by the creature and the magic which could produce it from thin air.
Apparently, these creatures exist normally too, he found. But this particular one was a form of Sally's magic. She could create or disperse it at will.
That was another thing Noone had trouble comprehending. According to Raelith, there were a million different magics, some being class specific.
Noone compared it to the power system which he observed in Tapestry, however it seemed there were differences which couldn't be explained. Raelith told Noone that there was a large chance that the magic of his home was unique in all the world.
Noone thought about the ancestor... and especially the vision he saw years ago.
The immense planet, and the tree which grew from it. Noone realized that even though he felt that this world was immense and alien, there was an even larger space still outside of this one. One which the ancestor of Tapestry seemed to have inhabited. Noone's gaze went upwards, attempting to pierce through the blue sky above.
How strong was the ancestor compared to the figures of this world? And more importantly… how strong can I become?
Surrounding Noone was a fluctuating bubble of awareness which unstably flexed between one and three meters while he walked.
Everything within the sphere Noone was able to 'see' almost as though he was looking at it with his own eyes. His constant nightly practice had paid off with some gains, but not enough for Noone's likings.
He was able to walk and almost maintain the bubble perfectly, and over time his mind gradually grew accustomed to the constant strain. It no longer hurt to hold it for extended periods of time, for example. A mercy Noone was extremely grateful for.
However, he had been stuck at this state for almost a month. He practiced consistently, but no matter how hard he worked he was unable to improve anymore.
A discrete frown could be seen on his face, accentuated by an array of white marbled lines which glowed imperceptibly under the sun. This plateau made Noone a bit irritable. He knew that the people of Tapestry would practice for centuries, only making small increments of progress along the way, but Noone felt that he could do more! He just didn't know how.
He was on the verge of asking for guidance from either Tobias or Sally or Rae. He knew all three had extensive experience and they might have advice for him. Even without knowing the specifics, their wisdom could prove invaluable. But he was hesitant…
If he wanted guidance, he would need to explain in detail what he was doing, and something in the back of his mind told him that was a bad idea. Not only did he not perfectly trust those three, but he knew they had people above them which they answered to. Noone did not want to test their loyalty to him compared to their order. At least… not yet.
So Noone kept quiet and continued to work away at the problem, attempting to approach it from any angle he could think of.
"Cover!" Tobias's voice boomed into their minds cutting like an axe through the dry arid air.
Immediately Tobias had stopped walking and his entire body lurched forward at a shocking speed, rolling behind a boulder. There was the whistle of wood cutting through air and the clang of a metal tipped arrow against stone right next to where Tobias had been standing a moment before.
Raelith and Sally were very quick to follow, only moments ahead of Sarah and Feylin. Dashing behind boulders, everyone looked towards Noone to make sure he was not left behind.
Noone was the last to react. In that moment he had been lost in thought and it took longer for him to decipher the word the paladin had yelled. Noone saw clearly everything which had occurred, but right when he was about to dash forward, he felt something pierce through his bubble of awareness. A wooden arrow had pierced into his personal domain and was speeding towards him.
Instead of moving forward, Noone swayed backwards watching as the arrow silently sliced through the space in front of his face. If he had continued to dash behind the boulder in front of him, the arrow would have most certainly pierced through his skull.
Everyone looked on, shocked by his sudden evasion. Sally was just about to cast a protection, but it seemed Noone was more capable than she had given him credit for.
Although he reacted quickly, shock still enveloped his heart. He had never seen an arrow before but Raelith had explained the concept to him. There was no doubt in his mind, someone had just fired an arrow at his head.
By the time he heard the metal tip of the arrow ricochet off the stone, his eyes narrowed, and he looked towards the north.
Standing a hundred and fifty meters away stood two golden hued beings. Both had 4 arms, and each carried an arsenal of weapons on their body.
"Epoch tribesman," Tobias murmured.