The next morning, at the very sign of first light within the Winter Rain Mountains, a group of Fae Masters gathered near the entrance to the Village, sorting out various Fae Boxes, cargo supplies and foodstuffs for their journey towards the Falling Snow River.
The faint orange glow over the on the other side of the horizon contrasted heavily with the purplish-black sky on the other side of the world. The faint glitter of stars could be seen vaguely, due to the lack of cloud cover and growing sunlight, causing a few early birds to smile, feeling that today was going to be a good day.
The faint breeze in the air cooled the already warm summer morning. The faint streams and rivers within Parachenko Village seemed slightly lower than usual, but considering that it was technically the summer season within the region, such things were already a natural occurrence.
Seasonal changes usually only happened in areas with low spiritual essence. Winter Rain Mountain, a region with a low abundance of wood type and water type spiritual essence only had summer for two months of the year. The rest of the time it was rainy and wet, a perfect environment for growing lush amounts of greenery.
Around Fae Grounds, the whether almost never changed. Perhaps once a year there would be a storm in a desert, and perhaps once a decade, would flowers bloom within a snowy landscape....
Arthur glanced at the the rising sun in the distance, nodding slightly before turning towards Milena and the rest.
"C'mon! We're leaving in 30 minutes! Anything longer and we'll leave you behind!".
Arthur placed a few of the specialized Fae Boxes within the middle and rear carriages. They were the two most protected carriages, considering that the former was protected on both sides, while the latter had a Rank 2 Fae Master protecting it.
It was a relatively common strategy for dividing up spoils, in the event that they ever got attacked. So long as they could escape with just one carriage, they wouldn't lose all of their valuables.
And besides, the vast majority of valuables would go within Storage Fae, not these Fae Boxes.
Arthur glanced at his teammates, watching them closely.
"Hey Parvan! Where should be put these Fae Boxes?".
"Ah, try the rear carriage. There should be some room left beside the other ones".
"Oi Milena! You forgot your book here! Put it in a Storage Fae before you leave it behind!".
"I could say the same thing about your Dagen! You left your notebook on one of the horses!".
The nine of them were quite excited to go on this mission towards the Falling Snow River, seeing as it was the first proper mission outside of the Clan. All of the other extermination missions were just within a short distance of Parachenko Village, mostly based around just killing a nest of spirit beasts that had wondered too close.
For the first time ever, they were going to spend actual time outside of the radius of the Village. They were going to have to sleep outside, eat outside and.... do everything else outside the Village as well.
They were finally able to consider themselves actual Fae Masters belonging to the Kovacs Clan. They were no long just "in-training" or students of the Lecture Hall Elders. They could fight, bleed and die for the Clan if they so wanted....
Arthur smiled politely at the guards watching the Gate into Parachenko Village, before gesturing towards Iryna holding onto the reins of the first carriage. The slightly younger woman flicked her the leads gently, causing the two horses to start trotting slowly through the main entrance.
In the second carriage, Helga held the reigns and as the final carriage came through the Clan Gates, Arthur jumped up, sitting in the small free space just behind the large amount of Fae Boxes and various storage chests.
This carriage carried the largest amount of weight, considering that it would only be used by two people. More Fae Boxes would be stored within this carriage then any of the others.
Arthur laid down on the large pillow that Nyssa had put down, closing his eyes slightly as the gradually turning wheels on the carriage caused the entire vehicle to shake as they travelled down the winding dirt road....
The gentle warmth in the air, and the faint breeze in the wind caused his hair to flutter slightly as Arthur unconsciously smiled, feeling a wellspring of emotion fill his heart.
For a moment he was almost unsettled by the burst of this foreign emotion, but he embraced it, falling deeper and deeper into this strange and unexplainable trance....
His mind at peace, his breathing and his physique still, like a boundless sea of reflective glass. Arthur closed his eyes for only a minute, and yet a strange almost.... bright series of emotions filled the void inside his mind....
Arthur felt as though opening his eyes, although was not greeted with the familiar insides of a carriage rolling down the road.
A boundless sea of pink and green was reflected in Arthur's eyes. His heart overflowing with boundless emotions, filling the earth with joy, the skies with sadness and the heavens with a tranquil impermanence....
The gentle sway of the Immortal Affection Tree in Arthur's eyes mimicked the faint breeze brushing up against his skin. The radiant pink coloured vines that hung from the branches of this eternal existence released a formless cloud of affection. A sea of flowing mist, swept through the the Heavens and the Earth, eventually causing Arthur's gaze to turn skyward once more, his eyes widening at the sight of the starry sky above him....
Once again, his initial thought was that there would be only Thirty Two stars in the sky, and yet, countless, a seemingly infinite number of twinkling heavenly objects, glittering all over the scattered Worlds caused Arthur's eyes to widen slightly....
It was the complete opposite of the World Of Madness.
A void filled with everything thought was impossible, contrasted with a starry sky filled with infinite possibilities.
The sea of emotions washes over Arthur, as his hair and eyes took on their dark shade of green. Something inside of him just.... overflowed with emotions, as his eyes slowly flickered open, revealing a carriage rolling slowly over a dirt road.
Taking in a deep breath, Arthur was filled with a boundless emotion.
Hatred. Joy. Rage. Love. Sadness. Guilt. Kindness. Content.
In a single moment, he was filled to the brim with everything he could've possibly imagined. A wellspring of possibility bloomed within Arthur, as an expression of tranquil enlightenment faded away from his serene expression....
In the blink of an eye.... he had comprehended the first level of Emotion Laws.
First level of Emotion Laws: Overflowing Emotions.
The way that Emotion Laws functioned were different from Wood Laws, or even Shadow or Bone Laws that Arthur were also familiar with.
Emotions were a product of the Mind, and as such could only affect those creatures who possess a Mind, or rely on Emotions to survive.
The first level of Wood Laws: Flowering Seed meant that Arthur could influence the growth of plants around them, by using up their innate vitality. He could force something to sprout or mature a fruit early, but at the cost of damaging the plants foundations.
The first level of Emotion Laws: Overflowing Emotions meant that Arthur could invoke overflowing emotions within certain things. Essentially, amplifying something that was already there, not creating something from nothing.
It also allowed Arthur to "feel" the emotions of things around him to some extent. For example, he could already feel the expression of shock and curiosity without even having to look at Nyssa who was staring right at him.
Arthur, with dark green hair and eyes, sat up from his comfortable position and met the confused gaze of the girl in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak but-.
The focus of both of them turned the moment they heard an enormous explosion coming from behind them. A massive amount of smoke and dust was suddenly released up into the air, and the sounds of shouts coming from the other two carriages caused the two to push any questions or answers to the back of their minds.