With darkness came along the feeling of dread.
Veritas opened his eyes only to be met by a vast landscape filled with nothing but grass across the horizon to no end.
One moment he was reaching for his soul, and now he has been warped to a different scenario.
"Ah- Where?"
Veritas scanned his surroundings, greenery filled his eyes and he seemed to be surrounded by it. The place was blurry, seeming like a memory or a dream.
He had nothing else to do but calm himself. He was the slayer of the Gargoyle Knight, if he had faced such monstrosity then he would surely survive in this landscape.
For starters, he decided to keep walking.
After what seemed like an hour, he made little to no progress. Everything around him was grass and greenery, it seemed to be never-ending yet he still pursued, determined to learn the truth.
Thus he continued to walk, it didn't seem that he was getting tired anytime soon. It seemed like he was full of energy, not stopping to rest, to eat, or to secrete bodily fluids and impurities.
Time didn't seem to move either, as the twilight never disappeared from sight. He could see some stars from the night sky yet the sun still shone on one side of the horizon.
The land seemed to be stuck in a dreamy never-ending landscape of twilight, filled with grass across the horizon.
Thus, with this realization, Veritas stopped in his tracks and assessed the situation.
He considered all the elements that have arose in this situation. The never-ending grass, the unending twilight, and the infinite stamina that he had. It was.. Peculiar to say the least.
Veritas was already aware of the mystical aspects of the world yet he had not encountered one as mysterious as this. In the books and the studies that he had read, nothing seemed to match or correlate with this landscape. Maybe it had been a new discovery? He was ecstatic yet that ecstasy died down due to his realization that he was stuck here.
"Well, fuck."
He had to learn more about this area first. He already knew the physical properties of this world. However, he did not know if the spiritual properties still resided. Now, he was going to try to gaze upon his soul once more.
He sat in a meditating position and calmed down, he closed his eyes and gazed upon the depths of his soul. With great focus, he tried to gaze deeper into his soul yet.. It did not work. His soul was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell.."
Veritas sighed in confusion, without a soul he could not exist. Every living being in this world contains a soul, whether it be a plant or a human.
Then how am I still alive? There are two things that I have to consider. One, that this landscape is my very own soul. However I have no proof of that and I have to search further. Two, that my soul is somewhere in this vast landscape. That doesn't seem too likely either.
As he pondered coming to a conclusion of his own, the landscape went silent. He was used to the winds brushing through his skin and its sound that went along with it. But the sudden shift made him feel a sense of fear.
Veritas scanned his surroundings looking around to see if there is an instability within the landscape. However, there didn't seem to be any changes on the landscape.
"Or maybe!"
With this Veritas has come to a realization, formulating an answer in his head.
The runes are somewhat connected to the soul, it shows the Paths, the Ranks, the Attunement, and many more! Therefore, with this disturbance in my soul I should be able to-.
As his thoughts pondered Veritas tapped within his soul and opened his runes.
[Veritas Alpas Elrod]
[Path: —-----]
[Soul Rank: —-----]
[Attunement: —-----]
"Yes! I knew it. Why hadn't I tried to open my runes when I got here."
I've finally touched my soul, yet the paths, ranks, and attunement is hidden. Peculiar, the runes appeared yet the text is blocked.
After scanning his runes for a couple of seconds Veritas noticed a small ancient text underneath his avatar. It was glowing red and he felt pain when he looked at it. However, he thought to himself that this might be the answer to the unending landscape.
As he gazed on the ancient text, his eyes widened, it read:
[WAKE UP!]
Veritas was suddenly knocked and dazed.
*
His eyes awoke, and with it the sounds of a horse galloping slowly and dragging a carriage echoed in the forest.
"Another landscape? What's happening?"
He scanned his surroundings, he was wearing a white tunic, the lush forest covered the sun resulting in the looming shadows, the breeze felt cold when it touched his skin and.. there was a man.
It was a man driving the carriage and leading the horse. He seemed soulless, unresponsive, and indifferent to his surroundings.
Veritas tried calling out to him but it was to no avail, he seemed.. Dead.
"Where are you bringing me?"
Unresponsive.
"Who are you?"
Unresponsive.
It was futile, the man seemed out of it, thus Veritas stopped talking to him and assessed his situation instead.
A seemingly dead man, the shadows of trees looming over us, and a cold breeze. Another part of my soul or is it different? It seems.. similar to the grassy landscape. Yet this.. this feels more realistic.
With that, his thoughts wandered in the air. Veritas then decided to summon his runes, gazing upon his soul.
"It's still not there"
His soul was still gone yet the runes appeared once more.
[Veritas Alpas Ratio]
[Path: —-----]
[Soul Rank: ]
[Attunement: Whisperer of the Winds]
There was no ancient text under his Avatar this time yet his attunement was finally revealed!
"Whisperer huh, I thought it'd be Warrior or Knight, oh well."
Attunements vary between classes, yet the elements are the same. One can be a Gladiator of Fire, or a Priestess of Water. Although the elements used by the Attuned are the same, the class determines how the Attuned can use it.
An example of such is a Priestess of Water can use the element as a healing agent, becoming a staple in the church and helping those that are in need.
The Attunement themselves do not have a ranking system yet each of them is unique in their own way.
Veritas learned all this through his classes and the books that were in their library. It was common knowledge amongst the nobles.
With this information, Veritas gazed and focused closely on his Attunement, showing its description.
[Attunement: Whisperer of the Winds]
[-You are an Attuned of the Winds-]
[Description: Those who whisper the name of the wind are granted a medium, controlling the winds with their breath, voice, and will. The winds can be shaped according to their wishes and imagination
[Origin:
As the King of the Winds breathed his last, whispering with all his will power and strength. He stated,
" The winds will guide you. Wherever the wind stays, I will stay. Wherever the winds go, I will go. Therefore I shall impart you with my final breath, go and survive! For my time has come and it is time for your life to be anew."
The King breathed his last, it was a whisper yet it was a scream. Like the winds, as calm as a breeze yet as fierce as a storm.]
[Skill: Windsong
- Shape the winds with your voice.
Will of the Winds
- Shape the winds with your will.
Galebreathe
- Your lungs are always filled with the winds, you never run out of breath and you never feel winded. Your energy is boosted and your blood circulates well. ]
Veritas was pleased by this development, Whisperer seemed like it was very useful not only in battle scenarios but also in utility.
In theory, he could shape the winds however he liked, he could form a sword, form a bow, or even move certain items towards him.
However, in practice, it was much more difficult than that, he had to consider the weight, the strength, the velocity, and many more when creating or shaping winds.
For starters, he was going to try and use it to form a miniature rock. On average, a small rock or a pebble is only 2 millimetres or more, so he was going to start with that.
However, he forgot one major flaw in this. He had no soul, therefore he could not use his Attunement.
"Damn! How could I forget.."
He sighed, longing to get his soul back to try his newfound power. For now, he would have to rely on his strength alone.
*
The carriage echoed across the vast forest, sitting down inside was Veritas, who was scanning and assessing his runes. In the vast landscape of a forest filled with deep shadows, he could only overcome boredom with his runes. He could not talk with the carriage driver, nor could he get out.
He tried getting out but he realized that once he was freed from the carriage, there would be nothing to do. Similar to the grassy landscape, he could only walk. Thus, it was faster to ride in the carriage rather than spend his time walking wherever his legs could bring him or wherever the carriage was headed.
However! The carriage gradually slowed down and came to a stop. The driver still seemed soulless but after hours of hearing the horse's gallops and the carriage wheels, Veritas was finally introduced to a new sound or rather a familiar one.
Silence.
Veritas, startled by this, looked outside and saw the vast forest and its shadows, however something seemed different.
It didn't seem like the carriage was going to carry on with moving so Veritas decided to get out of it. He decided to grab a couple of items in the carriage.
It was a knife, and a pouch with coins in it. This could come useful whenever he comes across a village or something dangerous approaches him. The Elrods were skilled in combat after all.
He jumped out of the carriage and looked around his surroundings. It was vivid, it was empty. The shadows still loomed over the carriage and him, and the trees were so big that the sun was not visible. It was devoid of light to say.
Then as Veritas looked around he saw a shiny glimmer in the distance. He thought it was a coin or a treasure but no! It seemed like it was something big.
He made up his mind to head over there.
Traversing through the dark lands shadowed by the trees. Veritas, attuned as the Whisperer of the Winds determined to reach the truth.