The next few weeks of my life was quite mundande despite the scary universe I was in.
I slowly acclimated to the village life and even learned their language with the help of Muriel acting as a teacher.
My days consisted of waking up in the morning, washing up then having a breakfast of boiled seafood combined with grains, root vegetables or leafy greens. Then I would have some free time to myself and sometimes, usually in the evening, Muriel would teach me.
She's some kind of shaman or shrine maiden or priestess of the village and many came to casually chat with her. The religion of the villagers seemed quite laid back actually, some coming once in a while with a simple kneeling prayer or offering of raw fruits or fish for the turtle shell.
My inquiries made me realize it was some form of ancestor worship. They believe some of their dead's spirit would inhibit the shell to watch over their descendants.
Most coming to pray simply wished for good weather or quick recovery of a sick family member.
Nearing noon, me, Gram and Bobo would walk to his stall and gut and clean seafood till the evening. In the middle we would of course have a pretty late lunch, mostly some form of roasted root vegetables and seafood provided free from nearby stalls.
The slightly disappointing thing was that the villagers did not seem to have dinner and for the first week I actually had trouble sleeping due to the hunger. I got used to it however.
I had once tried to save some food during lunch by packing it in cloth. At night when I wanted to eat, I was stopped by Gram and he took some of the ashes from the incense bowl in front of the turtle shell and sprinkled it on the food before throwing them away.
I wanted go scold the villagers for their stupid superstition but was reminded of the world I was in and decided to play safe and abide by their rules.
Another superstition the villagers have was that they would strip down to almost nothing when they reached the shore and into the sea. No matter to swim or to fish on top of a boat, they would be almost naked and after having some proficiency in their language I asked Gram for the reason.
I found out that the villagers believe that there is a race of monsters living in the seas around the island that despise clothing on men. Apparently women were safe from the attacks of such monsters but if there was a covered or clothed man on board, the ship would be attacked and there were no survivors so far.
Being the brave soul that I am, I decided to test their story by totally believing in it.
What? You think I'm insane and try getting on a canoe by myself clothed? Fuck that shit! Whether it's true or not I'll rather never find out.
On days where the catch is not as bountiful, I have plenty of time to just laze around and at times I would use the free time to explore around the village. I stayed within the village outskirts however, and never strayed into the jungle or mountainous areas.
Using my superior detective skills(i.e. zero, nada, zilch, none...), I came to believe that most if not all of the villagers were mundane mortal humans. I never identified any beyonders during my early days.
As I got used to feeling safe from hunger and nature, I began to think of how to promote my sequence.
Spiritually and instinctively, I somehow know that I have to consume some beyonder characteristics but so far have not gained a single clue on how to locate them.
I could only slowly live my life as a child labourer and learn as much from the villagers as I could. Honestly, they do not even have written information so I was truly lost.
***
After a couple of months, I gained some hope when the whole village began to busy themselves with some kind of event. Dried fishes and plants were gathered and packed into fabric sacks and wooden crates. Some old and derelict ships that were tied and docked were also being cleaned and repaired, as if a use were suddenly found for them.
The packed goods were loaded onto the recently repaired ships and I asked Gram what was happening.
I found out that the village would send a few groups out a couple times every decade to trade with some distant lands across the ocean. They would bring the island's produce and come back with tools and other materials. The journey back and forth would take a couple of months and thus such trips would only be taken if there was a shortage of needed goods unable to be procured or produced in the island.
The traded merchandise would then be distributed to the villagers, with the elders receiving priority.
Guessing that my chance at meeting other beyonders and secret organizations would be higher in a different location, I inquired if I could join their trip only to be disappointed to find out that the requirements to join the voyage was that I was at least two meters in height.
Uhh... Even if I were much older I doubt I would reach such height...
What kind of shitty rule is that?
And so I was forced to be a primitive islander for quite a long time...
***
During the rather uneventful years on the island, I helped Grams with cleaning the seafood until I gained enough proficiency to do it with my eyes closed. Not long after my mastery, I asked Gram if I could change professions.
I then learned that the village had no lack of food from it's catch and farming and thus there was no real need to allocate jobs to every citizen.
However, there is a common story told to younger children that those who chose to embrace sloth and simply enjoy the bounty of the island without puting in much effort would eventually be cursed.
First, they would find that drinking plain water would not quench their thirst and ended up drinking only sweet fruit juice. Then, they would have to eat more and more food to satiate their hunger.
Then, once they are fattened enough, they will lose control of their thoughts and mindlessly walk towards the mountains where they are eaten by the guardian of the island.
Huh. Besides the getting eaten part, being slothful turns you into an American? That's hilarious!
However, I decided to play it safe and continued 'working'. Mostly I helped a different villager with their job until I learn enough or achieve some proficiency on their skills. Rope weaving, bone carving, farming, sewing, and countless other mundane skills. If I had a status screen it would probably display: Housewife - lvl 999!
Of course, a part of me knew that I was only delaying getting my self into dangerous situations, such as exploring outside the village.
After gathering enough courage, I finally decided to help a gatherer with her job. A tall, tanned lady which for some reason reminded me of Disney's Pocahontas except for her shaved, crew cut hair, Rosa was a quiet and no nonsense lady. Even when I offered to help her she merely replied with one word replies or shrugs.
Mostly I strapped on a bag and carried whatever she managed to forage. In the forest, although edible fruits were plentiful, she did not collect them. Our harvest were mostly fungi, vines, barks of certain trees for medicine or the skin and fur of trapped animals. Also lots of bugs. Apparently they get processed into dyes?
After bugging Rosa for the reason why they did not gather the fruits, only to be met with silence and an annoyed face, I gave up and asked Muriel instead.
Apparently on the island, another belief is that edible plants would be cursed either by the evening twilight or the night's moonlight. Consuming them, a person would be cursed with a multitude of differernt aliments.
To cleanse the curse requires a tedious ritual filled with chants, dancing and even sacrifice so generally such ritual is used for the more precious goods with medicinal quality.
Also farmed goods were fertilized with some kind of blessed or sacred ashes and thus quarantined from the curse.
I decided to stop following Rosa for a while to look at the rituals being held every night. Luckily, Muriel happens to be one of the praticioner and thus I followed her.
And thus began my slow decent into madness...