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Версия 18:08, 8 января 2023
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“Day 1
The first thing I saw since I collapsed from exhaustion was the ceiling of the room where I am lying. A very low ceiling, where a Zorai would hardly stand. On this ceiling, but also on the four walls of the room, are engraved names, probably of passing homins, but also dates, symbols, some of which remind me of those of Arispotle Street, in Pyr. I quickly took my bag and pulled out a varinx leather to note all this, before a Fyros arrived and asks me to follow him.
He then asked me if I had slept well. I didn't say anything. Sleeping well is a tautology. Sleeping is necessarily well. The homin took me to another, larger room, where I found Eeri. She welcomed me with a smile. There was also a Zorai homina. Then everything was explained to me. The arrival at the tower in a awful state, me asking a guard if the Eyes and the Beast can enter the camp, their laughter. And… blackout. I fell asleep for a whole day.
I have never been so scared in my life. In fact, I don't think I've ever been afraid before. How can we, homins of the New Lands, used to not dying from beatings, used to our environment, know what fear is? Without the Powers, we are so weak. And yet... Yet this tower exists. There are homins who live there, in this inhospitable place, without Powers to help them. And I ask them if the eyes can come in here... But what a toub!
We chatted a bit more with the Fyros and the Zorai, then I went back to the travelers' dormitory, pretending to have things to review. In fact, I was ashamed. I, Azazor, akenak, former legionnaire, am ashamed of what I have been in this maddening desert. A wreck, a nobody. Without Eeri, I would have died.
Now that I have slept, I must pull myself together. I'll go around, write down everything I can, interview people too. I need to know what's really in the Sea of Wood. On akash, Azazor will not falter any longer.
Day 2The Zorai is the stewardess of Fort Beacon. She has been appointed by the ranger council that runs Oflovak's Halt. In fact, here is a kind of outpost of the Halt. Her name is Tao Shin, 73 years old, which according to the homins here is more than venerable. With the absence of resurrection, the life span on the Oflovak Road is much shorter than in the New Lands. The Fyros is Barylus Abythan, leader of the guards. He told me that they had a good laugh when they saw us coming. They didn't believe us when Eeri told them we were from the New Lands. Passing through here is rare for homins that are not rangers nor marauders. So to come from the New Lands is unheard of in homin memory. Tao Shin told me that in the archives the names of such homins can be found. But she was not born and could not know them. Most of the travelers are rangers. A few marauders from time to time, but also emissaries or outcasts from other nearby tribes, at least those who didn't die on the way. Because yes, there are tribes established here and there along the road, especially north of Fort Beacon. Besides, some of them maintain good relations with them. Barter is regularly practiced.
As a result, they asked us about the New Lands, which they know a little about from other rangers, and about the purpose of our trip. When we told them that we wanted to go to the desert of the old Fyros Empire, beyond the Citadel, they tried to dissuade us. They say that crossing the Sea of Wood without a guide is suicide (and let's not talk about the rest of the route). The longer you stay in this area, the more you lose in vitality. You have to go fast, so you have to follow the beacons carefully. But between the tiredness, the absence of landmarks because of the fog and the predators, it is impossible for novices like us. We survived by miracle.
Precisely, the predators (the Beast and the Eyes...), it's not what you think. The kind of plaintive cracking that we hear, the same as the one we can hear on the edge of the cliff in the New Lands, is the armadai. At least, that's how they call it here. It seems that it has other names elsewhere. But it's still the same beast. To put it simply, it's a kind of giant arma, but not exactly. Longer, but with shorter legs. Herbivorous, then. Here is my Beast, the one that shakes the bark. Just a good big herbivore, bigger though than our biggest shalahs. I'll have to see one up closer to make up my mind. What we have to fear on the other hand, are the predators of these armadais (my Eyes…). Yetins, of a very tough type. They would come from the islands of the Sea of Wood or the Verdant Continent (that's what they call the place we are, or else Ancestral Forest).
Unlike the armadais, these yetins are not made to live in the Sea of Wood. It would kill them too to stay there too long. And if they spared us during our little trip in the Sea of Wood, it's just a stroke of luck. Barylus explained to me that they hunt armadais in packs. That's when they are huting we have the best chance of getting off. Compared to the armadais, we comprise not much for them to eat. The risk is if you run into a pack that's not on the hunt. There is always one or two to have a little opportunistic snack. But, a priori, there is no risk to meet them in the Sea of Wood without them hunting. That said, it is better to avoid crossing their path anyway.
In short, we were entitled to a rundown about the Sea of Wood. They told us of course about Oflovak's Halt. It is a rather quiet island, on which the city of the Halt has been built a very long time ago by the descendants of the first rangers. They insisted that it would be imperative, if we nevertheless wanted to continue our journey, to stop there before continuing towards the Cloudy Cliff Diplomatic Outpost, if only to rest and not go mad in the Sea of Wood. This pull me a face. Indeed, I was on my way to become mad. But now that I can put a name to what I heard over there, I'll be less afraid. It's fear that drives you mad. Especially when you've never really experienced it.
They told us that we could stay here for a few days, the time to get back on our feet and especially to properly weigh our decision on whether or not to continue the trip towards the east. Then they went back to their occupations, leaving us there, Eeri and me, with a lot of unanswered questions. What I would like to know is which people from the New Lands have managed to come this far? And what were they looking for?
Day 3Mac'opin Kickan, the Tryker who received us at our arrival here, and with whom Eeri sympathized a lot, has made us visit the place.
The tower is a piece of the Canopy which would have fallen and remained planted in the bark. Their hypothesis is that the piece remained for a long time half attached to the rest of the Canopy, which allowed it to stabilize with the growth of the adjacent vegetation. Fortunately today, the tower is fully attached. So, although it is leaning, there is no risk of it collapsing. Moreover, considering the very uneven relief around the tower, there must be lot of debris of this canopy in the surroundings, since covered by the vegetation. The fall must have taken place at least several centuries ago. It is thus inside this root that these descendants of rangers built their dwelling, by digging a whole bunch of cavities in the root. There are dormitories like the one we're staying in, living rooms and even a bar, all connected by narrow hoses, stairs carved in the wood and ladders. At the top of the tower is the office of the stewardess Tao Shin.
We could also have a look at the lighthouse itself. It consists in a huge brazier, a large set of mirrors and… what? Some stuff that distorts the view when you look inside. Didn't ask about the name of this stuff. But it's made of totally unknown materials. I heard it came from a wreck of a Karavan ship, found north of the Verdant Continent about a century ago. From the top of the tower, the Eternal Tree can be seen in the west, emerging above the Canopy. According to the Tryker, there are some very hostile and particularly large animals there. He has never been there, so he is not quite sure, but from what he has been told, there are also homins living there, and even tribes of gibbai. However, it is rather complicated to confirm, since rangers rarely go there. Yet, there would be extremely rare resources in these lands. He also explained us that other trees of this kind, that some call Ancestral Trees, exist elsewhere, far from the Oflovak Road. But he was unable to tell me where they are. Or, maybe, is he not allowed to reveal this?
All I can say is that, seen from up ther, Atys is much bigger than one can imagine. It is forests overlooking other bare lands, islets of life, reliefs, desolate plains. A world so vast, so… inconceivable? One has no idea of such immensity until one has seen this.
After this beautiful visit, Kickan proposed us to join him this evening at the bar. He will make us taste the speciality of Oflovak Road: the baba.
Day 4Big headache this morning. His damn baba, but let him keep it! I have rarely drunk something so insipid. Even Lorlyn's byrh is more tasty. Baba is an alcohol made from the seeds of the balogna tree, a kind of rustic bush of the forest. The seeds are crushed, left to macerate with water and then a bit of sawdust is put in for preservation. There is to drink and to eat with that.. So yes, I understand that it is useful when there is nothing to eat, especially since it keeps for a long time. But thence to drink this stuff for pleasure… Moreover it fills very little. It's not disgusting, but it's not a pleasure to drink. And if my hair hurts this morning, I'm sure it's their baba. Eeri and I hesitated to take out the vial of ocyx essence that we've managed to preserve miraculously from breaking. But we said to ourselves that it was not yet the occasion to celebrate. We didn't even get halfway there.
That said, it was a good evening with that Kickan. He was born at the Oflovak's Halt, like most here. Then, after starting as a guard over there, he moved up in rank. Five years ago he came here as an officer. From time to time, he goes back to the Halt. He's a liaison officer, mostly. Most of the rangers here have multiple jobs. He's mostly liaison with the Halt (mail, some cargo). He also takes care of the maintenance of the beacons in this portion of the Road. He has offered to accompany us in a few days to the Halt. He has some messages to deliver, mainly personal messages from the homins to their families who stayed at the Halt. In short, he is a nice guy and Eeri gets along well with him. You have to hear her chuckle every time Kickan makes a joke. They have a particular humor these rangers…
— Azazor Eridlo Mirihus
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