Chapter 4: A Short Trip
I continued my daily training, while Suly helped me study the Runes. Mom was gone for a long time though, it's been a month at that stage. Even though Suly and Leran were there with me, I still missed her. Besides learning about Runes and Formations, Suly told me more about that new Formation they researched. She said it was an old concept, and required Elements in order to work.
Elements were rather a new concept for the North. We could make Formations that utilised fire, water, air or whatever, but the existence of Elements was unknown to us in the past. Since we learned about them, the Formations and Runes evolved to become much stronger. From what Suly said, that was precisely why such long distance travel Formation was possible. I already knew it would transport people from one city to another, but I wasn't sure how.
Suly explained they would use a few types of Elements at once, and pack them together to make a sort of combined Element. That was necessary to achieve such transportation methods. When I asked her about the location, she didn't know. "It could be Sedon, or perhaps Boltier, maybe even New Varent. We didn't choose any locations yet, because we have to test everything first. We will worry about location later", she said. I knew very little about the Northern cities, mom was quite reluctant to speak about them. 'Mom is not around though, and Suly is not as stingy with stuff… Maybe I can get something out of her', I thought.
"Hey Suly, why don't we live inside those cities? I faintly remember a city of some sort, but then we moved here. Why doesn't mom want to live inside a city?", I asked. Suly laughed drily, "I don't know, perhaps your mother wanted peace and quiet?". I felt like she knew something, so I pressed on, "Then why don't we visit one of the cities?". "No, no. We can't do that. Your mother is not around, and I don't want her to worry sick when she returns", she replied.
"It's been a month already. She must be really busy, no one will know. We can leave a note for her, in case she returns and we are not back yet… Come on, any city, even the closest one to us", I said. Struggle was visible on her face, which meant there was a chance. "Pleaseeee…", I added. "...Haah… Fine! We can go visit Apium, it's not that far away from here. A short trip! If your mother finds out, she will kill me", Suly said.
Apium was fine by me. Anywhere was fine, as long as it was something new. Suly packed a few things for me, and we left for our little trip. I knew that Apium was the place Atols lived in. I didn't know exactly where it was, because mom never showed me a map. Suly didn't need a map though, she knew where to go. "Usually, it would take us about three to four days of walking, but I have a way to get there faster", she said.
I wasn't sure what she meant, but I quickly found out. Suly took out a tall squared basket from her storage item, the inside of the basket were lined with fabric too. "Why do you need that basket?", I asked confused. She smiled, "Get inside with Leran. Since you are not able to use your energy yet, I will have to carry both of you there".
"Whaa? I don't want to travel in that…", I complained. "If you want to go on a trip, that is how you will travel. We don't have any animals we can travel on, that is the fastest way. Or we can stay, it's up to you", Suly replied. Leran didn't seem to have any issues with the basket, and even invited me inside. "Climb in! Sister is really fast, she goes swoosh! Like the wind".
I really wanted to go on that trip, and there was no other choice. I climbed in with Leran, while Suly lifted up the basket and placed it on her shoulders. "Alright guys, hold tight!", she said and accelerated. "Weee!", Leran exclaimed. Suly was fast, really fast. I wondered whether she was that strong or used Formations.
Suly ran for a few hours, before we stopped. "We will rest here for a while. I need to replenish my energy, and I'm sure you guys want to rest too", Suly said. "Are you as strong as my mom?", I asked. She smiled, "Nah, she is properly strong. I have many Formations on my clothes and accessories, that is why I can be so fast and run like that. If you study well, such feats will be possible for you too". I nodded, and really looked forward to the future.
Suly prepared dinner for us, while I played around with Leran. "Leran, if you don't want to study Formations, what do you want to do?", I asked. He thought about it for a while, "I want to perform!". I was totally lost at that stage. 'Perform? Perform what exactly?', I asked myself. "What would you like to perform?", I asked curiously.
Suly replied this time, "The Arena in the Land of Sands is used for performances. There are also other stages around large cities, and people perform all sorts of things. Leran likes to watch them a lot, so I'm not surprised he wants to do that". Leran nodded, "Sister An should go with us, the performers are really great!". 'That's the first time I heard about that, mom is really stingy…', I thought and said, "Yea, I'd love to go next time". Suly laughed drily, "Hehe… If your mom allows it…".
After dinner and a short rest, our trip resumed. Suly told me we would arrive at Apium by the evening, we weren't that far off anymore. While inside the basket, I watched the sunset and the sea in the distance. 'I wonder what else mom hid from me', I asked myself. I didn't know why she chose to live in a serene and quiet place. Why she wouldn't tell me many things, but I figured she must've had her reasons. 'I just have to wait until she is ready, I don't want to make her sad', I thought.
Just like Suly said, we arrived at Apium in the evening and I could finally leave the basket. "Just don't wander off without me, alright?", Suly said. I nodded, and took a proper look at Apium in front of me. It was a large green forest, with all sorts of trees growing everywhere. Every other tree bore fruits, and the land seemed plentiful in life. While we walked toward the forest, a few Atols came forward to greet us. "Came for a visit?", one of the armoured Atols asked. Suly nodded, and asked to see uncle Ulon.
We were escorted inside the forest, where I noticed houses atop every other tree. 'So Atols build their houses atop the trees, no wonder they can climb so well', I thought. Mother told me that Atols loved and respected nature, that much was evident to me when I saw Apium. The forest thinned out a bit the further we went, and a more spacious area with more houses and Atols appeared in front of us. The trees and houses were illuminated by some sort of orbs. They released bright yellow light, but not blinding at all.
When I asked Suly about it, she told me those were special rocks with Formations. She also mentioned that the colour could be changed to one's preference. It seemed Atols liked yellow though. No matter what, the orbs really made Apium look much more mysterious and magical. While being escorted to uncle Ulon's place, all Atols seemed to stare at us for some reason. "Are you that popular here, Suly?", I asked unsure. "...Yea… Anyway, we will rest at Ulon's place today, and tomorrow we will give you a tour. This place is really great, you know?", she replied.
We soon arrived at a certain area, where two large and very thick trees stood prominent. There was a stone building to the right of them, and it was quite large too. The two large trees were actually houses, and both of them looked differently. One of them had stairs around it, and a house-like building inside its crown. The other one was wrapped by vines, and a lot of plants surrounded it. Moreover, the entrance was through the tree itself. The round crown had some opening that looked like windows, but I couldn't see any sort of house through the crown.
That was the tree we headed towards, and Uncle Ulon already stood outside to welcome us. "Uncle!", I shouted and ran forwards. "Hoho, our little princess grew up that much already?", he said while picking me up. "Princess?", I asked bewildered. "Oh... It's just a figure of speech, don't worry about it. You came for a visit right, we will show you around tomorrow. Today you should get some rest, you must be tired. Let's go, uncle will show you your room", he replied and carried me inside.
We climbed the round stairs inside the tree, until we made it to the upper floor. It was really spacious, and there were a few doors to different rooms. The whole place was full of vines, as they acted like walls and even doors. Uncle took me to one of the rooms and placed me down. The room was big, much bigger than my own room in our house.
"What about Suly and Leran?", I asked. Uncle smiled, "They will get their own room, this one's for you. You can use everything you see here. If you need anything else, let me know". I shook my head, "No, no. That's plenty". Uncle wished me good night, and left the room. Before going to sleep, I checked out the room in more detail. There was a bookshelf in the corner, but there were only a few books there. When I checked them out, the books described plants and how to farm them. 'These books are boring', I thought and moved on.
There were toys laying around, but I wasn't six anymore. 'Uncle thinks I'm still a kid…', I thought and checked out the dresser. There were loads of clothes inside, and even some fancy ones, but I already had my clothes. 'I don't need them though, but I guess uncle Ulon wanted to be accommodating', I thought. When I looked up, a few orbs hung from the ceiling, and illuminated the room yellow. They looked very beautiful, and very unique. I wondered if uncle would be able to get one for me to take home. 'I will ask about that tomorrow, it's time to go to sleep', I thought and hopped into the bed. It was not only soft and comfortable, the bed was also much bigger than what <msreadoutspan class="msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight">I had at home. 'Mother is really stingy…', I thought and slowly fell <msreadoutspan class="msreadout-word-highlight">asleep</msreadoutspan>.</msreadoutspan>
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