Taol's Compendium of Nent

Chapter 3: Spatium Plains (Flos)

I turned around, giving them a pained wave goodbye as I flash them one last smile, and from there, I turned away from them, not wanting to see their tear-stricken eyes once again – I cannot allow myself to be overrun by emotions now.

I, with nervousness festering in my heart, left my village, and with that, I left my past behind to pursue a future.

What kind of future? I wish I knew myself. It could be illustrious. It could be blank. All I know that is my journal now becomes proof of my tale.

I would pay the city one last visit, with me visiting the castle stables to get myself a horse. With Lord Bell’s approval provided to me via the pass that he had given the day before, I procured myself a fine mare – I got myself onto it, and with nothing left to keep me here, I swiftly left the city as I guided my horse to the light of the sun.

Feeling the wind against my face…my scarf blowing against the currents…suddenly, whatever sadness I had from leaving my home was gradually beginning to vanish. Before I knew it, I was suddenly entranced by the spirit of adventure. I was gripped by the allure of treasure, discovery…I suddenly felt like I was an explorer.

I cracked a grin. And it soon turned into a toothy smile as hope filled my heart.

I’ll be back, mom. I’ll be back, dad.

You’ll remember Taol Vasterburn as more than just your son when I return.

I’ll be back a legend. Not just of Flos.

But of all of Nent.

When I turned around, I could see the city and its surrounding villages slowly begin to disappear into the distance behind me as I found myself journeying through the Spatium Plains – the first exploration of my journal.

The grass looked like a blurred panoramic picture as my horse blazed through them – dandelions flying in the air and out into the sky…their destinations unknown…

I guess I’m a dandelion too, huh?

I can see why everyone wished to be part of the Exploration Team now – this exhilaration, this feeling of unending need to fulfill…you can’t get this anywhere else. You get this by bearing a mark of the elite…to think that someone as lowly as me journeying under such a mark, it’s almost insane, honestly.

I can’t help but laugh at such a thought.

Minutes turned to hours, and hours turned to days…and I explored much of Spatium Plains, scouring the land there and back in order to make sure every nook and cranny was documented – as I had expected, there was little to be found, however, there were a few sights that were quite interesting.

There were beautiful views from cliffsides here and there as I ventured through the grasslands, and of course, every now and then I would have to take a short break to recharge myself, be it some food or merely a sip of water to keep myself in sound form before getting a move on. I even got to bear witness to some ruined grounds – though it was merely limited to abandoned housing and scattered, half-built shrines. As to why they were built here of all places, where everything is so far away, I myself don’t know. Perhaps settlements were meant to exist in this expanse of land, but development was halted and swiftly abandoned in search for better grounds – makes sense.

Of course, I took some efforts to plunder whatever was left in these areas – there was little to be found, save for some rusted trinkets and dog-eared books that looked like they were old as time…but perhaps they can be restored to their former states if I can find a spot to repair and clean them up.

One day during my exploration of the plains, I soon arrived at a forest, and considering how it was close to night time when I had arrived, I knew that it was best to find a place to reside in until tomorrow. How convenient that I found this forest, then! With that, I guided my horse into the depths of this deciduous grounds, attempting to maybe find something akin to a lake, perhaps. Little did I know, I would end up finding something rather…strange.

So here I was, venturing through the woods, and of course, I was hearing the sound of crickets and slight shifting of shrubbery. Maybe a few owl hoots occasionally. However, when I did find a lake, as I had hoped, the water was shining, as if it were partially made of diamond – it was glistening under the moonlight as it shone down on the lake.

This was when everything started to grow quiet – too quiet.

Whatever sounds that surrounded me prior was gone, and I myself didn’t know why. Even then, I didn’t even notice the sudden drop in noise. Maybe it was because I was too fixated by the shining waters.

I would keep my horse restrained to a tree from a distance – if this spelled out danger, I couldn’t risk my only form of escape to leave my sights…I definitely didn’t want to get it injured by moving too close to the water, either. Like a moth to the flame, I began to inch myself closer and closer to the lake, intending to find out just what lied in it.

Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was faint, but…I heard it. I definitely heard it. I didn’t know where, but my ears were not fooling me. Everything around me seemed so unremarkable…there was no way that voice would come from the depths of the forest. It had to be coming from the lake, definitely…but then why did the voice sound the way it did?

My mind was clouded with confusion, and honestly, I couldn’t help but feel this sense of fear and dread beginning to overcome me as my eyes slowly gazed towards the lake.

My heart was getting faster and faster, and soon, it was pounding against my ribs, as if it was about to burst out from my chest any moment now. I held my breath, gulping to myself as I reached my hand out towards the water – I have to admit that fear may have blinded me and driven me to do this…but perhaps it might have been worth it.

As soon as my fingers touched the water, I could see the ensuing ripples disturbing the stillness of the water. And yet…the ripples didn’t cease. They remained, with them constantly moving in the lake. Then, it grew more aggressive…almost as if they morphed into small waves. And just like that, in the blink of an eye, I felt something firmly grab my hand as I instinctively closed my eyes in terror while I yanked my hand back.

I fell back against the ground, a torrent of water drenching me as I gasped out of shock – the water was freezing cold, as if I was about to be encased in ice any second now. But then…nothing happened. Instead, I felt something tap my shoulder. The voice returned again…only this time, the voice was right in front of me. I could hear it so clearly now.

It was…a woman?

She sounded intimidating, her pitch somewhat low, but she didn’t sound completely filled with rage. Irritated, maybe, but not a voice that screams out:

‘I’m going to kill you at this very instant and you won’t even have any last words’.

I slowly opened my eyes to see just who I was facing, and sure enough, I found myself staring eye-to-eye with…

A dark elf.

She was standing before me and staring down at me with a blank expression on her face, a spear in hand and a grappling hook in the other – she looked to be wearing some kind of skintight, pitch-black body suit that basically covered every inch of her skin, save for her head. Her clothes looked rather glossy as well, and her snow-white hair was dripping water, which only made me come to the conclusion that she came out from the water. What was she even doing in there in the first place?

After what felt like ages of deafening silence, she would soon speak up, expressing her slight amusement over the fact that I was in a forest like this – so, humans are considered strangers around these parts? That was…good to know. It still didn’t curb my fears, though.

Of course, just mere seconds later, she would let out a snort followed by slight snickering – looks like she found enjoyment in my own fears. With that, she would extend her hand out to me, which I took before she pulled me back up to my feet. She’d then explain how she was merely looking for fish to eat, and that she mistook me for some kind of threat as soon as she noticed my fingers in the water.

Now that I think about it, with that lance in her hands as well as that grappling hook, if she had used either of these things at me…jeez, the thought alone scares me even now.

At least her threatening aura was beginning to subside minute by minute as soon as she found out that I was but a mere human. That being said, when she asked what I was doing and why I was here, I was able to gather just a tiny bit of confidence to speak to this rather battle-hardened lady.

Upon learning that I had to undertake a massive journey throughout the entirety of Nent in hopes of seeking out the edge of the world, her eyes widened with surprise – had I said something wrong?

Quite the contrary, actually. She would soon ask me about this edge of the world, and when she learned about my lack of knowledge about it, she would soon find herself deep in thought, judging by her ensuing gestures. She would soon explain where she hailed from, most likely as a form of exchange for the knowledge of me that she now had.

Apparently, she was from Inanis, the Continent of Darkness – of course, it’s not called that because it’s evil or anything like that, it was mainly because of the fact that its massive mountain ranges and geological location meant that it gets very little sunlight, and thus, much of the continent is drowned in darkness…that’s rather unfortunate. I also found out that she too was just as much of an adventurer as I am, but her reasons were different. Where I explore to document, she explored to hunt.

It wasn’t long before our meeting based on happenstance turned into a full-blown conversation as we began to open up to each other. And as we casually spoke by the lake, it was from here where I was able to bear witness to my new acquaintance in…well, slightly more detail.

She had a pair of emerald green eyes that almost looked like it shined brightly, just like the lake of the water, and another thing which I also noticed, clear as day, was the crude, slightly faded scar that went down the left side of her face, all the way from her forehead to down to the base of her face, just close to her chin. It even went through her left eye as well, which was why one of her emerald eyes looked somewhat greyed out compared to the other.

There looked to be a fang jutting out from her lower lip as well, which made sense, I suppose.

It was…admittedly a captivating sight to behold, but I’ll just leave it at that. I just met this girl, come on – the last thing I want is to get skewered by that spear of hers.

The conversation progressed, and I soon learned that this woman, whose name was Tirza if I remember correctly, was raised by a group of game hunters – one of the best of Inanis, I believe…if her words are to be believed, anyway. The elf didn’t disclose further details about her personal life. She couldn’t help but look all smug and cheeky when she learned that I was but a meek 19-year-old…but nothing much I can do about that, and she certainly understood that I was seeking out recognition and fame via my exploration exploits.

Things soon came to a close – however, instead of saying our goodbyes and returning to our own separate paths, something surprising happened.

She asked if she could come along for the ride!

I…well, I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say – of course, I felt like I was hallucinating or something and in reality, I was currently drowning in that lake right now, but all this felt too real. I asked why she wanted to join me on my huge exploration campaign, and she said, and I quote…

‘No reason.’

No reason? Why would it be for no reason? Of course, she let out a laugh afterwards and explained her true motive – she always wanted to seek out monsters of all kinds, and she always dreamt of having the ultimate ‘kill list’…maybe a list of all the monsters and beasts that she has slain throughout her entire career as a game hunter. She believes that my exploring will definitely lead to some monsters, some possibly even near-mythic.

That alone already made me think about the dangers of this massive conquest…it’s not all just trekking and mapping. There definitely has to be some degree of fighting…which is something I horribly lack in. To have an indispensable companion like Tirza…who wouldn’t say no to that? And so, without much thought, I gladly accepted her offer of joining me. She looked visibly happy when I expressed my approval, so that was nice. Talk about an eventful time which just…happened completely by accident. Is this a sign of fate, perhaps? Which only means that something grim must be coming near…

She invited me over to her tent, which she had set up a fair distance away from the lake, and with that, I would free my horse from its restraints before guiding it just close to the tent before setting its restraints back. Of course, I was morally compelled to NOT sleep in the tent because…again, I just met her. Despite her assurances that I can, I chose not to. All she did was just shrug before going into her tent, only for her to come out with a jar of bait – fresh shrimp. I didn’t even have to ask why she brought that out – however, instead, she did ask me to set up a campfire so that we could settle dinner. Didn’t seem like a hard task – this was something I learned during my many Exploration Team trials.

With her out of sight as she returned to the lake, I too quickly got to work as I decided to explore the forest a little, hoping to find any fallen branches which I can use to make a fire. Conveniently enough, the sound of crickets returned and the deafening silence ceased to exist. Maybe the animals too, like me, are entranced by the sparkling water of the lake. It didn’t take long for me to find whatever I needed as I returned to the tent, and once I was able to make a campfire out of it, the dark elf had returned with a fair share of fishes.

We had a pretty hearty dinner, save for an awkward moment where she helped me puke a fish bone that got stuck in my throat, and that was the end of the day. Both of us went to sleep after putting out the campfire, with Tirza in her tent and me in my sleeping bag which I set close to the tent that was provided to me by the Exploration Team. Thank goodness it was specially made so that no pests come buzzing near my ear…otherwise I probably would have stayed up all night.

Looks like the Exploration Team really does know a thing or two about comfort while exploring, so that’s nice to think about. Quite convenient.

The night went by pretty quickly, and when it was dawn the next day, I was quick to wake as I packed my things and got myself ready – it was at this moment where I realized that my newfound companion was still snoozing in her tent…much to my dismay. Perhaps she was used to waking up late. With that, I pestered her to wake, and with much reluctance, she did. She looked rather angry, but it was merely just her grogginess messing with her sense of judgement – she insulted me for waking up so early, but she would eventually get to work as she took down her tent and packed up minutes later.

Looks like she got her own horse, too…talk about convenience. It would be rather frustrating for both of us to share one horse, after all.

When we got ourselves out of the forest, she asked where we were going, and from there, I took out my map, wondering just where we should go next – however, before I could even say anything, she would swiftly point at the ruins that was drawn on the map, demanding that we should head there. She…sure was excited over the idea of going to the ruins. But perhaps we both can find something there…the ruins it is!