63 Visiting Rosenfield (1/2)
”Look, right over there, boy! I can sense multiple lifesigns over a couple of kilometers ahead. I think it might be a village or a small town of some sort,” said Lacrima in joy.
Reed let out a wild howl of happiness in response when he heard the good news from Lacrima and increased his flying speed even more. Finally! Civilization! Food! Comfort!
The unfortunate pair had been flying for nearly an entire day in a straight line and had not seen a single town throughout out the entire journey. Suffice to say, the West's endless mountain ranges were not very scenic, or at least as beautiful as the Eternal Forest, per se.
Past the Western border lay lush, wild landscapes reminiscent of a virgin paradise. It was untamed but full of life unlike anything Reed had ever seen before. The trees that covered the East towered over the lands, sometimes even peaking into the clouds above. This was a land ruled by beautiful, verdant grasslands and majestic forests.
It's real damn pretty around here, that's for sure. This place seems heavenly compared to the average scenery you'd see up in the North…
A little town lived near the border of one the expansive, ancient forests of the East. It was a remote settlement that had been built centuries ago by the Eastern Empire in effort to expand out and reinforce its presence along the border during a marked period of tension with the Western Empire.
That stressful era of conflict had long since passed, though. Years turned into decades, and they, too, eventually turned into centuries. All that had been left of that troublesome period now was a lovely little town in the middle of nowhere, beside a peaceful forest of enormous, ancient trees.
A small, homely bastion overrun with flowers and trees. Rosenfield.
When Reed landed near the town's outskirts, he immediately restrained and locked his aura into something that would not attract attention. He drew back aura's pulse, the amount of Anima he emitted, and his shimmer, the degree of condensation he could condense Anima.
He looked like a regular contender now, aura-wise. Reed was confident it'd fool contenders, for sure. Conquerors, on the other hand… that was up for debate. Veteran conquerors? He'd probably get caught in an instant.
But the chances of an old freak like that appearing in this little town is probably close to zero. Why would someone like that ever settle down here in middle of nowhere?
Reed brushed his clothes clean and conjured up a small mirror made up of water to make sure that he looked fine. He inspected himself from top to bottom until he was finally convinced that he didn't look like a fool. More than anything, he didn't want to ruin his first genuine interaction with the common folk of this world like an idiot.
As Reed walked towards the town's old gates, he wondered if he'd ever spoken to a normal person — for the lack of a better word, a mortal — since he had arrived in Mulia.
Much to Reed's surprise, the people who lived in the town weren't human at all. They were Avunians among the townfolk, who he immediately recognized, but there was another race that also walked amongst them.
They much taller and slender than the average human. Most were easily at least two meters in height and had long ears just like the Avunians, except they were not slightly transparent like theirs. The trait had seemingly been shifted onto their hair instead. Very curious.
The tips of their hair shimmered in an unnatural way like tiny bundles of glowing string. Their hair floated and swayed along with the flow of Anima ever-so-slightly whenever a small Anima wave passed by. It was somewhat enchanting watch their long hair dance along with the Anima in the air…
He would have continued to gawk at their unique, beautiful hair but a soft voice stopped him from continuing his boorish gawking session.
”Oh my, isn't this quite the surprise!”
Reed turned around was met with a young Avunian girl who seemed to be no older than twenty or so, but he knew better. That their kind matured up to a certain point and stopped aging altogether. They maintained their peerless beauty until death, a trait that all other races in the continent greatly admired.
It was said by someone that this was a racial trait that the Avunians possessed even before they were brought into Mulia millennia ago. Before they called themselves Avunians, when they were referred to simply as the Alf…
”A-Ah, hello there, miss,” blurted Reed in surprise.
”A visitor, and a human boy at that… A very rare thing, indeed. You're quite aways from the North, aren't you?” said the woman as she inspected Reed in curiosity.
Reed awkwardly chuckled and said, ”I guess I got lost on the way home. Probably took a wrong turn somewhere, I think…”
She giggled and replied, ”That is a very troubling development, then. It seems you've made quite the blunder because you're, at the very least, more than two thousand kilometers away from the North's border.”