A Hand-Woven Universe 6 6. Two Fish in a Pond

Originally, he did not know what to make of the child. At most he found Noone's existence to be very fascinating and he knew that Stara had loved this child of hers unconditionally. Liter sighed.

As he ended up spending time with Noone he grew to care for the boy much the same as the elder does. The year they spent together had cemented their relationship. Liter taught everything he could to Noone, sparking a strong interest in reading and books in Noone's soul. They enjoyed endless hours of reading and discussing ideas together.

"Noone..." Liter began.

"Yeah?" Noone had also come to think of Liter as close family. Liter gave him much of what he has. If it were not for Liter, he wouldn't be able to read, and his speaking would be average at best. He would have missed out on all the tales they read together in the library.

"No matter what happens, you are family. If nothing changes, so be it. Just don't forget you're not alone."

"Mm" Noone nodded once, staring deeply at Liter.

Liter scratched his head and gave off a verbal chuckle, he walked off seemingly with thoughts of the past on his mind. Noone watched him leave. Finally, Noone sighed and walked through the door to Elder Azelle's courtyard.

…

Noone saw the elder sitting on the ground next to a manufactured spring. The whole area had a blue radiance as the elder watched the water. The light in the courtyard was all tinted making one feel as though they were underwater. Calm. Cool. Safe.

"Hello Noone." The elder had not turned around. He never needed to. For some reason Elder Azelle always knew when Noone was around. It left Noone feeling perplexed but whenever he would ask, the elder would just smile. Noone got used to not asking and just accepted it.

When Noone walked over he was shocked when a small splash occurred in the spring in front of the elder. His eyes widened as he peered into the water and saw two fish!

"Elder! Those are fish? Living fish! How did you get them?" Noone asked incredulously. Elder Azelle just smiled and motioned for Noone to sit with him. They both watched as the fish swim around each other in the small pond. Noone was fascinated.

Eventually the elder broke the silence. "They must feel lonely, don't you think? Though they have each other, being cut off from the rest of their kin in the large ocean..."

"yeah..." Noone responded after a bit. But he did not really think about what the elder had said and was still enraptured by these strange creatures.

"I think," Noone looked at the elder "I think they can only feel lonely because they knew a life that was different to this. If they had always lived in this spring... Who's to say?" Noone rubbed the sestone in his hand.

The elder noticed this and chose to change the topic, "Do you still go through stones frequently Noone?" Noone nodded. "If you want, I can get you a sturdier one? A higher-grade stone should be able to last you a lot longer than those small ones."

Noone shook his head. "You don't need to do that elder, the higher-grade ones are too important to the infrastructure of Tapestry. These small ones are fine for me." He said evenly. The elder nodded.

"Alright then, shall we find out then about your attunement? If anything is going to develop in you, this will be the last chance…"

A pause

A silence

'Please."

They both stood up, heading into the elder's home.

…

A Sigh rang out in the courtyard. Two sighs actually, overlapped.

"I am sorry Noone. I wish… there were something I could do to change this fate of yours."

Noone simply smiled. "It's okay elder, we both pretty much expected this to be the case, no?" Noone was unsure what he was feeling. There was a tinge of regret? Disappointment? Self-ridicule for expecting a miracle to occur? Maybe just… Loneliness?

Noone took a deep breath. Strong like the stone, soft like the stream, Noone reminded himself. No matter what, fate will not control him. He will stand on his own, he will let everything else wash off him.

"Noone-" "

Do you mind if I excuse myself elder?"

There was a pause.

"Of course not Noone, please."

The elder too was unsure of what he was feeling. He had always felt a little responsible for Noone. If he had been there when Noone was born, perhaps there was something he could have done? Maybe it would have been different...

…

Eventually Elder Azelle stood up, he needed to clear his head. He made his was towards the cliff face.

The entirety of tapestry was carved out from the centermost region of a cliff face at the ends of the world. To reach the bottom if one were to jump, would take multiple days. Upon arriving, they would be greeted by a stormy rocky endless gray ocean on one side and an endless wall of stone on the other. Equally so far is the climb up, taking almost a year.

At the face of the cliff there was a large outcropping half the size of the city that stretched from the sheer wall. When the elder was feeling overwhelmed this is where he would go to clear his mind.

He walked through the halls, lost in his own thoughts. When others saw him, he was met with endless greetings and praises. He simply smiled and waved them off. He was not in the mood right now.

He knew logically that there was nothing that could be done. What had happed was already finished. Even if he had been there for the birth, he doubted anything would have changed. But to force Noone to live this life in Tapestry cut off from almost everyone... was it not too much? Gradually his thoughts turned toward the surface world.

Arriving at the balcony he saw hundreds of individuals sat around listening to a lecture from the strongest air attuned elder in the conclave. He was a full half the height of everyone else in tapestry, but his skills in his element were top notch. He was teaching other air attuned some of his experiences that led to his mastery. In the crowd were other attuned as well, hoping to gain a unique perspective into their elements and laws.

Elder Azelle really didn't want to cause a fuss so he stepped to the back of the group and sat down to listen as well.

"All of the elements mix together, but how they do so is dependent on each individual's understanding and experience. I have had the most luck with wind, earth, and plant laws. These are things in nature that already have an identifiable mutualism between them. Thus, they are easy to decipher."

The small elder saw Elder Azelle sit down in the back - coming to a close soon anyways - he figured he might as well end it where it was. "Alright everyone, I will be ending it here today. I want everyone to think about what I have said, and I will speak more on it in a month from now." He waved his hand dismissing the air affinity elements which he had been dispersing into the crowd.

Gradually the crowd scattered, leaving the elder free to talk. He walked over to Elder Azelle.

"Well old friend, is it as we thought?"

"Mm" Elder Azelle nodded.

"No elements at all huh... I really do wonder what this means for us in the future."

"Mm."

"Though like the librarian said It might not mean much of anything in the long run."

"Mm."

They walked over to the edge of the balcony, outstretched 100s of meters from the face of the cliff.
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In their sights was an endless gray ocean of clouds. Beneath that was just a regular endless gray ocean. Even before the ancestor had come, their people had been situated here at the end of the world. Beyond this was nothing. Just infinite ocean.

They stood and watched. It was truly beautiful, but also had a way of making you feel so small. They were the last bastion of hope for humanity, and had been chosen by the ancestor. Stuck here at the end of the world.

"I want a city-grade sea stone."

"Mm" the shorter elder nodded.

A moment passed

"Wait, what?"

Another moment.

"How much do you need..?"

Elder Azelle held out his palm in the center of which was a shattered Sea stone.

"Oh, that would be difficult..."

Elder Azelle turned his hand over and let the remnants of the stone fall over the edge of the cliff.

"Noone left it in my quarters after his test. He didn't even realize he had crushed it."

"He crushed it? With his hands?"

"He has always been strong, but this blow may have been too much for him. I know he knew it was a possibility… but that doesn't mean he was prepared for it."

"Did you say he crushed it with his hands?"

"Yes, he crushed it with his hands!" Elder Azelle glared at the smaller elder. They stared at each other for a moment before returning to looking over the ocean.

"He really Is freakishly strong."

"Mm."

Chapter end