A Hand-Woven Universe 98 98. A Satellite Town

Subconsciously and without reason, Noone's hand moved to the pendant around his neck. The feel of the cool metal and hair-thin engravings on his fingers reminded him of something… a feeling of home.

He continued to trail behind the group not especially noticed or unnoticed. He did not engage in conversation instead being taken in by the vast and strange nature around him and his own memories. His thoughts became cloudier and his memories drifted closer to the forefront of his mind. He felt as though something had begun calling to him from very far away. Noone had just enough awareness to notice a gentle pulse come from the necklace. Immediately he dropped the pendant from his hand, faltering a step by the sudden unexpected sensation.

It hung uselessly from his neck just as it had before. Noone quickly hid the baffled expression from his face, eyeing the rest of the group to see if anyone else realized what just occurred. No one seemed to notice, and Noone quickly resumed his pace.

Noone considered trying to remove the necklace as he had many times before, but eventually chose against it. He was not sure what would happen, even if it did work this time. Being surrounded by a group of individuals who were already vaguely cautious of him did not inspire him to take any risks.

"Tonight," He thought, "I will try and figure out what just happened." Noone had never felt any reaction from the pendant before today so he was eager to discover more, but he also knew there was a time and a place for that.

The group rounded the side of a large hill, which had obscured their vision from the town of Ardglass.

A jumble of voices echoed off the trees, lending to a constant stream of white noise which burrowed into Noone's ears. His eyes widened and all thoughts disappeared, a small smile formed on his expression and excitement bubbled up.

The first society that isn't Tapestry… He couldn't help the bitter taste in his mouth as thoughts of the elders of Tapestry floated to the top of his mind.

"If only they had known… That there was a whole world up here." Noone shook his head just as the first buildings came into sight.

A moderate sized plot of land bordered by a small wooden fence was being tended to by several humans. Men and women scattered through the field gathering materials from the plants which grew freely on the sowed earth. Noone watched them work curiously. The plants and vegetables being harvested were like nothing he had ever seen.
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His senses extended from his body, his sight surrounded a full three-meter sphere around him. No longer did this sight fluctuate in size - it remained at three meters distance and even showed signs of wanting to expand further. He took in the sights, sounds and smells.

There was a small storehouse next to the field. Noone could see wooden planks – like that on the handcart, only larger – making up the doors, walls, and even roof of the building.

Noone had wondered about this for a while, why were these humans so wasteful to make a cart of wood. It was not until he saw the never-ending expanse of trees that he realized these people on the surface had no need to conserve wood. It was not a precious material for them, not like it was in Tapestry.

Their buildings were wood, their baskets were wicker, their clothes were every manner of cloth and sometimes leather or metal. It was all so different from the world Noone knew.

Past the storehouse he saw an entire city of buildings were scattered in open land.

"How are you feeling?" Suddenly a light and feathery voice shook him from his thoughts. Raelith had fallen back from the group and began to walk with Noone. She had always been the most curious about Noone. His society, how he saw the world, what would become of him now. She couldn't help but be intrigued by such a being, it was in her nature.

So for now, Rae wanted to be there to observe him every step of the way, and maybe even be considered a friend by him.

Noone glanced at her and then continued looking towards the town. He could see people scattered between the buildings, men and women and children. So many children. He saw humans, and there were even a few obvious other races scattered within. Although they were much less common. From what Noone understood based on what he had been taught, this was most certainly a regional issue. Other places seemed to have a much wider mix of people.

"I feel…" Noone's eyes dashed from space to space, taking in everything he could. "Excited, curious, a bit sad. Nostalgic." He shook his, smiling wryly at himself.

"I can't say I fully understand." Rae smiled gently, "I was from a hidden away city within the forests to the far east. Until I was about eighty, I had never considered the outside world. Everyone from my home was the same as me, you see. Also, a moon elf." She chuckled to herself as though reminiscing about her youth. "But even though I was sheltered in that regard, I always knew there was a world out there." Her smile became gentler, her eyes shining with insight. "That's why I can only partly imagine what this is like for you. You're still young, and you will adapt quicker than you know."

"I'm almost as old as you, Rae. Apparently." Noone couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

When he jumped from the cliffs of Tapestry, one of the things he said was how he did not know if he would live as long as any of the others because of the circumstances of his existence. That is why he was so eager to complete his coming of age ceremony sooner and come to the surface.

But now… he had not only lived to be a century in age, but he outlived everyone else…

"Only technically, Noone." Rae's heels lifted off the ground, she was walking on her toes the way she would when overcome with energy. It seemed to be a habit of hers which no one commented on. As young as she may seem, ultimately, she had still almost lived two whole centuries. In this world, that was commendable.

"Yeah. Only technically." Noone sighed.

By now their conversation had drawn the attention of the rest of the group, Jakobson and the clergymen were surprised by what they were hearing, unsure of how to interpret this strange man's existence.

"You know Noone…" Sarah had caught the tail end of Rae's words and for the first time realized how odd even such a simple town must seem to him. "This is probably the best place for you to begin introducing yourself to the ways of the common countries. It's a small enough town that you don't have to worry about dangers like in a city." She bit her lip as she considered other perks. "Plus… you can get used to the new customs without fear of being outcast." She glanced at Noone's large form, his gray stone skin etched white marbled lines which glowed with magic power. "Well, too much anyways."

Jakobson, being privier to the situation than the rest offered some reassurance.

"You will do fine here Noone. Although I don't know how long you are staying, this town has bigger worries than an odd foreigner or two… especially with war on the horizon." Although good intentioned, mentioning the oncoming storm only deepened everyone's anxiety. Sarah and Feylin shared a glance that only they could understand.

Tobias looked at Jakobson. He wished he could stay and help the town. That was his job really - as a paladin of the Order of Life he was devout to the gods of healing. Seeing such a small town at the front lines of an oncoming army… he was supposed to protect them! Not run missions for some third party! But… he had a mission to fulfill.

"Why don't you recommend the townspeople make haste towards the closest city? It will save time before the epoch tribesmen arrive, and it will be much easier to hold a well-guarded city than a satellite town." Sally spoke evenly, glancing towards the two acolytes ever-changing expression. She did not want to see this town become swallowed up in the struggle either.

Jakobson nodded.

"Indeed that's true. And we have made that recommendation. The only problem is that these people have lived on the border for so long they do not feel accepted in the larger cities. They are stuck in their ways many of them. On top of that many of them don't believe the army will come this far south. Most seem to think that they will move directly east and begin taking the larger cities first. We are close to the border of Montese, so they don't believe the tribesmen will even bother since there's no tactical advantage." Jakobson sighed, he was worried for the future. No one was expecting such an event to occur, and no one knew how it would be resolved.

Tobias considered his words. "They might be right about that actually. The tribesman are lashing out against an offense. This isn't a conquest per se, so they may just overlook you and strike directly at the heart of Cinapul." No one was sure what to say to that, so they said nothing.

The group grew quiet as they stepped within earshot of the main town. No one wanted to inspire fear or paranoia amongst the regular people here. Starting rumors, even just based around speculation, could easily devolve into chaos in such a small town.

Noone felt an overwhelming disconnect with the conversation. He looked around taking in the alien sights around him. It was foreign… but equally familiar. The bustle of city streets, the sound of feet shuffling against stone and dirt floors. It seemed that no matter where one goes, towns operated like this. The only difference was an unfamiliar flood of voices filled his mind.

Chapter end