Re: Level 100 Farmer

Chapter 180 - Dream II

Tia had been having a recurring nightmare of darkness and water for the past two weeks, which did concern Li, but he had also been informed that with the development of magic came changes to the mind which could trigger nightmares.

Nothing of significance, though, and according to Azhar when Triple Threat was stationed in Riviera that it was something that would pass with time as Tia became more and more familiar with her powers. 

Li put a hand to Tia's forehead and closed his own eyes, entering a state of divine meditation, his consciousness splitting from his human form in an instant, leaving him in the midst of the Winterwoods, at the very heart of his shrine. 

This was very much like the astral projection spells of the game, but Li knew this was fundamentally different. It was no spell; it was simply an extension of his natural abilities that came with becoming more familiar with his godly nature. 

Beside Li stood Tia, her figure a ghostly, see-through silhouette much like his. She held firmly onto his hand, and just as he could feel the heartbeat of the shrine next to him, he could feel Tia's own life pulsing through her tiny little hand. 

Because she was soulbound to him, she could follow him when he entered this state of meditation, and this, she always enjoyed, feeling a sense of comfort in being able to travel the forests with him in a context that did not involve the rush of hunting and killing. 

What she needed to soothe her nightmares was something much calmer, and this meditation served that exact purpose. 

"How about we let the winds carry us today," said Li as he looked out from his shrine, to the vast wide forest before him wreathed in dark and glazed with the shine of moonlight. Iona was busy tonight, not present in the shrine, likely fixing up barren patches of earth from when the Winterwoods were still without guardian. 

"The winds fast. Too fast," said Tia, worried. 

"Tonight's winds are slow and gentle. And don't worry, even if they get faster, I'll keep you close."

Li grasped Tia's spiritform hand tight as he let the winds carry them

As if on command, a gust rushed through the shrine and spirited their astral forms away, leading them wafting through the treetops, as if they had merged with the breeze itself. 

The wind carried them further up, above the treetops, and there, the moonlit night revealed a work of art. The Winterwoods unfurled beneath them, the many leafy heads of trees packed together, their branches tinged with silvery moonlight and swaying gently in the night's chilly breeze.

Ever since Li had established his shrine in the Winterwoods, it had rejuvenated itself. The trees that had once been skeletal in appearance, their trunks withered, their bark ashen, and their branches leafless, had filled out with life and leaves. 

The chill that once permeated the entirety of the woods had gradually begun to lose its icy grasp, letting colorful patches of flowers poke their heads through to embrace the newfound warmth. Or rather, the warmth that had always been there but had been stolen away with Morrigan's death during the demon wars.

"Look," said Li as he squeezed Tia's hand and pointed down to a clearing. There, a small group of Red-Crested Deers lay by a flowing spring. Their crests – feathery crimson plumes that emerged from the center of their foreheads – glowed in the dark as a means to communicate with each other.

"Tasty," said Tia as she looked longingly at the deer, her claws protruding. "Can we hunt?"

"Not now," said Li as he patted her head. "I know you love to hunt, but there is a time for it. If you hunt all the time, soon enough, you will scare all the deer away, and there will be none more left."

"Oh," said Tia as she cocked her head, her claws retracting as her eyes looked to the deer in a more peaceful light. "Then tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow," said Li with a smile. "For now, though, let's just watch them."

Li caught another wind that was making its way down towards the deer, and they followed it down beside the spring where they sat, though none would be able to tell they were there for their spiritual forms made no physical impressions on the grass.

Together, they watched the deer as they relaxed by the spring contentedly. There were five, a small group, with one young buck judging by the nubs at his head that had yet to grow into full antlers, and four does. 

Through this meditation, Li could through his shrine interface in a way with the Winterwoods. He could move his consciousness throughout it and feel the flow of life everywhere. Generally, he felt a gentle, almost simmering warmth wherever he went which indicated that life was in balance. 

The only time he had felt the cold touch of imbalance was a month ago, when a Darkbeast had made its way from a southern forest into the Winterwoods. To Li's vision, it was a distinctively alien presence, jarringly chilling amid the natural warmth that surrounded it, and he had made sure to eliminate it swiftly. 

"What do you feel when you see them," said Li to Tia as he noticed her intently watching the deer, her mouth slightly agape as it usually was when she was concentrated. 

"Food," said Tia simply. 

"Not just food. Here-," Li took Tia's hand and softly stretched it forwards, towards the deer. "Focus and try to feel what I am feeling."

Li closed his eyes and focused his own mind on the warmth of life emanating from the deer. 

"Warm," said Tia. 

Li nodded. "Warm like Old Thane, right? Like Azhar, like Jeanne, like Sylvie."

"Mm-hm." Tia smiled as she remembered everyone Li mentioned. Especially hearing Jeanne and Sylvie's names made her happy as once she obtained a human form, the two girls had seen almost no end to spoiling Tia. 

"That means the same life flows through all of them. Through Jeanne and Sylvie and the deer. The life is warm, and that warmth is precious."

Tia furrowed her brows. "So, no hunt?"

Li shook his head. "You can hunt. But when you hunt, what you hunt gives you their warmth. It is a precious gift. Sometimes, you cannot take too much of it, sometimes, you do not take it at all.

But always, when you do take, be thankful."

From hearing Tia's thoughts vocalized throughout the past month, he knew that there was some instinctual part of her that entrenched her as an apex predator. She had a rudimentary view of the world where might made right, where because she was strong, she had every right to devour the weak whenever she wanted to grow as strong as possible.

Likely part of her draconic nature, and it made sense, given that her kind reached the pinnacle of monsterkind through constantly evolving by consuming others. 

Li did not want her to fall completely to that instinct. It would breed an unhealthy arrogance, and, most importantly, a lack of respect for the life around her. 

"Yes, papa," said Tia contentedly. 

Li looked at Tia giving him a toothy smile, and he did not know if she understood the full magnitude of what he had said, but he had no doubts that in time, she would come to know with how quickly she caught onto things.

"Good," said Li simply. 

"Warmth," repeated Tia to herself. She looked to Li a little quizzically. "Papa, you say deer warmth and people warmth the same, but your warmth different."

"Because I'm your father," said Li. He knew it was likely because he truly was different, immortal and divine, but he did not want to implant complicated notions of divinity and the power that came with it into Tia's head while he was trying to teach her to be more understanding of the mortal life around her.

Tia hugged Li, nuzzling her head into his chest. "Much warmer than others. I like it."

Li held Tia like that, putting a comforting hand to her head, and in a few minutes, he felt her breathing grow slower, deeper, and soon enough, she was blissfully asleep in his arms.