Way of the Knights

Chapter 115 - Mindscape

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Still mildly confused about what's happening, the team relented and hopped on to the tree root that's suspended in front of them.

As soon as they did, the root started to move and take them to the place where they could temporarily spend the night according to Raven.

Despite being night time, the place is well lit due to dozens of fireflies dancing all over the place. They are scattered in every tree, herb, flower, and other things, seemingly socializing with each other. The team also saw several beasts sleeping peacefully in between roots and nests that the Kind Ent has provided them. In the wild, these beasts would be very aggressive but inside the Ent's domain, they are neutral and minded their own business.

"I didn't know you could understand the language of Ents." Jackson said to Raven while admiring the scenery as the root moved.

"It's not hard actually…" Raven replied, "Kind Ents are inherently wise, they prefer diplomacy over violence. The trick is to not pay attention to how they speak their words, unlike humans, their vocal cords aren't well developed. Using you Spirit to understand them is the key. Like how you communicate with Hopper or any companion beasts."

For those who haven't had any experience with communicating with beasts, the method that Raven spoke off would be more challenging to them. But for those who have, it would be easier since all they have to do is to attune their minds towards the ents, like they would normally do with their beast companions.

"Where did you learn all of this?" Jordan asked.

"Reading the Beastiary on Libraries. It's pretty common everywhere in the Kingdom, I'm not one who blindly goes in without doing some minor research." Raven replied non-chalantly.For some reason, his words struck a sore spot on the Adventurers, they felt like he was pertaining to them but this is not his intention at all, he just merely answered their question that's all.

The root of the Ent took them to the promised location after a few minutes. They travelled a fair distance away from the ent and the beasts around it. From what Raven could tell, they are a bit on the outer reaches of the ent's domain, on a spot where there aren't any beasts around too. They hopped down from the ent root when it stopped, the location that was provided to them seems to be an enclosed area where there are tall bushes and thick vines serving as their wall from rest. The grass around them is trimmed and there's also a wide variety of fruits and root vegetables around them. Not too far away from them, there's also a clear stream of water which they could use to either clean themselves or catch fish for food.

"Many thanks, Elder." Raven spoke and bowed to the ent. The team followed suit and bowed as well. They watched as the root sunk itself underground and disappeared from site.

"Oh right! Few reminders everyone." Raven caught the attention of the team to inform them something very important."First, aggression is forbidden here. If you see any wandering beasts, they're pretty much a denizen of the Ent. They won't attack so don't attack them either. Second, don't cut away any plants, herbs or chop some trees, the ent would be mad and kick us out. Harvesting some crops and fruits are fine. Third is about fires, if you're going to cook something, do it by the stream over there, that is to ensure that if any accident occurs, fire won't spread everywhere. Also, don't throw trash anywhere. Got it?"

The team nodded though somewhat puzzled by those strange rules. They wondered on how Raven was aware of these rules, yet again he already proven himself to be knowledgable and the rules he listed makes sense anyway, so there's no harm on following them. And it's not like they're going to stay here for a long time anyway, they're just here for the night and for the Diamond Dust Eclipse to be over and they'll continue their journey along.

"Alright, let's make camp." Raven said and team moved to do some chores to build up the camp. Jordan, Jackson and George went over and built the tents, Alina ran off to the stream to clean herself and Raven harvested some vegetables and fruits for them to eat. He also took out some preserved meat as well as some plates they could use.

After doing all of this, he went beside the stream and set up a bonfire. He used wooden planks and twigs that are scattered everywhere, this isn't considered a violation of rules so it was okay for him to do this.

Not long after, a steaming hot soup was ready and some side dishes as well. The team gathered around the campfire and ate, they talked some things here and there but it's clear that the awkward atmosphere is still there. No one forced anything nor confronted anyone either, they just sat in uncomfortable silence as they went towards their respective tents and turned themselves in for the night. As for Raven…He could be found inside his own tent as well, but unlike the rest, he doesn't plan on sleeping just yet nor planning on going inside the Crown Space either. His goal tonight is something else.

He's sitting down on his tent with his eyes closed, he sank into deep meditation while his spirit vibrates and permeated onto the ground.

As his Spiritual Energies spread, it touched one of the roots of the Kind Ent, he followed it consciously as it was absorbed in the root. Then he found his consciousness being absorbed and traveling towards a large network of roots and branches, he grounded himself in order to not have his consciousness dispersed by the will of the Ent. He then take a careful look around around and traced the network towards the main body of the Ent.

After which, he then followed the path he traced and arrived at the mindscape of the Kind Ent.

"Introduce yourself, Intruder."A vast, majestic and ancient voice rang on Raven's ears. His vision adjusted and saw the scenery inside the mindscape of the ent.

Calling it Paradise won't be an exaggeration. It was a very brightly lit place, golden curtains of light permeating everywhere and shining down profound golden brilliance to creations. Myriad flora and fauna, branches reaching for the skies and serene songs of birds that sounded like a heavenly tune.In the middle of the mindscape, there is a glowing orb with several roots binding it in place. Some of these roots are connected to the skies above while the others are connected to the ground below.

"My name is Raven. I apologize for intruding your mindscape Elder." Raven clasped his hand and bowed towards the orb.

"Ah…" the disembodied voice from the orb spoke once more, "The little one from earlier. I didn't know you were pretending to be a child."

The voice made Raven frown, but he did some introspection and figured out why it said that. Raven, having experienced Soul Rebirth, doesn't actually appear as a child in his Spirit Form unless he consciously willed to appear like so.

"Hmm?…" the voice spoke once more, "How curious. You are an adult, but at the same time, you aren't. How peculiar…"

There is a thick curiosity on the orb's voice as it closely inspected Raven. This is the first time that it encountered someone like him. The orb could tell that Raven was indeed an adult and in fact, he was old, very old. But at the same time, it could feel that he's also teeming with youthful vigor, one that cannot be faked and could only be possessed by the younger humans.

"State thy purpose, little one. What brings you to my core?"

"I wanna know if Elder has any stories to tell…" Raven smiled, went closer and sat down in front of orb.

"Oh? Little one wants to hear stories from dear old me? Are you sure you won't snooze while my story unfolds?"

"I won't snooze Elder, I want to hear some stories." Raven nodded and said.

"Very well…" the orb said, "Hmm… how to begin?" It trailed off for a bit and then continued.

"Why don't we start at the story of my birth? Yes, that is a good idea!"

"I remember that I was nothing but a mere Oak Tree. The world was too vast for me to understand. I longed to wander it's plains, to see what's beyond the forests, to meet other races, to find where my calling leads me to. But I remembered that I was nothing but a mere Oak Tree."

"My roots are firmly planted to the ground beneath me, and should I ever leave where I stood, I will die. So I was forced to remain in place, even though I long to walk the lands and pursue my deep longings. But then again, I am nothing but a mere Oak Tree."

"Time passed by and I knew that my life is nearing to an end. Be it as it may, I am willing to go away. However, my longing still remained, still I wondered; 'Since I'm going to die anyway, why not die in my own way?' "

"And as I took my first step, the words 'I am nothing but a mere Oak Tree' faded away."