Immersion and Decay: The Treetop Library

Instructions

Serenity led Dagger through the village on one of the lower branches of Fatum’s only tree. As they passed the green creatures who lived there, the friendly mutants waved. A couple gave high fives and fist bumps, but they still had work to do. Dagger smiled back and waved a couple of times, even though he knew the change in attitude was mainly because of Serenity. She was important in some way here, even though he didn’t 100% understand it. “What language do they speak?” Dagger asked. “They obviously don’t understand English.” “They speak Жorūvö,” Serenity replied. From what I understand, it’s not a language where you come from. It is just the language they speak, only ever spoken here.” “Do you know it?” “Not really. I haven’t spent too much time on it.” The two of them arrived at a hut near the edge of the branch. Serenity pushed aside a leaf and opened the door. The pair entered the building and closed the door behind them. It was a rather large hut, constructed entirely out of wood, vines and leaves. Scattered along the walls were books of all kinds. The titles went by events and by people, each of them at least an inch thick. Near the centre of the room were two benches. Dagger sat down in one. “So, you said you were my ‘pathfinder’. Is there any guidance that I need that’s brought me here?” “I can’t answer that. Only you know what questions you want answered.” “Okay… who am I? Is it bad to be a clone?” “Intentional cloning is illegal in all countries in your world, but since you weren’t intentionally made, you should be fine. As for who you are, I think you already know that.” Dagger kicked the floor. “All I know is that I shouldn’t exist. I’m just some random glitch in my world. I’m a clone, I serve no purpose.” Serenity shook her head, walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed a book. “It says here that you’re quite important. You’ve already saved lives at this point in your journey, and you’ll save many more.” “I had a vision… yesterday? It was pretty terrifying. There was fire, and blood, and a whole lot of unanswred questions. Any idea what it could mean?” “While I can’t reveal too much of your future at a time, bad things are on their way. You will be tested, and you will prevail.” “Got anything else you can say on that? Any further warning? Maybe a sign?” “No, I may not discuss it further.” Dagger stood up and began to pace. “So something bad is going to happen and I just have to accept it?” “No, you will be able to do something. I just can’t stop you from making it ever begin. It is an important part of your journey.” Dagger stopped pacing and grabbed a decorative stone. He reared his arm back and sent the stone flying through an open window. It landed on a lower branch and skipped off of it. It continued off the side of the island and over the horizon line. Serenity gave Dagger a look of respect and pity mixed into one. “I know you need to go through hard things, and I understand it is not easy to hear that you need to endure it, but everything will be okay. Even when it doesn’t seem like things could ever get better.” Serenity held his hand tightly until he met her eyes. “I’ll be here for you every step of the way.” A big grin appeared on Dagger’s face and his cheeks flushed a little. He kicked at the ground and scratched the back of his head. “Thanks, it means a lot. I just don’t think I can keep going back to that palace every time I need advice though.” “Oh, I have a fix for that,” Serenity replied as she walked over to the bookshelf. She scanned the shelves thouroughly and came up with an amulet of some kind. She walked back over to Dagger and placed it in his hand. “When you need to talk, you can come back with this. Of course, it won’t be the tree. It will be a small pond just a mile or so away from here. There I’ll be waiting for you, and ready to guide you some more. Once you are satisfied, you will be sent back to just a little after you left.” “Cool. I don’t 100% get it, but I think I know how to use it. Hate to cut this whole thing short, but I kinda left Avery in that cave by herself. I should probably get over there while it’s still day in my world.” Serenity nodded. “In your world, it has been about 15 minutes. She is probably worried by now. To get back, just go to the edge and jump into the water.” She started towards the door. “I will escort you there now.” (continue to N&C)