Nothing Is Set In Stone

A sweet-smelling fragrance meandered through the rooms, surprising Eronous. He seemed to feel very awake, more-so than when he normally woke up after a good night's sleep. Getting up quickly, he changed his clothes and went to the basement, where not only did they find an assortment of fruits and vegetables, but also deer meat cooking on a cast-iron pan, which was on the surface of what seemed to be a very hot plant. Rysdan stood there, a small smile on his face - Eronous had been the first one down other than him. "Umm...good morning."

"Good morning. Was your sleep restful?" Rysdan asked

"More-so than usual." Eronous agreed, pulling an orange from the assortment of fruit. "Why are you up so early?"

"I do not sleep as most people do. It is a meditation where my body gains rest, and my mind roams. There is too much in life to miss when one is asleep." Rysdan responded, flipping the meat over to grill it more. It was not long before the rest of the group trickled in. Once the meat was ready, most people helped themselves to it, though Rysdan seemed to only take fruit.

"Do you not eat meat?" Eronous asked tentatively, taking a bite of his own piece.

"Honestly, the thought disgusts me. So does the smell of cooking meat; but I put the welfare of my group above my own comfort. I get plenty of protein through my plants, not that I truly need it."

"Never trusted vegetarians." Dalor grumbled under his breath as he tore into his breakfast. "Skin an' bones they are."

"Ahh, so we now know how to earn a dwarf's trust." Joked Alden as he ate, earning him a friendly punch to the shoulder as he sat next to Dalor.

The remainder of breakfast was fairly silent (Except for mastication). After breakfast, Rysdan ushered everyone outside, holding out his hand as the plants returned to seed form, and the trees he had used to help with the structure returned to their natural shape.

"That would be great for hunting." Rin said quietly, almost imperceptibly to his tiger, Near. This earned him a nod from the head of the tiger, which seemed to comfort and satisfy Rin.

Rein seemed to keep close to Eronous, who tried to keep close to the front of the group (Being led by Rysdan, of course) out of interest for the man. Rin and Near headed up the back, walking slowly, but being ever perceptive of their surroundings. Alden walked alongside Dalor, exchanging stories of feats accomplished from the past. Of course, Dalor had more stories. Ember and Susurri walked together, almost as if they knew each other. While Susurri didn't seem to be adept at sliding out of his vision when he least expected it, the dark elf-like creature definitely had a commanding presence. Eronous could tell he would be much too dangerous to mess with.

They traveled another two days in this manner, Rein occasionally pulling Eronous aside to teach him something about the landscape; tracking, how the mountains formed, how to tell which way was North, survival in the wild, all things that Eronous would need to know for his future with the group. As they made camp, Rein taught Eronous to use his dagger in an effective way. Occasionally, while they practiced, Susurri would be watching. On occasion, he even gave a pointer to Eronous, though Rein never seemed to hear them. Usually, after dinner, Eronous would stay up with Rysdan, talking to him late into the night before an odd question was asked.

"So you've never attempted a meditation?" Rysdan stated, suddenly ever curious.

"No, not really... I never needed to. Why?" Eronous questioned, suddenly very interested in what Rysdan was saying.

"Well, there are three main ways people learn of their abilities. The first is that it happens when they "come of age." The next is when they are in a situation where they would be facing death if their power didn't manifest, and the third is gained through study: soul-searching, meditation, and research. Most magic is done by study, but natural abilities that are in a good amount of the population usually are discovered when one comes of age. I'm simply curious what you have an aptitude for." Rysdan continued, watching Eronous to see if this news would excite him.

"Wait...so you mean, I might actually have a special ability that I don't know about?" Eronous's eyes gleamed, his interest focused solely on Rysdan's words.

"Precisely. I honestly wouldn't doubt it, the seer would not choose a child unless they had exceptional skill in something. Now, off to bed, you. I should start my meditation, and you should sleep."

How could Rysdan expect him to sleep after that news? They already had curses, people that could control plants, fire, and sound - what could he possibly offer that they couldn't? Eronous knew he would have a restless sleep - but despite that, as he lay down his head, he found that sleep came quickly.

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"Stay back, Eron!" A yell came from behind Eronous, sounding as if it came from Rein - who had been his mentor for a while now. "It's not safe!" Despite that, Eronous was drawn forward irresistibly towards a golden amulet with a black pearl that rested in it's center. The amulet felt familiar, though Eronous didn't realize that behind him a black, swirling barrier closed in on him, locking the others out. He reached his hand forward, grabbing the amulet just as the barrier released an amazing force inward. He felt as if he were about to be impacted before it happened.

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Eronous woke with a start, albeit later than he thought. It sounded as if everyone was in the main area of the camp, around Rysdan's fiery flower, warming themselves. Being the last one up, having woken with a start, and approaching the camp with a pensive look on his face drew all eyes to him. Couldn't they all just mind their own business?

"What's wrong, Eronous?" Rysdan asked, putting the previous conversation on hold, as their young member may need help with something.

Eronous just shook his head. "It's nothing, just a dream I had." He said with a sigh.

"Dreams are windows of clairvoyance. You never know when one will come true. Won't you tell us of your dream?" Rin stated, suddenly, pulling his head up from Near, who he had been resting his head on. Rin's voice was still raspy, though it seemed more interested than he had previously expressed. The tiger seemed to focus it's attention on Eronous as well.

"It was nothing really, but if you insist..." Eron recounted the portion of his dream that he remembered, feeling a sense of foreboding coming from the rest of the group.

"What?" Eron asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the camp rather abruptly. It was obvious that his voice held a lot of frustration, as if there was something everyone was hiding from him.

"Eronous, you had a vision of something that is going to happen...or, at least, one possibility of the future. In this case, it's not a symbolic dream - it was a vision." Ember responded, shaking her head with certainty. "The future isn't set in stone as the past is. It was likely either a vision from something dark that is calling you, or it is a warning so that you can avoid a dark fate."

Rysdan shook his head. "That is not quite accurate, Ember. The past is not set in stone, either - It's just infinitely more difficult to change, and we do not remember any changes that have happened."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Ember seethed, as if she had enough of Rysdan's "leadership" and "superiority." Not a moment later that Susurri gave her a serious look as if to say "calm yourself." Receiving this look, she took a deep breath. "There is no point in dwelling on it. We've got a few more weeks of travel ahead of us, we need to get going."

The sun having just fully risen over the horizon, there was a silent agreement with the rest of the group as the fire-flower returned to it's seed form, and the group packed up their belongings to travel.