Land Or No Land

After a slight pause, followed by a gulp, to process what exactly the kind natured Cypius in front of 6 just said to him, 6 agreed.

"Yeah, okay, fair. Ground rules, gonna follow them, not gonna get frozen in my sleep. Very cool." 6 said, still thrown off by the sudden threat from the Cypius who had, so far, been very polite.

It seemed Cypius was surprisingly protective of the children of the village, to the point of sheltering them entirely. While it was nice to see he cared as much as he did, 6 was a little worried that Cypius would unwittingly make them soft.

His worries amplified when he thought about the adults in the village who seemed to live in another realm.

'Luckily, I don't have to actually care. I just gotta squash some spiders and dip,' he thought.

"Now, with the unpleasantries out of the way, I do believe you should have some questions about our lands. Please, take a seat" Cypius said as he sat down, gesturing to the chair nearby.

"Aye, that I do indeed, but please explain things better than Karkum did. Please. Genuinely, cause he made absolutely no sense."

"I will do my utmost to ensure that your questions are answered clearly, but I make no promises. As I understand, you are from another place, one which does not have the lands of our world."

"Right. Where I'm from, land is just like the ground you walk on or live on. People can own it but that's pretty much it."

"There is likely a translation error between our two languages. Land and land, which are two entirely different things, are more likely to be the same word, twice over, for you. For us, our land is deeper, it is part of us. It is where we are from, it is what made us, it is what provides our strength. When we grow, so too does our land, and when our land grows, so too do we." Cypius said, his voice reminding 6 of the school teachers he had in his childhood. He continued "It is alive, not the way you or I are, but living through us. It links us, its inhabitants, and it is with us always."

Although his information was definitely more clear than Karkum's, 6 was still struggling to understand exactly what the lands were to them. It still sounded like they were just deifying the land they live on.

[It will be easier to understand if you compare it to worlds. They are from this world, or land, and are connected to it. Just like you are from me, and have a connection to me. Their connection to their lands run deeper, however. Who they are is part of their land. They exist as one whole, the land and the entirety of its inhabitants. Their lands are alive, like I, yet they are different. Like a rudimentary copy of an actual living world, scaled down to a miniscule size.]

Trivrium's message provided him with a more clear explanation explanation, vastly clarifying 6's confusion at the perfect time. It was basically their kingdom, their country, whatever it may be, but with a little bit of magic to it. The rulers of the lands were the actual lands, 6 guessed, and social classes weren't what would exist in his world. It did the land no good to treat one group differently than any other, as they were part of it.

"I think I roughly understand, but it's difficult. Basically, Folrost is a living entity and it lives through and with all of your inhabitants?" 6 asked.

"That is correct, although somewhat of a reduction of the truth of it. It is hard to understand without experiencing it yourself."

"What do you do about immigrants?"

"Immigrants?"

6 thought that immigration might not exist in this world at all. If you're born from your land and are connected to it, odds are you can't just up and leave to another land.

"What do you do about people who were part of another land, and now want to live in yours?"

"Ah, you mean the Landless. They are rare, you may never meet one in a lifetime." Cypius voice faltered slightly as he spoke, though 6 didn't seem to notice.

"What do you mean by Landless?" 6 asked, tilting his head to the side slightly, like a curious puppy.

"People who have lost the connection to their land. It can happen in a variety of ways, but there is always one thing you can be sure of regarding them. There will always be a story."

The Landless certainly sounded mysterious and cool. 6 badly wanted to meet one and learn about them.

"What kind of story?"

"The loss of their land. No matter the cause, one does not lose their land without something catastrophic occurring. It can be truly abysmal, but in very odd causes they can be somber stories or even stories with happy endings. I do confess, the happy endings are my favorite to hear about." Cypius said, the corners of his lips raising as he thought about the happy stories he had heard in his lifetime.

6 grimaced for a moment as he saw Cypius reminiscing, aching to change the topic to pull him away from the stupor that came over him.

"Forgive me, but Karkum told me about your sister land. I'm sorry for your loss, as I feel I understand how painful that may have been for you and your land a bit more now. Could you please explain more about sister lands to me? I'd like to know as much as i can, especially with… well." 6 said, his words sputtering to an end as he didn't want to actively remind Cypius about the tragedy that destroyed his sister land.

The curled lips dropped back down to a frown as Cypius began speaking.

"I can. You know of twins, I assume?"

6 nodded his head.

"It is much like that. We two, Folrost and Erver, and other sister lands, are essentially twins. Two lands born of the same source, created together. There is a connection between the two lands, not like what we have with our own lands. It connects our lands, but not us. I had no connection to the people of Erver, but a connection to Erver existed, though it was weak. It can vary. Some sister lands are remarkably close, others maintain only a faint connection. Ours was, to our blessings, close. It seems it is also a curse now." Cypius finished his sentence in a small whisper, before his voice billowed up again to fill the silence he left. "No. It is a blessing. Folrost will always love our sister."

6 stood up and placed his hand on Cypius shoulder, wanting to offer a modicum of support. Looking at his face, it was clear that he was filled with encompassing sorrow. Tears slightly welled at the bottom of his eyes, although Cypius refused to allow them to fall.

"I am sorry. Truly. I hope I can avenge Erver, or at least become the foundation of what will. I will do my best."

"Thank you, but you are a stranger to Folrost. I will not ask that of you. When the day comes when I have the strength to do it myself, I will handle it."

Removing his hand from Cypius' shoulder, 6 took a step away and gave him a smile.

"Haha, that's a better attitude, my friend! I hope you do. We can continue this later if you need some time alone. I won't judge you out loud."

After a deep breath and a scoff, Cypius shook his head.

"What succinct and backhanded support. You are quite the contradictory one, young man. I am okay, continue your questions." Cypius said while patting his knees, aiming to bring his mind back to the present. "Do keep my comments to yourself, please. I would rather avoid worrying the others."

"Can do. Karkum told me that he could feel if anyone from Erver was alive. Are there any exceptions to that?" 6 said, hoping that it was possible that inhabitants of Erver had survived and become Landless. "I mean, surely the spider's nest is cataclysmic enough to become Landless, no?"

"I'm afraid there is more to it than that. If a land being mostly wiped out was enough to become Landless, it wouldn't be so rare. Lands have been wiped out many times, as long as members of the land survive, it survives as well. The lands are not some stationary thing. It can move as it needs, though that does come at a price." Cypius said with a sigh.

"So no chance?" 6 asked.

"No, most likely not. Something more would most likely have to have happened in this situation to produce a Landless."

6's eyebrow raised, his curiosity peaked.

"Like what exactly?"

Cypius did not answer immediately. He rubbed his hands on his knees and stretched his back slightly before opening his mouth.

"A traitor."

"A traitor?" 6 repeated.

"Yes. Betrayal. If one of Erver's people betrayed them, its possible they became Landless with its death."

If someone from erver betrayed them, that would definitely fit into one of the possibilities 6 thought of before he came. Someone could have artificially caused the spiders to gather as they did. That meant there may be a mastermind, which would be dangerous if they can achieve something on this level.

"How could they betray their land?"

"They would have to be insane. It isn't possible with sanity. Especially not in a land that was developed as much as Erver was." Cypius' voice was full of certainty.

"As developed as Erver? Was Erver more developed than Folrost?"

"Indeed, that is true. Our sister land was by far more successful than us." Shame was lacking from his voice as Cypius admitted Folrost was weaker than the destroyed Erver. "But the odds of there being a traitor of Erver is next to none. And the odds of that traitor becoming Landless with the death of Erver is even rarer."

"Would they die if Erver died?"

"Most likely, yes. But I warn you, if you discover there is a traitor of Erver, do nothing. Run away. Flee. Just stay as far as you can from them. The worst stories of the Landless are of those that betray their land. Even if the traitor is not of Erver, should you meet a traitor of any land, ever, run."

The gravity in Cypius' voice caught 6's attention.

"Didn't you say they are unbelievably rare though? I may not ever even meet a Landless, much less one who betrayed their land, so why should I worry about it?

An awkward look came across Cypius' face as 6 said these words, followed by what seemed to be a look of internal debate as his eyes strayed away from 6.

"Well...er… you've already met a Landless."