The Animal Kingdom of old

The wilderness is an unforgiving place. This is even more true when the wilderness is filled with creatures very different from what is normally found there. The statement becomes even more enforced when the very grass and trees around you are sentient and try to kill you at every step. This is how the days passed as Arya wandered around in the forest searching for an exit, a civilization or any signs of intelligent life in general.

The search did not go as planned. Arya had finished his rations, the remains of the beast he was carrying before, by the third day. He did not save any food because according to him, he was in a forest. It should be easy to find food and maybe even water. Hadn't he found a rabbit and two huge unknown beasts on his first day? But, he realized how wrong he was by the end of the month. There was no sentient being in site. So no meat. But, it was ridiculous that not even a single tree he had come across had any sort of fruit. The only form of food he could find were the ever present insects. Maggots, Ants, spiders, termites and the likes were in abundance and they helped to stave away his hunger if only a bit.

More importantly, the grass and trees were hostile to him. Every step he waled, the grass would twist and try to hold him tight and trip him. Some became serrated and tried to cut him. The branches and thorns of the trees were the same. Sometimes, leaves would also fall and try to slice him. All these caused him numerous small injuries, failing to do major damage due to his thick skin and enhanced regeneration. He was still alive only due to his improved physique.

He also noticed that the days and nights seemed longer than he was used to. The sum total was most definitely not 24 hours. With no tools to measure time accurately, he could not even tell how much the difference truly was. But, that was of lower concern compared to his sustenance. Because, despite his improved physique keeping him alive, he still felt hunger. In fact, it seemed that his hunger was greater than before his change.

The most notable external change was that Arya was no longer nude. He fashioned for himself a pair of shorts with the scaly leather he had dried from his previous game. He also made an improvised backpack to hold his belongings. These included the remaining leather, some of the smaller and sturdier sharp bones and the soft pulsating ball he had found from the beast's body. He still didn't try to do anything with it, keeping it for further research when he was able.

***

Arya was currently climbing a very tall tree, the tallest he had found in his month long trek. The tentacle like moving branches tried with all their might and tactics to hinder his progress. The leaves had the same idea. They wrapped around him, the first chance they got, trying to pull him back down to the ground. Their efforts were however, futile. His agility and strength far surpassed that of the feeble leaves. The most they managed to be were mild annoyances.

The branches, on the other hand, still caused him some difficulties. They were normally rough like bark but could make their surfaces glossy at a moments notice along with releasing a greasy substance which caused him some hindrance.

Another characteristic they had besides making the surface glossy was ejecting thorns. These were what caused Arya the most trouble. He would be pricked by these poisonous thorns every few steps he climbed. Though the poison caused him no true harm, the pain they caused was unbearable. Still, he persisted and eventually reached the top.

The scene that greeted him was breathtaking. A vast expanse of trees with no end going as far as the eye can see. Birds of unknown origin flew overhead in flocks larger than he could count. A large sun parallel to his vision in the process of setting peaking out from within the boundless fluffy white clouds completed the scene. He turned his body to observe the direction he was coming from and was greeted by an even more magnificent.

A distance away, a huge rocky mountain reaching for the skies was the only thing that obstructed his view of the trees around it. On the rocky surface, besides a few patches of green, he could see nothing. Its peak was beyond his ability to see.

Taking in the view, Arya took a deep breath and felt his lungs pulse with happiness. His thoughts cleared up and the disturbing pent up thoughts pervading his mind the past few days were gone along with his exhalation. He had cheered up greatly.

Looking carefully at the layout of the forest behind him, he realized that he had been walking in circles. Not in the usual way but like multiple number 8s lining up together. He had been twisting and turning along a long route which actually didn't cover much distance. He felt very annoyed with his inability to judge his direction accurately. But it could not be helped in such a large forest filled with similar looking trees and rocks. Anyone would get lost.

Arya, leaped down from the crown of the tree. Brushing past the canopy of leaves, he landed on the forest floor with a thud and turned around before taking off.

He sprinted to the rocky peak he had seen. The presence of green trees was very rejuvenating. If there were any green plants he knew, it would change things. He could find real food. maybe even people. The possibilities were endless.

'I should hurry and reach there before sundown. The trees and grass will become more active when that happens. I don't want more difficulties in my path.'

***

Just as night fell, Arya reached the foot of the rocky mountain. The area around it was like a sanctuary where none of the strange colorful trees or the grass dared to grow. Here in the clearing, Arya could finally see the dirt clearly. The very soil was black in color with a fiendish violet hue. Seeing the soil up close overwhelmed his thoughts with negativity before he struggled to free himself.

Shaking his head, he pondered a bit before stepping on the eerie soil and walking towards the mountain.

Before he crossed half way, his feet sank and the soil gripped him tight. Numerous mutated scorpions crawled out from the soil. These insects were not something new. They were definitely scorpions. But, much larger and with a purple carapace marked with black patterns. Their stingers dripped with venom.

They charged at Arya but he had somewhat expected something like this. He twisted his feet and jumped up, breaking free of the sand's hold. He avoided the insects and sprinted to the mountain. Within seconds, he reached it and stared hurrying on his way. The scorpions merely dug back underground after losing sight of their prey.

But Arya did not stop. He continued his race uphill. Disregarding the rocky surface littered with sharp protrusions, he was determined to reach the green trees he had seen as quickly as possible.

After a quick climb, he reached the first signs of life.

The grass grew with unrestrained vitality. Long and lush, the grass looked like the ordinary grass he knew. The only difference was that it was healthier. He touched the grass to see if it had developed characteristics similar to the ones he had seen the past few days.

Relieved that that was not so, he tore off a rather long blade before putting it into his mouth. Chewing for a bit, before sucking in the sweet refreshing sap. Arya closed his eyes as a strange peace enveloped his mind.

He opened his eyes again before continuing his journey up.

After a while, trees became visible. These sparsely spread out trees were also similar to ones he knew. But none of them were fruiting trees. Arya continued on without stopping. He walked on the mat of lush grass under the shade of the trees as they slowly became more abundant. Then slowly with the passing distance, the variety of life increased. More and more plants and animals came to view. Fruit and nut bearing trees began to appear. Afterwards, pools of water came to view. These clear pools of water housed various aquatic plants and even a few fish.

Fungi and Ferns popped up here and there as more insects appeared. But these insects were not the maggots and spiders he had seen before. Neither were they scorpions. Instead, bees, dragon flies, lady birds, cicadas and a greater variety if insects appeared. There were some small animals as well. Squirrels and chipmunks scrambled about on tree branches. Arya also saw a small frog lying lazily on a lily-pad. There were also lilies in full bloom.

The beauty of nature would astound anyone. Arya who had had no contact with anything close to this in the 20 years of his life was deeply affected as well. Especially since he had been living in a place far removed from anything beautiful for the past month.

***

As Arya walked, the variety of living beings increased along with their sizes. He saw actual rabbits, boars, jackals, foxes, guinea pigs and hamsters. Mice peaked out from tree holes as did many other animals. But the sizes kept increasing. He saw cows, horses, buffaloes, goats, pigs and sheep. The forest path seemed endless. Every few hundred meters welcomed new animals.

This appearance was not even restricted to their natural habitat. He saw bears, zebras, giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, camels, llamas and various other assorted creatures. He didn't even recognize most of them. It seemed as if all the species of Earth had congregated together here.

During his stroll, he munched on fruits and nuts. Drinking some water but not harming a single animal around. He figured that there should be a reason that so many varieties of animals were gathered together. They all lived in harmony. This seemed a bit weird as not even the carnivorous animals harmed each other. Nor were there any young to be found. That would mean, there was no reproduction or food requirement for animals.

This same law didn't seem to apply to plants though. There were innumerable plants to be found. Plants bearing fruits also had their seeds. He had also seen some young plants growing with enthusiasm.

Another issue was that there were no birds. Neither birds of flight nor land fowl. The jungle seemed to lack a sense of activity with the absence of birds. But it could also be said that a certain peace was prevalent.

Just as Arya thought that he would not be seeing any monkeys, he has hit with an apple on his head from behind. Surprisingly, it actually hurt a bit. He turned to see a small monkey hanging from a branch with the help of its tail. It was very quiet before making a face at him and screeching loudly as it escaped.

Arya laughed heartily. That was the first being to interact with him since he came here. Actually, it may even be said that it was the first organism to interact with him in a non life threatening way since he woke up a month ago. This made him a bit excited and happy.

At nightfall, it was the first time he had fallen slept in the last month aside from the time he had fainted. He had not dared to be unguarded on the plains as there was no telling when the plants would kill him or a threatening monster would maul him to death.

***

After 2 days of climbing, as he met and interacted with various creatures of every specie of his world, the trail Arya was following led him through a large opening in a gigantic tree. By large, the gap was big enough for four people of similar body structure to walk side by side while carrying another of similar height standing on their shoulders.

Upon seeing the structure, Arya was sure that he would have noticed such a large tree from above the tree canopies where he discovered the mountain. He had always suspected that what he had seen and what was were not the same. There must be some kind of phenomenon which he did not understand causing these discrepancies.

The answers would await at the peak of the mount. Hence, he kept climbing.

But no sooner had he taken the first step through the tree hole, he was greeted by something huge. An animal he had never seen.

Its four feet were each thicker than he could hold. Its head towered over him as he stared at it blankly. Its tail swatting about playfully as it munched on the leaves of a tree taller than even it. Arya estimated the monstrosity to be 4-5 times his height. Its length on the other hand was even more shocking. It was more than 24 times his height. The difference was astronomical.

The dinosaur as Arya concluded turned to him and lowered it head to sniff at him. The resulting wind blew him down as he wasn't prepared. His heart was now beating erratically with excitement he couldn't contain. He was witnessing a being whose majesty had earned the ire of the world causing their extinction. These very beings were something no human had ever interacted with in real life. No amount of simulations could possibly compare to the real thing and no amount of preparation could truly prepare one for an encounter with beings of such proportions.