Chapter 8 – Dreams

Rowan got back to his home just as it was getting dark.

The lack of light filling his small shack made it all seem a bit eerie, but to him who had the memories of living there for years, there was nothing scary.

It's not a matter of being afraid of the dark, but being afraid of what could be in the dark.

The years of living in this town had proven to him that there really wasn't anything dangerous here besides some reptiles and small critters, and of course, other people.

Humans were the majority on Rimouwater Island, but there were a couple people from various races residing here as well.

Rowan got behind the counter and laid down on his small reed bedding before opening up the small pouch he had brought. He set the snake skin on a shelf, and set the two fruits down infront of him.

After that, he grabbed the Silver Star wood and set it down as well.

He thought about the idea of replanting the branches to try and grow things, and got a couple cups and jars, filled them with fresh water, and then set the branches inside it.

"Hopefully they will form roots." He muttered. He didn't think that a Grade 1 tree would have such little vitality that the branches would already be dead.

He even made sure to set them down in a small corner of the building where there was a gap in the roof for starlight to shine in.

Rowan stored the logs away before sitting back down. Now all that was left was the fruits.

He was debating on eating one.

A magical fruit, which was practically glowing at the moment with a soft pure silver hue.

At this moment, his stomach growled. He had only eaten breakfast and a bit of bread all day.

"Oh, what the hell, why not?" He said with a smile. He stored one fruit away carefully before holding the other in his hand.

Inside of these 5 star pointed fruits, was 5 seeds. About as big as a pinky nail. He was going to collect those too for use later.

He slowly started biting into the fruit, taking small bites, he couldn't help but savor the taste.

'A bit tart and bitter, but nice and crisp too. Tastes a bit like cantaloupe.' He thought.

He made sure that while eating, he collected the seeds. It was only a minute later when he had eaten the fruit.

He then double checked something.

-----

[Conditions: Mana Locked, +5 Star Affinity for 2 hours, +5 night-vision for 2 hours.]

-----

He saw the added conditions and couldn't help but stand up and look around. He could see a little bit more than before.

Rowan glanced towards the corner where the Silver Star branches were resting, and could see them with a much clearer view.

He walked outside and looked around.

Everything seemed a little bit brighter, and even with the fog, he thought that he could see small sparkles in the sky.

He took in a slow deep breath before stretching a little and walking back inside his shack. It was time to sleep.

It was his birthday tomorrow after all.

---------------

Rowan's mind drifted while he slept.

It was an odd dream he was having.

He was seeing things from both of his lives, slowly mending together, but he still could tell that they were separate.

Two worlds instead of one.

He could feel that he belonged to both, but not fully to one. They were like acquaintances, or even friends, but the closeness wasn't there.

After that dream, he was thrown into another one.

He was standing in the middle of a forest, seeing all sorts of colorful plant life and animals.

He couldn't recognize many of the plants, but he was sure that some of the trees he was seeing now were in [Trees of Thee up to Grade Three]. He couldn't help but feel that this was odd.

He looked up into the sky, and was shocked by what he was seeing.

Behemoth sized humanoid beings, taller than all the surrounding mountains, were staring at each other.

They were covered all in their own unique style, but it all seemed to include plant life.

The biggest one had streams and rivers flowing down it's body, with plants and animals walking across it without a care in the world.

Another one was like a marsh. A sickly green with fumes coming off of it, but still had ponds, streams, and thick jungle-like plants on it.

There were a couple others, but one drew his attention he most.

Covered entirely in dark green trees, it was like a dense forest had taken over its body. It seemed to be glaring towards the largest behemoth, and was positioned as if it was ready to pounce on it.

On its body were animals, but it didn't seem to fit any sort of balance. There were predators and prey. With just a constant ongoing hunt, killing their prey, before going after a new one, never stopping.

Rowans mind drifted and he was shot out into another dream.

In this one, there was just dirt as far as the eye could see.

He reached down and gently touched it with his fingers. It felt slightly damp, and it looked like it was just recently tended to, ready for planting. He could see a bit of fertilizer and old plant matter decaying away to become nutrients for the next thing to be grown here.

The dream ended, and another began.

His mind appeared inside a thick fog. All around him, there was fog. He couldn't tell if it was too dense to see anything, or if it was just empty all around him, and there was nothing else here.

He began to walk further into the fog in a random direction, but nothing was showing up.

After walking and walking for what felt like days, he began to see things.

Not clearly, but it was as if there was something moving just out of the corner of his eyes.

When he turned to get a better look, there was nothing there. He even started to try and run in those directions when he thought he saw something, but nothing ever appeared.

After trying many times, he eventually came to a stop.

After staying still for a few moments, he was sent into the next dream.

He appeared this time in a boundless space.

Going from a place where he couldn't see farther than a few feet ahead of himself to being able to see stars spreading out in all directions. He tried glancing around towards all the stars in the distance, but something felt a little off.

After being there just for a few moments, he was forced out of that dream and snapped awake.

His eyes shot open as he gasped for breath, curling up on his side as he felt a few sharp stabs spreading through his body.

After those first few stabs he felt, there was a soft soothing sensation that gently calmed that feeling.

As he laid there, a part of his Status Screen showed up in front of him.

-----

Unique Ability: World Seed [Awakened]

Conditions for Awakening:

-Have all mana until adulthood (age 16) be funneled into the ability for its growth.

-Be a minimum of level 1

-Have atleast 4 Affinities be considered atleast 'Above Average'

-Be to a minimum of two different dimensions

-Have a strong enough soul to contain the ability

-----

Rowan couldn't help but be in a daze as he looked towards the information he had just received.

He looked into his Status Screen, and sure enough, the unique ability was there!

Even the condition [Mana Lock] had vanished! He was slowly gaining mana!

He couldn't help but get a bright grin as he felt the mana slowly filling his body. It felt like another part of him that had always been lost, and he was getting it back after 16 years!

He started to look through the conditions again, to get a better idea of the ability.

The mana part he could partially understand. The ability was taking his mana until adulthood to form itself. That seemed to be the most basic requirement, but it was a crucial one. If he was anywhere else aside from this small island, having no mana might be a lot worse.

He didn't know how important mana was to the rest of the world, but he was sure that such a type of energy was important to have.

The second condition, 'Be a minimum of level 1', seemed like an odd condition to have, but he felt glad that he had selected one. Would he have never been able to get this ability if he got a class after his 16th birthday? He didn't know, but did it really matter now that he had it?

The part about affinities was something he didn't understand. He didn't have the capability of checking his affinities, and he didn't know how to even go about checking such a thing. It was something he would have to ask about in Farway Town.

But the fact that he had 4 that were 'Above Average' at a minimum, was something that made him feel a bit prideful. Who would want to be considered average?

When he thought about affinities, he also couldn't help but think back to the dreams he had experienced. It was a lot of weird things, and the part about stars made him glance towards the second Silver Star Fruit he had stored away.

'Maybe I was kicked out of that dream because my affinity wasn't naturally there, and was from outside help?' He couldn't help but think.

The final two conditions had their own issues that wasn't readily apparent.

Having a strong soul was something he hadn't thought much about. But having two souls melding together, or one soul absorbing another, or something along those lines could strengthen it.

The nature of souls was something which he was not at all equipped to handle or ponder. He would get nowhere with it, so it was something he would need to double check in the future once he was able to do such a thing.

The one condition 'Be to a minimum of two different dimensions' had all sorts of problems with it.

He could only think of two dimensions he would have been to. Earth and Faentar.

That is unless he was in another dimension when he was a baby in this life which he has no knowledge of memory of. Not the most 'out there' thought he has ever had, but it could be a way to explain it, since he has no clue who his parents were.

However, if it was including Earth, then that would mean that the Status Screen, or whatever it was from or connected to, could discern that about him. The implications of there being a method to find out if he was from a different dimension was something he would have to be wary of and also investigate.

While he was thinking all of this, there was a knock at the door.

Rowan had to put these thoughts aside as he quickly got dressed and went to answer the door.

There stood Old John.

"Oh! So, you did survive! I wasn't sure since you haven't visited me." The old man said with a bit of a smile.

Rowan couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I only came back when it was dark and went to sleep soon after. Come on in." Rowan motioned for Old John to come inside his little home. He said as he led Old John inside and got a seat for him.