World Observers

Frosty took a small detour around the volcanoes, which didn't surprise me. 'He is an Ice Dragon after all. I'm sure they hate hot stuff or environments'. "The sun will set quite soon, therefore we will make camp in the Endrosian Empire. You'll get to see the Great Forest up close for the first time. Anyway, we should arrive at our destination tomorrow", father announced. "Great, I can't wait to check it out", I replied. The simple thing of camping inside a Great Forest was a new experience to me. Everything concerned with the Endrosian Empire would be new to me.

After we passed the Obsidian Mountains, something faintly emerged over the horizon. "Is that the Endrosian Empire?", I asked, unsure. "Yes, can you see the clear line separating the two regions?", father replied. "Huh? There really is a clear line separating everything. Like the vegetation and ground are different on both sides. The view is a bit distorted, so I can't make out much… That must be the barrier you guys mentioned, right?", I asked. "Yes, we will be passing through it soon", he nodded.

We got closer and closer to the barrier, then a sudden pressure hit my whole body. That pressure wasn't painful or anything. Though it was sudden, that pressure didn't last for a long time. "Welcome to the Endrosian Empire", father announced with a smile. "That's it? Truthfully, I expected something more… I don't even know. Feels a bit anticlimactic. Anyway, now I know what you mean by the Great Forest. The forest is everywhere!", I said.

"That's actually a few forests bunched together. There are plains and mountains as well, though the Great Forest takes about two thirds of the Empire. Anyway, Frosty, can you land just up ahead? We will set camp over there", father asked. Frosty nodded, before slowly descending into the forest below us. There was no space for Frosty to land, but that wasn't a problem for a creature such as Dragon.

He simply froze a few trees, then crashed through them. "Here should be fine, right?", Frosty asked. "Yea, this place should be alright. Thanks for clearing it up as well, as a thank you I'll let you sleep in my arm tonight", father replied. "Hoh, what generosity!", Frosty mocked him instead. "Alright then, you sleep outside", father argued back. Frosty didn't say anything else. Instead, he began glowing and slowly merged with my father's right arm. "So that's how it works? It's a shame my Turry can't do this. I mean, we could've taken him with us", I commented.

"Neat, huh? Well, I'm not sure anyone besides me can actually achieve that, though I might be wrong. There are other Dragons, so perhaps one of them made a Blood Pact with another creature", father said. "Blood Pact?", I asked, confused. That was the first time someone ever mentioned such a thing to me.

"The Blood Pact is rather simple, but also dangerous at the same time. Me and Frosty are connected by such a pact, though I'm not his master, neither is he mine. This pact only prevents us from betraying each other, and we can sense each other's location when apart", father explained. "Don't be mistaken though. Usually people want to abuse the Blood Pact, and tie the lives down. There was someone who actually tried to force a Blood Pact on me, but Frosty was there to help me. Never do a Blood Pact if you don't understand the consequences", he added.

"Sure, I'll watch out… I don't even know how to make one, though the name would suggest blood", I replied. "Hehe, something like that. Anyway, let's set up the camp", father proposed. My mother carried everything with her. She had a tent, beds and even food. Father protested a bit, since he wanted to hunt and whatnot, but she told him to stop complaining. "You are an Emperor of the Great North. How could you build shelters, hunt for food and live like you used to? Have some decency, alright?".

They didn't need any help, which meant I could explore the forest a bit. The trees weren't green, like in the North. Instead, the leaves had three different colours. Ranging from yellow through orange to red. A small gust of wind was enough to blow them away from the branches. 'This must be the autumn season mom told me about. She said that the trees shed their leaves in a way, to prepare for winter'. I decided to collect a few of them. I could show them to my uncles and friends. They probably never saw such leaves either.

Other than trees growing everywhere, there were some shrubs, grass and a few plants here and there. Everything was dying because of the season, but that didn't make it look less beautiful. My parents already started a fire, and cooked our late dinner. Thanks to the campfire though, I noticed some small creatures crawling around. 'Huh, what are these guys?', i asked myself before trying to pick one up.

The creature didn't mind crawling onto my palm, but it was also trying to crawl under my sleeve. "Dad, mom. What sort of creature is this?", I asked them, before the creature made its way up my sleeve. "Oh that? It's an ant. They live under the ground, where they build their nest. Ants scour the surface for food or when they need to protect the nest. There's loads of them under the ground, and usually they build small hills as their nest", father explained.

"Heh? So this guy is an ant. It's so tiny, I wonder how this little thing can survive in such a big forest?", I asked myself. "Ants eat pretty much anything that can be eaten. Their numbers, that's what allows them the survival. Besides, there aren't many predators who feed on ants. Look out though, some of them bite. Though they can't hurt you much, their bites are annoying and itchy. That's why sleeping on the ground is not the best idea. Anyway, leave the ant alone, the food will be ready soon", he added.

I let the ant leave back towards its home, but then noticed something else. The nights were really cold in the Endrosian Empire. We didn't have weather in the North. There was no rain or snow, while the wind was mostly the same temperature. The Endrosian Empire was different, a lot different. "Anna, if you are cold, why don't you say anything? Here, I made some warm clothes for this occasion", mother said while handing me a thick long sleeved shirt.

"What about you guys? Are you not bothered by the cold?", I asked since they remained in their light clothing. "Hehe, we don't have to put on such clothing even during winter. Our bodies can stand up to such temperatures", father proclaimed. "I wish my body was this strong…", I mumbled to myself.

"Don't worry about it sweetie. I'm sure you will be as strong as us in the future, you just have to work hard", mother tried to encourage me. "Actually, you can achieve that as well. The energy inside your body can be used for many things, other than fighting, you know? Try moving it around, and see if you feel the difference", father proposed.

"Really? That's not a bad idea", I replied before moving the energy around my body. 'He's right! My body is getting warmer. Heh, to think energy could be used like that too', I thought. "That's not all. Your energy can help you heal your wounds, expel weak poison and whatnot. You just have to focus on the spot of your body, and… Anyway, your control is too weak at this stage. That's why being able to control your energy really well is so crucial", he added.

He wasn't lying about that either. I was able to move a quarter of my energy around, which was already a great success given the amount of time. Though the next step wouldn't be so easy anymore. The difficulty rose each time I split my energy. In a sense, I had to create eight streams for the next step to be completed. Then sixteen, then thirty two and so on. Father never told me when to stop, but the more I could split it, the better my control would become.

There was a drawback to that method of warming myself up. Since my energy wasn't as extensive and well controlled like my parents, I could only sustain such use for a short amount of time. Warm clothes were the way to go for me, at least at the current stage.

After our meal, father told us a few of his stories from his distant past. Even my mother listened to them, since she didn't know everything about my father's past. He went through a lot, and mother wasn't there to witness everything. She also shared some of her stories, especially her childhood. She had it tough with that mask, because Furians and Humans were at war. Not being able to show your face to anyone, would be tough for everyone.

"Alright, that's enough stories. Let's get some rest, and continue our journey tomorrow. If the weather is good, me and Frosty will show you something, hehe", father said rather mysteriously. I tried inquiring about that, but he wouldn't tell me or even my mother. She wasn't happy, but didn't make too much noise about it.

The night passed uneventfully. No ants bit me during the night, which could be counted as a success. We wrapped up our camp shortly after breakfast, and continued our journey deeper into the Endrosian Empire. "You guys are in luck, today's weather is actually quite good. Frosty, fly a bit higher, let's show them the view from above the clouds", father said.

Frosty did as my father asked, and flew higher and higher. As the cold wind blasted my face, Frosty flew right into one of the white clouds floating about. The wind inside felt a bit more savage, blasting us from all directions, but Frosty didn't stop.

A few moments later, Frosty made it out of the cloud to reveal a majestic view in front of us. The view was really different and surreal. The clouds were no longer above us, but below. Moreover, the view in front of us was that of a pale blue sky, with more white clouds beneath. The view made me and mother stare blankly ahead in awe. "It's great, isn't it? This view is even better during dawn. The contrast of orange, blue and white is really something else", father said.

We flew a bit further until the clouds thickened. We could barely see the ground through the occasional gaps in the clouds beneath us. The clouds formed all sorts of shapes, and came in all sorts of sizes. The view was akin to a huge white plain, but suspended in the sky. "These clouds form a second ground in the sky… At least in a way. This feels like we could actually step off, and walk atop them. This is great!", I exclaimed. The wind felt fresh and a bit chilly. The sun rising in front of us, shone over the whole sky in a subtle yet warm way.

"Anna, look over there", father pointed up. The pale blue sky rose upwards limitlessly, but got a bit darker the further it went. Moreover, when I focused on the darker part of the sky, my eyes perceived tiny and faint specks of sparkling lights. "Ar… Are these specks of light... Stars?", I asked, confused.

"Yes, they are. You might be confused, because you only saw them during the night, but stars are always there. Whether it's night or day, the stars hang there in the sky watching over us. That's something we discovered during our travels", father replied with a smile. Mother also looked at the sky, while pondering about something. "You wonder whether there are other worlds out there, right?", father asked suddenly.

"Was it that obvious? There are loads of stars out there, so maybe there are other worlds out there too", she replied. "Well, there are", he said while looking up. That came as a shock to both me and my mother. "Shocking, isn't it? You can imagine my face, when I actually saw another world myself. You see, there is a race who gazes at the sky and stars. They did that since ancient times, but their tools were rather primitive back then. They call themselves Gravaaks, which can be loosely translated as World Observers. They were the ones who gave me that small amount of Talanium, which originates from somewhere up there", father explained.

"You are joking, right? You gave me a ring that doesn't come from our world? There are other worlds up there? How can they see that?...", mother showered him with questions, giving me no chance to ask my own. "Slow down, Fox. Gravaaks possess a special tool, which makes everything bigger… A lot bigger. The tool in itself is large and complicated… I'd say three times as tall as our house", he started.

"I wasn't allowed to learn anything about it though. That's their secret, which cannot be shared with others. When they showed me the moon for the first time, I was shocked. You know the mask I gave you, right? Well, imagine having like a hundred of those combined into one. I might be exaggerating here, but the moon appeared massive through that tool. I'm sure they used some sort of Formations to make this tool, but I have no clue how they did it", he continued.

"So what about those other worlds?", I managed to squeeze in a question. "Turns out that some of those stars aren't stars at all. They are worlds, just like ours. Or at least, that is what the World Observers believe. They actually showed me an example of another world. I can safely say it wasn't a star. That world was more like a distant moon, but too distant to make something out", he replied

"They can even look at our sun. I know, because they showed it to me. You'd be surprised by what you saw, it's nothing like we see it from here. These words, stars and even moon are really, really far away. There are chances they didn't show me the full potential of that tool, and that they know much more. Who knows, but this sort of knowledge isn't available here on this continent. Besides, no creature or being is able to get there, not even to the moon", he added.

"You learned so much about everything, yet you keep it to yourself. At least share with your wife, will you?", mother complained. "Seriously though, it took me a lot of time to actually get this much from them. I spent about two years with them alone, and they allowed me to use the tool four times. I also had to do loads of crap… stuff, for them to actually give me access to that tool. They only agreed to deal with me thanks to my predecessor. If not for me being his inheritor, they would never talk to me", father argued. "They are a bunch of old fools", Frosty added, annoyed. "Yea, even Frosty being an Ice Dragon made no impression on them", father explained Frosty's annoyance.

"What else did you learn? You've been there two years, which means you must've learned something more, right?", I asked. "Well, a few more things perhaps, but not as shocking as you'd think. They really used me to the bone, and mostly paid me with the use of that tool… I was really curious, and they knew that. I could've spent those two years differently… Well, at least they gave me some Talanium", he replied.

Mother stared at her ring, "You know that I will treasure it even more?". "You are my wife, how could I give you something cheap? To me, you and Anna are worth much more than ten such rings", father replied. 'Smooth talker…', I thought while mother embraced him. "Come on guys, give it a rest! Enjoy the view instead!", I exclaimed. "Seems like our daughter is a bit jealous", father said before grabbing me into a hug as well. "You guys are more precious than anything else. You too Frosty, don't feel left out", father said. "Yea, yea…", Frosty replied, but he seemed pleased that my father included him.