God of Discovery [high fantasy, slow build, mlm]

Sky Mountain - part 13

It took three days for D'Argen to start seeing shapes. They were still blurry and rough, but they had shades to them. When their owners spoke, it was even easier to determine which shape belonged to whom.

Yaling informed him that the reason his eyes were taking so long to heal properly was most likely because he strained them without healing for so long. Abbot apologized a few more times for blinding him as well. D'Argen brushed them both off and focused on Yaling's whistled tunes or Abbot's random theories.

Abbot was keeping a fire going the entire time, the scent of his mahee faint under the burning wood and tobacco smoke that surrounded them. The scents kept whatever it was that was making them hallucinate at bay, though they did hear the occasional scream in the distance below.

The fire, however, did very little to keep them warm from the cold snow and even colder winds. Thar, sitting further away from their little camp, had also barely moved in those three days. He spent it all sitting in silence and meditating, using the cold to fill up his mahee and then using his mahee to keep the cold away from them.

For every Never Born, their mahee replenished naturally over time. For a few of them, they could use their mahee to sustain their body, like how D'Argen consumed sound instead of food and drink. For even fewer of them, they could consume other elements to sustain their mahee. Thar was one of those very few. His aspect as a naturalist allowed him to use all naturalist spells but his core element was the strongest. Ice. On this mountaintop, in winter, the cold air around him was probably like a feast to gorge himself on. The only reason he was yet to be full was because he kept using his mahee to keep the cold away from D'Argen and their other three companions.

No.

Not the only reason.

Most likely, it was because of the binding chain still wrapped around his mahee for another twenty years. The same chain that made it impossible for him to have his fill. The same chain that did not allow him to draw his sword from his veins to fight and protect those around him.

D'Argen ran a hand down his sword's sheath. It had a few scratches on it from years ago but was otherwise smooth. The sword inside it was cleaned before it was returned to him. As had been both of his daggers that he thought were lost to the snow.

A grunt to his side had D'Argen turning to look at Lilian's shape. They had barely moved other than to drink tea and eat the meat Abbot cooked.

"D'Argen?" Lilian asked.

"Right here," he replied immediately, reaching out to rest a hand on their leg.

Lilian's shape shifted around until they were sitting up. D'Argen felt the last of the tension inside him fade away. A bubble of laughter built up inside his chest and then escaped.

"He has gone crazy," Yaling said over his laughter. She sounded like she was smiling.

When Lilian said his name again, D'Argen felt that bubble inside his chest turn wet. He was glad that he was wearing a blindfold again as it quickly collected his tears before they became visible to the others.

"How are—"

"Come here," Lilian interrupted and reached out to him. D'Argen shifted around until Lilian was sitting right beside him, touching from ankle to shoulder. They were much shorter than D'Argen so it was comfortable for them to lean their head against his shoulder.

A shuffle behind him had him tensing. Lilian grabbed his hand between both of theirs. A single finger hooked into the strings holding his left armguard closed and tugged gently.

"Ugh... no," D'Argen groaned out when he felt something hot and heavy and warm drape over his shoulders. "Please tell me you did not skin the bear."