Living on Borealis-9: The Story Of A Reincarnated Human

Chapter 6, Part 2: Teleport

"Now, I'm not entirely sure if this will work..." Luna said as she drenched me with seawater. I spat out the little amount that got in my mouth, then held Head's nose as she poured the water on him as well.

"What happens if it doesn't?" I asked.

"We'll be dissolved into pure elemental essence and die instantly. If it does work, however, then we'll be in great luck!"

"What is she...OH NO! You, Dryad, are not going to attempt to send us to Valka Mark using your mother's powers!" Head said in panic. "It'd be seen as an affront against Ogher!"

"Hey, it's cool, man. I'm friends with Ogher." I chimed in.

"You? Friends with Ogher? Why would you possibly...Hm...Say, you haven't drank any wine in the last few days, have you?"

"...No?"

"Oh...Wait...Uh-oh." Luna said, looking at me like I had sprouted wings. "Head, what did you taste?"

"His blood, apart from being so peaceful I couldn't hurt a fly afterwards, has a strong metallic tint...and the faint burn of a drunkard's blood. But if he hasn't drank any wine in the past few days..."

"Open your mouth." Luna commanded me. I did as she asked, with her taking a deep breath of my open maw. What. The. Hell. "He's not lying, there is no alcohol on his breath."

"...Maybe I'm being hasty. The next time you can, boy, get a drink in your system. I want to see something."

"What do you want to see?" I asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Nothing, nothing. Look, back to the main subject, we can't just teleport ourselves onto Valka Mark." Head said as I lifted him back up.

"We're not going to Valka Mark. At least, not directly. No, we're going to Járnland to get a favour from the Nymph Hollow Dryads. They can give us a boat, which we can sail along the coastline, avoiding any pirate attacks, and cross the Holy Channel."

"I'm sorry, can we go back to the pirate part?" I asked.

"No."

"You do know that the Nymph Hollow Dryads are madder than hatters, yeah?" Head asked.

"I am perfectly aware, Head." Luna said as she drew a circle in the sand, placing large seashells in seven directions. So I guess it was a sort of compass...Shaped like a seven-pointed star. I like it!

Head made a huff, but kept silent for a moment. Then...

"Say, do either of you want another story to pass the time?" He suggested.

"Sure. Do you have any on Dryads?" I asked, trying to learn a bit more about who they were.

"Only a few, not too many exciting. See, Gaia and Asreil are rather creative people when you focus on it. She is the tide of evolution, the ever-changing nature of nature, always trying new things out to live an easier life. Asreil is our very existence, as he made our planet from scratch as a great insult to The Gods."

"Wait, I thought he was a-"

"Don't call him one. It's bad luck to say the G-word, and punishable by death in some places. But yes, Asreil is the only true G-word. The others...They're more like the weakened versions. It's an iterative process. Light and Dark, they were made from nothingness, and stand tall as the most powerful of the G-words. Asreil devoured Dark, and fled from Light as a G-word. Then, when he came here, he took his own flesh, ripped it off, and created The Deities. Now, here, Asreil stands tall as the most powerful of The Deities. And I'm sure that, in a far-flung future, one of them will usurp Asreil, and make their own world, and that traitor Deity will stand tall themselves above the weaker children they make. It's a never-ending cycle...What was I saying?"

"How the Dryads were created." Luna replied flatly. Jeez, she couldn't have SOME interest in this? Then I thought. She was a Dryad. She probably knew the story by heart or similar, if this stuff is this important.

"Yes! Anyways, Asreil and Gaia were fairly similar. Both had disappointment creations of their own, with Asreil's Gnomes, and Gaia's Elves. Both were seen as worthless, useless failures to their families."

"Unworthily so. Just because Elves didn't follow Gaia's vision doesn't mean that they were 'Useless'." Luna piped up. "Those who follow destinies like that are usually blinded by the light."

"Yep. Anyways, both had disappointments under their belt. So, one day, Gaia came to Asreil, and asked if they could work together to create a new Race. Asreil had also made the Humans alongside the Elves, Abakhulu, and...Another Race...who all came from a common ancestor. Gaia liked the Humans, but sought to improve them. So, she worked with Asreil, scooping clay from her horns, guiding him on how to sculpt them. She made them to be the spitting image of her, making all Dryads look like her, emulate her, uphold her honourable ways. All the details, in their minds, spirits...Oh, and most definitely in body. Er...No offence is meant to current company."

"None taken. I'd hack them off if I could." Luna said as she drew various patterns in the sand. Man, how long was this process going to take? Oh, wait. It's magic. Drk.

"Ah, good. And the Dryads were made. Perfect, no? But Asreil had another plan. He loves freedom. And Gaia...she did not want such a perfect vision of choice for her daughters. She saw them the same way we see children: To be protected and sheltered. Gaia made her daughters more like Regrowers than real people. So, Asreil secretly took some traits of Gaia, spun them into a crown between the horns, and imbued the Dryads with the possibility to do what they wished. Free will, empathy, cruelty...Some more than others. And in secret, Asreil made it so that he plucked a single leaf off of the tree of Dryads, so that a tiny few would be unbound by Gaia's restraints, and be let out to see greener pastures."

Luna had stopped at that point, and was listening intently.

"How do you know any of this?" She asked with a slight tremble to her voice.

"Well, I heard it from the mouth of the king himself. And from Gaia. And thousands of fellow folk." Head said. "Why?"

"I...You're lying." Luna simply replied. "Don't tell any more fake stories. Matt, step in the circle."

"Sure." I said, moving in to take my place. But not before leaning in to whisper in Luna's ear. "Hey, I'm sorry for asking him to tell a story. I won't tell him to do so without your permission, ok?"

"It's...Don't worry, it is not YOUR fault. Come on, Matt. Get in your place, I want to either die or get sent overseas." Luna whispered back, glaring down at Head at my side.

So. I did as I was told. As soon as I stepped in place, I was fragmented sixty-six fold, turned into nothing but dust. Dust that settled onto the water, which drifted and lapped across the world. I saw the individual tides, not the big named ones, but every single wave's cause and effect. Every motion in the water was natural, I could see the curves and moves that it had. It was all like a sort of surreal dance, one where everything kind of just...looks both unorganised, yet somehow really choreographed.

It reminded me of swing dancing. The ocean is made up of swing dancing water and fish. The tides carried me, as well as a million life forms, across the world in the blink of an eye, washing ashore. Every wave that lapped against an unseen shore added a little bit more of me, a fragment, piece by piece. A slow assembly of my body, over the course of several waves. Arm, torso, head, leg, leg, arm, insides, outsides...And then...I was whole, with Head at my side. Luna was there also, waiting for me as she sat on a rock.

"Oh, good. You're back. Welcome to my sister's home, Matt." She said, pointing towards a lush jungle near the coast. It reminded me of Madagascar...The one place I hated while travelling with my dad...That is not a good sign for what is to come.