The Revelation of the Vine: Graft

Chapter 10: Gleaning the Vine

  Within minutes a small fire was blazing in the center of the Corruption-free circle next to my radiating sword. We huddled around it, boots and gloves removed, wrinkled feet extended toward the dancing flames. The Seeds stared at me in anticipation."The Vine..."  I began, and started to draw a small diagram on the ground with a charred strip of wood I pulled from the fire."... is the Foundation of all things; everything exists within the Vine, and the Vine exists within everything, and by the Vine all things are connected to the Core."  The Seeds huddled around me, looking down at the drawing I made while explaining. "There are fourteen threads of the Vine that we call Realms, and they spiral around a central area called the Core. The first Realm is known as the Inner Light, and it is cradled in the Core's cusp."From here,"  I pointed at a small circle I had drawn in the nook of the cusp, "the Core emits Pure-Energy -- called Aur -- to the Vine through five realms called the Light Realms. These Realms act as Filters to divide the Pure-Energy into the different components of our Universe."  Then I drew six more circles along the left side, up to the top of the Core."Dahn is on the seventh thread,"  I said, poking the center of the top sphere, "called the Transition --this is where our Universe is-- where the energies that flow from the Filters intertwine to create mass and matter. The stars that are created by the recombining of the filtered light-materials then begin to produce electromagnetic radiation, which causes visible light to shine and shadows to be cast, as it interacts with the substances that make up our universe."Beyond the Transition are seven more threads known as the Shadow Realms."  I traced the stick along a group of circles I had drawn around the right side of the Core. "The first six of these Realms also serve as Filters for the remaining energy along the flow of the Vine, as it returns to the Core. This is where the fading energies of our Universe and our Souls go."At the bottom of the Core's cusp lies the darkest of all the realms."  I drew the last circle directly under the inner light, so that the Transition, the Core, the Inner Light and the last circle were in a column in the center of the diagram. "We call this the Outer Darkness. It is from this Realm that the Sages believe the Corruption has its origin -- believing it to be a liquid emptiness that was once separated but later became one again -- formed at the absolute-zero temperature in the desolation of perfect space."But it is also from this realm that the Core drinks in the emptiness and fills it with the Pure-Energy, spewing it back out through the Inner Light. So it is possible that the Corruption is simply a vessel for pure energy -- a perfect void -- which is why it could nullify the Transition realm's energy completely. There is not enough energy in the Transition to fill it or alter it. Only the Core is capable of providing enough energy."There is incomprehensible Energy within Core, and yet, it is the source of both that which is, and that which is not. Some of our Order have said that everything has its beginning and ending in the Vine, but I believe that everything begins and ends in the Core. It is the Core that flows forever and directs the Vine.""But where does the Core begin? And where does it end?"  Teion broke in. I could tell that many similar questions burned in all of their minds. "The simple and short answer,"  I said, drawing an infinity symbol below the diagram. "The Core begins where it ends, and ends where it begins. Its path is a Lemniscate.""Man, that s a truly deep story, Captain."  Falkir said, sitting cross-legged, rubbing his dry toes and feet. "It makes the stories my parents used to tell me seem like nursery rhymes. The ones about our ancestors and their inventions, and how they ignored the knowledge passed down from their ancestors -- our great-ancestors -- instead, they put their faith in the formulas and machines that they invented -- their modern Idols -- bringing doom upon mankind because of their rejection of spiritual knowledge. I always thought they were just stories to make us listen to our elders.""I don't know as much about the ancients as some of the Sages in the Keep claim to,"  I replied, "but I know that those things your parents told you weren't just stories. They may have been told in story form, but truth usually transforms into parables over time. The spirit, or moral, of the story remains the same, no matter how it is told."What I know, is that over twelve-hundred years ago, before the Order of the Vine was founded and the Breach occurred, our ancestors were at the peak of technological achievement. I have seen it every day for the past seven hundred and fifty years, and soon you will see it too."But the ancestors never found the answers they were looking for. Mostly because they wouldn't accept the answers they eventually began to discover. There were some things that technology could never reveal. Like I'd said earlier, physical constructs can only observe other physical constructs. The Vine is not a physical construct, it is Spirit and Truth, and in part, neither are we, but it is the most fundamental part of all things."But, once technology had finally revealed to them everything that it could about the Universe, there were still many questions left unanswered, and the answers were hidden where they were not willing to look. So, they kept pushing the limits of the physical, trying to answer their own questions, and eventually pushed the boundaries of Dahn to a breaking point. That was when the Vine was revealed to all mankind, but it was too late. The Shadow realms had already been breached, and the darkness began to creep back against the flow of the Vine. "A devouring void was unleashed through the Breach, known as Corruption, and it consumed all energy in its wake, starting with the Forsaken Land. It affected humans differently, assimilating their matter into itself, turning all but a few thousand of our ancestors into the All-flesh. Nothing but corrupted, unstable forms of matter, left over from the destruction of their Soul Helix and the mutation of their DNA. Those who remained were forced to fight against friends, family, and loved ones in order to survive -- many did not."Eventually, the Founders of our order were able to push the Corruption back to the north, where they had created the Un-Terr, the Horn and the Rime. Using cryogenics they were able to trap it somewhat underneath the ice, only allowing small amounts to seep into the Rime and Un-Terr, but it had absorbed enough DNA by then. It began to form humanoid matter from itself, and that is how the hordes of Soulless appeared. The difference is that the All-Flesh were humans who were transformed by the Corruption, and the Soulless were formed by the Corruption itself after absorbing billions of humans DNA."Now, the fabric between Realms is called the Veil, and a Bridge is a natural point of intersect between Realms. They all flow one direction through the Vine. But a Breach is like an undertow in that flow, and that was what brought the Corruption from the Shadow Realms and into Dahn. "The place where the Breach occurred we call Old Atmos, otherwise known as the Forsaken Land to you. It once was a city beyond your wildest dreams that towered into the heavens, and stretched from sea to shining sea. Now it lay on the other side of our world as a forgotten continent, shrouded in an orb of mist that steals the mind, from where the Veilians receive their cursed Blink,"  I concluded, pointing at Vhalrin. The Seeds looked at him with sympathetic expressions, his face glowing in the firelight. He sighed, and then lost himself in the gaze of the dwindling flames. Maybe it was fate. First, this boy, the only Veilian to join the Order in a long time, and then, the end of the world display we experienced not even a couple hours ago. Fate or not, my gut told me that it was something big. My thoughts jumped to the Keep, and I began to wonder if it had been able to survive the Freeze. I started to think of the rest of Dahn, and just how far the Freeze could have spread its effects. And then, the Rime-storm; was it still out there? The worry must have been written all over my face."You ok, Cap?"  Vhalrin asked, having come back from his stint in the flames gaze."Yea,"  I said, rubbing my face, "Just anxious to get back to the Crown.""I hope everyone s alright,"  Teion said."Me, too,"  I replied and stood up, turning to face the Knights who had returned from scouting the caves. "Zahk and Korsin, report please.""No sign of Kivan, sir,"  Korsin said, hanging his head a little."Shade,"  I muttered, putting my hands on my waist. "What about the path ahead, any problems?""No major obstructions along the path to the Holo-tunnel, sir". Zahk replied. He was a tall, bulky tank of a Gmirri. "A few new tunnels and cracks have opened, and we heard some strange sounds, but there s no sign of the All-flesh moving around.""Good,"  I said with a sigh. "Let's hope it stays that way. Fall in and keep your eyes and ears open.""Yes, sir,"  they cried, and I turned back to the Seeds."Time to move,"  I said. The last piece of firewood snapped in half, falling into the pile of cinders below it, as embers rose from the ash and blinked out of the world."Don t bother putting it out,"  I said. "The Corruption will see to that once we leave."