Martin the Last Necron

Chapter 22 (Focus)

"I can't do it!" Martin gawked, clearly frustrated. "I have been trying for the past few months and still nothing." He sighed.

It was getting more and more difficult for Martin to focus. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't clear his mind from his thoughts. It had been seven months since Martin had stumbled inside the marble his parents had left for him. Ever since that day, he has been trying everything he can, to find a way back home. After learning that the way out was the way he had come in, he has tried, everyday to reverse the effect. But his mind was always focused elsewhere.

He wondered, was his friends, okay? Are they still alive? Do they miss him as much as he misses them? Is the world he left behind in peril or even destroyed? What do his friends think of him for abandoning them all when they needed him the most? What does Solana think of him? Many times he thought of just giving up and accepting his life here. But the thought of never being able to see Solana or his friends again was heart-wrenching. So he promised himself he would never give up and keep trying. Still, at times it felt impossible and pointless.

Martin took one last look at the crystal ball before he decided it was time to head back to the cabin. He had found the cabin the first day he ventured into the vast forest and mountain ranges, many months ago. When he first spotted the cabin he was excited, in hopes to find someone who could possibly help him return home. All he found, though, was a vacant cabin filled with tomes and scrolls similar to those that Adal had in his home. It was a cozy place with a small fireplace and table and chairs and bookshelves and other things found in a small home. But Martin could plainly see it was a home built for one person. That lead him to believe he was right when he thought maybe his parents sent him here to never leave again.

After Martin made his way back to the cabin he picked a few apples from the apple tree a few hundred feet from his home. He then headed to the garden and picked a potato some carrots and a tomato before heading inside. He was glad that his grandpa had taught him how to grow things in a garden over the years. Otherwise, he would have starved to death already. He refused to kill any animals. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get himself to kill one. Luckily, with the knowledge his grandpa passed down to him and the seeds he found in the cabin he didn't have to. He was thankful for both.

He thought it best to look over the scrolls again to see if maybe he had missed something. Even though he knew he hadn't, it would do no harm to look again. The scroll claims that the crystal ball is in fact not a crystal ball, but the marble that he once held in his hand before entering this place. At least that made him feel better that he hadn't lost it. All he can gather from the knowledge he had read from the scrolls is you have to focus. Oddly, it doesn't say what you have to focus on but that you just have  to focus. He search's and finds the passage again and then reads it out loud to himself. 

They, whom wish to travel, must focus without thought. Focus is the key. 

"Focus is the key", he mumbled to himself over and over. 

What does it mean? He wondered. As far as he was concerned, he had been focusing every time he tried. There must be something he was missing he thought. But what? Not wanting to discourage himself anymore, he decided it would be best to forget about it for now and work more on it tomorrow. Besides, it was getting late and he needed to go cut some firewood in order to make a fire for the night. At least he got better at bending air and can now cut through larger sized logs. He was proud of himself for accomplishing that much. 

Martin stepped outside and headed to the edge of the forest not too far from his home, where he had always cut wood. When he got to the woods, he saw something very strange. The trees that he had cut down over the months had been fully grown again as if never touched. The leaves and branches around the area were unscathed showing no sign of entry. 

"That's odd." He muttered. 

Looking around, he noticed everything that he saw was as it was when he had first arrived to this place. Shocked, he spun around and gasped in astonishment. He saw that the apple tree he had been picking apples from was completely full of apples again. Rushing over to where he had made his garden he saw that it was gone, as if it had never been made. He then ran into his house to find it was miraculously put back the way it was when he had first arrived as well. Martin was dumbfounded. 

"What in earth's tarnation is going on!" He cursed.

Just then, Martin began to feel a slight tingling sensation on his arm. He looked down to see part of his tattoo was beginning to fade away. Panic started to wash over him. He needed to find out what was happening and why? He thought of the scrolls. Maybe they could help him figure out what was going on. Heading towards the scrolls he stopped suddenly and froze, not knowing what to do. He instantly forgot what he was going to do or why he was heading in the direction he was going. Everything he knew about this place was completely erased from his mind. 

Martin stood perplexed, trying to figure out how he had got here. The last thing he remembers was standing in the woods back in Nettles. Yet here he is inside some small cabin of sorts. 

"Did I black out?" He whispered. "Or walk through another patch of nettles?" He pondered. 

Either way, he would have to ask Adal when he saw him, he told himself. Martin stepped out of the cabin and looked around. He saw a small path leading up towards the forest. He saw an apple tree not far away and a lake off in the distance. There was a tiny shed behind the cabin that looked to probably hold tools of some sort. He saw a nice spot next to the cabin that he thought would be a great spot for a small garden. There were flowers and tiny bushes that added flavor to the place. It all looked to be a very cozy place to live he thought. But where is everyone he wondered? Someone had to of taken him here if he in fact did black out. 

Then he remembered the marble. The marble his parents had left for him. He quickly reached into his pocket to find it wasn't there. Where did it go? Who took it? He panic'd. Someone had stolen his marble he cursed. Where is he, where is everyone and where is his marble? Martin needed answers and he knew he wasn't going to get them just standing around wondering. So he decided to head back in the house to see if he could find any clues into what was going on.

Martin searched everywhere in the small cabin looking for anything that would give him information. But no matter where he looked he came up empty handed. His last option was to read through the scrolls, maybe they would have something of use to him. So he went and gathered up every scroll he could find and stacked them on and around the table. Before he got started he decided he would go chop some wood and start a small fire to keep the place warm while he read. Heading out towards the forest, he grabbed an apple from the tree and took a bite out of it. It was delicious he thought. Probably one of the best apples he had ever eaten. 

Once he got to the trees he gathered a little kindling scattered across the forest floor. He then focused on calling the winds and a small gust of air began forming around the palms of his hands. Trying to cut small limbs from the tree with the blades of air, he was finding it to be very difficult. After a bit of trying he decided it was getting late and he would just look for logs small enough to fit in the fireplace. Once he felt he gathered enough wood he headed back inside and got the fire started in short order. Thankfully, he found a flint and tinder above the fireplace. Now that the place was warm and cozy and he had a few apples to eat, he opened the first scroll and began reading.

-The ART of FOCUSING.-

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