Tales of Erud

Chapter Two: Let's Make a Contract

"Hey!" Maaya shouted to Gilliam who is walking far in front of her. But Gilliam didn't seem to notice that her companion is having a hard time keeping up with him. Their pace has been too fast for a human to walk over. They have been traveling out of direction for almost a week now, only stopping during breaks and sleep. They weren't eating that much. The only source of nutrients Gilliam has been eating are fruits which he was used to by now. But for Maaya, as long as there are trees and small foliage in the area, she is good. She is, after all, a guardian of the forest of Erud.

"I said Hey!" Maaya shouted and didn't seem to notice that she took out a vine to hold Gilliam in place which made him fall.

"Hey! What was that for!" Gilliam shouted while trying to stand up and removing the roots on his feet but it was too hard for him. "Remove this root you wood nymph!"

"That was Rude of you. For your information young man, I am the very essence of this forest!"

"Oh the essence of the forest, so are you keeping us locked in the maze you built in the forest?" Said Gilliam while still trying to remove the vines that kept his feet on the ground.

"What maze?" Asked Maaya which was stunned to know that they are locked in the forest. Gilliam just rolled his eyes while still trying to remove the vines while thinking that she might be acting stupid to form the stupid contract thing that he doesn't know about.

"Hey! What maze?" Irritated, Gilliam stood up with beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Look, I know that you made this cage of a forest. I have been living in this forest since I was a kid, and I know every nooks and end of this forest. In just a day, we should have been out in the dessert and passed on five towns already at our current pace. But we didn't, we have been walking on the edges of the forest for a week." Gilliam paused for a while and took the sword out of the sheath and used the blade to cut the vines. He walked towards Maaya who is dumbstruck looking at him.

"And if you are trying to lock us in, then you better lift the spell you made." Gilliam looked at Maaya with serious, dark face and that made Maaya release some cold sweat behind his neck.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I can't use my powers that much yet as to make a big spell like this unless I made a contract with a vessel." She said in a nervous tone. It was like, darkness literally came upon her in the face.

Gilliam sighed heavily. "Ok, so what is this contract thing?"

Gilliam walked away and took a sit on a stump nearby and sheathed his sword back. Maaya was able to breathe again. I think I shouldn't anger him that much for now." she thought and also took a seat using the vines she created.

Gilliam waited for Maaya to talk about the contract she was so persistent.

"For us spirits, making a contract with vessels, which are said to be a guardian of the essences, can free us from the shackles of the world and at the same time release our powers and be a good servant for the vessel."

"So you are saying I am a vessel? How is that?"

"Vessels are Vessels. Meaning, you are a container of which must be filled up with the things he should be filling up so that you can be the Origin depending on what kind of essence you take."

"Woah, slow down, what is this Origin? This Essence? and the Filling up you are talking about?"

"Origin is the very life of the world we are living in now. It has been like this since it was born and its denizens. It is like a guardian for something, and that something is, I don't know yet. In summary, you are scion or next to being a god but not a god."