Chapter Text
Have you heard of the Dendro Archon?
To the Nation of Wisdom, she stands for all scholars that seek validity, verity, and truth.
She is not only a symbol of power, but also of kindness and reason. Countless flowers bloom wherever she steps, and the trees bow down to her in reverence.
Unfortunately, she disappeared in a great calamity five hundred years ago.
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“God, I’m so tired. Just when can we take a rest?” Paimon yawned. The blond-haired traveler beside her took no notice.
“I said, when - can - we - take - a - rest?”
Now it was the traveler’s turn to yawn. “We still haven’t arrived at the city yet. And-” he paused for a moment to squint at the sun- “it’s still noon, miss. You’d probably still be snoring at the inn if I didn’t drag you out here.”
“We fought off a monster tribe yesterday! I have all rights to sleep in-”
“ I fought off the monster. You ran away, found a cozy spot in some bushes, and kept cheering me on when my left arm got scuffed. And don’t say you were scared, because I gave you some health potions to throw at me and guess what, you left those in the inn too. Oh yes, what were you saying?”
“Okay, you win.” The two continued in silence.
Below them was the sound of rustling leaves; above was the brilliant glare of the sun: the same sun that’d kept them company for the past three years. People thought being an adventurer was pure bliss, exploring mountains and saving damsels in distress and whatnot. In reality, it was a varied but boring job, something the traveler hadn't even thought was possible. The missing pets you had to find and places you had to get to were different every time, but it was all the same in the end. All jobs were the same in the end.
Aether sighed. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. He turned his head to look for Paimon, and for an instant, he was convinced he was wrong.
“It’s beautiful.” he heard himself say.
“Isn't it?” said Paimon, glad to have some time to catch her breath.
And it was beautiful. Lush green rainforests hung below a cerulean sky, filling the countryside with life. Flowers in all shapes and sizes adorned every hill, while rivers cut between them, rivers that flowed so magnificently that the carp seemed insignificant in comparison. And in the distance, a massive tree stretched into the sky, dotted with buildings and glass and people - Sumeru City.
“That's our destination.” Aether took out a map and drew his finger over it. “The city’s straight up ahead, but the port’s northwest, so we'll probably have to make a detour… You're not listening to me, are you, Paimon?’
“Mhm.” Her gaze fell on a young woman a short distance away. Her head lolled about as she walked, and there was a stain on her scholarly clothes - no, not a stain, a burn mark. “What’s up with that woman?”
Aether looked up from his map. “What woman?”
“Don’t you see it? That one, near the really big plant.” Aether craned his head forward to have a better look. “You think she’s sick or what?”
“I don’t think that’s any of our business-”
“Of course it’s our business! There’s some medicine in your bag, right? You go up to her, sell her all of it, and she’ll be thanking us in minutes because her head isn’t swinging around like a wrecking ball anymore! If we’re lucky, and we’re always lucky, she might even report back to the Adventurer’s Guild, and they’ll look up your name and give you a bonus!”
“You do know she heard you, right?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted money to buy souvenirs?”
“Fine.” Aether roughly folded his map and stuffed it in his bag. “Alright, let’s go.”
They raced across the dirt road they were on until they could see the woman clearly. All the traveler could see was a cloud of dust along the road where Paimon had just been. Didn’t she say she wanted to rest?
“You alright? Do you need to rest your head?” Paimon shouted, but there was no response. “We have a cure for you, y’know! We’re not trying to scam you!”
The woman kept on walking just as Aether caught up with Paimon. “She didn’t say anything.” Aether shot her a quick look as he slung his bag off his shoulders and began unbuckling it. “Then how are we supposed to get her attention?” A pebble fell out of the bag, and Paimon picked it up and threw it at the woman in one fell swoop. There wasn’t even so much as a flinch.
“Oh, that’s why she was ignoring you.” Aether sighed and shook his head. “You know, maybe if you hadn’t done that, she would’ve actually paid attention to your little sales pitch and we would get to eat street food and unwind for the entire day. Let me guess - you threw more pebbles when I wasn’t looking-” (“I only threw one!” said Paimon) “-and you got kicked in the shin because of that, and so you want me to help say sorry to her because for all the courage it took for you to throw things at people, you don’t have the courage to apologize. Alright, I’ll do it for you then.” And before Paimon could even say a word, he ran off with the medicine and said a few hushed words to the woman. Aether’s face quickly changed into one of confusion. There was no response from the scholar.
“She really doesn’t see us, does she?” he called back. Paimon rushed to the traveler’s side with an exasperated look; steam seemed to pour out of her ears. “Calm down, my point still stands. Maybe she’s a ghost, or she’s both blind and deaf, or we’re somehow hallucinating the same thing at once.” He stowed the medicine back into his bag. “Thing is, we’re not getting any money out of her, so you can forget about that now.”
“Okay, okay. Can I at least see where she’s going?”
“Probably that cave over there.” Aether motioned to a jagged hole in a nearby cliff. Unlike the others, no flowers were growing on the sides of it, nor did the trees beside it look healthy. Thin wisps of smoke were coming out the sides of the cave like moths dancing around in the air. “Although I wouldn’t go there if I were you.”
“Ooh, scary.” And seeing that the traveler wasn’t moving, she said, “Come on already! You were the one who didn’t want to waste any time.” And so Paimon grasped Aether’s arm and dragged him along, past the blank-faced woman and into the cave, all the while his mind was a mess of lights, full of strange colors and foreign sounds, and the commotion of the countryside whizzed past into a blur, the greens and blues turning into laughs and screams, and his vision faded to black and there was a constant buzzing in his ears. Paimon felt a strange chill in her hands - the warmth all but gone from his arm - and looked back.
“Aether…?”
I don’t feel so good.
The sky was a bright pink. Brighter than anything he’d ever seen.
He stood up. The grass felt soft beneath his feet. Was it grass?
Purple mountains loomed in the distance, each overgrown with purple trees. There were plants, plants that let off colors he couldn’t comprehend, that shimmered with a dreamlike glow. A silvery haze filled the void beneath the ground he was standing; it seemed to give off light as well.
And there was a tree in the middle of it all, a tree glowing with hues of pink, white and blue, a tree made with the essence of dreams. It towered over everything else; its massive roots seemingly stretched down into the infinite abyss and its leaves filled the firmament above. Some of the roots weaved around mountains and valleys, forming a web around this dreamscape.
Something compelled Aether to keep moving forward.
Paimon.
She wasn’t beside him.
His legs dragged across the grass, slowly walking towards the tree; then he moved just a little bit faster, deftly avoiding the fungi below him; then he broke into a sprint with his heart racing.
Where is she?
Aether barrelled off of a nearby tree and landed on top of one of the roots. Sweat flew from his brow, and there was a ‘thunk’ as his compass hit the ground and tumbled into the void below. It didn’t matter. He had to find her.
Then he stopped and dashed to the side. A rock crashed into the root and it snapped in half, sending Aether sliding down into the silvery mist. He braced for the impact as his legs moved from one floating rock to the other, desperately trying to find a path that would bring him to safety. The rock gave way just in time for him to grasp onto the sides of the broken root, and he hauled himself up. He had lived. But he was trapped.
Aether continued to sprint towards the tree, but felt his balance shift and stopped. Wind , he thought. He kept going. There was nowhere for him to go but forward.
World, forget me.
“Who’s there?!” Aether drew his sword and pointed it in front of him. There was no one there.
The tree now shimmered with light as well, light from all the colors of the rainbow. He could barely open his eyes. World, forget me.
The light soon gave way to darkness.
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“...her! A..ther! Did he die? Is he alright?”
“Yes, Paimon, I'm alive, thank you very much. Although I wouldn’t say I’m very alright.” Slowly, he opened his eyelids. Plants and herbs lined the shelves around him, and sun shone through an open window. The blue sky was oddly comforting.
At least it’s still bright outside. That means I can get to the port this week. Aether reached for his bag, but his hand refused to move; it felt like it was made out of lead.
“Do you need some water? Hold on, I’ll get it for you.”
He shifted around a bit in his stretcher and saw a young girl dressed in outrider clothes scrambling around with a cup. Her vibrant green hair glistened in the light, but what struck Aether the most was how gray her hands looked compared to the rest of her body. That, and also she’d dropped the cup.
There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask.
“So, where are we?”
Paimon shrugged. Aether was going to say something, but the girl interrupted.
“This is Gandharva Village. It’s used as a base of operations by the Forest Rangers, since it’s so close to the forest.” She took a dustpan from the nearby shelf and began sweeping bits and pieces from the floor. “Your friend was screaming for help, and my teacher and I were walking by, so the three of us brought you here.”
“I’m just glad I’m alive.” Aether said. “Thanks for the help.”
The girl looked away, her face red. “I really didn’t do much. T-thank you, though. Really. By the way, how are you feeling right now? Any discomfort?”
“My arm feels terrible, but it’s better than I expected. Also…there’s this strange taste in my mouth.”
“That’s one of my medicines, I’m afraid.” The door swung open to reveal a young man in his twenties, with loose black clothes and a flower pinned to his shoulder. “Tastes awful, but amazing for blackouts and nausea. Collei, what’s that on the floor?”
“Oh, uh, sorry…”
“I told you, you must be careful with these… it’s no matter, I’ll get another one for you later.” The young man turned to someone waiting outside the door, holding up diagrams and charts Aether couldn’t understand. He turned his attention to the shelves instead.
“That’s my teacher, Tighnari. He’s the chief officer, which means he monitors all the forest rangers in this area.” Collei said, moving the shattered cup to the far side of the room.
“Sounds like a pretty strict guy.” Paimon chimed in.
“Well, I guess he’s strict…but he’s also knowledgeable too! He taught me all about the plants here, and-” Tighnari rushed in, putting away a diagram about fungi. He scribbled something on a nearby log and looked satisfied.
“Alright, I’m finished. Now then,” he said, turning to Aether. “I imagine you must have a lot of questions. Ask away.”
Aether lay still for a moment, then said, “Why did I black out?”
“Good question.” The young man paced around the room, as if searching for an answer. “Some scholars here dedicate themselves to training and meditation in isolated areas. While meditating, they use a certain incense to calm their minds as they enter a state of rumination.” Tighnari grabbed a bronze incense burner from a nearby shelf. “Now, most people have no reaction to this incense, but for a select few-” he rocks the burner back and forth- “it can have profound effects on their cognition. There’s no need to massage his temples, Paimon, I’m sure he can manage. Aether, according to my notes, you had hallucinations of some… silver tree and a red sky, correct?’
“Yes, but-”
“Alright then. Collei, let the others know to stop bringing their patrol logs for now. These two will be staying here for the next few days.”
Collei stared at the log Tighnari wrote. “But… they'll be spending the night in your room.”
“It's fine, I'll bunk with Amir. Now get a move on and be sure to do as I've said. I'll give you an explanation later.”
“Okay, uh, see you!” Collei said as she scurried out the door. Paimon followed too, but Tighnari dashed ahead of her and blocked her way.
“Hey, we deserve an explanation too! We need to get to Sumeru City, you know!” Paimon shouted. The young man only sighed in response.
“Look, I'm sure you’re dying to get out of here, but your friend over there isn't doing so well. “ Tighnari was met with silence. “I see you're skeptical. Here.” The incense burner swung mesmerizingly, and Aether wished Paimon was there to soothe his temples again. He could tell that she was, in fact, not skeptical anymore.
“Okay, okay, I get it. So how long does he have to stay here for?”
“About a week.”
“A week? ”
“Yes, a week. Although if he takes his daily medicine and avoids wandering on his own, it might only take a couple of days. Now then-” he checked his watch- “I have to go and prepare another bowl of medicine, so please make sure he’s resting fine, okay?”
“...Alright.”
The moment Tighnari shut the door, Aether sat upright with a groan.
“He's right, you know.” Paimon said. Aether paid no notice, instead resting his head on the bedframe. A troubled expression ran through his face. “And stop sulking, for god's sake.”
“I'm not sulking, I'm thinking.” Aether paused for a second and looked around. “You know how Tighnari said I was hallucinating?”
“Yeah?”
“It didn't feel like it. Whatever I was seeing, with the glowing fungi and purple cliffsides, it felt…real. Like it was more than just a dream.”
“Well…okay then. But why didn't you tell Tighnari earlier? If he misjudges your condition, there's a chance you'd be here for more than a week.”
“I don't trust him.” Paimon gave him a puzzled glance, and he cleared his throat the best he could. “Nothing he says makes sense. I haven’t meditated before, but I’m pretty sure anyone doing it wouldn’t be able to stand, much less walk around like a zombie. Also, how did he manage to figure out exactly what I was seeing?”
“You know you talk a lot in your sleep, right?”
“Still, it’s weird how sure he was…” Aether laid back on the stretcher, thinking about what to say next.
“What I'm getting at here is that Tighnari’s not being honest with us. He knows these aren't dreams, Paimon. He knows they're real.”
There was a long silence. “So what do we do now?”
“I suppose the one person that would know would be the Dendro Archon herself.”
“You’re joking, right? There’s no way an Archon would give us an audience!” Paimon noticed a determined glint in the traveler’s eye. “I guess we could try…”
“You’re right, Paimon. We could.”
A mad scholar, an untrustworthy ranger, and a dream too vivid to be fake. And all he wanted was to deliver a package.
Just my luck.