It really feels different now. Theres much more to Tree than before. What really happened? she asks as she stands on the balcony, rolling hills and lush forests spread out below her.
I keep looking at the rather lovely view. Looking away from Rheas ass, I admit that the majestic sight from my window is also nice. Those are paths.
The tools?
This is pure speculation, but as far as I can tell, those nine tools are whats needed to get a basic civilization started. Basic paths of life - Daos, if you will.
Construction, agriculture, and clothing?
Those are the base needs. Food, warmth, shelter, rest, security, the most basic of stuff every human needs.
And the weapons?
What do you do after your belly is full and your house is nice and warm? You go and kill those evil people from across the river, of course! Keeping it in the with the hierarchy of needs, we can apply those three implents to the securing of friends, intimate relationships, and a feeling of accomplishnt.
And you need weapons for that?
An entire third of that category is dedicated to protection, you know. And Im not sure how I feel about this, but the sword is absent. That should be significant, with the amount of symbolism thats being thrown around here, but I cant quite grasp it. I let my eyes rove across Rheas form for a while longer. I know that I usually spout bullshit about loving the soul and personality above the physical form, but damn girl. The outer shape shouldnt matter, but I've really got to find out if she has mind-reading powers. From her toned stomach that curves into long legs, her perky yet modest chest and narrow shoulders tick all of my boxes.
Ill bite, she says with that smirk of hers, Why is the lack of a sword important?
The sword is a human killer. You cant hunt with it. You cant defend with it. Its just ant to signify that the wielder has a big sharp stick, and is willing to use it. Its all edge, purely designed to kill other sapients.
So the fact that mainly hunting weapons - the spear and the bow - are present, along with a shield, is now giving you hope for the universe, or sothing like that. Am I understanding you correctly?
Yeah, sure, I reply while unable to tear my eyes from her strutting hips.
The sickle?
Ah, thats for multiplication, I blurt out.
Her face darkens, and for once, I have absolutely no idea why that is so. Hey, whats-
Why, multiplication? she interrupts.
Settled communities have a massive amount of ti left. No longer needing to pack up and move all their shit, they can spend much more ti on other pursuits. These other pursuits will be mostly farming in the beginning, but once they master the sickle, they will have ti left over for other stuff, like making fancy clothes.
To my great disappointnt, she sits down. And then what about the last three? A pot and two sticks?
Brush, jar, and ruler. Im not sure in which order these co, but they seem to represent higher levels of civilization. I wonder which of the other super-dense items represents the internet. Is there a Dao path filled with nothing but dank s? Man, I hope I dont find it, because I would drop my Path of Nothingness and Infinite Possibilities imdiately.
Are you done? Rhea asks after I finish giggling.
Yeah.
Great. Brush for writing, a jar for the finer crafts, and the ruler for higher mathematics?
Thats one way of looking at it, but I got a different feeling from the objects. Here, take a look and tell what you think. I pull the remaining seven items from my ring and place them on the nightstand next to my massive bed. The fact that the nightstand is the size of an ordinary table should be a clue as to how extensive Ive decided to make this bed. I also lay the sickle in its place, as I find that Ive been toying with it for the last few minutes again. I frown at the thing for a bit before placing it at the end of the row of super heavy tools. How do I keep taking that thing out without consciously noticing?
Im going to say that Ive known you long enough for now. Just tell what your interpretation is.
I cant help but grin as I move into a sitting position. The brush is ant to symbolize the ability to transfer information through a semi-permanent dium. No matter how good a storyteller is, that story is going to get mangled after a couple of dozen generations. The ability to write stuff down - wether in stone, papyrus, paper, or jade - is indispensable for any growing culture or civilization. The jar is ant to represent the long term storage of items, food, inks, scrolls, whatever. The ruler is ant to signify the retaining of common asurent systems through generations. Basically, the third phase of a budding civilization is the fact that information is being retained in semi-permanent form.
So basically what I said.
Yeah, basically what you said.
Good to know. What are you doing here?
Just shooting the shit until I can properly kick this hibernating hornets nest. Why are you not freaking out more?
Oh, I am. At tis, Ive had over fifty percent of my processes dedicated to controlling my stupid humanoid needs for expressing my feelings. Why do you hang out with ?
Why would you ever hang out with ? I reply in response. I get that there is so clumsy genetic call to follow the strongest, but you should have been able to overco that a thousand tis over by now.
Because I like you.
Well, I love you.
Maybe I do too?
That shuts up for a long while. Wow, I do not like this new power-dynamic we just created.
You feel like you spilled too much? I thought it was rather nice and candid, just asking each other our truest and deepest fears like that.
Thats part of it. The like-versus-love thing is just putting in a bad spot, though.
I did say maybe? is her sultry reply. My mind, which had been in a total state of focus just a mont ago crashes back into base instincts. The areas that I was using to analyze social dynamics just give up. The statistical-analysis-coalescing parts of my mind throw in the towel, while any social overview process has enough intelligence - by default - to recognize a losing ga. The way she rolls her hips should be illegal.
I give up trying to determine who is the winner or the loser, and just decide we both gained so ground as she nears.
We really should get back to the serious stuff now, I say with pain in my heart. I really should resu planning things, and busying myself with all that kind of dry tedium. I also should continue training my augur, but I dont feel like it just yet.
Yep, I agree, she replies while nuzzling into the crook of my neck.
Instead of following up on my threat, I nod sagely and lay there for a long while. Staring at the wooden ceiling, I find my mind calming down and gaining an odd form of perspective. Looking back at the previous year and a bit of my life, things just dont add up. I used to spend decennia doing only one thing in the cultivation world, letting years pass by. That seems not to be an option here. Theres always so threat looming above my head, so new thing that needs doing, or so new task that I want to procrastinate on. What are your long term plans? I suddenly ask.
As in weeks, years, decennia, or millennia?
Whatever, I shrug.
She hums softly for a bit, idly drawing images on my chest. I try to follow what she is tracing, but find that its just more crude penis drawings again. At least she isnt purposely using her nails this ti and carving them in red lines on my skin.
Sleep, she replies lazily. Or at least, that used to be it. I always found so pride in being the one dragon that didnt want to sleep, but that was because I wasnt content with the type of sleep I was getting in Flight Mountain.
Ill bite. What type of sleep do you want?
Safe sleep.
Alright.
Very safe sleep. I want a place where I can be totally sure that I will wake up in ten thousand years. I want a dragons den that will keep out an exploding sun.
I said alright, didnt I? Im not going to let sothing stupidly simple as a supernova get in my way.
And you? she shoots back.
I want to see the last black holes of the universe implode into nothingness like dark frozen fireworks. I want to see beyond the lines of sight of all else.
Her drawing stops for a few seconds before she resus at a slow pace. Is this that heat death thing?
Yeah. I want to see the universe die and crumble. I want to see if the big bang is followed by a big crunch. I want to see if this entire multiverse is just a single heartbeat of a being an infinite amount of dinsions sideways larger. I want to observe the last photon disintegrate into nothingness.
I guess you better get that super safe bedroom then. Im looking forward to it already.
You got it. Ill make sure to get you a neat space station around a brown dwarf. I only get an affirmative grunt in reply before her breathing slows. Laying there, I feel the fact that Ive been awake for months now thug at my eyelids, and I also let myself fall asleep.
Luckily, I wake up without having dreamt anything.
I quietly sneak out of bed and make my way down to Trees mana gathering circle. As I wait for the wood to shift to let gain access, I check how far my building project got. The information I get back from Database makes grin, as there is a veritable mansion woven throughout Tree now.
Tree still looks the sa from the outside. Thers just an entrance and a few balconies sticking out of its rough bark exterior. The front entrance is a simple stone door, a carved imitation bark pattern making it barely stand out. The balconies look like natural branch stumps, thick rings of healing bark making railings, while shorter cut off branches make for larger terraces.
I do a quick scan of my direct environnt and see that the internal rooms are all done; they just need furnishing. I also spot the dwarf still sitting next to Tree. That reminds
Striding out the front door, I enter a beehive of activity. The direct area around Tree is fairly empty, but the large clearing as a whole is packed with people, items, and activities. I ignore all that and make a beeline for the still ditating dwarf. His new cultivation base stabilized a while ago, and the old geezer is just napping at this point. I thus feel no guilt as I rip the hamr from his grasp. I still cant quite access it, aning that the guy really did make the tool his core.
Well, we cant have that now, can we? I found Rhea found it first, after which she gave it to , and Im not willing to relinquish it just yet. I look around and see what Im looking for rather quickly. Next to the slowly waking dwarf lies a nice-looking hamr. The head is simple tal, well made, and without internal faults. The handle is
Hey, wake up, I tell him while kicking him in the side. The old man snorts awake, looking around blearily. His dull eyes quickly gain too sharp a glint, and I realize I need to be quick here. Where did you get this wood from?
Ket? is his questioning reply.
Why is that a question? Are you asking ?
No! Ket, he replies firr.
Great, so Ket gave you a Tree branch, then?
Yes, he nods.
And you just decided to throw it away for this? I spin the heavy hamr through my fingers, and seeing his reactions is actually really entertaining. His face doesnt really turn green, but I can see that randomly swirling his cultivation base core through my fingers is not a great feeling for him.
Coul you ple-
I will do as I please. Im taking this back, by the way. Your body is all cleaned up now, so get back in this one already! I put the super dense hamr on my belt while waving the mundane hamr in his face. How dare you abandon a branch of Tree like this! I will not stand for it! This is your punishnt. Recalling every single tip and technique about acting Ive ever read, I make myself as imposing and threatening as possible.
I then start using my Will as I glare down at the little guy. Instead of finding so smart and tricky way of doing this, I just pour all my ntal and mystical might against the problem. This dude has anchored his cultivation base in the wrong hamr. I dont like that. We are in my core. Let repeat, the very space the little shit is sitting inside of is MY CORE! MY RULES!
I feel the minuscule smidgen of Will the dwarf has lt against my might as I continue pressuring the old guy.
Again? he squeezes out. Flight fuck up to the ass, alright. Here we go again. The mont he mutters those words, his core cos loose. I nearly ntally stumble at the sudden lack of resistance that Im feeling. To my amazent, his entire cultivation base just floats away from the super dense hamr. Just give it here, putting it in a hamr is kind of stupid anyway.
The dwarf then sighs deeply before inhaling. The thick strands of mist that represents the anchor of his cultivation base enters his nostrils. I stand there for a bit, mutely blinking at the short guy.
Heartcore! Wow, this is pretty good. I do want that back, though.
Not even feeling up to formulating a reply, I just mutely hand his normal hamr over. His fingers lovingly caress the Tree wood handle and cleanly wrought head. My apologies. I did not an to take possession of your hamr. I now see that the implentation on your waist is a very good starting point, but it'd have prevented from going anywhere with it. Please be careful of following rigid information like that without questioning. My people are a pri example of following a limited set of texts to the detrint of all else. Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. He then bows and leaves.
I scratch my head a little while watching him walk away. That was a speech and a half...
The sounds in Trees clearing also start picking up again as people stop staring at our short-lived battle of Wills. I just pat the hamr on my belt, put it in my ring, and walk back into Tree.
Taking a deep breath, I sit down in the middle of the glowing gathering circle, pull out a twenty-five tis denser projectile, and start working again.
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