Bab 5: Chapter 4. Who are you? Who am I?
Awakening came upon , swiftly and irrevocably. A flood of sounds poured into ears and a multitude of smells poured into nose. It was as if a multi-layered oil painting had been painted with a single stroke on a blank sheet of white paper.
The young man opened his eyes suddenly. The lightness he felt was unlike anything he had experienced before. But what had been before? Before this explosion of colours?
With a slight groan, he raised his hand to the sky, and for a long time he looked at his fingers and hand in the light of the midday sun. Birds flew back and forth, chirping hurriedly about something. The grass on which he lay was gently swaying in the breeze. Clouds drifted slowly across the azure sky.
Frowning slightly, the young man picked at a flower that tickled his face. It was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't remember its name, no matter how hard he tried. He sneezed and sat down in surprise, facing two girls who were standing a little further away and who, seeing the stranger sitting on the grass, squealed so loudly that the birds that had been quietly flying from the branches of the trees took flight.
Clutching each other, the girls looked at the stranger with all their eyes. With a slight shake of his head to clear his eardrums of the screeching, the young man stood up and slowly held out his hands in front of they, trying to calm them down and show that he was safe. But this action caused one of the girls to sob at the top of her voice, while the other girl covered the other girl's eyes and stared at him as if he were from the underworld. Seeing the reaction he was causing, the young man looked around and immediately collapsed back into the grass. His cheeks were flushed and he was completely naked! What a shame! Sitting on his knees, he covered himself and didn't know what to do next.
Clutching each other, the girls looked at the stranger with all their eyes. With a slight shake of his head to clear his eardrums of the screeching, the young man stood up and slowly held out his hands in front of them, trying to calm them down and show them that they were safe.
But this action caused one of the girls to sob at the top of her voice, while the other girl covered the other girl's eyes and stared at him as if he were from the underworld. Seeing the reaction he was causing, the young man looked around and immediately collapsed back into the grass. His cheeks were flushed and he was completely naked! What a shame! Sitting on his knees, he covered himself and didn't know what to do next.
Wings flapped out of nowhere and the grass rippled in the shaking air. Lifting his head, the young man saw two spears pointed at him in front of his face. The people holding the spears, or rather the two women, were dressed in light armour with metal shields and headdresses resembling birds' heads. Behind their backs fluttered two powerful feathered wings.
"Human?! What are you doing here? How did you get in here? The path to the Umbra Forests is forbidden to men! "- cried one of the women, her voice croaking slightly. -"Where... where are your clothes? Have you frightened our youngest, are you up to something bad?"
The young man could only shake his head, casting a questioning glance at the two bird-like women and the surroundings.
The second woman, who looked a little younger than the first, said with a delicate thrust of her spear:
"Why are you shaking your head like a madman? Maybe he's sick, that's why the barrier didn't work. "- The last sentence was spoken in the direction of her companion.
"We can't leave him here, there seems to be some kind of anomaly... And his appearance is very strange, in any case he should be taken to the elders, let them look at him and make a decision about his fate... "-she deftly spun her spear in the air and struck the stranger with its shaft, knocking him out in one movement.
He woke up in a different place. There was no sound of leaves or birds, only the wind howling through the bars of the narrow window, and after a walk round the room it went further into the doorway. He was lying on stiff straw, and in the corner of the room stood two wooden buckets, one of which was filled with water. Feeling round his body, he settled on a loincloth tied round his waist. At least he wasn't completely naked, which was good. The side of his head where the blow had struck was badly abraded, and a lump seemed to have grown there. He sat down and tried to remember something, but it was as if a draught had blown through his head, blowing out everything that had been in it before.
Still, images and basic skills of interacting with certain objects from his distant subconscious kept popping up from somewhere in his head. But everything about himself had been erased. When he approached the bucket to get some water to drink, he froze and leaned down slowly, afraid to exhale, his rounded eyes hovering over the surface of the water.
In the reflection, a man he did not know looked back at him. Golden hair fell down his torso, curling slightly at the tips. Delicate, light green eyes seemed to glow from within, accentuated by thin, flying eyebrows, correct facial features and slightly plump lips gave his face a charm on the verge of femininity. Combined with his stocky body, he could be mistaken for either a young prince blessed by the heavens or a refined maiden.
He gently touched the surface of the water and watched it ripple. In vain, he couldn't remember anything, and his face seemed completely alien to him. He scratched behind his ear and stared blankly at the sky beyond the bars. The sun was beginning to creep towards dusk.
He walked over to the window and sighed loudly. The view was indescribable. He seemed to be in the trunk of a great tree, towering like a giant ten times the size of all the other trees, if not more. Huge branches and a crown that shadowed part of the sky stretched out in all directions, but the most unusual thing was that it did not block the sun, on the contrary, it seemed to reflect it, gently dispersing it. He wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat. Noticing this, he tried to speak, but his tongue seemed to disobey him, and only unintelligible sounds came out.
The sound of the lock turning, accompanied by the creaking of the door, announced the arrival of several people, making his bare skin gooseflesh from the increased draught.
Gesturing for the prisoner not to move, two bird women, not the ones he had seen earlier, tied a rope around his body and dragged him forcibly outside. The young man offered no resistance, but frowned violently at the harsh treatment and occasional kicks.
They walked along a spiral corridor that led upwards, occasionally branching off into several corridors. The walls, floor and ceiling were made of wood fibres intertwined in strange patterns. Instead of lights, unusual flowers bloomed beneath the ceiling as the procession approached.
All along the way, the walls seemed to suck in the air, which drifted through the corridor, humming a sad tune, and listening to it, it occurred to the young man that a sad song could be set to that tune.
He hissed after a particularly hard blow from one of the guards.
"There's no need to slow down," she said through gritted teeth,"the elders don't like to wait."
They passed through another spiral turn and found themselves in front of large carved doors depicting scenes from the lives of people different from the locals who had bored the young man for the last twenty-four hours.
One of his companions touched the doors lightly and the light from her hand set in motion a mechanism, invisible to the eye, that slowly opened them. The young man saw a vast hall with hundreds of glowing moths of yellow, purple and blue hovering from the ceiling instead of light.
A wonderful smell of cedar wafted from the hall, and the vaults of the hall seemed to be woven into the heavens themselves, ready to burst into billions of stars. In the centre of the hall stood five backless chairs on a dais. Only three of them were occupied, the middle one was empty.
"Bring in the prisoner!"
He was pushed in and dragged closer to the dais. Kicking him to his knees, the two guards bowed and left. The door closed behind them with a slight sigh and the hall fell silent. The young man broke into a sweat under the searing gaze of three pairs of eyes, but he found the strength to look expressively into each of the women's eyes in turn.
One of them broke the silence with a chuckle:
"Sisters, look at him, he looks more like an animal than a man. He's so sweet, you want to touch his cheeks." - At these words, the youngest and stoutest of the women in the room pouted and leaned on the arm of her chair. "No wonder the Sacred Tree let him in."
"Be nice, Pina, he could have put a mermaid spell on himself or something to fool us."- The big-browed, rough-looking woman, the only one in armour in the chair, replied.
"Quercus, you know the procedures better than we do, of course our sisters inspected him for spells, potions and energy sheaths. None of the tests came back positive. The only mystery is how he was able to get past the barrier. In fact, that's the reason why he's still alive."-saying that, the woman with sharp features glared at the young man with predatory eyes.
"Hey, you, why don't you say something?! Have you got water in your mouth?! Answer us quickly, who you are and how you got through the barrier!" - Quercus rumbled in a commanding tone.
He could only shake his head in a familiar motion. The ropes cut into his skin like knives at the slightest movement, and he unconsciously wrinkled his nose.
"He's making fun of us! "- Quercus roared, and in a split second she had already brought her powerful fist over the young man's head with a murderous desire to smash the head of the freak to the floor, but not in time - a white cloud descended from above and gently grabbed her hand, suppressing the impulse completely.
"Shh, sister. The oldest is still me and only I make the final decision here. Or has something changed in the time I've been away?"
Quercus frowned slightly and murmured:
"No, Eldest." - And with a motion of undistinguishable glance back to her seat.
Turning to him, the bird-woman, who had arrived seemingly out of nowhere, had a very pleasant appearance, but was clearly not young. Both her hair and her wings were silver. Wrinkles were scattered across her face, but despite this her whole appearance exuded warmth.
"Let me know a little more about you than we can see now." She smiled softly and touched his forehead, and the fleeting flash of flame that engulfed the young man's subconscious seemed to untie a knot inside him.
After this interaction, she abruptly withdrew her hand and stared at the young man with incredulous eyes for another minute. She had her back to her sisters and none of them could see her reaction.
"So what did you see?"
"Sister, don't be quiet, we're curious too."
" ...."
"Shut up, you see, sister hasn't finished yet, don't distract her,"- said the eldest, sitting on the podium, who had pulled Pina away earlier.
When the first impression had worn off, she took on a look of serenity, fixing her hair and turning to her sisters.
"I'm afraid, my dear younger ones, we won't be able to get anything out of him."
The silent question hung in the air. Sighing, she continued:
"I can say with certainty that this young man has distorted energy... on all levels."
"What? How is that possible?"
"Honestly, this is the first time in my life I've come across something like this." -So what do we do about it?
"What do we do with him now? Throw him over the barrier?" - Pina whispered.
"No, let's kill him, he's seen St Arbor! "- Quercus shouted.
"Quiet, have some decency, let Elder Acer make the decision."
"Thank you, Fraxinus." and to the surprise of everyone present, the grey-haired bird-woman cut all the ropes binding the young man's body with an elegant sweep of her hand.
"I am sorry you were not welcome, but these are our vows to our ancestors. Men are forbidden to cross the threshold of our sacred abode, the Arbor Tree. However, considering that you are not officially a man in your current state."
Quercus choked, ignoring her, Elder Acer continued:
"I, as the Falconer Clan Elder in one person, have decided to let you stay here for a while as our guest."- At these words, she helped him to his feet.
"I also ask those present here to explain to all the younger ones the reason for my action and to ask them not to try to kill or maim him while he is my guest. This meeting of the Council of Elders is now over, please someone bring him some clothes, he's shaking like a leaf in the wind."
With a snort, Pina rose and bowed to the Chief Elder with a measured stride, her wings flapping slightly as she left the hall. The other two simply vanished into thin air, leaving only air vibrations behind.
Turning to the young man, Elder Acer spoke:
"Holy bird, I never thought I'd meet a single member of the Ancients in my lifetime. I didn't want to offend you by studying the core of your being, but I had to check... Huh, the true flame seal is legendary. " - She sat down in the centre chair and looked into the young man's eyes. For a second, she thought she was looking into the vast meadows of the Antikor Plains and had to move her shoulder to break the obsession.
"I have also managed to touch your consciousness, so I know you understand me, though you are badly damaged internally. Can you tell me your name? Do you remember it?"
He shook his head negatively .
At that moment, the doors to the hall opened and a girl of about ten years of age, with small wings and a bundle in her hands, entered the hall. As she approached the young man, she held out the contents and as soon as he accepted the offering, she quickly left. The envelope was a long dressing gown of thick purple cloth.
Having waited for the young man to dress, the bird woman continued:
"Given your condition, I can't let you go. No. Not yet. To be honest, I'm very puzzled by your appearance and how you can exist in such a state. Something truly violates the laws of creation happened with you. But I don't feel threatened by you at all, and considering that I, as the elder of my clan, have taken a secret vow before all my ancestors to faithfully serve any of the Ancient Clan that is our ancestor, please let me take care of you until some of your powers are restored. You must have been sent here by fate itself, for there are few places on Epimetheus as peaceful as our St Arbor. Most countries and communities are at war, either openly or secretly. "- At these words, the Elder Bird-women rubbed the bridge of her nose with a graceful gesture and closed her eyes.
"But others are better off not knowing your secret. Unfortunately, the rest of our clan is too young and impulsive. This can bring discord and confusion to our ranks, which have been united for generations. Now please go and rest, in a proper bed." - She clapped her hands lightly, and the door opened, revealing a bird-girl with a light skin and hair colour that seems to be rare among the natives, the others having dark skin and brown hair. "Twinkle will show you out. If you need anything, she is my personal assistant and apprentice."
After bowing in respect and saying goodbye, the young man let himself be led by the sleeve out of the hall. As they entered the corridor and walked a few metres, the girl led him into another corridor. Surprisingly, it was also a spiral with branch corridors leading off from it. It was a veritable labyrinth of spiral corridors in which one could easily get lost, were it not for the peculiarity that the young man noticed - in each spiral corridor, its own flowers - lights - blossomed. And in some corridors, the airflow was so strong that it began to ruffle his clothes.
On the way, they encountered only a few idly strolling bird-women, who looked at the young man with either admiration or disgust. But their surprise was almost palpable, that was for sure. Noticing the young man's look, Twinkle took it in her own way and decided to explain:
"We of the Falconer Clan rarely walk the sacred corridors of the Arbor, preferring to move about outside. It's quicker and has less effect on the St Tree's breath. " - She stopped at a door with a carved handle in the shape of an oak leaf and opened it.
"This is your room, the Elderess puts all the rare guests here. I've prepared a bath and more robes for you, so please make yourself comfortable. Food will be brought later. If you need anything, please ring the bell by the door.Excuse me, I have to be up early for training tomorrow." - And without waiting for an answer, she hurriedly retreated.
Entering the room, the young man looked around. The spacious room with a full-width window was flooded with starlight. The breeze from the open window rattled the light curtains, and behind the wide screen was a washroom and a bathtub large enough for three adults to bathe in at the same time.
A light steam and a pleasant herbal aroma came from the water in the bath. He threw off his clothes and quickly plunged into the hot water. At first it burned where the ropes had scratched his sensitive skin, but like a healing elixir it quickly soothed him. Relaxing in the water, he closed his eyes and plunged headlong.
Just then, one of the younger bird-girls brought a tray of food and drink to the unexpected guest. Knocking hastily and seeing that the door was not locked, she entered the room apologetically and hurried to the table by the wide bed. She placed the tray on the table and was about to leave just as quickly to avoid catching the owner of the room.
But then a splash caught her attention and her eyes fell on the young man who had emerged of the bath and forgotten to close the curtain. She froze without moving, staring at him with her big black eyes. The streams of water running down his hair and body made him look like a beautiful nymph in male form. She swallowed and swung her wing awkwardly, causing the vase of dried flowers on the edge of the table to sway and fall on its side.
He turned at the sound and froze, mirroring the girl. There was an awkward silence.
"I... I brought the guest food, sorry! "- the girl stammered and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Looking down at himself, the young man plunged back into the water, the water no longer distracting him from the pain in his heart. He was confused, he didn't understand other people's reactions to him and his own feelings about it. Why was he so confused about this, if he had always been like this, acceptance of his body should have come at an early age, shouldn't it? What was wrong with him? Where did he come from and how did he get like this? So many questions in one day.
When he had finished his bath, he hastily dried himself with a towel and greedily devoured the meal, which consisted mainly of vegetables, spiced and seasoned, before falling into bed in his bathrobe and falling into a blissful sleep.
And the girl who had brought him the food thought how good it would be when the time came for her to marry the same wonderful man. Then the whole process would certainly not be as unpleasant as her elders had told her. But she was only four years away from adulthood. She had heard from her elders that this guest would be staying for a long time, perhaps she could excel in her studies during that time enough to enchant him before he left them, and then, wherever he was, she could find him, and how she would find him....
Ah, the dreams of young maidens are sometimes so naive and frightening at the same time that it is better that they remain dreams.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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