บท 4: Water?
Alfie clutched his stomach and grimaced while thinking of his recent blunder. Walking with Lucia at the rear of the crowd, he continued to take small sips of the water given to him.
News of Alfie's blasphemy had quickly spread to the rest of the group. Whispers and careful backward glances were common occurrences.
Although an hour or so had passed, Alfie still felt weak from the experience. Each sip of water alleviated some of the soreness, although only for a short moment.
Without the water, keeping up with the group would have been a lot more troublesome for the disoriented Alfie.
"Rumors of what happened have already spread. Most people don't know what to think of you now. Especially since you just joined and all. So, just keep a heads up, alright," Lucia informed Alfie.
'Great. Not only am I deathly ill, but I've become an outcast,' Alfie sighed to himself.
Taking another sip of water, the now familiar feeling of freshness overtook his weak body.
"Did you put something in the water, by the way? It's probably the best water I've ever had," Alfie asked Lucia while wiping his mouth.
She looked at him with a puzzled look. "You noticed?"
Alfie paused for a moment. "Was I… not supposed to…?"
"Well, no, usually people don't notice or really ask what's in the water. Unlike me and the chief, most people in the group haven't had plain water. They've only drunk harmonic water, so they don't ask why our water is different," Lucia answered truthfully.
"Harmonic water?"
"Yeah, that's what the chief named it. It's water imbued with the law of benevolence. That's why you feel so refreshed while drinking it."
"So, like actual holy water?" Alfie remarked.
Frowning slightly, Lucia explained, "Yeah, but holy water is the more generic term. It refers to any water that's been imbued with an attribute. Harmonic water is the more accurate name for the water you're drinking."
Taking another sip, Alfie asked, "So how do you make harmonic water? Do we have to pray to our patron or something?"
Lucia gave a half-surprised face. "That's a pretty good guess, but it's not us. It's the chief. He's the only one with enough devotion and understanding to be able to make harmonic water."
"I get devotion, but what do you mean by understanding? Does he have a secret recipe or something?" Alfie asked.
Lucia looked amused, then shrugged. "No, nothing like that. I've seen him make harmonic water plenty of times, and never once has he added something physical into the water. He just prays, performs a small ritual, then poof. Any time I try to ask him about it, he only tells me that it's because of his insight. As for what he truly means, I don't have the slightest idea."
Alfie frowned. "Neither do I."
"Don't worry about it too much. The chief's a pretty special guy. Before he became the priest and elder, he was scouted by the All Father himself, you know," Lucia smugly comforted.
"By the All Father, you don't mean…" Alfie pointed towards the sky. "Big lightning guy, do you?"
"That's exactly who I'm talking about. You should've seen the faces of the other priest candidates when he rejected Him. The All Father didn't seem to mind, though, so it turned out fine," Lucia informed, raising her arms to her hip as if remembering a pleasant memory.
"Well, you seem quite happy about that," Alfie remarked.
Lucia showed a bitter smile. "Of course. Had the chief not chosen the designer, I would've been stuck with some other incompetent priest candidate."
"Wait, what do you mean by the designer…?" Alfie asked.
Lucia shook her head as if disappointed. "Our patron, the creator of humanity, of course."
It took a moment before Alfie responded back to Lucia. The gears in his head were turning at an ever-present rate before coming to a question.
"Hey, um, just how long has humanity been around for…?"
"Give or take maybe a month, maybe? Why?" Lucia answered.
The answer struck Alfie like a slap to the face; his original plan of going to a settlement had to be altered.
"Just a bit curious, nothing much."
Seeing Alfie's visible concern, Lucia asked, "So, any more questions you have for me?"
Alfie showed an appreciative smile before asking, "Just one, where exactly are we headed to?"
"Huh, oh, we should be going t-" Lucia responded before pausing abruptly.
In front of the duo, a crowd of people had stopped before the summit of a large green hill. Something had smitten those who were looking beyond its horizon.
"Did something happen?" Alfie asked with concern.
Lucia grabbed his hand, then gestured for the both of them to catch up. "It's something good, don't worry. Come on, it's better if you see for yourself than if I were to explain it."
Rushing to the summit, a gentle spring breeze cooled the exhausted Alfie.
Slowly, as the horizon fell and began to show what lay beyond, Alfie's eyes widened in awe.
Laid out before them was the sight of a large grassy land that stretched on for miles. Two rivers aligned themselves within its edges, providing both freshwater and fertile lands.
In the far distance, a snowy mountain reached towards the clouds, seeming to be the origin of the two rivers. Finally leaving the timeless forest, the followers of Prometheus reached their promised land.
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