Chapter 61: The Long Eared Guardian 1

There is a camp near a river. There are people near their tents and horses were tied to stakes. There is a bonfire in the middle of this camp. The camp was filled with people that wore shabby robes and wrapped themselves with thick fur cloaks. They are not bandits and were more like nomads. They have children in the camp playing around. Their horses are rather muscled and there is a wagon filled with pots that have meat inside. The meats are preserved with salt and sugar. The pots are tightly sealed by a wooden cover and fur. While the fur is tied along with the wooden cover and rope making it air tight. A person was taking care of the pot and was preparing to cook it near the fire in the camp. While another long haired person carried the meat to the person near the pot.

The people were ready for the winter. In the days they have traveled many of them have died but still they keep their hearts up in order to travel. They are after all the Nomads who travel and live their life on the roads. They do not enter towns or villages and cities. They merely live on the road let their fate hanging in the hands of their God.

So this bunch of people doesn't have any specific destination. They merely go wherever the winds take them to. Life on the road has made them strong and sturdy. So even though some of them died by bandits or beast they can still have smiles on their faces. They are a rather optimistic bunch of wanderers.

Among them, there is a blue-haired woman. She is of normal height, she has a fine ethereal face, round eyes, long ears and her hair was so mythically blue that it made those who haven’t seen her already eyeball at her. She carries a coiled staff with her. The staff was two shoulder’s length and it looked ancient.

She is watching the whole tribe with kind eyes. Her thin eyebrows and her bangs fluttering while the cold winds of winter arrive. They are near a nameless mountain and when they arrive she was tasked by the Elders to secure the area by producing a barrier.

She wields nature magic and overall with her ‘half’ blood that she can control the roots, trees, and grass to alert her if anything dangerous nears the camp. Her barrier also can react violently if the person or animal persists on moving past the barrier.

She’s standing on a rather elevated position. Usually there are people who don’t mind her long-ears but still, people ostracize her for it. She was born in the tribe but she was treated badly simply because of her long ears and blue hair. The humans despite being divided into many factions hate the long-ears because of the war located in the middle of the continent of old.

She could not blame them but still, there are parts of her that want them to accept her. She’s been working hard for the tribe and only through being good at protecting them that she was able to at least get some respect. They are biased but not blind to her work.

So right now in this position, she watches her people. She saw the children of the tribe playing while some are enjoying the snowflakes. She saw a little kid put his tongue out and ate a snowflake only to shiver at the cold. She laughed at seeing this and her smile was really gentle.

It was snowing already and winter has come rather fast. They have been traveling through the roads of the overworld while avoiding enemies. Through summer and autumn they encountered many things and now that she thinks about it, there has been less death than before.

Her tribe is a rather strong one. The men are strong as bulls and the women are not taken to lightly. Among her people, she was the only one that was rather thin due to her half blood. Her mother was quite the looker while her father was of noble blood. Her father got kicked out by his house due to his copulation with her mother. Her father didn’t want to leave her mother behind and they eloped.

But sadly they died on the road and the nomads found her. They hated the long ears but never a child. Their God could never allow them to abandon an infant. They may hate the long ears but never will they put the sins of the long ears to a pure innocent child. Only till she has grown up and looked more like an elf that she started getting treated badly.

She isn’t mad at them and she plans to win their trust someday. She dreamt of being accepted by her tribe that she will do anything for them. In the world her tribe is family and she will help them selflessly. The love for her tribe is burning her and until her tribe accepts her then she will watch quietly as she has done for years since.

The wind howled on the right. Along the river, there is a forest that stretches far to a nameless mountain. To her knowledge, most people don’t call the lands name until they claimed the land and reformed it. Her tribe is one of the nomad tribes that sometimes work for the kingdoms to scout such locations. They do not enter the populated towns and cities but it doesn’t mean they cannot trade with them when they are in dire need. Most of the ‘traders’ would supply them with food as long as they bring back some interesting goods or information. The humans are getting crowded in their old cities and towns. Not to mention that the war in the middle of the continent is getting harsher in each year.

So there are expanders that are trying to find good fertile land. And luckily her tribe is great at scouring the land and moving the land enough to avoid most dangers.

...

She stayed idle in her position. The cold made her rub her hands. It was already winter so it can’t be helped. She looked at the tribe. They are currently dancing around the bonfire while she sits in her place dutifully. The barrier of hers had no reaction so she wasn’t worried.

But suddenly she felt a reaction. The vegetation that her barrier connected with told her that someone was getting near. Knowing this she immediately jumped into action and masked her face while running to the direction that the plant told her.

Arriving in the location she saw someone wearing a hooded fur cloak. The cloak is made of Black Panther skin and she could tell that the person was rather rough and grungy. The person had stubble of a beard, limbs were like tanned rusted iron and golden eyes that have not light on it. This person faced a bear and seeing this black bear paws coming at him.

She could not help but narrow her eyes. The person who was facing the bear calmly dodged the paw of the bear and chucks the spear on his hand towards the bear’s throat. The bear had its throat pierced and started to growl as it dies. The person then pulled a knife with a stone handle and started butchering the bear.

She felt like the man was no threat but before she can retreat. The man turned towards her and then narrowed his eyes seriously.

“May I help you?”

The man spoke blandly. She stopped her tracks and looked at the man who froze his actions. His hand was opening the stomach of the bear.

“Nothing, I am here to warn you that there is a camp of nomads a few steps from here. Come closer and we might attack.”

“Is that so?”

He replied blandly and started butchering the bear. She felt like the man was rather listless. She’d rather not involve herself further with the man so she went and turned her back only to hear another growl. Before she can turn around and see what was that growl. She tapped her staff on the ground and made roots appear out of nowhere. Her head went to where the growl is and she saw a dagger flying at the wolf that was hiding near hear.

The dagger came from the man and he used the chance to kill the wolf.

“Are you going to claim that?”

“You can have it. Just don't go near our camp.”

“I won’t.”

The man then walked to the wolf bound by the roots and dragged it to where the bear is. She looked at the man silently butchering the wolf and asked.

“Are you going to eat the wolf?”

“Yes, their meat is consumable and the pelt is enough to make myself a bag. I could also use the stomach as a water bag.”

“Is that so? Very well, I shall leave you to your own thing.”

She said while walking back to her camp.

...

Back in the camp she sat and ate a piece of the meat that her people cured. It was tasty and was good to her tongue. It was venison and it was finely preserved and cooked with mastery. The one that cooked the food probably the head mother of the tribe. She liked the head mother because she is one of the few people who doesn’t hate her and gives her something to eat.

She was also the woman who raised her when she was still an infant. The head mother gave her a lot of food. It is for her watchful eye that the people can eat. She disagrees with that since the tribe has shamans that could protect the people there. Not to mention that the warriors of the tribe fight like ten men and won’t go down easily. The river is also far from the roads so bandits aren’t a problem. Beats and monsters can also be monitored by the barrier she put up around the camp.

Still, she could feel her plants telling her that the man she met awhile ago is still near. According to her plants, the man is currently washing the bear’s pelt and has started turning it into extra clothing for the winter. The wolf was exactly what the man said. He turned it into a bag and made a water bag out of the wolf’s stomach.

Interestingly the man used some sort of magic that allows him to create tools in exchange for mana. The man was skilled at it. And before she knew it she was already paying too much attention to the man. The man got her attention since he didn’t react to her blue hair or long ears. Usually, when people see her they would either scream at her for having long ears or run away.

Elves are great at controlling nature so those who knew enough of them would run away in fear that she would bind them with roots while the stupid ones would charge at her like and try to kill her only for them to get rooted and stab by the root states she can create. Her fighting style is mainly a copy of a Kapri Demon. And to her who has a large mana capacity, it is helpful in killing and defending their home.

That’s why when the man didn’t run away or scream at her. She got a bit surprised. It doesn’t happen very often and because of that she could not help but pay attention to the lonely man. She observed the man through her plants. She does this by tuning into the senses of her plant. While in tune with the plant her left eye would turn white. She cannot allow her right eye to fully tuned so instead she makes it that her left eyes can see the what the plant is looking at while her right eye sees what’s in front of her.

It is rather complicated magic but it is a useful one.

...

Night happened and she found herself eyeing at the moon. Once in a while, she would look at the lone man. Currently, he is sitting under a tree facing a bonfire. The man had melancholic eyes and the more she stared at him. The more she felt attracted to the peculiar man. She has nothing to do either so she instead went to the man while keeping her mask on.

She found the man on the tree. His gaze seems to pierce her and there was a feeling of weakness from the man. He was looking so wary that she wondered if she scared the man. She gestured with her right hand. The moon above her and the trees behind her made her for quite a sight.

The man saw her and then asked.

“Is there anything wrong? I didn’t go past the barrier.”

“Nothing, I just want to check on you.”

“Check on me, I did nothing wrong or do you need help?”

The man emphasized on the word ‘help’ too much. She felt a rather excited tone on him when he said that. She wondered if the man wants to help. She took three steps and sat cross-legged facing the man. She wore a mask so the man couldn’t see her face.

“Indeed you did nothing wrong.”

She answered.

“Then why are you here?”

He asks.

“Is it wrong to talk to strangers?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

He replied while clenching his fingers.

“You look tired.”

“I am. It is cold and I do not know the way.”

“You’re lost?”

She asks.

“I am. I do not know the way sadly.”

He said while keeping a stoic expression. His eyes had a steady gaze and he stares at her without flinching. Not once he broke eye contact and this made her rather strangely unable to break eye contact with him too.

“Is that so? I thought you were living in these parts.”

“Not a chance. Well, let’s just say that I found myself in this place.”

“How did you?”

She asks while still keeping an eye around her surroundings. Her barrier was still active and even though she is talking to the man in front of her. She still has an eye on the camp and everything that her left eye can see. The wind was cold, it blew from east.

“I was carrying someone when we arrive in that peak.”

He pointed at the nameless distance in the mountain. And he continued with a low-cold tone.

“I got pushed.”

“Huh?”

She could not help but raise her voice. She thought the man would tell her a rather normal tale yet it was surprisingly different.

“And then?”

She asked, clearly interested.

“I fell down and when I woke up it was already winter. I still felt that it was summer when I did.”

“You spent two months asleep?”

“Well I can’t tell you something embarrassing but let’s just say yes.”

“I see...who pushed you?”

“I carried a noble. The noble lost her only friend and was lost. I carried her through mountains and cliffs yet all she did was thanked me while I fall down.”

The man said with a sad smile on his lips. There was no anger on his face.

“Are you mad?”

‘Oddly not, I was thanked and even though I fell from such height and suffered. I feel no anger or frustration.”

“That’s retarded.”

She said her thoughts loudly. She could not imagine someone as vile as that. Not to mention that the man in front of her did not speak ill of the person who pushed him. She could tell that he was not lying. His mutilated limbs were the only proof she needs.

“I know. But something about seeing someone smile at you and thanked you for doing all of that made me forget. You probably will never understand but it was beautiful to me.”

“I won’t. Since I think that is rather stupid. Don't you feel hate or any frustration? What are you a doll?”

“I don’t know.”

The man said while looking up at the sky with contemplating eyes.

“I feel like I am empty. I ask myself that for a while now and in the end I could find no answer.”

“You are complicated.”

She could not help but sigh at the man in front of her. She thought that the lone man was strange but hearing his words made her understand that he was beyond the realm of strangeness. Then she started to wonder if it was a good idea to associate with a man with such twisted thoughts?

“Am I? I think that I am quite simple. I just want to help people and yet I got pushed off a cliff because of it.”

He laughs deprecatingly.

“That’s sad.”

“It is?”

“Yes, how can you not be angry? I am thinking that you are a benevolent man but there is a limit. You are no saint or God so you should be angry.”

“I don’t know.”

He said.

“I really am not angry. In fact, the person thought I would die. But since I didn’t die then what need is there to be angered about it? It doesn’t really change anything.”

She silently listened to the man. She has no words to say. Her mind cannot fathom on how a man can not be angered at betrayal.

“If you are not angered then you are happy?”

“I am. I didn’t really need the thanks and the smile. But even so, it made me happy that falling from so far and getting all my limbs splattered felt nothing.”

“Splattered?”

“Ah, please forget about that.”

She imagined someone’s limbs being splattered and it made her shiver.

“Really...you are a strange man.”

“I am.”

The man said with yet another deprecating smile.

“How about you miss, would you be angry if someone that you helped painstakingly betrays you?”

“Of course I will be. It’s normal.”

“I see...normal huh. Very well, the night seems deep Miss. Your camp may need you.”

He said looking at the night sky.

“You are right, I better go. Oh, and don’t go inside the barrier.”

“I won’t.”

He said while putting his right hand near his heart. She nodded at him and before long strides back to where her tent is.

...

The moon shines in the east. He saw the beautiful round object and stared at it. His eyes look like still water as it reflects the moon. He didn’t have any shelter or tent around him. He has been living for a week in this forest recovering his strength.

Just awhile ago he talked with a woman with blue hair and long ears. She was mythical and ethereal that her just talking while being shined down upon by the moon made him calm. Her voice was so smoky and languid that he could not help but tell her about his woes.

The woman had blue hair and long ears but he didn’t care. To him the matters between the wars of both sides were irrelevant. He only wanted to help people but now he was contemplating in his own ways. He helped for someone yet what he got was betrayal.

The smile of the one who pushed her was nasty but the words of thanks she gave made him elastic. Joy crept up to his heart that it overwhelms any emotions he should have felt when getting stab and killed. He liked his life for it is borrowed and due to liking his life that he was no stuck between two stones.

He wondered what he should do or think about. The fire in front of him warms his face as he thinks. The outside world was cruel and cold especially winter has come. Only the fire near him makes him comfortable and warm. The fur cloak and pelt wrapped around him also made the winds of winter less blistering

What could he do when faced with questions?

He thought but no answers would enter his head. For now, he can only peer at the night sky and count the stars or clouds that have odd shapes. He didn’t move out of the tree and just fiddled with the bonfire he made. He saw the embers rise and vanish mid-air. The wisps of smoke ascended up the sky. He could see his breathing now due to how cold it was.

Snowflakes fell on top of his hair. His nose was red due to the cold and the only thing can be heard were the embers burning and the cold whispers of the wind. There were no noises of birds or animals. At best he could hear the flowing water near the camp where most of the nomads gather and where that woman is.

The woman...he could not help but think about that woman with the mask. She had long ears and blue hair and he could tell that she was beautiful. Unlike anyone, he has met so far. She was the only one that made a rather deep impression. It was akin to meeting a rare animal. He has never seen long ears or blue hair before in his life. So it made a mark on his head.

He heard that elves were beautiful and slender. They have long ears and pale skin that has a bit of green low in it. He noticed that the woman had long ears and blue hair but her skin never has that green glow. The green low marks an elf and is supposedly their blessing from the Mother Tree. The Mother Tree is believed to be the tallest tree in the world and where most of the trees came from.

In the legends, the tree has said to have given the elf’s the green glow in order to represent their roles as guardians of the mother tree. So seeing that there was no green glow on that woman, he thought that she might be only a half blood.

That would explain her blue hair and long ears. She might be a mix of a night elf and human blood. He thought that the woman was odd but other than her looks he sensed the ocean-like mana the woman had. The Mana of the woman was so vast that it could support a barrier that large. He used his eyes to see the barrier and what he sees is a bluish transparent dome that surrounds a huge area.

He was planning to contact the nomads for directions out of this place. But seeing the barrier’s dome and the thickness of it he could only back off. The woman was also controlling the vegetation around the area. He could tell that any beast, moron, abomination or bandits that would try to enter will be killed.

He’s seen Mana that powerful but mostly they belong to Ascended Knights. It was very odd that someone like her could wield such ridiculous amount of Mana without any ‘crest’. He heard that the long-ears have abundant Mana but now personally seeing a half blood with that kind of Mana made him shudder on what she would do if he pisses her off.

Thankfully he didn’t risk it and stayed until he was contacted. He can still feel something watching him but oddly that watchful gaze made him less lonely. He stayed in these mountains for god how many days already so having someone to talk to other than himself or the trees made him feel comforting. In the past days he has been struggling and many times he got almost killed.

Falling from such height and keeping himself alive didn’t mean that he was fully cured. Especially now, in order to keep on living, he has to regularly treat his heart with a pump. His heart was still in a bad condition and he estimates that doing any constructs that require a large amount of mana would kill him.

So he can only construct normal weapons and strain himself badly would weaken him. It sucks but he can only endure it. He was lucky enough to survive that fall and thinking that he would get immediately be okay. He learned that no one would save him in that tight spot. The day where his foster father saved him was a one of kind thing and it rarely happens.

That’s why he can only be more careful. The life he had was so precious and owed that he doesn't dare to lose it.