File 3 - Confusion

The Phi continent is composed of five big regions of hundreds of prefectures.

Each prefecture monitor a number of cities, and cities manage the villages in their vicinity.

Prefectures and cities have their own army, but the same was not the case for villages. The villages lucky enough to afford paying guards, could still survive. However, the price was high. Therefor, if the villages possessed martials artists clans, the position of power were almost always offered to them. Not because they were wiser, but because strengh was everything in this world.

Strenght allows the protection and escorts of goods between villages and cities, safety while farming and if internal problems were to arise, strenght allowed to settle everything immediatly.

Someone strong was always right.

In Phi continent, the most prominent figures are martial art experts who, through cultivating the body and the mind were able to transcend mortal conditions. Hunger, illness, aging, loss of strengh were not concept that could be applied to these existence.

Through trials and life and deaths battles these individuals reached the status of gods. Their strenght was incomparable in the realm of human, and only spiritual beast or other races of cultivators were their match.

Legendary figures of the past depict fight that rung throughout Phi continent, tales of mountains being moved thousands of kilometers, and sky dyed in red echoed in the mind of every mortal.

Amos village is located in the eastern region of the continent: Maghen. The village was near a mountain and specialized in the dealing of herbs, wood, stones and ore. The closest big city was three days away, Obour a port town.

The people of Amos were not poor but due to their proximity with the forest, they relied heavily on adventurers and mercenaries to deal with problem related to safety.

City or prefectural guards were scarce in this part of the continent, and attack from beasts, or even sometimes, spirit beasts was happening too often.

Lennart’s family members and staff were of course also contributing in dealing with the beasts.

-----

Three days after Mepan left, in the stone house located in Lennart's manor courtyard, Sam woke up. He was able to open his eyes completly and have for the first time a good look around.

It was still impossible for him to move, but at least, he could satiate his curiosity a little.

He remembered that he heard a woman talking and a man, the man came near his bed, and not long afterward, he fainted due to the extreme pain. Thinking about it, he felt a chill go down his spine. He never eperienced such an acute, piercing pain in his life. It was as if his own psyche had been affected. A weird feeling.

Casting aside the memories, he focused his attention on his surroundings.

He could not move his head very well, but at least he had a better view than the last time he woke up.

The walls were made of stone and thick wooden beams supported the ceiling. Giving a rustic appearance to his room.

“Where am I? This doesn’t look like a healthcare center at all!”

The noises that came crashing in his ears were not ringing phones or nurses walking in corridors. He could hear birds in the distance, voices shouting and rumbling noises, as if old horse carts were being pulled. It did not make any sense. “Have I been saved by the residents living around RESERV? If that’s the case, then what were the rescue team doing?” It really,really did not make any sense.

As he was wondering, he heard someone opening the door of his room.

--------

Carla came inside carrying a box made of wood, and started pulling talismans out of it. She smiled when she saw that Sam was awake.

Sam was still unable to make a sound. He was looking at her with curiosity. Her face was old, she had an aquilin nose, and few blond hairs were coming out of her black scarf.

She turned around and started pulling brown papers out of the wooden box.

The papers looked old, but what attracted Sam attention were the symbols written in blue color.

The letters did not look like any alphabet he encountered before. And the woman was handling them preciously.

After a quick sorting out, she then applied the papers on Sam’s body.

Sam was in despair: “What type of nursing is this? These bandages are coming out of a wooden box for Christ’s sake!” What was the rescue team doing?

Then, something happened.

The woman closed her eyes and put her hand on Sam’s head, he instantly felt numbness all over his body. The relaxing sensation was truly comfortable.

However, the light that his body was emitting was another matter altogether. What was that? The bandages from the wooden box emitted a blue light!

His analyzing ability proved to be useless to understand what was happening.

The woman noticing Sam’s surprise, spoke to him.

He could not make any word she was uttering. He was proficient with many languages due to his formation, but this one was unknown to him.

She continued applying some bandages for a while and left afterward, letting Sam behind dumbfounded.

“What was this technology? I've never seen something like this. Is this a new type of medicine exclusive to these people?" he could not make heads or tails about what just happened.

He tried to understand. “These Amish like people who use to live self-sufficiently must have saved me with the power of their faith”.

But then he thought that if that was the case, that would prove that their faith is the real thing and they really are the chosen people.

“…”

Or,

He could still be inconscious and this was a dream, the soothing feeling must have been how his consciousness traduced the care of the nurses that are currently taking care of him. If that was the case, then he should soon change scenery or wake up.

Thus, he waited.

For four days straight, he could not change this dream or get out of it. He was still under the care of the plain looking woman, and still witnessing the blue light. The only change is that the light, from time to time, instead of being blue was green. Sometimes it did hurt like hell, sometimes it did not.

----

Currently, Brian is in the living room with his family, chatting.

His wife, Celine and him just welcomed back Sasha his seventeen years old son and Denise his fifteen years old daughter.

Sasha, browned haired, have his father's facial features, and his build is quite impressive.

Denise has long blond hairs shining freely on her small cute face. She has almond shaped blue eyes and her mouth seems shaped to be kissed. She was like a younger version of her mother.

She looked quite happy to be together again with her family.

Sasha and Denise are disciples of the White Snow SECT, a martial arts school. They just came back after six months and were planning to spend a week to visit their family.

Brian was very proud of his children, Sasha was a rank seven body stage expert and Denise was a rank five body stage expert. Which in the Lennart family was quite astonishing. Brian himself at nearly fifty years old was still a rank two spirit stage expert.

The amount of influence Brian had in the family was not to be underestimated. During the patriarch absence, he was the one in command. His brother Gerad’s whereabouts were unknown and the third brother Philip was father of children who were nowhere near his own.

While they were enjoying their time, a knock came from the door.

After hearing Brian’s reply, Carla came in, bowed and said: “Lord Brian, you asked for me?”

Brian eyes flashed, and with a hint of playfulness, he said. “Yes. Carla, report to Sasha and Denise the matter of a week ago.”

Carla complied and explained: “A week ago it… Lord Gerad’s son woke up.”

Sasha and Denise were stunned; the first to react was Denise:

“What it’s awake? Did it talk?”.

Laughing, Sasha said: “How can that be possible? it never woke up in its life and you expect it to talk? I’m not even sure that it has a consciousness, it must be like a vegetable”.

Carla sighed inwardly: “I am pretty sure that it has one. I mean, it does look at me and follow every move I make.” she shivered inside, sometimes; the look in its eyes was confusing. She could feel deep hatred coming from it when she was applying muscles regeneration talismans to it. She refused to believe that nothing was inside.

Celine who was in deep thought suddenly asked: “Dear, do you have a mean to contact Gerad? Surely this news will make him come back.”

Brian looked at Celine and shacked his head: “I don’t have any; I don’t even know if he is still alive, since that day five years ago, I didn’t hear anything about him.”

Sasha then exclaimed: “Father, can we go see it?”.

Sasha was excited, he wanted to see if it was awake, for the last fourteen years, he has seen this lump of flesh growing and now it was awake! How amazing is that! He was already picturing the face of his cousins after knowing of it.

Brian did not pay too much attention to his brother’s son, for him, it was in a vegetative state.

However, a son, even crippled could stir trouble in the hierarchy. After all, offspring could still be obtained…

If Gerad comes back, how will it impact his footing in the clan? He knew Gerad was stronger, and the fact that his son has been struck with illness from birth indirectly gave him a chance : Brian was the one who convinced Gerad to go away in search of a cure.