They slept for the rest of that night and spent the day preparing to move to the colony. For the first trip, they would have to leave most of it behind and only take their most valued possessions. They had to keep in mind what they could carry and what would fit in the gondolas.

James brought along his entire collection of guns and knives. Over half of them had somehow been hidden on his person. Howard brought his favorite hunting gear as well, but it was much harder to conceal. Unlike James, Howard felt no particular need to conceal them in the first place.

Miranda brought her precious outfits and several of her favorite dessert. Natalie reluctantly left her solar-powered laptop but made sure to bring paper and pens, as well as her phone and calculator. Leon brought cosmetics, skin and hair care, and a few outfits of his own.

Howard wasn’t entirely sure what Selina brought, but the sleek black suitcase was definitely hers. As for Sanders, he didn’t bring anything. Jonathan also seemed of the opinion that he could just come back to retrieve whatever he needed and wanted to get elbows deep into the tools used here first.

When night fell again, everyone was ready to leave. The natives were outside waiting for them. However, they had created a shelter for themselves to wait out the day. It seemed they truly were nocturnal.

When they went outside a humid heat hung in the air from the air that had yet to fade away.

{Come.}

It was impossible to say which one of them was calling for them or if all of them were, but the group set off. This time they were surrounded by floating specks of light, bobbing in the air current.

“Are those fireflies?” Miranda asked, reaching out to touch one of them.

“They could just as easily be embers or spores,” Jonathan told her with a smile, “Anything is possible in a different world.

Miranda retracted her hand.

Just in case, Howard moved his scarf to cover his mouth and nose. He did not need alien spores in his lungs. The natives did not seem particularly concerned but it was hard to say whether that meant anything or not.

Jonathan caught one a moment later and expressed in extreme disappointment that it was just a firefly. However, their light here was more white or blue like the sun. While Jonathan launched into an analysis of whether or not the color of a firefly’s light had a secret connection to the age and color of the sun, they stepped into the gondolas.

Even though they had seen everything the night before, the sights along the way and the colony itself were still breathtaking. The gondolas followed the same route along the channels as before that led them right to the gradient white rose where the Sage waited.

“What do you think is going to happen when we go inside?” Selina asked, a nervous edge to her tone, “This is all starting to feel like some sort of initiation into a secret cult.”

“There is also the chance that it isn’t secret at all,” Leon said, “but we already got ourselves into this so we should at least try it out.”

“It isn’t like we have much of a choice,” Natalie muttered darkly.

“I’m sure it will be fine,” Sanders assured them, “And if something dangerous does happen I can take emergency measures.”

It was very convenient to be able to rely on Sanders. Howard was unsettled when he realized just how relieved Sanders’ statement made him. Before he could dwell too much on that thought they entered the center room again where the Sage was waiting.

{Welcome back. Have you made your decision?}

{We have,} Sanders replied, {We will be staying with you for now.}

{Very well. Usually, this is where newcomers would perform the Providence Ceremony with the water from the Sacred Fountain, but since I know of your situation I will let you choose the time or if you participate in it. However, as it stands now, only Sanders has the abilities necessary to live here.}

Sanders looked around at the confusion of the group and then back at the Sage. {Since you clearly know we are…} he paused, {Outsiders here, would you be willing to tell us some of the basics of this world?}

{Very well. To begin with, do you have any questions?}

“Why is your hair lighter than everyone else’s?” Natalie asked.

It took the Sage some time, but she managed to understand the question. {The color of hair and eyes has meaning here. The lighter the color the closer a person is to attaining Wisdom and becoming a Sage.}

“The way Wisdom was mentioned just now, does it have some special meaning?” Leon asked.

{Wisdom is the power of the world given to those with great knowledge. It allows those who have attained it to go beyond the abilities of a normal person.}

Sanders looked like he was deep in thought. “So Wisdom is similar to magic. Interesting.”

“This might seem a bit redundant, but where are we?” Selina asked, “What is this world, and this colony?”

The Sage smiled slightly. {This colony shares my name, Veda, and this world is known as Feroz.}

“Where will we live?” Howard asked. He was a bit concerned about that and did not want to live in the most conspicuous place in the Colony of Veda.

{For that it might be easier to demonstrate. Sanders, if you would pour some Wisdom into the fountain while imagining your desired home.}

Sanders stepped forward and did something. At first, nothing at all seemed to happen, and then a golden light started in the fountain and flowed down one of the channels out of sight.

{Follow the light, and your new home should have grown by now. I am sure you would like to settle in,} the Sage told them.

“Grown?” Howard asked, both wary and interested.

This time there was no answer but they were guided back to the gondolas and followed the flow of the channel just in time to see a house shaped somewhat like a tiger lily finish blooming.

“I sort of expected this but I have mixed feelings about living in a flower,” James muttered.

“I wonder why it is a tiger lily,” Miranda mused as she shot glances at Sanders.

Natalie had a withering look on her face. “I am holding off my opinion until I see the inside, but I hope it is more practical.”

The door of the house was more like flaps and the texture felt sort of like a leathery leaf. It certainly looked like two ginormous leaves.

Past those was a large empty room with only one door and a stairway off of it. The door led to a restaurant-sized kitchen, and the stairs led to a series of rooms that were likely bedrooms. It seemed that, unlike other furniture, the hammocks grew with the house. There was a third floor which had a kitchenette and a sunroom sort of feeling. All of the windows in the building looked like the inner webbing of leaves and were more of an opaque green than clear.

The guide who had followed them in seemed perplexed by the green leaves and the extreme number of corners. The appearance of the home had more of the familiarity of Earth than the appearance of this world so it was easy to understand why they were confused.

The guide left after making sure their home was enough for all of them, and Howard chose a room to keep his things and sleep. Growing a house was nice and all, but he had imagined something more like a tree than a flower before he came to this world. Perhaps one day it could happen.