At the beginning of sunrise the next morning, Nathan was busy packing up his sleeping arrangements, with an energy bar sticking out of his face. Despite his exhaustion from the previous day he struggled to fall sleep, feeling jittery due to the events that had transpired. He had a long journey ahead of him, and as long as the weather held up he had to make the best of daylight, which considering the clouds on the horizon might not be that long. He only had a vague idea of where he was, and as such with a map in one hand and a compass in the other, he strode forward with the intent to intersect with a river, both to fill up his water bottle and as a landmark for his location. His journey would take weeks, with just over two thousand kilometers of distance to walk, spanning several old borders of previous countries. His destination was the western part of Russia, a country that had long since lost the faith of its people, with awakened in the region claiming transformed lands as their own, building towns and cities that were open to anyone seeking refuge. Although they were somewhat lawless, it was an ideal place to evade the politics of Europe, or so his grandpa had told him. As Nathan was traveling, the rainclouds steadily approached overhead. Deciding it was time he took out a cloak and a featureless grey mask, preparing himself to enter The Tower. However just as he finished equipping them, he spotted something in the clouds that made him break into cold sweat. Something was moving within, although brief, he could vaguely make out its serpentine features. If the transformation of the lands had the greatest immediate effect on the livelihood of the global population, the nail in the coffin for the quality of life was the transformation of air and sea. In 2042, gargantuan creatures were spotted both in the air and in the deep sea, putting an immediate stop of all transport in their respective areas, crippling the global economy for a time. While land based monsters usually kept to their own lands, the gargantuan creatures had been seen all over the world, sinking ships and crashing planes. Coastal travel was later deemed safe, as shallow waters held the enormous sea monsters back. Trade between the Americas and the rest of the world was still possible through the Bering Strait, however the sea ice of the region had made remarkable recovery in recent years, making shipping a season thing. Nathan, feeling his rapid heartbeat, immediately went into The Tower with a single thought, not wanting to try his luck with what was quite possible some form of dragon. [Will you enter the first floor of The Tower?] Yes. His surroundings immediately changed, his vision going black for a while before a plaza spread out before him. An enormous tree filling his sight. This was Grand Oak Plaza, the entry point of the first floor. The first floor was a biome of endless forest, with only this place as a location that stuck out due to the majestic tree that was seen as the center of the floor. Although compasses didn't work here, the cardinal directions kept their names when describing the lands of The Tower, even if they were a bit more arbitrary. Going east to west was a river, along it was a mixed forest spanning endlessly in a warped space. One could go for days or even years away from the center, but could always return in a matter of hours at most. Directly north and south of the plaza were the real trials of the first floor, known as the upper and lower levels respectively. Looking out at the townscape before him, Nathan was awed as the crown of the tree stretched out, encompassing it all. The town was naturally made from the most abundant of resources here, as such it got the name Lumbertown, utilizing the river to power sawmills scattered along the banks of the river, running through town. Refocusing on what he had to do Nathan pulled himself together. His goal was to get out of town, enter the forest and grind some attributes, and look for the token needed to enter the lower levels. He had a good understanding of the layout of town, having studied maps long before entering, as such he went to the region where he could best shake off the people that had probably already taken notice of him. He was covered in a cloak and featureless mask not uncommon for the people here, however his short stature was still cause for attention. There were several organized global factions for awakened with a presence in town, however the vast majority of awakened were unaffiliated, and it was their territory he chose to walk through. If any organizations wanted to cause a scene here, there would be no lack of people to cause trouble for them, either out of spite or amusement. Until he left this place, the people wanting to confirm his identity would at most follow him from a distance. Working with the map in his head, Nathan tried to recognize the alleyway he had decided on, before breaking out in a sprint, taking advantage of the twists and turns in an attempt to lose his pursuers. He had to make way to the exit as soon as possible before they could mobilize an appropriate response, his only safety would be upon entering the forest where the space was warped. It would be virtually impossible to track him down there. Again, he could use his ability to escape, but the whole purpose of his journey was to keep it hidden. Using it carelessly would only intensify their efforts to capture him. Struggling with his lefts and rights as a newbie in town, Nathan felt his confidence waning. Looking behind him while running, something suddenly grabbed ahold of his foot, making him fall down face first before being dragged into darkness. With his hands up, guarding his face, Nathan made an attempt to kick with one leg at whatever grabbed the other, his eyes focusing towards his assailant only to be let go. Standing up with vigilance, he realized he was now inside a house along with a seated man looking his way. Not understanding how he was dragged here due to the leisure and distance at which the man was at, Nathan struggled to make sense of the situation. Still wary of his pursuers he stayed silent but wary. When the outside steps died down, the man in front of him spoke. "Sorry about that, you were creating too much of a ruckus and I couldn't help but feel obligated to teach you a thing or two, although my approach might have been a bit unpleasant." The middle aged man said, twirling his mustache. "What do you want?" If Nathans light voice gave some ambiguity towards his gender, the clear crack in it definitely gave him away. "As I said, to teach you a thing or two, although not without my own motives. You're clearly new to this part of town, floor as a whole I'd guess." "What do you mean?" Nathan said, feeling his vigilance rising. "Both your cloak and backpack give you away, ultra light, waterproof and windproof. Even if there isn't much in way of protection, they're clearly factory made, which means wherever you're from has some semblance of old world society." The man stated matter-of-factly. "You want to rob me?" "Not at all, you seem to be running from someone. I simply want to make a trade that would help you blend in more." The man said with a smile on his face. "The name is Richard by the way, I'm what you would call a craftsman." Not every awakened had combat oriented abilities, Nathan knew of two other kinds; craftsmen and miracle healers. Craftsmen got abilities to work with the myriad properties of the resources found in The Tower, something that was necessary to even fashion tools that could affect magical materials. They could also directly pass on their craft to the next generations of their bloodline, as opposed to combat oriented lineages that seemingly awakened random abilities automatically. Miracle healers were non-combatants that only worked in the premises of safe spaces in The Tower, or on earth. They also had somehow unified themselves into what was known as The Church of Healing, where awakened could go to heal themselves of any physical ailments and even restoring limbs. Healers however would not pass on anything to their offspring. After a brief moment of contemplation, Nathan nodded, deciding to let Richard continue his spiel. "Most awakened offspring tends to awaken sometime in puberty, as such I always have some equipment in all shapes and sizes, give me a moment and I'll find you something." After a short while Richard brought out some ready made pieces of leather textiles; a cloak, backpack and a leather sallet. "If you want, i could add some additional material on the sallet to cover more of your face, how about it?" "Is that okay? Other than the stuff you asked for I can't really pay you with anything for the work." "That's alright, I don't really mind helping you young ones, as long as you have some manners. If you really feel like it, you can pay me back in the future if you come across anything of value that you don't need." Richard replied, already working on the leather sallet. Emptying his backpack, Nathan began filling up his new one before putting it on, adjusting it to his fit along with the patched leather cloak. It was indeed heavier, but in the long run it wouldn't matter as his strength increased. "Why do you want those anyways?" Nathan said, pointing at his old gear. "I don't live inside The Tower, nor do I live in a town on earth. These items are hard to come by where I do, and they're excellent for venturing outside, which my family needs to do a lot to eat." Magical fauna and flora were poisonous for normal people, consuming it in quantities to sustain yourself would be downright lethal. Despite the abundance of food that could be procured on the first floor, awakened with family and relatives outside had to look for other avenues, hunting and foraging being commonplace outside of societies with an agricultural foundation. "Why?" Nathan asked, confusedly. "Because we craftsmen are sought after to the point most would threaten those closest to us. Remaining off the grid is the only way to be free AND safe." Richard replied, with indignance in his voice. "Can't you make stuff and trade it for food? And can't they threaten you as well?" "Listen kid, I appreciate the sentiment but things aren't that easy, who is to say they won't poison the food to leverage me for the cure? There are no lengths to which these people aren't willing to go to get the better of me. The only saving grace is that as long as my family is hidden I can protect myself with entering and leaving here." Richard said, clearly annoyed at Nathan's naive questioning. Taking the hint, Nathan decided to remain silent for the rest of his stay, deep in thought of whether what Richard told him was applicable to his own situation. Some time later and Nathan now had his body covered in a leather cloak, and his back a rustic backpack. His head and face adorning a somewhat awkward looking leather sallet, that was just a little bit too big. He felt a new sense of security as his pursuers would have less to work with now. He had not taken off his previous mask where Richard could see, nor given him his name, not that Richard had asked him as if it was something normal. Walking out back into the alleyway, Nathan made his way towards the town gate. His current appearance did not match any description his previous pursuers knew off, aside from his height. There were a few raised eyes and some stifled laughs, but no one followed him as he went out of the core area, walking through the Ash Districts, and out into the forest.