“The wisest Rasts agreed. It had stayed with him. His body was old. His face was wrinkled. His vision was fading. His hair was grey. And yet, he smiled. He had solved the riddle. He was given the virtue of wisdom. For many steps, they travelled. Back through the forests and mountains from which they came. Day and night. Without pause. They stopped. They were back at the abode of the Wisest Rasts.”

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“You can open your eyes, David! It’s really cool!” John shouted at David over the sound of the wind whistling by the at a terrifying speed.

David said nothing. In fact, he hadn’t said anything since they took off. At which point he’d screamed, “I REGRET EVERYTHING. I WANNA GO BACK DOWN!” and closed his eyes tightly. John thought it hilarious. The face of sheer terror he made when they took off caused John to laugh nonstop. Really, he should be a comedian.

John’s eyes were glued to the ground below. The sheer beauty encapsulated him. Tall mountains, deep valleys. Mist covering the extremes of both. Equally large Rasts or Ba-Rasts flew by them, below and above them. Four-winged eagles, pterodactyls, and even some giant insects. All whizzing by at flying in different directions. The mountains and valleys were covered in trees. Forests covered everything the eye could see. Humongous tree occasionally grew tall above the treeline. Few mountainsides were completely bare, save for a covering of green grass. If he squinted, he could see four-legged animals graze there.

They were making good time, if the sound of the wind was anything to go by. He doubted it would take long for them to reach the village David was talking about.

He wasn’t cold at all, even this high up. He could bury himself in the feathers he was clinging to. At which point the sound of the wind would disappear completely and the warmth of Birdie, as he’d ingeniously named him, would make him sleepy with comfort.

“Thank you birdie, we’re making great time because of you.” It was true. They’d rested another day after they’d met Birdie, at which point it had recovered enough to fly without straining itself. David frowned and said that it didn’t make sense for it to recover that quickly, nor even get injured that badly in the first place. John didn’t think too much of it though, he was just happy that Birdie recovered.

Birdie flew with extreme grace; you’d think his large bulk would hinder any fine movements he’d try to make, as well as make take off and landing very difficult, but no. Birdie had simply spread his wings and with a few dozen beats of his wings, they’d taken off and were high off the ground. The ride was smooth and comfy.

Suddenly, a large flat area homed into view. It’s as if the mountain and valleys decided to have a break in that area.

John curiously looked at the area and smiled widely when he saw a circular clearing appear on the horizon. “David! I think we’re here! I see a circular clearing!” He turned to David, who refused to look. Hmm. “Hey Birdie, do you think you can land? I need to know if that’s where we’re heading, but David is too afraid to open his eyes.” He patted the large Ba-Rasts gently, at which point he dived towards the nearest mountain. John laughed in excitement as he felt his stomach fly up into his chest and blood rush to his head. “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” is all he heard from David.

Birdie landed gracefully, such that John barely felt them even land, but the sound of the air being displaced in large volumes from Birdie beating its wings was unmistakable.

“Hey David.” John said much more quietly now that the wind wasn’t whistling by. “We’re on the ground now. You can open your eyes. I need to know if that’s the village we’re heading to.”

David was shaking when he hesitantly opened his eyes. He immediately leapt from Birdie onto the ground. “WE’RE ALIVE! THANK GOODNESS WE’RE ALIVE!”

“David! Is that the village we’re heading to?” John interrupted David as he was smothering himself into the dirt, as if he wanted to fuse with it.

He abruptly stood and looked in the direction John pointed. He smiled widely. “Yes! That’s it! It’s only a short walking distance from here. I reckon we can make it in about 3 hours! Thomas, let’s get them off, help me untie the rope.- ““-Or we can fly there in no time at all.- ““-I’m so happ- Wait what? No, no, no. I won’t climb back up on that monstrosity.”

“Then don’t. Birdie can carry you with her claws.”

“NO NO NO NOOOOOOoooooooo…..” David’s positive reply turned into incoherent screaming as Birdie gently grabbed him as he tried to flee. John looked down to see him frothing at the mouth in excitement before he fell limp.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t remember this part of the journey, right Birdie?” John giggled.

The village swiftly came into view. From above, it looked wondrous. Tiny children running around, and villagers working on their farms. John elected to land close to the edge of the clearing, away from any people, lest they attack them.

Their arrival most certainly didn’t go unnoticed, and it was mere moments after they’d landed that they saw a huge bison-like Ba-Rasts charge at them from the village.

John waved at it. “Look, it’s a bison! They’re coming to say hello! How nice of them.” He smiled, touched at their welcoming.

John turned around when David didn’t respond and frowned when he saw him sleeping on the ground. “Oi! David.” He turned him over and slapped him in the face.

“We’re here, wake up sleepyhead.” He stirred and lazily opened his eyes.

“Wha- We’re here?” He shook himself to wakefulness at the words.

“Yeah, they’re even welcoming us. A bison like Ba-Rasts is charging at us right now. I wonder if I they’ll let me ride him.”

He jumped up. “What!?” His eyes soon located the charging beast, and he paled.

“Quick! Make Birdie stay in the air! The shaman thinks he’s a wild Ba-Rasts!”

“Oh. So that’s why the bison is charging this way. Oh well, Birdie, could you please flying in the air for a while, I think you’re scaring them. Don’t worry though! I’ll convince them you’re just the best!”

David jumped up to free the unconscious patients before Birdie took off with a burst of air.

The bison slowly decelerated when Birdie took off. It stopped briefly, about to turn around, but then it saw them and ran at them. Thomas was sure it was running and not charging, as it didn’t feel angry anymore, just curious.

He stared at it in wonder as it approached. Looking more and more magnificent and dignified the closer it got.

“Hello! My name is Thomas, what’s your?” He said to the bison when it stopped in front of him.

“Korleon? That’s a good name!” He walked up to pat it, but didn’t even reach up to its knee.

“David? Is that you?” A figure jumped off Korleon, rushing over to David.

“Master, it’s good to see you.” David said rather tensely.

“It’s good to see you too, but what brings you back here? I’d expect you to stay indefinitely in the army since you claimed so boisterously to never come back.” The figure said flatly, clearly unamused by his sudden appearance.

David cringed. “Yeah, about that… I got sidetracked a little bit. I need your help. I have my sister. She’s in a coma. And I think I know why, but I don’t know how to wake her up again.”

John saw the figure flinch as he was walking over to join their chat.

The figure paused for a moment at David’s statement but then said flatly: “You’re a deserter.”

“I am. I deserted with someone else, and we went searching for our siblings. I don’t regret it. I want to know if you can wake up my sister and the other 2.”

“… I’ll see what I can do.” He turned around to face Thomas. “And who is this?”

John looked straight ahead at the short figure in front of him. He looked old and had bright green tattoos on his forehead. Dressed in nice brown robes.

He took a deep breath and said: “Hello! My name is Thomas Smith. I was a slave together with the other 3, but I’m not in a coma for some reason. They abandoned us at a mine, so I took care of them until David came along.”

“Hello, my name is Tumalt, but everyone just calls me shaman. Thomas Smith, you say? That’s quite an unusual name. Hmm… You look quite a lot like someone else with the same last name.”

“He is Edward’s brother. He’s the one who deserted with me.”

Tumalt swing his head to David so quickly Thomas thought it was going to snap off. “You convinced Edward Smith to desert the army? With you?!”

David smirked and said: “Actually it was the other way around, he convinced me to desert with him.”

Tumalt stared at David for a moment before shaking his head. “We’ll talk about that later.”

“Can Birdie come down now? He’s been circling in the air for a while now. He’s been so nice to fly us all the way here, but David said you might attack him, so he had to stay in the air.”

“Birdie?” Tumalt looked at John in confusion. “The Ba-Rasts.” David quipped.

“You got a Ba-Rasts to fly you all the way here from wherever you were?” He asked David. The sheer impossibility of it was obvious in the shaman’s voice.

He shook his head. “No, Thomas convinced it to.”

“Right… Let’s take this conversation somewhere else. This isn’t the ideal place to have it.”

“Can I ride Korleon back to the village, please? Please? He looks so cool!” Tumalt’s gaze flicked quizzically to David, who once again shook his head.

“… Yes, you can, if he wants to.”

That was all the encouragement John needed, as he rushed over to the bison lying quietly over to the side. He excitedly grabbed onto the fur and tried to pull himself up. His arms pulled and pulled, but he never left the ground. He was too weak.

He then said to the bison. “I’m not strong enough to pull myself up. Do you know how I can get on you?”

The bison told him to stand back, and the bison rolled to the side so he wouldn’t have to pull himself up, but merely hang on while it righted itself.

He laughed as he once again towered over the ground. She had to be at least 5 meters tall and with mighty horns that practically shined with health and vitality.

The shaman and David deftly helped the coma patients up on the bison and she took off in a hurry.

The ride was surprisingly stable. Even though they could see the fields and landscape shooting by them, they barely felt it. It hadn’t been more than 2 minutes from the wall to the village centre, which was occupied by a large house. The shaman’s John presumed.

Beside the house was an even larger barn, with doors that looked like they were 3 sizes too large. They were at least 6 metres tall. That had to be for the Bison, John thought as he looked in wonder at his surroundings. The village was even more beautiful up close. Buildings stood proudly. They were painted various bright colours, with pointy roofs, so each house had its only little tower to look out from. All of them had large windows in various shapes that pleased the eyes.

John was helped off the bison as they carried the patients inside and placed them on what looked a bit like hospital beds that stood side by side.

John waved goodbye to Korleon as they all took their seats inside, sitting around a round wooden table.

“So,” the shaman opened up. “Why don’t you start by telling me what you’ve both experienced, so I can properly piece up why you two are speaking in ridiculous feats and impossibilities.”

David started his tale of him deserting the army with Edward and making their way to the warlord’s fortress. They found it almost empty save for a Rasts gathering operation and witnessed some kind of sacrificial ritual the warlord conducted. They were discovered and got separated while fleeing. David then backtracked and went to the northern road, where he found Thomas.

Thomas then excitedly started telling his side of the story and explained in great detail how he failed to rescue the slaves that had fallen into a coma.

“And when I collapsed, my friend Stoat few me some yellow berries called cloudberries and-”

“-Cloudberries? As in Cloudberry? David?” The shaman interrupted John’s story.

He sighed. “Yeah. His bonded fed him cloudberries to keep him stable.”

“His bonded?”

“Thomas, could you call for Stoat?”

“I don’t have to, he’s right there.” He said and pointed to the doorway.

Stealthily hidden just behind the wall, a small stoat stepped out. It went on all fours and quietly made its way to Thomas and then curled up in his lap.

“This is my companion, Stoat.” He said and caressed him gently.

“Bu- But that’s a Ba-Rasts! He’s a child no more than 10, and his bonded is a Ba-Rasts?!” The shaman shook at the revelation. “And it fed him cloudberries!?”

“So, can you tell me why you both react like that? I’m curious. Both of you yell at my companion when you find out he fed me cloudberries. Why is it such a big deal?”

The shaman and David shared a look. David locked eyes with John. “It’s a drug. Some people find it very addictive.”

“Oh. That’s not good. What are its effects?”

“Its effects are like your mind being out of your current circumstances. Don’t you think it’s weird you’re so unaffected by the death of almost 50 people. You were so desperate to save them you practically destroyed your own body to get only 3 people out of the mine. And in the next moment you’re relaxing and watching the sunset?”

“Ahh, I thought I was just coping, but that makes a lot more sense. Does that mean I can’t eat cloud berries anymore?”

David sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Why not? It’s a drug, isn’t it? Drugs are bad for the most part.”

“The question isn’t whether or not you should eat them, it’s whether you can stop. People who eat cloudberries are not physically, but mentally addicted to cloudberries. It makes everything better. Lots of people that can’t face reality eat them.”

“How long has he been eating them, David?” The shaman quipped.

“I don’t know, more than a week, less than two.”

“Why does that matter? Does the detox get worse the longer you take them?”

“It stops you from feeling the pain of reality, but it accumulates. It’s hard to quit, because it gets a lot worse. The pain you feel isn’t just from that moment, it’s the continuous pain from everyday you’ve been under its effects. Sometimes people die when they stop. Not because the berries themselves do anything, but because the pain, both emotional and physical, is so bad that you heart stops. Or in some cases… You stop the pain yourself, permanently.”

“Oh, that’s not good. Can I still stop?”

“I could’ve stopped you from eating them since we met. But I don’t know if you’re strong enough to face it. You might start eating them again the moment our backs are turned, just to make the pain stop. That’s how it gets to you.”

John tapped his chin in deep thought. “Lock me in a room for however long it takes. I can handle it. I’m plenty strong.” He flexed his arms.

“Once you start, you can’t stop the process. Any pain numbing drugs will simply complicate it further. You’re completely on your own.” The shaman said after a moment of thought.

“I do have a room that could be used… But you mustn’t take your bond with you. It might take pity on you and give you cloudberries in your moment of weakness.”

“Stoat, did you catch that? I’ll see you in a couple of days or weeks. Hmm? No, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“That is a good point, though. Could I get some now clothes? And a bath, perhaps? I’ve been wearing this for too long.”

“I’m sure I can find some somewhere. I’ll need to check up on our patients first. David, I need your theories. You were always good at those. I’ll take you to where you’ll be, but it won’t be the prettiest place and you’ll probably hate it even before the cloudberries lose their effect.”

“I’m strong. I can handle it! Oh! Before I forget! Birdie hasn’t heard from me yet. Can I tell him to land here, or would that scare the villagers too much?”

“Yes, but it’s better if he stays on the outskirts, it might frighten the villagers.”

Thomas closed his eyes for a second and then smiled. “Done.”

The shaman had tried throughout the entire story to not let the bafflement he was feeling show. He had two Ba-Rasts following him around. That didn’t logically make sense. He himself was quite an accomplished shaman, and it was only recently his bonded had evolved into a Ba-Rasts. The boy was far more dangerous than he knew. The more worrying part was the green jewel that had been uncovered in the mine. What was it? He’d have to make a trip to the council to inform them of the recent development.

They quickly gathered some better clothes for John, which, if compared to his previous outfit, could be practically anything.

He unabashedly jumped into a tub that was heated for him and thoroughly soaked himself to let the heat permeate deep into his bones, before scrubbing himself clean of any dirt and debris.

By the time he got out of the tub, he looked completely different. Although still very skinny, he’d at least look somewhat presentable if he wore the right clothing. The only thing he was missing was a haircut to complete the makeover.

The shaman gave him a hearty meal and a nice rest before his detox would begin the next morning. And, although they’d told him it was going to be the worst experience of his life by far, he was still excited in a way. He had been feeling a bit unnatural since he ate the first berry, so it might be just the thing he was looking for.

He’d slept like a log, feeling sleepy even after sleeping from the evening till the afternoon. He wandered into the patient room to see the shaman and David in a heated argument.

“You put the entire army in danger! How irresponsible can you be! I shouldn’t have taught you to begin with!”

“That’s why I quit! I won’t sacrifice my sister for the village. You pushed that responsibility on me without asking!”

“You had a choice!” The shaman stated angrily.

“No! I didn’t! No one told me the consequences and responsibilities of a shaman. Everyone said it was an honour! I was 5! How was I supposed to know! I wasn’t ready!” He screamed at the shaman. The argument was taking place just above his comatose sister, and by their flushed faces and furious insults, they’d been at it for a while.

“Hello! I can see you’re both speaking with entirely different values, so let me help! You, Tumalt, value the village above all else, as you should. But David values his sister over the village, which he should as a brother. David feels betrayed because he thinks he’s being forced into changing that value.” He didn’t flinch in the slightest as the two very intense stares landed on him.

“Tumalt may or may not have had siblings, and there are 2 possibilities, either he made a different choice at the same impasse you’re facing David, prioritising the village over his family, or he never had to make the same choice you did, so he can’t understand how you’re feeling.”

“David also feels constricted, because from what I heard he’s been groomed to be a shaman since he was 5, he’s hurt that he went against what he’s been trained for since he was young, and, as such, will be very sensitive to any mentioning of that subject.” John said as-a-matter-factly.