The woodland that I find myself in is dense with trees, that block the fading light provided by the setting sun; with the cries of birds, and the sounds of thriving nature echoing all around me.
As I trudge through the forest, towards my potential shelter, I try to recall what I've read of surviving when stranded. The first thing that comes to mind is the 'rule of threes' that I saw in a book as a child; three minutes without oxygen, three hours without shelter, and three days without water.
Of course, there's also three weeks without food, but that's not a priority for now; I had dinner before my... death. I don't think I'm going to get used to the idea that I've actually died anytime soon.
...Speaking of, am I in a new body? If, after I died, I started to exist as a soul, what does it mean, now that I'm flesh and blood again? Was a new body crafted for me as I arrived in this reality? Did I start in perfect health, or was my fatigued body remade, cell by cell? I can't tell.
These feel like questions that I won't be getting answers to anytime soon.
...Anyway; survival, yes. As soon as I find shelter, I need to start thinking about protection from the elements, and about collecting drinkable water. Using the information that Twos gave me, such as its hint that I'll be joining a Taoist sect, and by the looks of the trees around me, I speculate that I'm in, or around, China.
From my reading of the country's online fiction, mainly Xianxia, I know that gourds grow in its wilderness, and can somehow be turned into containers for things such as water. I know little of the fruit, but I think that they are hollow, maybe, and that they grow on vines? If I can find one, and with a bit of trial and error, I should be able to craft a bottle.
As I round a crooked tree, I see what looks to be an opening in a stone wall. I stop, and retreat back behind the tree. In all likelihood, I'm deep in some mountainous area, untouched by humans, surrounded by wildlife that will attempt to kill and eat me.
I need to be smart, be cautious, and play it safe.
I turn and move further back, before finding cover behind a particularly large tree. I crouch and look along the grass beneath me, searching for a weighty rock. Still crouched, I find a good one and clutch it in my right hand, before pressing myself against the tree and peeking out.
Winding my arm back, I lob the rock at the opening, and wait. One second passed, then ten, then a full minute. Nothing. Should I risk it? Better not, lets not be stupid.
Lifting a second rock, I repeat my action, this time throwing the rock with greater strength. I hear it land in the opening with a clear crack. With the level of sound it made as it struck, it should get the attention of anything living in the cave. I draw back from my peeking, until I'm barely visible from the opening, and begin to wait.
After what I feel to be ten minutes, with no movement from the cave, I slowly make my way over. I approach from the side and take cover against the wall, before peering in. From what I can see, the cave isn't too deep, barely five meters in depth, and absent of any traces of animal life. It's not perfect, but it's better than what I could've hoped for.
While I'd like nothing more than to enter it and get some sleep, I realised something important on my way here.
I forgot to create a weapon.
Idiotic, I know, but it's been a busy day, and I've had a lot on my mind. I could spend my remaining daylight looking for something to defend myself with in case I'm attacked, but I doubt I'll find a weapon just... lying around, and I don't have any experience with crafting. With limited options, and not a lot of time, I might have to just risk it and go to sleep undefended.
I know it's a great chance I'm taking, but with my new ability in divination, I should be able to secure some level of safety. I step away from the cave and brush the ground to create as smooth of a surface as I can, before standing my... Divining Rod, straight.
Closing my eyes, I think, 'Point me to the nearest area that can I safely pass the night.' Dropping the stick and backing away, I watch it fall and roll, before it points to the cave.
Bingo.
Now with some assurance, I walk into the cave until I reach its back wall. I turn and place my back against it, before sliding down. As I look out of the cave into this foreign, if familiar, world that I've been sent to, I feel a certain tension leave me. I let out a breath, before pulling up my hood and drawing it tight, hiding my shoulder-length blonde hair. With a final glance outside, I lay down and turn to the back wall. Curling into myself, I begin to try and sleep.
As the god of dreams pulls me into its realm, I fade with one final thought in my mind,
'I hope I don't get eaten.'
…
I wake up with a jolt, adrenaline coursing through me. I roll over sharply, banging my left arm against the ground, causing sharp pain to radiate from my elbow.
'Fuck!' I wince, in pain, and sit up. As I rub and soothe my hurting arm, I feel something... wrong.
'Where am I?!' I think in fright, eyes wide, unsure of where I am, before I freeze, with a sinking feeling in my stomach.
Ah... right.
I died.
Bloody hell.
I crawl to the entrance of the cave, lean against an inner wall, and tilt my head to the sky. It's real. It's all... really real. I'm trapped in a world of gods and heroes, where universe ending events seem to happen on a near-daily basis.
I feel a scream of pure rage build in my chest, before I forcefully push it down. Lashing out won't do me any good, nor will it help me. This is my new truth; my new reality. Instead of whining about it, I need to start think about how to survive today.
I stand up and stretch, my back cracking from a night of rough sleeping. I bring hands to my face, and give myself two quick slaps. I close my eyes, and take a deep breath, holding it, before letting out slowly. Opening my eyes, I feel my self calm down.
Opening my mouth, I fire myself up with some encouraging words, thinking of Twos; "Buck up, young miss!" With a newfound sense of determination settling in my chest, I begin to walk to the woods, before I stop.
Step one in my guide to surviving the day: don't go off into the woods without a plan. That's how you get your head torn off by a bear.
With that in mind, I begin to plan what I need to accomplish today. First, a weapon. While my first priority should be to find a source of fresh water, and something to boil it in, water wont do me any good if I get mauled by some animal before I need it. Only when I have acquired a weapon, can I then set about finding water.
Returning to the cave, I grab my trusty stick, before I exit and begin my divination. 'Point me along a safe route to a weapon I can use to defend myself.' Although a sharp rock or a pointy stick will be able to ward off smaller wildlife, I'm hoping that that a knife, or some kind of long weapon, has been left by a hunter, or hopefully, a soldier.
The stick finishes its magic and points to my left. I follow its fall and walk a couple of meters into the forest, before opening my senses and focusing. All I hear is the rustle of leaves as they're caught in the wind, and the touch of moisture on my exposed face. As much as I fear whatever is prowling around out here, I need to get this done.
With no other choice, I go back and grab my stick for support, and start my search for a weapon.
…
'I really should've exercised more.' I think to myself, with regret in my heart. I've been walking for about twenty minutes, and after a day of no food or water, my energy is running low. '...This might be a tad dangerous.'
Although I should be able to last three days without water, I forgot to take into account my energy consumption. Going by the slight weakness I feel setting in, and the dryness of my mouth, I might have half a day before dehydration starts to hit me. I stop my walk and lean against a tree, slightly out of breath.
I need to speed up.
'Am I even going in the right direction?' I wonder. Performing another divination, the stick points right, at a forty-five degree angle. It seems I've gone off course slightly. I note the distance I've walked, then compare it to the new divination, and come to believe that I'm not too far off, thankfully.
Pushing off the tree, I start walking in the new direction. After another ten minutes, I come to a tree with clear, but old, slashes marking its trunk. Leaning in, I try to determine if the slashes are caused by an animal, or by a weapon. As I observe the marks, a glint from the sun striking metal shines in the corner of my vision.
Slowly turning my head towards it, I can just about make out what looks to be a bladed weapon, trapped under a large stone. Cautiously, I make my way over to it, my head on swivel for any potential danger. Seeing nothing, I crouch down in a half-kneel, and examine the weapon; a sword of some kind.
It's style doesn't match any I recognise. I can tell that its a one-handed weapon, at least. Its thin, double-edged blade is about 60 centimetres in length; with a smooth, wooden handle, separated from the blade by a small, curved guard.
'...I have no idea what this is.' I admit to myself, worryingly. It's a sword, obviously, but not one I've ever seen in a museum. I place my left hand against the stone and push, before grabbing the hilt with my other, and pulling it free.
I just pulled a sword from a stone. Does this make me the queen of England?
Banishing aside that thought, I focus on the now freed sword. It's not adorned in any iconography, or tasselled in any way, but it's caked in grime and dirt.
As I look upon my new weapon, I start to wonder; can I divine its origin? With my single method of Stickfall, I doubt it, but with the talent Dao Child has bestowed, how hard can it be to learn to divine an object?
Moving behind a tree for cover, I sit against it in a cross-legged position and place the sword on my knees, then lower a hand onto its blade. I focus on the feeling of my fingers on it cold metal, and try reach out beyond myself; to connect with the weapon.
I sit there, fully focused on the divination, unknowingly falling into a meditative state, when I feel something brush against my clear mind.
[Divination Method Learned – Spirit Reading: All thing in creation carry their history with them at all times; whether they choose to openly display it on themselves, or bury it deep within, never to share even with those closest to them.
With Spirit Reading, you can soothe the spirit, and lead it to reveal itself to you. When this method is taken to its extreme, it can be used to guide the restless dead into acceptance.]
[Spirit Read –
Name – Jian
Type – Sword (Double-edged; Straight)
History – Forged by a secondary apprentice of a skilled blacksmith, this sword was made as part of a batch, intended for use by the military forces of the Song Dynasty. Once in the hands of a conscripted soldier, it was used during the Mongol conquest of Song, where its wielder fell in battle.
Found by scavengers looking to make easy coin, it was sold to a merchant in Hengshan, who himself sold it to an aspiring martial artist. The young warrior, in a desperate rush to improve his skills, entered the forests of Mount Heng, where his lack of preparation led to his death at the jaws of wolves.]
...Those poor people.
This sword, this... Jian, is a tool of war. Whether it was used to kill, or to protect, it has the blood of humanity on its blade. War is a fundamental part of my people, as much as most hate it; and yet, it will follow us until we go extinct. I wanted a weapon to protect myself, but I instead discovered a part of me that I didn't know existed.
Conflict isn't something I seek, it's not something I yearn for; its an action that will forced upon me by those who desire to hurt me, or others. The weak and defenceless will run from it, or try to drive it away, clinging to their life, crying in anguish.
It's not right.
Its the cheap excuse of the cruel and the petty, who believe that they have power, who believe they have the right. The information revealed to me by Spirit Reading has shown me something that I think I needed to know.
The universe is chaotic, it is unfair, and it is unfeeling. It will grant you life, just to take it away. You'll be born into the unknown as a blank slate, with no guidance and no purpose. You are left to wander blind through its infinite, searching for meaning or understanding, until that sliver of evil in your soul starts to take hold.
It will kill you in your sleep and take you from that which you love.
I can't accept that.
Twos... It has all that power, yet it uses it to guide the lost; and protect me in my time of crisis. To me, that's what true power is, not conquest, or murder, or power for powers sake.
That ever-changing... friend, has unintentionally put me on a path that I agree with.
This world is protected, and yet it is at the centre of so much conflict. Everyday, there are great powers and ordinary people that fall in battle trying to save.
That I can accept, even if I hate it. They understand the risks of their actions, and still chose to commit. It's inspiring, and it's sad. Their lives are no less important then those they protect, and yet they use them to help strangers.
Jian has made me realise something important, something that I have been actively avoiding.
I'm terrified of death.
I have experienced it, and its taken all that I am. The only reason I still exist, that I'm still alive, is because of chance. Picked out of a... cosmic hat. I have no desire to ever be touched by it again.
I think... no, I know, now, what I seek…
To be... eternal.