Sylvia and I wait for a little while until we are sure the group has left.
"Do you really think he is some sort of reaper?" I ask quietly while looking at Sylvia.
"I know reapers exist but I haven’t heard of one being here on Varken," Sylvia responds with a bit of shock in her voice.
"The world really is an interesting place," I say while taking a seat against one of the trees.
If that really is some sort of reaper... I can only wonder how much death is across the lands itself. He also appears to be in search of something different in this forest.
I’ll consider myself lucky that I didn’t end up fighting him.
Dragons are the main enemy as far as I’m concerned right now. I know other monsters exist throughout the lands because I heard about them from stories.
"It is. There is a lot happening these days," Sylvia replies while taking a seat next to me.
"Can you please tell me a bit about it?" I ask nicely.
"Well we just saw a reaper here and I believe a war broke out in Tiel," Sylvia responds with a calm, yet casual tone.
Tiel? I believe I have heard about that continent once or twice. They had an ongoing issue with vampires but I didn’t know if that was true or not.
"A war broke out?" I question with some curiosity in my voice.
She lets out a sigh.
"Apparently the kingdom of Lumiel attacked Aria," Sylvia answers.
And to think I was so concerned about our war against the dragons here... It seems people are struggling everywhere. I hope the right sides can win on both fronts of the wars.
For now it is probably best to avoid heading to Tiel until the war is done there. Not that I planned to go there any time soon anyway.
There’s too much to get done here.
I feel a bit of weight press onto my shoulder as I look down to see Sylvia is resting her head on me.
"Don’t worry about all that, everyone will get through it," Sylvia assures me.
"I just feel bad that we are all in a terrible spot with these wars," I say quietly.
"Sometimes there is no avoiding wars Kain," Sylvia replies with a soft tone.
She’s not wrong in the slightest. People always want more or they believe someone isn’t the right fit for something.
Dragons being the biggest example I have to go by... They believe humans are the problem while we believe they are. It’ll be a constant until one side finally gets the proper pushback.
I think when we slaughter their generals and eventually the leaders behind them... We’ll win this war.
It’ll take a bit of time but I believe it is possible.
~I am happy to see a more positive outlook on the war front. You have been dealing with a lot the last few days.
I’m trying to take a page out of Aaron’s book.
Everything doesn’t need to be so negative all the damn time, especially with all the blood that is being shed everyday.
~I hope to see you following this for quite some time.
I sit in silence with Sylvia for awhile after that, just taking in the hollow forest around us.
Nothing is coming for us in here, nor have either of us heard a single noise since that reaper passed through. It has been kind of nice if I’m honest.
Sylvia finally moves her head as she stands back up.
"Can’t sit around all the time, right?" Sylvia says playfully.
"Took the words from me," I reply while standing up as well.
We can worry about making a small camp when we get away from this forest. I’d rather sleep somewhere that isn’t so gloomy all the time.
I really don’t want those nightmares to come back... That’s mostly why.
"Let’s continue walking then," Sylvia says before grabbing my arm and dragging me along.
For a moment I look towards her as she drags me along, noticing her beautiful red hair flowing within the wind. I can feel that same sensation from the night we slept in the tent together.
I’m still not entirely sure what this feeling is yet, but I don’t think I mind it that much. All of these new experiences have been a mix of good and bad lately.
This one definitely feels good.
Two hours pass by.
Another opening finally appears in the distance, our way out of the Hollows.
Step. Step. Step.
She pulls me alongside her as we finally exit the forest and enter a completely new environment than before.
A river lies between us and the new environment ahead. It appears to resemble a desert. It isn’t completely barren since I can see some structures in the distance.
They look like large cobblestone towers that hover high enough for anyone to see across the open land.
"So we are definitely close to Aerithel," Sylvia says with confidence.
"Is it ahead?" I ask while looking towards the river.
"Aerithel is a bit further into the desert ahead I think," Sylvia responds while scratching her head.
She hasn’t gone to the kingdoms all that much... I think she is just remembering from what she saw on the map. Which is fine because I don’t think I even looked at a map at all yet.
"Do you have a map?" I ask curiously.
"Right. I didn’t really show you the map much, did I? That’s my bad," Sylvia responds as she looks for a spot to sit.
She slowly walks over to a small log by the river in front of us and takes a seat.
I watch as she unfolds the map from a small bag that she was carrying the whole time. The map is definitely quite large but I can see the kingdom she is talking about.
It is quite huge on the map.
"Now I’m definitely certain that Aerithel is just beyond the towers there," Sylvia says while pointing towards them.
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