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--- atheya:chapter_4 [2024/01/27 21:07] – ultracomfy
+++ atheya:chapter_4 [2025/04/09 19:47] (current) – ultracomfy
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+~~Title:Chapter 4~~
 <fs xx-large>4.</fs>
 Álvaro said that the hike to the other village was a one or two hour endeavor. He wasn't the fastest walker due to his age and Hiero had been walking several paces ahead of him to scout out the vista. At first they walked past the palm forest in which Hiero and Tess were hunting yesterday. On the hunting trip Hiero had the honor of using one of the village's precious bows. Each of these had to be meticulously handcrafted - just finding the materials was already a challenge that required several explorations into the forest, but then making the actual bow took months. He did not yet hit anything, but Tess was a great teacher and Hiero's marksmanship improved rapidly, so Hiero expected to do much better next time. Although archery didn't seem like a particularly important skill of an aspiring village leader, Hiero knew that any good leader should lead with a good example, so he tried to learn everything (and more!) that Tess and Anaestasia had learned. While his fellows at school would have to specialize eventually, Hiero was set to branch out as much as possible, learning as many different things as he could, though immediate survival skills like hunting took some priority. After leaving the shoreline and the beaches and the lush coconut forests near the edge of the island, the two headed towards the inland and ascended a more or less steep incline which marked the beginning of the island mountain, the center of the island. The sand desire path eventually turned into dirt leading its way through the fresh and green bushes and trees. A smaller path forked off the main route into a dense woodland, too dense indeed for Hiero to see anything. Approaching the foundation of the main mountain part, the path took a sharp left and started weaving its way up and up the mountain. Hiero stopped multiple times to take in the ambiance of the nature, all the noises of the different animals and the smell of palms and the ocean. The things Hiero saw climbing up the mountain was something very different from what Hiero had ever seen before and the different colored plants and animals almost felt magical - such vibrance, as if they were exploding with life. It was like shimmering dust of stars or water falling off of them when he touched one. In his village there was mostly just sand and the occasional patch of grass - and the plantation fields, of course, but those were just mud in long lines with green stuff in them that he would have to eat eventually. In the village it was only the salt from the ocean and the kitchen or the forgery where you would actively smell something outdoors. Hiero knew he could individually smell the interiors of every public building in his village because of their unique smells, but outside had always been the same, monotone blend of smells he was all too familiar with. That was nothing against what he was experiencing out here, the plants, the air, the animals, there were so many things. It was like just being up here already smelled different. When he closed his eyes to take in the nature around him he could feel his weight dig his feet into the cold ground which provided a gentle contrast to the pleasantly warm air.