Wandering Eastward - Feeding

Wandering Eastward - Feeding

                Soff did her best to pay attention to Taoten's words, but with so much countryside she'd never seen before her mind (and eyes) wandered a few times as he spoke for hours on end. The information Taoten was recounting was a list of methods and ideas that could be used to hone the wyrm-gift, rather than specific instructions, so Soff reckoned missing one or two would not be an issue.

                The moments she lost to gawking at the countryside were good ones. They had only been walking for roughly a day, yet they had already travelled further than Soff ever had - courtesy of walking without rest. The land she gazed upon was new to her, and though it was scarcely different from her home she found it fascinating. An old stone bridge, the river it crossed, the small mountain she had always seen in the distance seen and now behind them, some trees and flowers she had only seen a handful of before.

                It was kind of wonderful. Maybe she should have taken her mother's advice and travelled around the Republic. She hadn't wanted to drain her family’s finances, but... There was a lot to see. Perhaps she could have paid her way by taking odd jobs. But so many other things, doing so was no longer an option. Not when she was undead.

                "That's the end of the introductory lessons," said Taoten, regaining Soff's attention, "So far as I remember it. Without my notes, I am sure to have missed something. Sadly said notes were assuredly burnt during the razing of the protector keep in this area."

                "That was a... lot to remember," said Soff.

                "There are many refinements one can make, and many techniques to master. Of course, most essential is practice - as with any martial skill. I could cover all the information within a year or two; yet mastery of each technique will take much longer," said Taoten.

                Soff nodded. "Will we stop on the way from time to time so I can get some practice, then? Which reminds me - shall we stop for other reasons? I might not sweat anymore, but I'd still like to clean my clothes and myself at some point," asked Soff.

                "That and more. But only brief stops," answered Taoten. "In fact, we will make one tonight - I wish to drain a few trees to continue repairing myself. This limp is slowing us down too much."

                Strangely, Soff hadn't noticed their pace being slow, despite Taoten relying heavily on the wooden pole to haul himself along. I wonder what pace he'll set if he heals his leg...

                "Fine," said Soff. "I don't care about what you do to a few trees."

                "Really?" asked Taoten, sounding somewhat sneaky. "Perhaps you should drain a few as well, so you learn how to control the ability. It might keep you from killing someone, some day."

                What Taoten said made sense, but. "No," said Soff. "I'm not draining anything yet."

                "They're merely plants. You would have no qualms about chopping them up," said Taoten.

                "It's not about that. It's - I don't want to, to drain the life from something yet. That feeling, I don't want to know what it's like," explained Soff. "I'll do it when I'm ready."

                Taoten mulled over Soff's resolve for a while, then said, "Very well. I would suggest learning sooner, rather than later, however. I do not believe you will deal well with killing someone, and it is far too easy to do so."

                Soff thought about it, then sighed. "I'll - I'll try to. But if I can't, I won't," she said. Her desire to avoid experiencing the darker side of her undead nature wasn't worth the risk of killing someone. Although, Taoten could be lying (or shading the truth). "How often does it happen?" she asked.

                "Accidental killings on a first drain? About ninety percent of the time. We can drain a lot of life very fast, and although we can feel, in a way, how much life someone has it is hard to tell without some experience draining. Along with that, it's important to keep in mind your first drain against a human will likely be in combat, so you may not be thinking straight. Ah, and despite my great reduction in hunger, life is sweet. It can be done without, but it often makes one reticent to stop," replied Taoten. "Though given what I have seen of your character, the last is unlikely to affect you."

                "Thanks," said Soff, in reply to the compliment. The risk is too high, she thought.

                "The sun is about to set," said Taoten. "In a couple of hours I will feed, and walk you through it as well. If you can bring yourself to. I... understand your feelings on this matter."

                "Of course you do," replied Soff, rolling her eyes.

                Taoten chuckled. "I'll let you enjoy the scenery for a while."

                Some time after the sun had set - Soff had no clue how long it was exactly. Taoten, in contrast, was certain that one and a half hours had past. Most importantly, however, it was dark.

                "This copse looks suitable," said Taoten, breaking the silence. He pointed towards a small cluster of trees sitting just off the road.

                "Okay," said Soff. She felt her heart start racing. She was nervous, fearful, about using the very power that killed her. The wyrm-gift was useful, but feeding on life was a dark and terrible thing.

                Having a heart that still beat was very strange. Soff pulled a hand to her chest and felt it. Sure enough, she felt her rapid heartbeat. Though her heart's efforts were probably no longer needed, Soff was glad it beat. It made her feel human still. Her nervousness did as well, although despite it she was able moving her hands without feeling as if she was second guessing every motion. That was new.

                Taoten wandered off the road into the copse, and Soff followed. The trees were thick enough to prevent someone from the road seeing what went on within. Despite that, there were no surprises. The trees would merely be serving as a screen to shield them from the road.

                "Unlike some drainers of life," began Taoten, "We do not destroy that we drain. We merely take the life from it. Observe." Taoten placed a hand on one of the trees. Soff saw his eyes begin to glow as he drained the life from it.

                "The tree does not wither as I take the entirety of its life. It is now completely dead, but it will take time to decay. This applies to humans, as well - once drained, a body appears as if suddenly struck down by some malady of the organs. They do not age excessively or wither away into a fluidless corpse. This covers our tracks when we drain plant life, to some extent - especially leafless trees in winter. Sadly, I believe we are currently in late spring?"

                "Yes," replied Soff.

                "It is good to know my small knowledge of plant flowerings still serves me well," said Taoten. "Come here," he added, beckoning Soff to another tree.

                Her heart, which had been calming down, immediately took off again. She took a deep breath, and moved over to Taoten. I really don't want to do this, she thought.

                Taoten noticed her hesitance. "You do not have to do this now. As a matter of fact... I suggest you wait a few more days. I shall be able to handle any combat by myself, and it is unlikely that we will even face any," said Taoten. "Forcing yourself is unnecessary."

                "No," said Soff, "I'll do it now. I won't feel any better about it in a week."

                "Okay. Place your hand against the tree. You should be able to feel its life - it will likely feel quite weak. A faint pulse, extending out around your hand," said Taoten.

                Soff reached out and touched the tree. She could feel... Something. It had to be the life of the tree, but it didn't innately 'feel' like life. It was an unusual new sense pressing on her hand - another sense coming through her touch, like pressure and temperature. Touching the tree's life was akin to touching a flowing stream - she could feel the current moving just beneath her hands. In fact, she could feel some flowing through her hands.

                "I'm not absorbing it when it touches me," said Soff. "Why?"

                "Because you're not taking it into you. It only flows through you because we lack life ourselves - if you had life within you, the two would press up against each other without joining," explained Taoten.

                Soff ground her teeth a little as she remembered her lack of life. "Okay. I can feel it," she said.

                "Now drain it. Pull on the life, with your hand. It is a similar... pull to that your aura would exert if you allowed it to become active. You have felt a moment of it?" asked Taoten.

                "A moment, yeah. Just after I awoke, before I stopped it," replied Soff. Taoten nodded, and Soff focused on her hand. She gave the life a gentle tug.

                Life poured into her hand, far more than she expected. It was as if, simply by tugging, she'd opened a hole in the tree - a hole that led straight into her. Power flooded into her. She gasped and stepped back from the tree, her hand falling to her side.

                The feeling of life flowing into her was incredible. Like she had been starving, and was eating the first proper meal she'd had in months. Tastier than the most incredible, mouth-watering meal she'd ever had. The strength of the feeling utterly revolted her.

                "You can understand why getting carried away is such a risk. A tree has barely any life, and the feeling is far, far stronger when a human is drained. Even when we are full the feeling is the same," said Taoten. "You will notice, however, that despite the intensity of the feeling there is no drive to feel it again."

                Taoten was right - beyond Soff's revulsion at what she had just felt, there was nothing. The great pleasure she had felt, the feeling of sating an insane hunger, held no allure to her.

                "I consider it the greatest blessing of my efforts to reduce my hunger. The second is that with foreknowledge of the feeling it is easy to stop when full, or when an opponent is incapacitated. The feeling is incredible, but it barely registers as a reason to continue," continued Taoten.

                "So before you moved between realities, you could not control your hunger?" asked Soff. Thinking about it worried her - she didn't think she'd have been able to control herself at all.

                "No. I... Did not kill much, as I understood the addictive nature of the feeling. I rarely drained more than I needed to, though if I started to drain someone I was unable to stop. Resisting feeding was torturous. I avoided any physical contact with others, and most social," said Taoten. "I am glad that that period of my existence is now long ago."

                Soff placed her hand upon the tree again. The life within was still there, but it felt weaker. Her store of life - something Taoten had likely not described simply because she could innately feel it - had increased, but not much. She was nowhere near full.

                Another hand came to rest beside hers. "You've taken only a little. The tree will live. Draining a tree fully would add a significant amount to your reserves, but this tree cannot take much more and survive. It is an interesting balance - humans can give much without dying, although a significant portion remains. Yet for animals the portion they need to live on is greater, and for plants greater still. This beyond the vastly differing amounts of life in each."

                Once again Soff let her hand fall to her side. "I won't take the rest," she said.

                "Then this tree will live," said Taoten, removing his hand as well. "The rest, however..."

                Soff stood silently as Taoten went around the inside of the copse, draining each tree in turn. She placed her hand on some of the trees he had drained - completely lifeless, dead. They still looked alive, but their roots had stopped drinking and soon their leaves would brown. It made her sad - the trees were quite beautiful. Destroying that beauty felt wrong. She sighed.

                "That's the last," said Taoten. "It's a sign of our passage, but it'll be a while before anyone notices that the trees are dead. I haven't fed like that in a while."

                Taoten smiled wryly with the last comment, then lifted up his broken leg. "Seems to work," he said, bending it back and forth. Soff peered at it; it was no longer obviously broken. Taoten continued, saying, "Unfortunately my body's still a mess, but I'll work on that later."

                "Back to the road?" asked Soff.

                "Yes," replied Taoten. "Ruminate on life-draining, and next time I feed you can practice controlling yourself. It probably isn't necessary, but it helps." He turned and headed from the road, casting his walking pole aside.

                Soff followed behind him silently. One step at a time, she thought. Down the darkening road.