"Do you think this will be a problem?" Menoel asked Kilon, as they looked ahead.151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNWek6UAmY
"Yes. Definitely will be a problem." Eharel added. They were all looking at the passage which got much tighter at the end of the third sun of travel.
"The winds blow strongest from behind right now, if we were to attempt squeezing through, the flow of control will fall." Kilon said as he analyzed everything. His height now almost double that of even Menoel, the effects of his continuous contact with the thousands of lights now obvious.
"What if we create a cushion?" Eharel suggested, his words carrying meaning.
"A cushion you say, made of what exactly? Snow and ice?" Menoel said with sarcasm.
"No you fool. Air, isn't that something you're good with?" Eharel snapped back at him.
"Air? In case you didn't notice, air is exactly our issue, it's hard enough to resist and sway it with all of our power, let alone manipulate it how we want." Menoel responded annoyed.
"Well, I don't know, Menoel. Perhaps you should get good at what you do then, so we can perform my plan." Eharel responded in kind. Menoel starting to pull at his hair as Eharel started to slap him.
Kilon was taking into account this idea and said "We'll do just that then." as he looked back the two who were pulling each other's hair and slapping around. "Better said, I will do just that. Create an air cushion." The two now stopped their fighting.
"You alone brother? We know you're pretty strong, but I'm not sure you're able to cushion tree thousand strong." Menoel responded intrigued yet worried for this plan.
"I have to agree with Menoel on this one, my plan is good, but I thought more like a thousand to take part into it, not just you." Eharel agreed with his brother.
Kilon understood their worry and said "I'm the only one who can do it. I have now experience holding large amounts of power and using it. All I have to do is get a bit more." as he said that, he pointed towards the other thousand Lightborn which were proficient in wind manipulation.
"I see. If you use the full power of all of us to create an air cushion on the other side of the narrow passage, we could all just ride the wind gusts into it. But" Menoel paused a bit thinking "Wouldn't that leave us completely defenseless? Against the winds and cold?"
"I already thought of that." Kilon said with a slight smile "I will only take over your lights after I crossed the narrow part. While doing so, I will sway the winds along with me, to create a sort of wind slide that will go along the mountains. Doing so, should enable both your safety before, while and after crossing the Tight Grip." Kilon explained, naming the portion of the Closed Passage.
"Sounds good enough for me. You tell us what we have to do and we'll get to it." Eharel complied
"Well, it's not like we got any other better options. Although, I have to ask, why not more? I trust that you can do it, but surely you could use a few more hand to help right?" Menoel wanted to know.
"You just have to think a little about it. I'm the only one who actually traveled through the Closed Passage before. The others never had the chance. So they would have to learn how to navigate it through the most dangerous portion, where winds blow the strongest." Kilon explained himself.
Menoel, thinking for a bit, approved with a nod. He returned to sit down with the other Lightborn, as Kilon kept watching the Tight Grip, looking for anything he may have missed.
After they all rested, Kilon explained to them. He would go first, empowered by the lights of those which couldn't manipulate winds properly and leave a wind trail they could slide across. Once he is on the other side, he will simply stop the winds to announce that he arrived at the end. If he didn't announce it in half a sun's time, they were to simply slide the trail and give him the remaining lights, as it meant that him stopping the wind couldn't reach them due to how far he was. If the trail of wind stopped acting, they were to assume what's worse and return to the Link at once.
With all that in mind, the Lightborn united their lights once more under Kilon, allowing him to effectively get out of the safety net provided by his siblings and out into the harshest part of the Closed Passage. With all the lights combined, Kilon could barely feel the rock crushing winds as he manipulated the winds around him and created an air current for his brethren to follow and slide through. Although, while he walked through the Tight Grip, he noticed that the walls formed by the mountains, were pretty smooth. When he placed his hand upon one, he could feel under and above his palm, the winds slightly cutting at his skin. This meant that he had to set the currents completely off the walls, otherwise his siblings could get serious cuts and injuries. It wouldn't have been a problem, if the road wasn't too long. But it took him one sun to reach the other side of the Tight Grip. This placed a huge strain, even with all the lights combined, as he had to maintain the current steady, his brethren already riding on it as more than half a sun went by.
But now he arrived on the other side. Some changes took place that he didn't notice, as he first had to deal with the incoming wave of his siblings. Using the remaining power he had, he completely stopped the winds in place, an air cushion placed in front of him, as he stood by the side of the exit from the Tight Grip, allowing his siblings to simply slide through and out.
This further placed a strong strain on him. There were three thousand of his siblings which had to come, and the air current could only allow at most a dozen or so of them to slide through, since the walls of the mountains proved dangerous to ride along.
It took a while, but after a sun and some after Kilon went into the Tight Grip, all the Lightborn safely got through the passage. Once Kilon returned all their lights, he fell to the ground, his body strained to it's utmost limits. But, as his body touched the ground, he could feel it, grass. Snow was all over it, so you wouldn't be able to tell it was there unless you searched for it, or in this case, fell and got the snow off. Kilon, as his siblings hurried to see what's wrong, looked at this blade of green matter in front of him. Small, thin and fragile. Yet there it stood, rooted in the ground and against the winds. He wanted to reach for it, although his body hurt all over, but his siblings lifted him up before he could.
"You okay Kilon brother?" Efeheem asked him worried. His speech a bit troublesome to understand at times.
"Of course he is, mutterwords, he pushed through the Tight Grip and got all of us out by himself. It would be sad if he just died here." Melonius told Efeheem in a tired manner, as if it was such a bother to tell him that everything is fine, while insulting him in his creative ways.
"Call me like that brother one more time, and I will mutter your words with my fists." Efeheem threatened, his speech still hard to grasp.
"Fine, fine. Scrambletongue." Melonius bit back under his breath.
"Enough you two. Give Kilon over here and fight elsewhere." Menoel intervened. His voice upset with their bickering, while his face frowned in concern for Kilon.
"Psst. As if you and Eharel don't fight in front of him." Melonius replied still trying to fight back. But got his head slapped from behind by Eharel as a result.
"We do it when there isn't a sense of urgency you bittertongue. Now take Melonius and ensure everything is prepared in half a sun or less." Efeheem ordered while serving Melonius his own food. Melonius did not take it kindly, grumbling a bit, but obeying nonetheless, not wanting another slap from his brother's rough hands. "This time I can, we all can feel the air. It's warmer. The ground too, and there is the green matter as well." he told Kilon, his eyes glittering with joy, as him and Menoel took Kilon on their shoulders over from Melonius and Efeheem
Kilon had a smile on his face, looking at his feet that could feel the grass below the snow "I guess it is indeed. It is indeed." he said, his words lost under his fascination for these new things.
"How long do you figure we have until we get out of here?" Menoel asked curious, more preoccupied by Kilon's well being than the warmer place they now stood at.
"The winds here are tamer, we barely need a few dozen to hold the winds from taking us off. I say a couple suns. If the winds weaken along the way, maybe less." Kilon expressed, his voice catching up with his breath, his eyes full of hope.
It didn't take Kilon long to recover. His now taller physique being able to sustain more light coursing through, meaning he can also regenerate and output more light than before. In terms of light output, without his siblings' lights, he was at half that of Manna's. In terms of light and elemental manipulation, he was ways above Manna, who mainly focused on brute strength. His height was also on par with Manna, the two thousands lights, although not his, simply coursing that much energy through him these past suns allowed for a large growth spur. But, without additional lights, the height was mostly visual, as he could already output the maximum amount of light he possessed before the growth, now only amplifying it by some, but not much.
After the Tight Grip, Kilon only needed less than half of his siblings's lights to help sway the winds. At times, he would simply let those less proficient in wind manipulation to take over. Training them in this manner while also resting from his duty. And so, two more suns went by.
The winds have ceased after the grueling journey. As Menoel stepped on a rock, his wind manipulation ceased, it wasn't needed, only some strong winds were present, but they were less powerful than those in the Shivering Lands, to which they were so accustomed. The others started to get out of the Closed Passage. The land before them was still covered in snow some, but grass peeked here and there, so did flowers with crystal-like petals, while small animals were jumping from withing the grass or hiding into it, as the three thousand Lightborn finally arrived, at the Warm Lands.
Kilon couldn't believe the sight before him. Lands, stretching freely, much like the Shivering Lands, but no storms, the hills weren't made of snow but dirt and grass. To his right, in the West, he could feel from afar the gentle breeze of the sea, while further South, the winds carried a warmer smell to them. He could only stand there and look into the distance, as the sun rose from the West, this time faster than when they were in the Shivering Lands, melting the fresh snow coming from up North. The rays showing them a world full of life, warm upon their skin.
"Is it fine now brother? Can we finally remove the protection?" Menoel asked in regards to the light, which continuously cast a warm barrier around them.
Kilon didn't say anything. He simply looked at his hand, and, as he let his skin glow dimmer, he said "Yes. Yes we can." then raised his hand above, the others seeing the light of the sun almost shining through his hand.
The other Lightborn didn't contain themselves, no one was trying to pretend, they all let go of the protection, their belongings and wind manipulation. They simply enjoyed the natural warmth of the sun. Some were tumbling in the grass, while others interacted with the animals which they didn't have to fear, as they were mostly small and scared of them.
Kilon sat down, one hand into the grass, supporting his weight some, the other picking out blades of grass and letting them fly in the warmer winds. He, as well as the others, for so long thought of a place where they could see the lands without fearing the winds, see more than snow and rock. Now, here they were, small critters jumping or running, things like flowers which they couldn't believe are able to exist, in some places large plants that towered even them. It was so much that Kilon couldn't react. He simply sat down and thought that everything him and his siblings have done, brought them here. He could've reached this place alone perhaps, but surrounded by thousands of his brethren, only made him so much happier. Though, now that he was thinking about it, he wondered if the others were doing fine. If they reached a similar place or if they were still on their way.
Before he could start worrying properly, his siblings started to gather around him, telling him of all sorts of things. Colored birds, animals so small you could hardly see, green matter that came in different colors as well, some getting sting by odd little creatures, while others breathed weird green matter that made them sneeze. It was a sight to behold, one which Kilon etched deep in his mind.
"Brothers, sisters." Kilon started, as he was getting up, his siblings looking at him now, stopping from their play and exploration "We had to endure what felt like the worst these frozen lands had to offer. Now, through our efforts and strength, we have arrived to the promised lands, the Warm Lands." he pronounced, everyone cheering and jumping "But, let us not give way to leisure and forget what we had to do to reach this place. We had to learn and adapt. And, while these lands provide themselves friendlier, they are still not our home." he stated, his voice grave and determined "As I look around, I only see vast, open lands, but no place for us to protect ourselves from the outside. The green matter needs sustenance, which they get from water, and water has to come from somewhere. These animals also, they bury themselves and love to hide. There must be winds or something else from which they hide. In other words, we cannot stay here, we are going to keep going forward." as he finished, he could see the tired looks on their faces. For them it was enough how far they got, yet they knew he was right. While these lands were friendlier, it didn't meant they were safe or protected. There wasn't anything to build shelter with either, as the trees were scarce. "However, for a couple suns, we may rest here." as he said that, the Lightborns started to lift their heads up, happy to know they could enjoy the Warm Lands a bit more before traveling once more "Just ensure you watch over one another and take care. We can't afford to-" before he could finish, his siblings simply returned to playing, exploring and testing these lands.
"Just let them enjoy it. They know they have to be careful." Menoel said, his hand on Kilon's left shoulder.
"And don't worry, we will look over them, ensure everyone is safe." Efeehem assured Kilon, putting his hand around his neck and leaning on him.
"You're telling me to rest, brothers?" Kilon asked suspicious of their motives.
"Well, yes. You've been looking after us without taking care of you." Menoel confessed.151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIisVS94BQd
"Most of us saw you almost fainting after you led us all out of the Tight Grip. So maybe take it easy for a bit, it's you who wanted most to see these lands right?" Efeehem added, his words full of consideration.
Kilon could tell that all his brothers wanted, were things out of concern. So, he did them the pleasure and said "Very well, I will just lay down and look around."
His brothers were pleased with his response, so they went away to play with the others. Kilon stood there and watched from afar, raising a small prayer to the Creator "Thank you, Creator, for allowing me to witness the beauty, lay down and enjoy moments like these." his body lifting itself a bit off the ground while doing so "Thank you, for these Warm Lands."151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dhTHtt8CN
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