Branching Thoughts

Silence pervaded the crowd staring at the boy with their mouths agape, his crystal-clear eyes pervading an increasingly deep aura of vitality as the curtain of light dissipated into nothingness, like a young beast about to pounce on their first piece of prey after being uncaged; James stared back at the crowd.

"Ahem" coughed Chieftain Sun, "I believe this young man's successful Rite of Passage is enough to prove that he is not a spy". Turning his head with a nod and a smile, he said to James, "I hope you'll forgive my children, they have suffered much at the hands of their enemies."

Turning back to the tribe and lifting his arms up into the air, his hi-vis police vest reflecting neon-green in the final vestiges of sunlight, Chieftain Sun's voice boomed across the crowd. "I do not claim our tribe is peaceful, but we are righteous people; that does not mean we do not crave vengeance!"

Shouts and cheers echoed through the clearing as the crowd raised their fists in the air in agreement. "In this regard, let us rejoice in our luck, as well as ponder our mistakes" continued the old man, the atmosphere dying down considerably, as the faces of those in the crowd, and especially the warriors, were dyed in shades of guilt.

"In our good fortune, we established this young man to be guilty before proven innocent - and it almost cost him his life. Luckily, this young man was truly innocent, and our ancestors have rewarded him! Everybody, let us welcome our newest brother to our tribe's Cloud Banishing Order, Warrior James!"

The crowd's previous atmosphere returned with a vengeance. Shouts of welcoming reached James' ears as mixed emotions filled his head. On the one hand, James was still bitter against the tribe for imprisoning him, but on the other hand, after hearing of their reasons for suspicion, James understood their motive. In a tribal society, mercy to the enemy is only cruelty to oneself.

Beckoning James to follow, the old man walked towards the western edge of the clearing. The two approached a small, mud hut; the weather-worn, wooden door was slightly rotten around the edges and creaked loudly as it was opened. Inside, there was a straw bed covered in a flax-spun cover with some simple, sky-blue cotton trousers and a short-sleeved shirt neatly folded on top, a clay pot of fresh water, and a simple wooden table and chair were present; a meal of coarse bread and raw vegetables was laid out on an oak tray on the table next to a thick animal fat candle, giving off a rich aroma.

James' stomach grumbled heavily. As his eyes set on the food like a starved beast, the old man spoke. "This will be your abode for the foreseeable future, I'll have someone bring you food tomorrow morning. The next batch of warriors isn't due to begin training for the next 7 months, so you'll be free until then, I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to do during this time" said the old man, smiling at James briefly before closing the door behind him and leaving.

After eating and drinking, the exhaustion James had been holding back rained down on every inch of his body. Taking off his boots and getting dressed into his new clothes, James lay down on the straw mattress in the corner of his room, quickly falling asleep.

After a long, dreamless sleep, James woke up to the sounds of birds chirping outside as he got out of bed. Half-asleep and still following the routines of his past life, James instinctively walked to the door, only to open his squinted eyes to the pink sunrise in the clear sky, his feet meeting grass instead of carpet, and the chilly morning breeze running down his exposed arms and through his shirt.

A brief flash of disappointment hit James as he realised, 'I don't have my toothbrush, I can't eat without brushing my teeth!', before a flash of inspiration hit him. 7 months of free time was easily enough for him to make a simple toothbrush and some toothpaste! James had learnt a simple recipe for a primitive toothpaste in chemistry lessons at school, but he had one major problem: he didn't remember it!

'I guess the library really is my only bet here…' thought James to himself. Perking himself up a bit after thinking of the painful failure he'd experienced attempting to access it previously, James went for a run around the village to clear his mind.

Jogging around the perimeter of the clearing, the layfolk just starting to wake up, James noticed that the faint glow he'd noticed around certain flowers and herbs to be significantly more defined. In fact, his eyesight in general had improved drastically, being able to make out tiny details in perfect precision from over 100 metres away.

As James focused on a small brown stalk barely poking out of the ground, he noticed a significantly larger aura of energy coming off of it than any of the other plants he'd seen up to this point. More significantly, it not only gave off the distinctive leafy-green colour that other special plants gave off, but also a subtle azure aura that calmed his mind as he looked at it, putting him into a trance-like state.

Staring at it for a moment, James forced himself to shake his head, his mind feeling significantly clearer, as he approached it. As he got closer, the stalk's light, calming aroma assailed his nostrils, clearing his mind further as he crouched down and snapped off one of the branches. Inspecting the branch in his hand, James smiled to himself and thought, 'This might just work!', as an interesting idea whizzed across his mind...