Chapter 20:

Chapter Twenty - Olive, Part 1

Ocean Slugs: The Tower of Stars


My name is Olive and I was born on the second floor. My parents spent their entire childhoods on the first floor before running away together as soon as they became of age. It was an easy climb, they said. But it is not an adventure they would want to take again. They settled in a secondary village inhabited by those who had the same idea. Those that had the primary impulse of rushing towards the top, but once that itch had been scratched, they would be fine living life without the adventure. The village grew welcoming more villagers, ultimately becoming a mirror of its first floor counterpart. As people climb floors, only those that have a fighting spirit keep climbing, like me.

The second floor village of Canata had a couple villagers from my parent’s same village, so their religious customs and rituals would travel with them, like the clothes on their back. Everything about my parent’s lifestyle did not change, despite running from that connection in the first place. It was hypocritical and dull, and I could not live like that.

But my parent’s religious customs were not empty prayers. There was a ritual, Door of the Future, that would serve as a stepping stone towards your own destiny. See, it’s boring to know how your life is going to be if you outright know. A seer telling you all of your important life events is as boring as watching grass grow. And this ritual would tell you a hint of what you needed to find and continue your own story. The head shaman organized and arranged the specifics for this ritual. He was an old man who liked wearing a different dinosaur skull a day.

When I became of age, I was allowed to participate in said ritual. So that night, the ceremony began in my honor. There was a lot of singing, dancing, crafting, and praying. Stuff that I needed to drill into my head growing up. Stuff that would help me leave Canata. As the false night enveloped the second floor entirely, in the center of the village, the ceremonial bonfire was lit. I alone approached the spirit-filled vessel and reached forward as if I was opening a door. I stared at the burning green bonfire.

I saw a fox. A fox with a strange body. Surely a deity or a messenger of the gods. Its body floated and shifted with the wind. On closer inspection, the silhouette of its face became more transparent. I could deduce that it was clearly a hundred shapes put together like a puzzle. And its puzzle pieces were leaves. Leaves of all shapes and sizes. My destiny was clear. And a bit underwhelming. My life would always be related to leaves.

The head shaman recorded my vision, like a report. There exist two constant dimensions a tap away in each floor. They can be found in the form of warbling spherical light, almost mesmerizing. If you were to touch one of these balls of energy, you would gain access to a room that would be unique only to you. They came in two colors, gold and purple. The golden light would give you access to the Bank and the purple light to the Library.

The Bank allows you to store and remove items belonging only to you. The Bank can be accessed from any floor as long as you find the warbled ball of light. If you were to deposit a sword on the second floor and climb, you can still withdraw it on the third floor. There are rumors of an American that can travel through the Bank like if he had access through a series of tunnels. Also he has access to other people’s accounts and takes their valuables. Who knows how many floors he has climbed with that ability.

The Library is a shared room where information can be shared and distributed amongst all floors. Stacks of books, pages, scrolls, and all forms of written communication and records exist there from the holistic nature of those that contribute to it. Information from all floors is available and a search function is available for quick findings instead of mindlessly sifting through millions of pages. Unless your skill is high or prominent, information from higher floors will appear illegible.

The head shaman took my report into the Library and returned three hours later.

“Olive. As of this day, you are a wanderer. Until you find the Guardian of the Forest, you will be lost among the sea of trees. Climb if you choose to find your destiny.”

Papaya! Oh wow, this also sounds fancy. I’ve been training for years with sticks and old swords and now I can go further up!

“I can sense the enthusiasm and fighting spirit. It does not dwell deep into your soul, as if you wear it like your everyday clothes, unfashionable as they are.” the shaman said, muttering something mean at the end.

“What the heck?” My eyes twitch, raring for a fight.

“So you may have Toben. An ancient sword entrusted to me by your village. To pass on to a warrior that would cut through the cold armor of destiny. And rebels against the very nature of authority.”

“Huh?”

This guy is losing his marbles. Better just accept the sword quickly and get out of here.

“I am a wanderer too, as I lost my map to the Bank.

It took five months to find another Bank. It’s a good thing there are multiple warbled orbs of light per floor. Losing the first bank set back my destiny by a long time. No one in my village had any use for the Bank or the Library as they were done traveling. Only the head shaman who had stored artifacts and ancient relics entrusted to him had any use for the Bank. He definitely had a lot of wisdom which allowed him to find information about the Guardian of the Forest within the Library. Apparently it is a beast with the ability to see into the future, so hopefully it gives me another vague hint as I hate specifics.

I was given Toben and my graduation was finalized. My parents cried but did not stop me from leaving as I chose to chase those who went before me into the jaws of adventure.

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