"Similar to the tenth tiers?" Lucius asked in confusion, as Geyron loaded the fallen beasts into the cart.
It strained under the heavy weight due to its lack of density, however, the bend wasn't incredibly terrible. At worst, it would probably collapse after several minutes and Lucius could patch it up again.
"Apparently the tenth tiers have morphed the section of the forest they live in, much like you are doing right now. However those are just the whispers we've heard around, we haven't actually seen this for ourselves," Triden replied, as her husband began silently pushing the cart toward their homestead.
This wasn't completely surprising, seeing as they were the closest descendants of the fae. Though this did raise the question of how far they had gotten in terms of civilization. If they had continued building where the fae had left off, then there was a chance they had technology far beyond what present-day humans could imagine.
However, Lucius had his obvious doubts. After all, any civilization advanced enough would've had control of their entire planet, much less a forest.
~That's assuming that this forest doesn't span the entire planet,~ he thought to himself.
"Speaking of which, where do the tenth tiers live?" he asked as the group began moving, with Triden pushing the other cart.
"They live past the Behemoth mountains, next to the never-ending lake," Triden replied.
~Never ending lake probably means ocean,~ Lucius thought to himself. Which answered the question of where all the rivers led to.
As they continued on their journey, Lucius took this chance to ask as many questions as he could. Even though he risked looking ignorant, it was better to have information than put up an act.
"The mana stones... what are they used for? Is it what's commonly used for trade here?" he asked.
"Hmm... only the tenth tiers know what they are used for. And yes, many of the higher-tier beings of the forest use it for trade. After all, it's the only thing the tenth tiers accept in exchange for their odd devices," Triden replied after some thought.
"Wait, I thought you guys had been at war not long ago. How come you're able to trade?" Lucius asked in clear confusion.
"That war was many years ago, even my mother's mother was not alive when it happened," Triden replied.
"And how long does your kind live for?" Lucius asked immediately after. Perhaps his rapid-fire questions weren't the best show of etiquette, but then again, most of the information he had gotten thus far was of myths, legends, and fallen civilizations.
"My mother's mother died last Zerwinst, and she lived 500 Zerwinsts. So the war was many years before that," Triden replied after some thought, prompting Lucius to sigh in response.
"Zerwinst?"
"When the flowers bloom," she replied.
~So spring? I see, so the war was more than 500 years ago. And the Fae were alive 1000 years ago, I'm starting to see the timeline,~ Lucius thought to himself.
Though he still couldn't get over how long creatures in this world lived.
"How long do you guys usually live?" he asked, now talking to one of the warriors walking behind them.
The warrior's seemed to have confused expressions on their faces, and Lucius could tell that it wasn't because of the question he had just asked them.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked. He was certain he hadn't sensed a threat nearby.
"I think they are confused about how you are able to talk to these creatures," Zhayen said after a moment of silence had passed. The warriors quickly gestured for Zhayen to keep quiet, however, his expression showed that he couldn't care less.
"They can't understand us either, you know," he said, before turning to Lucius.
~Was this kid always like this?~ Lucius thought to himself.
"So how are you able to talk to them?" Zhayen asked.
However, he had to admit that he'd completely forgotten about the fact, perhaps because the Encyclopedia made transitioning between languages so seamless.
"As Havon I'm able to commune with all creatures," Lucius replied, after some thought. He was really getting the hang of this mystical savior bs.
"How does the language sound to you?" he asked after. Curious about the possibility of teaching it to others.
"It sounds like yours snorting random sounds," Zhayen replied after a moment of thought.
That was what Lucius had been afraid of. If the languages sounded too alien to non-native speakers, then it would be very hard to teach even developing children, much less fully grown adults who had already gotten used to using their primary language.
"I see. But my question remains unanswered. How long does your kind usually live for?" he asked again.
The warriors thought about it for a moment before one of them replied; "My mother lived to 25 winters."
"She lived well," the others murmured, indicating to Lucius that even 30 years was rare amongst their kind. It made sense biologically, of course, however, it didn't align with the amount of time Pagan had stayed alive for. But then again, Pagan was an oddity in so many ways, and even now Lucius doubted that his ancient fanatic had told him the entire truth about his history.
~25 years, so they must grow from child to adult rather quickly,~ he thought to himself. Before turning back to Triden.
"You said that you trade for odd devices with the tenth tiers, what sort of devices are they?" he asked next.
"I haven't seen one. Our kind wouldn't dare to trade directly with the tenth tiers. Rather we trade with the ninth-tier Behemoth Races, and they in turn trade with the tenth tiers. Though even the High Behemoths keep those devices behind their city walls, many creatures in this forest are hesitant to show off their prized possessions," Triden replied, saying the last few words with a bit of spite.
Of course, that would give some explanation as to why a race as powerful as the golems still lived like early civilization humans. That and perhaps the fact that they just hadn't found the need to evolve past this stage.
The rest of the journey was mainly filled with silence as Lucius digested the information he had collected thus far, and tried to find ways to take advantage of it. For instance, if he wanted to develop his commune the most efficiently, he would have to find a way to start trading with the High Behemoth races directly.
Though this would also mean he had to increase the rate at which he was evolving if he wanted to do so without fear. Something that was going to take a very long time if he kept using photosynthesis as his primary method of evolution.
