Chapter 353: Initiation into a Healer (8)

At the centre stood a massive tower, a dozen times the height of a grown man. It was tall, overlooking everything within and beyond the Meka Clan. The warrior pointed at it with a smile, "This is our destination. Our Clan shaman is waiting for you inside."

The tower had arms on it, positioned around half its height, like bridges that extended to the houses around it, casting a net. They were arched in such a way that their weight would be fully borne by the pillars that formed the houses. Moreover, it created a path for people to traverse, from the central tower to the terrace of the houses.

As the terraces of all the houses were connected, it created a cohesive ring that acted as a fortress of sorts, easy to defend but hard to conquer. And, the height of the houses wasn't impossible for the warriors to jump from, since the landing area outside was made from sand, cushioning their fall.

So, it allowed them the advantage of terrain and mobility, able to be deployed anywhere at the fastest pace. More than that was the design of the paths from the central tower to the houses, they were thick rocks, the numerous segments in them connected to their successive counterparts like pieces of puzzles.

Seeing them, the heart of the Shishya began to thump, the desire to learn the mechanics behind their structure enveloping her. She wished to know how they were balanced as such without any pillars to support their weight in the long path. She was curious as to how the heavy segments of the rocks in the bridges were connected and prevented from collapsing despite there being no traces of adhesive units added into them.

"Indeed, engineering is the most awesome." The Shishya marvelled.

"Engineering? What's that?" The Warrior was confused, hearing a foreign term.

"Engineering? What is it? Did I say that?" The Shishya stuttered, feeling confused. She felt a mild pain in her head as she tried to recall the reason, her mind turning vacant immediately. She then shook her head, "I guess I was just blabbering from being tired."

"Uh," The warrior let out a couple of awkward laughs before leading her towards the central tower. The central tower wasn't just tall, it was also wide. Moreover, it was cylindrically structured, with parts of its being vacant, only sporting support pillars.

They passed through the entrance, greeting the scene of a cave. Boulders were scattered around it, similar to the rock pillars in the rock pillar domain. The Shishya gazed up, able to see the ceiling of the tower.

Stairs were laid along the inner edges of the tower, forming a helical structure that traversed from the ground to the top. One half of the tower was vacant, the only thing running through it was the stairs. The other half was segmented into floors, their entrances open.

Just when they were planning to head to the stairs, followed by clacking sounds, a massive hooved beast jumped from an upper floor, landing on the ground. It looked at the warrior, gushing out a misty breath from its nose. It reached a height twice a grown man's, its bulky frame imbuing in it an imposing presence.

Its horns curved atop its head, the tips pointing horizontally forward, shielding the face from all sides while also allowing it a means of attack. The hooved beast looked at the Shishya, staring at her in alarm, refusing to budge from its spot. Its eyes darted to the warrior, questioning him through its gaze the reason for the arrival of a third party in the central tower.

The warrior made a respectful bow, "This person is the Shishya of the Divya Vaidya. The Chief asked me to bring him to our shaman."

The hooved beast looked at the Shishya in turn, the gust of air it released from its breath ruffling her clothes. It turned around and headed into the cave, no longer bothered about the Shishya's presence.

The warrior looked at the cave, watching the hooved beast's horn peak out the cave's entrance, letting out a wry smile as sweat covered his forehead. He then motioned for the Shishya to follow him as he scaled the steps.

The warrior spoke in a hushed tone, "That is the Helical-Horned Goat, our Clan's guardian beast. Once every 8 years, it would give birth to two babies, one male, and one female, dying soon after that. The babies would grow and mature after 6 years, mating soon after."

He controlled his voice while gazing at the cave below, ensuring his echoing voice wouldn't be audible to the hooved beast, "After mating, once the mother conceives, the father transfers his lifeforce into it and dies. Two years later, the mother gives birth to two babies and dies, repeating the cycle."

"After they die, we retrieve the essence in their heart to make our Clan's signature tattoo." The Warrior smiled, "They are the reason behind our Clan's name. Every 8 years, we produce two leaders."

"Are all guardian beasts like this?" The Shishya felt a mild headache, feeling that she was on the cusp of remembering something. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn't recall any information, hence posing the question.

"Yes," The warrior nodded, "But their cycle differs. Our guardian beast has one of the fastest cycles. Only the Pakshi Clan's guardian beast has a shorter cycle, only needing 6 years."

"Can't you capture some beasts from the deserts and rear them for the same? Wouldn't more guardian beasts significantly boost the strength of your Clan?" The Shishya inquired.

Having heard from the Chief that the Shishya was suffering from memory issues due to an attack from a beast, the warrior wasn't troubled, patiently explaining, "Beasts are aggressive and can be never tamed. As for the guardian beasts, they are territorial, guarding a territory since ages. While basing our Clans around them, we come into a mutual oath to respect and protect each other. We provide all the guardian beast's needs while they provide their essence after death. We also collectively protect our territory from harm."

"The guardian beast is a clan's primary foundation." The warrior continued to climb up the stairs. The helical staircase proceeded from the open half of the tower into the closed half, continuing past a corridor that led into a room.

There was a distinct feature about the tower. The open half was fully enclosed by the tower walls, while the solid half only retained pillars, lacking any walls. It made all the rooms open to the elements. The Shishya was unable to determine the reason for their arrangement, inquiring the warrior about it.

"I'm unsure myself," The warrior shook his head, "It was what our shaman had planned. Other than her, only the Chief knows the reason for this tower's unique design."

They soon arrived at the floor below the topmost floor as the Shishya gazed at the body parts of the Fire-Tailed Snail segregated into many containers. Many ladies worked about in the area, processing the useful parts, making weapons, medicines, etc.

"The corpse of a beast has many uses," The warrior explained as they proceeded towards the topmost floor, "The shell of the Fire-Tailed Snail can be made into the toughest of shields. Its eyeballs become gems that glitter in the night. Just one is enough to light up this entire tower. Its bones purify the water they are immersed in. We are planning to soon put them in our oasis. Once we do that, we won't have to fear about diseases for at least the next 20 years."

He arrived at the topmost floor, immediately putting on the most respectful posture, "Its blood is resistant to fires. So, we plan on diluting it before coating it on the inner Clan area. Finally, each of its internal organs has a variety of medicinal properties, with some of them even capable of permanently improving our constitution."

"Are there any famous warriors who became tremendously powerful like that?" The Shishya inquired, stepping foot on the topmost floor.

"Our Chief is the best example. Everyone in the Crimson Desert knows this," The warrior said with pride, "When he was young, our Chief had hunted a Conch-Bellied Turtle and consumed all its internal organs. They imbued diving strength and defence in him. Normal weapons can barely scratch his skin while his fists can easily make dents on the rock pillars."

The warrior boasted, "That, and the reason he could activate his tattoo 6 times made him one of the four strongest Chiefs in the Crimson Desert. Each of them is revered with a direction; our Chief is revered with the nickname, Southern Blade."

The warrior then stood before an entrance, lacking any door, gazing at large vats arranged around the edges. Many women walked to and fro, picking up items from each vat before placing them on a stone table.

Placed at the centre was a stone slab, raised to the height of their hip. Lying on it was a warrior, his back facing up. Standing next to him was a lady, her face adorned with ring-shaped tattoos, glistening with the same radiance as the ambient light, varying accordingly with time.

Her eyes were purple, suffused with a black hue that sucked a person's focus. Two large bangle-shaped earrings hung from her earlobes, almost reaching her shoulder while the ring pierced in her nose bordered her lips. The nose ring was aerodynamically shaped, moving up and down with respect to her breathing, gently touching her lips at the end of each breathing cycle.

Worn on her hands were bangles, made from the ribcage of a mysterious beast, dangling while it produced a sonorous sound every time she moved her hand. She was the Chief's wife, the Meka Clan's shaman.

The shaman looked at the warrior, gazing at the Shishya behind him, waving her hand once. The warrior bowed and left the area, quickly descending the stairs now that his job had been completed. The Shishya audibly gulped and took a step in, looking at everything around her, feeling they were strangely familiar but unfamiliar at the same time.

A ringing sound echoed in her ears while a strange presence condensed in her.

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