'Ah my head'
Solstice began to rise slowly from the ground as he was still dealing with the impact from the blow earlier.
He felt like he was going to let out his entire stomach at this point.
'I think I might've had a concussion'
Speaking of vomit, Solstice looked down on himself and saw some from before splattered all over his bare chest.
"Son of a…."
Solstice wiped it off his bare chest the best he could, the smell of it still putrid, along with the lingering scent of the charred bodies, he was very much not happy and felt sick. Solstice then rubbed his hand in the dirt trying to get rid of whatever was left on his hand and proceeded to do the same to his chest. This was done to mask the smell of it, he would much rather be dirty than have to walk around with the stench of vomit clung to him.
Solstice's mind was still groggy, nevertheless he slapped himself enough to make him fully focused on the present.
He walked over to where there was a trail of footsteps leading into the dense forest and began to follow them. Now, Solstice was alone and without any prospect of guidance from fellow humans. What did that mean?
It was simple really.
'I'm so screwed!"
Solstice couldn't properly think of a plan yet, so he simply decided to trail behind the convoy and hope that at least being around such a force would provide him some protection, at least until he figured out how to find his abilities and use them. However, his priority at the moment was to try to secure the safest position he could possibly get. If the convoy didn't want him and were hostile to Solstice from this point forward, then he would stick to the rear unseen and let the convoy deal with any threats.
But what kind of threats beside the Red Sun were there? It's not like he's seen any terrible monsters yet, or how terrible they could be. Surely, the knights certainly are better apt to handle monsters rather than that dastardly Red Sun and its gaze.
This approach also coincided with the goal of the Chain Trial. Solstice was absolutely certain based on the fact that he was placed to help the convoy, that the goal was to make sure that the noble arrived at her destination safely. That noble being, Lady Eryn, Solstice thought he heard that name while he was unconscious. That destination being, the Bright Castle, another name that he faintly remembered hearing, of course, everything he heard while unconscious had been foggy so he was simply guessing these were the correct names. Luckily, he boasted a surprisingly good memory.
After taking a minute, deep in thought, Solstice recollected himself.
Solstice took a hold of the rapier that was being kept in its scabbard and studied the slender weapon, afterall, it's the only self-form of protection he has at the moment.
'Pretty'
There were some beautiful engravings on the hilt and hand guard. The engravings were purely silver lined with a light blue hue, and resembled a bunch of entangled ribbons as the design. Upon further inspection they didn't necessarily look that chaotic, like each entanglement had a clear route to un-tanglement and grace.
The blade was sleek and extremely long compared to any other standard rapier. Whoever created this beauty clearly made it in proportion to the size of Solstice's current body, making the rapier a very lengthy weapon compared to what its normal standards are.
That did not make it any less deadly though.
A thin blade, but a truly deadly point. Not meant to guard against other weapons in clashes of steel. No, but what really made it so potent was its fluidity, its ability to ever so slightly redirect and find its way into the body of whoever was opposing the one who wield it. The small but extremely sharp point allows it to easily slip underneath plate armor or between the links of chainmail. The added length due to it being tailored to Solstice's tall body really only increased its deadly reach.
Yes, the rapier was a fine choice of weaponry. An ever flowing grace, with the sudden ability to launch forward in rapid fatal strikes. It was the perfect fit for someone who has a keen eye to spot openings when there seemingly weren't any. Someone who has elegant footwork that never took one step without purpose, using such flow to control battle with careful but precise distance control and positioning. Give this weapon to someone like a dancer, and they would learn it with a genius quickness and truly become a dreadful master of such a weapon, given time.
While he was not an uncoordinated individual, Solstice was certainly not a dancer.
This is also not to mention the fact that he left the academy before they would begin to teach him practical lessons on any form of weaponry or battle following his outcast at an early age. Solstice also happened to be a practical learner. He was definitely not an idiot, actually he was very smart considering what little formal education he's had, but it was simple for Solstice to easily grasp things this way, rather than study books or ancient manuscripts.
To not be neglected either was the simple fact that Solstice was not in his own body. While he was adapting to his new unfamiliar gargantuan stature, it was still very much alien to him. The added height was messing with his sense of distance, hand-eye coordination, his sense of balance was also off due to only possessing one arm. This could always be overcome with time to adapt of course.
Solstice began to strike and prod the air, getting a general feel for the handle, the fluidity of the slender blade and the pointed tip, the grip, the hand guard, the weight of and balance of each component of the weapon as a whole. Everything was light as a feather in comparison to a standard longsword or even a shortsword.
If Solstice wanted to become competent with the rapier, it was best to get some practical training in. While he was not ready for a battle, as long as he kept practicing basic footwork and shadow fencing, it would greatly help his ability to handle himself if something came up. He would at least be able to apply what little skill he acquired through this bare bones self-taught method.
It's not like he had a proper instructor, just whatever that was currently available to him.
But in a sense he did have one, a great one in fact, one that would temper him like a masterful blacksmith would to brand new steel, when forging a deadly weapon.
That instructor was of course, the natural pressures of having to survive the ordeals thrusted at him by the Wyrd.
The Red Sun was only just above the horizon in the east, if time followed similar rules to the real world, that meant the day was still young.
"Time to get straight to business….not that I'm going to enjoy any of it"
Following the deep imprints on the ground left behind from the knight's soles of their sabatons , Solstice made sure to keep a light jog pace. He did not know how far the knights travelled deep within the forest, so he made sure to apply a sense of urgency. Funny enough, Solstice felt as if he instead would be able to sprint without getting tired for a while, this body did come with its upsides. He felt that this body's stamina and endurance had beyond phenomenal capabilities, almost limitless, despite its obvious malnourishment and scars.
As Solstice continued to walk, he started to notice some patterns left behind by the knights that he had not noticed before.
There was an assortment of different types of trees. The most common type of tree were the skinny yet tall, with bright yellow colored leaves, and bark very similar to oak in the real world, these were the main body of the forest. The 2nd commonsest tree were the short pine like trees that had the standard green colored leaves, reminiscent of a young Norfolk tree if you were to compare it to a real world counterpart.
The 3rd and final type of tree was the most eye-catching, especially since they were so few and far between the other two. They were taller than the Norfolk looking trees, but still far shorter than the tall yellow-leaf trees that practically assumed the entire forest due to sheer quantity difference. Red leaves expanded in its countless small branches that sprouted from the sides of a plateau at the peak of the tree's trunk, which was very strange. The tree was enormously thick and wide as well. If 10 people were to climb it, they would all be able to settle on top of its strangely formed living platform, and provide enough shade from the Red Sun with the abundance of leaves encapsulating it. A perfect place to be elevated off the ground avoiding any threats down below, while also hiding from the Red Sun's sight.
The pattern that Solstice picked up on however, all the red leafed trees had circular marks deeply engraved into its bark about the size of a large dinner plate. There was at least one of these deep engravings randomly placed on each Red leafed tree. The bark also had a natural circular pattern in itself which was unique, making it hard to discern the engraving separately from the natural design, at least until you were close enough to see the difference. Solstice assumed that knights left behind these marks on these trees, but for what reason? The only reason he could think of would be to back track if they ever needed to. Although that might've been the case for the engravings, they could've always left those engravings on the other trees as well.
So what made the red leafed trees different? At the end of the day this was still assuming that the convoy were the ones leaving behind these markings.
A few more hours of continuous travel passed. During that time Solstice found a waterskin left behind by a knight and decided to pocket it, there wasn't much water left within but there was enough for a few sips. There were some shrubs with bulbous berries, which Solstice foraged along the way. He did not know if they were safe to consume, but he did not care as he was currently starving.
'If they're dangerous I'll just deal with the side effects later'
Despite the potential poison hidden in them, he gratefully ate a few handfuls and luckily, they were really delicious to boot, slightly acidic yet addictingly sweet. Solstice did not know much about alcohol, but he thought that if you turned this into a berry wine, it would easily be a top seller if it kept the majority of its addicting sweet flavor. Pair this with some fine bitter dark chocolates to contrast the sweetness, you would have a great romantical gift to give your lover.
'Why the hell am I thinking such useless thoughts right now, I'm literally in a forest of impending death!'
"I'm definitely keeping some of you for later"
Luckily, there was an abundance of these berry shrubs, so he grabbed a couple more handfuls that he stored in a makeshift sack using a part of his cloak he tore off.
Reinvigorated after eating such delicious treats, Solstice began to feel a little giddy. Finding some edible sustenance, finding more things left behind by the convoy insinuating that he was only getting closer to them, he felt proud for the progress he made today.
Walking for a little while longer, it started to get darker, dusk was coming.
Solstice found himself approaching a red leafed tree, it was the 4th he's seen so far. As he got closer, with the intention to climb up to its natural encapsulated platform at the top of its trunk, he felt a strong gut feeling. He didn't know why he felt wrong as he continued to get closer, afterall it would only provide him with a safe enclosed and elevated shelter for the night. Unfortunately he found the reason why his gut feeling was screaming at him.
Just a few feet away from the red leafed tree, Solstice stared as the dinner plate shaped engraving began to free itself from the rest of the tree. The contours of its body, which were previously perfectly hidden, were now also visible as it began to free the rest of its body as well. It fell onto its knees briefly after exiting the tree, then stood up on its feet with an astonishingly uncanny straight posture.
It stood completely still for a minute, and so did Solstice due to him being deathly afraid of what was standing in front of him. Its dinner plate shaped head was currently tilted downward, like an unpowered automaton.
Then it moved.
And so did Solstice.