Home Is Where The Hearth Is

1 - Rekindled

⪡⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⪭∰⪬⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⪢

Birds still chirped with glee even after the sun rose from the east horizon 6 hours ago.

There were absolutely no clouds in the sky at all, so there was nothing that blotted the brilliance of the sun as it shined its light on the surface of the mortal realm.

The wind picked up into a fresh breeze, rustling the leaves of every plant life and making large branches sway. It was enough to alter the shape of the shade a rather large tree gave off, directly shining sunlight over a young man's face.

"Nnnhrrggh...?" He let out an incomprehensible mumble as he slightly opened his eyes, only to immediately shut them again when he realized what the problem was.

Truthfully, he woke up a little while ago and attempted to fall back asleep.

And just when he felt himself drifting off into the land of dreams, everything suddenly became bright, even with his eyes still closed.

".... It's already noon."

Knowing that there was no point in resting, he got up from his position under a bur oak on top of a cliffside, tying his long wavy hair into a ponytail while he was at it.

Letting out a quiet yawn, he walked over towards the edge of the cliff that easily overlooked the wonders that nature has to offer-

"Wow, this is so beautiful!"

His heart ached at the memory.

Shaking his head to clear out his thoughts, he shifted his attention to the landscape below him.

And what he saw made him remember that there was more to life than just hardships and tragedies.

Indeed, the world truly is a wonderful place.

The vast countryside was littered with shrubs and blooming flowers.

Healthy grass covered the earth, which highlighted the lush green of the plains, valleys, and hills.

Herbivory animals flocked to a nearby river, frolicking about or simply minding their own business.

A group of nasty kobolds were harassing a hapless soul and their little carriage by the wayside-

He jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

It was only then that he realized that his Falna-the grace gifted by deities to the mortals, enabling them to drive back the dungeon's horrors-was currently unavailable.

An event transpired several months ago, and he as the 'main perpetrator' was given the final verdict of eviction and having his blessings sealed off.

The sealing of a falna refers to having an individual's falna suspended. This can happen when the deity responsible for granting them said blessing gets sent back to heaven or when a deity cuts their ties with the person bearing their grace by 'severing their connections', making the falna powerless, inoperative, and unable to gain excelia.

Well, compared to his initial punishments which were seppuku or a falna strip, this was mild, to put it lightly.

But still....

The cliff was 14 meders high.

And his body acted before his brain could process the situation... Again.

"I'm an idiot." He muttered blandly as he fell into oblivion.

He could only pray to the Gods that remained in Tenkai that the fall wouldn't hurt too badly.