Dawn- An age of Darkness

The night came in swiftness. After dinner, I stared at the night sky one more time.

Finally, I won't have to stare at the sky from floating on a boat. I think I'll have my fill of meat and veggies tomorrow.

I didn't really like vegetables but I didn't care anymore. Anything was better than fish in my book.

Lately, it's been calm, too calm perhaps. And because of that, I couldn't let my guard down. I didn't know why but before everything got screwed I always got this calm period. These days I shiver whenever I get the feeling that something might end up happening just after this period.

I sighed and closed my eyes. There wasn't anybody near me which was good. I didn't completely trust these guys but having the old man around did put me at ease. Enough for me to sleep on a hammock in the middle of the ship.

"Boy, you up?"

"Yeah."

The old man came near my hammock and sat down. "We need to talk."

"Yeah."

"Got any better responses? You sound too senile!" he said. And just when I thought he was a good man with a good intention he had to rain on my parade.

"Shut it old man. I was almost about to fall asleep when-"

"Ha ha ha… you shouldn't sleep out. You'll catch a cold." His smile disappeared. "Anyway, about the elf-"

Cut me off halfway! Classic! I'll cut halfway too!

"You're not going to suggest something stupid, right?" I scowled.

"My family is supposed to be in Elicaane. It's about three days away from Jelosce. We can easily get there on foot but Alfeim is surrounded by a massive forest. It is said that it could take up to months before ordinary humans could reach the capital without help from the elves."

I grunted. "Good thing we're not ordinary…" I was being irrational again.

"Daarc!" He screamed my name but his eyes glared, "Don't blame the whole race for one individual's fuck ups." He was getting somewhere with this, and unfortunately for me, he was painstakingly right. And he just had to say it to my face.

The old man was right. I couldn't just judge all of the elves based on just one snotty brat. Besides, Lianne was different. I couldn't hold a grudge forever. Sooner or later I just had to face the truth and move on. If I couldn't then I wasn't any better than those backstabbers.

"Alright, alright. But are you sure? The way you're talking means you want to come too. Don't you have to spend time with your family?"

"Ha ha ha. The wife was dead a long time ago and my two kids don't like me, so I don't think they'll appreciate me being there." It didn't take him a second longer to change the subject. "By the way, the kid is really kind. He gave you that sword like it was nothing but it really is a good sword. I think we should sharpen it after taking port tomorrow." He grinned. "And did you forget that I need to shove this sword in whose ass?" He had his fingers on the mystic blade.

He didn't let any sadness slip. He was good. Or perhaps just too old, old enough to conceal everything with words.

"Don't change the subject!"

"Ha haha aha." The damn geezer really had a way with sarcastic laughter. But he wasn't fooling anybody.

"Why do you think they did it?" My question came out of nowhere.

But the old man knew what I was talking about. He closed his eyes. "Sometimes when you travel with people for a long while, you think of them as something like family. I guess it happens to all of us. But maybe the captain of that ship was a fool like any other. He shouldn't have done that." The old man wasn't provoking me. He wasn't belittling the captain either. He was just being overly opinionated.

"I don't-" I couldn't finish. I wanted to say, I didn't think so. I mean, that man literally died for his crew. Yeah, he was stupid but that's why I respected him. "I think I'll catch some sleep." Maybe sleep wasn't a good way to distract myself, but I really didn't want to think about the past anymore. I didn't want to face this pain anymore. And yet, and yet, I couldn't forget the pirates.

My eyelids were quite sticky. I couldn't keep them open anymore: more like I already closed them in the hopes of falling asleep so I could escape this situation. I couldn't recall what the old man said afterward but I fell asleep.

It got awfully chilly late at night but something kept me warm.

***

"I CAN SEE THE PORT CAPTAIN!"

"Captain on deck!"

I woke up to find myself in the midst of chaos. The crew was running around wildly. The port was at least a kilometer away yet the people didn't really seem that calm.

Are you guys really traders?

"What are you doing? Prepare for landing!"

Wait you're talking to me?

I was underneath a blanket but something else was underneath it as well. It was Biteria. No wonder I felt so warm all night.

Oh, my little bunny!

Before I could grab her, she jumped and I lost the track of her.

Damn it!

I didn't know what I had to prepare for. But I gathered my weapons and that was it. My armor was already lost. And most of my clothes were thrown away. Only a shirt covered my back and a torn pants on my bottom. As for my bags and items; they too were lost. So I didn't have anything: no money, no items, and no armor.

But I had hope. The hope of a bright new future. A future where I could eat anything other than those salty fish. And perhaps some not-so-torn clothes.

Almost everyone on the ship was running around. What was so important? Weren't we still ways off? I didn't have the guts to ask so I just watched them.

People were panicking and gathering their stuff. Crates piled up before I could wash my face. These guys were fast. I didn't know much about how trade on shipyards worked but from just far away I could see hundreds of ships at the port. And from the looks of it, I couldn't help but gaze in amazement.

I saw the port from the ship. And I understood what was going on. The whole port was filled with sailors and the area was beyond crowded. The sailors on board were rushing to get their crates and goods to the town. Because the surrounding ships were doing the same. Competition was everywhere.

The very image of a busy port.

The mere sound was enough to put a thousand crying babies to shame. Yelling played a dominant role in the crowd too.

When our ship finally landed, things became even busier. People shoved right past me and I wasn't part of the ship anymore. They didn't care about me, more like they didn't have the time to. They had better things to worry about.

"Boy, this way!" The old man grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and pulled, letting go a second later.

I followed the old man out of the port. I could walk but most of my body was still in shambles. Even walking around was painful. But walking around in a massive crowd was even more so. I almost got lost in the crowd too. Strangely the old man was considerate enough to keep me company in a way that I wouldn't get lost.

I preferred the salty breeze of the sea over the rancid smell of sweat around me. But I was glad to have left the sea.. At least I'll get to eat something other than seafood.

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