Dawn- An age of Darkness

I opened my eyes. There was a wooden ceiling above: my vision was a little blurry. A soft wheat-like scent drifted in the air. I tried to move around and surprisingly my body didn't hurt. Most of my wounds were sealed and even my bones felt better. I was wearing my torn pants but I didn't have any shirt. My upper body was covered in bandages. How long was I out? I looked around and wondered why I was still alive. Was I saved by that voice?

The room was rather neat and clean. Although not spacious, having things tidied gave the room a good impression at least to me. There wasn't much in there though. A bed, a table and a shelf for clothes.

I still couldn't imagine the things went about. So all of that wasn't a dream? I for once really wanted everything to be just a dream and move on from it. Monsters, goblins, undead, these things weren't really something I wanted to think about. Where am I?

"Oh! You are awake!" said a feminine voice. And soon a mature but young-looking lady entered the room. I'd say she was a few years older than me.

My thoughts broke down as I stared at the girl. Honestly, I was glad she interrupted me now, or I might have broken down in despair. "Are you the one who saved me?" I asked as I stared at the lady.

She had gentle eyes and a smile. Her clothes gave a vintage vibe. She wasn't that pretty but beauty wasn't everything in this world. I learned that the hard way. "Yes. I am the one who healed you, but…"

"He's already awake!?" A young man's voice reached me from outside the room. Afterwards he came inside. He was tall and muscular. But probably the same age as me or maybe younger. With broad shoulders and a robust figure he struck me as the hard working type. Unlike me.

"I believe he just woke up," the lady said.

Both of them had black hair and tanned bodies. Their eyes however, were emerald green. Maybe a special trait for the people of this world?

The man touched his chin. "I see." He didn't seem that concerned though.

The young lady introduced the man. "This is the man who rescued you. He is my little brother."

My chest felt warm. I'd been saved. "Thank you." I was really glad. The world out there was cruel and this act of kindness was surreal. But I was glad, I was glad that I got to live another day. I better thank them.

There were a lot of things I wanted to ask. But I couldn't ignore the fact that I'd been saved. The first thing I needed to do was thank them.

The man however didn't let me formulate a response and started to barrage me with questions. The guy really knew how to rile himself up. "How were you still alive? You had broken bones! And you also had the devil's poison!"

How'd they know I had broken bones? The house and their clothes clearly stated that this was a village, and possibly on the lower scale of economy. Probably the same one Misrael talked about too. If magic was real than my rapid recovery wasn't farfetched. I guess I owe these people more than I thought. But that poison they talked about piqued my interest. "I don't know myself, to be honest. What's the devil's poison?" With a little awkward laughter I tried to calm him down.

"In rare cases, undead goblins have venom. We call that venom, the devil's poison," the lady explained.

Misrael had said the same thing about the poison. So not every goblin had venom… That's actually a fitting name though; considering how hellish that day was. I was lucky to have survived, that much I could understand. No problem. But the actual problem remained. And that was this world. Just what was this place about?

As I didn't talk much, the lady cleared her throat and began introduced herself. "Oh! That's right we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I am Milai. This is my younger brother Dune. And that little girl that's been peeking from outside the door is Sheila." As the lady introduced herself, I understood that another set of eyes were spying on me. She stood by the door silently poking her head in. She couldn't be any more than twelve. But unlike her siblings the little one had white hair. She almost seemed like an angel, or she might have looked like one, if she didn't glare at me with those fierce eyes.

With a tried smile I followed suit. "I am Daarc Green. Nice to, meet you. And you have my most sincere gratitude." A little bit of my nerdy self-came out as I spoke. I watched way too many medieval movies, and sometimes my speech suffered for it.

"This guy is funny sis." Dune laughed.

I didn't get if they found my name funny or maybe my gratitude. It kind of made me feel annoyed- though their behavior was pretty much justified. What's so funny about that?

Maybe Dune got the hint. He continued. "Don't worry this is only natural. It's only common courtesy to save someone in danger. For the time being please rest. Dinner will be ready soon." His uncanny and casual tone was reassuring. I was glad he didn't hold anything back with me. Guys like him were always easy to trust.

So it's almost night time. He also was kind enough to give me the hint that it was almost evening now. I did feel relieved but I also kind of remembered how nights were in this world. And so, I tried my best to distract myself. "But still I must thank you." I wasn't going to not show my gratitude. They deserved that much.

Dune laughed. "Ha haha." I couldn't get if he was just being sarcastic or he laughed like that. Honestly, I didn't even want to know.

"Please rest well." Milai politely stated and left. Dune followed suite with a laugh.

The young one didn't even come close to me. I still wondered if people were really this nice in such a cruel world. Why would they save me for no reason at all? Humanity? It didn't make sense. Perhaps humans were on the verge of extinction or something, and every single one was precious? What the hell am I even thinking?

I closed my eyes, wondered and soon fell asleep again.

***

After some time, a small voice called me. My sleep ended in failure as I almost had a girlfriend in dreamland.

"Hey, you…hey!"

"It's Daarc…" My name wasn't 'hey, or you'. I knew my name wasn't that conventional and please blame it on my parents. But still, couldn't she really call me by my name? Oh wait, I hadn't actually been introduced to her, now had I?

The little girl that spied on me before came in the room with a ladle. She pointed it toward me and gasped. "I don't care if it's too dark for you. Get, your ass moving!"

"Shouldn't you let injured people sleep?" I asked, still groggy.

Honestly, this little kid was a little weird. A tomboy, maybe?

"I'm already treating you better than I'd treat any other freeloader," she mumbled.

Hard to imagine this is the same girl who was so afraid before. Wait, was she really afraid? I felt a sinking feeling that the girl might have only wary at the time, not afraid. Besides, wasn't she glaring at me the entire time?

***

I got out of bed and it turned out I was in fact on the 2nd floor of a large wooden house. The wood creaked as I walked. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. But that didn't stop my body from telling that, it didn't want to move even an inch. Every single bone of my body creaked as I moved along with the wood.

"It wouldn't break down would it?" I wasn't sure whether I was referring to the wood or my own body. Both were making creaks the same.

"Just keep walking." The girl sighed and looked at me with pity.

What the hell….is she really a kid? I held my head. My whole body was heavy. And this kid was, being a bully. But I guess I couldn't really complain. After all, as she said, I was a freeloader.

I tightened my resolve and walked on. I was almost fully healed yet felt rather uneasy as a walked. My chest felt tight. But it didn't hurt.

"How is this even possible?" I wondered as I came down. The stairway didn't squeak as much. The wood on the walls seemed somewhat old and the house lacked decorations, yet it was rather tidy and clean. In reality, there wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere. The air gradually became sweeter. I could almost taste it.

As for my body, well it had seen better days. It didn't hurt; it didn't feel heavy for long. But honestly, I really didn't like the cracking sounds my joints gave, every single time I moved a muscle.

***

There were a grand total of seven people at the dinner table including me and the little brat. Upon getting closer to the wooden table I felt intimidated by the pressure set on me by the old man who was glaring at me. It was crystal clear that he didn't like me. The sweet aroma in the air put the mind at somewhat of ease though.

"How are you feeling now?" Dune asked.

"Not bad. They are?" I said.

"This is my aunt and these two are my grandparents." Dune talked with a smile.

His parents weren't here and I could take a good guess.. I couldn't bring myself to ask about it though.

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