"Let the sky hear our cries,
Let the winds push us to our fate...
And let the lands be our end.
For land is the end, but the sky, beyond.."
With those words, the ashes of her once beloved, was released into the wind, to a journey beyond.
As she witnessed these events unfolding, a faint longing to join the ashes of her beloved stirred within her. Her long black hair swishing by the wind, Despite the clear sky, the void within her remained in the shade. She yearned to accompany on whatever journey awaited him, to not be left behind.
But alas, as the ceremony concluded and the skyships anchored the ground, life continued for her.
Well-Wishes and ceremonies continued, and everything happened like a blur. Like the day he died.
Each step, and every faces passed by as if a memory.
When the day ended, brushing the concern of her grandfather as her attendants assisted her to her bedchamber, the only thing she could acutely feel was the empty space next to her.
Her vision blurred, and for the umpteenth time, she thought to herself...'I thought I had run out of tears already..."
Time passed in a dazed.
----------------------------------------
"I present to you, your excellency.." Kneeling on one knee, his hair tied back in a ponytail, his beard neatly trimmed, and clad in a hard black and blue leather tunic, the man signaled for his servant. The servant stepped forward and presented two swords and one other item, the two swords, one long and the other short. Their sheaths appeared ordinary, but the craftsmanship of their hilts spoke otherwise.
The remaining item was oblong-shaped with large scales adorning its surface. It appeared layered, as if retracted and folded in three sections.
The high lord, the one being presented, raised his eyebrows at this, despite his gray hair and facial, his body exuded strength and prestige. to his right, a woman, long black hair, figure hidden by the mourning robes she wore, her beautiful face, unreadable and passive seeing all these, to the left of the lord, was a man younger, short black hair and stern face.
"Taken from a dead man, presumably from a shipwreck that came from the land beyond the violent sea."
The hall they were in erupted in faint murmuring, minor lords without a seat, chattered quietly, yet with their numbers, it filled the hall with noise.
The high lord, seating in the head chair, stood up, and unsheathed the long sword from the tray, and surprise flickered his eyes. And it wasn't just him, a gasp could be heard in the surrounding, even the impassive lady next to him, raised her eyebrows at it.
The sword's surface gleamed in the light, its quality evident at a glance. Measuring roughly 1.2 meters from the guard to the tip, it was heavier than most swords, yet felt surprisingly comfortable in his hands.
Swinging it lightly, he assessed, as once he was called great warrior and general, he could tell already, this wasn't an ordinary sword.
"This is no ordinary craft.." He said, to which the hall again erupted in discussion. The lord beside him cast a discerning eye over the sword and the other items on the tray. His expression morphed from faint alarm to a glare directed at the presenter, though only the one examining the sword noticed the shift.
After a practice swing, he sheathed the long sword and turned his attention to the shorter one. Unlike its counterpart, this blade exhibited lesser quality but boasted a more intricate design. He assessed it as more of a ceremonial sword than a weapon forged for battle. Sheathing it as well, he cast a curious eye upon the final item.
"That, Your Excellency, is a shield. It's been meticulously crafted and incorporates a unique mechanism."
The man presenting the items noticed his lord's gaze fixed upon the items, but he chose to ignore it, having anticipated this reaction. The high lord fiddled with the shield, he hesitated, he wanted to offer guidance on its use, yet feared causing offense. And he was right in doing so.
The high lord, after fiddling with the item, figured out how it worked. He strapped the shield on his arms, tightening it securely. Its weight caused him to raise an eyebrow, but he set it aside. Next to his thumb was a string of some sort. He pulled it tight, clenching his fist. Immediately, the shield unfolded to its full form.
A round, black shield with orange designs displayed itself in the hall, eliciting gasps of amazement. It was clearly not of poor quality, its design incorporating large, scale-like shapes with three layers and when unfolded, they become a round shield of about 60cm in diameter. The shield exuded an aura of strength, indomitable spirit, and fierceness.
When he let the string go, the shield retracted and folded back to its original form.
"These are no ordinary made items, where did you find it?"
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The presentor tried to conceal his nerves, he had taken this risk in order to garner favor, and cowering at the last minute because his liege lord looked like he was about to strangle him would make this whole thing pointless.
"A man, washed ashore, dead on arrival, and on his person, were these items. A peasant found it and delivered the items to my nephew"
The high lord was about to say something when a soft but sharp and passive tone, interrupted him. Were it any other person, they would have paid for the offense, however as he look at the speaker, his gaze softened.
"Were they carrying any books?" His granddaughter asked. Her desire to learn more of the lands beyond showing.
"Indeed, did this person, and this shipwreck, carry any literary items on them? It is a chance to learn of a neighbor block by a force of nature." He added, imploring the man before him to have said books, whatever that could take her granddaughters attention.
The presentor's passive expression, cracked and turned a little awkward but answered anyway..."I'm afraid I do not know, I have receive these just these morning along with a letter saying how how my nephew came upon it"
The lady didn't say anything else, and continued to watched all these in silence.
"Thank you for these gifts Lord June, House Jade will never forget this favor.."
Lord June beamed at that, but tried to make his smile reserved. Those words secured protection from the wrath of his great lord, as well as a potential future opportunity from a high lord to elevate his house's status.
"With such weapons, I wonder what kind of man wield these.." The last of the trio seated said, his tone hard and strong.
The High Lord considered these as well. While most of the people present didn't recognize its value, he, along with the Great Lord beside him, knew this wasn't an ordinary crafted weapon. It was almost worthy of being called a weapon fit for a king.
This could signify three things: the owner possessed significant martial prowess, a king with a penchant for display, or perhaps.....both.
In the end, he concluded he needed to look into the matter himself, he had a feeling Lord June was hiding something from him.
----------------------------------------
"Huah!"
With a gasp and a groan, he instinctively lurched into a defensive crouch, decades of experience overriding his muddled consciousness. But instead of the beast that had hunted him for days, he found himself in a large room, perhaps a house. The dining area was in view, with a pot simmering on the stove nearby. Beside him lay another mattress, smaller, along with what seemed like a drawer or a cabinet. The upper half of the walls were constructed with wood, the lower, stone.
His wariness lessened, and he sat back down on the bed and that's when he noticed something weird, he lifted his right arm and sighed. His arm had blackened and thinned now. The poison had spread from his wrist to his entire arm.
Moving it, he discovered loss of function, he couldn't feel it anymore and he could only move it barely. Any other person that sees this would have deemed his arm irredeemable. however, years of being injured, cut and torn made him have certain mastery with his body.
He closed his eyes, it took a beat before he felt it, a surge of vitality fighting and trying to heal his arm, it was slow sure but it was there. He also knew the poison wouldn't spread any further; his constitution wouldn't allow it to ravage his body further.
It will take weeks maybe even a few months before his arm completely heals though.
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel, ever since his constitution has reached a certain height, very few poison could hurt him, were the damage near his heart or any vital parts of his body, he would have died.
'A fearsome beast, cunning as well," he thought, his mind flashing back to the black creatures that had hunted him. He'd slain one, but this one was even more ferocious. Its eyes gleamed with a disturbing intelligence, as if it understood it couldn't overpower him in a direct fight. So, it resorted to guerilla tactics, chipping away at his will and strength over time. This predator possessed a diverse ability, capable of ranged attacks, brutal close combat, able to function at sea and even limited flight, not to mention its uncanny ability to manipulate birds. It wouldn't be a stretch to call it the apex predator, second only to dragons in terms of size, armor, and raw destructive power.
Frankly, it had been a long time since he was pushed on the brink of death.
His thoughts halted, as he heard faint footsteps, a figure entered the house.
A middle-aged man with black hair and a rough beard stood over 1.7 meters tall. He carried his catch of three fish, he was clad in rough clothing. When he saw him awake, the man stopped and said something.
"-------"
"Hello?" He greeted the man though he couldn't understand what he was saying, he tried to focus and remember his lesson from the grandson of a sailor who managed to survive the violent sea and reach Eberia before he journeyed in these lands.
"Your.....happened... Arm?"
He understood only a few words, or at least he thinks so. Lifting his blackened hand, he spoke in their language. "Arm? Yes?" Relief washed over him as the man nodded.
"It's... okay... arm... okay..." he managed with difficulty, the accent still alien to him. The man chuckled and placed his catch on the table. He spoke something too fast for him to understand completely, but he did catch the words "hungry," "food," and "land."
Soon, two more figures entered the house, a young man and a middle aged woman. They too was startled seeing him awake but said something of a greeting to him to which he smiled and waved.
He internally groaned, maybe it was their accent, or maybe he hadn't learn well enough of the language but he couldn't fully understand yet their words and he needed to spend time to learn the language more, not to mention, when his ships sank along with others, it took the wealth he needed to build a foundation on this land with it. Which means he needed to find a way to gain wealth. He managed to salvage a few gems to his pouch but...
Wait...
His stuff!
Alarm, greater even than when the black beast attacked him or when his ship sunk causing him to swim for days, filled him as he frantically searched for his belongings. This sudden action made the trio wary, but he ignored them, his focus solely on finding something. His eyes landed on his clothes, folded neatly beneath the bed, along with his pouch. He lunged for it and tore it open.
Relief exuded out of his entire body, when he saw the familiar gray color cube with a missing corner, the object about the size of his palm, still there. It didn't matter if gold and gems on the ship was gone, so long as this was still here then everything was fine.
He looked towards the trio who had turned wary. "Sorry.... my.. stuff....thought lost" He said in apology and this eased something in the man as he said something to his wife and child.
Seeing them get busy, the man approached him and said slowly..."Food ready soon..."
"Thank you.." He replied in gratitude. Then said something, "Where weapons.. where?" He asked the man, noticing he couldn't see his swords nor his shield.
The man put on a complicated expression as they exchange look with his wife. The man, told what happened, and despite only understating a some of his words, he understood the point,
This time, he couldn't hide his sigh...'What a great start...'