Nate got up in a state of half delirium, he was almost miraculously healthy in body, but his mind couldn’t quite think straight. It seemed his roommate wasn’t home. He took his key, some coins, and a coat and started wandering. First down the steps of his building then into the city. He passed by refugees. There were so many more than normal. I wanted to know, I had to know, were they like Nate? Giving little suggestions, I whisper to Nate to ask a child where they were from. The adolescent boy looks with hollow eyes at Nate and replies it is from the Odez Republic. Nate mumbles thanks to him and gives him some change. The eyes of the boy brighten just a little. He continues his wandering throughout the city.

His feet took him to the red light district of Relnakel. Prostitutes seeking customers called out to him, he pitied them, while I simply found them disgusting. I influenced Nate to ask one of the girls what made them stay in such a disgusting profession, I had to know. Walking towards a young prostitute that called out to him, he noticed her skin free of unhygienic marks, something getting more and more common he noticed. Along with the smile that anticipated a customer.

He dreamily directly asked her why she took up the profession. This caused her plastered on smile to sour followed by her telling Nate to go away. Nate wanted his answer, in exasperation she said she is a refugee and to get out as he had ruined her night. I wanted to ask more, but a pimp, hearing the commotion, walked in to defend his asset. We allowed ourselves to be escorted out all while asking the pimp why he ran a brothel. The pimp simply grabbed onto Nate’s left arm and started to grip tighter and tighter. This man had learned the basics of martial arts feeling Nate had too, was no longer as careful with his strength.

Nursing a bruised wrist we left and walked through the night just as drops had started to fall. He knew it was going to rain as collectives of mages specializing in hydrokinetics made forecasts for the next couple days, and there was suspicion that if they were going to be wrong then they just made their forecasts correct. People had retreated indoors due to the rain, we floated through empty streets, there was a sheen on the cobbled stones Wandering through the pitter patter of the city we had time to think.

‘What was there to do now?’ He could stay here and rot in Relnakel, he would hate himself for staying, stagnating, he could leave. The rain was beautiful after all, why not become an unliving person, drink himself to near death every night, visit prosti- he would kill himself if he had to live like that, even though it would be comfortable. He laughed. If he had to live like that he would go out making the world a better place. Perhaps he should kill Lily Ortellen or maybe the pimp.

Nate had woken up from his daze and he was enraged. He let himself get pushed around by vermin. This could not stand.

He found his way to a weapon shop. This late in the night the forgemaster and his apprentice were cleaning up. Nate inquired whether they had anything that could kill a very strong rat. The apprentice boy looked uncomfortable, he knew what type of “very strong rat” he was looking to kill. I assumed the forgemaster knew too, but he still slid him a revolving gun of otherworlder design, along with armor piercing rounds. The forgemaster told Nate that this gun could pierce through a couple centimeters of armor plate. This got Nate’s attention. He didn’t have the needed money on him but he simply wrote a check for the forgemaster, he then pricked his thumb for the blood to secure the validation.

Next up was to get some better body arts. We both knew that in the future there would be stronger rats. Strong rats that could order his death, a death no pistol could stop, one he could not fight as a simple human.

Next he made his way to one of the schools that taught various martial and body arts, winding down the streets of outer Relnakel he found his school, one he took some classes at. It was a dungeon diver’s school.

Nate walked in soaked as a class went on he waited, he made pleasantries with the mildly confused receptionist. He falls in with one of the shooting classes currently running, he practices and gets a feel for the revolver he just bought, he used the ammunition they provided. As class ends he told the teachers he was familiar with that he was leaving.

They ask if it is about Lily Ortellen, he replies no, “That bitch is going to hell, one she’ll make herself!” He laughs, no one else laughs with him. He continues, with “I’m leaving because-” He is reminded of what happened with his village, his mood drops like a rock. “Because something needs to be done.” One of the instructors asks what about. Nate replies “On my way here I saw many refugees, coming from the Odez republic, and… I want to help them, no one helped my family.”

One of the instructors asks with lurking dread “What happened?”

Nate grew colder and uttered a single word. “Wolenoughts”

“I am so sorry.” They knew what death by Wolenought meant, the papers had gone wild about casualty numbers and sensational stories.

“Luckily they are free, they took their own way out.”

“Still… are you alright?”

“I’ll work through it, I’ll work through it…” Nate trailed off as he sat down. I was concerned for him and supported him where I could, redirecting sights of his broken village to sights of the oil-black prince, a tiny distraction, but I would do what I could.

The instructors didn’t know what exactly to do from there, so they decided to get the head teacher of the school. He would want to see one of his students off.

Idant Coularoui was a gutless rank diver, what human parts remained of him were extremely tan, this was caused by his choice of dungeon. He was bald with blue eyes and thin lips. The blue eyes looked a bit odd, it was probably the holistic reinforcement diver ranks provided, that with whatever caused the tan. He walked smooth, soft, and surprisingly quickly. Four fingered hands were unclenched. His diver-parts were brick-red with scorched patches. He was wearing a black martial training robe.

“Mr. Slynette, I hear that you have business to attend to?”

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Nate replies “I must go, people need me.”

Master Coularoui looked concerned, it was like this wasn’t the first time he saw something like this. “Nathan, take a seat, tell me what happened, you seem like something is off.”

Nathan followed his master to his office, took a seat and started to talk to his master of what happened to his village and what he saw and felt in the night. Master Coularoui listened patiently staring at Nate, wait no, staring at me too, he knew I was there. I was seen. I didn’t know how I felt, one one hand it was freeing, on the other their gazes had power, but it was only the power I gave them. Nate finished with his story and Master Coularoui put his hand on Nate’s shoulder as he said “Know I will be here for you, I won’t stop you from leaving but you are at an unstable time. Please reconsider.”

Nate had made his decision, “I am leaving, after seeing what I saw tonight I at least need to try. I am sorry master.”

Master Coularoui looked into Nathan’s eyes for a couple of seconds. Nathan met his gaze as he shook like a beaten dog but him and his eyes were defiant. He was going no matter what.

Master Coularoui sighed, he knew he could only do so much. He stood up and told Nate to wait. He returned with some clean and new looking copy of a martial arts manual, he presented them to his student. The name on the cover was The Long March, “I selected this for you in your situation, The Long March should train your physical and mental endurance.”

Nate was speechless, his master was willing to just give him such valuable martial arts? His master reassured him. “You did say you were leaving, this version has addendums from me and enough space to make your own.”

Nate stands up, walks over and hugs his master, his master accepts it.

“Nathan, please try not to die, no one here wants to see you throw your life away.”

“I’ll try to keep myself alive.” He forces himself to say.

Idant Coularoi smiled just like his father did. They bow one final time and Nate left, he still had things to do. The master watched us as we went, a quick glance over His shoulder showed some sadness in the master’s face and a partial hardening of his eyes. How many people had he seen dive and never return?

I didn’t know whether we would ever return either. I didn’t know what I would manage to turn Nathan into when he returns, could I successfully make him into my envoy? Next is to actually get a move on, he is too comfortable in Relnakel. First, move out of his room, he would set up automatic billing for some storage unit, second, get his brother’s books reprinted, he wanted to move on, but he at least wanted his village to go down in history somehow. Returning to his room he saw the note from his roomate saying he was out playing electronic games with friends. Nate tried them a couple times and saw the appeal but he didn’t really care for them.

Nate started packing his room into cardboard boxes. He didn’t have much, many of the clothes his mother had made for him went in the box, along with his quilt that his mother made. He bought some desiccant and a sealable container for the books he wanted to keep in good condition, such as a couple textbooks and his and his father’s Records. The records were part of his village’s tradition, they were a mix of diary, catalog of important memories, and songs that varied on the individual, their goal was so that if you forgot who you were with your Record you could remember.

‘Why?’ Nate thought, he didn’t know, his town was weird. Thinking about it, what happened with records when their owner died? If Nate recalled correctly the record of Grandpa Slaknar was buried with him. His father had no corpse to bury, but there was precedent for this, the record was to be kept with the family, given that Nate was the only family left he had no regrets taking the record. Should he read it? There was no one there to stop him after all. The book was a simply bound one in brown leather with the name Bexlovar Slynette burned onto the cover. The book had a latch, Nate pried open the book, taking care, it was beaten into his head over the years to never look at another person’s Record, but his curiosity won out. What would he find in it? Hopefully nothing about his father’s private life, he just didn’t want to know about what his parents did. When he opened it he found nonsense! It was in some language that made no sense at all to him.

Nate, frustrated, skimmed through the book, there was all nonsense, until he got to the final written page. It was in a readable language and it was for his family.

To my wife if you are reading this means I didn’t return yet.

Please wait for me. I am very hard to kill, but this enemy is the same.

We did a good job raising the kids didn’t we? I love you,

You made me such a happy man.

David I have no clue what managed to back you in the corner to go against

Tradition, but take the helmet it should be useful somehow, it has a load

Of administrative software and other information. Please protect them if

They are even still alive, my son.

Tela I am sorry I didn’t keep you safe from my history. I just hope at some

Point you manage to rebuild yourself, with either diving or technology

But I know you well enough, there are stories in my helmet use them

As inspiration and information, please just don’t waste your life, remember

how happy we were as a family?

Wollum I have no clue how you got this, and whether you did it to try and

Find what made me so strong or not it doesn’t matter. I put a test in the helmet,

I made sure my sons will never be devils, I understand the search of power,

but do not be blinded, do not be drowned my son.

Nate I have no clue what caused the destruction of our village but use

The helmet and build something for yourself, stay alive my son. I’m sorry you

Now have to be alone in this cold world. But find a wife, build something

I don’t want to see you burned up by revenge my son.

Orina I have no clue what sort of wonderful woman you have turned into, or what

caused you to pick this helmet up. In it there are directions to a cache of

somewhat valuable things, use that as a dowry if you so please,

don’t worry about everyone else, they’ll be fine.

I wish I could have known you better.

To all of my children, I did my best to make sure you were normal and human,

Was it for the best? Was it for the worst? I won’t know, please just live good lives

And take care of your mother and each other. I don't know how she’ll handle me being gone.

I luckily never had to see any of you dead, if all goes well you won’t

See me dead anytime either!

Below was a portrait of his mother. The ink drawing of her looked so lifelike, Nate closed the book and took some time to stare at the drawing. He wished he could picture faces on a whim, so he tried to memorize this portrait. Nathan Slynette missed his father, he missed his voice and his smile, his unfading smile. He missed everyone.