Alice and Elias walked side by side toward Dawncoast. They had left behind their horses at the fort. The old walls were faded and crumbling. There was a clear path marking the line between the trees and the walls. Deep scars were still part of the ground leading up to an exploded exposed wall. The bodies of the insects and monsters that fought in the war had long since deteriorated and been consumed by the corruption to be used again.

The sun had caused the walls to fade in color. Sections had fallen into disrepair and were unstable. Inside the walls, some of the buildings remained. They were unharmed in the fights and would stand for many years to come. The fire had burned through part of the city. Elias and Alice followed its path through the broken wall and down the street. Old carts lay rotting and broken weapons lay in pieces. All of the pieces for war were left out to waste away.

“I’m not sure what I expected from a city named Dawncoast. I would have thought. Well, I hoped it would be more of the great port city as described. Now it is empty beyond measure. It would have been nice to see it in its heyday.”

“Even I never saw it in its heyday. Not really. By the time I was born, those stories were a decade old. Though when I first visited it the city was thriving. It even pushed through the effects of war for a time. Its people worked together with the neighboring villages and port stops up and down the coast. They held out for as long as they could and then some.”

Alice and Elias trudged through the melancholic remains of Dawncoast, their footsteps echoing against the silence of the abandoned city. The once vibrant port, a hub of laughter and life, now lay in desolation, a ghost of its former self. The air was thick with the scent of decay, a testament to the battles that had raged through the streets.

Elias walked with a steady determination, his eyes scanning the debris-strewn streets, always on the lookout for any sign of danger. Alice, however, moved as if in a trance, her mind miles away, lost in the tumult of her thoughts. Every so often, Elias would glance at Alice, his expression a mix of concern and understanding. He wanted to reach out, to offer some solace, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. He knew that grief was a solitary journey, one that Alice had to navigate in her own way.

They continued their journey through the city, the silence between them a comfortable companion. The deeper they ventured into Dawncoast, the more pronounced the signs of battle became. Burnt-out husks of buildings lined the streets, their blackened walls standing as grim sentinels to a forgotten time.

Elias pointed out a half-collapsed tower in the distance, its top floors leaning precariously. "That used to be the lighthouse," he said, his voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia. "It guided countless ships to safety. Then human-sized insects flew right up to the top and burrowed through it during one of the battles toward the end. The soldiers had to topple it when they started to nest inside.”

Alice looked at the lighthouse, imagining the beacon of light it once was, a symbol of hope in the darkness. Now, it was just another casualty of war, a broken reminder of what once was.

They reached the harbor, the vast expanse of the ocean stretching before them. The docks, once bustling with activity, were now deserted, the wood rotting and the ropes frayed. Ships that had once proudly sailed the seas were now but skeletal remains, half-sunken and forgotten.

Alice's gaze drifted to the horizon. Her mind wandered and she felt tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes. She pushed the feelings back down and the feelings faded into the background.

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Elias's voice brought her back to the present. "We should start looking for a boat," he said, his tone practical, yet gentle.

Alice nodded without looking up. She felt the feeling of death that had irradiated the area. Turning her head, she scanned the port. The water was still. Ships rested half-submerged in the water. Elias started to walk away when she suddenly grabbed his arm.

“Wait. Something is off.”

Her grip on Elias's arm was firm, her eyes scanning the desolate harbor with a growing sense of unease. The stillness of the air, the unnatural calm of the sea, it all felt like the deceptive quiet before a storm. Elias paused, respecting her instincts. He knew better than to dismiss her concerns.

I can feel it," Alice murmured, her eyes scanning the desolate harbor. "The corruption... it's stronger here, almost suffocating. They are here.”

As they stood there, the surface of the water began to ripple, subtly at first, then growing more turbulent. Out of the depths, grotesque shapes emerged – undead sea creatures, their bodies bloated and distorted, eyes glowing with a malevolent light. They crawled onto the docks, their movements jerky and unnatural, as if the corruption that had reanimated them was still not fully in control.

Simultaneously, a sickening sound filled the air, a buzzing that grew louder and more insistent. From the shattered windows of the nearby buildings, a swarm of monstrous insects burst forth, their wings a blur of motion, their mandibles clicking in anticipation.

Alice and Elias were surrounded, the corruption they had hoped to escape now confronting them in its most horrific form. Alice's hand went to the hilt of her sword, her other hand beginning to glow with the buildup of her magic. Elias drew his own weapon, standing back-to-back with Alice as the creatures closed in.

Without a word, Alice stepped forward, her magic flaring into life around her. The grief and anger that she had been carrying, the sense of loss that had threatened to overwhelm her, now found an outlet. She struck out at the approaching monsters, her magic a brilliant display of destructive power. Each spell she cast was a manifestation of her fury, her sorrow, and her refusal to yield to the darkness that had taken so much from her.

Elias moved to her side, his own weapons at the ready. He fought with a disciplined grace, his movements a stark contrast to Alice's wild fury. Together, they formed a formidable duo, their attacks complementing each other, holding back the tide of corruption that sought to engulf them. The insect flew out of buildings and burrowed up from the ground to attack the pair. It was a constant buzz that added to the chaos of the fight.

It was clear that Alice was leading this fight. Her magic flared with each emotion that coursed through her – anger, sadness, desperation. Each wave of her hand sent a surge of energy that tore through their enemies.

The relentless attack from Alice caused the already damaged structures around them to tremble and collapse. A nearby building, weakened by the corruption and the battle, groaned ominously before collapsing, sending a cloud of dust into the air. More of the road crumbled under the onslaught, widening the destruction. With each sword swing she cast, she pushed back the corruption.

Elias glanced at Alice; concern etched on his face. "Alice, you need to control your power! You're causing too much collateral damage!"

But Alice was beyond hearing. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions, each one fueling her magic, making her attacks more ferocious. The ground shook with the force of her anger, her sadness shaping the very essence of her magic. Her focus was purely on the creatures to either side of them. Elias understood and knew she would not hear him. Instead, he let loose on the creatures in his own way and made sure that she was safe while being reckless.

As the last of the creatures fell, a heavy silence settled over the harbor. Alice sighed and relaxed. The tip of her sword dragged along the sand. Nearby the last of the collapsing buildings fell over. It tossed debris into the air and crushed some of the scattered items in the street. She turned to Elias.

“It is time that I go. Time for you to go as well. Collect the horses and take them back to the capital.” Elias stood stunned and unsure how to respond. “I am ready for the final steps in my journey,” Alice continued, “but it is a journey that I will finish alone.”

“That is not what was agreed upon. It’s not what I promised. My duty is…”

“Your duty is over. Thank you for training me in the swordsmanship skill I needed and taking me as far as you have. I do not need to lose anyone else on my journey. Your time as my master is over. I will leave you most of the supplies and will sail by myself. Thank you Elias.”