The language used throughout Arlin and its territories was an essential part to its cancerous spread across the continent. Morathin was already an extremely common language, but became a necessity for nations on the periphery of Arlin’s borders in order to trade with them. By the time Arlin invaded, the nations already spoke the language of its oppressors.

***

“You want me to do what?”

Alex’s attempt at whisper yelling ended up a bit more on the yelling side than the whisper one. I immediately held up a finger asking him to quiet down.

I’m starting to get Elric’s response. This isn’t going to be easy.

Asking a man who was very easily defined as “loud” to do a secretive mission that could get not only himself, but multiple people killed was like asking a bird to stop singing. I didn’t really have a choice and he was still the best candidate for it. I stared at him, my finger still in the air.

“I can’t do this plan without help. You said that if I wanted help, I could always come to you, right?”

“That’s not what I meant…” He mumbled, staring at the wall of the bunk.

“You’re the best person for this. Everyone here trusts you and I know that if there was anyone who could rally the people together, it’d be you. All you need to do is be ready and talk with the right people once the plan is all together.”

Alex looked up from the bunk to stare directly at me, his eyes widened.

“You don’t even have a plan?”

Probably shouldn’t have said it like that.

“Elm has something, and Sera is working with me to figure out who to call on and how we can plan this. It’s not completely finished but we’ve got some ideas.”

“Listen, North. I think you’re probably doing the right thing here, but I don’t know how much I can trust this… tell me, where did you come from?”

I paused for a moment, wondering why he was going in this direction.

“Corith. Place called Marlisle.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I didn’t go into detail. I doubted that a sad story would help him join our cause.

“Really? I was west of you. Nacilia.”

I hadn’t thought about it, but it made sense. His alabaster skin was apparently a trait that was commonly found in Nacilia. Although his tone wasn’t patronizing, it was drenched in a sense of pity.

“You know, my people hated you. To them, Corith was just a nation of cowards who hid in their forest so they never had to go to war. I remember my father saying that the only good thing that came out of Corith was wood. When Arlin invaded, there were town criers yelling about how the Corithian king refused to come to our aid and how it would lead to our downfall, but I’m pretty sure we just didn’t want to admit that we had no idea how to handle their forces… sorry. Don’t mean any offense.”

“None taken? I’m sorry, but why are you asking this?”

“I just wanted to understand you a bit more. You see, I’ve found that once I learn where they come from, I can get a read on a person pretty quickly. What you’re currently talking about, doing this massive revolt all for the sake of Sera, doesn’t match up with the person I’m getting a read on. So why would a kid from Corith who’s never been forced to pick up a weapon think that they have it in them to tear this place to the ground?”

He was right. I’d never been forced into combat before. I’d never held a sword or a weapon. Yet here I was attempting to go to war. I looked up at him to notice that his shirt was partially covering up what looked to be large scars, too big to be dealt by a simple baton strike or a whip. They might have been healed, but the skin looked like it had been malformed. Alex may have not have made it obvious, but he had clearly fought a lot in his life. He may have been only a few years older than me, but his experiences dwarfed my own.

“I don’t know if I can change your mind or not, but I can at least try to help you understand why you want to do this. Just because you’re determined to save her and to help everyone out doesn’t mean you have the ability to do that. If I follow you, if I choose to go down this path I am putting my life on the line for a plan that doesn’t even exist yet. Give me a good reason to follow you, because if you can’t do that, nobody else will.”

I stared at him, then looked over to Elm’s bunk, only to find it empty. Taking a deep sigh, I removed my shirt and placed my hand inside of it through the neck, folding in the arms so nothing could peek out. It was a risk, but it was something I needed to do if I wanted to show my resolve. Alex leaned down to peek inside the bottom of the shirt. I watched as a soft light spread across his face. His eyes widened, brimming with the curiosity and intrigue of a child. As the light faded he raised his head to look at me, a wide grin now spread across his face.

“Now that’s a much better pitch.”

It was surreal watching him change from his sympathetic tone so quickly. It was like I was talking to a completely different man.

“Are you sure that this can actually help you? Because if that’s all you can do, I can’t imagine it’s going to help us much.”

I returned a smile to him as I put back on my shirt.

“Only one way to find out.”

The cold air inside the bunkroom suddenly felt a little bit warmer. Even without the light, his eyes were brighter than ever before.

“When do we start?”