I had odd dreams throughout the night, so I woke up tired and cranky. It was cold as well. Otho sat on his bed.

“Good morning,” he said when he saw me moving. I lifted my head. “I’ve already been up on the deck. It's so clear out there, not a cloud in the sky,” he added.

“How long have you been awake?”

“I don’t know, a while. Rough night, I couldn’t sleep… I think we’ll port soon.”

“A town of Thiva,” I mumbled with a distant voice.

“That is correct,” Otho yawned.

“Can you fetch me some breakfast? It’s cold and I don’t feel like getting out of bed, not just yet.”

He nodded, left the cabin, and came back with a plate and a cup. Fish, moldy bread and some wine mixed with water. I got up and sat on my bed. He handed me the plate.

“I can’t wait we land. I’ve had enough of this seamen food,” I sighed.

Otho kept quiet.

“What is it?” I asked, while eating.

“Nothing, moods, you know?”

Then there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for our response they opened. It was the Lord.

“Good morning,” he said with a tired voice. “We’ll port in about two hours. Shave, wash up, and apply some flower water. Make yourself presentable. You’ll find everything you need in the storage room.”

“Understood,” we both replied at the same time and he smiled and left, leaving the door open.

By the time we got ready the weather warmed up. The sun defeated the darkness and was shining strong. Our spirits were up. Otho and I were standing at the helm, watching the approaching docks. We were wearing dark red tunics. Then the Lord came from under the deck. He was dressed in a dark purple tunic with embroidered silver wolf on his chest and a dark red belt. He approached us and smiled, but said nothing. I looked around the deck, and saw Titus. He winked at me and went back to his work. I was nervous, but also excited.

We were the last of the three ships that arrived to Porosia, so everyone was already waiting by the docks. The legionaries were standing in straight lines like impregnable walls. Donkey carts with supplies were behind them. The legionaries looked quite impressive. Purple rectangular shields, shining armor, purple capes and stern looks. A few of them held a standard with the Vetulonian flag, a silver wolf on a purple background.

In front of the legionaries, mounted on tall brown horses, stood Vicelord Julia, and Cecilia and Flavia, our colleagues from the camp. All three of them looked beautiful. Looking at Julia made me think of the Island and how unbothered she appeared by her wicked past.

The ship ported and I glanced one last time towards Titus. He smiled and then rolled his eyes as if trying to say: Go on, then. I returned the smile and we left the ship. The land beneath our feet felt good. The port was small, with less than ten docks and no people, which seemed odd.

Julia smiled at us, but Cecilia and Flavia remained serene. Two legionaries appeared with three horses, one black, one white and one brown. I received the black one. We mounted them, which made horses uneasy for a moment or two. I liked riding ever since they thought us how at the Academy. I always dreamed of owning a horse.

Tiberius then asked Julia:

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“How’s everything here?”

“All is well. They’re waiting for us at the outskirts of the town. They wanted to give us some space – to port in peace.”

“Good. Anything I should know about?”

“Nothing particularly. In all honesty, it’s been quite boring. The expressions of the locals’ faces are amusing, but that’s about it.”

“Being disliked will keep us on our toes… Now, let’s have some fun.”

He started riding with a slow pace. Julia followed, then the four of us from the camp, with legionaries with all our supplies behind. The town seemed deserted, but I could sense curious looks coming from the small windows of the houses. It made me feel uneasy.

We were sliding through the empty streets like a hungry serpent, searching for its prey. At the outskirts of the town, near what seemed to be endless fields, we were greeted by our hosts. There were only three of them, on horses, standing idly. The lord of the province, his son, and the priest. The priest was holding a pole with the Porosian flag. A golden crown on a red background with silver stars in the corners. They bowed their heads to greet us.

“Greetings, Vetulonians. I do hope you had a pleasant voyage,” said our host.

All Helena spoke our words. Vetulonian rule from before the Great winter had erased old tongues. Only Elves on the far east succeeded in maintaining some of their old language, others not. They did speak with a heavy accent though.

“Quite well, thank you,” answered Tiberius.

“I am lord Aeugus of House Cronos, this is my son Herodotus and our priest Kallisto.” They all again bowed their heads.

“I am Tiberius Decimus, Lord of Vetulonia, Julia Janus is our Vicelord. And the youth – Otho, Antonius, Flavia and Cecilia, are our personal entourage."

We returned the bow.

“A woman Vicelord?” asked the priest. “We don’t have that in Porosia, only ladies,” he frowned with a somewhat arrogant smile.

“We don’t have ladies in Vetulonia at all, only lords,” Julia smirked, which made our host, Lord Cronos, laugh.

“Best we be on our way. It’s about an hour ride to my castle. Lord, Vicelord, please join me,” he said after he stopped laughing.

They started riding together, chatting, and we followed, along with the son Herodotus.

“Have you ever been to Porosia?” he asked and we all mumbled no.

The awkward silence embraced us and we rode in silence for some time. We passed a few villages without any people. They were afraid of us, hiding in their small wooden houses. I felt embarrassed by their fear. I turned my head back to catch a glimpse of the legionaries and then saw Marius! The sight of him shocked me! He was grinning at me, carrying the purple Vetulonian flag with the silver wolf, as if his life depended upon it. I then laughed with joy! Otho, lost in his thoughts, didn’t notice my excitement.

“What’s funny?” asked Herodotus.

“Nothing in particular…” I answered, “How long till we arrive?”

“We’ll be there soon. Is it true you don’t worship any gods in Vetulonia?”

“We do recognize there’s some meaning, an explanation, behind our existence. And that there are many realms of existence beyond this one. But no, we don’t worship gods. In a way, each Vetulonian has their own personal god, if that makes sense,” I answered the best I could.

“Peculiar. But do you believe there’s a life after death?”

“Most of our philosophers and sages do believe existence continues after our bodies perish, yes.”

“Interesting. Our faith is more simple, and dare to say it, more grand! Hah. Our priest also told me you Vetulonians get drunk with some brew and then imagine you float around with your gods. Having deep conversations with them! That sounds so odd!”

“That’s one way to put it,” I laughed, so did Flavia. Herodutus then remained silent for the rest of the voyage. I observed him while we rode. I didn’t like what I saw. His sandy hair was glued to his round head, he had small eyes and a long nose. His seemed fit, but soft.

After some time we reached a narrow cliff path that went around a steep rocky hill. The path then led us to the bottom of a beautiful lush green valley with a river, woods and many fields. Near the river stood a village that I would not dare call a town. In the distance there was another rocky hill with a large cave opening. In front of that opening stood the castle of House Cronos. I had never seen such a building. It was brutally simplistic, yet somehow majestic. Similar to Vetulonian forts, but then again – different. The foundation of the castle was set on the hill itself. In fact, the castle almost appeared as if it was carved from the hill! The large cave opening behind it looked like a dragon’s mouth ready to engulf the whole building. It was impressive.

“Welcome to my home!” yelled lord Cronos. He started galloping and the rest of us followed, leaving the slow legionaries behind us.