After a week of sea travel, a dreaded storm hit. It had the crew hard at work while Aurelius and Cade locked themselves in their little room. They were afraid their oil lamp would break in the chaos, so Cade illuminated the room with a materialization of essence, painting it in a blue hue.

Surprisingly, it was Cade that seemed to be falling apart while Aurelius wasn't that fazed even when the ship shook so hard they were thrown from one end of the room to the other. At one point, Cade seemed about to blast the side of the ship to pieces and see how close to Mircrest she could get on a platform of essence.

There was something about essence that gave such a strong sense of safety at all times that when it was taken away, the user would be rattled, no matter how strong or stoic they were. Aurelius wondered if it would be the same with him when he regained his essence or if he had grown over that during the past months.

Of course, Aurelius restrained Cade before she did anything stupid, and they ended up on his bed with him sitting as she lay tensely on his lap. She stopped materializing and left them in the dark, swaying ship with the crashing of waves and the distant clamor of their only companion.

She shivered slightly, so Aurelius tried warming her up by rubbing her arm. She leaned closer, and Aurelius caressed her cheek a little. That seemed to relax her, so he kept doing it.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Aurelius asked.

"What?" Cade asked in her snuggling voice.

"During my time in Arkryk, I sometimes slept on mountains."

"So now you're up to talk about Arkryk?" Cade snorted and materialized a hint of light as she glanced up. "You have the best timing."

Aurelius swept some hair from in front of her eyes, putting it behind her ear. "I know," he said. Cade made a cute sound at that and lay back down, letting the light go out, prompting Aurelius to continue. "Storms in the mountains were much like this, with nothing around to protect you. At times like those, looking around, I could imagine being the only human in the entire world."

"And let me guess, you stood there, atop the world, unwavering like the mountain itself," Cade commented.

Aurelius chuckled. He remembered himself there with his overcoat blowing in the wind as he gazed longingly toward Mircrest, thinking about the very same girl that now lay in his arms. "Pretty much," he answered, stroking her smooth, straight hair.

"How Rey-esque of you," Cade mumbled. Aurelius smirked and quickly moved the conversation before Cade's attention could return to the storm. She'd already stopped shivering.

"When is your birthday?" he asked.

"Don't know. One of the 365, I wager," she replied, prompting Aurelius to pinch her cheek. "Ow," she moaned, elbowing him in the ribs in a totally unfair exchange.

"Seriously," Aurelius demanded.

"I don't know. People in Mircrest don't believe in birthdays. People barely bother to put the date of death on gravestones," she said before making a terrible impression. "At my father's funeral, I think someone said, 'What does it matter when he died when the motherfucker's dead?'" Then she howled. "He really was a motherfucker! Every father is." She wrangled in Aurelius' lap, cackling hysterically.

'Where did I find this girl?' Aurelius asked himself.

"Well, would you like to celebrate our birthdays together? Since if you don't know when yours is, we can just say it's at the same time as mine." They had never been together during Aurelius' birthday before, even though they'd known each other for two and a half years already.

"Yeah, alright," Cade said, having barely calmed down. "So when is your birthday?"

"The 1st of the year," Aurelius answered, and Cade burst into laughter again, something about how Rey-esque that was. He wished she would stop using that word but smiled as he heard her sweet laughter.

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While the storm raged on outside, they spent the hours in blissful distraction. Despite the possibility of death at any time, Aurelius could scarcely recall a happier time.

As the storm neared its end, Aurelius had his arms wrapped around Cade for warmth in silence as the ship swayed.

"Okay, you can let go now,' Cade said but didn't move. "This is making me feel pathetic."

"You are pathetic," Aurelius said sympathetically.

She tried hitting him, failed, and gave up. They stayed like that for a couple more precious hours.

***

Traveling by water came with some peculiarities. Using the toilet—or so-called head—was certainly an experience. Clean water was reserved for cooking and drinking, so the smell was something to get used to. The only things to eat were salted meat, hardtack, and legumes, half of which Aurelius had never tasted before and would never taste again after the voyage. It didn't make it any better that they often came up and out due to the constant seasickness.

The worst thing was the boredom and lack of peace. Whether it be the constant swaying, noise, or sleeplessness, Aurelius didn't feel great physically as well as mentally. If Cade hadn't been there, he would've gone insane 100 times over. Trying to cheer her up when she got frustrated or calm her down when she got feisty while he taught her the common tongue of the West was the best part of Aurelius' day.

One time she smacked a particularly noisy crew member, almost sending him stumbling off board. That didn't make their relations with the crew any better. Later, though, that crew member apologized for a comment he'd made. Gradually, Aurelius began taking part in some of their pastimes, playing nonsensical games and listening to outrageous jokes.

Toward the end of the voyage, Aurelius and Cade found themselves singing songs with the crew on late nights when the moon and stars shone brightly above. Their voices were carried by dark waters that passed through an area with no land in sight. It was their own little world.

But like all little worlds, it eventually yielded to the much greater one.

***

Aurelius stood on the deck, his gaze on the horizon as his freshly re-dyed hair fluttered in the wind. He ran a hand through it and came away with a strand caught in his hand. He looked down at it. At its blackness. He averted his eyes and whisked them away.

Then he saw just the faintest bit of land ahead through the morning mist and shivered. He turned back toward the ship and announced, "The shore is in sight!"

Crew members rushed to the deck to look. Aurelius noted one of them giving another a silver coin and asked what that was about.

"He bet we wouldn't make it," the skinny crew member with a cap said, pointing at the other, burly man with a few front teeth missing.

Aurelius furrowed his brows. "Huh?" He scrutinized the burly fellow. "Why?" he asked, more empathetic than confused, really.

"My gut told me," the man said, hitting his chest. "I always listen to my gut." He didn't even seem angry at losing the bet and put forth a stoic 'you win some, you lose some' expression.

Aurelius looked at him mouth agape, thinking, 'But why a bet?'

He rubbed his eyes. "Well, better luck next time, I guess," he said, turning back to look at the approaching shore. "Or not."

"So here we are," Cade said, and Aurelius jumped a little.

"Stop sneaking around," Aurelius reprimanded. "You're doing it on purpose."

Cade kept her gaze on Zalfari, ignoring him. "It reminds me of the Red Lake City back in Mircrest."

Aurelius looked ahead and saw the resemblance. The shore of Zalfari was riddled with houses of yellowish rock and red tile roofs that stretched up hills that ran along the shore. "I guess so..." he said, but it wasn't anything less than he had expected. "But not really."

The first thing he noticed about those buildings was that they were probably the oldest he had ever laid eyes on. It seemed suddenly obvious that the theory of man originating from the Western continent was the one and only truth. Mircrest, Arkryk, and the Thropes were babies compared to this.

Cade looked at him. "Are you still sure you don't want to see the capital on our way to the north?"

"Yes," Aurelius said. "Why do you ask?" When no answer came, he turned to her. "You don't think we'll find So— him," he said, almost forgetting the crew members around.

"Face it, Zalfari could be conquered in a year. We don't have forever to look for him. It's a large continent. I mean, it's a fucking continent."

"I know where to look."

Cade sighed. "You don't think you might be a little too hopeful on that front? If we reach out to the royals, who knows if they have someone able to heal you?"

"I don't need to be healed," Aurelius grumbled. "I need guidance."

"And someone like Gabriel wouldn't work?"

Aurelius was quiet a moment. "No. He doesn't have it. Only someone who has it can teach me."

"And what if 'he' refuses? Have you thought about that?"

"No. He won't refuse." Aurelius looked away. "I need you to stop questioning me on this."

"Fine. But how do you think you'll be able to trust your family in the war if you don't trust them with the search?" Cade asked, referring to how during planning, Aurelius had rejected the idea of getting the royal family's aid in finding Solomon.

The problem with getting their help was that if they believed his theory and spared the resources, they'd likely do it to get Solomon on their side in the war. Obviously that wouldn't work since Solomon had made a deal with Kendrick to stay out of the war. All reaching Solomon through his family would do was make Solomon their enemy. If that happened, Aurelius could wish his hopes of essence farewell.

The answer to Cade's question was simple. "Who says I need to trust them?"