A stake ran through the person's stomach as if it was nothing. Blood flowed on the already ruined deck like it was water. Severed arms and even intestines filled the already sinking ship. Fire ate everything on its path.
A child, no, a teenager, crouched shakily inside a surprisingly intact barrel. His teeth chattered. His body couldn’t handle the cold anymore. Luckily fire, threatening to eat him, was subdued by the sound of rain getting bigger and bigger, washing away the blood and body to the ocean.
Vega regretted his choice. But he knew the captship's captain was trying to get his promotion. He gathered his people one evening and discussed the crazy plan. He told his crew that he would sail outside, finding new island outside the map—a place with unknown and untold dangers for everyone. With a little bit of promise, all of his crew nodded hesitantly. From then on, he started the plan to escape from the city.
Running from the authorities and hiding inside the empty bar helped him to gather his last will to survive, and he decided to join the captain. He knew the plan was crazy, but he had no choice but to follow the group exploring the waters that had not yet been drawn on the map. He followed the group at dawn and hid inside an empty barrel.
Luckily his body was still small, and he fit perfectly inside. He moved around and found a peephole facing the ship deck. He only saw darting legs left and right running, following the captain's orders.
For about a month's journey, his survival depended on the magical leather water pouch from the passing old man he had grown close to. Living on the streets and being rescued built his dependence on the man with his wrinkly face that was starting to hear the call from death.
After the old man took his last breath, he took the leather pouch and brought it with him as a memento. He discovered that the pouch was magical and held infinite water. But, his relaxed life after the old man's passing ended. He bumped into a noble while he ran outside the alley, for the cat chased him.
The noble shouted and accused him of stealing. From then on, the authority chased him all over the town. Luckily he knew all the hidden crevices for him to hide. He planned his escape then. He ‘borrowed’ some bread and apples from an old lady for his journey. He didn’t need to worry about water.
On the shaking ship, he thought everything would be fine until the sound of metal classing and shouting woke him up. The last thing he remembered, the ship went quiet, and he was still crouching inside the barrel.
Vega pushed the barrel lid open and peeked out. Everything was a mess. The smell of the blood and spilled alcohol assaulted his nose. Knowing that he didn’t want to get dirtied by his vomit, he climbed out from the barrel and vomited his last meal.
He scoured the ship’s deck to find anything for him but found nothing. Knowing that he lost all hope and cried.
A gentle touch from someone woke Vega. He saw three blurry silhouettes standing tall in front of him.
“Are you okay?”
Vega heard the melodic voice. He wiped his crusty eyes, blinked, and saw the newcomers. Her face was clean, without dirt, with a hint of blue eyes on her. The others stood behind her, one girl and one boy. All wore a weird leather strap on their waists, seemingly holding their bulging pouch.
“Here, drink this,” offered the leader.
Vega finally saw that her finger was long and pretty; the girl wore an expensive ring on her index finger.
Vega shook his head. Knowing that anything being offered by a stranger wouldn’t do him any good. The rejection brought fury from her followers.
“You….” they stopped talking once they saw the girl lifting her arms.
“Stop it, Mola and Mila.”
“But he is rude, sister,” said the boy, Mola. His sister nodded, agreeing with his brother.
“No problem, but after we search the ship, we’ll bring him to the elders. We can get contribution if he has talent,” the leader spoke softly, almost to a whisper.
Vega felt his throat dry and took a sip from the pouch. The three newcomers took notice of it, and Mila snatched the pouch.
“A simple yet crude magic item,” she said, sneering. She threw the pouch back to the kid. Feeling the glare of her older sister, she stuck her tongue out.
The older sister shook her head and looked back at Vega.
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“No, we’re not going to take your pouch. It must be precious to you.”
“Uhmm,” Strig finally got back his voice. “Who are you?”
“We live not far from here.”
Here? At the edge of the map? Even pirates don’t want to visit this place. Vega’s knowledge of the continent was only based on the map he sometimes saw inside the bar he visited running errands for the old man.
“Where? Everything was just water,” he replied.
The sister smiled, “Near the island. I know you can’t go anywhere, so please follow us.” She offered her hand.
Vega hesitated, but then his life was over. So finding his confidence, he hesitantly put his dirty hand on the sister.
The sister scrunched up but then regained her bearing. After she helped the boy stand, she wiped her hand behind her robe.
“What’s your name? I’m Druvinnia Helshound.”
“I’m Vega. Nice to meet you, Dru..vain.”
“No, just call me Vin.” She frowned, hearing the weird pronunciation of her name, and decided that the boy wasn’t from any place that knew her status.
Vin walked briskly to the edge of the deck and waved her hand. From her pouch, she took a magic item. The boat grew bigger until it landed on the calm water.
Vega’s mouth opened wide, shocked by the weird thing that had happened before him. After seeing the hand waving toward him, he approached the trio waiting for him. When he arrived close to them, he felt his feet lose touch with the wooden deck. His body floated.
Flinging his arms around, he was afraid that he would fall. Sensing that the laugh was directed at him, he tried to calm himself but failed.
“What’s happening?” He said after landing on the firm magical boat.
Vin and the twins ignored his questions. He shrugged and just sat down. The wooden hull was surprisingly soft, and he sat there comfortably.
The journey felt relaxing. Vega looked around. The calm water surrounded him, curious about what awaited him when the boat reached the land. Once, he heard water splashing around him and a silhouette of a giant water creature. The trio knew what they were doing, and each took something and dropped them into the water. A bright spark followed, and a ringing sound reached his ears. When it stopped, the monster had sunk back down. Vega relaxed afterward. The boat rocked but traversed the water calmly. He only sat there while occasionally drinking the water from the pouch. He knew his stomach was on the edge of asking for more food. He could only pray so he could step back on the land.
The vision around him changed, and his eyesight worsened. The mist rolled slowly, covering his view. He only saw a slight glow on the head of the ship. An exchange of weird noise, and then the mist dissipated. He could finally see the land got closer and closer. He saw shadows of buildings filling the edge of the island. In the middle of the island, a mountain stood alone. The tip emitted flashes of light. Vega saw a group of people run faster, noticing the boat. They all lined up neatly, forming two lines.
The boat arrived slowly. After the group landed on the dock, it disappeared inside Vin’s pouch. All lines of people bowed when the group walked. It was almost as if they were robots. He noticed in the middle of each person’s forehead; a stone was embedded in the middle. The color and the stone reminded him of the ring worn by Vin. The faces that were greeting him showed little to no expression. His skin crawled at the sights. He walked faster and followed the trio who was ahead.
At the stalls, ordinary people, at least, muttered, arguing about some prices. Some agreed, shook their hands, and swapped items—various items are displayed on the stalls. Foods, accessories, weapons, and clothes were some normal-looking items. Sometimes Vega spotted a weird-looking apparatus and glittering stones being sold on the stalls.
Not long, the group finally arrived in front of a building made from sturdy wooden planks. The trio bowed; Vega looked left and right and followed. After waiting a long time, he heard a noise. Stealing glances, he saw a figure come out of the building. The person wore several accessories on her. He spotted a long silver necklace, three bangles on each wrist, and a blue cloth wrapped around her head.
“Elder,” Vin started. “Nothing was on the ship. No sign of people and no trace of magic used.”
The woman in question frowned, “It’s okay; I’ll ask the head to talk to the tower. “ She finally noticed Vega behind the line.
With her gaze, Vega felt his head pound and a trickle of liquid from his nose. He wiped it and saw the blood on his fingers. After the woman drew her gaze, the pounding on his head subsided.
“Who?”
“A survivor we found on the ship. His age qualifies him for testing.” Vin bowed.
“Bring him to the old Gondor; you know the rules. If he is found to have talent, you can get the added contribution.” The woman said and turned her back towards the group and went back inside.
Vega could only walk following the group. The sand on his feet felt soft and a little hot. But at least he was back on his feet. He saw a couple of groups with several kids around his age following their guide. All the guides were around Vin’s age, but some were similar to Mola and Mila. The kids mostly had darker skin compared to him. Light skin like Vin, Mola, and Mila, or even him, were a rarity on the island. The group merged and walked toward an empty clearing. The place was surrounded by tall palm trees and water encircling the middle. In the middle area stood a man. He also wore some bangles, but he preferred the natural wooded ones.
“I’m Master Gondor, in charge of you new weaklings today. Hohoho.” Gondor said happily, and his eyes twinkled.
Vega's skin crawled hearing that. He still paid close attention to the words that came out from the master.
“One by one, you are expected to submerge your hands in the bowl. Some of you may pass and be chosen to be the apprentice here, but some you’re not lucky. You have to serve us for three years before being freed to become an ordinary citizen.”
Vega recalled the memory of the people lining up to receive the trio.
One by one, the children put their hands inside the basin in the center. Nothing happened, but Master Grondor shouted pass and fail every time someone put their hands inside.
It was Vega’s turn, and he strolled approaching the basin. The water on it was a shimmering blue. When he turned to put his hands inside, his mind went black, and he saw a glowing orb start taking shape. When it was over, his vision was back, and the next word he heard freed him.
“Pass!”