Corin awoke the next morning with an uncanny feeling. He felt as if he had the best sleep he had ever had in his life. No part of his being seemed to even remember any of what he had gone through only mere hours ago. No part of his body ached in the slightest, his mind was as clear and calm as could be, and he felt as if he had just slept for a whole day straight.

“My love, how are you?” Livia asked him, noticing her husband awakening. She herself had not slept well. She could not help but continually look to Corin to see how he was doing, but all through the night he slept without any sign of the slightest bother.

“I… I feel great.” Corin responded feeling quite perplexed himself.

He remembered the ordeal he had just gone through, but for some reason it did not seem to make much of an impact on how he currently felt. The encounter with Arandu might as well have been as much of an inconvenience as getting a piece of meat stuck between two of his molars.

“Corin I don't want to alarm you but we were so concerned about you yesterday. At first I thought we had lost you. But when you came up, you were so, so-” Livia struggled to think of what to say.

“Calm?” Corin replied, looking at his wife’s face. He could tell that unlike him, the events of yesterday weighed heavily on her mind.

“Well yes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we just don't understand what happened. You didn't tell us what exactly happened with Arandu, only that he was pulled into the depths.” Livia said. Her face searched for answers, hoping that now that he had rested Corin would be able to provide them.

“I understand. I’m sorry, but I only remember some of it honestly. One second I was sure I was going to die, Arandu wrapped a tendril around me so tight that he started to crush me. I felt my bones snap and I was seconds away from dying.” Corin said.

When Livia heard this her gaze widened. She began to feel Corin’s body but nothing she could see indicated any trauma. The only thing that indicated Corin had fallen into the water were his still damp clothes.

“The next thing and last thing I remember was Arandu himself being surprised. After that all I know is that Simeon was dragging me to the ship, Nanaua was bringing us in, and then I was surrounded by all of you.” Corin said.

Livia’s face still contained the same amount of concern. Corin could tell that despite his overall appearance Livia was beyond concerned for her husband. Try as she could, there was no reasonable explanation for what she was seeing.

“I'm sorry.” Corin added as he saw his wife's concerned face.

“No it's ok Corin.” Livia said, trying her best to reassure her husband. “I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should be grateful that you are here and nothing is affecting you, but it is just so hard to understand.” Livia placed emphasis on that last word.

Livia’s worries although present did seem to alleviate.

“I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but I understand. I wish I could remember what happened.” Corin said to her.

Livia looked at Corin with a weak smile. He put his head on hers.

“There is only one conclusion I have arrived at, one possible explanation.” Corin said to his wife.

Livia looked at him curiously. This might be the insight that they had all missed, what might explain what had occurred.

“Perhaps Arandu realized who he was dealing with and decided that an expeditious retreat was the best course of action.” Corin said with a stifled laugh.

Livia looked at her husband with an icy stare. This only lasted for a short moment as she then rolled her eyes and could not help but laugh.

This was the first time Corin had heard his wife laugh without reservation since they had began this entire journey. It always made Corin happy to bring joy to his wife.

“Oh so now Titans fear you?” Livia replied with a smile.

“I think that seems like the most likely explanation.” Corin grinned as he replied to Livia.

She put her head on his shoulders.

“Next time you give me a scare like that, it won’t be any Titans you’ll have to be worried about.” Livia said.

“Don’t worry, I know that beyond Titans there is someone more fierce out there that I have to worry about.” Corin replied to his wife.

Livia nodded in response.

The couple sat in silence enjoying each other’s company. In the face of all their challenges they knew that the one thing they could rely on each other was each other. It did not need to be said, they knew that nothing would ever come between them.

“We’ll weather the storm.” Livia said.

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***

“Land ahead.” Simeon could be heard shouting from the deck.

The couple stirred in response.

“Come. Let's go.” Corin said to Livia.

The two of them went up and saw Simeon, Nanaua and Zhi gazing out beyond the deck.

Two of the three of smiled warmly at Corin, but Nanaua did not have any such reservations. Corin could see that she had questions and that she wanted answers.

“Hello Corin, it is-” Simeon began.

“Corin. Who killed Arandu?” Nanaua interjected without hesitation.

Zhi groaned out loud.

“Dear, we talked about this.” Zhi muttered to Nanaua. “You need to be more tactful and we agreed that we would wait to ask him. We don’t even know how he is feeling.”

“I need to know who our enemies are!” Nanaua proclaimed. “If someone out there is targeting Titans, then we ought to know who it is! Are they a friend? An enemy?”

Silence ensued.

Nanaua, Zhi and Simeon all looked at Corin.

“He doesn’t know.” Livia spoke up.

The others looked disappointed upon hearing this.

“I'm sorry. I really am.” Corin replied weakly.

Nanaua shook her head and before she began another round of questioning Zhi pulled her to the side and began trying to distract her.

Simeon went up to Corin.

“My boy, seeing you among the living is more than I need.” Simeon said as he embraced Corin.

The apeman gave Corin a crushing hug. It was as if Arandu was once again squeezing the life out of Corin. But Corin did not mind. He reciprocated.

“Thanks Simeon, I am glad to see you as well.” Corin said to his friend as they looked at each other.

“Now don’t ever scare me like that again!” Simeon warned Corin.

“Don’t worry, I already warned him.” Livia added.

Simeon looked in Livia’s direction. “Good!” He exclaimed as he let go of Corin.

Simeon and Livia moved onto the bow of the ship. Corin followed them. They were all staring out in front of them, to the small speck of land that was beginning to emerge in the horizon.

“Is that it?” Corin asked in a low voice.

“Aye, that's the continent.” Simeon said as he stood next to Corin.

Even though it was far from view and he could barely distinguish anything at this distance, Corin was in awe of it. The continent, that place that to him only existed in stories, was now within sight. It was something he never thought he would ever see with his own eyes. Corin had met thousands of furtives through his entire life in Trinixo, and aside from Simeon, had never met anyone else who had ever stepped foot or even seen the continent. But now it was in front of him.

It had only been several days ago that he had left Trinixo for the first time. Now he was on the verge of setting foot on the continent.

“So before we set foot on the continent I think there are some things that are worth mentioning.” Simeon began.

“There are lots of different people on the continent. A lot more than what you might see back in your floating temples or islands like Trinixo. I just want you to know that you'll see some, em, let's say unique things. So don't be surprised.” Simeon said.

“Are we expecting to be attacked?” Nanaua asked.

“Well I wouldn't be surprised if we were. There are lots of bandits on the continent. Roving bands of them actually. That's not to say that there aren't trustworthy furtives on the continent, the majority of the people in the continent are just like those on Trinixo. But you need to be on your guard.” Simeon replied.

“But that is not all. The people on the continent have seen many things. Dragoors won't surprise them. But a magic wielding furtive.” Simeon said as he looked at Zhi.

“I understand. I'll keep the magic to a minimum.” Zhi said in a disappointed voice.

“I'm sorry lass, it just has to be that way. We know that Tonatiuh's forces are on the lookout for us, maybe even Arandu's, who knows what happened to him. But we need to make sure we don't give a clear signal of where we are. We need to keep a low profile.” Simeon also looked at Livia.

“What?” Livia asked.

“We need to be careful with your inventions, those are the kinds of things that will attract attention.” Simeon said.

Livia was silent for several seconds.

“Sure.” Livia finally replied in a cold tone.

“And whatever you do, make sure you look out for everyone here. People in the continent are very savvy about surviving on it. If they learn you are not from there, they might not have the best of intentions for us.” Simeon finished.

After hearing Simeon the group dispersed. Although still a distance away from the continent they were all eager to leave the ship and be on the continent.

While they all went their separate ways, Corin approached Simeon.

“Simeon you don't actually think we will have problems with the people on the continent do you?” Corin asked him with a grin.

“Is that a serious question?” Simeon shot back with a concerned look.

“Well yes. The way you make it sound you expect us to land on sea and instantly start getting into trouble. You don't really think that's going to happen do you?” Corin asked.

“Oh my boy, I don't think it's going to happen. I know it is.” Simeon said as he laughed and walked away from Corin.

***

After several hours the ship finally reached the shores of the continent. The ship brought them to a cove with a wide sandy beachfront surrounded by lush green trees. In the horizon all that the group could see was the foliage.The group carrying their supplies had been waiting for this moment for days. As soon as the ship stopped, it was Simeon who was the first to get down.

Simeon eagerly jumped into the shallow water and almost hopped onto the sandy shore. As soon as he did so he stood in silence admiring the land ahead of them.

Nanaua followed, carrying both her and Zhi’s supplies. She was glad to be away from the ship and to finally land in a place with solid footing. The first thing she did was take her pike out and swing it from side to side. The delicate nature of the ship made it so that even when she practiced with her pike, she had to be careful of her movements. Finally on land she felt as if she did not have the same reservations. The momentous occasion of finally stepping onto the continent for the first time did not seem to excite her as much as the chance to finally wield her trusted pike once again.

Zhi followed her closely. She slowly walked up the beach, taking in her surroundings. She stayed in ankle deep water for several seconds.

“Is something the matter?” Simeon asked.

Zhi did not reply.

“My love is everything ok?” Nanaua asked.

Zhi finally understood that she was being spoken to.

“It’s just, I don’t know when is the next time I will get to experience the sea. It has such a unique character, and I just wanted to be sure I could remember it.” Zhi said as she finally stepped on land.

Livia followed shortly thereafter. She like Nanaua was eager to get on dry land but she hesitated as she approached the shore. After several moments she walked on to the shore. Zhi was excited for Livia to walk onto the shore, as if she had not spent the last several days in the same journey.

Now it was Corin’s turn. He gingerly went down the side of the ship carrying his supplies and waded into the water. It was much cooler than the water he was used to in Trinixo. This surprised him. For some reason he would have thought that all sea water would be warm like Trinixo.

He looked back at the sea steeds that had brought them here. The underwater creatures, without which the group would not have made it here, seemed to understand that their duty was done and they turned around moving the ship away from Corin.

“Thanks.” Corin softly muttered to them.

He turned toward the land. The vast continent now lay before him. No longer a land that only existed in his imagination, but an actual place.

Corin grabbed his pendant.

I made it here Cyril.

He waded through the water, slowly but surely inching closer to dry land. As he did so a familiar voice in his head spoke.

“We did Corin, we made it here.” His brother's voice spoke to him.

You're right Cyril.

Corin had but one step left to take to be on land. He looked back at the sea. Somewhere far into the horizon lay all he knew, all his memories and his entire life. He turned around.

The future, what his life would encompass lay ahead. He raised his foot.