dilapidated
and rotten with no outer wall for protection and barely a single
house without a hole in the roof.
The houses themselves reminded him of
what he had seen in the history books about the Ringlands when he
was a child. His father had paid good money for those books so that
his son would be able to read. Yet it was the pictures that had
stayed with Seran. It was the pictures that Karayol reminded him
of.
“ This cannot be real,” he
said to no one. “How could such a horrifyingly disgusting place
exist in the Alexandria Empire?”
As he entered what he assumed was the
city boundaries, marked by sticks placed deep in the ground like
the sides of the gate, yet missing the most important aspect; the
actual gate. Pigs ran amuck through the wet soil and mud, splashing
the brown liquid onto the face of young children who followed them
as if playing some sort of archaic game of ‘chase and
catch’.
How could anyone who lived like such
animals be a part of the Empire? He continued through the
marsh-like village, passing one rotting and broken hut after
another. The dirty children moved out his way with great energy,
Seran trying not to get hit by the flying water. If this were a
battlefield or some such environment then such dirt would be normal
for him, but since it was a village filled with pigs and dogs and
who knows what else, there could have been anything in the mud that
was being flung at him.
Finally he arrived at the pier, a long
wooden structure that stretched out of the mud and into the sea. It
was surprisingly clean considering the state of affairs in the
village. The sun beamed down onto polished oak and glistening blue
and white blankets of waves.
Three fishing boats of miniscule size
floated in the water, tied at the bow to large logs the stuck out
higher than the rest of the pier. At the end, however, was a
slightly larger one big enough for ten people and with its own
engine. It was a double floor vessel with the engine room below and
the cabin on the deck.
The engine was already roaring by the
time Seran walked over to it. It could not have been hard to guess
who he was compared to the people of village.
Steam and smoke poured out of two
exhaust holes in the side of the boat whilst an ungodly roar of an
aging engine made Seran’s heart beat far too fast for his own good.
There was an elderly man with a rather large grey beard and brown
tunic and pantaloons combination awaiting him.
“ My lord,” said the sailor,
“we are ready to leave immediately.”
“ Very well,” replied Seran,
boarding the old ship.
*~*~*
12
AEON
“ Let me out! I tell you,
let me out!”
The screaming and shouting hadn’t
stopped since the young girl had woken up. It was not as if she had
a bad place to stay. It was warm with a large bed and a desk to
right at. The window would allow her fresh air and a view of the
sky.
Aeon doubted she had even been on an
airship before so why make such a fuss about staying in a room for
a few hours? He placed one hand on the door, feeling a warmth
coming from the room that had never existed before she was there.
He shook her head, brushing off the idea and returning to the real
world.
“ I have already explained
to you, dear Alexia; that we cannot allow you to roam freely aboard
this vessel.”
“ I do not want to ‘roam
freely’. I want to go home!”
Aeon sighed heavily. He looked at the
ground with open eyes before returning his gaze to the door.
Opening the sliding panel that stood at eye level, he saw the young
girl sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She had changed
into the white sleeping garments they had provided, with the
pleated ends and designs around the neck and breast. Alexia looked
beautiful, fit for a night with a king.
“ I am sorry my dear,” he
said through the hole. “But you know that we cannot allow that. The
fate of the Ringlands depends on you being here.”
“ But I do not understand
that! Why does it depend on me!?”
“
and rotten with no outer wall for protection and barely a single
house without a hole in the roof.
The houses themselves reminded him of
what he had seen in the history books about the Ringlands when he
was a child. His father had paid good money for those books so that
his son would be able to read. Yet it was the pictures that had
stayed with Seran. It was the pictures that Karayol reminded him
of.
“ This cannot be real,” he
said to no one. “How could such a horrifyingly disgusting place
exist in the Alexandria Empire?”
As he entered what he assumed was the
city boundaries, marked by sticks placed deep in the ground like
the sides of the gate, yet missing the most important aspect; the
actual gate. Pigs ran amuck through the wet soil and mud, splashing
the brown liquid onto the face of young children who followed them
as if playing some sort of archaic game of ‘chase and
catch’.
How could anyone who lived like such
animals be a part of the Empire? He continued through the
marsh-like village, passing one rotting and broken hut after
another. The dirty children moved out his way with great energy,
Seran trying not to get hit by the flying water. If this were a
battlefield or some such environment then such dirt would be normal
for him, but since it was a village filled with pigs and dogs and
who knows what else, there could have been anything in the mud that
was being flung at him.
Finally he arrived at the pier, a long
wooden structure that stretched out of the mud and into the sea. It
was surprisingly clean considering the state of affairs in the
village. The sun beamed down onto polished oak and glistening blue
and white blankets of waves.
Three fishing boats of miniscule size
floated in the water, tied at the bow to large logs the stuck out
higher than the rest of the pier. At the end, however, was a
slightly larger one big enough for ten people and with its own
engine. It was a double floor vessel with the engine room below and
the cabin on the deck.
The engine was already roaring by the
time Seran walked over to it. It could not have been hard to guess
who he was compared to the people of village.
Steam and smoke poured out of two
exhaust holes in the side of the boat whilst an ungodly roar of an
aging engine made Seran’s heart beat far too fast for his own good.
There was an elderly man with a rather large grey beard and brown
tunic and pantaloons combination awaiting him.
“ My lord,” said the sailor,
“we are ready to leave immediately.”
“ Very well,” replied Seran,
boarding the old ship.
*~*~*
12
AEON
“ Let me out! I tell you,
let me out!”
The screaming and shouting hadn’t
stopped since the young girl had woken up. It was not as if she had
a bad place to stay. It was warm with a large bed and a desk to
right at. The window would allow her fresh air and a view of the
sky.
Aeon doubted she had even been on an
airship before so why make such a fuss about staying in a room for
a few hours? He placed one hand on the door, feeling a warmth
coming from the room that had never existed before she was there.
He shook her head, brushing off the idea and returning to the real
world.
“ I have already explained
to you, dear Alexia; that we cannot allow you to roam freely aboard
this vessel.”
“ I do not want to ‘roam
freely’. I want to go home!”
Aeon sighed heavily. He looked at the
ground with open eyes before returning his gaze to the door.
Opening the sliding panel that stood at eye level, he saw the young
girl sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She had changed
into the white sleeping garments they had provided, with the
pleated ends and designs around the neck and breast. Alexia looked
beautiful, fit for a night with a king.
“ I am sorry my dear,” he
said through the hole. “But you know that we cannot allow that. The
fate of the Ringlands depends on you being here.”
“ But I do not understand
that! Why does it depend on me!?”
“
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