Along the beach near the port of Dregan, a young man named Karm fished in the sea. It was a quiet hour. It was in between the waking hours and the working hours. The morning was a peaceful time; the air was cool and misty, and the beach belonged only to Karm. The chaos of the old fishermen, the clamor of the young kids, and the burning touch of the Sun were all absent during these hours. There was nothing like it.
Deep in thought as Karm fished the morning away, he noticed a strange black dot on the horizon. He couldn't quite make it out, but something was out there. Something was approaching. Since the disappearance a week ago, everybody in the village was on edge. Karm arose from the beach and stared into the distance, trying to get a better look. "I have to go report to the Seer," and with that, he ran to the hill next to the village.
At the peak of the mound laid a tall stone tower with a large cylinder protruding from its circular roof. Karm approached the door of the tower and knocked. "What business do you have? I'm busy," an old tired voice replied to Karm's summons.
"Great Seer, I have seen something approach on the Horizon. I implore you to see into the Horizon and tell me of its nature. The village's safety is of the utmost priority, Great Seer."
Some movement could be heard within the tower, as objects were moved about and slow footsteps walked around the tower.. "Fine. One minute." The Great Seer's footsteps slowly faded as Karm stood anxiously waiting for his return. The top of the tower rotated with a metallic screech, and then the Great Seers footsteps slowly came back to the door. "It's a man. He's on some kind of boat. Never seen 'im before,"
"Thank you, Great Seer," Karm quickly turned around and walked away, hoping the Seer had nothing to ask of him. He did, but Karm turned away before he had a chance, and he didn't care enough to yell after him.
Several minutes later, five men of the village gathered on the beach. Karm brought several others to meet him on the beach in preparation for the strange traveler. "The Seer say anything else about him?" one of the men who just arrived asked Karm.
"No. The damn old man just said he was a guy traveling on a boat," Karm said, staring at the encroaching black figure in the distance.
"That's just great.. You guys think this guy has anything to do with the kid?"
"Tomás's? Doubt it," said Hevelk, a village guard. "He's just getting here, right? The timing is probably just a coincidence. It's been a long time since we had a traveler."
"I hope so."
As the figure approached, they could make out more and more. The robed man rode upon a shaky vessel, built from necessity instead of capability. Obviously struggling to keep upright, the robed looked tired and deflated from his journey. As the 5 men watched, the vessel rammed into the beach, and the man walked 2 steps and stared at them. "Hey," the robed man said, just as he fell to the ground out of exhaustion.
"What are we supposed to do with him now?" Karm asked the fellow villagers.
Upon waking, the robed man found himself inside of a straw hut. He was placed on a bed made out of animal fur and wood, staring up at the straw ceiling. He quickly noticed that his robes were replaced by straw cloth. Frantically, he noticed his relic was missing. Looking around, he noticed his robes hanging in the corner, washed and dried. Running to his robes, he checked their pockets all around for his relic, and felt it in one of the pockets. Sighing and sitting down, the man took stock of his situation.
This was a village, and based on the direction of his boat, it was one the Eastern Mainland. Might be some kind of island, but its probably the right place. Sea could probably be avoided for the time being. The trek inland awaited. The villagers here seem friendly, they washed his clothes and gave him a place to sleep. People usually aren't friendly though. They probably want something.
Changing back into his robes hanging on the wall, the robed man stared out a window at the sky. The Sun was high in the sky; it was noon. 'Did I sleep for a whole day? I imagine it would take longer than several hours.' Fashioning his robes as usual, he left the straw hut he was enclosed in to enter the village.
The village was bustling with activity. People were carrying out their tasks for the day all around. Some were sewing next to their house, some were bringing back fish from a fishing trip, and other still were carrying logs on their back from a tree they recently cut down.
The robed man stared around at the chaos around him; he was trying to take stock of the situation. As he was looking at the villagers running about, somebody tapped him on the back. Behind him was a fisherman who was returning with something to cook. "Hey, I see you're awake. How are you doing?" The fisherman asked him.
"Fine...I'm fine," said the robed man, sizing up the figure in front of him. He quickly realized that this man was one of the people waiting for him on the beach. "Where am I exactly? I'm searching for the Eastern Mainland."
"I don't know what the Eastern Mainland is, but we call this place Dregan. My name's Karm,"
"Damn, I thought I was going near the Mainland. Do you guys have any wise men or astronomers I could talk to? I need to figure out where I am."
"Yeah, we have one we call the Great Seer. Before that though, the Council wishes to speak with you. Follow me," with that, Karm began guiding the robed man through the town.
"The Council? Who are they?"
"The Council makes the decisions for Dregan. You showed up soon after a disappearance, of course they would be suspicious."
"A disappearance? What do you mean?"
"Every so often one of us goes missing. Nobody knows why, but when it happens, everybody suspects everybody."
"Thanks for trusting me then."
"I didn't, you have Hevelk to thank for that. If it was up to me, you'd be in chains right now."
"Right," soon, the two appeared in front of a large wooden building. It appeared to be one of the only wooden buildings in a town of straw houses. "Is this it?"
"Yeah, go on in," the robed man stepped into the room and saw 4 elders sitting in a semicircle staring at him.
"Sit down, friend, and tell us why you have come to Dregan."