"Huff. Puff. Hap! Hap!"
— The sounds of seawater splashing everywhere could be heard coming from an individual flailing his arms on the water, swimming towards the sandy shore.
"Haah.. Haah."
— After a few seconds of non-stop swimming, he had finally touched the ground before trying to stand up, his legs shaking in the process, afterwards he collapsed on his knees while breathing raggedly, his arms trembling uncontrollably. "Oh woah.. I can't feel my arms." — The figure muttered before diverting his attention towards the view in front of him.
"Woah.." — He gazed in silence, as the where the sand ended met the lushness of a deep, untraversed forest filled to the brim with bounty. Above the leaves of the trees that varied in height, there stood the shadows of distant mountain ranges, signalling a trove of unseen secrets in need of uncovering. With thrill filling his heart, the figure puffed out its chest and let out a small squeal. "..I can't be mistaken..!" - Amongst his soaked clothing, inside the pocket of his wet brown pants he inserted his gloved hand. After a few seconds of fiddling with its contents, the corners of his lips rose before he pulled out a small scroll and unraveled its contents. "I'm here..!" — With a trembling body and a heart roaring with excitement, he tightly gripped the ends of the scroll before inhaling deeply. "THE CONTINENT THAT I'VE ALWAYS LONGED FOR..!"
[GRETAN CONTINENT]
Apart from the large beach near the waves, the forest that sliced off the influence of the sand connecting into a wide grassy plain and the silhouettes of those tall mountains that surpassed the clouds, the figure's core once again trembled in utter wonder as he thought about the possibilities such a new frontier might bring. "Wonderful! I am Elated! But.." — Water continued to drip from his heavy clothing, restricting his movements. "I should do something about this.."
...
As the sun began to set, the figure now sat atop a small log that rested above the shore which was near the sea. With only a thin, sleeveless shirt and small brown shorts covering his pale-skin, he shivered while reaching out for the small ember that slowly proliferated amongst the small twigs that he gathered. "..H..—Hmph..D-does it..rea-really take this lo..long to..be set ablaze..?" — With a shaky voice, he continued to hover his hands above the small fire while his damp garments were hanged above a small makeshift bar near him. The figure's countenance was enshrouded in his dark-yellow bangs coming from his slightly-curly, somewhat spiky hair, revealing only his cheeks and his mouth. "..Well th-dish..will teykk.. a whayl..I s-suppoze.." — He continued to shiver before enveloping his arms around himself. The sun continued to bid its farewell as the distant cries of seagulls could be heard echoing throughout the atmosphere.
...
"Hm.." — With a gorgeous starry night that resembled sparkling specks of dust scattered amongst a void-like blanket that was called "sky." — The figure continued to stare at the small scroll he once pulled out, with the occasional cracks and splashes coming from the fire as well as the waves entering his ears. "..Based on my knowledge.. I should be somewhere around here.." — The figure pondered, before circling his finger above a small drawing that resembled a continent, atop of the sketch were the words [Gretan Continent] and a small compass that pointed in all four directions. After considering his supposed position, the figure's index finger began to slide towards a large opening in the middle of the sketch, with the words [Tallgrass Plains]. As his eyes scanned the area however, he took note of a few castle-like drawings scattered throughtout the plains, with their own unique names. "..This is the closest..Hm..." — He tapped his index finger above a small sketch of a house near a bridge above a wave of seawater. "..Altuhalann..Harbour Town..?" — He stared for a few moments before nodding and closing the scroll, resting it on the log beside him. "Question is.." — He placed his index finger atop his chin. "How can I get there..?" — He tilted his head upwards before anchoring his arms on the log below, taking notice of the excellent dark sky. (..Can I really..)
He flinched. The chilly breeze brought by the absence of the sun had began to smooch the exposed parts of his skin resembling a dangerous embrace. He hurriedly ran towards the bar where his clothes hanged before he grasped a part of the fabric, it was cold and a few drops of water were squeezed out resulting into a frown. "Come on..!" — He cried before pulling the bar towards the fire. "Ueghk..! Ackk..! Ihhck!" — He pulled and pulled, until the bar were inches away from the blaze, a small trail left behind on the sand that quickly dissipated away.
"There we go.." — He wiped off a sweat from his chin before placing both arms on his waist, he then released an exasperated sigh before..
*FWOOSH*
"Eh..?"
His robe, the crimson-coloured cloak catched on fire.
"..Wait..No No!"
Suddenly, all of his clothes hanging from the bar were set ablaze.
"NO! NO! STOP! STOP! TIME OUT!" — He flailed his hands frantically as he sprinted towards it.
— His cries, and efforts to put it out echoed throughout the stars that observed his antics.
...
"Ugh.." — With a body barely filled with energy, the figure drags itself throughout the sand leaving behind a trail that began from a set of burned twigs, a destroyed log, and a bar that..*SLAM* suddenly collapsed, causing the figure to jump in surprise. "Woah!" — He looked back then clicked his tongue. "What a bummer..!" — Afterwards, he quickly diverted his attention back to what lied in front of him. With damaged clothes and edges that were slightly charcoal-coloured, he pressed on, as he crossed the distance, the figure laid its hand on the trunk of the tree before breathing raggedly. "..Haa..Haa..Haa.." — "This sucks! I couldn't even sleep!" — He yelled in frustration as the events of last night flowed inside of his mind. "..I went back and forth to pour water on it! It won't die! When I placed it on the sea, it began to drift away! When I returned, I almost died because of that damn cold! My fire was gone! I couldn't revive it because the twigs were already soaked!" — He punched the trunk. "Dang it!"
He spent the next few seconds inhaling and exhaling raggedly, until a small grumble entered his eardrums. "..Come to think of it." — He slowly pulled out a small pouch before opening. "I still haven't ea..ten..?" It was empty. "Where's the fish..!?" — Panicked, he looked around. "Wait.. it couldn't be.." — He remembered the time when he submerged his garments in the sea for the fire to die out. "..It..It..Swam away!?" — In the distance, a fish resurfaced and began to wave its fins in a mocking manner. The figure with clenched teeth, and shaky fists could only groan in frustration as it provoked him. "Damn you!"
—
"Oh well.. I should at least..argh.." — His vision slowly became blurry as a nauseous sensation began to swirl inside of his stomach, rendering his limbs utterly weakened, resembling wet noodles, his legs trembled before the figure collapsed on its knees, his abdomen protesting loudly. (..Is this..how I die..?) — The questioned ringed inside of his mind, but was left unanswered due to the loudness caused by his body protesting for its needs. (..Everyone...I'm..)
The distant voices, of multiple individuals entered the figure's ears before he blacked out, faceplanting the ground. "Woah..Hey!"
...
"..Accursed Prince..!"
"Death to the Cursed One!"
"Oust! Exile! His Misfortune will infect the Nation!"
"Prince of Death!" — "Cleanse the Kingdom!"
"Son of the Devil!" — "Execution! Divine Intervention!"
*Drip..*
"..The public grows restless because of the recent news.. What should we do, your highness?"
"Hmph.."
...
The crackles of a campfire, the pleasant rustling of the leaves and the distinct voices from before greeted the figure's eardrums as he slowly regained consciousness. "..Ow.." — With a barely-audible voice, he attempted to sit up. "Ah!" His hands tripped off the log, causing him to fall. "Woah! Hey!" — Just in time, a man wearing thick, silver armour rushed in and catched the figure. "Careful there.." — Still weakened, the yellow-haired figure could only mobilize its arms to fix his position atop the log again. "..Are you alright..?" - The man, with the silvery armour asked. He had a fine, masculine countenance, long brown hair, sharp blue eyes alongside a smooth brown skin and a pointy nose. "...Well..I'm still not dead..Agh!" — The figure, now enveloped in white bandages around his torso and arms, flinched as he tried to get up once more. "Hey there! Take it easy.." — The figure smiled weakly. "Thank you.." to which the armoured man softly reciprocated.
"Now." — The dark, solemn voice of a man pierced the warm atmosphere before the pointy edge of a blade hovered inches above of the figure's throat. (..What..?) — The armoured man blinked before quickly standing up. "Oi! Dale! Quit pointing your sword towards him aye!?" — The man cried, beside him was the individual who held the steel blade, its cold hilt nearly ending the figure's life. The individual radiated a graceful aura, his short-spiky black hair, and sharp brown eyes stared daggers to the injured figure, his chin was tilted slightly upwards, he was enrobed in a fine set of garments, notably a trench coat, brown greaves, fingerless gloves and finally a red scabbard beside of his leathery belt.
"Do you want to die?"
— The question rendered the figure paralyzed, while the armoured man continued to yell at him.
"What!? Is this how ye treat ye guests!? Man was dying a few hours ago and after he recovered, you ask him if—"
"Shut your mouth, Cain." — The graceful man diverted a cold glare towards him, causing a few more veins to throb on his forehead. "HAAH!? YOU ASKIN' ME TO SH—"
*BOOM!*
— A small ray of light quickly shot up from below, barely hitting the chin of the graceful man. "..Ho?" — He muttered as he dodged it before launching a series of imperceptible sword slashes towards where the figure rested.
*Fwish*
The shockwave sent a small gust of air to resonate throughout the area causing the armoured man to cover his eyes and some twigs, dust, as well as leaves to be sent flying away.
"Hm...Most Impressive." — "YOU IDIOT! YOU KI—" — As the smoke cleared, it revealed the area where the figure used to rest on, the log was destroyed, the stones were slashed into hundreds of shards, even the previously lush green patch beneath it was now a small crater.. however. "..What..?" —
A body was nowhere to be seen.
"..Where..? Where is.." — "You're skilled." — The graceful man, whom was named (Dale) muttered as he looked behind.
The figure standing spotlessly a few inches away, its arm extended out with its hand open, a small glowing orb hovering over the palm pointing towards Dale. "Hm. This could be a problem."