Start of The South Blue Saga!
High up in a tree lies a boy asleep on a branch, the bright sun shines down on his face. Beneath him in the shadows lies a trap he set for a beast to walk into.
???: Snore...Snore
An unsuspecting bear walks into the trap and it goes off. The net swallows the bear up and rises High off the ground.
CRUNCH!
The boy lifts his bandana up as he opens his eyes. He's falling to the ground at a fast pace. Forcefully he digs his fingers against the tree until his feet get a good enough grip on the tree that he can stand on it sideways.
???: "Gecko Grip!", "I knew following those geckos around for weeks would pay off eventually."
The boy gazes down on the ground and sees the broken branch with the net still tied on it. Stuffed inside of the net is two bears instead of one.
???: "Jeez, I ought to pick a stronger branch next time if my luck is this good, but this should get me enough money to take a couple weeks off."
The boy tenses up the muscles in his legs and quickly stampedes up the tree until he runs out of momentum. He jumps off and starts falling directly over the bears heads. The bears desperately try to escape from the net, but the lack of space grants minimal movement.
???: "Dual Elephant Stomp!"
The boy makes a gruesome landing on the heads of the bears granting them a swift death. The boy lifts them up and tosses them into a big wagon after removing the net.
The boy arrives back in the bustling streets of the city, standing taller than all others around him.
Shopkeeper 1: "Come and get your Oranges only 50 Belly a piece! Three Oranges for 100 Belly!"
Shopkeeper 2: "Come and get your Brine here, one barrel is 5,000 Belly! Two barrels is 9,000 Belly!"
Many people make way for the boy dragging the large wagon with the two dead bears in the back of it.
???: "I hate when Sun's Core gets busy. No one can walk right."
A toddler walks in the way of the boy and he abruptly stops his wagon.
???: "Keep your eyes on your Children!"
The boy grimaces as the man who runs through the crowd to scoop his baby up. Continuing his way through the city he is faced with what he likes the least.
From atop a fountain a voice begins to boom down.
Informant: "Welcome, Everyone! Sun's Core is happy to see so many visitors and customers. Please check out the tours of our luscious and expansive jungle if you have the time because there is none other like it in this sea. Also, it's important to remember that if you are facing trouble with Pirates to please alert the Marines on the South Dock. They know Pirates like to dock on the North Side, so they won't let them get away. You'll be a hero in doing do."
???: "Every damn day with that guy. I hope he falls into the water one time, so I can point and laugh at him."
The boy finally arrives at his destination. "Merry Meats" the sign reads.
???: "Hello? Marianne? Are you in there?"
The boy rings the front bell a few times. A women busts through the wooden saloon doors with a butcher knife in hand and a blood stained apron.
Marianne: "Oh Hello, Noah! Sorry, I was busy. There are just so many customers today that I've had to take a few extra beasts out of the freezer and chop them up. What do you have for me today?"
Noah drags the cart into the view of the shop window. The two bears stacked on top of eachother with their tongues hanging out.
Noah: "I got a lucky catch today while napping. I'll sell them both to you for...80,000 Belly."
Marianne looks at him with a small scowl as she points her Butcher knife at his face.
Marianne: "Are you seriously making light of how much money I have, Brat! 90,000 Belly or nothing!"
Noah grins at how easily she is to persuade.
Noah: "Fine then, 90,000 Beri it is."
Marianne tosses him a bag of Belly that's now covered in mystery beast blood.
Marianne: "Pleasure doing business as always. If the crowds keep up like this you're gonna have to start selling me more, you know it works out for the both of us."
Noah looks down and grimaces at his blood soaked bag of Belly.
Noah: "Yeah, it works out so well that you could afford to buy gloves soon."
Marianne laughs as she turns around and slams open the Saloon doors.
Marianne: "Then I couldn't buy Booze!"
...
Noah returns to his hut on the beach behind the jungle and in sight of the Marine Base. Noah lifts up a section of his wooden floor boards and dumps the 90,000 Belly in it.
Noah: "That should make...13 million Belly. I should be able to afford a small fishing boat if I ever want to go on an adventure even if its second-hand."
Noah walks out of his hut and looks up at the looming sun over the ocean. His dark brown eyes lighting up similar to a jewel.
Noah's POV:
I let out a sigh as memories of my Grandpa's telling me stories play in my head.
Noah: "Grandpa..."
I reach up and fiddle with my bandana before I take it off and look at it. I run my hands over the cyan fabric as I study the desgin of the moon and sun crossing over. One specific memory plays vividly in my mind.
11 years ago...
Grandpa and I sit on the beach letting the waves crash against their feet.
???: "You know kid, no matter if the sun was shining or the moon was shining...I always felt free on the sea. Like the strings of fate couldn't even pull me down."
Noah: "Are you developing dementia, Gramps?"
Grandpa erupted into laughter. He wrapped his arm around me to reassure me everything is alright.
???: "You're far too young to be worrying about me. You can't even catch a fly if it landed on you."
I stick my tongue and blow raspberries at him.
Noah: "I'll prove you wrong right now, you old fart."
I stand up and run off into the jungle with Grandpa standing up to walk behind me.
Returning to The Present...
I walk myself through a carved out path of the jungle where vines lay over large rocks like a makeshift hallway. I arrive at my Grandpa's grave as I tie my bandana back around my head, keeping my hair back. I sit down and cross my legs as I stare down at his poorly made headstone.
Noah: "It's been 10 years Gramps. I've become a great hunter, that I'm sure of, yet...I feel like a part of me is incomplete. I think it's time I head out to Sea and carve my own path."
End of Noah's POV...
Noah would walk back to his hut on the beach. The sun would begin to set, highlighting the writing on the headstone. It reads
"Here lies my Grandpa, Cain Kotzer. Years 3,144-3,222".
Soon the moon would rise and Noah would fall asleep on the hammock in his hut. The bones of a chicken laying on the floor next to him. A small smile on his face appears as he dreams about life at sea.
End of Chapter 1...