Volume 2 Chapter 4 the Harbour of the Outcast

Chapter 4 the Harbour of the Outcast

I

It was at noon when the four arrived back at the Camp of Wildshadow Tribe.

Since the Grey Factory had fallen, the air was fresher at the camp and there was less smoke lingering in the air.

The ruins of the Grey Factory was still lying in the distance, on the surface of which vines were crawling. There were even some beautiful flowers growing on the abandoned walls of the Grey Factory. Even in such an soil of wickedness the power of life was still growing …

Sunlight, bright and hot, was descending all the way towards the ground, casting black shadows on the ground. The temperature was pretty high and the whole world seemed to be burning under such a scorching sun.

Though the weather was burning, unlike the zombie-like villagers in Starshine Village, the barbarians at the camp still looked vigorous, though they were living in extreme poverty. Some of them were going out to hunt with bows on their backs while some of them were collecting fruits and herbs.

There were still those sparkles in the eyes of the barbarians, which showed that they would never give up pursuing lives of felicity.

Upon arrival, they went into the tent of the Farseer. It was a beautifully decorated tent, on the surface of which, complicated but exquisite patterns were painted.

The Farseer was already waiting inside the tent, sitting at her table, on which lay a silent music box. That mechanical thing looked rather out of place inside such a primitive tent.

She didn’t look very happy as well and she was staring at the music box, her expressions pretty serious. Anyway, this music box seemed to be far beyond her knowledge. Even such a wise woman like her could not explain what that device really was.

Absorbed in researching the music box, the Farseer even didn’t notice that her daughter had entered her tent along with her friends.

“Hey, Mom!” greeted Starsha.

“Starsha! You’re back! Have you found any information about the location of Sanctum of Life?” queried the Farseer.

“No, we haven’t. Till now, we have explored all the Elder Vaults but we’ve found nothing concerning where that sanctum is yet. By the way, do you know anything about those music boxes?” questioned Starsha.

“So you have known something about those music boxes too. It is advanced technology. Machines can generate music within a minute, that’s new to me,” admitted the Farseer.

“I need to find the answers, mom. I have been walking on the path of music for years and I want to know what music really is. If what I have been pursuing is such a mechanical thing, I think my life will be meaningless,” sighed Starsha.

“Don’t think like that, Starsha! Your life is not meaningless. Music is not the only thing that is important to you. You have friends and you have me. The people around you love you and care about you. That’s enough,” the Farseer reassured her.

“Yep, I am a lucky girl, I think, but I still need to go on this journey,” purred Starsha.

“I know. Your journey to Desertia is inevitable. It’s a journey that will decide the fate of you, and I believe that it will also be a journey of the fates of your friends, especially Aislina,” speculated the Farseer.

“Me?” asked Aislina.

“Yeah. You know, sometimes you may find yourself searching for something with effort but ending up in vain. However, perhaps one day in the future, you may surprisedly find what you’ve failed to find in the past. Anyway, this will be an important trip, for all of you,” explained the Farseer.

II

It was at the dusk now and the last ray of twilight was making its way through the window, lighting up the bedroom of Aislina weakly.

Floria was cooking dinner in the kitchen at the first floor and Yanni was looking after their dad who was struggling with dementia, while Aislina was resting inside her bedroom at the second floor of their big tent. The smell of food kept invading her room, making her stomach rumble.

In boredom, she opened the drawer of the nightstand and started to write a diary.

While she was absorbed in writing the diary, she heard some knocks on the door.

“Come in!” she exclaimed.

The door opened and it was Yanni.

“Aislina, the dinner is ready,” announced Yanni.

“Great,” Aislina smiled.

Yanni seemed a little curious when he noticed that Aislina was writing a diary, but when he walked up to her, he found that he couldn’t understand what Aislina was writing at all.

Because Elvish looked like this: ᚡᛁ ᛡᛆᚱ ᛌᚯᚴᛐ ᛁ ᛆᛚᛚᛆ ᛅᛚᛑᚱᛂ ᚡᛆᛚᚡᛆ ᛉᛂᚿ ᚠᚢᚿᚿᛁᛐ ᛁᚿᚵᛂᚿᛐᛁᚿᚵ ᚮᛉ ᛡᛂᛚᚵᛂᛑᚮᛉᛂᚿ ᛆᚡ ᛚᛁᚡ. [We’ve searched all elder vaults but found nothing about the Sanctum of Life.]

Right now, she looked angelically beautiful under the twilight. Her azure hair was dancing slightly, blown by the breeze that sneaked inside the room through the window. Her green skirt was moving slowly in the soft breeze too. She was like a ray of light and everything except her had seemingly became empty and meaningless for a moment.

There was some reddishness appearing on Yanni’s face, and he was frozen to the spot. Busy in constant adventure, he hadn’t really realized how beautiful Aislina was actually. She was like an angel.

However, he had made his choice to accept the unfair fate between them that they belonged to different worlds. He belonged to the world of humans, but Aislina belonged to the Sanctum of Life, where other elves lived.

Would Aislina forget about him after centuries? Would she still remember him after even the grandson of the grandson of the grandson of the grandson of him died? Or perhaps he would be finally forgotten quietly, dying along with other memories of her too.

“Hey, don’t stare at me like that, Yanni,” complaint Aislina.

“I’m sorry, Aislina … Are you writing diaries?” apologized Yanni.

“Yep, I like writing dairies,” Aislina nodded.

“Wow, elvish script is beautiful What does Elvish sound like?” asked Yanni curiously.

“You want to hear me speak Elvish?” giggled Aislina.

“Yes … How to say ‘hello my name is Aislina’ in Elvish?” inquired Yanni.

“ᛡᛆᛚᛚᛆᛆ ᛃᛆᚵ ᛡᛂᛐᛂᚱ ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿᛆ,” [Hello, I am Aislina,] answered Aislina in Elvish.

“ᛡᛆᛚᛚᛆᛆ ᛃᛆᚵ ᛡᛂᛐᛂᚱ ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿᛆ,” imitated Yanni.

“Your pronunciation is cute … ” tittered Aislina.

“Can you teach me more Elvish?” questioned Yanni

“If I teach you more Elvish, you will be able to peep my diary,” argued Aislina, smiling.

“I am not interested in your diary,” Yanni smiled.

“Really? Since that, I can teach you,” responded Aislina.

“That’s great … How to say ‘the Sanctum of Life’ in Elvish?” pursued Yanni.

“ᛡᛂᛚᚵᛂᛑᚮᛉᛂᚿ ᛆᚡ ᛚᛁᚡ,” [The Sanctum of Life,] replied Aislina.

“Interesting … Some Elvish words were related to Normanish word, like ‘ᛆᚡ ᛚᛁᚡ’ and ‘of life’. They’re pronounced similarly,” Yanni pointed out.

“Yes, Elvish and Normanish were strongly related. Elves used to be humans, after all. We’re not such different from each other, Yanni,” breathed Aislina.

“I know … Anyway, don’t worry about the future, Aislina. You can always choose your path of life. Whichever path you choose, I will always be here for you,” murmured Yanni.

“You’re so nice, Yanni …” whispered Aislina

III

After the night passed, the four set off in the early morning.

When the first ray of the dawn shone upon the earth, the darkness of the night was brightened up. In the west, the moon was still lingering on the sky, while in the east, the sun was rising up from beneath the horizon.

They were going to the west, and the sun was casting long black shadow in front of them. Their destination was the Harbour of the Outcast located in the west of Normania.

That harbour was not very far from the camp of Wildshadow Tribe, and they arrived there at noon. The Harbour of the Outcast was in fact a dirty place where dangerous people were roaming, all of whom looked filthy and horrible.

Rogues, outlaws, thieves, and even terrorists were wandering at the harbour. There were corpses of pitiful people everywhere at the harbour and the smell of cigarette filled the air there, making it a choking place.

However, the four had no choice. This harbour was the only harbour that could possibly accept them, after all, they were criminals who had destroyed the Grey Factory, the most important organization of Normania.

As soon as they arrived, the girls could feel that there were hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at them erotically. Even if they knew that they were the strongest people at this harbour since they had the power of Sylvana, they still felt anxious because of the maliciousness around them.

Instead of dawdling on the streets of the harbour, they went inside a tavern. The instant they opened the door of the tavern, the choking air brimming with nicotine inside it began to attack their lungs and they commenced to cough a little.

All of the customers inside the harbour started to stare at them. They were all fearsome men with wrathful eyes and muscles all over their bodies. Compared to them, the four looked pretty out of place in such a lair of the evil.

“Hello, I want someone who can take us to Desertia!” greeted Floria.

“What brings a fine girl like you here? You don’t belong to this harbour. Go home, girl, or your mother will worry about you. It’s a dangerous place for girls like you,” suggested a short man. He looked about 40 years’ old and quite muscular.

“We have no choice, because we’re criminals,” explained Floria.

“You’re barbarians living near the Dream Forest, right?” probed that short man.

“Bingo,” answered Floria.

“Oh my hell! You four are the terminators of the Grey Factory! Aren’t you?” exclaimed the short man.

“Bingo again,” Floria smiled.

“It’s so nice to meet you four. I am Captain Mar, and I can take you to Desertian. What do you four want to do in Desertia? Are you going to destroy Macchina Gloriosa, that guild producing those submatrices and power armours?” pursued the short man.

“What we’ll do is none of your business,” warned Floria.

“Great! You’re really a charming girl. If you want to get a ride from me, you shall pay me 200 gold coins,” demanded Captain Mar, the short man.

“200 gold coins? That’s a reasonable price. Deal,” agreed Floria.

“Deal,” consented Captain Mar.

“When can we set out?” queried Floria.

“I need to prepare my boat now. She’s a pretty old boat but she’s the best. I think we can set out at 16:00. What do you think?” proposed Captain Mar.

“16:00 is fine. Since that, friends, let’s spend some time on the beach,” suggested Floria.

“Wait, I have one question. Is that blue-headed girl the last elf in the folk stories? It’s said that she has incredible magical power!” whispered Captain Mar.

“She is an elf, but she may not be the last elf, because there may be other elves in the Sanctum of Life,” corrected Yanni.

“The Sanctum of Life. It’s just a mirage. Everyone has read about it in the fairy tales but no one has really seen it … It’s as fictional as solarite, the hardest metal in those unfounded legends,” muttered Captain Mar.

IV

The four arrived at the beach. It was their first time to see the sea, which was a mysterious place in folklores.

In the folklores, there were countless fantastical creatures living in the sea …

Crystal-like blue waves were washing the shore and the girls could feel their hair blowing in the gentle sea breeze.

They walked up to the seawater and dipped their bare feet inside it. The seawater was cold but comfortable and the sand was soft and cool under it.

Softly, the seawater passed over their feet, swallowed them and then withdrew, and after being washed by the seawater, their feet become full of sands and other little stones.

There was nothing but blueness in the distance as if the sea were a path leading to the infinity. On the sky, gulls were flying and twitting, their sounds turning into a song beyond time and space.

Though everyone knew that the earth was a ball and the end of the sea was not a mystery anymore, no one had ever gone to the bottom of the sea and no one knew what lurked there.

Since that, the sea was still a mystery. When the world became less mysterious, it would become boring somehow too …

After looking off into the blue distance and zoning out for several minutes, the four sat on the sand and lay down, staring into the cerulean sky which was just as blue as the sea.

“The sea is a wonderful place. When all of our journeys are finished and the Sanctum of Life is found, I will build a house at the beach … This ocean reminded me of Odyssey,” purred Starsha.

“Odyssey? What is that?” breathed Aislina.

“It’s an epic about the homecoming journey of an ancient hero called Odysseus. In his journey of going home, he encountered ferocious harpies, nightmarish cyclopes as well as deadly sirens. However, nothing could stop him from going home, even love. He had fallen in love with a nymph girl called Calypso, but his home was calling him, so he left her in one rainy morning. Nothing could stop him from returning to his abode,” narrated Starsha.

“Did he go back home in the end?” asked Aislina.

“Yes. It has taken him ten years. Ten years may not be a long time for an elf, but to humans, ten years are long …” replied Starsha.

“What about that nymph girl, Calypso? Did she and Odysseus see each other once again in the end?” pursued Aislina.

“No. I think she is not an important character,” whispered Starsha.

“Oh,” Aislina lowered her head.

Aislina didn’t say anything but looked to the distance of the ocean, where the aquamarine sea and the cerulean sky merged into one …