Chapter 2: Beginning (2)

“So it was true…” I murmured out as I watched one of the people climbing almost lose their grip on the ladder, hanging precariously onto dear life. The steam from underneath the plates had caught off their guard.

“This climb is just the beginning.” The knight I was following laughed, his face turned upwards to also look at the spectacle.

“If you can’t climb up all the way to the top of this ship, there’s no way you could get to Albius.” That was probably true. I had heard the legends of the three hundred foot cliff one must climb to get to the mainland of Albius, and it did not sound fun. Whether or not that was to be believed, it was still going to be a lot worse than here. Still, I was going to be damned either way, especially since I wasn’t the most athletic individual to begin with.

“What is that?” I gasped out as a sudden movement from the ship caught my attention. I peered closer to a climber close to the top of the ship. Long golden hair was tied behind the back of a slender figure. A large knapsack hung loosely from short straps around small shoulders, heaving as the figure slowly gripped on wooden planks, one by one slowly climbing. What a crazy lunatic. They weren't using the ladder. I could only watch in awe as the figure quickly made their way to the top, disappearing from my sight by the time I made it to the front of the line.

Turning from the edge of the dock, the knight walked over to two standard fit knights who were routinely checking the badge of the next recruit in the front of the line.

“We got another goldie here. Let him in next, Teron. And good luck, Sir Lurdrake.” The knight who I was following brought me close to the elevated platform, patting the shoulder of the right knight before quickly walking away and leaving me to the mercy of the two. The right knight quickly finished his side of adjusting the ladder while the other continued to fit the recruit onto the harness.

“Ugh. Another one? We can’t keep having skips.” The knight I assumed to be Teron fixed his goggles underneath his scruffy black hair. Light brown eyes suddenly bored into mine, which slowly shifted with astonishment.

“Holy Albion… it’s Alice’s son!” Teron’s voice cracked loudly. Was that the standard response upon seeing me?

“Oh really? I wanna see!” The knight to the left of Teron looked to be a girl with fiery red hair, her emerald eyes shining with excitement. However, the recruit whose uniform she was adjusting to the ladder shook rapidly when she turned to look.

“Oh sorry, you can go up!” She lifted the poor soul up, who could only grunt and cry out in pain with such a swift and reckless procedure. She turned back to me.

“It is! That’s so cool! I didn’t know there were two! They look so alike! It’s nice to meet you! I’m Rhea Stark!” The girl rushed over and grabbed my hands, shaking them with a really firm grip. Stark? That family name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember where at the exact moment.

“Umm. Nice to meet you too.” I tried to pull my hands from her grasp, but the iron gauntlets around my hands were tightly locked.

“It’s so crazy that you’re the son of a war hero! That must be so cool!” Was it cool? I don’t think so. Especially since that meant one of your parents died in some war that didn’t mean anything in the end, but I digress.

“Stop that Rhea, you’ll break his hands. He still needs to go up.”

“Oh sorry I forgot!” Rhea released my hands from their prison, and I could finally let out a sigh of relief. He proceeded to pull me away from the red headed demon and over to the ladder, a clasped rope in his hand.

“Right. So I assume the Captain checked your badge already. If that’s the case, that would mean all we have to do before letting you up is deciding if you want the ladder or not.” Teron’s tone was almost monotone as he began to lay out the rules for the climb.

“If you choose the ladder, you’ll join the recruits who chose the ladder in the shared rooms, as well as being in the Pale group for Albius.” He paused, almost for dramatic effect, his expression blank.

“However, if you decide to climb without the ladder and harness, you get a room for yourself, and placement into the Crimson group.” Teron tapped the side of the boat, pointing at a lodge between the wood.

“Yup! It’ll be highly beneficial for your start if you do that! It’s pretty easy to climb as well!” Rhea chimed in excitedly, thumbs raised high up. I knew my choice long ago. It was a definite, concrete, hell no.

“I think I’m fine with the ladder.” I couldn’t do this climb right now, especially in my state. Rhea gasped, almost like it was the most shocking thing she ever heard in her life.

“Are you sure? You lose out on starting with the Crimson group, which would give you a higher chance of a cool Destiny in Albius.” Teron looked at me with a sincere look.

“And if you can’t climb this now, it’s gonna be much harder in the cliffs, especially being in the Pale group.” What he was saying was true. But I didn’t have any hope of climbing the cliffs in the first place. I was forced to go to Albius not of my free will, but the whims of my country who was too busy with a meaningless war.

“Won’t I die if I fall?” I sighed. I could feel myself being entrapped by the sales tactics of merchants. Truth be told though, it was slightly tempting to challenge myself now, even if I didn’t initially want it.

“Nah you won’t die! We’ll give you one of these!” Rhea held out a small, white feather. It glimmered in the dawn’s light with a mystical radiance. Is that? I could feel my eyes widening, I was completely shocked.

“One Angelic feather, guaranteeing your safety. However if you use it you will fail and completely lose access to Albius this year.” Teron glared slightly at Rhea while snatching it quickly from her hands.

“You do keep if you don’t use it though. It’ll be extremely helpful for Albius.” I couldn’t believe the words that just came out from their mouths. Extremely helpful was almost an understatement. Having the Angelic feather would be monumental in any situation, and you get to keep it if you didn’t use it? And even if I did use it, it would mean I would skip going to Albius. It was a perfect win-win situation. There was no reason for me not to try the climb, right?

“So. What’s your choice? We can’t keep on having the rest of the line wait on you.” Teron waved the feather around the harness and ladder with a slight smirk. Despite the words of impatience, he seemed like he had all the time in the world. But man. This really sucked. I thought I lost my will, my edge long ago. Was I really going to push myself more than I needed to? I couldn’t believe myself. It was insane.

“Alright, I’ll climb without the ladder.” I sighed as I resigned myself to my most likely demise.

“Yay! The twentieth one!” Rhea cheered loudly as she rattled the ladder beside her. Those poor people are still climbing.

“Good choice. Here you go.” Teron nodded as he reached over with the silvery feather. I took it, marveling at the details for the briefest of moments before focusing myself up.

“When you're ready, you can go. Just find the notches, and it’ll work out fine. You can do it, I believe in ya.” His smile wasn’t that assuring, but I was thankful nonetheless.

“It’s easy! I saw your sister do it earlier!” Rhea’s cheering stopped me. So she climbed it, huh. It was expected though. She still had the drive to continue our mother’s legacy. I nodded. It was time for me to do it as well. I walked over to the edge of the platform. It was five feet away from the ship, so I would have to jump before I go. The water below was wavey, from the movement of the ship and ocean. That would be pretty bad for me if I fell. I thought the side was a bit closer, but I guess that was a foolish dream.