𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔚𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔯

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔉𝔦𝔳𝔢: 𝔖𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰

I wake up on a soft bed, in a room full of beds. Some of the beds are occupied by Champions with wounds covering their bodies, others around occupied with sleeping Champions, or ones moaning in their sleep.

There are small, barred windows embedded in the walls of the room, and every bed has a small side table next to it. Mine has a glass of water on it, which I quickly drink.

A Champion I recognise approaches me, a smile dancing across his face.

"Hello Felix." Cassius says, his eyes glowing with power. "Why are you here?" I ask him, sitting up as Cassius sets himself down on the bed. "I'm the Champion of Jeri, I can sense emotions and sickness. And this is the Healing Ward. Your friend Vel worked wonders on your wound, I'm thinking of requesting her presence here."

"Anyways, Felix, you are good to go whenever you want to, you have the day off." Cassius says, patting my arm as he stands. "How long was I out?" I question before he leaves. "A few hours, it is currently the afternoon." Cassius says, and he walks away.

I sit up and grabbing the clothes at the foot of the bed, I dress. After slipping on my shoes, I walk undisturbed through the room and out the door.

As I walk towards the library, I glance at the tattoo now emblazoned on my arm. I scratch at it idly, not used to the strange black markings that appear every time I look at my arm. But as I walk through the hallways, I see that all the Champions I pass have their names marked on their arms.

I walk down the empty passageway that leads to the library, and I step through the illusion of a doorway. The library is seemingly empty, and I head over to the bookshelves titled, "Uncategorised." I pull out a book at random, and I notice the authors name is faded, and the cover is worn and stained in some places. Opening to the first page, I begin to read.

It was a bright moonlit night that I, Captain N. S. Liscene found the great treasure of the gods.

I smelled the salt in the air on my holly wood boat, my flowed in the wind of the storm. My tattered robes billowed in the night as my sights were set on -

The page then became too hard to read. I turned to the next page.

- the glorious splendour of the island sands gleaming golden in the moonlight. But the storm raged on, intent to deter my path from the island. My boat was shipwrecked, and I discovered a great cave, a place where only the crystals can take you. The bones of the deep gleamed as they sprung to life, whispers of the -

And the next few pages had been ripped right out of the book. I flicked through the book, noticing that all the first few pages were damaged, but the rest of the book was unharmed.

I turn to the first page, and that is where I properly notice the title. The Travels of Captain N. S. Liscene.

I return to my read, continuing the story of the Island from where the next pages were.

I escaped the Island of Bones with nothing but this journal, a map and a medallion stolen from the monsters to my name. I shall return to the coastal city of Astia with knowledge of my discovery, and I shall use my medallion to find my path to the next distant land I shall travel too.

I read all about Captain Liscene's journey home, about how Liscene found a crew and travelled the open sea with them until the day Liscene died. I read about how Liscene was the bravest sailor on the sea, even as a woman, she commandeered many ships, became a pirate, and even managed to discover the lost Isle of Isnor.

As I reached the end of the journal, I found a map inside the back cover of the book. It showed the Eastern Cities of the land of Challisea, and the Western Ocean, including small hand drawn islands and settlements all named after members of Liscene's crew.

Even Teurnhia, my own home, was named after the first mate of Liscene, Robero Teurnhia, who died from illness as soon as the boat reached the shore of our great city.

From what I'm reading, Liscene discovered more than just our land, she discovered the entire Western Ocean of Challisea.

But I'd never heard of a Liscene who discovered the land, I'd only heard of the tales of the Emperor overthrowing pirates who settled here. Liscene seemed like she was a great leader, I didn't understand why the Emperor would kill her.

And I didn't understand why the Emperor would claim credit for discovering the entirety of the Western Ocean of Challisea when it was so clearly Liscene.

I continued reading the book, but as I came on the last adventure of Liscene, I read something peculiar, about the last Isle that Captain Liscene visited.

The river water was contaminated with a mind poison, only found on this Island. The poison comes from the scales of Viper fish, a fish that with a single touch can make you forget everything. My first mate Robero fell victim to the poison, and I know that he will soon die. But when the rest of the crew drank from the water, their prayers went unanswered. The gods had abandoned us.

I close the book and wander back over to where I found it. There were many journals and travel logs of great Captains and adventurers of old. There were books full of myths and ciphers, fairy tales and even a book titled Dr. Aldritch's guide to the Monsters of the Sea.

I spent many hours there, just looking through the bookshelves, until I had a small pile of books that I thought looked interesting. They included The Gods of Challisea, Captain Otis' guide to the beyond, Monsters of Challisea and The travels of Captain N.S Liscene – Vol. 2. I found a small leather bag perfect for holding my books, and I crammed my books inside.

Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I exited the library, heading towards my shared room. I open the door, and I see the fast asleep figure of Marcus laying on his bed. I smile at his messy hair, and his light breaths bring me slight comfort.

I light a lantern and pull out Monsters of Challisea from my book bag. I lay on my bed and begin reading about the Deep Serpents as the night passes by as quickly as it came.  

a/n

Do you guys like the book so far? I have lots planned for it :)