The usual nightmare appeared in Rall's sleep. A shrouded figure, his dead father. But this time, the figure started laughing sadistically. And when the shadows dissipated, a large ginger man remained. Donny's hand now appeared around Tui's neck, slowly choking her. Rall ran towards him, but the faster he moved his legs, the farther away the figure appeared. The mermaid's Fairylight fought to blind the man, but it was powerless. Soon, her struggle ceased, her legs dangling over oblivion.

A falling sensation woke Rall up. Trying to calm his ragged breathing he looked around. The room was illuminated in the gold radiating from Tui's ethereal orb of light. The mermaid light mage was sleeping on her bed, snoring lightly. The boy was perplexed as to how she had been able to reach the contorted position her body was in, but he knew that by morning the mystery would become even more confusing.

Despite the bright light in the room, she was sleeping soundly. Most light mages were like that, accustomed to sleeping with their Fairylight floating over their eyes. His father had noted in his scroll that most light mages were scared of darkness to the point of it being debilitating. Theodore theorized that they had never had to surpass that fear in their childhood, so it haunted them for the rest of their lives. The less knowledge one had of something, the scarier it became. So to those light mages who had never known darkness, it was terrifying.

Rall was different. His father had thought him to hide his Fairylight when he was three years old, and he was used to sleeping in darkness like any other ordinary person. And then there was that phrase. Darkness is the safest place for a light mage.

The boy got up and moved towards the closed window. Heavy rain poured on Sturmwater that night, and in the Wrecked Vessel, Rall could hear every drop as it impacted the hull-ceiling.

He opened the window slightly and looked outside. It was hard to see anything, the rain was so thick it reminded him of the Fog. Minus the malicious ghostly figures, of course.

For a second, he stood there as a strange thought surfaced in his mind. Why had he never heard about those specters in the Fog? There were tens of attacks every year, so how come nobody ever said anything about those pale maws and dreadful hands? He scanned through his father's scroll. There were several theories about the Fog's origin, but none ever mentioned those ghosts...

He took note of that question but set it aside for now. The focus of his eyes shifted on the gulf, as a bright point of light pierced through the rain from the yellow ships in the bay. There must be some powerful light mages on those ships, he thought.

He started to close the window. However, as he did, he noticed a glint twenty meters down. A couple of shiny eyes reflected the golden light of Tui's Fairylight, staring intensely at him.

Must be a cat. I hope it has found a good shelter for the rain.

He closed the window and went back to his bed using his blanket to cover his eyes. For some reason, that pair of feline eyes remained in his mind for the whole night.

***

In the morning, hundreds of people showed up to Conrad's invitation. A rowdy bunch of experienced sailors and reckless youngsters crowded the Wrecked Vessel from the hall to the streets. They laughed and they drank, with Donny having to call on more workers for the day.

Rall looked at the hall with thoughtful eyes as he sat on the stairs to the second floor, covered in a heavy cloak to avoid the chillness of the morning air. The ruggedness of those men and women of the sea reminded Rall of the people of Korn. They had that air about them that came from harsh manual labor in a field subject to the whims of destiny.

When enough people had shown up, Conrad walked to the stage accompanied by Tui in her black wig. He wore his official navy uniform, with all his medals and accomplishments in full view. However, Rall noted how his stride was more casual, his uniform less neat and even slightly unbuttoned. Either he was more comfortable around humble sailors, all he was trying to appeal to them by seeming less strict - the boy wasn't sure which one was true. Maybe both were.

The crowd's volume lowered, and Rall noticed the respect in the eyes of many of the older sailors. If it wasn't for the former Admiral's fame, most would never have come.

"Sturmwater, are you here?!" Shouted Conrad, silencing the last voices in the hall.

"Aye aye, Captain Delaux!" Answered some in the crowd. They were those who had once served under the Admiral's command in the navy, and they knew his methods well.

"Good, 'cause here I have a chart that needs following!" Responded Conrad.

"Where are we going, Cap?" A voice sounded from a rough lizardman who sat at the counter.

"Where no sane man would go! The Deepest of Norths." Startled whispers rose from the tavern. "I have the ship, I need the hands."

Around ten of those who answered before rose from their stools and chairs in the official navy salute. "We will follow you wherever, Cap!"

"I knew I could count on you, lads! But I will still need more adventurous seamen for this expedition."

"How will ya surpass the Fog?" A young tanned girl asked the question most had in their heads. They knew the stories around Admiral Delaux, of course. But a legend was still a legend in the end.

"I know the course, and this time I also know how to follow it. As for the Fog, let me introduce you swabs to Lady Arianna Cossak," Conrad said, indicating Tui with a respectful bow.

Once more, she followed the script, and she curtsied to the crowd.

Rall could see a change in the atmosphere of the room. It was like the eyes of every man, and even some women, were devouring the mysterious figure of Tui like the rarest of foods. Not only a young and fetching daughter of a noble house, but even a light mage! Nevertheless, she stood her ground, not cowering from their eyes. She was used to much less flattering looks in the court of Motu Rere.

"What is there in the Deep North?" Shouted a curious youngster looking over through a window from outside the tavern.

Once again, the atmosphere changed. That young man was soon the sole focus of many angry looks. It was common knowledge between the old guard that Admiral Delaux hated answering that question, even to the point of throwing out of his ship any seamen who dared ask him.

Soon the crowd was divided between members of three generations. The older ones were furious that the youngster had annoyed their Captain. Those in the middle felt that he had disrespected that legendary figure. Finally, the younger ones just nodded at the question and applauded the guy's courage.

And in the end, it was the older generation who was surprised.

Conrad's face morphed into a smirk as he acknowledged the young man's question. "Right, I should tell yall about this."

Gasps rose from the tavern, and even Donny, Dora, and the other waiters halted their frantic rhythm to look at the stage. Rall and Tui both opened their ears wide, not wanting to miss any of the following words.

"It is a story that I have never told, not in full at least. Most of you know some pieces of the events. It was at the start of the Second Great War of the Northern Sea. I was second in command of the Gilded Rose, one of the first alchemically reinforced battleships of the Grand Imperial Fleet. We fell into an enemy ambush, one hundred miles northwest of Sturmwater. Three pirate ships and two ships from the Iron Islands. My Captain died in an attempt for negotiation. With the courageous sacrifice of a couple of brave shipmates, I was able to free the Rose and sail north."

Conrad paused. For the first time this morning, nobody spoke. There was only the sound of waves hitting the piers and the squeaking of seagulls over the gulf.

"We sailed north, but those devils kept chasing us. Two days later we had reached the Wall of Fog, the misty borders of the Deep North. There was a light mage on the Gilded Rose, of course, and she bravely accepted the challenge." Instincts told Rall that Conrad's voice contained some emotions when he talked about that light mage.

"We passed the Wall, shaking off our pursuers," Conrad's voice said trembling. "It was like we had entered an unending abyss of pure darkness. The Fog was too dense for our light mage's Lighthouse to cover the whole ship. Immediately we lost our rudder, as well as most of our sails. Thankfully, the alchemical reinforcements worked - the hull kept giving us horrifying creaks, but it withstood the Fog for some time. Still, I had lost control of the ship, and there was no turning back."

Conrad paused again. He stayed quiet for a while, wanting to raise the suspense in the tavern.

Then, his darkened eyes lightened up in excitement.

"I do not know how much time passed, but It was enough for all the alcohol on the ship to vanish in our gullets. Our light mage was about to die, and I was ready to go with her. But I never got the chance..."

"Suddenly, the Fog opened up before our eyes. Lush forests ripe with delicious fruits, incontaminate plains full of unending treasures, rivers of pure gold flowing from gorgeous peaks. It was as if a piece of the Divine Kingdom had found its way to our world. There was a village there, of those who have gone and never returned. The people there lived in peace, true freedom, away from the corruption of the Continent."

Another collective gasp rose from the tavern.

"We lived on those heavenly lands for a month, but some of us had not forgotten the Empire, where our homes and our families still waited for us. Five of us, including our light mage, sailed south - the others chose to remain, and honestly, I have never blamed them.

Unfortunately, only I was able to land on the Continent..."

"Now, twenty-five years later, I will return to that mysterious land. Come with me if you want fame and glory! Come with me if you want to drown in riches and treasures! Come with me if you want History to never forget your name!" Shouted the Admiral. Soon, he was joined by most of the crowd.

That speech had been enough for those sailors who already admired Conrad, but Rall and Tui were still perplexed. Why did he need a white Fairylight at all? Thankfully, that same brave young man asked a second question.

"Why wait twenty-five years to prepare an expedition?"

Conrad looked at the young man. "Last time I did not even know the door existed, but the gods gave me the key," answered the old man cryptically. "This time I know where the door is, and I have finally found the key." For a second, Rall felt the old man's gaze land on him avidly.