Gabrio went near Rostford where the construction of the warehouses were taking place. Rostford was more stone than wood, with most of the construction focused on deploying armaments and rearming the ships.

The waterside warehouse that was close to the rearming warehouses belonged to the Whalers or the Hunters that had been scouting for the enemies. The big whale’s skull that was attached to their warehouse was quite stunning alongside their longships that were decorated with bones that came from their harvest.

The one leading the Whalers and Hunters was a man called Ishma and his Band of brothers that had come to the aid of the Chancellor once. Tall, brawny, and were seven-foot tall with limbs that seems to be able to wrestle any creature. Gabrio believed that they came from the Great North and were professionals regarding giant hunting and have taken it as their duty to accompany the fleet.

Working closely with Ristina, Ishma invited them to his tuskbreaker, his personal longship and sat on the helm area of the ship.

“It seems that you’ve brought a man, eh, Risti?”

“He’s a friend from my days in the field and Accad. He’s also the Doctor of the Milostiv.”

“The Mercy, one of the Grand-Galleons that have been built sturdier than mountains.”

“It’s a great ship, but I’ve never seen a longship like this.”

“It is the tuskbreaker, it once fell the Greater Horned Whale on the North of Britani.”

“Quite the story it must be.”

“It would be too long for the day. Nonetheless, you have heard of our arrangements, no?”

“Did Admiral Magnus agree to the arrangements?”

“He did. He knows what we do and had tasked us to teach some of their methods to the ships, but teaching takes time and to protect this many ship is presumptuous, not to mention that we are not the only masters of the seas.”

“I see that you’ve joined with the Hunters. I am surprised that they allow you to lead them.”

“What are you saying? We are both Hunters and they know that the waters are our territories and have no problems regarding our expertise.”

Ristina observed the rigging, the harpoons, and the nets that were strapped near the railing of the longships.

“I will allow this venture of yours, but as usual you will provide me samples and if possible, I want the younglings of any of the beast. I cannot allow you to risk yourselves in eating dangerous beasts.”

“No need to worry about that,” Ishma glared. “We’d be fools not to learn our lessons in this sea.”

Ishma looked to the side as if recollecting.

“My ancestor had dreamt of traveling to the islands that we wouldn’t dare to be careless. Once we have the charts and know the way, then someday my sons and their sons will travel the seas without the help of the Elven.”

“A grand dream, but for now to think of the present.”

“Of course, I will abide by the agreements that we have. Say, I heard that you have started gutting those creatures, Risti. Do they taste good?”

“I’ve ate them personally, and they only taste like venison.”

“That is interesting. The fishes around this part of the sea are rather strange and most of them swim in the depths, making it impossible for them to catch. But we’ve caught strange creatures that have large inflated bellies filled with eggs.”

“Filled with eggs, huh. Did you taste them?”

“We have,” Ishma gestured to one of his men. One of them brought a strange egg with green spots and upon cracking it open. Gabrio noted that there was only yolk inside.

“Do they taste like a chicken’s egg?”

“They taste like egg, and none of my men seem to have caught any diseases eating them.”

“What about the creature itself?”

“They taste like wet bark.”

“That is unfortunate.”

“At this rate the diet of the fleet will consist of eggs and salted eggs.”

“Is the creature that you caught not made for cattle?”

“I am still studying the creature if they could be. But there is a chance that we might get a new source of meat from this sea.”

“That is wonderful. It saddens me to say that we have to rely on the fleet for rations.”

“So that’s why you demanded this warehouse.”

“Not only because of this. The crew needs a place to butcher creatures and Admiral Magnus allowed it for this purpose. I think that it is safe to say that he had tasked us alongside the Divers to seek for any resources that the Fleet can use. The Icean Spine will be a good place to start this and I believe that we’ll be staying in that place to search for supplies and see if the Glacies do exist.”

“Glacieans, I wonder if their tribe have grown as well.”

“Who knows? Every sapient and sentient could evolve from rock-carrying individuals to an armed civilization.”

“Do you think they’ll be our foes?”

“There is a possibility that they will appear before us. It is arrogant to think that we are only the civilization that have grown as time passes. Remember, it had been years since anyone met the Glacieans and that thought alone should put caution into our thoughts. That is why we intend to rely on you in this coming affair. You are our best hunters and scouts and I believe that the Admiral will make full use of your abilities if the Glacieans are enemies to the Reconnoiter Company.”

Other than the tales that they heard from time to time. There were no records or description of the Glacies other than their tall figures and their ability to live in the Icean Spine.

After the talk with Ishma, the two of them went to Rostford to observe the construction of the settlement on the Shoulder of the island. To hasten the construction work of the settlements, the Protectors of the Ark were being used to haul materials to stockpiles and use the giants living tree-armors to raise foundations and flatten the ground around the Shoulder.

Most of the construction were focused on Perlshaw, and Shoulder Rostford with the engineers personally making the arrangements alongside the Elven-kin who decides where to put the battlements.

The two climbed one of the carved dirt paths, up a slope where they found the elven-kin and the farmers deciding where to put the farms and how they should mold the earth. Not only that, Gabrio saw there were waterways being formed through the tube-like roots that were acting as ‘pipes’ for the farmer to used. He had recognized these ‘pipes’ that were allowing water to the Shoulder Communities.

Hiking further and closer to the elder tree. Ristina took a seat cross-legged on the ground with eyes pointed to the Perlshaw Fort. Passed that head was the view of an endless sea.

“Is it really okay to just sit around like this?”

“I could say the same.”

Gabrio gave up and sat as well. Ristina glanced at him for a moment before turning her head forward.

“Reminds me of our time in Accad.”

“Not exactly, I was sure that we were dealing with the usual infighting and cruelties of war at that time.”

“True. Not like what we’ve been doing now. So much wonder in the world and all this time we’ve been stuck in one supercontinent.”

“Better than what we had before all of this.”

“It wasn’t so bad. Ah, you were in Old Carthan before. Must have been quite something to see it turn into like that.”

“I am still a Frontiersman even if Old Carthan ceased to exist.”

“Hey, do you think that it happened because of him?”

“I don’t know, Ris. I mean, it’s beyond our understanding at the moment. How can a body contain so much energy? How can they have an exception while others can’t? Why did the world seemingly blink and turn most of the coastline into a salt desert? I have so many questions that it starts to bother me.”

Gabrio for once felt the crushing weight of the questions. Ristina arranged her red hair to the side, brushing some of the leaves that were falling from the elder tree.

“Some say that the end has come for this world, and that our duties aren’t just finding a way for the world to be blind. This Terin Gaspar certainly has the power, but there are questions that needed answering. Why do we need to blind the eye of the world? Why do we need him specifically to reach this? Or is it a cruel requirement made by God? I don’t believe the world is so fragile and if they could blind the world then would it be over?”

“I think the cosmic blink, that incident needs to be assumed that it is related to whatever mission.”

“That’s quite a reach.”

“What else is there? It’s not like we’d hear anything from the higher-ups. Still, I was asking a reason why a United Continent would pour so much money and resources in a gigantic fleet like this. What is so important that even the Merchants would be willing to fund a fleet like this? When even the famed long-ears that have avoided human civilization would come out of their domains to help us, then you know that there must be a reason. But when does it become so simple?”

“Indeed, still, you know when knowing that the Blinder really do exist. I started to think of the few legends that might be true as well.”

Ristina’s eyes shone with a fanatic fervor.

“The Garden of the Entirety.”

“The what?”

Ristina looked at Gabrio as if he was speaking with an idiot. She hung her jaw for a second and started to explain.

“It simply where everything came.”

“What?”

“It is rumored to be where all of life started to sprout. The Elven-kin call it the Garden, while some would call it the Paradise of the Holy.”

“Paradise of the Holy is called the Garden of Entirety. Still, what is in this Garden that you’re so eager to see?”

“A place of wonder, where all the ancestors of the creatures that roamed the land were once. It was said that it was the great serpent that led our people out of the Garden. We were destined to spread our seed along with the Eotens who walked the lands as well.”

“You think this place is the origin of all things?”

“Every place has a start. Many believed that this is where everything started and you could say I want to see it myself.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“Of course not. I have my own reasons in joining this great voyage. But there are days where I am curious to know what the Garden of the Entirety truly is. I mean you have to have lofty dreams, right?”

Gabrio looked down. His eyes became empty and he had a hesitating face. It was then that he could only weakly mutter.

“Yeah, I guess you need to have dreams. But, ah, at the moment I have too many patients to think about dreams.”

Ristina looked at her as she if she was trying to figure out what is inside his head. Then, she focused her sight on the endless horizon and the clouds that seems to formed strange shapes. Wind blows from northwest, and the tiny dots of individuals turning Arkshelled Island could be seen.

“This will be the new home for us in a way. This will be the center of everything that this fleet does. Did you ever think that one day, we would be in such a wonderful place, Gab?”

“From foxholes, trenches, and finally on top of a giant shelled beast? Hah, we’ve come the long way indeed.”

Ristina laughed gently.

“And those fools said that we would be stuck in a backwater town listening to some fools. I wonder where those fools are now.”

Gabrio’s eyes shined as he laughed. The two of them spent some time on top of the slope until it was time to go. Despite how long they’ve known each other, Gabrio could only conclude that there was a gap between him and Ristina.

"How empty are you?"