Gabrio cleaned up his cabin after working on his report for the fleet. He had been gone for months and had recently been thought of as dead.

Even his cabin started to smell like dust because of how long he had not been here. He stared at the books, the bedding, and even the pots that had dried up. He looked below the hidden compartment located below his bed, saw the hardtacks, and took out.

“It’s still here,” he thought. “Guess they didn’t found this.” He inspected the items. There was nothing missing. There was the stench of dust however that made him squeezed his nose.

There was a mask on the compartment. He took the mask, placed the hardtacks, and sat back to his study table where he placed his eyes on the mask.

Life wasn’t fair, but there are fortunes along the way. Gabrio had always acted like a doctor, he was not a good one, that was one thing he had acknowledged when he met his seniors and master that he was below them when it comes to medicine. He had believed that the elven-kin’s art of healing was more profound.

The proof of that was his beating heart. The same heart that keeps the walking island beating. It was not shameful to concede on which one was superior.

Human Medicine was lacking. It was very lacking when faced against the supernatura and Elven-kin healing artsl. Gabrio could concoct medicine, do treatments, and even operate a dying a man if needed to be.

But can he extend his lifespan using these medicines? Can he bring back a dead man back to life? No, he couldn’t, and he knew better than to underestimate the knowledge of the long-lived races.

Gabrio still couldn’t believe it. How he had managed to survive that trial. He had been with the vilest people in the world and been through harsh battlefields, but being thrown away and cursed. He had to face his true colors and yet he found out that at the face of death.

He was a doctor. A doctor who was shown his true colors and had been acknowledged by the mother of earth that he was worthy. He didn’t think of himself anything other than a doctor. But what he was glad about was that he didn’t stray off his path.

He had been holding back. Elven-kin beauty was mesmerizing and knowing that she had given half of her life to him. Gabrio couldn’t help but wonder how she could ever repay her.

Mana had shortened her lifespan. He understood what that meant. Even he was not foolish enough to understand the implications of being part of the conclave. It meant that half of his elven-given life belongs to the Elves.

He have secrets that he had to keep. The ritual done to him was by no means easy and even if it can be replicated. It would take the approval of the mother of earth or the heart of a frosty, long-lived elven-kin to do it. Who in the world other than Mana would do such a thing?

Gabrio didn’t have any abilities other longevity. However, the recent troubles had given him insight on the memories he recalled. How he had such troublesome memories where he became a warrior, a madman who had taken on an island, butchering bandits, slavers, all because of the death of a good friend. How could someone achieve such thing was unbelievable to him. If these memories are a gift then it reminded him that in those memories he was a monster as well. A monster who had made an excuse to destroy people he didn’t like.

“But are they real?” Gabrio thought to himself. “These ideas have always been blurry and nonsensical to me. Just because I know the form and shape of what I saw, doesn’t mean I know how to build them. I do not have profound knowledge, but I do feel like I know how to do it if I follow what I had remembered.”

He couldn’t produce the theory, but he could refer to the memories to do what he had done. “But I am not that kind of person,” Gabrio thought. “Not a killer, but a doctor. I swore an oath to help sew the seams, not ripped it off.”

He would defend himself and fight for causes he believed and people he wanted to kill. But to do it upon people who are not hostile to him was beneath the doctor’s oath that he had sworn.

The mask stared at him. He had the treeheart but not the eyes, tongue, and body of the elven-kin. He had initially made this mask in hopes to imitate the sounds that the elven-kin produced, recreating their tongue, the shape of their mouth, and creating a piece around the lip-area as an imitation to the elven-kin.

But now he felt bad. He had been saved and it felt like this was all part of his intentions from the start. “I should just destroy this,” Gabrio thought, then wiped the dusk off it before placing the mask on his face. He closed his eyes and imitated the sounds he heard during the ritual and when he was listening to Lady Eletha of Roan back then.

The tone was deaf. It sounded like the cry of an infant being strangled. He removed the mask, adjusted the lip-area and did it again. This time, he felt something wrong with the mask. His heart went mad for a moment and then he saw sparks on his vision. He cleared his eyes with a rub, but the little wriggling worms made of light and the spirits that were hanging around the cabin made him froze.

“What the hell happened?” Gabrio stopped. He couldn’t understand anything even though these human-like figures were opening and closing their mouth. He could see them but he did not understand their tongue.

Gabrio tried to continue speaking through his mask when suddenly these spirits who had been hanging around the ceiling flew over to his mask and broke it. The mask was split into two and he saw the spirits who seems to be making rude faces, like naughty children who were annoyed and decided to play a prank.

He was about to pick the mask but it just turned to ask for no reason he could conceive. “So if I am guessing their intentions are, then they got annoyed, broke the mask, and destroyed it. From the looks of anguish that they’ve shown, it must because of how tone-deaf my ‘speaking’ and ‘singing’ voice is that they had to destroy it. But it doesn’t explain why he could see them.

“It couldn’t because of the mask now, wasn’t it?”

He was about to sort out of his thoughts when there was a knock on his cabin door. He opened the door and saw Mana, wearing her robe, green hair with a prominent fringe, and tied to a hairbun. Her green irises were staring at him.

“What takes you here?”

“I was planning to visit you, but the little ones were complaining about a noise,” Gabrio saw the little spirit that was pointing at him.

Her green irises followed the little spirit’s finger. “Oh my, can you see them now? It must be the treeheart integrating with your body now.”

Gabrio let him. She looked around his cabin with interest. “I see that you have quite the cabin.”

Her icy and distant person had melted. They had been through tough times after all. Even Gabrio didn’t find it strange that she was amiable to him.

“It is, ah, it seems like I can see the little guys now.”

“It looks like the mother of earth had something,” she muttered.

“Done something?”

“No, the usual ritual doesn’t usually produce the ability to see these things. I doubt you can communicate with these ones.”

She took one of the tomes on his desk. “The Butcher of Fort Rava, Ruid Duard.”

Gabrio went silent. Mana took a glance and said. “I know of the infamous surgeon, don’t worry. He was a brilliant practitioner of medicine that even my people had decided to offer him a body of an elven-kin.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, do you think my people would allow one to be experimented or butchered unless it was decided?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

She opened the tome and shook her head. “It was said that if he had the lifespan of an elf, he would have made grand contributions to the human race. In the little time he had in this world, he had managed to produce such things to his short life,” she scanned the tome, with admiration. “No wonder he could produce such doctors.”

“Our medicine is still barbaric and inferior.”

“It is,” Mana said. “Ours are natural but without the help of these little ones floating around us, we wouldn’t have such level of healing capabilities. Perhaps, you can improve it?”

“I have time, yes,” Gabrio sat down on his chair and leaned an elbow on the study desk. “Half of your lifespan, huh.”

Mana looked down and placed the tome back on the desk’s shelf compartment. “It was the only thing that I could do to repay you.”

“I am a doctor, I was ready for death.”

“You are and that’s why I had to do it, she sat on his bed. “I’ve given you half of my life because you are worth it. I mean what kind of man would do so?”

Gabrio joined his hands. “Someone who had been taught well, it seems.”

“You…saw everything of me. You fed me, bathed me, and even took care of my…bathroom needs.”

“I did. It’s not new to me. I am a doctor so I had to examine my patients thoroughly sometimes. But most of the people back in the mainland thinks that I am a lecher, even though I do it to everyone.”

“Well, they are ignorant.”

“That they are, sometimes.”

Mana looked at Gabrio in the eyes. “Still, you do know what it means when you see someone’s naked self, right?”

“According to your elven-kin laws, yes. But seeing that I am alive, I guess I am spared?”

“You didn’t do it out of malice. I allowed it. Nonetheless, you do know that I was awake most of the time.”

Gabrio frowned. “Then I guess you saw how pathetic I was.”

“You were suffering a curse, thrown into hostile territory, and with someone who you could have thrown away. Am, I not that attractive?”

“That’s thing, Mana. You were and it was unbearable.”

“I know,” Mana nodded teasingly. “Nonetheless, I am here to thank you again, and hand this over.”

She took a pendant from her pockets. “This is the sign that you are part of the conclave now, you will be treated as an Elven-kin if they see that necklace”

“That’s something,” Gabrio took the pendant and wore it. “Still, to think that I would have this.”

“You deserved it.”

Gabrio didn’t talked back. He just stared at the tear-like pendant and hid it under his clothes. “Still, I think I don’t deserve this kind of reward.”

“I’m not going to argue that again,” Mana said firmly. “You may actually live long enough to see this journey end.”

Gabrio widened his eyes. “Ah, I didn’t think of that. If I have half of the lifespan of the Elven-kin then…I might just be able to return home.”

“That’s right,” Mana hugged her legs and placed her foot on the bed. “You are now blessed with a long life, my good doctor.”

It didn’t hit Gabrio until she saw that look on her face. This ship, this journey, it was with the intention that they would be able to reach the heart of the world. Gabrio was doubtful that he could reach return home, still a young man in the continent. But now he wondered if he would retain his youthful appearance and see Aon again.

“Don’t worry,” Mana said with a gleaming smile. “For what it’s worth, I’ll be here with you in this journey. After all, you do own half of my life now.”

“Now you’re pressuring me, Mana.”

“Of course, it is half of my life, so please cherish it okay?”

“I will,” Gabrio said.

“I hope you do, after all, it will be just us until then.”

“Are you still going to study with Ristina?”

“Of course, and I assume that you aren’t transferring to the Arkshelled Island?”

“I am still the Doctor of Milostiv.”

Gabrio said that as if it was an affirmation of his role. Though there are chances, he still was a doctor of this ship. Long-lived or not, he would still do what he had come for this voyage.

It was still a long way to go before they could cross the Icean Spine, and with Aon’s Reconnoiter Company showing their might against the inhabitants of the Icean Spine who did not want to give them passage, declaring war, he could only support them through the use of his hard-earned skills.