~ 45 ~

Breaching Land

I nearly expected to be tied to the barrel and dragged to the shore by the boat. Even the land, when it loomed in the distance, consumed the horizon. It started as an extensive line of green, one with a various assortment of dots. The closer we drew, the quicker it expanded into a sweeping scale of holy shit.

The tease of rounded, stone mountains, the different elevations of planes and lands, the overall scale of the Mainland. It was sprawling and beyond even a dragon's comprehension. Even the crew, who must have seen the view countless times, were stricken by it.

No wonder why so many different creatures can live here. It's big enough that a dragon might never see a human. Fuck, this place is fuckin' massive.

The southern part of the island seemed to be blocked into itself, with a sprawling port of countless ships, mighty and small, some well-dressed, others missing planks of wood. The city behind it seemed more industrial than I'd ever seen. Enough that, even with the distance, a couple of great chimneys exhausted grey smoke.

I kept in the water with my head peeking out. I kept alongside the boat, watching it from the corner of my eye. Astria had been the first to rush to the front, enthralled by the sight. It was as though she were seeing her destiny before her. She had dropped her sword during her training with Sebal, more content to indulge in one of life's wonders than to train for a few extra minutes.

Can you do that?

I looked to the spread of land, a world contained within an island, though it might have been a continent. I looked at the wonder of it, all the life to be explored in this place. However, I couldn't bring myself to be amazed.

All I saw and felt, truly and deeply, were all the problems to arise.

I was caught between two ends of terribleness.

The first was wanting to do nothing but exist, relax and lay about, spend a day doing nothing but laying in the sun and having a good meal. But the laziness, boredom, and the feeling that I was wasting away refused to allow me to indulge and enjoy that lifestyle.

And then there was this life. One of adventure, improvement, and overcoming. Going to new places and undertaking quests. Helping others find out what their path or density would be. But it meant endless training. Strength constantly checked in battles. The outwitting of foes.

You felt slightly more fulfilled... but tired, exhausted, and still somewhat hollow.

At the edge of the port, beyond in the water, multiple warships were anchored, outfitted with men in uniforms. It didn't seem like a security check. I ducked beneath the water, coming below the Shant-A-Lee, feeling the force it cut.

Before I had done so, though, Sebal had twisted and reached into his backpack, retrieving a medallion. Holding it up to the ships as he passed them, they were allowed to pass through—with no rowboat to check their story or cargo.

Crazy what friends can pull off for each other.

I kept in a slow guide beneath the boat as, in the water, I saw the underside of many start to appear.

From the voices muffled from the water, I heard the call for the sails to be pulled, and above, I could see the anchors lowering from the ship. It wasn't before long that long wooden posts staked through the water and into the ground below.

Soon, the ship had docked at the bridge, and everything had settled.

I waited until I had no breath to spare before surfacing, first touching my snout above the water, breathing before checking if the coast was clear. Seeing that no eyes would be on me, I surfaced my head. I tried keeping low as, above, the plank lowered from the ship and onto the bridge.

The men started to descend while carrying an assortment of boxes.

They walked, passing me, even with Sebal not paying me a glance as he went with the crew. My face shifted into concern as I felt as though I were in a place that I really didn't belong—and was waiting for the first person to scream, sound the guards, or have all the ships train their cannons on myself.

Their masts shot upward to the clear, blue sky, with the squeak of passing seagulls calming my nerves. Astria stepped down from the plank delicately, and, before I could call her, another voice spoke over me.

“Excuse me, sir?”

I blinked and looked directly overhead. There was a man dressed in slim armour with a seal over his chest. Leaning over the edge of the bridge, he rested on his poleaxe. I looked at him blankly, unknowing of what kind of fucked that I was.

“Do you speak our tongue?”

And politeness, instead of screams and roars, hadn't been my expectation.

“Uh...” I sounded. “Yes?”

“Very good then.” He looked to the left, and I did so as well, seeing, in the distance, a long wooden fence. He pointed over it. “Beasts, mounts, animals, or creatures of those sorts have to go to their port over there. You can regroup with your crew, but this space needs to be clear for incoming ships.”

I slowly nodded repeatedly. “Right. Uh, yes. Yeah. That, uh, makes sense.”

“Good.” The man returned to his height. “Very good, then.”

And walked away without a gesture.

Slowly, I swam out from the port, between the ships still coming in, rounding around the ones already docked. People peeked over their decks and caught sight of me, coming, for some reason, to wave. I nodded and waved back to some—mustering the best courtesy I could muster.

What the fuck is going on here?

I decided to silence my mind and carry on, reaching around the post and seeing a series of creatures that went beyond the fantastical in the vast section. Large turtles with the legs and tail of a creature beyond description.

Or a dolphin the size of a whale, beneath the water, with a glass tied to its top, the interior of a house with a few people inside. I looked at the other creature without a clue about their description or origin.

Only that, at the moment, with my mere scales and wings, I felt basic as fuck.

Aw, fuck.

I'm not even somewhat special in this world either?

Fuck me.

I swam through the middle of the space, feeling both big and small, compared to the various creatures I passed. Some of them glanced at me while others did not. I forced a smile—the best bet when going into the unknown. It gave away the fact that you were new, but, at the same time, it revealed that your intention was, at the very least, somewhat pure.

Is this what Zinnine meant when a surprise awaited me here? That fucking guy.

All his talks about dragons.

But half the creatures here look like they can easily whoop my ass.

I decided to leave all of that in the past and, coming to break the surface again, looked forward to the slanted stone that dipped into the water. I came to it, finding purchase with feet and claws. I walked across it, ascending, feeling the tremendous amount of water flush down from my frame.

I shook as I walked, too, as the asphalt area it led to was opened, cluttered with monsters, either drying off or sunbathing. I looked around for any other dragons—only to find none. Some of the creatures glanced at me in the middle of their conversations. Even though my frills heard them roaring strange sounds, somehow, I made words out of them.

And I didn't like what I was hearing.

Quickly looking around, I saw that I was drawing attention, standing by myself as myself. The people here didn't fear monsters like they did... well, anywhere else. But even then—it did not feel like I belonged here. It only felt like moments before someone would be called and something would go wrong.

Find the crew, and find out what the hell is going on here.