On the first day of departing from Ofphlendum, Shaden discovered something new about himself. It was something he had never expected, and it came up slowly from within the depths of his stomach. He held his spinning head, grabbed onto the boat’s railing, and made retching noises.

He had totally been fine at the beginning. But since it was still relatively winter, chunks of ice floated around within the waters. And each time the ship collided with these small ice chunks, it shook. After hours and hours of constant irregular motion he had never experienced before, Shaden’s stomach was upset, especially after the dried fish he had been given during mealtimes.

It was now the fourth day of their journey, and he still had not gotten used to the motion. The ship’s deck was sparsely populated with travelers, but none of them looked ill. Some had come up to enjoy the air, others to have a little smoke.

Shaden tried circulating again but gave up. Enhancing his senses made the sickness worse. The rest of his crew…well, they were having a great time.

“Ay! I caught one!” shouted Ronar as he flung a fish out of the water.

Originally, Shaden had wanted Eilae to get to know the beastmen better during the trip. He assumed that since she had been holed within her home this whole time, it would be better for her to experience something new, something lower class. The beastmen reminded him of his Demund self, and in the spirit of philanthropy, he wanted to help them. He had even thought, ‘Is this what Enariss felt like?’ at some point during the trip. Obviously not, since the beastmen were far worse off than Demund, but still. Eilae was nice to him, so why couldn’t she be nice to them?

But contrary to his expectations, Eilae had given him a cold glare, let out a humph, and closed the door on him on the first day.

They still conversed, of course, during mealtimes. But whenever he brought up the topic, Eilae would simply leave the area. When the beastmen approached them, she would leave. The beastmen brothers were obviously aware of her dislike now since they didn’t approach them anymore.

Shaden himself had still tried to become friends with them. Then the seasickness had struck, and his mood had deteriorated. He would stay at the deck for hours, wishing for land to come quickly. Now he didn’t feel like becoming friends with anybody.

Ronar and Prem, however, had adjusted quite well. They had befriended the captain, and after scrubbing around the boat for a while, the captain had allowed them to borrow two of his old fishing rods.

“Hey, Prem. Did you catch any?”

“No…”

The younger beastman looked at his bucket depressingly. They were essentially catching their own food now, which they had suggested to Lytha. She had agreed.

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch your fill too!”

They seem like a happy bunch now, thought Shaden as he held in another urge to heave. He was a bit sad that they hadn’t warmed up to him. They just hung out between themselves. Well, he wasn’t in any position to fish.

Truthfully, the captain possessed some seasickness elixirs in his cabin, but Lytha had refused Shaden of their use. He had to get used to it, she had stated.

“Urhhggg…….”

Shaden stared at the endless river that flowed all the way to the horizon. The longest, largest, and fiercest river on the continent: the Hyla River. If he was this sick when the waters were mellow, what would he feel like when the river turned turbulent?

Still, being sick didn’t give him an excuse to stop training. His tutor was being rather passive, but who knew when she would suddenly turn oppressive.

With a sigh, he made his way to his cabin. Eilae wouldn’t be there; she was too busy reading the maps in the captain’s room or organizing her belongings. Maybe sipping tea under the sun. She was always elegant. The waves didn’t bother her.

Sometimes he wished that monsters would attack the boat. It would make him feel better once he had some action. But alas, ships nowadays had repellant spells at the bottom.

“Two more days to go…” he muttered.

〄 〄 〄

“Yeeeessss!”

The moment Shaden put his feet on solid ground, he let out a cry of relief and joy. He stared into the sky and relished the moment, taking in a large breath of fresh air.

“We’re halfway there now, where the river turns,” said Eilae, walking up from behind him. “It may be too large to notice, but the river goes north now.”

“Let me enjoy the moment,” Shaden said softly with his eyes closed. “I suffered too much.”

Lytha was the last of the three to get off of the ship after talking to the captain. Her expression was composed as usual, and she smiled at the two of them.

“The boat leaves in four hours,” she said. “What do you want to do until then?”

“First, some food!” insisted Shaden. “I’ve had too much fish.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Eilae.

The place where they had landed was a port city much like Ofphlendum, but smaller in size. Shaden didn’t spot any tall buildings here; most of them were long shacks where the goods were stored or taken out. It was less of a city and more of a large town, a checkpoint before the violent waters that lay ahead.

“Because the river turns in this area, it loses momentum and weakens,” explained Eilae, “which was why the river was so calm until now.”

“When do you have time to find this information?” asked Shaden while looking around for shops.

“We had six days, didn’t we? I was bored. And information is always important.”

“Huh.”

Well, he knew information was important. He was glad that Eilae was around to enlighten him. He was starting to see why she had come along for the trip. The more talkative she grew, the more interesting she became, though she didn’t talk much. If only she would talk to the beastmen—

Shaden blinked twice.

“Wait. What about Ronar and Prem?”

Lytha looked down at him. “The two beastmen? They’ll be fine on their own. The captain says they’re an enthusiastic duo, though he wishes the younger boy would stop looking so depressed.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry about them, Shaden,” Eilae urged. “Let’s enjoy the food here, okay?”

“Hmm…alright. Let’s enjoy the food.”

He did feel a little bad that they were the only ones who were visiting a nice restaurant, but it was okay, right? He gave himself a light pat on the cheeks. He had been so conscious of everything as of late. As Demund, as Shaden.

He was the one with the wealth. Yeah, that was right. Riley and Rhyne had gone on trips without him, and he had been fine with it. This was the same. He deserved it…right?

Then again, what did he deserve?

“………and maybe we can—Shaden?”

Shaden woke up from his thoughts and looked at his tutor.

“Oh, yeah. Anywhere is fine. I don’t mind.”

“Then sizzled rabbit it is.”

Shaden bit his cheek. Dreams were meant to be enjoyed. He didn’t need to overthink things.

〄 〄 〄

The boat shook, and its structure groaned under the strain of the waters. The Hyla River wasn’t simply a river. It wasn’t like any other river Shaden had seen in his life. No, the Hyla was a sea, an elongated sea that threw waves against its trespassers. Each second, the Hyla rammed its body against the ship, making it twist and turn as it pushed itself up against the waves.

“This is unfair,” grumbled Shaden. “Why does she get medicine?”

He directed his attention to his aunt, who was leisurely inspecting her fingernails on her bed. Without looking over at Shaden, she continued to polish her skin with ointment, which according to her, ‘helped against the dryness of winter.’

“You look fine. Eilae is a weak girl. She didn’t receive the training you did. She gathers information, and you protect the group—at least that’s the idea.”

“And you?”

“Oh, I’m just looking over you two.”

Shaden let out a dissatisfied grunt, but he didn’t argue. Looking over at Eilae, who had a cloth over her head and was suffering from seasickness, he felt a little sorry. The new environment didn’t seem to suit her at all.

“I’m……sorry,” she mumbled, half-unconscious.

The boat shook again from the force of the waves. Normally, ships would have waited until the river became calmer to sail. But with modern improvements in magic technology, the Hyla’s waters had been conquered. Though it didn’t mean they were tame.

However, Shaden was having a splendid moment. Now that the passive-aggressiveness of the river had been replaced with full-blown hostility, he felt refreshed and born anew. The shuddering of the boat blew away his nausea, and the violent waves incited his manly adventurous spirit.

“I’m going outside,” he told his tutor, who dismissed him with a wave of her hand. He cracked his fingers. He felt strong.

He loved the violent river.

〄 〄 〄

“Woo-hoo!” Shaden shouted towards no one.

He stretched out his arms into the air and felt the water droplets plop against his open palm and face. He was wearing his jacket, yet the cold wind still chilled his skin. But he loved every moment of it. The sensation made him feel alive.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate. Instantly, the world around him jumped into color. He felt the individual droplets of water on his skin, the flapping parts of his coat, and the swirling air between his fingers. He opened his eyes. Though the sun was beginning to set, he saw the river with clarity. Its turquoise hue seemed to sparkle under the orange light.

The boat jolted to the side once more, but Shaden kept his balance. The river was a wonderful place. He had hated it before, but now, he was in love with it. The unending rush of the roaring liquid, the creaking of the boat—he loved it all.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Jothan on an island? He probably experienced this all the time since he was living near the waters.

Shaden leaned against the side of the boat and yawned. If only the river would stay this way, he would be happy. The boat traveled fairly quickly considering it was going upstream. He’d have loved to take a look at the boat’s mechanisms, but the engine room was off-limits. It was a pity.

So, having nothing to do, Shaden gazed into the sunset, enjoying the sounds and turbulence.

Then a scream shattered his peaceful moment.

“Help—AHHHH!!!!”

Shaden’s eyes quickly darted to the source of the sound—the back of the ship. Without hesitation, he jumped up and ran towards the back, jumping down a flight of stairs from where he was at.

“Save—AHH—help—!!”

The screams grew more desperate and weaker. If he hadn’t been circulating, he probably wouldn’t have heard it. Shaden reached the edge of the ship and looked into the waters. A small head was bobbing up and down, making terrified yelps below. The body was tied to a rope that was tied to the railing, but the figure wasn’t pulling himself up.

He knew why. The figure was none other than Prem.

“I’ll save you!” shouted Shaden over the roaring river. He rushed to the dangling rope and grabbed it with both of his hands. Then, fastening his feet on the side of the boat, he began to pull.

Prem’s body seemed to rise a little. But something was tugging on him.

The river! It’s too strong!

The Hyla was latching onto the body with more force than Shaden’s eight-year-old body could handle.

“Shoot, Shoot!”

He cursed his skinny arms. Just how strong was this river? Prem’s voice was barely audible now, and his head was no longer visible. If the rope hadn’t existed…he would already be dead.

No wonder the Hyla River was antagonized in the Elveathin. A river of this force would definitely incite fear into people.

Shaden desperately looked around. No one was on deck except himself. It was natural since it was nearing dinnertime. Everybody had been looking forward to the fresh meals that the captain had promised.

‘Don’t use it in front of other people,’ his tutor had warned him. ‘If you rely on it too much, you won’t improve.’

But now wasn’t the time to worry.

Two giant invisible limbs protruded out from Shaden’s arms. It had been a while since he had used them, but his senses hadn’t dulled at all. One of the hands grabbed onto the rope, and one of the hands rushed down to fish Prem out of the waters.

Shaden pulled onto the rope once again. This time, the rope began to rise with ease. He quickly spotted Prem, and with his other mana-hand, grabbed his small body just to be sure. Quickly, he lifted the body and the rope until they were completely above the railing. Then gently, he placed the boy’s limp body on the ship’s floor.

Prem began to cough, and water spilled out of his mouth and nostrils. He slowly turned over and puked a mass of liquid out on the deck. Thankfully, it was just water.

“What were you doing!?” said Shaden with more force than he had intended. “You could have died!”

He paused to let the older boy steady his breath. He didn’t know if there were tears in his eyes since his whole body was wet.

“I-I w-was cleaning—"

Prem began to cough again, and Shaden took off his coat, placing it over the wet beastman. The boy looked surprised but didn’t say anything.

“Cleaning? Where?”

“T-the s-side of the sh-ship…”

“Why? Did the captain order you to—”

“N-no! It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him.”

The beastman’s ears rose. He waved his hand in front of Shaden and shook his head furiously.

“T-the captain is a nice—person,” he coughed, taking in large breaths in between. “He was saying how there was a stain, so I—I thought I could clean it.”

“You…tried to clean it.”

Prem nodded. “And I slipped.”

“………you’re a nice guy, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You could have died. Why didn’t you tell someone first? Where’s your brother?”

“He’s…busy…everyone was busy…”

The boy’s ears drooped, and his eyes fell to the floor.

“…………”

Shaden slapped his forehead with his hand, and after looking at the shaken beastman for a while, he sighed.

“Well, I’m glad I was here. Let’s get you changed.”

〄 〄 〄

“I…can’t believe that really happened…” Prem said while drying his body off with an old towel. “It was so sudden…”

He and Shaden were currently seated inside the brothers’ cabin, which was around three times smaller than Shaden’s.

“You were acting way too reckless,” scolded Shaden. “What were you even thinking?”

“I was trying to…help.”

“You’re eleven. You don’t need to help.”

“But! But!”

Prem threw down his towel on his bed. “I never get to help properly! He’s always doing the work, and I’m just watching. And he always takes the burden. I—I had to do something that would—make him rely on me more, so when I heard that there was something I could do, I just—did it.”

He frowned at Shaden. “You-you're younger than me. But you’re in charge. Right?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m in charge—”

“But they’re always relying on you! You carry the bags, and they ask your thoughts on everything. See! You’re being relied on. I want to be relied on.”

Shaden thought of it more as ‘forced labor’, but for a child, it could have been seen that way. Merikson’s stages of development—he remembered reading about it. Was Prem at stage four?

He didn’t know Prem could be so honest. He had never seen him talk so much.

“If you want to be relied on,” Shaden began, “then you should stop crying. If your brother sees you blubbering all the time, of course he wouldn’t want to let you do things on your own. Try to man up.”

“That’s what he always tells me. I try…okay? But—”

The very next moment, tears began to well up within Prem’s eyes again.

“I’m s-scared. Y-you saw what happened. Bad things happen to me when Ronar’s gone. S-so if he’s sent away, I—”

“Stop, stop!” cried Shaden. Immediately, Prem stopped whimpering and looked at Shaden.

“It’s obvious what’s wrong here,” Shaden groaned. “How long have you traveled with your brother?”

“I’m…not sure.”

“And you’re telling me that during that time, whenever you were separated with your brother, bad things happened to you.”

Prem nodded.

“And since you want to help your brother, you search for things to do.”

“That’s right.”

“Then isn’t it just that you put yourself in unnecessary danger when your brother is gone? To try and impress him? Just like before. No one told you to clean. But you still did it, to help out your brother.”

“Well, I—”

“Why the sides of the ship anyway?”

“Because no one could do it! If I did it, then Ronar would—he would—”

“Be proud?”

Prem closed his mouth and stared at Shaden for a few seconds as his young brain processed what Shaden had said. As time passed, his mouth opened wider, and his eyes grew bigger.

“Do you understand it now?”

Shaden honestly didn’t know if this was the answer. But from what he heard, and judging by the boy’s reckless behavior, it was most likely true. The boy hadn’t cried after being saved from the water. Was it due to the shock? Perhaps, but Shaden had another hunch. The boy hadn’t cried since his brother hadn’t been present. And whenever his brother was involved, he was much more prone to cry. At least, that was his theory.

“I—I am—I want to please—I—”

It was pitiful to look at the young beastman mutter on. Perhaps he understood what Shaden had said, but it looked like he only was halfway there.

“Prem. Prem!”

“Huh?”

The beastman dumbly stared at Shaden with a confused expression.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right?” Shaden asked.

“I—no. Ronar brings the food.”

“I see. Hey, try not to overthink it. You’re still a kid.”

“But you’re the kid.”

Shaden laughed softly as he got up from the bed. His coat was wet now, but he would be able to dry it quickly with some magic.

“Maybe. Can I come back here? It’s nice talking with a guy.”

“S-sure.”

“Thanks. I’ll visit soon. Try not to get into trouble again.”

Shaden waved to the beastman, who waved back meekly. He then closed the door of the cabin behind him softly.

Talking with guys felt refreshing.

〄 〄 〄

Long ago, during the age when the gods still roamed Exarria, there lived a vicious serpent, a giant beast the size of a mountain that terrorized the land of the elves. It would eat elves for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. No one could stop the beast for it was as big as a mountain, and its green scales hid it from the eyes of Naera.

“Who’s Naera?” asked Prem while swinging his legs.

“She’s the elven goddess, I think. You know, have you seen her temples?”

“I…think so?”

Shaden flipped to the next page. “Let’s go on.”

The elves were distressed. They asked Naera for guidance, but the snake continued to hide from her eyes.

“How did it hide if it was so big?”

“Well…I guess it was good at hiding?”

“Huh. Okay.”

Day and night, the terror of the elves grew. Then one day, one of the wise elves came up with a solution.

‘What if we dig a hole and trap the serpent within it?’ a child had suggested. The elves ignored the child’s thoughts, but one wise elf kept the child’s words within his heart. The serpent could not be caught as it could not be seen. However, if it somehow was trapped, something could be made possible.

The elf once again brought up the idea to the elves, yet they were against it. ‘Who will dig the hole?’ they asked. ‘The serpent will find us before we complete it. And what will we do once the serpent is trapped? It will crawl back up the trap and return to its ravenous activities.’

However, the wise elf had already thought up a solution. ‘Let us ask the help of the gods,’ he said. The wise elf took the burden of finding the gods—Naera and the Mother of Spirits—and offered his life as a sacrifice.

The fated day finally arrived. The wise elf held his breath and awaited the serpent from the bottom of the trap. He was a sacrifice, the bait to lure the serpent with. Soon, the giant beast emerged from the trees—

“I thought it was as big as a mountain. See? Look at the picture. It’s clearly bigger than the trees. How can it emerge from the trees if—”

“It’s a story, Prem. A fairy tale. It’s not necessarily real.”

Soon, the giant beast emerged from the trees and slithered its giant body down to the bottom of the trap. It hungrily approached the elf, who began to run south. The serpent chased after the elf, determined to catch its prey.

Then the elf prayed to Naera, and the trap was flooded with water from the north. The waters flowed with violence, engulfing both the serpent and the wise elf in its waters. The wise elf drowned, yet the serpent lived. However, it could not go against the goddess’s power.

On and on the serpent flowed, down the river, down, down, down. The serpent was furious; it vowed its revenge on the elves and the goddess. The waters were weakening, and the serpent was recovering its strength.

However, when the serpent was pushed into the ocean, the Mother of Spirits was waiting for it. She sealed the serpent with a powerful spell to the depths and put it in a deep sleep. When her work was done, she searched through the waters. There, she found the corpse of the wise elf who had been drowned.

‘Oh, pitiful creature, be born anew. Become a spirit and guard the land you so dearly loved.’

The Mother of Spirits weaved the elf’s spirit into a new being and placed it within the now water-filled trap. What was meant to be a temporary stream had transformed into a river. However, the newly made spirit could not forget about the terror of the serpent. So, day and night, it continues to push the waters south in fear that the serpent may return again.

“And that’s why the Hyla River is so violent, according to the Elveathin.”

“Is it true? That the river has a ghost in it?”

“I wouldn’t say ghost, but I’m not sure. You can’t trust children’s stories. For one thing, this story doesn’t make sense. If you take a look at the geography of the river, the river splits in three before it reaches the ocean. If the story was true, there would only be one long, uniform river path.”

“Um, Shaden?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s geography?”

Shaden blinked twice before he realized that this child—hadn’t been educated at all.

“Well…you see…”

He found himself chattering away at the beastman who was thirsty for knowledge.