As Moonlight shines upon the deep but ever-changing landscape of the sea. Rich new lands and mysteries are waiting to be discovered by brave souls who throw caution to the wind for the unknown. The depths of the ancient seas stir with the presence of monstrous beasts that prey on the unknowing and the foolish who dare intrude on their territory without any reservations.
Beyond the fog, waves, and rain lies a solitary vessel. On that boat lies a tall boy not older than fifteen years of age. His eyes glisten with a glow of turquoise radiance, nearly the color of the waves that gently push and pull at the hull of the ship. His hair, the color of the rich wheats of the Southern Continent with dark streaks of brown scattered throughout. The boy had no memory of how he'd come to this ship. He had no memory of anything at all. All this young boy knew for certain was that he was searching for something far into the ocean, something he treasured more than all else.
The boy stared off into the deep gray abyss that was covered in a dense fog, trying to figure out how he'd ended up alone on a drifting ship with no memory and no name.
The boy wondered what it was that he had treasured the most and began to think while checking his surroundings.
Could it be relics? He furrowed his brow and thought.
No, that couldn't be right; it must've been treasure! He quickly considered another possibility.
Could it be both? The thought lingered within his mind as he finally finished a rough scan of the boat.
The ship is quite small, about the same size as a typical sloop, however, one key difference sets this strange ship apart from any other ships of the same era. This ship is lacking any form of sail, leading to complete stillness on the water. Only the slow currents of the deep ocean waves could guide this lonely vessel through the murky fog that wraps around the sea.
The boy slowly approached the cabin while stepping carefully around debris on the deck. The cabin door was about half a meter too small for the boy to fit through, leading to him having to duck into the cabin to gain entry without injuring his head on the door frame.
Inside the tight cabin lay a single piece of paper on top of a tiny wooden cabinet. The cabinet was deeply rotted and well-worn. Rough marks and stains were able to be discerned, almost as if some black-liquid had been leaking onto it without any explanation. The boy noticed a lock upon the southernmost drawer of the cabinet. The key shape was most unusual. The keyhole resembled a skull, with strange markings where the eyes should've been. The boy gently attempted to open the drawer with a firm tug, but it wouldn't budge.
As his fingers brushed the wood, pain shot through his head, sudden and violent, as if lightning had cracked open his skull.
Knowledge quickly surged into his mind, filling the previous space with old but also new memories of his life. The early memories of his family, friends, and loved ones, the long hours of studying he had undertaken when he was a child, and a name that sounded strangely familiar. The boy, having recovered quite a few details about himself, muttered to himself in a tone nobody could hear but himself.
"Aaron?"
"My name is Aaron?" He spoke again as his eyes widened, pupils dilated.
He quickly stood up, causing himself to accidentally hit his head against the short wooden ceiling.
Aaron, who measured 1.9 meters[1] in height, constantly faced issues with small spaces when he was younger, leading to him learning how to angle himself to prevent injury. He readjusted himself to fit the space more appropriately before grabbing the piece of paper off the cabinet without any regard for its contents.
He moved the paper that was on top of the small wooden cabinet onto the floor with no regard for it, leading to it falling into a small puddle of the strange black liquid on the floor. The curiosity towards the mysterious paper had vanished without a reason or purpose, as if his thoughts were erased.
However, while Aaron didn't understand how he appeared on this strange vessel, he did know what he had dreamed about all his life.
He had wished to leave behind his family, his friends, and his home. All for one reason.
"Adventure"
[1] 1.9 Meters roughly equals 6 feet 2 inches in the American Imperial System.