"...up...igil...Wake up, Vigil."
In response to the woman's soft voice, Vigil rolled onto the other side of his body and said:
"Noo... Mother, I don't want to work today..."
Moments after his lazy comment and action, he heard the woman's voice once again.
"No can do. You have to get up today, young man!"
After lying still for a few more seconds, Vigil finally decided to fully wake up.
He then sat up and rubbed his eyes for a little bit before looking around to find his mother.
But what met his eyes was something much different from what he initially remembered.
In the sky all around him were hundreds if not thousands of giant floating whales all with grey chitinous exoskeletons.
Some were larger than others with damaged pieces of chitin while others were smaller with their outer shell being perfectly pristine.
In the center of all of them, as well as directly above Vigil, was a floating whale whose size put the rest to shame.
At first this sight shook Vigil to the core.
However, it didn't even take him a second to remember his current predicament and snap out of his stupor.
'Ah, so it wasn't just a dream. Then, mother's still...'
After finally being able to have a good night's rest after the last few agonizing days, Vigil dreamt about his mother for the first time in a while.
It was a happy dream. One that made him believe that this whole experience was just a nightmare. But in War Field, more often than not, one's nightmares are their reality.
Breaking Vigil out of his thoughts was the voice of the same woman that woke him up just a few moments ago.
"Good morning, Vigil. Did you sleep well?"
Looking up at the colossal whale for a few moments, Vigil opened his mouth and gave an answer to her question.
"Yes, I did. How about you? Did you have a good night's sleep?"
Hearing his question made Maltena pause for a second in surprise. This was the first time in a while that someone had actually talked to her in a kind way. Normally, the people that she meets are either too scared to talk or just want to kill her. So, this was a welcome change.
"Indeed, I also had a good rest last night."
Taking a second to let him fully wake up, Maltena decided that they should start to get a move on so that Vigil would be able to leave the No Man's Land as soon as possible.
"Come young Vigil, let's leave now. No dawdling, unless you want to get left behind that is."
She said jokingly as she started to slowly float away, taking the rest of the herd along with her.
Vigil looked up at her in response to her unserious words then began to pick up his helmet and sword.
After making sure that the helmet was securely strapped onto his head, Vigil then kicked the tips of his shoes on the ground and started to follow Maltena.
While they were travelling, Maltena thought that it would be good to try and teach Vigil some of the basics that one would need to know in order to survive the perilous reaches of War Field.
"So Vigil, based on what you told me, I can only assume that you know pretty much nothing about War Field. Now there's no need to fret about it, everyone has to start somewhere. Thankfully, you have me here to be your brilliant guide!"
She said in a tone of voice that made it seem as though she was ecstatic to be teaching him.
"I will be making a list of rules for you to follow, so listen up and listen well. Rule one, trust no one. This rule is the most important of them all. However, there are some exceptions to this rule."
She paused to clear her throat before continuing.
"The first exception are the mercenaries. When Mercy was first founded, a set of rules were put in place. They call it the mercenary code. The first rule that was made and implemented was a simple one. Do not harm children in any way, shape, or form. Now that isn't to say that they won't just ignore you but at least you can trust them to not hurt you."
She said, then took a moment to let the information settle in his head.
"The second exception are the people from Ygultra, the knightly empire. Due to their beliefs, they refuse to hurt children that don't attack them first. Finally, the third exception are the people from Lumarta, the religious empire. Same shtick as the people from Ygultra. Their beliefs and whatnot."
Finishing up the exceptions to the first rule she put in place, she took a second to pause then gave Vigil the second rule that he should follow.
"Before we get into rule number two, by any chance do you understand how countries are protected from invaders here?"
Hearing her question, Vigil tilted his head to the side and thought for a moment before giving her an answer.
"I think so. When I was fleeing from my home country, I remember seeing giant smashed up walls. After crossing over the rubble, I saw what War Field was really like, a barren wasteland."
In response to what he said, Maltena replied in a soft tone.
"That's correct, little one. The walls are how most counties are protected. Now although there are differences between every country's walls, they still look the same for the most part."
She said while nodding her head up and down.
"Now that we have that out of the way, time time for rule number two. When you see a country or city's walls, never approach them. Around the walls could be anything that's meant to protect the inhabitants that live inside them."
The tone in which Maltena said this made Vigil already too scared to want to find out what type of traps she might be talking about.
'I could only imagine... Nope, never mind, don't even want to imagine...'
Snapping Vigil out of his thoughts was the recurring sound of the giant floating whale's voice.
"There is only one exception to this rule. When you see a wall with murals of dragons painted on it, then you can approach it. The reason behind this is because those walls belong to Mercy, the mercenary city, and because of the amount of visitors they have, they tend to just leave the walls unprotected by anything outside of them. I mean, they will probably have archers, spell casters, and guns on top but you shouldn't be worried about those in the slightest. Oh, and there's no need to worry about walls that look the same or similar. No one is stupid enough to try and impersonate Mercy."
While listening to her words, Vigil heard one that made him stop and think for a second.
'Guns? What are guns? I've never heard of those before...?'
After thinking it over for a few moments, Vigil decided that it would be best to ask Maltena about them.
After asking, she glanced back at him then gave him a questioning stare.
Well, the best questioning stare a whale could give a small boy, at least.
"You've never heard of guns before? By any chance... did you grow up in the boonies or something? Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
After questioning Vigil for a few moments, she finally decided to answer his question.
"How should I put it... Ah! Think of a gun like it's a bow and arrow. Now, instead of wood and string for the bow, picture many intricate pieces of metal interwoven together to make a singular object. Once you've done that, think of an arrow. Instead of a long stick with a piece of metal on the tip, think of a small lead pellet that fires out of the length of the gun. Yeah, that explanation should work..."
She finished by whispering to herself, under her breath.
While she was doing this, Vigil thought back to the battle he'd witnessed the day before and how the man died when a small explosion went off.
'Was that a gun? Probably... If that's the case then I should probably pick one up if I see one.'
After the explanation on guns and what they were, there was a long pause.
Soon however, their moment of silence was broken once more by the sound of Maltena's voice.
"Now, for the third and final rule, build up your truth and trust in it. Although one's truth is different from person to person, it'll still help them. How much, I can't say. But, what I do know from experience is that truth can do some amazing things... You do know what truth is right?"
In response to this, Vigil nodded his head up and down in conformation.
"Good. That was all of the basic rules that I have to teach you."
With those words being left in the air, the silence from before ensued once more.
Vigil, Maltena, and the rest of the herd continued in that long silence for a while.
Only to be broken up every once in a while by some light hearted chatter between the young boy and the giant floating whale.
And just like that, before they knew it, hours had passed and by the end of their little journey together, the border between the No Man's Land and the rest of War Field could be seen.
Standing on the edge of the No Man's Land, Vigil took a few more steps forward before stopping and turning around to look at Maltena one more time.
"Maltena-"
"Stop."
But before Vigil could even attempt to speak what was on his mind, he was promptly stopped by the sound of Maltena's voice.
"Vigil, there's no need to say anything. I could already guess what was on your mind just by that look on your face... To answer your question, no I can't go with you. Don't take that the wrong way or anything, but I seriously can't leave this No Man's Land. It's the punishment I must pay for my crimes..."
She said while reminiscing about the past.
While she was doing this, Vigil thought about what she had said.
'Past crimes? What does she mean by that? What could she have done to warrant her being imprisoned here? Not only that but... Who was the being strong enough to pull that off?'
After the feeling that she gave him when they first met last night, Vigil thought that Maltena had to be one of, if not the strongest being ever.
But from the sounds of it, there were beings even more dreadful than her.
To Vigil's childlike mind, he couldn't fathom the thought of someone or something being able to force her to do anything
So, the only reasonable conclusion that came to Vigil's mind at the moment, was that she was imprisoning herself here.
Instead of wasting time thinking about it, he thought that the fastest way to get the answer's that he was searching for, was by asking the person in question.
"Maltena... you said that you're here for the crimes that you committed in the past right? In other words, you're imprisoned here. But, if that's the case, then who or what is strong enough to keep you here like this?"
Hearing Vigil's question seemed to break her out of her thoughts.
After pausing for a moment to regain her bearings, Maltena decided to give Vigil the answer he was looking for.
"The ones that put me here, huh? I'm sorry young Vigil, but I am not allowed to talk about them. All that I can say is that just me being here, this close to the edge of the No Man's Land, has put a target on my head. I can guarantee you that, at this very moment, one of them is watching, waiting for me to make the wrong move. If that were to happen, my children and I would be dead in less than a minute."
Those words shook Vigil to the core.
A minute...
That's all that it would take.
One. Singular. Minute.
That thought alone hurt his head.
The dread that he had felt just last night from the mere presence that Maltena had was something that Vigil couldn't comprehend as is.
But now she was telling him that she was nothing but the waste of a minute in the eyes of the beings that had entrapped her here.
To Vigil, this meant two things.
First of all, the world is much, much bigger than he had ever imagined.
Second of all, Maltena was most likely not always as kind as she currently was.
So, being the curious child that he was, Vigil just had to find out what crime she'd committed.
"Then... What crime did you commit..?"
When that question was asked, Maltena went deathly silent and stared at Vigil, directly in his eyes.
After some time had passed, she spoke to him once more, in a tone that seemed to carry a great weight behind it.
"Vigil, there are some things in life that you must never do or say. Asking questions like that could get you seriously hurt sometimes. While most of the time, it'll end with someone's death..."
After taking a moment to warn him, she spoke again.
"You asked what crime I had committed? I am sorry, but I can not tell you about that either. However, I can tell you this. If you live long enough and grow strong enough to grab their attention and be recognized, then all of your questions will finally have their answers. Until then, don't let curiosity be your end."
Hearing her words made Vigil freeze up for a moment.
Something about them reminded him of one of the last things his mother had told him.
'What was it again..? I think it was something like, get their attention... Recognition... Attention... What is it that they're talking about?'
The mysterious words of his late mother as well as the words that Maltena had just spoken, only served to confuse Vigil.
At one point, after thinking about it for a little while, he just chose to give up.
He couldn't wrap his head around everything that he had heard today. So instead of trying to understand things that he had no business knowing at this very moment, Vigil decided that it would be best to just stick to his original objective and worry about the rest later.
With that thought in mind, Vigil snapped back to reality and looked up at Maltena one last time.
"Maltena!"
He said bringing her out of whatever thoughts she was currently having.
As Maltena looked back down at him, she noticed a small smile plastered on his face.
"Thank you for everything. It was of great help."
Vigil expressed his thoughts with a calm voice.
"Next time we meet, I'll make sure to pay you back for everything you've done for me in the past day. I'll make sure of it. So... Goodbye Maltena... For now."
This kid just kept surprising her.
First, he decided to stay and talk to her instead of fleeing. Then, he willingly slept with her and her pack. Finally, after deciding to take her up on her offer to help him get back to War Field, he thanked her.
Throughout her long life, there were some instances where people would do the same thing that the kid in front of her was doing, but this was the first time in a long, long while.
Deep down, Maltena thought that she didn't deserve any of it. No praise, no thanks, no recognition, nothing.
However, that wasn't to say that it didn't bring her immense happiness.
"No, thank you, young Vigil. I had a great time spending it with you. Now, don't keep me from letting you off. Go... Survive and grow strong so that you can keep to your word. Oh! One last thing, good luck out there little man."
She said in such a heartwarming voice that it honestly made Vigil a little sad that he was leaving.
He flashed her a smile one last time before he turned on his heels and started walking away.
Afterall, he thought that if he'd stayed for a moment too long, then he wouldn't want to leave.
As he was walking away, Vigil thought to himself about what he'd said to Maltena right before he left.
'I gave you my word, which means that I have to keep it...'
With those thoughts in his mind, Vigil trekked onwards towards Mercy once more.