The wind was rough and the sunset stricken sky bathed everything in a warm hue, leaving nothing but a beautiful spectacle to behold casting Lucian's large shadow on the puffy clouds bellow. It made the young man's fall from grace seem radiant.
That was an unexpected turn of events. thought Lucian as he plunged through the enormous expanse of cumulus.
Am I really falling to my death because I was intrigued about what was outside Volans? Was their only option to shove me off the railing to silence me? Soon after the view of the stormy and abyssal sea became clearer and clearer.
The blood from his body drenched his clothes and the fresh cut on his forehead slowly let the scarlet liquid rise up into the air like his tears. All my life, I never thought this is how my play would come to close its curtains. Did I ever think to have a goal in this life?
Turning his head, Lucian saw the stormy sea getting closer rapidly and mumbled as tears welled up, "Shit, I'm really going to die" . Shortly after his words the distance with the sea's violent waves shortened so quickly that before he knew it, everything went a cold black.
***
"Y~s I ~ndersta~d. ~t'll be d~ne"
The bland and subdued sound of conversation brought Lucian to conscience, though his vision was blurry, his sense of touch was vague, and his hearing was muffled. Where the hell am I?
Trying to think back to how he may have ended up in this place, Lucian traced his cut memory. SHHHOOOK, the farthest thing in his mind was the immediate impact of the dark ocean.
Thump!!
"So, our sleeping noble has finally risen?", Said a strange middle aged looking man with long flowing black hair, wearing a pair of circular glasses, a white buttoned-down shirt, and a dark brown leather trench coat.
The combined sound of the shutting book and the man's expressive voice startled Lucian to a jolt forcing him out of his blank daze, "w-who are you, h-how did I get here!?"
The man set the book on the table and uncrossed his legs, "Oh, my apologies, my name is Ozzus, Ozzus Senkrad. I am the very man that saved you from a terrible eternal slumber in the grand abyssal depths."
The man didn't seem to have any ill intentions having to do with him and he'd been waiting patiently for Lucian to wake up. This partially put Lucian at ease as he found himself able to collect his thoughts.
Taking a large breath, Lucian spoke up, "I-I appreciate your straightforward answer, but If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did I survive?"
I don't believe hitting water at a speed of that magnitude would allow anyone to walk amongst the living again.
"Unfortunately, you didn't", Ozzus remarked with a soul piercing gaze.
Lucian felt a cold sweat trickle down to his chin. He never thought a sentence so small could make him question reality, "Then how can I even-"
"Still be in the land of the living? It will be strange to hear this when you've just woken up but please trust that it is for your benefit."
The room was a bit quiet for a few seconds with both men staring at each other. The only sound that could be heard was the annoying creaking of wood and the rather loud crashing of waves.
What the hell is up with this guy? Thought Lucian as he maintained his collected composure, "I understand, what is it you'd like to tell me?"
Ozzus cleared his throat and said, "Before I am to answer you, please swear an oath to the goddess of reflection."
The goddess of reflection? That title seems familiar, but I just can't pin who it belonged to. A family member maybe? Since I don't know where I am nor who this charlatan like man is, I should do what he says till I get a good understanding of the situation I'm in. Lucian swallowed with his dry throat and replied, "Yes, I swear an oath to the goddess of absolute secrecy but only if you tell me the full truth about why I am here in the first place."
A smile curved up on Ozzus's face, "No problem, though I think it's best I explain everything a bit later. because first I should probably get you acquainted with where we are so if you don't mind and are feeling better, please follow me so I can give you a tour."
Damn this guy, I thought he'd just explain everything on the spot and get it done with. Maybe he's just trying to make it so I can process everything. After all, I wake up in a strange room on what seems to be the cabin of a rather large ship and find this odd man jabbering on about some goddess and how I'm apparently undead. Lucian sighed and answered, "Fine, this is a sort of cabin, no?"
"Correct, you are currently onboard the "Senkrad Piercer", exclaimed Ozzus as he walked to the door with his back turned. "If you'd please come with me, I'd be delighted to show you around."
What an original name. Lucian got off the couch and slowly followed the strange man.
As Lucian strolled passed a mirror next to the door, he noticed something unusual. His dark brown, short, and wavey hair looked as though it was freshly washed, his skin was completely clear, his body felt as though it could run for miles without stopping, and his brown eyes seemed to show a new radiance of sorts. his clothes were also freshly changed as he found himself wearing a casual buttoned-down long sleeve shirt with black trousers. Despite my elegant freshness, I don't think one should go as far as to call me a noble. If I were to make an assumption right off the bat, I'd say this man looks like more of a noble than I could ever be.
exiting through the door, Lucian noticed that the room he was previously in was the back of the ship. Looking forward, there was a small hallway in front of him with two doors on one side and one on the other. At the end of the short, well-kept hallway was a double door that appeared to be the exit to a deck.
Breaking the silence, Ozzus stated, "Our ship is currently headed towards Novus port. We'll bring you there at about 8.30 PM. In the meantime, I'll acquaint you with my sister, she's the one who saved you from the fishes after all."
"Really?" I presumed that this guy was the one who saved me, isn't it the doctor that's supposed to monitor the patient?
"Yes, she should be on the deck.", Ozzus stated as he opened the door to reveal a shadowy raging storm. There on the right side of the deck was a young girl who seemed to be about the age of 15 or 16 with the same black, flowing hair as Ozzus. She was dressed in the same common attire Lucian was in. The girl appeared to be lighting some oil lamps calmly before Ozzus loudly blurted out, "Hey Priscilla, our sleeping noble has awakened!".
Lucian slightly tilted his head down in embarrassment, I wish he'd stop calling me that
Still looking at the oil lamp, Priscilla responded, "Is he really? I didn't expect him to wake up so soon. Especially at this hour."
"Yup, now come inside before you catch a cold! We don't arrive at Novus till later."
"Alright, alright, I'll be right there! Just take him inside for dinner, I'm sure he's a bit hungry."
"As you wish my lady.", Ozzus said mockingly leaving a slight pout on the young girl's face.
Turning around, Ozzus said to Lucian, "The dining room is back in the room we came from, so if you'll please follow me."
As Lucian followed Ozzus, he noticed that the inside of their ship seemed more like a home than it did an actual ship, the floors were pristine and the rooms were that of a small apartment with only 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and a mixed kitchen and living room where Lucian had previously woken up.
The room was rather small with a dining table located in the center only about 5 feet long and 4 feet wide, it had 4 chairs, and a lamp in the center. The kitchen and couch were on opposite sides of the room with the kitchen on the left side of the entrance and the couch on the right with a small bookshelf. the kitchen only had a pantry, an iron stove, a faucet, 1 ice box, and 2 Drors with both containing silverware.
As Lucian walked over to the bookshelf, Ozzus got some bread from the pantry and cut off 2 pieces for each person, then he added some water to a pot and put it on the iron stove. "You like books?", asked Ozzus with a slight smile as he added beef.
"I believe so, but I just can't pin how much I do though.", said Lucian as he picked up a book titled "King of the outside" with a mark nearly halfway through. This must've been that book he was reading before I woke up.
looking up, he asked, "what's this one about? It seems quite interesting"
"Oh, that one, it's about a curious man who willingly left his hometown for the wonders that the world could offer him. Within his journey, this man would come to be acquainted with many new companions that eventually grow to share the same dream as him. That's as much as I can say without spoilers."
Inspecting the large, leatherbound book, Lucian replied, "It seems like it'd be rather interesting read."
"When we drop you at Novus, I'll be in town for a while so I'd be happy to show you where the bookstore is so you can get one."
Lucian set the book down and felt his pockets, "Thanks, but I don't believe I have any sort of currency as of now."
"That isn't something you should worry about. We figured you didn't so we're going to give you a couple crowns to live off of."
"You sure it won't cause you any trouble? The last thing I want is to weigh you down after you went through the trouble of rescuing me."
"Not at all, we've got more than we need right now because I happened to haul in a large catch for the market. I obviously sold it for more than it was worth, Hehe"
So, he's a fisherman, cool. "I appreciate it a lot, I promise I'll pay you back someday"
"Alright then, sounds good to me. It'll be with drinks not money though.", Said Ozzus with a lit up face.
As both of the joyful men talked like there was no tomorrow and before they knew it, 20 minutes passed by in no time. As Ozzus set down the bread and beef stew on the table, Priscilla pushed open the door, actively tying up her wet black hair. "Sorry if I took too long, I dropped one of the lamps, and it made quite the mess."
"Not a problem, come sit down with us I just finished everything, so you actually came at the perfect time." remarked Ozzus while pulling out a chair for her.
"Is that beef stew?", said Priscilla with a gentle smile. Her steps were elegant for a sailor.
"Yup, it's still pretty hot so blow on it first"
As they ate Lucian sat across from the two facing towards the kitchen slowly eating his food, as his mouth was extremely sensitive for some odd reason. Slowly adjusting his glasses like a monocle, Ozzus spoke, "Now that we've all been briefly acquainted, shall we resume our prior conversation?
Lucian was growing a bit tired of waiting for an explanation to all the bullshit he spouted earlier. "Sure", I thought he'd just try and keep giving excuses for as long as he could.
The man held a mischievous smirk, "Don't worry, I'm not petty, I would never do something like that."
The odd reply left a puzzled look on Lucian's face. Just why in the world would he have blurted something out so randomly like that? If I was superstitious then I probably would have come to a dumb conclusion that he-
"Knew what you were thinking?"
Lucian's eyes widened. Telepathy doesn't exist so is this just some sort of party trick?
"That hurts, I never thought my ability would be compared to a mere party trick. How rude."
Now it was blatantly obvious that the man was somehow reading Lucian's mind. A party trick would never be so accurate that it could reveal the exact words that the person was thinking to themselves in their own mind. The only thing Lucian could really do now is suck up some courage and ask the man.
"Are you actually reading my mind?"
"Finally, I didn't think it'd take that long to convince you." The man let out a light breath, "Yes I did read your thoughts which is actually connected to how we saved your life. I'll be giving you a brief rundown of who and what we are. I may be strange to hear this as one of the first things you hear after you've pretty much just woken up in a stranger's residence but just know that it's not something we were able to decide."
Lucian nodded with a hint of nervousness.
Ozzus interlocked his fingers and said, "Me and my sister are not ordinary mortals. We've been blessed with abilities by the gods and goddesses of the heavens intended to mold this world. You've already witnessed my ability, but I the most important part is the draw backs that come with it."
While still looking at Ozzus, Lucian saw a small bit of blood trickle down. "My body gets harmed physically the more I use this ability, although I've never gone over a major nosebleed."
Once Ozzus was done speaking, he lightly touched Priscilla's elbow causing Lucian to turn his gaze over to her.
The girl seemed apprehensive about something like she was afraid that there would be dire consequences. "The ability I was blessed with was revival, any person that I willingly want to be alive will resurrect at a simple touch. It doesn't matter how decayed or damaged their body is, because in the process of revival their body is restored back to a healthy and firm state. The drawback that I have greatly impacts my decision on if I should revive that person though.
It can't be as bad as she says, I mean, Ozzus's wasn't crazy bad so Priscilla's shouldn't. But I may just be patting myself on the back for what's to come.
Prscilla took in a deep breath, "The reason that this drawback is so bad is because unlike most drawbacks, this one only affects the revived. In the process of reviving, the person's memories are used as fuel meaning once that person is completely back, they will have forgotten everything about their former life."