Talon let out a groan as he sat up, his parched throat and empty stomach accompanied by the throbbing in his head. A thin blanket that was draped over him fell off of him in the process. 

“Where am I,” he thought as he looked around the room. It seemed as though an entire house was contained in one small, stone room. Daylight streamed in through several small windows, illuminating a quit fireplace near the bed he was now sitting on, several embers still glowing. His observations were cut short though by the sound of a door shutting.

“Oh, you’re awake, I was afraid you weren’t going to wake up for a little bit,” the figure said, chuckling to himself. “Don’t get me wrong though, I’m glad you’re well,” he said with a wide smile.

The weary man sat staring at the mysterious person, a young boy with skin like copper and hair like snow. A sash made of gold wrapped around his bare torso, matching the gold cufflets on his wrists and gold bands around his upper arms. "Nobility?" He thought. The only clothing he wore was a thin white cloth that wrapped around his waist that extended nearly to his feet.

“I know you may be in a bit of shock from what you’ve gone through, but that doesn’t make it okay to sit and gawk for so long,” the boy scolded harshly.

“Sorry,” he said, being snapped out of his state, “you just don’t look anything like the people from where I’m from.”

“Well that would make sense,” the boy replied almost mockingly, “you aren’t at where you are from.”

“Then where am I,” he retorted.

“There's the question I’ve been waiting for,” the boy excitedly answered. “Let me welcome you to the Kiris Islands,” he said, making a grand gesture with his arms as he bowed.

“The Kiris Islands,” he said as he exhaled in disbelief, “how could I of ended up here?”

“Surely you remember what happened to yourself better than I,” he teased. “All I know about where you came from is that the ships that sailed out a couple of days ago came back with you.”

“Wait, are you one of them,” Talon said, inching further away on the bed, his face darkening as he recalled the dreadful events.

“Concerned are we now? Don't worry, I’m not directly involved with their activities, I just happen to live here,” he said, walking over to a table along the wall. “Here, drink this, it should make you feel better,” he said as he picked up a cup, reaching out to hand it to the man sitting on the bed.

Talon took the cup from his small hands, peering inside curiously to see a brownish liquid inside. “What is this?” He asked.

“I had made you some tea, but you didn’t wake up for longer than I thought. It's cold now, but it should still be alright,” he sighed.

Talon threw caution to the wind and quickly gulped down the contents of the cup, almost desperate to quench his thirst. He winced as it went down, the liquid was almost spicy, burning his throat as it went down. “What was that!”

The boy laughed as he watched his reaction, “It was just tea that I made from some ginger I had been growing.”

“You said that stuff was supposed make me feel better,” Talon said as he held a hand to his throat.

“I will admit, not everybody likes it when it goes down,” the boy said as his laughing subsided. “Besides,” he said as he peered down at a book on the table, his eyes taking on a more despondent look. “Its taste doesn’t mean it hasn’t any medical uses..."

The few moments of silence that followed was interrupted by a loud stomach growl.

Talon's face grew slightly red, “by chance, do you by chance have something that I could eat as well? I feel like I haven’t eaten in forever,” he said, placing the hand that was on his neck onto his stomach.

“That's right, you haven’t eaten for a while,” the boy said, life springing back into his eyes. He walked over to a large pot hanging over the fireplace steam lifting from its contents as he lifted the lid. “I ate earlier, but there is still quite a lot of soup left,” he said as he grabbed and filled a bowl.

“Is this going to be the same experience as the tea?"

The boy laughed. “It shouldn’t be, it's just a simple vegetable soup, its taste won’t be nearly as jarring,” he said handing the bowl over. Since I ate earlier, I’ll take this time to fill you in on your current situation.”

Talon took the bowl, anxious to learn more about what was going on. “That sounds good to me,” he replied, taking his first bite of the warm and earthy soup. “By the way, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves, my name is Talon,” he smiled at the boy.

“Well, I suppose that’s a good place to start,” the boy chuckled. “my name is Eirian,” he said returning a warm smile to Talon. "As for your situation, its actually rather simple. You, Talon, for whatever reason, were taken by the group of pirates that currently rule over these islands."

"Pirates you say," Talon said quietly. "If you don't know why they took me, do you by chance know what they plan to do with me?"

"Well," Eirian mussed, "I presume you were originally going to be used as a slave, maybe even pressed into their service. Lucky for you though, I was there when they unloaded you and I requested to have you put in my care. All you really have to do is stay with me and you won't be bothered."

"I thought you said you weren't directly involved with them, what gives you authority to request something like that? Are your parents high ranking among them?" Talon had wondered where his parents were. The house may of been small, but it was hard to believe someone as young as him would be on his own.

Eirian's flinched at the question. "My parents were not pirates, they were herbalists," he firmly stated, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Were?"

"The pirates didn't always control these islands," he sighed. "About seven years ago, a pirate captain by the name of Succorbenoth and his fleet attacked this kingdom. We were well known for being a peaceful and neutral kingdom, so we didn't have much in terms of defense, so the kingdom fell quickly. To make sure there would be no uprising, Succorbenoth picked this town, the capital of the islands, and exterminated nearly all of the population, including my parents.-" he paused, "-I'm one of the few that survived."

"I'm sorry for upsetting you..."

"And I'm sorry for getting upset at you, you had no way of knowing, its okay, really," Eirian reassured. "Anyway, I need to get going now," he said as he got up and opened the door.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Well, anything I suppose. I wouldn't recommend going outside though, most of the town is inhabited by the crew members and most aren't exactly desirable company. Either way, I'll be back soon, it would probably be for the best if you rest after you eat." With that, he left, leaving Talon alone once again.