“What did you do next! Tell me more, Damian!” Iferos would gleefully shout as we walked through the streets of the grand city, where we were heading to the bazaar on the east side.

“I hacked and slash my way through the never-ending roots and vines she’d throw at me, and with my unwavering determination, I lopped off her head in one fell swoop!” What he had told me in private was completely different from what he was telling Iferos, but it was heartwarming to see him exaggerate his battle with the deimos, since the little boy was enjoying hearing all about it.

Me, Iferos and Damian were headed to buy some equipment and other miscellaneous goods we might need in the future, while Viella and Reanne were off finding a permanent accommodation with some places that were recommended to us from Ethanael and Yani, for everyone to stay in- for now at least.

After quite a while of walking, we made it. “Come get some fresh durian, straight from the Archipelago!” A man in clean and neat silk clothing would yell,

“Taho! Taho!” Another man would yell, holding up a cup that had a drink with something that resembled pearls in it.

“Woah! This place is huge!” Iferos and Damian would both exclaim, gasping at the luxurious looking goods and the large pieces of cloth acting as a sort of roof and shade to the entire bazaar. It was easy to get lost in the busy streets here, countless people all coming from different corners of the world, here to trade and barter their goods. I could now see why Parthia is so unified; so tightly knit together.

We’d all look around, inspecting the goods each stall was offering. “Woah… That looks pretty…” Iferos would say, gawking at the beautiful necklace made of pearls. “Mister! How much is that!”

“Since it’s made of real and authentic pearls found from the Archipelago, that’ll be twenty vel, dear customers!” He’d exclaim, advertising more of the many shining accessories he had in his possession, most of which were from the Archipelago. It was a rare sight to see merchants from there here in Eden, but well, it was Parthia, after all.

I’d take one look at Iferos and instantly knew he really wanted to have it despite not saying anything. “Here,” I’d reach into my pockets to grab my pouch filled with parths, and hand the vendor a single parth. “We’ll buy the necklace, please.”

“Thank you, kind sir!” The merchant would say, handing Damian the necklace and opening a drawer inside a small desk, and giving us our change of eighty vel.

“Turn around, kid.” Damian would say to Iferos, slowly and carefully putting the necklace around Iferos’ neck. It suited him perfectly, and even matched his outfit. “It looks great!” He’d exclaim, as the merchant pulled out a small mirror to give to the young boy, who was vivid that he had gotten something so beautiful.

“Thank you, Talis!” Iferos would say, hugging me as a child would to their parent.

“Of course, kiddo. Don’t mention it.” I’d say, gently ruffling his hair as he hugged me.

We’d continue on our way through the bustling marketplace, occasionally stopping to check the random goods the numerous vendors were offering. Me and Damian were searching for things we could potentially use when we get to Trazia. Specifically, items that had magical properties or was imbued with Numen.

Damian would stop to stare at a bracelet made of jade green string intertwined with each other, it was something you could find all across Eden, with some differences depending on where you were, but they all had the signature jade green string. It was a sort of religious charm, for those who believe in Skiivasticism. “Hey uh…” He’d slowly approach the vendor that was selling multiple of those type of bracelets. “Do you think we could get that, Talis?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” I’d ask the vendor how much it was, and the kind old lady would just hand it to me.

“Oh, poor child…” The old lady would close her eyes, putting the bracelet on the palms of my hand, grasping it tightly with both of her hands. “Do not let the sorrows of the future soil your fate, hero.” She’d ominously say, her eyes still tightly shut as tears would start falling from her eyes.

“Excuse me? What does that mean?” I’d ask, expecting a response, but she’d just smile as we decided it didn’t mean anything, and abruptly left.

I’d hand the bracelet to Damian, who seemed to be happy to be wearing a charm of his religion. After a while of walking around the bazaar and checking the goods being sold, we headed back to meet up with Viella and Reanne, at the central part of the city.

“Talis!” Viella’s voice would echo in my ear, as we’d all spot them just across of us waving their hands at us. “Over here!”

We’d go over to them, making our way through the dozens of people gathered here… For something. “What’s going on? Why’s there such a big crowd?” I’d ask the both of them, confused seeing such a big crowd all gathered in one place.

“I heard there’s a play happening over there,” Reanne would say, pointing at the large stage a little farther away from us. “Me and Viella got curious, so we decided to wait and see what this play was all about.”

A play, huh? Now I’m curious too. And it seems that the other two with me were interested in watching. Three people would go up the stage and introduce themselves, saying that they were going to do a play based on an old child’s tale, titled ‘the Dragon and the Heron’. It was something I could vaguely recall hearing a lot as a child being read to me as I was falling asleep.

Damian carried Iferos on his shoulders, so the boy could see, and so the play began. “Our tale begins with a young dragon boy, roaming the Spears of Eruth.” A man on the stage would say, wearing pretty casual clothing, and it seems like he was the narrator.

“Roar!” A man wearing golden horns and a fancy red robe would yell as he appeared on the stage, “I am the tempest; the storm dragon Tharkalis!” He’d yell, stomping his feet as he approached another man, wearing a beautiful white robe and a straw hat. “What do you think you’re doing in my territory?!”

“And I am but a mere heron, oh great storm.” The actor would gently say, a soft smile running across his face, “What is it that makes you so angry?”

“I have lost everything, and I fear that I may lose myself too.” The man acting as the dragon would softly say, with tears in his eyes.

“You can never truly say you have lost everything, if you haven’t lost yourself yet, oh great storm.” The man acting as the heron would say, taking a seat by a log on the ground.

“How could you know about loss? You are but a mere heron!”

“I may be so, but I too, have lost countless things in my time.” He’d say, as the man acting as a dragon would take a seat by a log opposite of where the other was sitting. “Nature takes its toll on the living, and most would see it as a curse, to have lost… But I see it as a blessing. It is never truly gone until you have forgotten- and only then, is it truly lost.”

“But-”

The man acting as a heron would quickly cut him off, “But have you forgotten the fallen?” He’d ask abruptly, and the dragon would stay silent. “Have you forgotten the little dragon and its sister? Have you forgotten your warrior companion? Have you forgotten the wind?” The barrage of questions left the dragon seemingly stunned, unable to give a response.

“No…”

“Then you have not lost, young storm.” Oddly enough, what he was saying somehow resonated with me. “To remember is a blessing, and to forget is a curse.” The heron would say, offering a cup of tea to the young dragon. “This world has no heroes or villains, only unfortunate circumstances that lead us to different paths.”

“Thank you, oh wise heron.”

“It is always my pleasure, young storm. The life of an immortal is one filled with despair and grief; an arduous path it is. But to overcome it is even more so.”

The narrator would quickly enter the stage, “And so the young dragon parted ways with the heron, never one another ever again, but always remembering each other.” The three of them would suddenly join hands, and bow towards the crowd, which signaled the end to the short, yet meaningful tale.

The crowd would applaud the play, it seems like plays and performances occurred here quite often, so it was a nice sight to see while me and Damian were still here. “That was boring!” Iferos would exclaim, sitting atop his shoulders. “I wanted action! Not this boring stuff!”

“You and me both, kid.” Damian would say, as they exchanged giggles and the crowd slowly dispersed.

We all decided to leave, and follow the two women lead us to the house we’d all be staying in. The location it was in was a busy area, as it was just around five blocks away from the center of the city. “It’s huge!” Iferos would say, gawking at how big the house was. In all honesty, I was shocked as well to see how big our house was compared to the others around us.

“It’s a nice place.” Reanne would say, getting the keys to the house from her pocket and opened the door for us to get in. “It’s a fully furnished house with five rooms each with their own separate bathing rooms, a kitchen and a dining room, and a very spacious living room.”

Our first steps into our new home felt… Comfortable, and grand. To think that such a big house would now be ours, and we’d all be living here together for the rest of our lives, it was comforting to know that the people I trusted with my lives were all so close to me, literally.

“It’s so big! I love our house!” Iferos would yell, his voice echoing all around the house. It was the same reaction Damian had, and I could understand where they were coming from, since even I never grew up in such a grand and luxurious looking place such as this.

Reanne would then give us a tour of the house, showing all of us to our each individual rooms, before we’d all start settling in. We had five days left until me and Damian departed, and there wasn’t much to do aside from preparing both physically and mentally for what’s to come. I laid down on the soft mattress of my bed and dozed off to sleep. Just like that, five days passed by in a flash.

“Do you really have to leave us, Damian, Talis?” Iferos would sadly say, he didn’t want us to go, but we had to. “Please don’t go…” He’d say, tugging at my shirt, not wanting to let go.

“We have to, buddy…” Damian would softly say, crouching down so he could reach his height. “We’ll be back in a jiffy, don’t you worry!”

“Do you promise?”

Damian would suddenly hold out his pinky towards the boy, and Iferos would do the same, “I swear, I’ll come back and tell you all about our adventure!” He’d say, as they made their pinky promise.

As me and Damian were about to leave through the door, Reanne would tug away at my shirt as well. “Come back in one piece… okay?” She’d softly say, before leaning in and kissing me.

Her soft, pinkish lips pressed against mine, as everyone except Viella stared at us in shock. I closed my eyes, and went with the flow, softly holding the area around her neck as we kissed goodbye. We’d both slowly pull away, “I’ll come back. I promise you, Reanne.” I’d say, lightly brushing her beautiful, light green hair.

She’d smile, as we opened the doors and left, the three of them seeing me and Damian out before we parted ways for… Who knows how long. “Talis!” Reanne would scream at the top of her lungs as we walked through the streets, “I love you!” She’d yell, causing everyone to stare at her.

I’d look at her and give her a warm and gentle smile, before waving goodbye and leaving with Damian. I didn’t want to say it back just yet… Not until I came back. “Wow… What happened while I was gone?!” Damian exclaimed, wanting me to tell him all about the past few weeks we spent without him.

“Well… It’s a long story so, lead the way!” I’d say, and I’d tell him all about our journey from the forests around the Deimos Caverns to where we are now. We made our way to the gate, with our identification in our backpacks. We showed our identification to the guards and they allowed us to leave, and we slowly made our way down the plateau towards the docks, where we met up with Ethanael and Yani.

“So… Are y’all ready?” Ethanael would say as we nodded, excited that we were about to go on an adventure. “Well then, let’s go!”

We walked along the docks to an empty space where Yani could freely use his Magic to create a ship that could fit both the four of us. Seeing Yani use his Magic was still as awesome as the first time I saw it, as he held out his arm, the markings glowing bright purple as a medium-sized ship manifested itself, it was big enough to carry some supplies and cargo as well, which was handy for the eighteen day long trip.

“We have a few stops before we get to Trazia, but we should be there in around eighteen days.” Yani would say, hoisting the sails of the ship as we left the docks and made our way across Altrae’s Rest. “My informants told me that they’re planning the siege in a month’s time, so we have plenty of time.” It was currently the eleventh of June, so we’d reach Trazia around early-July, as long as nothing happens, we had enough time to get there.