“Our first destination is Owlshold! Onwards!” Ethanael yelled out as we left the docks and sailed away across the Rest.

“Why Owlshold?” I’d ask, curious as to why we were headed to such an isolated town.

“If you’re asking why it’s called Owlshold, it’s because it’s an area infested with Owl-like Deimos.” Ethanael would say, “And if you’re asking why we’re headed there, it’s because a friend of ours requires some assistance!” He’d exclaim, continuing to yap about the history of the area and his experiences there, keeping Damian entertained, as Yani let out a sigh, seemingly tired of his yapping.

Sailing across the Rest was as peaceful as the last time we were here, aside from the pirate attack last time, it was still relatively safe. The sounds of the waves beneath the boards of the ship calmed my nerves, I was still anxious for what was to come.

“I’m going to sleep. Ethanael, take the wheel.” Yani would say, going inside the captain’s quarters. It seems like he wasn’t worried at the slightest of any potential dangers… Well, we were with the Ethanael, after all. I can see why he wouldn’t be.

“You know…” Ethanael would suddenly say, attempting to break the silence. “This really reminds me of the time we were out at sea, desperately trying to find another continent!” He’d exclaim, me and Damian instinctively knew he was going to start yapping again. “Yeah, we were out at sea for like a whole month!”

“Really? How did you manage to find it, then?” Damian would ask, the topic garnering his interest.

“Oh, we were stuck in the Sailor’s Peril, which was the ocean south-east of Eden, and it was dreadful let me tell you that!” And just like that, now even I was curious to hear more of his tales. “We never knew if we were going to get attacked by a damn Leviathan or whatever else was lurking down below us!”

“A Leviathan? What’s that?” I’d ask, I’ve never heard of such a creature, not even during my time in the academy.

“Nasty people, I’ll tell you that!” He exclaimed, laughing just at the thought of it. “A Leviathan is a subrace of the Dragonkin, and they are a very territorial people, I remember this one time we tried reasoning with them, and they just attacked us out of nowhere! Nasty, I swear!”

“The Dragonkin? I always thought that was just an old myth?” Damian asked, and even I thought it was just a myth told to us by our parents to scare us into going to bed.

“Oh, they’re real, alright. During one of our adventures, we even made it so far as to discovering their homeland, the continent of Draemeia, located to the east and west of Eden!”

“East… And west? I thought the world was flat…” Damian would say, looking puzzled.

“Oh… Poor boy… The world is round…” Ethanael would say, and Damian looked as if his entire life was a lie.

“But anyways, we made it past Sailor’s Peril and found ourselves on the shores of Akh’Orienta, which apparently, from what the locals there said, translated roughly to the Great Orient.” We were at awe from what he had just said, our whole world was so limited to Eden, that we hadn’t even thought about there being other continents! “It was a beautiful place, thousands upon thousands of islands scattered all around the south-eastern side of the world!”

“What did you guys do over there!” Me and Damian would say in unison, we wanted to hear more of their adventures, and we looked like little children listening to our parents tell us bed time stories. So, this is what Iferos felt all this time…

“It’s a long story, but we managed to establish trade relations with the people there, and that’s how goods get exported and imported to and from Eden.” He’d say, taking pride in the fact that it was him and Yani that made it possible for such things to happen. “And so… They made a city around the area we landed on, eventually turning into a bustling and lively trading center!”

“What’s the name of the city!” I’d curiously ask.

“Oh… It’s a little embarrassing to say…” He’d shyly say, acting seemingly flustered.

“Come on! Tell us!” Damian would insist, which seemed to work on him.

“Well… They named it Ethanael’s Landing…” He said, avoiding eye contact with us and looking away, his face beet red and flustered just by saying it out loud.

We gasped, staring at him with awestruck admiration gleaming from our eyes. To think he was famous enough to get a whole CITY named after him! Saying that he was a legend was an understatement, he was much more than that.

“Anyways… Since Yani’s asleep I can say this freely, come closer!” He’d say, as we got closer to him so he could continue what he was saying. “In the Sunrise Archipelago, which is what it’s called around the world now, is where Yani met a Dwarf woman…”

Oddly enough, I didn’t like where this was going… “A Dwarf woman…?” Damian would say, confused.

“Yes. A Dwarf woman by the name of Aer’Wynn… Don’t tell Yani I told you this but… Loving that woman was Yani’s biggest mistake.” We all stared at him, shocked at what he had just said. “From the first moment he laid his eyes on her, the seeds of his delusions started to sow itself into his mind, and heart.”

“But… Aren’t Dwarven women just as beautiful as any other woman?” Damian innocently asked, “How was that his biggest mistake?”

“Oh boy… First off, her attitude was a fucking mess!” He’d exclaim, the pure rage and hatred of that woman could be heard in his voice. “She was a narcissistic, manipulative wench, who wanted everything to go her way, and if it didn’t, she’d pull out her grumpy pit-bull looking face and curse everyone out!” Wow. You could really hear from his voice and tone how much he hated this Aer’Wynn person. “Not only that! But she was vile, her personality was absolutely horrid! All she does was copy the attitudes of others, and not in a good way, I tell you! It was as if Yani wanted to torture himself by falling for such a woman! Like, what did he even see in her!” And now, we could see his face, filling up with frustration at the mere thought of the woman he was talking about.

“I can’t believe Yani would fall for such a woman…” I’d say, and even I was frustrated at the fact that he managed to make such a big mistake…

“Oh, you won’t believe the things he did for her! It was so agonizing to see… Aer’Wynn wasn’t even all that, in terms of beauty! I’ve seen countless maidens who’re much more mesmerizing!” Ethanael exclaimed; the frustration could still be heard in his voice.

The next few hours would be of Ethanael yapping on and on about how much he absolutely loathed Aer’Wynn and how frustrated and disappointed he was in Yani for making such a mistake. By the time it was nightfall, we could see the town of Owlshold in the far distance, “YANI!” Ethanael would scream at the top of his lungs as me and Damian covered our ears, and the Rahasan would grumpily exit the captain’s quarters.

“Yawn… Are we there yet?” He’d ask, still sleepy and droopy. “Oh, we are!” After a few more minutes of sailing closer to the docks, we made it to the small town of Owlshold. We walked on the path headed towards Owlshold, which was just a little bit off in the distance, and the view immediately reminded me of our time in Altria, with a large mountain looming over the town.

The path leading to the town was dark, the only thing keeping us from getting lost were the bright lights in the town. “Halt!” A guard would yell at us from atop the closed gates, “What’s your business here, outsiders!”

“Don’t tell me you already forgot my handsome face, Aaron!” Ethanael would yell out, waving at him with a torch in hand.

“Well, I’ll be damned! If it isn’t the Ethanael! Come in, fast!” The gate would suddenly make a loud noise, as if chains were being dragged around, and it would open for us. We’d enter the town, which was as silent as the forests nearby. “Mrs. Scarsen has been expecting your arrival.” He’d say, leading us to the mansion located on the north-eastern side of the town.

The first thing that caught my eye were the numerous purple banners that were on the residence had the emblem of an owl with red eyes, it seems like whoever lived here already had a well-established family in the town.

We were guided inside, and walking around the hallways of the mansion felt as if we were royalty. The carpets were colored a beautiful shade of purple with gold linings, and the walls were painted white, contrasting with the hue of the carpets. We entered a room, and waiting for us was a woman with long, shining ivory colored hair, wearing a purple and gold officer’s attire.

“You’re fuckin’ late!” She’d yell at Ethanael and Yani, her deep violet eyes that seemed as if they were glowing in the dim room we were in were what caught my attention.

“Well… It’s not my fault YANI got sidetracked!” Ethanael would say, side eyeing the Rahasan.

“It doesn’t matter who got sidetracked, you were still late!” She’d pull out a pipe and take a hit, exhaling the smoke towards the two. “Anyways. Who’s these two?” She’d say, glaring at us with a blank expression on her face.

“Oh! I forgot to introduce you all! Damian, Talis, meet Lilac Scarsen, the head of the Scarsen family. Lilac, meet Damian and Talis, former Trazian soldiers.” Ethanael would pause for a second, and the air would get tense. “They’re going to use the people there as sacrifices for her descent.”

“Already?!” She was visibly shocked; it was a reaction that was to be expected. “It’s too early for them to be completing the ritual, isn’t it?!”

“…The siege on Sakaris.” Those five words were enough for Lilac to understand, disheartening her.

“As much as I would absolutely love to crush some empire dogs with you, I have to deal with the fucking Deimos that keeps swarming here.” She’d get up from her chair and approach us. “Speaking of, let’s go hunt some owls, shall we?”

“Let’s go.” Ethanael and Yani would say in unison, and we all headed out of the town on horseback, towards the forest to the south.

“So, what exactly are we looking for?” I’d ask, as we galloped through the thick forest with a fog slowly enveloping us.

“An owl.” Lilac would say rather ominously, “You’ll know it when you see it.” I’ve never seen a Deimos like such before, and apparently this place was infested with them? What could’ve happened for an infestation to appear here?

Hoot… Hoot… The sounds of multiple owls would echo through the entire forest, spooking the horses. We’d all dismount and left the horses attached to a rope tied to a tree, so they wouldn’t escape. The eerie silence left us all on edge as we made our way through the verdant cover of the trees.

“Is it supposed to be this quiet?” Damian would softly whisper as we all continued through the forest. From the outside, it had looked like just a typical forest you’d see anywhere- mostly anywhere- in the continent, but inside… It was a different story.

Hoot… Hoot… The sounds would echo again, but this time we’d all unsheathe our weapons. Ethanael pulled only one of his blades, which seemed to glow crimson red amidst the darkness of the forest. While Lilac unsheathed a beautiful rapier with a purple blade, with a single lavender embedded onto the hilt. “They’re here.”

We’d all have our backs turned against each other, desperately looking out for any signs of a Deimos being around us. Hoot! Hoot! Suddenly, four of them would appear. Their tall stature made them tower over us, and their large bodies seemingly distorted; twisted and mangled with shadow-like things that were on them. The face of an owl with pitch black eyes would stare at me, as if looking into my soul; examining me.

“Fucking disgusting creatures.” Lilac would say, spitting on the ground where one of the owls stood. It would look at her, tilting its head slightly, as if confused as to what the woman in front of it was doing, and the rest would do the same to all of us.

“What… Are those things?” Damian would ask, his sword pointed at the Deimos.

“Owls… People…” She’d softly say, tightly gripping her rapier, waiting for the owl to make the first strike, the way of the rapier.

Ethanael, on the other hand, started rushing in headfirst at the Deimos, hacking and slashing away at it. Hoot! Hoot! All the Owls would stare at Ethanael in unison, and they suddenly started rushing and lunging at him.

“Stay back!” I’d yell, blocking off an owl from coming towards Ethanael, and the others did the same. The weight of their razor sharp claws crashing down on my blade felt as if I was holding back a raging bull; wild and untamed.

“Winds of Skiiva, draw your breath!” Ethanael would yell, markings covering his whole body seemingly glowing a mint-green hue, before the Deimos got pushed away from a whirlwind-like blast, knocking it away from him. “Cinders, light ablaze!” He’d yell once more, his markings now glowing a fiery orange hue, and the Deimos would suddenly catch on fire. “Heh, didn’t even break a sweat!” Ethanael exclaimed, sheathing his sword as he watched the owl grasping at the air and crying in pain, burning to death.