The Author's Will

56 | White Aster

Another day passed in Laydel, as the people went about their daily lives. Streets bustling with an air of liveliness, shops overflowing with colourful produce, craftsmen working on their wares, and giant trade ships sailing along the wide river that ran through the centre of the city, its banks lined with trees. The ambience of this empire was perpetually flourishing and there were always vibrant, healthy looks on the people's faces.

A young man cloaked in a dark mantle, silently admired the structure of the boats which had just returned from a day's fishing, and were now moored along the river's edge. He stood aloof from the bustle of the sailors, watching as the merchants unloaded their goods from the ships.

An azure sky, reflected in glittering waves of water. White clouds serenely passed by, as a pair of silver irises shifted to the black, red and blue flag of Laydel — fluttering breezily from the top of a ship's mast. His attention lingered on it for a moment, but was soon drawn to the sounds of people shouting, not far from where he stood.

The aggravated voices came from the docks of a nearby trade ship, and the cloaked man soon distinguished the cacophonous argument from the accents of the sailors who owned the ships.

"You really think our nation will buy wares from you Izadellians?! You have some nerve, showing your faces here!"

The conflict was beginning to gather a lot of attention, and the look of unease on the faces of passersby came to the young man's attention. And as the sailors continued to deride the foreigners with little to no filter on the profane words they used, none of the men seemed to notice the tall, cloaked figure approaching them.

"What's going on?" The young man asked, his low voice capturing the attention of the sailors almost instantly.

Reaching a slender, gloved hand up to his hood, he revealed a head of ebony hair, and a handsome sun-kissed face with picturesque features. He was young, perhaps a teenager — but his sharply-shaped grey eyes framed by dark lashes, did not wear the look of a child.

Something about his aura was a bit intimidating despite his youth. Perhaps it was due to the boy's notably tall height.

The men were startled by his intervention, but quick to realise he was a familiar face. "Oh, it's you, Leon," A familiar sailor sighed, relieved at the sight of the young man. But there was still a huge look of irritation on his face. "I'm glad you're here. Can you take these guys to the authorities? They seem to be demanding entry to our country even though they're our enemies."

Leon looked over at the foreigners and their gear. He could tell just by looking, that these men were a band of merchants who must have been travelling across the globe for countless years. There seemed to be nothing particularly suspicious about them — but if they were Izadellian, it was sure to stir trouble amongst the people regardless of whether they were harmless or not.

"Are these the only boats?" Leon glanced upriver, where two identical ships were anchored beside each other. They were smaller compared to the other ships lining the dockside.

"Y-Yes. Please, Sir, we really mean no harm," One of the men began to say, and his expression was troubled. Leon could sense a strong Izadellian accent from him, which confirmed his heritage. "We're simply merchants like any other. We travelled to Laydel hoping our wares would sell here — look, we even have the documents. Please just give us a chance-"

"You seriously think we'll trust your people when you started a war with us?!" The sailor retaliated, and Leon heaved a small sigh. At this rate, it'd be Laydel starting wars, if this was how the people were treating outsiders. This situation was going to need some helping, after all.

"Joseph, I'll take care of this matter," Leon interjected, placing a hand on the shoulder of the sailor reassuringly. Although his facial expression was always the same stoic and unreadable one he always wore — it was difficult to say no to someone like him. After all, he had been helping people around town for a while now. "Just leave this to me."