Chapter 1

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"So, what do you think Eyr will be like?" Taiya's voice spoke softly, his steps causing ripples in the sand as he walked towards Kyuni's hut, the white haired male himself at his side. "Hot, wet; It is a topical area after all" he responded calmly, whipping his tail about through the air. "Sure, but what about the people and stuff? Do you think they'll be nice?" Taiya asked with a tilt of his head, his brown eyes fixated on the blue eyes of the wolf like being. "Lots of people are nice, but I hear there are many Drow and Orc in Eyr, in addition to ones of my own kind" he responded bluntly, stopping his movement as they arrived at his hut, reaching out his palm and pushing open the door before heading inside, the creaking of the old dry oak planks beneath his feet forming an almost eerie sensation. Taiya smiled, slipping by and standing behind Kyuni as the male reached out for a leather bag tied together by a thick thread that reside upon his bed. "Bet that'll be fun for you, we'll get to live like wolves together in training!" Taiya spoke with an optimistic tone, the diamond shaped stones upon his crest twirling about as if to express emotion. Kyuni stopped, before suddenly shifting form; changing into a white wolf with faded black and soft blue stripes upon his legs, his blue gaze no different as he grabbed the bag in his jaws and looked back to Taiya. "We won't be training together, they'll have priorities based on our skills, you'll be trained in battle, I'll be trained in scholarship" he started, turning and walking towards the doorway in wolf form, glancing back with the bag still in his teeth. "After all, nothing you aren't used to; special boy" he spoke with a nearly bitter tone, before stepping out. Taiya lowered his haunches, before darting after him, catching the knob to the door in his palm and shutting it behind him before stumbling to Kyuni's side swiftly. "Don't have to be rude, sorry that I'm excited" he spoke with a more quiet tone, the brown haired male's head lowering a bit in anguish. "Whatever, let's just hurry to the docks before Zoki pisses himself in excitement" the wolf responded, lashing his tail and flexing his claws in the slightest, causing small marks in the sand that quickly faded in his wake.


Trotting along the dusty gravel trail, Taiya glanced down to his robes for the slightest moment, taking a deep sorrowful breath; his mood officially being killed by the inhospitable lycanthrope he walked hand in hand with throughout youth. Glancing ahead once more, he could see where the canyon broke apart into open sea, a large wooden ship docked at the end, Aleis and Zoki just barely visible in the hazy distance. Smiling the tiniest bit, he halted upon drawing close, gazing over to the young fox hopping about excitedly. Kyuni froze, shifting into human form and pulling his bag from his jaws to hold it in his palm; his gaze shifted to Taiya. "He doesn't think he's coming along, or does he?" Kyuni spoke quietly, in hopes of avoiding being heard by anyone besides the other teen. "I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Taiya retorted smugly, taking a step forward. "Landon is already on-board, hope you weren't anticipating a free ride, he's going to be making you work like a member of the crew during the journey" Aleis spoke with a calm tone, he had a slight grin present upon his typically blank face. "I knew! And I'm excited to see the life of a sailor!" Taiya blurted out, hopping back and lighting up a bit at the thought of a 'new experience'. Kyuni rolled his eyes, lowering his head a bit and flicking his ears. "Speak for yourself" his voice had a vengeful tinge it seemed. Aleis glared over, his expression smug. "He was, he said 'I knew' not 'We knew', actually" Aleis spoke towards the edgy teenager. With a grumble, Kyuni leaned back, Aleis approaching and setting a palm on his shoulder. "Try not to dishearten the captain, he's a hugger after all and you may get a bit more of a strange punishment than you'd expect" Aleis spoke as if to threaten yet be playful, before stepping back with a slight bow. A dark red haired male popped up over the skyline, a toothy smile on his snarky expression-ed face. "All aboard! We take off in 5 minutes!" he yelled out with his friendly lightened tone, before vanishing from view once again. "Sounds like Landon's getting impatient, better hurry" Kyuni spoke bluntly, before walking up onto the plank to get on deck, shooting a glance towards where Landon must've been; tho out of view from Taiya, before heading off to the pass below deck. Taiya smiled, walking up to Zoki and crouching down into a hug "Gonna miss you pup" he spoke with a smile, before standing up and looking to the plank leading onto the deck of the ship, his eyes narrowed a bit with an unseen sense of determination. "Have fun in Eyr! Bring me back something!" Zoki blurted out, still hopping around just as much. Aleis glanced towards Taiya, his gaze blessed with a bright smile, unusual for the male. "Are you anxious to see them again by any chance, Taiya?" he asked with a vague tone, as if to confuse the male. "No, I think they'll be proud of me" Taiya responded with an optimistic voice; glancing back towards Aleis and nodding before looking forward and running up the plank. "Bye bye you guys! See you in a few years when I drop these kiddos off!" Landon's voice rung out, before with a loud creak, the ship broke free from it's binds, and set off for sea.


Days passed, hard work brought tire upon the youth; not adjusted to their temporary lifestyle quite yet, but they got by. Looking towards the stars now visible in the darkened sky, Taiya leaned against the railing around the edge to keep one from falling, his eyes had the light sparkle of curiosity beamed into them. "Hey kid, see that over there?" Landon's voice rung out, elbowing the 15 year old carefully in the shoulder, before tapping at the rail and pointing. Adjusting his gaze to follow his point, a large continent was but a mere shadow in the distance, the ship going roughly in it's direction, but not as if to land. "That continent's apparently called Pangea, there's rumors that a sea dragon lives around it that will attack anybody who tries to go there" he started off with an optimistic tone. Shifting his gaze to Landon, Taiya tilted his head a bit. "Oh? How come?" he asked with a curious voice. "Heh, as if I'd know, but the fairies from Kelethin reported once making it there, and their crew all dying with the exception of one survivor who returned" Landon started, before glancing over "They said there were beasts bigger than mountains, and strange humans with even more strange abilities" Landon continued, a soft smile on his face as he stretched back a bit, but mostly kept his position. Taiya shifted his dark colored eyes back towards the continent "Would the sea dragon attack us?" he asked with a worried tone. "Shouldn't, I think we're avoiding it's territory" Landon responded calmly with a shrug, keeping his gaze on the continent in the distance. "As captain, shouldn't you be a bit more confident than just 'I think'?" Taiya asked with a smug glare, a slight grin forming on his face. Smiling, Landon lowered his head and chuckled a soft bit beneath his breath "I guess I should be huh, Well; I should assume we'll be fine, the dragon usually only attacks those going for Pangea" he responded with a bemused tone, his dark red hair fluffing up in the wind. "I should assume' sounds hardly any better" Taiya spoke with a smug tone once more, before leaning against the male, his eyes closing a slight bit; feeling the weight of the night air and exhaustion creeping upon his back. "Tired kid?" Landon asked calmly, before closing his eyes and grinning. "You kids will get used to it, the journey can only ever be so long" Landon spoke with an optimistic tone. Taiya nodded, brushing his cheek against his arm before sitting back up straight "Doesn't make the journey any less exhausting tho" he responded calmly, struggling to keep his eyes open quite clearly. "True" Landon responded, glancing over towards Taiya, when without warning, he froze.


Taiya froze aswell upon seeing Landon's expression change, the red haired male's eyes were now wide, his green eyes shaking as he inched back; his expression changed to.. Fear. Landon suddenly recoiled, stumbling back a bit before running towards a small staircase leading to a slightly higher level of the ship. "All hands on deck! All hands on deck!" he yelled out desperately, reaching his palm out for a bell hanging near the front of the upper level. Taiya turned around, his movements slow, now terrified to see what had scared him. The water was bubbling, and beyond alot in the distance behind where Taiya had stood, the bubbling moving and dragging a large shadow in it's wake. Jumping back, Taiya let off a sharp scream of fear, other crew-members coming up from the lower deck swiftly. "What's going on?" Kyuni asked out, walking over to Taiya, who was now flopped back on the wooden deck. Shifting his gaze out to the water, the lycan visible froze, before quivering in the slightest. Gasps and screams of fear rung out, as without warning, a giant shape shot up from the ocean. A sea dragon; it's head alone perhaps 500x bigger than the ship, it's beady gaze fixated on the ship itself. Inching back, Taiya stood up slowly, all of the other crew members seemingly frozen in place, as the dragon dove back beneath the water, the shadow approaching. Looking towards the teenagers, Landon's lips drew back. "Up here! Quick!" he yelled out desperately, stepping forward a bit. Kyuni glanced towards him, grabbing Taiya's shoulder and pulling him over before dragging the slightly younger male up towards the stairs and to the higher level. Darting his gaze around, everything went quiet, Landon's expression somewhat confused in a mix with his fear. "What's going on.." he muttered softly beneath his breath; when without warning, the ship creaked, and with a sickening loud crack, wood shattered. The sea dragon's serpentine body was coated in long spikes upon the back, each spike alone being roughly the size of the ship as it ripped through the hull, simply poking it's back out of the water tearing the ship apart. With a screech, Taiya fell back, grabbing desperately onto the rail as the ship rocked. Kyuni struggled to keep balance, shifting into wolf form, as the ship split clean in half, the shock-wave quickly striking and knocking everyone off balance. Glancing towards the 2, Landon narrowed his eyes, before with a streak of light, everything went white. Taiya let out a gasp, as if struggling to get air as he knew the impending fate, as he felt himself fall free from his grasp on the ship; and cold air streaking along his spine as the frozen cold sea grew closer.

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