The past and arrival

Roland was woken up the following morning, he hadn't gotten enough sleep. 

After asking a few questions, Roland who had accumilated a large amount of fatigue, unkowningly passed out. Nonetheless he had gained some valuable information. 

The Dragon emperor of the Dragon empire, Zephyr Steelwing had explored a mysterious place. Risking his life, he came out with a large amount of treasure, from that treasure, two dragon eggs were recovered. 

At the dragon festival, The Dragon emperor presented the two children as his own. A short while passed(relative to the dragons with a long lifespan) and the kids grew up in a nice environment. This should have been a happy ending, but fate has a very slippery relationship with loyalty.

The war broke out, due to clouds covering the sky and the battle mostly taking place during the day, the 'stars' barely had any information regarding this matter. The night the sky cleared, Roland was in a different place and the once imposing dragon empire was reduced to a wasteland, occupied by others.

Roland passed out listening to this, just as he fell into deep sleep, he was caught and dragged out, at least that's how he felt.

Early the following morning, the group built two rafts. They divided into two groups, one group had to search the sea for any survivors and cargo, while the others had to travel towards the city and ask for help from the Sterling Merchent Family.

There was obviously arguments about who joins which group, the raft that was heading towards the city needed two other people. Neither of the crew mate were willing to follow the 'Captain'. At the end First Commander intervened, and three people 'volentered' to go, and Roland was among them. Roland obviously didn't 'volenter' without putting up a fight.

"First Commander, I Know nothing about sailing. I'll only be a burdan." It was not that Roland was a person who advocated for work but he also didn't like the Captain, even more so, he was suspicious of the 'Doctor' who has two faces grunts grunts.

'What type of Doctor is stronger then the fighters? Yeah, let's call him that for now, why hide it?"

"You'll be an even bigger burdan here, besides this isn't a discussion, It's an order!" First Commanders tone didn't leave room for any discussion. Especially the emphasized words 'It's an order!', which seemed to carry some powers.

Looking at the man's sharp gaze, Roland could only nod his head in agreement. 

Soon, Roland, plus three other 'volunteers', the captain and the Doctor, got on the raft and 'drove', to the west. The raft was half the size of a room, and the mast in the middle, had a sail.

It was a one day trip, and Roland and the others had to row this heavy thing.

"So, Roland was it? Now that we have some time on our hands. Why don't you tell me more about your self!" Apus, struck up a conversation as soon as they left.

"I've, already said earlier that I have no recollection of the past besides my name." Roland had to row the raft, so he couldn't move without being impolite. 

He was understandably still scared of this old man who could go against gravity and the force created by a huge tsunami, even if it wasn't the direct force. 

"Hmm, when you were first rescued from the dangerous waters, You were first brought to the infirmary. While searching for wounds and possible injuries, I happen to find something intresting on your person." Apus shook his head. He looked at Roland and said, "I hoped that it would help jog your memories, do you know what it was."

Roland sneered secretly, he obviously wouldn't tell him that he already retrieved it. He responded quickly, "I'm sorry sir but I don't know at all."

Seeing Roland's expression and hearing his answer, Apus shook his head and didn't say more. 

Time slowly passed, in the clear skies, the sun had already reached it's peak. Roland and the others, took a break and ate some food.

"Now that you grunts are done eating. I order you to get back to rowing, the sooner you start the quicker we return!" The Captain shouted. He was currently sitting in the shade, eating peacefully in a lazy posture.

Seeing the other part blatantly ignoring him, the captain instently got enraged, "Don't forget that I'm the captain and that First Commander isn't here. If you don't follow my orders, I'll label you as a traitor to the Sterling family."

The men were obviously displeased by this, they remembered the First Commanders words before they left and calmed down. They got up and started rowing again, but this time it was at a moderate pace.

"You small kid, come here." Obviously pleased he lied back down and pointed at Roland. "Fan me, I'm burning up out here."

'Fan your mother!' Roland could only grit his teeth. Among the people on board, he had the least bit of say.

"Your slow... faster, Faster! That's it, keep it up." The Captain voice sounded.

Roland resisted the urge to hit the man in the face.

They continued to travel for at least three hours, the island was still on their left hand side. The sun was already changing colours in the sky.

In the distance a city came into view. The term port came into Roland's mind when he saw the city. There were huge walls surrounding the city, and a docking area for ships just outside the area. 

At this time the captain had woken up, they left the raft on the beach, and he lead everyone into the city. The were four armed guards in front of the city gates. 

The security was tight, even after they verified their identification, they were interrogated. Roland didn't have his identification papers so he was question a lot.

Especially since he couldn't remember anything. After thirty minutes and finally getting permission, they were allowed entry into the city. The night sky was starting to get dark, and the stars were coming out.

Roland realised that the brown walls, weren't made out of cement and bricks like he expected. 

'Is it dirt? no magic perhaps! is it strong?' these were all fleating thoughts as Roland followed along on the road.

They rented a horse carraige and were on thier way. Due to the price, they rented a small carriage, so the wasn't enough space for everyone.

"Hey kid, Since you didn't have identification papers, I had to bribe the guards to let you in the city, so do the sensible thing and run along side the carrige. There's not enough space for everyone." The Captain looked at Roland with disdain.

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'Cheapskate, this isn't even a closed carriage! Sensible my ass, I didn't even want to come here. ' Roland secretly criticised the man.

"No stay, I'll go." One of the two men jumped out of the carriage, he couldn't stand the complaining of this envoy. 'Actually wanting a kid to run alongside the carriage.'

"I'll go as well." The other guy followed suite.

"More space for us right Doctor?" The Captain didn't care at all and looked to his side.

Apus nodded with a big smile. 

The carriage moved and the two men followed alongside. 

Although this was considered a 'city', in Roland's opinion, it was just a slightly bigger village, or rather an overpopulated village.

The houses weren't something to write home about, they were small and seemed to be made of mud, unlike the city wall it didn't look strong or built with magic. Some houses were built with wood.

The yards were small, and gave people the feeling of overpopulated. There some people sleeping in the floor, others wondering the streets aimlessly. 

Seeing this familiar scene, Roland suddenly thought of something he once said, 'Amidst the squalor and shadows of poverty, reality unveils it's most heart-wrenching script. Here, survival is a relentless battle, and dreams are like withering flowers, struggle to bloom in the harsh soil of despair. In the silence of need, the profound truth echoes – that sometimes, poverty isn't just a lack of resources; it's a theft of possibilities, a theft of tomorrows.'

'Seems like no matter the world, poverty is still a strong theme.' Roland clutched his fists unknowingly.

The carriage arrived in another area of the city. This area seemed to better then the area from before, the houses here were bigger and were made from wood. The streets were clean and not a single homeless person outside.

Roland compared this scene to the scene from the previous area and couldn't help but sigh. 

"Something troubling you?" Apus asked when he heard Roland sigh.

Roland thought for a bit and nodded, "I saw some poor people earlier and I don't want to end up like them."

"Hmph, sadly you can't escape reality." The Captain scoffed in disdain.

"We'll if you don't want to be poor then you have to show your value and work hard." Apus directly ignored the other part and replied to Roland. 

"Really? Then I'll work extra hard." Roland nodded like a chicken pecking rice.

Before it got completely dark, the carriage arrived in front of a large house with an even larger yard. The yard was the size of at least ten other houses they had seen earlier.

With the Captain, they were stopped by the guards and directly went into the city. 

The carriage crossed the open area and arrived in front of the house. Roland noticed that the entire yard was filled with patrolling guards who all look well trained and were carrying weapons.

As soon as they arrived at the door, they were informed to go to the main hall, as the family head requested, them to come report immediately.