The Sea

Drakai's eyes flung open, and he bolted upright. Cold sweat poured down his back to the point where it felt like he was sitting in a puddle of water.

His eyes were a fiery red, glowing in the pitch-black room as they swiveled frantically. Drakai swung his head left and right and only relaxed when he remembered where he was.

The boat he was staying on was fairly large and it galloped over the waves with ease, rocking the boat only ever so lightly.

Drakai leaned back on the sack of rice he used while sleeping. He closed his eyes and saw nothing but the picture-clear image of Danya being ripped in half, her limp body being crushed by the huge moss creature.

Drakai was horrified at how she died, she didn't even know that it happened, one second, she was there, and then in the next her life was snuffed out like it didn't even exist in the first place.

He shuddered and then sent soft waves of heat out of his core to dry his clothes.

He had paid the captain of the boat some extra money to stay below the deck to sleep. It had cost him a little more than he was comfortable with, but he soon found out after the first night that sleeping while salty water hit your face wasn't a fun experience.

"My rations are running low, I'm going to have to find a job once I reach land," Drakai whispered to himself.

Drakai had long since planned on going to Janse, being known for their open arms was the biggest appeal to Drakai.

The other human-run continent, Kalu, was told to be the exact opposite of Janse. A whole nation full of elitists, as the consensus had them believe that humans were far superior to the rest of the races drakai didn't want to go there.

That behavior had earned them very little interaction with the other races. No one liked dealing with someone with a snotty attitude that bickered and argued at every turn, even if large amounts of money were involved.

Drakai planned simply to enroll in a magic college of some sort, and after that, he didn't know what he was going to do.

What he did know was that he made a promise to danya to live his life to the fullest and that's exactly what he planned to do.

Sighing to himself he wiped the breadcrumbs off his lap from his meal of bread and some jerky and stood up preparing for another day of practicing his forms and staring at the waves.

As he walked outside, he wasn't surprised by the hustle and bustle of the crewmen. Even at the crack of dawn, these sea-hardened men were toiling away.

They all had a job, and they knew if they didn't do it, they would get an ear lashing. Primarily by the captain.

A huge bear of a man, the captain was tanned and old. The eldrasie people already had bronze-like skin but he pushed it to the extreme. Although the captain was known for his viscous ear lashings the crew still respected him and admired him quite a bit.

He looked out for his crew, and when his crew did their job right, he was rather cheerful.

"There he is! Our little solder has woken up." Captain Ross yelled from across the boat.

Drakai smiled and waved. "Mornin' old man!" Drakai shouted back.

"Hey! come now, I'm not that old. I'm only 300 hundred years old! Not bad for Colossal-Class mana warrior." Ross laughed as he spoke.

"That's extremely old." Drakai Laughed back as he made his way to the old man.

"Maybe to a youngling like you, yes, but there are monsters in the world that have been around to see the rise and collapse of multiple empires and kingdoms." Ross patted drakai on the back and looked and squinted looking across the waves into the distance.

"We will be arriving in about four hours or so young one," Ross spoke and then looked down at drakai with a grin. "Bet you can't wait to get away from the spray huh?"

"Drakai smiled, oh definitely." Drakai was anxious his entire future lay ahead, and he was more than ready to get a move on it.

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.

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The four hours passed quickly. The air was warm to drakai, but it was only about 60 degrees outside, drakai found himself slipping out of the top part of his tunic and letting it hang.

He wasn't as large as most eldraise men, but he was still ridiculously muscled, every inch of his body was devoid of fat and his muscles pressed on his skin like they were trying to escape.

As soon as he did that the crew glanced at him and started to whistle. Drakai's face soon flushed red, but he managed to keep a straight face and he pretended to not hear them.

The boat was heading for a port city called Everdale, while not the biggest port city that Janse had to offer it was still quite large.

[Imagine this as the town]

The boat docked and Drakai said his goodbyes to the sailors and captain ross.

He stepped onto solid ground for the first time in a week and a half, it took him a moment to get used to it, the ground swayed under drakai and he had to resist the urge to puke all over the ground.

Getting himself under control drakai made his way into Everdale.

Most of the buildings were made out of wood, and huge amounts of waxed rope helped bundle everything together.

What surprised him was the humans he met though, they all looked up at him while he passed down the street.

It was an odd feeling to be the tall one, they waved and smiled at him as he passed. Drakai nodded and smiled back.

He was looking for an inn but all he saw were stalls loaded to the brim with different types of seafood and vegetables.

After about thirty minutes of looking non-stop, he found an inn called the bouncing turtle and walked in.

Drakai was instantly greeted by the roar and laughter of men drinking and playing different games at tables.

He went up to the bar and waved the innkeeper over.

A short fat man ran up, he had grease all over his apron, and he had a large beard and a bald head. "What can I do for you?" The man spoke sluggishly, but drakai understood him anyway.

"First I would like some food, then I would like to ask you some questions," Drakai spoke with an easy smile.