Caravan

Desertic and hostile, this was the description Jäwell could have made about the land before him. Dante's boat just landed in a desert and Jäwell jumped from it before Dante even said it was safe. He was now human, a mortal human, and a fragile human. 

Jäwell loved it, he loved that the sand was too hot and was burning him slightly. He arranged his fallen hair over his head and smirked happily, he had a sword in his back and a long black cape to protect him from the sun. 

Dante yelled to him, he was still terribly worried about the prince's chances of survival to be a mere human after so long of being a vampire, "My prince! It is still time to come back, please! Think about it once more."

"Thank you for the ride, see you in ten years, friend!" Jäwell said as he started to run on the sand in the direction of the West where there was told to be a war preparing. Dante sighed and prepared the ship to leave, hoping that Jäwell had enough memories of his human life to manage. As they planned, they would meet again in ten years of this world.

Feeling the wind beating his face, his hair attached to the hairpin was flying everywhere around. Jäwell ran for hours and the struggle was real. He was sweating and panting, pain started to appear in his muscles. As a strong man, he could endure more than most warriors, yet, he was just human at this moment. Rocks were offering better visibility, and he climbed immediately, sliding and hurting himself. 

Jäwell stood on the top of them and looked at the horizon. His face was serious and he was focusing on the task to come, but deep inside, he was feeling a joy he thought would be never experienced again. 

His chest rose with the hair he took in, his fingers were hard to move due to the extreme fatigue, and he decided it was good to take a break in the shade of this improvised shelter. Jäwell found a cactus near the place and opened it, he needed to drink and to make it harder for him. He took no provision with him. 

The prince needed this challenge, he wanted nothing to remind him of his privileges. For a moment, he wanted to feel like the young man in the militia he had been. After taking a short rest, he stood up and returned to his run through the desolated place. 

Unlike Rika's desert, he found many animals from the biggest to the smallest and he was amazed by the life all around him, and that none of them was afraid. He even met some hyenas who wanted to crock him as he took a short nap in the night. Jäwell took incredible pleasure in using his knife and fighting with the strong animal trying to kill him. 

These beasts were usually not attacking alive prey, this is how he thought that they probably scented death in him. After all, he was not completely human and mortal, he was still dead once and this changed him forever, no matter what he could do about it. 

Jäwell enjoyed every second of this new life, he started to be dirty, his hands were damaged and he was already less strong than when he arrived due to the lack of sleep and resources. It only made him happier, living this experience to its fullest.

Suddenly, in the morning of the fourth day, Jäwell heard hooves of horses and people singing. He walked toward the group and met the merchants of the caravan. There were four women and a man, they stopped their activities as they saw the vagabond in the sand staring at them like a predator. 

One of the women made him a sign and tried to engage in a polite conversation, the merchants were not fighters and negotiation would be their only way to survive if they had to face a warrior wanting to harm them.

"Hello, can we help you, traveler?" She said in a sweet and delicate intonation. 

Jäwell chuckled, "I am going to Rosebud."

"This is where we are going, hop in, buddy," The man continued.

The women made some space in the back of the caravan to welcome Jäwell, if he didn't have a backpack, he was still taking quite a lot of space due to the large sword in his back, the three knives at his belt, and the hammer at his hip. As he said, he didn't take resources with him, but he took weapons from the dwarves' forges before his departure. 

The man whipped the horses to go back to their travels, showing a certain interest in Jäwell. 

"Where are you from, buddy? You are not from here, that's for sure."

Jäwell laughed with a good heart, one of the women gave him a piece of bread that he devoured due to the hunger he faced in the desert, alone. 

"I am from Ombrae, you know, the place of death."

Of course, he knew that by saying the truth nobody would believe him, simply. The girl who fed him answered, "So you come from Cardanic? We have many immigrants joining our army. You will not be alone, you will see."

Jäwell didn't answer, he just let the girl make her hypothesis and didn't correct her with a slight grin on her face thinking about what she was thinking of him. An immigrant, a man who came to an enemy country to fight against the power in place in his homeland to free it. That was some story he could have liked if only he still cared for people from the light worlds. 

Deep inside, Jäwell was looking at them with no emotion, he was feeling particularly detached and far from these humans. They were not from his original land, they were not from Ombrae, and they were humans. Miserably stealing goods in the ruins around to sell them into the cities afterward. 

"What were you doing in the desert?" Jäwell asked, curious as he tried to look over the chests of goods in front of him.

"We heard about a place full of rubies and emeralds so we came to check if it was true," The man answered immediately.

"And was that true? Did you find this place?"

"No, but we rescued you, so that was not so bad," the first girl said.

"One man is enough to change history, maybe we just brought victory to our people by saving you, traveler," The man continued.

Jäwell laughed out loud, "I am not a savior or a hero. I just came to have fun with other men."

People around him had an expression of surprise, at the limit of being in shock.

"Fun? You think war is fun?" They almost asked together at the same time. 

Jäwell leaned into the caravan and looked away, he was daydreaming and his lips curled up. He took a long time before answering as he was thinking about everything that happened recently to him. 

"Freedom is fun." He simply stated, "I am free to engage myself in a war and risk my life."

They all looked at him as if he was a madman, which he probably was too but for other reasons. 

Jäwell just repeated in a murmur, "I am free."

And these simple words meant the world to him. No one would be after him as no one knew where he was, and even if someone searched, nobody would find him lost in time and space. Thrown into the first conflict he had found, and far from Dante's ship. Not allowing him any chance to retreat in case things would turn badly. 

Jäwell had taken a huge risk and he knew it, that was exactly why he came. The caravan was walking slowly in the immensity of the desert and Jäwell never stopped to look at the horizon. Not even thinking at all anymore. He was just happy to be here, in this world, as a mortal.

He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about everything he had learned during his long life of war. The women around him analyzed him with a great and intense look. Something was not adding up and they knew it, yet, they didn't dare to say anything.

They walked for a very long time, so long that Jäwell lost track of the number of days, but there was something nice about traveling with the merchants. Every day was filled with incredible stories about lost treasures and evenings were about dancing and drinking together. 

Jäwell didn't care much about humankind in general, yet, he truly enjoyed the company. There was something simple and easy about them. Something that he could understand, contrasting with the science of Leïlana or the calculations of Lady Fluffy. 

No, this time, it was just about being free. Free from thinking about tomorrow, and free to drink and enjoy the stars in the night, forgetting the moment and realizing how little they were. They were people he could understand. 

Jäwell was sure now, he made the right decision.