Journey

It is early in the morning when I board the ship that will take me to the Island of Rhodes. I have secured passage on a trading vessel that will be making a short stop at my destination. They will then pick me back up on their return voyage, which will be in three months.

I have never been on a ship before in either of my lives, but I'm hoping to learn the basic skills during this journey. Being able to sail a ship and successfully navigate on the open seas will be a big help in the future.

Hopefully this trip proves fruitful.

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Halfway to my destination we make a stop at the Island of Karpathos for a day. There is only a handful of small villages on this island, but since this is the first place I have ever been to outside of Crete I decide to explore a little the morning before our departure.

There is little to no difference in the people here and those on Crete. They just seem less architecturally developed.

As I'm exploring the village we had docked at, chatting with the locals seeing if they had any interesting stories to tell. I keep getting the feeling that I'm being watched.

No matter how many times I check with my powers, I can't locate any heat source that would be responsible for this.

Thoroughly feeling unnerved I decide to head back to the ship and wait for the crew to finish their tasks.

As we sail away from the island I swear I see the figure of a female suddenly appear on the shores of the beach, though I am too far away to make out any detailed features I notice a very distinctive silver hair color. Then I blink and the figure has vanished, as if they were never there in the first place.

My mind must be playing tricks on me.

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After a month long journey I have finally arrived at the Island of Rhodes.

I have three months to learn whatever secretes I can about this place and it's inhabitants.

As I stand on the beaches of Rhodes and marvel at their pristine state I think about the future. It's amazing to think that in 1,500 years one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World will be constructed right here. The Colossus of Rhodes. A statue of the Sun God Helios standing at over a hundred feet high it will be the tallest statue of the ancient world.

I will have to make sure to visit again when it is finally built along with the other Seven Wonders before they are destroyed.

It takes some asking around but I'm finally able to get pointed in the right direction of the tribe I'm looking for. They apparently refer to themselves as the Idoan people. After Ida, the Earth Mother Goddess that they worship.

As I make my way toward their village I wonder how I'm going to convince them to show me their secrets, if they have any.

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For three straight weeks the Idoans refused to even speak to me. Once I made my intentions of learning more about their rumored abilities clear, they made it very clear to me I was no longer welcomed in their territory. I honestly thought they were going to try to kill me for a second there.

I'm not one to give up easily, and their reaction to my questions only made it more suspicious and likely that there is some truth to the rumors.

So for three weeks I had set up camp and waited outside the Idoans territory. I was hoping some sort of opportunity would present itself to me. As a last resort I could just demonstrate my own abilities to them and hope that would cause a change in attitude.

They definitely know that I'm here. With nothing better to do I have spent the majority of this waiting game in constant meditation. I have been able to sense the heat signatures of several different individuals constantly watching over me from out of sight, not just humans but animals too. Birds that stay unnaturally still for much too long of a time period, or the same bird constantly flying back and forth overhead hundreds of times with no variation.

But one heat signature stands out from all the rest. I'v noticed that most of the Idoans have a much higher body temperature than an average human, I assume it has something to do with their abilities. If the average Idoan has a body heat temp comparable to a torch flame then this person is a bonfire.

I can feel them clearer than anything I have ever sensed. How is it even possible to be running that hot and still be alive?

And right now I can sense them making their way out of the surrounding trees and to my campsite.

As the heat source stops at the edge of my campsite I finally open my eyes and get a good look at my visitor.

There before me stands a woman, no older than twenty. Dressed like the rest of the woman in her tribe in a layered cloth skirt with her breasts and tanned skin bared to the world. With a confidence I have rarely if ever seen in a woman during this life of mine. Dark raven hair flows down to her hips, she has a wild sort of beauty about her, like a Warrior Queen of the Jungle.

"Why do you stay?" She demanded.

"To learn" I answer simply.

"There is nothing for you to learn here, go back from where you came"

"I believe there is much for me to learn here, and even more for me to teach"

"What could you teach?" She scoffs disdainfully "How to live in stone houses? How to worship false Gods?"

"I can teach your people about power, and about those who wield it" I raise my hand into the air and form a fireball to hover over it.

Seeing the look of shock and awe that briefly flickered across her face was surprisingly satisfying.

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And as I follow her back to her village it seems my gambit has payed off. I never wanted to reveal my abilities so readily but I felt it was the only way to gain a bit of trust. If the Idoans harbor ill intentions toward me, well I'm confident in my ability to stay alive and hide out until my ride home arrives.

Besides its not like I will ever reveal my true power to them. I have to keep a few cards up my sleeves.