Day 36 of Spring, AV 512 |
Amnesia? That was a bad sign. Ash'eny knew lots of things had happened recently, too many to comprehend by most in fact, but for him? It was bizarre to be dreadfully honest. His past escaped him. Both recent and long term, it was all gone. Like Ash'eny was just a man that manifested from the waters of Sunberth's docks, and yes that's where he was now. Ash'eny wheezed violently as bubbles of air pressed outwards from his lungs. His body begged for oxygen, untainted by the salty waters of the sea, but he was not clear yet to do so. His arms and legs began to paddle and fight frantically against those waters, and in one glorious moment his head plunged from the cool sea that held him, and he drank up as much air as he could possibly manage. Ash'eny wheezes violently again, this time to expel water from his body and to again drink that cool wonderful air. He was still alive, though something told him he shouldn't be. "Hey! What are you doing there! Go away! We're tryin' to catch fish!" Ash'eny glanced around himself, he could see a port city not dreadfully far from him, but even more importantly he say a small fishing vessel, more like a rowboat with two fishermen in it. Ash'eny cheered and waved them down, as if ignorant he was disturbing their day. "Help! Please, help me!" Ash'eny called back to the fishing duo as he swam towards them. His muscles ached violently, he must have been in the water for a long time. Roughly three minutes later, give or take a few, and Ash'eny was lying down in that fishing boat, the men, though irritated by this strange castaway's appearance on their day, were generous enough to save him from his possible watery death. "Hey, Capn' Naked, the petch you doing out here? You crazy or somethin'?" Ash'eny merely shook his head and chuckled, laughing calm and quietly at first, but he found himself instantly plagued by an unceasing laugh, a violent cackle, almost an evil tickling that wouldn't release him for some time. It was like he needed to laugh, but hadn't been able to in decades. The hell of it was, he couldn't even remember his age anymore. After several awkward minutes of the common fishermen staring at him, and yes they were growing slightly tense at Ash'eny's behavior, the laughter ceased. "I'm sorry. I was just certain I was going to die there. You guys saved me. Oh..." And that's the first time Ash'eny would see his visions, which would grow almost into a Pseudo-Sixth Sense from this point on. On the water, all around, Ash'eny could see a city, as if their boat was literally floating in the middle of the street. People were walking all around. Faces that all looked familiar to him, but he couldn't quite recall. They all stared back at him. Sorrow, that's what Ash'eny saw. Misery, angry, despair. They had all been abandoned, but even worse than that, they were massacred. Defenseless and slaughtered. Ash'eny watched intently as a young girl walked up towards him. He knew her, because he had loved her once. The child, she was his child. Not by blood, but he loved her as if she had been his own daughter. She was crying, begging for Ash'eny to protect her. Her soft misty white hand reached out for him, and his own, tanned calloused palm reached to embrace her, then she died. Fire engulfed her small frame as she screamed. A violent scream, one which Ash'eny had never heard before, nor did he wish to hear again. She was gone in a moment, the city around, it was nothing but ashes, rubble, and a few shadowy men stalking around, praising Ivak. Ivak. A name Ash'eny wasn't particularly aware of, yet now sounded evil and vile. Ash'eny screamed aloud as the strange vision faded, his hands clenched the side of the boat as the tiny vessel rocked under his frantic movements. Warm tears were streaming down his face now, into his opened lips. Ash'eny was a broken man now. He lost everything, and didn't even have the ability to remember most of it anymore. "You-you-you, g-get off my boat. You are mad, w-we don't want any trouble." Ash'eny bit his lip as he looked up at the younger fisherman. Younger, yet still older than Ash'eny. He had a bad knee, and his arm trembled as they now held a halfspear pointed at Ash'eny's chest. This man was serious, he meant to abandon Ash'eny to the ocean. A vision struck again in this vital moment. The man, though remained in Ash'eny's sight, was shrouded in a dark cloak, grinning, and through his lips he could hear the whispering, "Ivak, Ivak, Ivak." Ash'eny was stunned to hear this, it was almost as if he was about to be killed by the very name that slaughtered his daughter (in his twisted imagination). No, he had to make things right, he had to find this Ivak, and kill him. But his journey would start with those that would destroy in Ivak's name. Like this man. Ash'eny stood up tall, nearly losing balance in the rocking of the boat, he stared at the man for a long moment, their eyes gazing into each other as they tried to read and predict thought. Neither moved. Ash'eny knew it then, this man wasn't going to stab him. He was a coward, he lacked the ability to steal Ash'eny's life. Ash'eny, taking advantage of such cowardice, grabbed the halfspear and wrenched it from the man's hands. He grabbed the fisherman by his considerably long greyish-black beard, and pushed him over the side of the boat and into the water. As the man reached up and grabbed the boat to pull himself back inside, Ash'eny drove the spear downward into his enemy's unprotected chest. The man cried out in futility as water poured into his mouth, stifling his cries. Ash'eny then turned to the other fisherman, he was even older, frail, one legged. He was clenching his chest, breathing with difficulty. Surely the sudden change of events drove his heart into agony. He was already dying. So be it. Ash'eny wouldn't save (not that he could have if he wanted) a consort of Ivak. Ash'eny took to undressing the elder and taking his clothing for himself. It was all ragged, worn, patched. At least it was something to hide his nudity though. "You've chosen wrong. I pray your Ivak will protect you from death, unlike he did for my daughter." Ash'eny lifted the now naked old man in his arms like a child. It was interesting how age seemed to turn the old back into the child. He was helpless after a life of being strong. Ash'eny gently laid him on the surface of the water, as if it was no more dangerous than a baby's cradle, and the man sunk. There was no more fight to survive in those eyes. _____________________________ Ash'eny finally stepped out of that rowboat, the one thing he thanked for saving him now. Yet, it was not his to keep. He may have been a thief once, but now that life was unknown. His hands, though skilled and sly they were, were no longer respected for what they could do. Ash'eny looked into the waters, now that his feet (dressed in the dead man's boots) were on dry land, and he saw his reflection. It was like he remembered, but his hair was long and unkempt. His face had a scruffy but thick beard, and his eyes were red from sea-salt and tears. He no longer looked like the young youthful man he last saw (and he couldn't remember the last time he saw himself), but an older person now. He looked tired, but felt alive. He looked scarred, and he felt the agony under those scars. Ash'eny felt his purpose now. He needed to learn about this Ivak. He needed to find him, and he needed to bring him down. Ash'eny trudged into the city of Sunberth. No money in his pockets, no weapons in his hands. The city, he remembered fragments of his life here as a child, but the distance of time itself was lost to him. All he knew was that something wrong happened. Something actually brought this terrible place to an even lower place. Ash'eny didn't need another of his imagined visions to tell him who was to blame. Ivak... |
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