Worlds Apart (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: The town near Olga

Saiyan crossed the gate and dropped to the ground. He was exhausted and not too far from collapsing. If he hadn’t spied his pursuers two days prior, he could have slept for three days straight. All the same, this life of being on the run was not new to him. He grudgingly pulled himself up until he faced the gate keeper.

‘Strange that the gatekeeper waits inside than at the gate. I guess even he can’t handle the solar waves’

“Halt little punk” growled the grizzly bear. His fur was dyed blue which was considered fashionable in those parts and he wore a leather jacket over his top half. It didn’t have buttons though and it was at least two sizes too small for him yet he seemed insistent on trying to look comfortable in it.

Saiyan gave the bear a skeptical look. He was well built with a slender frame and he was taller than average humans. His sharp cheekbones may have made him look slightly starved at times but he was in no way a ‘little punk’.

‘Trust a grizzly to call anything little’

“Hey there gatekeeper, I just spent three weeks crossing this damned desert. Mind letting me catch my breath first before you do your inspection?” he asked, but practically begged. Saiyan made his best puppy dog expression to go with it. It only occurred to him afterwards that bears hated dogs because of the war up in Castadona.

“Can’t be done pipsqueak, these days them cults are smuggling corrupt Phostrich eggs all over the place. I can’t be letting any in on my watch. Now strip” he growled once again, this time baring some of his fangs. One of them had a gold ring around it, another pointless fashion accessory.

“Really dude, a Phostrich egg would be larger than my head. Where would I be carrying one of those exactly? I have a cloak on my back, a sword at my waist and a small bag which you can check if you want but a Phostrich egg, really?”

The gatekeeper scratched his head clumsily, and momentarily nodded his consent for Saiyan to pass. With a sigh of relief he heaved himself across the foot path into the town. Well it was more like a cluster of buildings.

Most of the huts were partly broken and had been hasitly completed with random odd things such as tree leaves and plastic sheets. Here and there an enitre hut would lay in complete ruin and the roads or what remained of them were filthy with faeces littered across it. Every once in a while, Saiyan would spot a tree blossoming amongst the dying settlement. If they had once bore fruits there were none to be found on them in the present.

Saiyan edged closer to the port. He could smell the fresh water which seemed to carry the scent of heaven with it. The chirping of sea birds appeared as though they were the voice of an enchanted songstress. Perhaps it was true or it was simply his reaction to hearing and smelling anything other than the desert and its inhabitants.

‘Boy, have I been stuck in the desert too long’

As Saiyan crossed a rather weatherworn two storey building, he finally caught sight of it. The great Lake Olga lay with its broad expanse spanning the enitrety of the east. Its rich blend of blue almost blinded Saiyan. For the past three weeks he had been stuck in a desert composed of sand, rock, clay and then more sand. He had literally witnessed every shade of yellow and orange there ever could be.

Saiyan had survived on very little food or water and had only been lucky enough to trip up on two settlements in the Bana desert. This had meant extremely long and painful journeys where different creatures had tried to pick him off for an array of diferent reasons. Some had wanted to eat him, which was no surprise, others had wanted to keep him as a pet and one, the Bana Lizard, had wanted to marry him. Saiyan shuddered as he thought of the children that could have been.

As the eighteen year old approached closer to the port, the structures around began to become more civilised. There were markets set up along the roads and inns and bars weren’t far from them. He could see a few tall buildings, one of them was the hotel which would have been his preferable choice of stay overngiht, but alas, Saiyan had to go to the bars instead.

It was in those kind of places he could hire companions on his jounrey. He hadn’t had much luck so far. In the last four months he had gathered only six companions of whom four were dead, one had quit and the other had tried to rob him and then runaway when she had failed. Saiyan sighed. Right now there still wasn’t too much pressure for him, but once he crossed Lake Olga, he would definitely need companions.

The worst part was even when he had been lucky enough to get some, he had never gotten close to telling them about his situation. How could he possibly tell anyone that sticking with him was treason?

‘It’s almost impossible to get anyone to stick it out with me, but then who would even consider me when they know I have a royal force after me. This is hopeless.’

Saiyan took one look back at the Bana desert. Even though he had died almost forty-six times, he couldn’t help feeling slightly attached. It was the only place he had stayed for as long as three weeks in a very long time. Sure, the desert was six hundred square kilometres, but still there was something homely about it. Maybe it was because there were very few humans there. Saiyan had liked the solitude.

As he turned his back on the Bana Desert for the last time, another solar wave erupted from the sky. It thundered through the desert baking a lizard that had not found cover in time. The wave hit the town and collapsed as the invisible forcefield battered it. Saiyan chuckled to himself as he made his way to the port. Those waves had given him hell and yet in this town no one even looked back at them.

**********

Yurina and her companions arrived at the town near Olga at sunset. With the baking temperatures plummeting, the last leg of their journey had been pleasant. Afterall, flying on unippo back may have saved them the trouble of travelling through a desert but in no way did it shield them from the three golden orbs in the sky.

As soon as the unippo landed, Yurina pounced off in an instant. She was followed by her assistant Melon, a small, rather clumsy looking boy of sixteen years. Yurina’s bodyguard Granite landed with a thud. His muscles rippled with sweat and on his back hung the great war axe Reaper. It was an odd name for an axe but it was one that had earned its reputation in the world.

The royal forces’ accountant lumbered down after his companions. He was old and withered yet his body was draped in expensive silks and chains of gold hung around his neck and hands. It was one of the ways in which he assured strangers that he was not a begger but a royal accountant and a trusted subject of a king.

“Lord Ashen,” said Yurina addressing her accoutant, “please see to the unippo’s charges.”

“Please lady Yurina, refrain from using that ridiculous name. It is a hippo with wings, it should rightly be called a unihippo!” he retorted. The unippo snorted and stamped the ground.

“Show some respect. We unippo are separate from hippos and unicorns. We are not related. We may have come about from a certain interaction but we have shown far more intelligence than either of them, in any case we have earned the right to be called our own species. Leave us be old man.” Growled the unippo.

“Oh really, is that why you hate being associated with them. It’s certainly not because both of them lost miserably in the tenth war back in Castadona right?” replied Ashen sarcastcially.

“Lord Ashen, you may be of high authority back in our kingdom but for this task I am in charge. You will treat our friend here with some respect. Please pay his charges and give him extra as an apology.” Snapped Yurino.

“I will do no such thing…”

Granite walked up to Ashen, put his hand on his shoulder and gave the old man a knowing look. Somehow the bent, small figure of the accountant seemed to shrink even further into the ground under the gaze of the bodyguard.

“Ri..ri..right of course. I will get to it ri..ri..right away.”

Ashen walked over to a pouch slung onto the side of the unippo and dropped three golden coins into it. Yurina turned towards the unippo and smiled. He smiled back and then took off into the sunset. His large figure momentarily blocked out the orange rays of the three suns, but soon their bodies were once again bathed in sunlight.

The royal company made their way along the foot path towards the town. In time they came to a gate which had an elephant guarding it. His skin was dyed blue. Melon chuckled. His hair was blue too. Before the gatekeeper could respond Melon held up a scroll and motioned for him to let them pass. Yurino riased her hand and silenced the boy immediately.

“My dearest gatekeeper I was wondering if you would do me the sweetest favour. It would make me feel so much happier if you did.” She said through pearly white teeth and a forced but practiced smile. The elephant seemed to melt before her radiant beauty. It smiled as best as an elephant could and made a bow.

“What ever can I do for you my lady?”

“I was wondering if you have seen an eighteen year old boy, well a man I guess? He has black hair, he is slender and well built. He has green eyes and he has white skin that may look a bit tanned recently. He carries a sword at his waist, he has a cloak that is red but looks very rich in texture. Well have you seen him?” she enquired.

The elephant looked about. Then he turned his attention back to the royal company.

“I am afraid, I can’t help you with that. I have not seen someone like him. Maybe he came through one of the other two gates. If you really want to know you should investigate around those gates. Also bear in mind that if he was crossing the desert by himself, he may have died.”

Yurino shook her head.

‘That boy doesn’t die easily. If anything I know that much. Maybe he hasn’t arrived yet…. Or then again, maybe he has. Still it wouldn’t hurt to check out the other gates’

The twenty year old turned towards her companions.

“Granite, would you take Melon and make sure the two of you investigate both gates. I will take Lord Ashen and book us into a hotel, or in the case of this town, the only hotel,” she commanded before turning towards the elephant, “If such a man does cross your path be sure to inform us. If you do, I can assure you a very heavy reward.”

As Granite and Melon took their leave, Yurino began to make her way to the hotel. She purposefully walked very fast so as to leave behind her accountant.

‘If I take another walk with him, I will have to go through at least ten lectures before I reach the hotel. I will just walk really fast and tell him I thought he was right behind me later on…. What is that… yeah, I thought so. It’s the smell of the water from Lake Olga. Oh am I glad I am out that desert.’