Kain stood shoulder to shoulder with red bear men as they climbed onto the waiting ship. Its towering masts hid them from the sun. Julien stood on the deck, sharing his final orders before the journey.
"Last chance to leave". Julien turned to Kain with crossed arms.
"I'm staying ser". Kain swayed on the deck.
"Then keep up with your training, and I'll see you in Yalia". Julien ruffled the boy's hair and left without another word.
As Kain tried to take a step forward, his stomach churned, and face turned a ghostly white. He fell into Robert as his balance failed.
"You'll get used to it". Robert chuckled
Kain followed as Robert and an assortment of red bear men were led by a young boy down deeper and deeper into the hull. Hammocks and crates filled the bottom. Kain could have sworn something scurried between two barrels in the side of his vision.
"Pick them now before the good ones get taken", the boy said as he returned to the deck.
"Pick the one next to mine". Robert turned to Kain as he climbed into the one closest to the centre.
The further the hammocks got, the more they would sway and the worse they would sleep. The boy shed from the heavy armour for the first time all day. Wrapped in his cloak, the armour still clinked and scraped against the floor each time a wave licked the hull.
"Captain said it should take about three months till we get to Yalia". Robert nestled into his hammock.
"Three months without land?" Kain tossed about as he tried to look at Robert.
"No, no, we'll stop at Norport first mostlike, then Tall Towers; not sure if we'll attack Yinn by sea, but" he shrugged.
"O…of course", Kain nodded, his face reddening slightly.
Their hammocks swayed like a cradle, making Kain's eyes grow heavier until the boy could no longer keep them open and finally sleep took him.
A bog appeared all around him; water and mud sucked at his bare leg, pulling him deeper and deeper. In the distance, a featureless girl danced on an island of white flowers. Her brownish-blonde hair swirled about her pale face. He awoke drenched in his own silent tears.
Kain climbed the stairs up to the deck one at a time, watching his feet with each careful step. Some crew members were sitting around half asleep or talking amongst themselves as the sun slowly crept up the horizon. Sunlight scattered off the water like a rippling reflection, only disturbed by waves and the wake.
All the same, Kain fell to his knees, clutching the bulwark and releasing what little he had eaten over the side of the boat and down into the water. Sailors laughed, and the waves noisily swallowed the mess, but the captain's booming voice broke through the hurling and laughter.
"Green as spring grass". He left the helm and stomped over to the boy.
Kain went to speak, but as he opened his mouth, he turned back to the edge of the boat and instead of words, only spewed more yellow bile and the odd chunk of meat. The Captain's ham-like hand slapped Kain on the back, forcing more of his dinner into the sea to be washed away.
"Happened to me the first time too", he slapped the boy's back, laughing all the while.
A month later would be the next time Kain would see land. The weather had turned a few weeks in, cold and windy, which at least hurried them along their journey. He could wear only one layer of clothes no longer. The air turned so cold that each breath he took froze in the air, and even huddled in his cloak, Kain shivered at night.
Ice parted as the boat approached the dock. A handful of men stood on the ice with hammers, saws and tongs, pulling blocks of ice from the sea. The Captain stood side by side with Kain as Robert's muffled orders leaked through the floorboards.
'Robert said we would only dock here for two days, but' Kain thought as he shivered on the deck.
"Where is the church?" he turned to the captain, warming his hands in what little heat the cloak trapped in its fur.
"I wouldn't know. I'm from Last Rest; there is no temple here for me" The man seemed uncaring about that, but Kain couldn't tell.
"You don't believe in Astri?" Kain looked up with a furrowed brow and scrunched nose.
"In Yalia, it is said that each village, town and city has their own pantheon. So many gods, so little time to pick the right one" he smiled a sweet smile.
Kain stared out into the snow-blanketed city, watching as smoke rose from chimneys and men wrapped in so much fur they seemed like small bears walking quickly from building to building.
"I will pray regardless". Kain stepped off the boat and into the city.
Each building looked near a twin to the next. Snow covered roofs with chimneys and thick log walls. Despite the three feet of snow atop each house, the road cutting through the city was completely bare. The church was just past the shops, standing alone surrounded by a short stone fence and a mountain of snow. People had dug through to reach the door, where they could be heard singing, loud and poorly.
Kain pushed open the door, gently closing it behind him. Men still wrapped in their cloaks sang at the foot of the three gods. Kain, as silent as a man could be clad in armour, sat with his helmet nestled in his lap and began to pray.
'Usol, please grant me the strength and courage to become a better, stronger man, with the strength to become a proper knight' his fingers traced the eye slit on the helmet in his lap.
'Lunol, please find it within you to allow me to marry and love Siena; it is the only thing I want in life' Kain strained his face in hopes it would reach her. Both the goddess and Siena.
It had been the first time he had seen a statue of her with any sort of detail; those at his village church and in the homes of the villagers were crude, carved from wood and lacked any detail, but the woman was beautiful, with a sharp nose and striking white eyes that stared down at him. The man too was stunning to behold in carved marble. His smile was proud and filled with kindness, but his eyes seemed violent even in marble.
The thing between the two gods stood taller than both of them, covered head to toe in a white cloak, the hood of which was pulled back just enough to see a completely featureless face; all the same, Kain swallowed as his eyes met where the gods ought to be. His legs began to shake as the inhuman god stood silently, gazing down with indifference.
'Please, I can't go back to being some peasant now.' Every muscle in his body tensed at the featureless god.
'I cannot live any other way, without her.' A desperate tear ran down his clenched jaw.