Caritus Harbor District

“So when’s the next shipment due?”

“The boss said ‘bout a week, but who really knows.” Myles Mint was sitting underneath one of the many docks outreaching the waterfront of Caritus when he heard the voices. It wasn’t that they were of significance to him, but that they were the loudest sound he could observe at the moment. He tilted his head back, listening as their footsteps neared, the creaking of sodden old wood became distinct, and bits of debris and dust fell through the cracks of the wood and sprinkled down onto his features.

Myles scrunched his expression, tugging at the dark fabric that cloaked him and firmly placed the hood in place as protection from the fallen dusts. He was no longer interested in the men and instead began a slow crawl towards the receding tide of water, his knees and palms digging into the pebbly beachfront as he did so.

As the water began to approach, it swirled around his wrists and lower legs, catching the fabric of the dark clock and he stared at his reflection. In the darkness of the water his eyes looked a deep brown, when in reality they were a more red color, and his curly hair fell around his face, pressing against his soft cheekbones due to the hood over his head. He watched as the small fish swirled around his fingers, nibbling softly at hi skin. It produced a soft smile on his features. And then, Myles glanced at his wrists, the thick black circles encasing his wrists were completely underwater was the water reached its peak.

He curled his toes as the water began to recede again, taking the small sea life with it, his cloak tried to rush away with the current too, but it was a vain attempt since it was wrapped securely around him. Myles sat back on his feet, staring at his wet hands, the longer he stared the more translucent they became. He kept very still, watching the little currents of water swirl in his hands and his watery body began to slowly spread up his arms. Myles stared at his fingers, the water was steady, and he twitched his finger. He grinned, satisfied the hand still held his form and slowly began bending his fingers. With the movement the water began rushing in order to keep form, but still held. Myles grin stayed put until are large bang disrupted him and his entire arm fell off.

He heard heavy footsteps above him, and felt more debris land on him as people rushed around on the docks. All sounding frantic and confused. Myles would have been the same way, but there was a strange sensation of calm enveloping him. He didn’t know what, but he needed to go somewhere, quickly.

He submerged his stump of an arm into the water, and it came back out a full arm. Making sure the cloak secure Myles darted out from under the dock and towards the direction of the bang. Something important was waiting for him there, something life changing.

Blindly running, Myles didn’t once consider how strange it was to be so confident in following a feeling in his gut. He kept running until he passed an auburn haired woman and skidded to a halt. He felt his knees give out from under him as he stared at the disoriented woman. The young boy was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, he didn’t know who she was, or what she represented, but he had finally found her.

Aryana couldn’t help but feel that her body was suspended without a hint of gravitational pull. Colors, some shades she had never seen before, flashed before her eyes and she swore, for the briefest of moments, that she gazed upon the entire universe. Then, the sensation was over. A light, bright and dancing, shone before her and she reached out to touch it, all fear dispersing itself from her mind. Aryana stepped toward the light and landed on the other side of the mirror.

Unkempt buildings rose up around her, though none as tall as those in New York. The smell of rotting fish and low tide invaded her nose and she did her best to not gag from the scent. Her mind desperately searched for any reason behind what had happened and where she was. But nothing, not even the slightest hint of a memory, told her where she was. Panicked, she whipped around, her eyes wide and searching. ‘Where am I?’ she thought, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Evans!” she cried out as she ran down the alley way. “Eva-“ she was cut off by someone tossing slop out of their window above her. The filthy water nearly landed on top of her and she gagged at the smell.

“Now there…what’s all this hollering ‘bout?” a deep voice called softly from the back of the alley way. Aryana turned slowly and stared at the three men who were approaching her.

“I can be your Evans…heh heh heh…if you’d like,” another said as he liked his lips.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing way out here…” the first said with a grin on his dirty, ugly face. Teeth, hair, and even some fingers were missing from each man. Even combined, they hardly made up a whole man. Each had their faces streaked with dirt. Dried blood covered the second’s shirt and pants. There was even some dried blood beneath his finger nails. The third man, the one who hadn’t spoken yet, was the scariest of the three. He was large, larger than any man Aryana had ever seen before. He gave her an opened mouth smile, revealing the empty cavity of his mouth. All of his teeth were gone and his tongue had been removed. Aryana backed away from the three men as best as she could…but she was up against a dead end.

“Don’t come any closer!” Aryana said as she grabbed a small piece of wood by her foot. The men simply laughed and continued their approach. Aryana swung her wooden plank as hard as she could at the closest man and caught him square in the jaw. He staggered backward and cursed. She attempted to take another swing at the second man, the one already covered in blood, but he caught the wooden plank before it made contact.

“Just shut up,” he told her as him and the third man grabbed both of her arms and forced her on the ground. The first man, the one she had hit, walked over to her as he undid his pants.

“You’re dressed odd for a woman,” he said as he looked at the torn jeans she was wearing. “But that won’t matter…I’ll figure out a way.” All three of the men chuckled as the first man fussed with the buttons on her jeans. She kicked out angrily, nailing the man right in the stomach. He simply grunted and continued. “Alright boys, that’s enough, I think I got it from here,” he said as he grabbed hold of both her arms. The other two men backed away and watched the mouth of the alley.

The first man crouched on top of her and put his face close to her. She could smell the stink on his breath and saw his rotting teeth. Fear had taken hold of her and she tried her hardest to wiggle free from his embrace, but that just made it easier for him to hold her down. A sudden warmth spread through her limbs and she was filled with a sense of calm. Her body relaxed and the man smiled. “Now, that’s a girl.” He released one of her arms and went back to trying to unbutton her pants.

Aryana suddenly reached up and grabbed the man’s face. Before he could pull away, a current of electricity erupted from her finger tips, shooting themselves into the man’s flesh. His skull broke apart as well as the flesh that held it together. Brain, blood, and gore shot out from the stump on his neck, splattering Aryana and the walls around them. She got up quickly, just as the other two men were rushing toward her. The third man grabbed her by the neck and squeezed, but she simply placed her hand on his arm and shot it off as well. The second man dropped to the ground and began to pray, tears running from his eyes. The third man was laying in a heap on the ground, screaming in agony.

Without looking back, Aryana ran from the alley and out into the open street. The calm that had taken over her was now gone, replaced by panic and fear once again. She could smell the blood on her and could see the chunks of brain matted in her hair. Her hand was covered in blood as well as her clothes. ‘What happened…what’s going on?’ she thought as her vision began to fade in and out. She stumbled along the street, clutching her bloody arm as she tried to focus on what was around her…but her eyes would not focus.

A sudden sense of familiarity overwhelmed her, just as it had in the museum. Her eyes began to focus and she saw the figure of a young boy running toward her. Aryana stopped in her tracks and stared at him. The boy seemed to recognize her as well. She had meant to talk, meant to ask where she was and who he was…but all that came out was a scream.

Myles winced as the woman began to scream, but he was unable to move. He glanced around, the area seemed vacant, which meant her scream wouldn’t attract any attention, but it still made him nervous. He wasn’t supposed to be outside his house, and this woman was special, he got the feeling he didn’t want other people getting involved.

“Shhh, Miss, please don’t scream.” He said, Myles was able to push himself to his feet after the initial shock of seeing her. She was still screaming and he raised his hands in peace as he took a step forward. He got a closer look at her, and he could now see she was covered in blood, a lot of it. He bit his bottom lip, was it her blood, was she hurt, or was someone else hurt?

His eyes widened, she was covered in blood. Was this girl he had felt such a strong pull to dangerous? Would she harm him, or at least attempt too? The way she had started screaming lead him to believe that she didn’t have those intentions, but it wasn’t a normal occurrence to be walking around covered in blood. He felt even more uncomfortable, and tugged at the black cloak’s sleeves, as if hiding his hands would somehow keep him safer. At least though, knowing he had a small dagger on his hip was a comfort.

He made sure to keep the hood of his cloak up, because despite the bizarre feelings of trust and nostalgia he felt towards the woman she was still covered in blood and he still valued his life. But even so, despite trying to be alert and on guard, the feeling in his gut was fighting the instinct. And she looked odd, beneath the blood were a style of clothing he had never seen before. It was exotic, and he wondered briefly how far the woman had travelled for her culture’s style to be so drastically different from the people of Caritus. Myles considered himself well versed in culture, despite never leaving Caritus before, because of the time he spent at the harbor. People from all over Tellus came with the ships that docked in the Harbor District, but never had they looked anything like this woman.

Things about the situation were not adding up. First that loud bang, it had sounded like an explosion, and then right after the tiny urges he felt to get out and do something manifested into an overwhelming pull towards an unknown destination, which he had followed none-the-less. Now, he was standing in front of a scared, blood covered, woman who was dressed strangely, and

“Are you ok, maybe we should head down to the water, maybe you’ll feel better once you’re clean?” Although his main intention was to get the woman calm and cleaned, he mostly wanted to go down to the water because he was more at ease there.

Carac had trusted the visions in the flame. It had taken him weeks to sort out that the location he searched for was Caritus, and it was a miracle that he had recognized the docks there from the garbled images. Even with that delay and the time it took to actually travel, Carac had arrived early. That or he was just some sort of loony thinking the flames of his campfires could tell him anything. Carac left the inn for the third morning in a row, feeling disheartened after so many days trapped under a roof. This was his first time trusting in anything other than the documents he loved to read so much. He was afraid this trust would cost him.

Shielding brown eyes from the bright sun, Carac took a look around Caritus. He had never felt particularly attached to any of the cities of Tellus, but this one wasn't so bad. At least there weren't any demons flying over head like in his hometown. Carac gave a cursory glance of the sky just in case, and noticed something out of place. Carac had never seen a star fall from the sky, but he had read about such a thing happening. Well, never an actual star, but comets and things. He was sure that the smoking trail blaring through the sky on a one-way course to the ground was a comet. But then a wrenching feeling in his gut told him he was wrong. It wasn't just a comet. This was something important.

With a start, Carac lowered his hand and took off towards the dock. He hadn't been able to stay in an inn closer to the docks due to the issue of money. Now he regretted not just sleeping out in the open nearby. Carac was forced to push through crowds, a fire twisting and jolting across a barren landscape instead of blazing straight and true. It was painfully slow work, and the comet dropped out of sight before Carac was even halfway to the docks. No! Carac thought. He had to be there when it landed.

Once Carac got to the docs, he ran along the shoreline instead of walking on the path with the other people. He hated that he was getting his feet wet, and he felt practically strangled by the spray (he remembered that this was why he hadn't slept close to the docks. Being so close made him feel damp all over). His blond hair curled at the nape of his neck, reacting to the moisture. Carac trudged through the shallow water, eyes forward as he ignored the open water looming out to one side.

The smoldering pit left by the comet was easily identifiable from the water. Carac's heart thudded in his chest. His first instinct was to go into the crater and find what had fallen. He didn't get a chance. A scream drew his attention to a girl and a hooded figure, and a familiar wash of heat like that of a leaping flame crashed over Carac. Without hesitating, Carac approached the pair with soggy pant legs and waterlogged boots. The hooded one was a danger, Carac could tell without even seeing the face that was hidden. Carac shoved the figure as hard as he could. He should have finished what he started and actually attack the threat, but his attention was forcefully pulled towards the girl covered in blood.

"Goddess." Carac whispered, his eyes going wide. This was the girl in his visions. This was Lux, the Goddess. She was light. She was perfect. Carac forgot the person he had just physically assaulted, forgot that he could be wrong, and this could be anyone, a girl he didn't know. Carac's tanned hands found the shoulders of the girl, and he shook her a little, his brown eyes stern as he looked down at her. "Where are you hurt?" She was covered in blood, and the overwhelming concern he felt could not be put on hold for introductions.

Aryana looked at the young boy before her. His words were soothing and gentle…she almost trusted him, almost. She stopped screaming and backed up a step. For the first time since Aryana had arrived, she looked around and took in her surroundings. The boy before her looked like something out of one of her World History books. Actually, now that she thought about it, so did the men who attacked her. She turned her head slowly to gaze at the buildings around her. Nothing modern could be seen anywhere. No cars, no bikes, not even garbage cans or dumpsters.

She completely ignored what the boy said to her the second time, about going down to the water. Her heart started to pound as she realized she was nowhere near home. “Where am I?” she asked, her voice shaky and high. “Who are you? Where am I? Where’s Evans?” she backed up once again as her eyes darted around. She felt like she was going insane, like her entire mind was in a fog and nothing was making sense.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, another man came running at them. He had the same familiar feeling that the first boy did, she same sense of security. Before Aryana could warn the other boy, the man shoved him out of the way, put his hands on her shoulders, and began to shake her lightly. “Get off me!” she screamed as she tried to break away from his grip.

“Who are you people?! Where am I?!” she said once again, screaming. Nothing was making sense. Nothing at all. She felt as if her head was going to explode. She clutched her temples and tried to breathe through her nose but it felt as though her chest was being constricted.

‘Calm down…’ A voice said in her head. Suddenly, her mind began to clear and the fear ebbed away. She was filled with a sense of peace. Slowly, Aryana stood up straight and looked at the man in front of her. “I-I’m not hurt,” she said softly. “Three men attacked me, but I…” fear began to take hold of her again as she thought about the man she had just killed and the other man whose arm she had shot off. ‘Focus,’ the voice said again and the fear went away. “I killed one of them and shot off the other one’s arm,” she finished.

“This boy, I don’t know his name. But he found me, he didn’t hurt me,” she said, turning her attention to Myles. “Thank you, and…I’m really sorry for screaming in your face.” She gave Myles a small, apologetic smile. “My name is Aryana Bradley and please, if you can...I have no idea where I am. Is this anywhere near New York?”

Myles stumbled backwards and hit the ground hard. He felt pain erupt up his forearm and grunted with the impact. He was slightly disoriented, wondering what had hit him to cause him to fall over like that. It was a man, and it irritated Myles that this man had literary kicked him to the curb to get to the special lady. And, he was going to do something about it, protect the woman from this man, but he said something that made Myles freeze. He felt a chill run up his spine, and his eyes widened with the feeling that he understood when he was still lost.

“Goddess?” He echoed, it sounded familiar to him, saying it for himself. He scrunched his features, the information he was trying to grasp was there, at the edge of his mind, but it was still out of reach. He didn’t have time to think harder on the matter, however, when The Goddess started to panic again. Instinctively Myles reached for the dagger he had concealed, and tensed himself to attack the other man, but The Goddess calmed herself. He did push himself off the ground, and even though she was calm it had been this man that had startled her just as she was beginning to talk to him.

He used his smaller size and got under the man’s arm to shove him away. Standing in front of Aryana he gently placed his hands on her forearms, the cloth of the cloak pooling at his elbows and revealing the black circles encasing his wrists, and he smiled softly. When she spoke he felt waves of emotion rock through him that he had never even possessed towards his family, an urge to serve and protect. And even though he knew if this had been any other person, covered in blood and telling him how they had killed three men, he would have been terrified. He wouldn’t be trying to comfort them, nor feel any empathy towards their reasoning or feelings. In his household he was taught to obey the rules, and killing people was definitely against the rules.

“Yes sir, you shouldn’t have been so brash and attacked me. All that had accomplished in scaring her more.” He stated bluntly, casting an ill glance towards the other man. It was interesting that towards the blonde man he felt nothing, as the same with the rest of the people who did not directly associate with him, but very cell of his body told him that his loyalty and devotion belonged to this woman. He took his hands off her forearm and took down the hood of his cloak, revealing his red tinted features.

“My name is Myles Mint, and although I have never heard of the land of New York you may rest assured I will do everything in my power to give you a safe trip back.” He took a step back and bowed to her, his left fist covering his heart. Myles spared a irritated glance towards the blond man. He was extremely displeased with the fact this man had pushed him so rashly and suddenly.

As he straightened himself, Myles spared the blonde man only a short look before turning a much warmer expression back to Aryana. “I am very pleased to meet you Aryana.”

Aryana was only half listening to Myles as he introduced himself. She sensed something was wrong, very wrong. She laid a hand on the young boy’s wrist and made a hushing motion with her other hand. Aryana glanced around the harbor district before her eyes settled on a group of men walking towards them. They had a commanding presence about them and people seemed to clear the way as they approached. One man walked in front of them with his hands bound behind his back. She recognized him…he was the one she had let go.

‘Run girl!’ the voice at the back of her mind shouted. Aryana panicked and looked down at herself. She was still covered in blood from head to toe.

“That’s her! That’s the girl who attacked us!” the man shouted, jerking his head in their direction.

“Run!” Aryana said as she grabbed both Carac and Myles’ wrists. The city watchmen behind them began to run after them as well. A few of the men hung back and drew their bows. Quickly, without even thinking, Aryana ducked behind a building and ran up the alley.

“Where do we go Myles?” Aryana asked as she ran.

“Where do we go Myles?”

Where did they have to go? Myles hadn’t been able to process much, but from what he had seen those people that were now pursuing them, and they were definitely the royal military. That left little for them to go, that Myles was familiar with. Even worse, many of the people in the military were acquainted with his family, and had known Myles since he was little. He doubted any of the troops from low level patrols would recognize him, but there was always a chance. Myles had no business tainting his family name with a scandal like this, helping a criminal. He wanted to be firm in his decision, ditch Aryana and stay loyal to his family, but he already knew he wouldn’t go through with it. Besides, most of all of Caritus he had familiarized himself with were the Palace District and select locations of the Harbor. He didn’t know anywhere else, and didn’t have a lot of time to tap into his limited knowledge to help them escape.

“I’ll take the lead, just follow me.” He said confidently, despite not having the slightest clue where exactly they were. But he didn’t want Aryana scared, so it would be better to put up this front in order to grant her some comfort. He clasped her hand, and did make sure the other man was following, because he was already seen affiliated with Aryana and himself and would now also be pursued, before picking up speed and taking a sharp turn down a separate alleyway. He kept his expression stoic, as to hide how lost he was, as he led the trio down several more turns in hopes that they would lose the military. He felt himself heave a relieved sigh between rasped breathes as he caught his breath.

He knew where they were now, he felt a soft smile of triumph edge its way on his features as he began dragging Aryana down the street. His lungs were still burning, not used to so much vigorous exercise at once, but it wasn’t so bad, and he regained his breath in less than a minute. He looked around, and spotted a large building that he never saw anyone using, an abandoned warehouse.

“Ayana, please take this.” He said, an idea suddenly striking him. He let go of her hand and slipped his cloak off to hand her. Even though if anyone recognized him it would be trouble, but Aryana stuck out like a sore thumb with her red hair and foreign clothing.

“You are very easy to spot with your current appearance, it is a bit damp, but please wear this.” He only briefly looked back at Carac, making sure the man was still standing there before he headed towards the warehouse. It was a bit of cliché to hide in an abandoned warehouse, and it was nearly guaranteed the patrol would check in any abandoned anythings, but at least for now to get the trio out of sight was important.

Aryana felt like she was being dragged on a wild goose chase. None of the turns they took made sense to her, and it seemed like Myles was just guessing as well. Finally, they arrived at what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. Aryana stared up at the large building and cocked her head to the side. This one seemed almost familiar...but she couldn't figure out how. Puzzled, she pushed her fingers through her hair but quickly had to pull them out. The blood and brain matter that was stuck in her hair had now hardened, creating a crusty mess in her auburn hair. She pulled her hand back in disgust and a shiver went down her spine. She needed a shower, fast.

"Aryana, please take this." Myles said as he handed her his cloak. She took it gratefully and slipped it over her shoulders.

"Do I have it on right? I've never worn anything like this before," she said as she flipped the hood up over her head. She quickly tucked her hair beneath the cloak and made sure it covered most of her blood stained clothing. She was taller than the boy by more than a few inches so the cloak barely covered her pants, but it did it's job well enough.

Aryana walked toward the building and checked the doors. Luckily for the three of them, the doors to the warehouse were unlocked and Aryana pulled them open with little struggle. The guards weren't in sight but they still had to stay quiet. Aryana stepped into the warehouse and waited for the other two to step through before she shut the doors. The warehouse floor was covered in dust and soot, obviously it hadn't been used in months, if not years. Their footprints were visible on the floor. If anyone else came it, it would be obvious that they were hiding out there.

"Help me pull something in front of the doors," Aryana whispered as she indicated to the stacks of crates near her. "But make sure we leave ourselves an escape route..."