Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

I gathered firewood while the old man and Jowy went hunting. Brenda was just wasting her time with the new girl. I didn't even know her name.

Was it really alright for us to let her stay? Shouldn't we have taken her back?

"Why are you looking all miserable again?" The old man was behind me. He had caught two birds and Jowy had a chicken on his hands.

That was the first time I saw live chicken here. The only other forms I've seen till now were basically roasted or soupified.

"Nothing…" I said.

Whose fault do you think this is geezer!?

The old man had probably noticed a long while ago but he just kept quiet to see the show. Sometimes I really doubted if he had any other goals than just living a fun life.

We went back to the camp. The fire was my only source of comfort in the night. From the day I came to this world, almost all the nights were horrifying. But finally, I was with a group of people who weren't complete idiots- or so I thought. Now, I wasn't so sure.

Most of the meat was fried and the rest were made into a soup along with onions (smelled like onions looked like apples) and mushrooms. Jowy scouted some wild berries that he thought were edible. I however only ate the meat and the soup. We had some dry rations but we saved them for later.

"So, care to explain yourself?" I said.

The new girl stared at the fire: For a good few minutes kept quiet, and when I neared the limit of my patience, opened her mouth. "My parents died a few years ago in a remote village far from here. I snuck on a ship and came to that town. But no one wanted me in their shops. They said that I would taint those places…" She didn't finish.

She was on the verge of breaking into tears but her voice showed no sign of weakness. If what she said was the truth then I couldn't even imagine what she went through last couple of months. I didn't believe her though.

"Why would they say that?" I asked.

"Demies and beastmen aren't treated that well in these regions. However if she had crossed the ocean and went to Silverien, then she might have found a new life. Silverien values demihuman and beastmen supremacies. But they don't discriminate humans as we do to them." Jowy educated me.

But I wasn't that surprised. Back in my world, it wasn't that uncommon for humans to discriminate among their own races for color let alone another race.

"I see. But I thought people didn't really know much outside this continent," I said.

So she's been orphaned and discriminated. Poor thing!

I felt sorry for her but my doubts still remained: I still didn't believe her though. Even if she was telling the truth it still would have been rather risky for her to gamble like that. Or was she plotting something? I couldn't wrap my head around it.

The little girl went towards Brenda and sat beside her.

The old man and Jowy both looked at me with wonder. "So, you believe there are places not discovered yet?" the old man said something which made me wonder its true meaning. That reminded me, from the day I came to this world I'd never seen any maps. I basically knew nothing of the world.

"How much of the world is discovered. I mean how much do you guys know?" I tried to phrase my question as best I could.

Jowy wondered for a minute, eyes closed. "I think I've traveled enough to say there are at least two continents as big if not bigger than the current one we're in. This continent is called Destoa. Humans and elves are the prominent race. As for the other races, they're minorities. The other two known continents would be Demonica- the demon's empire, also known as Galbatia (nowadays), and Harbea, the land of all. Harbea isn't known to many. There are a few small continents too."

So basically the world isn't mapped yet. "What about you old man? Got anything? Any maps to share?"

"Nope. I got nothing for ya. But I can say one thing to ya, don't go poking your nose where it don't belong." Somehow the old man seemed kind of pirate-ish. It might just have been my imagination but honestly, for a second there he scared me. "Cause, you might regret it."

Don't worry. I've got enough regrets already.

"We should remain cautious. This land might be undead free but the goblins might still roam about at night," Jowy said.

I got the picture that they- or rather the old man, didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah, I think that was the reason I felt uneasy from the moment I arrived at this place," Brenda said.

All that scary talk made me forget about the problem at hand. But I didn't really have the luxury anymore.

"I'll keep the first watch," the old man said, taking one last sip at his soup.

Apparently, I couldn't really protest.

Yet again under the stars. Was it really a good idea? Maybe we should have just… I suppose things happened for a reason. I sure hope this time nothing bad happens.

The stars were shimmering far away from our reach. It was a beautiful scene, something that I never saw back on earth. There weren't any clouds up. Last night there were so many clouds and tonight, nothing. My eyes felt heavy and I turned in.

"Who's there?" A female voice rang through my ears like some sort of stringed instrument.

The voice was clear and darkness was everywhere: I couldn't see.

Was this a dream? How was I still conscious?

To test my theory I started to scream. "I am Daarc. Who are you?" But my voice didn't reach. It didn't even come out of my throat.

Did I even have a throat? I checked my body, but I didn't have a body.

What is going on?

"If someone's there." I tried to locate the voice but couldn't. it felt like some sort of underground cave. Water dripped somewhere but the space still felt silent.

"Please-" The voice disappeared and my consciousness faded.

I slept and no one woke me. When I did wake up, I had a terrible headache.

Was that just a dream?

I couldn't remember much from the dream, so I didn't feel like thinking too much about it either.

Nothing happened at night and morning arrived: I couldn't have been more wrong. Something strange did happen.. Our rations were gone. Granted we had small quantities but still… everything other than bread?