A group of sailors boarding a cargo ship that resembled a fluyt came ashore. F or those who did not know, a fluyt was a type of sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to facilitate transoceanic delivery with maximum space and crew efficiency.“Good sir,----”David trailed off. He wanted to strike up a conversation in a graceful manner but failed miserably. He realized he was not good at making acquaintances. That was why he used to travel alone, in the first place.“---- My name is David Hale. It was a pleasure to meet another captain.”He finished. But he was aware of how bad his introduction sounded. Thankfully, the other party chose to be a bigger person and no longer comment on his awkwardness. Instead, it replied warmly,“Hello, gentlemen. Let me introduce myself, I am captain Henry Styles and these were my crew.”“Were you taken against your will as
Audrey's group took their chances and accepted help from a total stranger; but who really was this captain that goes by the name of Henry Styles?What were his secrets?Well, unbeknownst to them, their current benefactor was no other than the captain of the legendary ghost ship known as the Flying Dutchman and an antagonist in nautical folklore. Some years since, a famous captain was renowned for achieving unusual cruising speeds on his voyages. Such were his exploits at the helm that many of his contemporaries suspected him of being in league with the Devil. The story states that he deliberately implored a demon for the power to sail the seas unaffected by inclement weather. It is said the devil himself had given captain Henry Styles the power to make his ship the fastest ship on all the seas after the man sold his soul to him one night with a full moon. Since then, no ship in the record had ever traveled faster than the reckless captain's ship. Rumor has it that they can break
It was already halfway through the day when they met the captain at the underwater cave and got rescued by him. So considering this, it was only normal that Audrey's group only started sailing again when dusk was already closing in. At the same time, while admiring the picturesque view before her, a sigh escaped Audrey's lips without her knowing it."Truly, there was nothing quite like watching the sun paints the sky orange-pink as it kisses the ocean goodnight"A contented smile was hanging on her lips as she thought this out loud.But while Audrey was busy observing the beautiful seascape, her friends, on the other hand, were in the middle of a discussion“Up is down.”Allan read the passage written in the footnote of the map. However, in spite of exhausting every last bit of his brain cells, he still could not make out a single thing from what was written.“Well, this one is maddeningly unhelpful. He concluded, and that was when he resorted to dragging his friends into this riddle.
With regained calmness and a cold glint flickering through her beautiful black eyes, Audrey willed the fire to vanish and then she ordered the captain, "Tell me everything about everything that I should know it the Cape of Habibi… Leave no details unsaid... It is my first test to you as my loyal subject..."People who found themselves transported to another world would usually long to go back to where they came from. It was a natural instinct, born in the depths of one's heart to persist in lingering inside and would rear its head whenever the transmigrator felt like he was already okay to stay in the current world. No matter how one denies it, it was a fact that even if one had no ties remaining to that place, the concept of home was not something they could easily brush off. The longing in their hearts would prevent them from fully integrating into the new world… They would always think of the inerasable past. It was the most painful kind of home-sickness.But the question was, in n
Meanwhile, apart from Niccoli’s pet, there would probably be no other contractual beast that would ever come close to Monami’s great naivety and kindness to its master. Before Niccoli could even learn from anyone that Audrey vanished, it was already reported to him by his cat"Master! It's bad! Somebody attacked your friend and teleported her out of the surface world!"The prince was with his brother and checking on the menu at the cafeteria when the news reached his ear. The other party was just surprised upon noticing his dumbfounded expression. When he saw that it turned into a grim one, Nike asked him in a worried tone, "Is there something wrong?"With a cold face, the young man exhaled. He chose not to answer his brother for the time being as the matter was obviously very heavy and worrisome. In the whole mage continent, there was no one else in the greatest danger of getting killed or attacked by enemies other than him. This was what crossed the young prince's mind, the momen
Every day that passed and Selene kept hearing that not only his most hated cousin and sworn rival in power and influence, Audrey, were still alive and kicking but also gaining more advantages compared to her, hatred kept brewing in her heart. The discomfort and pain were there. The humiliation never left her skin, especially as she could never forget the dirty deeds she committed with the crown prince before just so that she could secure her position. She always waited for results to come while feeling the searing agony in her heart. Bits and pieces of images popped up in her head from time to time.'When will those two die?' It had become a question most frequently repeated in her head.Unfortunately, the news she was waiting for never arrived. She also never heard from the crown prince again, that user that she also hated and daily cursed to die for discardin
At least someone in the mage continent was planning to cross to the Layers to chase after Audrey who got thrown to some unknown realm. They were none other than Professor Sonny, the person obsessed with the power that Audrey holds in her blood;Professor Sonny instinctively knew that he could puncture through dimensions and travel the space in between them. The only problem was that he had no idea where in the layers Audrey was now.On the other hand, without knowing anything next to what was brewing in the surface world, Audrey was still on her way to the capital of the Empire. Her movements were discreet, but not because the woman feared those in the imperial family of the dynasty. It was simply to not alert them and make them wary.Yet even though that was the plan, Audrey was not simply being a traveler.&nb
On that evening, Audrey said she wanted a list of people and families who had previously rebelled against the Xia Empire, of those who were discontented with the rule of the Mao Imperial Clan. Two weeks later, after finishing a miracle healing session in her temporary 'Temple', Audrey convened a meeting with the people her followers invited back after a long journey. Releasing an aura of a 'Goddess', which was essentially just the aura of someone with the blood of a deity, she flashed a sweet, enchanting smile before taking the elaborately designed throne at the center. She then said to the awestruck crowd watching her from below."This Goddess here is called Sofia, which means knowledge in the language of the gods.""In my name as the representative of heaven, I declared that the Xia Dynasty's Mao Imperial Clan has been too decadent, tyrannic
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou