CHAPTER 1-BLIND BOY

The sky was bright blue no cloud in sight, looked like it had been whitewashed by giants. The sun blazed upon the heads of the people of Eldenheim. The land and realm where elmans reside. After the great interdimensional war, the last of some humans and elves in a linked dimension interbred forming elmans- the ultimate hybrids they call themselves. On the outskirts of Eldenheim, a striking boy not older than 16 years sat on the stern of a lightweight merchant ship, along its white hull, engraved in black was the word 'Starlight '. His nearly faded magenta eyes were deceptive, they looked grey from afar. The pale afternoon caught the white blow de of his short spikey hair and seemed to form a halo on his head and skinny shoulders. Damian fiddled with a small black shiny orb in his hands. Ever since he found it, it was as if he could see everything even though he was blind. In a fluid movement, he ducked again as the boon swung wildly above him- a second too late and it would be lights out.

On his right, the starboard had a contraption attached to it. Its main purpose is to load goods at docks and ports. Damian grimaced at the sound it made- the grinding and creaking drove him crazy. Damian's oversized white clothing made him look both comical and at the same time an ancient monk, especially a master aryk as a gush of wind blew him backward onto the deck. He immediately stumbled up, to avoid mockery by the others. He quickly looked around him making sure no one saw what just happened. Satisfied, he strode confidently toward the mast in front of him. He delved into his pocket and fished out a bracelet, it stone silver as the sun glinted on it. He held the orb above it-like two lovers united after years of separation the orb attached itself to the bracelet. Damian wore the bracelet on his left wrist. He could see as long as the orb made contact with his body or skin. A foot away from the slender, yet sturdy-looking mast he halted and looked up at the tall cylindrical wooden beam in front. Whenever he tried to conquer the mast, Captain and the others will stop him. But currently, they were all off the ship- exploring the realm they called Eldenheim. He tensed his muscles and arched his back as much as his lanky frame would allow. With the target in sight, mind already made up Damian kicked off with all his might. A word and a gruff voice were all that it took to break Damian's concentration resulting in a ten-foot drop. The deck welcomed him again-with splinters in his extremities. Dark green blood oozed from them- the pain subdued immediately as it surfaced. The splinters fell silently on the deck as Damian's body rejected them.

He turned his head toward the source of the voice- a mountain of a man clad in a simple plain cotton, long-sleeved shirt with buttons opened halfway revealing a muscular chest that complemented his lean buff body. His legs were clad in grey woolen trousers which held tightly to his skin. A shock of long black silky told decades of careful grooming. His brown eyes practically stared through Damian as he approached him. Damian looked waiting to be scolded as the man neared him instead, he heard loud guffaws and seconds later a bear hug. He struggled to breathe as the man held him tighter, the man's next choice of words shocked him to the core.

" I knew you could do it m'boy", he cried.

" You're squeezing me Captain, can't breathe", Damian exhaled. The man immediately let him down and started to apologize.

"Don't worry about it Captain", beamed Damian, apparently he thought he was going to be punished.

"The gods are truly wonderful", exclaimed Captain. He clapped Damian on the shoulder making his knees buckle. 'Another gesture like that and I'm done for', thought Damian.

"You can finally train with the others", continued captain. His actual name was Flavio- the owner of the merchant airship lodging Damian. Flavio remembered the series of events that led to the acquisition of Damian's 'eyeball. It was one year ago when they were transporting moonbeads-little efficient sources of mitra for inanimate objects like the Starlight's light sources. The core of the Starlight is powered by a sunbead, a bigger and exponentially more powerful version of the moonbead. In dimensions and realms, there are little low regions that served almost as portals, called space pockets. Space pockets served as shortcuts into other worlds.

It was one of these that Flavio embarked the Starlight on. The red hues of the faraway nebula stained the white and metallic gold parts of the Starlight. Flavio led the Starlight slowly, to view the ethereal splash of colors around them. The others stood on the deck stupefied by the scene around them. Occasionally there was a 'Ooh' and 'Aah' and the only person who didn't seem to notice was Damian. He was below deck in his room, even though it had a large porthole that could not be seen from the outside. His eyes were grey- Damian was blind. He had his knees pulled towards his chin all the while hugging them rocking back and forth on the berth. Right now, he hated his existence since he was old enough to think for himself and go to places of necessity on the ship using a special staff- courtesy of Lutz.

He was doomed to live like this and there was no changing it.

Then, he shuddered. Damian could hear a voice in his head. It was almost like a whisper and very tranquil, it had a feminine character to it. It scared him. Beads of sweat formed on his body as he shook his head hysterically. This was it, he was finally going insane.

'You're not going mad '.

Then he stopped short, the voice was louder this time. But one mesmerizing thing was he could feel himself believing the voice, he felt he could trust it somehow.

'Step back

And Damian didn't still know why but he obeyed, navigating his way back using his staff.

Meanwhile, on the Starlight, a girl not more than seventeen years mirrored the different hues of shooting stars and comets with big amber eyes. She had long cascading orange hair with red highlights. A heart-shaped face and a splendid nose gave her a breathtaking look. She frown as one of the numerous stars twinkled unnaturally. It started to grow bigger, shining even more strangely. For some reason, she was panicking and her whole body shook.

"Captain", she whispered to herself. The star got bigger still no one paid attention to her. She could not make out the features but the star looked like a horned lizard with leathery wings- a dragon. But dragons are supposed to be extinct, how is this possible she thought to herself. Her senses told her this thing was huge and dangerous.

"Captain", she shouted, forcing herself to break from her reverie.

Flavio and the others turned, the dragon was in sight now and it came at the Starlight with tremendous speed. Their chances of survival lowered significantly. This was it, this was the end, but Flavio swerved the airship skillfully, making a sharp and swift arc that nearly tossed the ship on its side.

"Jake" he commanded "- escape mode, now!!!".

A distant voice below deck shouted something unintelligible. The airship's energy thrusters appeared in alternating intervals alongside either hull of the ship. The spinnaker folded in on itself and disappeared below deck. The sails followed suit copying the same process. The Starlight became more streamlined and sleek as metals began to cover the airship whole. A loud explosion rang through the ship- the thrusters were at max power but it was too late, the dragon roared its white scaly body suddenly emanating mists. The force of the impact was insane. It sent the small crew aboard spiraling in all directions. Layla and her brother crashed into the metal-enforced cabin doors. Flavio clung to the wheel. A little girl screamed as the force sent her effortlessly tearing through the air at a ridiculous speed toward Flavio.

"No!!", screamed Layla.

Flavio caught her just in time and she held tightly to him.

"Leo", Layla screamed yet again. Lutz, Flavio's sister banged her head on the starboard and was tossed out of the ship.

"Got her", her brother exclaimed and a thud was heard somewhere inside the cabin. The thrusters on one side of the ship shut down and disappeared. The other ones continued at max power that got the Starlight from its nose dive. The dragon was gone. Days later Damian got his sight.

* * *

Damian was rooted to the spot as the world around him sprang into disarray. The explosion almost deafened him. He heard a roar and people screaming. He forced himself to move, just a bit will be okay, but it was as if his body had a mind of its own. Then, air was knocked out of his body. His body felt cold, Damian clutched his chest as he forced air down his lungs. His head throbbed and felt dizzy, he fell and slumped against his berth with a hand tightly holding the staff - Damian had fainted.

In the control room, Jake's intelligent green eyes darted in every which way at the various displays around him. Several little specks of gleaming gold sand shape Starlight's surroundings, the ship's structure, and the people aboard the ship. He had impregnated the massive sunbead with his metal affinity which led to the so-called escape mode. The threat had vanished and there was no need to use it any longer. His blonde hair was stuck to his wet forehead. He then rushed outside to make sure everyone was alive and kicking. Flavio looked at his cousin attached to his chest, he tried peeling her away and she didn't budge.

"It's gone Amy, the scary monster is gone, it will never bother us again, I promise", he comforted the little girl. Only then did Amy let go. When Jake appeared Flavio made a head count to make sure everyone was aboard. Then they remembered, Damian and Lutz!!. Lutz was found lingering in the aisle behind the cabin doors walking unsteadily like a drunken old hag she had a concussion and was very dizzy. She was sent to her room to be treated upon. She was in bed for almost a week. Damian on the other hand never stirred or woke up. He was in either a deep sleep or a coma. A month passed before he woke up. He became a little bit taller and his white blonde hair was now medium length. Instead of being lean, his physique improved a ton. Damian's faded grey eyes now had a tint of magenta which made him look extraordinarily handsome. An even more shocking change was his newly acquired vision, its only con was that he couldn't see any color apart from black and white. This part though made Flavio a little downcast. But the pros were more than the cons, he could see wireframes of almost any structure and could see and judge aura based on its intensity and feeling (he needs to concentrate very hard though),-he could use it to tell how powerful an opponent or foe was. Nonetheless, he would not have to see the boy sit idly on his berth while the others train and enjoyed themselves.

"Follow me", Captain said as he beckoned Damian. Together they strode away from the mast toward a raised platform with little stairs on either side of it. The gentle humming of the airships thrusters lessened as they climbed the stairs, past the rigging, and entered a cabin. Once the door behind them closed inky darkness engulfed them. Captain fumbled around the paneled wall beside him till he found the switch he was never able to keep track of- he pressed it impatiently. A metallic whisper sounded above them. Little intense glowing balls of light emerged from their holes in regular paired intervals from the iron-enforced ceiling. With the darkness chased away an aisle appeared ahead of them. In regular intervals, wooden doors adjacent to each other flanked the aisle. At the end of the aisle, a sealed door was set flush into the white iron-coated wall in front of them. Damian heard silent rumbling as the sealed door slid to one side when they approached it. They entered a circular white room. It had light like those in the aisle behind them. But the orbs were numerous and were in different hues, they created three concentric circles in the ceiling rotating slowly. But, the room was still empty and eerie - that was before Captain murmured a strange word and made a gesture.

Emerging from the base of the walls were weapon racks. The racks were arranged depending on their tier and range. The high tiers and melee range weapons were in a magnificent glass rack that shone with brilliance from the silvered chandelier in the middle of the rotating light orbs in the carved forty-foot ceiling above. Middle-range and intermediate tiers stood between the high tier and basic in addition to long-range weapons also in glass compartments. It was towards the basic rack that captain directed Damian to. Before he knew it, a wooden slightly curved sword was thrust into his hands. He heard Captain mumble something about it being a makeshift katana. Instantly, a dummy that was so realistic appeared a few meters from him. The racks retreated into the walls as if they were never there.

"Where would you like to train boy?", questioned Flavio.

"Huh", Damian was fazed by the question. What? Was he going to leave the others in Elo- Ela- something just for him to train thought Damian. A loud and impressive guffaw broke him from his reverie.

"This room was created for simulation and illusion magic", commented captain as if reading Damian's mind.

"Oh" was all Damian could say. Being blind he must have missed a lot of things- ordinary and magical things to be exact, that was until the orb. Absentmindedly he touched the orb on his wrist, had he not stumbled on it by mistake- will he be kept in the dark till death? he asked himself.

" A swamp", he heard himself reply.

"You asked for it", chuckled a jovial Captain. A circular pillar almost half the height of Damian appeared in front of Captain. A white ball the size of a grapefruit hovered an inch on the top of the pillar, white just like its surroundings the ball had bright yellow carved concentric circles on each side of it. With both hands on the ball. Captain turned the circles, they could control the flow of magic for simulation and illusion. In front of his very eyes, the walls began to fade and in their place, thick trees arose. Vines caressed some of them- like a giant green serpent strangling its prey. Roots, thin and thick alike broke the surface of the marsh in front of them- tired of being deprived of oxygen by the marsh they were in. Splashes of young green and white light from canopies of large leaves with little gaps above illuminated the marigold-carpeted floor they stood on.

The idle dummy sprang to life. With wooden upturned arms outstretched, the vines nearby jerked- unnaturally towards its outstretched palms. Twisting and turning horizontally it birthed a wooden sturdy looking staff- as if things couldn't get more ironic. Damian shuddered. What was he supposed to fight this thing? His question was answered by Captain's voice coming from a tree way behind.

"What are you waiting for boy", he turned toward captain's voice only to see him perched on a tree, looking at him with his dark mischievous eyes and an expression of one about to watch a great show. A glint flashed past captain's eyes just as Damian turned around towards a squelching sound he heard. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw the dummy, which was just only inches from his face. He only had a second to take in the sight of the staff before he was whacked. In a moment, hurtling through space felt delightful- the next not so much, as he crashed into a tree, falling into the bog, he forcefully pulled his head out of the bog with difficulty, the disturbing stench assaulting his nose mercilessly.

Damian glanced around and grabbed a vine to support his weight as the marsh slowly swallowed him. Out of the thick death pool, he gulped in air greedily. As much as he hated it, Damian placed the sloppy marsh-covered katana sideways into his mouth and clenched it in place with his teeth. Steadily, he climbed the vine until he came across the branch that supported it- he heaved himself on it. Strange as it might be, he felt no pain though, perhaps captain excluded pain from the simulation. Finally, on the branch- he removed the katana and slumped against the tree, he might not feel pain but he was very exhausted, then it occurred to him how weak he was, no wonder Captain wanted him to learn.

Feebly, he waved his arms at Flavio and yelled.

"I give up".