CHAPTER 10: When the Sky Burned Blue - Part 1

  Eiran accompanied his uncle, walked along the rows of the lavish residences of Fhon's merchants to collect debts. The ledger in his right hand weighed as much as the stone tiles he trod upon. A leather bag slung from his left shoulder held writing tools, blank parchments, sealing wax, an abacus, and various necessities for contract drafting.

  His uncle donned a bright green brocade toga-style garment. His hat of the same hue was adorned with a long red feather. His attire blended well with the other pedestrians.

  When he checked the next address, a city herald on horseback appeared from the opposite direction. Bronze bells on the horse's mane jingled, his left hand swinging a handled bell. His presence drew everyone's attention in an instant.

  “Terzionite invasion! Terzionite invasion!” he shouted as he galloped past Eiran. The pedestrians, who were at first perplexed, scattered like ants in the rain.

  Eiran had been accepted into an applied class for advanced training. Today, he was on leave from both class and other obligations. He did not know exactly what was happening, but he knew the herald's news could be late for some time.

  “Uncle!” He called out, seeing his uncle run towards their home. Eiran grabbed his arm, but the uncle slapped him away.

  “Let go! I must fetch that item!”

  “Whatever it is, it's not worth it.”

  His uncle wrenched his arm free and dashed into the crowd.

  Eiran cursed under his breath. He needed to hurry to the docks for his comrades and Violet. He had no time to deal with his uncle. Yet, his uncle had cared for him since childhood…

  He cursed again, throwing aside his bag and ledger, and chased after his uncle. A few steps in, a blinding light from the sky halted him.

  Cluster of light with glittering tails, like glass dust, pierced the clouds. Each bore a pulsating blue core, emitting sparks like an ignited fuse. Similar to falling stars but slower. Eiran, like those around him who pointed at the sky, had no idea what they were.

  BOOM!

  One star plunged into the crowd where his uncle had run. The explosion was more ferocious than the spells cast by instructors flaunting their power, leaving a vast crater where the crowd once stood. A hat with a red feather landed at his feet. Before he could gather his thoughts, a crimson rain drenched him. His hands turned red from it.

  BOOM!

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  Another explosion bloomed beside him, expelling the air from his lungs and hurling him across the street. His head struck stone, nearly rendering him unconscious.

  Echoes of explosions resonated from all corners of the city. He could not fathom what kind of attack was bearing down upon them. If it were from Mana Decimae, the range limit of the Mana arm should have kept the assailant within visual range. One thing was clear: they were under siege.

  The sudden devastation bewildered him. Not tens or hundreds of houses, but all of Fhon was ablaze. Moments ago, people were holding their children's hands; now they ran, screaming, their skin burned and dangled, indistinguishable from their tattered clothes.

  Eiran steadied his feet and sprinted towards the military harbor. He intended to ensure Violet's safety before joining Jeth, Haran, and the others. Together, they would fend off the imminent enemy landing troops.

  Smoke and dust obscured his path. The heat in the air made it feel like inhaling fire every time he breathed. He tripped over body parts so mangled they could not be named again. The smell of burnt skin and hair churned his stomach.

  A tall building collapsed. Its stones and wooden beams spilled before him. He turned away, coughing. The roof of his mouth felt gritty. He pulled Violet's scarf from his pocket to cover his nose and mouth.

  Then a blue star landed in front of him as light as a feather. The explosion thudded as if underwater. The stone path cracked and burst afar from his feet, though he knew it was he who was flung into the air….

  Eiran jolted awake. He sat on his bed, in his room, in his uncle's house. Sweat made his clothes cling to his skin. His room resembled a storage space, without windows or any furniture. Yellow light seeped through the gap beneath the door.

  The door, which could not be locked from the inside, swung open.

  “Screaming in the middle of the night! Gone mad like your father, huh?” His uncle berated him before bombarding him with curses, swears, and profanities. Eiran was stunned. Only after his uncle left, slamming the door, did his thoughts return.

  A dream? Eiran chuckled. That dream nearly made him wet himself. Nearly.

  Before sunrise, he had already fed the horses, cleaned the stables, and ensured each horse's well-being. Afterwards, he would return home to report to his uncle. This was his routine when not on duty as a sailor.

  His uncle was so opposed to him becoming a sailor that he hit the back of his head with a brass statuette. However, he could not do anything about it since the law prohibited hindering anyone wishing to enlist.

  He spent his day doing administrative tasks and manual labor. As a rule, as long as he did not make mistakes, his uncle was too busy to beat him. His uncle would call him, ordering him to bring a rattan stick, a belt, or a whip only when he was drunk. If he opened that bottle of Arvanian absinthe, Eiran had to be prepared.

  The time from when his uncle paid the servants until evening meal was his free time. Not free in the usual sense, but his uncle could not supervise him during this period.

  Eiran sneaked out towards the barracks complex at the military harbor. Violet and many other women lived in a special dormitory near the barracks. They were cooks, laundresses, seamstresses, and so forth for the mid-ranking officers and above. Lower-ranking sailors had to do all that themselves as training for shipboard life.

  Violet was a singer at the officers' tavern. She also performed on stage for the lower-ranking sailors, making her their darling. Once, a stage support beam nearly collapsed, and he held it up until the show ended. They got acquainted after that.

  In the dormitory yard, Violet was collecting large linen sheets from the laundry line. Eiran surprised her from behind a sheet. Violet smiled. Her eyes and hair matched her name.

  “My Captain, is there something you need from me?” She placed the linen pile into a basket and curtsied. Her slightly upturned smile at the corners of the lip and her cheerful gaze reminded him why he was so fond of her.