User:Blacksheepghost/Story/Chapter1

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=Chapter One: Welcome To Cantha=

Akim Shiaphin had always dreamed of traveling the world. When he was younger, he had a habit of running to the very edges of his parents' farm and beyond. As he swept through the ironreed, he would pretend to be a Sunspear, one of the great defenders of the nation of Elona, fighting great evils from faraway lands until he was caught by his father or another of the shorewatchers and brought home to be disciplined and lectured about how dangerous the Issnur Isles were. Now as an adult, Akim is a Sunspear sent on a mission from his home continent, Elona, across the Unending Ocean to the Empire of the Dragon on the continent of Cantha to aid their effort to contain a mysterious outbreak of a plague that is sweeping the continent. He was very excited about the task ahead because this was the first time he has ever left Elona. It was literally a dream come true.

When Akim first stepped off the boat in Bejunkan Pier, he got his first glimpse at how different this new land was. He could see tall wooden buildings from the city towering over him and could smell the rich smell of salt water. Gulls cawed above him and the waves of the water splashed on the side of the dock. It was just about as different as you could get from the muddy swamps and dry deserts of Elona.

As he walked down the pier, a Canthan guard approached him and kindly proclaimed, "Welcome to Kaineng City. Can I help you?"

"Ahai," Akim replied in salutation, "I have been sent here from Elona to help contain the outbreak of plague. I was told that I would meet others here."

"Ah, yes, Akim Shiaphin. I was told you would be arriving soon. I am Dockhand Quangnai. A bunch of other foreigners from Tyria just left a few minutes ago. They said they needed to look for someone named Master Togo. One of them, Mhenlo, I think he said his name was, left a message for you and your party to meet up with them. He was a nice enough fellow, but I was distracted by that sassy little blonde he had with him. Anyway, they headed toward Kaineng Center, the main square of Kaineng City. I believe they were planning on strategizing over lunch while they waited for your party to arrive. How many more people are accompanying you?"

Akim paused for a moment. He hated giving bad news, especially bad news in a situation as dire as this one. "Our leader, Spearmarshal Kormir, sends her regrets. Our forces are stretched very thin at the moment. I am the only Sunspear that we could spare. Nevertheless, I am quite capable at assisting any effort to contain the plague."

"Oh," Quangnai said in a disheartened tone, "I was hoping there would be more. But I suppose one warrior is better than none. We need all the help we can get." He gestured toward a staircase leading to a road going further into the city. "Head up the stairs and follow the road at the top. Kaineng Center is just a short walk away. Mhenlo and the others are waiting for you at the Xiao Yao Tavern, across from the Xunlai Headquarters."

"Thank you," Akim nodded. He took his backpack and his weapon, a scythe, and headed down the path toward Kaineng Center. He knew that the Xunlai guild was world famous for their storage system, becoming mainstream even in Tyria and Elona, so he figured their headquarters can't possibly be that hard to find.

While walking down the trail, Akim's thoughts strayed towards Tyria, the land where the other group of heroes was coming from. He had never been there, but he had learned a great deal of it from his schooling and from a friend of his back home, who moved from the country of Orr two years ago and was one of the last from Orr to arrive in Elona. From what he had learned, Tyria was a very diverse land, having grasslands, mountain ranges, terraces, swamps, jungles, deserts and a volcanic island just off the mainland. For several decades, Tyria had been ravaged by war. Guilds were fighting for increasing amounts of power and control over the three human kingdoms, Ascalon in the lush grasslands to the far east, Kryta in the terraces and swamps in central Tyria and, to a lesser extent, Orr on a bountiful penninsula to the southeast. This prolonged engagement has been known as the Guild Wars, and all of it was brought to a screeching halt two years ago by the invasion of the ferocious Charr, bipedal felines with horns on their heads and big attitudes, from the northeast.

The Charr viciously attacked Ascalon, unleashing a new, destructive power that became known as The Searing, which decimated the entire kingdom. The Charr then turned south, towards Orr and fought all the way up to the capitol city, Arah, with very little resistance. Right before the Charr reached the gates of the city, a mysterious magical explosion from inside of Arah destroyed the Charr army and Orr simultaneously and sunk the entire peninsula into the sea, an event now known as The Cataclysm. The remainder of the Charr had been concurrently fighting Kryta and were eventually defeated by a faction known as the White Mantle, a religious cult who have since established themselves as the ruling party of Kryta. With all the wars and calamities in the not too distant past, Akim figured that if there was anywhere that had adventure, it would be Tyria. Akim wished that after he was done assisting the Canthans with containing the plague he would get the opportunity to go adventuring in Tyria. Immediately after he wished it, a well known saying came to his mind. 'Be careful what you wish for, you might actually get it.' Akim scoffed at the thought and pushed it to the back of his mind.

Before he knew it, Akim had arrived at the bustling area that was Kaineng Center. When he first walked into the city, he went under a bridge into a small square with a fountain in the middle. “Well this isn’t that bad,” Akim mumbled as he began to look around the small square for the Xiao Yao Tavern or the Xunlai Headquarters. However, after looking around for a bit, he began to realize that the tavern was not here. Akim then took a closer look and realized that there were three staircases leading further into the city, one going down to the left, one going up ahead of him and another going up behind him to the right, which led to the bridge that he passed under. Akim decided to go up the staircase ahead of him, which led to another small but bustling square. After looking around for a bit and still not seeing the tavern, he noticed more staircases leading to other parts of the city and a bridge that goes all the way across the city. Akim then began to wander, still searching for one of the two landmarks that Dockhand Quagnai told him about.

After about ten minutes of wandering and searching, Akim took a closer look at the square that he was in and realized that he had been in this square before, several times, and he still was clueless about where he was or where he was going. At this point, he started to realize that Kaineng Center was a giant maze and he was hopelessly lost in it. Realizing that he was wasting time, Akim wanted to backtrack to the docks to ask Dockhand Quagnai for more specific directions, but he had absolutely no clue how to get back to the docks. Discouraged, he sat down in one of the four grassy areas in the square, trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

“Is this your first time visiting Kaineng Center?” a kind voice asked behind him. Akim quickly spun around and saw a Canthan woman in a purple dress walking toward him.

“Yes, it is,” Akim replied, standing up and facing the woman, “I am looking for the Xiao Yao Tavern. Dockhand Quagnai told me that it is across from the Xunlai Headquarters, but I have not been able to find either.”

The woman chuckled before shaking her head and stating, “That man has absolutely no concept that when people first come to Kaineng Center, they don’t already know how to get around!”

“Was it that obvious that this is my first time here?” Akim wondered aloud.

She replied simply, “It is very common for newcomers get hopelessly lost in the city. Also, Dockhand Quagnai has a habit of giving less than clear directions and you did walk by me six times in ten minutes. He said that the Xiao Yao Tavern is across the square from the Xunlai Headquarters?”

“Yes he did. Is that true?”

“Well it is, sort of. The Xunlai Headquarters is actually quite hidden. It is tucked in a small hallway on the other side of the city. If you go directly across the square from the entrance to that hallway you will get to the back of the third story of the tavern. But the entrance is on the other side, so it’s not quite that simple.” She giggled at the complexity of the instructions before adding, “Some locals may not have been able to follow those directions.”

Akim groaned in frustration. He felt kinda stupid about wasting ten minutes following weird directions that were hard to follow, even to some Canthans.

“But to get to the tavern from here, just go down this staircase,” she explained while pointing to a staircase to Akim’s right, “and immediately down again. It is on the other side of that square to your right.”

“Thank you miss, you have been very helpful,” Akim smiled, relieved that he now knows how to get to his destination.

“If you ever need anymore help navigating the city, feel free to find me and ask,” the woman offered.

“So in other words, if I get lost again, wander around the city for another ten minutes to try and find this square,” Akim chuckled.

“No,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “If you ever get lost, just find the plaza in front of the Imperial Palace. It’s one of the highest points in the city, it has a giant picture of Emperor Kisu and has a big red platform in the middle of the square. You can’t miss it.”

“Ok.”

“From that square, face the middle of Kaineng Center, take the stairs down on your right, then take the stairs up immediately to the left. You’ll come to this square. Simple enough?”

“Yeah,” Akim replied.

“Give it a bit of time, you’ll learn where everything is,” she concluded.

“Thank you very much for all your help,” Akim repeated, bowing his head, “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh dear, where have my manners gone!” she exclaimed. “My name is Michiko, I am the local skill trainer here in Kaineng Center.” She extended her hand before adding, “If you ever need to learn a skill, I can help with that also.”

“Wow, that is very nice to know. My name is Akim,” he replied, shaking her hand, “It’s very nice to meet you, however I really do need to get going now.”

“I understand. It’s been very nice talking with you and feel free to come back at any time.” She curtsied before returning to her usual spot in the square.

Akim rushed down the stairs, following Michiko’s directions to the letter and within minutes he was in front of a small with a sign over the door, saying “Xiao Yao Tavern.” He also noticed little writing that wrapped around the edges of the sign, but he did not bother to read it before he went inside.

STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF CHAPTER ONE!!!