[1456 A.A.E, Location: Soldat]
Seven years had gone by with the blink of an eye. Seven years since I received my divine powers to materialize the earth and stone. Ever since that day I was given a chance after chance and became a admiral of my own very fleet — most members who were friends from the academy and further.
Honestly during those years I got myself carried away. I gained an unhealthy amount of wealth from successful completing missions after mission. Most of that wealth went into increasing my division's strength and honestly sometimes brothels every now and then.
I thought my life couldn't get better until I was given a important mission.
'Hunting an elder beast'.
Leviathans that are so unimaginable rare they are only said to appear once a century. And I was chosen to hunt it down.
***
"I want the two of you — Admiral Katama and Sarah to peruse the elder beast that has been spotted in the south for O'l Serman".
Both me and admiral Kesak stood together listening into the grandmaster resting on her grandeur chair. Sarah's stoic and annoyed expression was still as evident as always ever since I met her 5 years ago during a official meeting.
"We don't have any key information about what it is except the fact it's supposedly destroying every fleet it comes across". Lumine spoke shoving her documents to the side, a grim expression on her that was unsure. All of the reports that had crossed her table were vague and barely explained as to what was the cause.
"How do you know it's a elder beast we're after?" Sarah spoke, skeptical herself.
Lumine lifted her gaze from the table before speaking clearly.
"Only a elder beast have the guts to attack 6 different vessels within 2 weeks of its appearance. An ordinary Leviathan attacks an average of 3-10 times in 1 year — they're aware that some humans hunt them down if they keep attacking. As for the elder's attacks...". Lumine formed her next words in her mind, trying to pinpoint the right words for it before she said-
"They are challenging us".
Challenging us? It wasn't the words Sarah and Katama had expected to hear and exchanged subtle glances at each other before turning back to the grandmaster.
"I see? We'll give them a challenge then!" Katama said hysterically clapping his hands together, prepared to set out anytime he was excited for the encounter.
With the Earth division and Lighting division in for a joint mission they'd be an unstoppable force, even against the major Anax fleets that sailed today. One division who was made to hunt the treacherous being down and one other that was 'all-star' which meant they did everything from hunting and daily commissions for different town's and cities.
After we were dismissed back then me and admiral Sarah's division set out for the south of O'l Serman — an rural sea that bordered the southern continent 'Barrot'. The reason why it's 'rural' was due to the lack of fleets sailing through there.
That's not the only reason of course.
Endeia's map explains the area we're headed to is surrounded by uninhabited islands that was undesirable many travelling mercenaries or travelers which explains why it's rural. In this day and age money and resources are everything so why waste it by travelling through there when you can just sail through O'l Serman itself?
Though I've heard of some villages down there but I'm sure those were just rumors because who would want to live there?
***
Sailing for approximately 2 weeks to reach the south of O'l Serman we had finally arrived.
The orange evening sky was as evident as ever. The seas here were way more calmer then Soldat's or Azmor's seas which made our journey flawless though there were barely any ships in sight. Usually you'd see a fishing boat or mercenary fleet every once in a hour but we have been here for 2 days already — there hasn't been one single fleet in sight.
I wasn't sure if it was just my paranoia but somehow the lack of fleets were rather uncanny.
"Admiral, are the reports right? There's no way there could be any elder beasts here. After all they are attracted to human flesh right?". One of the members by the deck asked. Most of the guys on the earth division had been skeptical about the entire mission since their arrival.
"The hell are you talking about? That's a saying from a damn fairy tale". Amongst the earth division was a member of the lighting crew onboard. His random presence there was because of an old traditional rule regarding joint-missions.
Paragraph 84 of the Marine's rule book: If two different marine fleets are sailing together one individual person from each fleet will jump onboard the opposite crew. It was a strange rule indeed — but thinking thoroughly it meant that if one of the travelling fleets are in trouble the other crew has no choice but to help the other fleet to save their own.
"Those stories of leviathans being attracted to human blood is just old fairy tales made to scare children to stay away from the sea late at night. Leviathans are apex predators who eat everything from shark's and whales to fit their massive diet". The Lighting member explained.
"Then how the hell come those beast's always attack us?" Amongst the earth members there was a bald one, broad-shouldered and minor scars across his bigger forearms.
All of the members watching and listening in turned to the lighting member waiting with anticipation.
"Isn't it obvious? We have an rivalry with them". It was an vague answer that the others hadn't expected from the "all-Knowing-One" and they didn't let it go unanswered.
"Rivalry? there must be more to that?"
"Most definitely" another answered secondly.
"The hell are you guys blabbering about! get back to your posts!" From across the water's to their right sailed the Lighting vessel. A heavily fortified galleon that was unimpregnable and could withstand any incoming attacks.
Admiral Sarah stood leaned into the ridge of her bridge annoyed by the fact none of the opposite crew were standing on guard — after all they are on a ongoing mission.
Katama raised his eyebrow once he realized all of his own members scattered away like cockroaches who had been discovered under a shelves as they got to work again.
"...She's not even their leader? is Sarah that terrifying?". He thought to himself glancing her way from his own bridge having his thoughts.
***
After travelling for more days we had finally met on a small fishing boat. We learnt that there did live some people in this rural region of the continent and once we learnt that there even existed an Anax group here, we were shocked. 'There's anax here?' was the first thing that crossed his mind.
We saw the conditions of the village the fishermen lived on and it was tiny with a small population of only 60 people, most were elderly. The village was almost torn as there were no way to maintain the buildings with the amount of people they had. We had talked with the village chief and eventually we learnt that the current 'anax' in the region lived on a island named Morelda about 40 miles to the south again. Me and admiral Sarah had agreed on turning that way to meet this group... but we stumbled upon something.
"L-Leviathan! there's an Leviathan ahead of us!" Shouted the scout standing on top of the mast.
That was the same day... I met that child... Solan.
I never said it to anybody but first when I found him in the air pocket of the elder mudcat I was teleported or transferred into another world for a few seconds. I remember the void around me, it was silent and I could hear my own voice echoing endlessly into the further distant. I wasn't sure if it was me who had become insane or if there were something wrong with the child.
As I inspected the air pocket it was uneven in every part. There were no way that matched the anatomy of the confirmed elder beast we were after. Investigating further I realized that boy had been eating the raw flesh of that beast. As years passed by I started to hear his name in foreign countries and in taverns under my mission.
He had been sailing with admiral Sarah and her division hunting Leviathans across Endeia, in favor of the grandmaster, researcher Trevon and is utterly hated by all of the Anax. He's capabilities to keep his power's secret like admiral Maestro are on par. Those two gives me the same vibe. Stoic, cold and have no intentions of messing around once they have set something in their mind.
I never really questioned what I saw that day when I found him but now that I've grown older again... I've started to understand something. Solan will turn into something like admiral Maestro... A demon from the abyss.
***
[Current time]
"And the victory of the grand tournament goes to Darren Verdanski!".
Huh? What just happened? Opening his eyes Katama found himself on the ground, his body battered and bruised fully. The faint cheers of the audience was still echoing through his ears. The only thing clear was the evening sky from above.
He had lost.
He didn't know when it happened only for the fact he had been lost in his old memories of the past.
"That's right... In the last moment when Darren applied more of the heavenly chains I lost full control of my powers...". Katama couldn't help but chuckle by the fact he lost, he didn't feel disappointment or anger — He felt impressed that he could let his own guard down.
"...I really lost". With one last look into the sky Katama fainted.
***
Opposite from the fainted Katama stood Darren panting for himself.
"Darren! Darren!"
The audience was repeating his name, the sound of victory was eminent and in his mind he felt exhausted both mentally and physically. He couldn't really believe it, he had defeated an admiral. It was like the world had frozen, everything went in slow-motion as the young boy was trying to process the outcome.
"Hell yeah! He did it!"
"The Sentinel's will take the vessel back home now!".
Before his body could even react Darren fell down on the ground with his front first, barely able to stand due to the fatigue. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to rest now. It was over, the long battles he had been burdened with were over.