A Last Wish

Ark II- Chapter 2- Frosty Home

From the Basarii Research Division - Earthly Resources

Towards the Karamis Mercantile Guild, Emenos Cide

"Most noble client,

We were very surprised by the contents of the package you sent. My team started working on the material as soon as I was done reading the letter. And truthfully, we have seen something similar before in the treasury of the Basarii Royalty. Although all we were allowed at the time was a visual examination, the resemblance is undeniable. The material is perfectly black and opaque and any attempt to change its colour or transparency failed. Its structure is crystaline and it features extreme durability. Again, any attempt to cut it proved to be futile. However, it is not impossible to give it shape, on the contrary, given enough desire it can be brought to the thickness of a piece of cloth with merely a pair of human hands. Exactly, desire. The material seems to modify its malleability the way the person handling it wishes. Even in its thinned state, the metal refused to falter. Shock tests with arrows, slingshots and even javelins couldn't tear it one inch. An armour or a weapon forged from it could make the person behind it nigh unkillable. We are keeping the shipment for one more week for further investigations then it will be on its way back to Mendora.

On the behalf of my team, we are grateful to be working on such a monumental discovery.

Endless greetings,

Research Chief Mathias Vaulten"

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"Big one!"
"Huge one, Captain!"
"By the Gods and Emperors. this guy might fill the storage on its own!"
"Hold your dreams for now, it can also crush this boat with a single swing of those godsent fins." The Captain ceased the enjoyment of the crew with one simple sentence. He was a middle-aged man, his skin soaked with salty water and his hair bleached by the glaring sun. Disturbed by the noise, the ship's sole passenger stepped on the deck. His attire was the one of a Lascarian soldier, a bit ragged but still completely functional.

The Lascarii military corps are the best in Mendora if not the entire known world. They are composed of one hundred infantry regiments, each counting up to five hundred men. For ten regiments of footmen there's one of cavalry, each company of horsemen fielding one thousand soldiers. Both types can fill one of the three subdivisions: Militiamen, Bordermen and Expeditionary Forces according to the needs of the Kingdom. Captain Mackle's passenger had the uniform of a militiaman as a image of the Frontier wall could be seen on the shoulder patch. The torso was covered by a purple tunic with a thin layer of chainmail on the upper half. The uniform continued with black pants tied with a halfrus leather belt and thick, almost grey from the dust, boots.

The passenger was none other than Valent, as the ship was sailing to Leda, capital of the southernmost isle of the Lotte Archipelago. What he didn't know when he embarked Captain Mackle's ship, Elina, was that it belonged to the leviathan harvester fleet that sails from Mendora to the Nordic Islands monthly. He could not complain, however, as those creatures are rare and the chances of finding one were sparse. The Gods didn't sneeze upon Valent, but upon the crew, as Elina met a huge specimen during its voyage.

"Northie, have you come upstairs to enjoy the show?" Captain Mackle asked.
"I wish I could help you finish this halt faster. The sooner I get home, the better."
"Whatever, young deserter, you can join the scouting boats if you so insist to perish."
Valent sighed. He asked of Ballast.
"Your steed? He's surprisingly calm for a beast that size."
"You can keep him if anything should happen to me."
"Sure thing, you lunatic."