Aquaris

Aquaris 22

I guess your probably thinking he's a mass murderer or some kind of cereal killer that just lured me into his house to end me, right?




Well guess again.





This old man. He's one of the greatest warriors ever to live in Aquaris. On the far wall in this first room, is over 50 golden medals of various sizes and design. A large painting of the old mer in his younger years, standing at attention with full bodied armor and weapons on, is positioned in the center of all the medals. In the painting, he is appeared to be a large muscled man. His now frail body shows just what years of battle and years themselves can do to you. Below these great remembrance icons, are all of his old weapons. Plaits are scattered on all the other walls, filling in random odd and end places.




"Wow..." I breathe.




The old mer looks up from where he has begun to pour some fish tea. "Hm? Oh that."




The way he said it in a bored tone surprised me. This is something to be proud of! Not just shrug off as no big deal! "This is incredible! How did you get all these?"




"Eh. Years of fighting and defending Aquaris. Some of them are for leadership during times of distress, some are medals of honor, and others are just for appreciation of an honorary warrior. That kind of thing."




He hands me a cup with tea in it and gestures for me to sit at a wooden chair beside the right wall. I he sits down in a chair a few feet from mine.




"That's amazing. You should be so proud!"




"Oh believe me, I am. But after all these years it's hard to be proud of something that might have been for nothing.."




I tilt my head. "What do you mean?"




He looks up at me, in my eyes now, as if he didn't realize I was there. "Uh, oh. We have been waiting forever for you to come and save us.. Maybe now, all that time of killing and getting killed will have been worth it.."




I decided not to say anything else, as of it seems like an emotional subject for the poor old man. He's like an old veteran. Accept he's a mermaid. "What's your name?"




He snapped out of his remembrance. "Kolfin."




"Well it's nice to meet you Kolfin."




"You too. It's been a long time since I've had company. I can't even remember the last time I ever talked to a frisky young'un like you. Besides yellin at em to quiet down." Kolfin chuckled lightly, his voice scratching.

ap


"Do you have any kids?"




He shook his head. "Died in battle. Two fine sons. And my wife died from heartbreak. That's why I've been waiting around for you. I'm pretty old and not exactly the healthiest mer around. But I made a promise to my wife and kids, I will stick around until I see Aquaris is safe."




"I'm so sorry! I hope I can give your city back it's peace sir. I will do my best." I feel myself tearing up at his loss.




"I know you will. I have faith in you sweety."




I smiled kindly at him.




"You want some more tea?" He nodded his head down to my now empty tea cup.




I hadn't realized I has drank it all. It's pretty good, despite it's rather unattractive name. "Yes please!"




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"Thank you for inviting me in!" I called out as Kolfin saw me to the door.




"Thank you for stumbling upon my midst." He waved his eyebrows and showed off a playful smirk. "Stop by anytime. I'd love the company, and you are always welcome here."




"Haha! Okay! I promise I will visit soon!"




"Oh, and Aquema," he added as I began to turn away, with a serious, meaningful look on his face. "Remember, things aren't coincidental. When you go somewhere... It's for a reason."




Before I could reply, he was inside his house and shut the door, leaving me standing there like I just heard a prophecy.




What is he talking about?




Does he think I was destined to meet him?




Or maybe...




Maybe it has something to do with the voices I heard earlier.



And... Lankris.




But it all seems... Overrated. I don't know. I need to stop thinking so much.




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I'm glad I got to know Kolfin. He is a sweet, kind man. Most people never see past his rough dismissive first appearance. But I'm glad I gave him a chance. I got to know a rare person. It's not often you stumble upon some one as unique as Kolfin.




I spend a good amount of time describing my visit with him to Quesia and Axarion. They seem quite interested. After all, Kolfin is, and has always been a remarkable merman.




"I think I remember when he was still fighting... What I would've done to have more like him.." Axarion stated, as if lost in the past.




"I've never heard of him." Quesia frowned.




"That's what happens to most old warriors. They move to the outskirts of the city for peace and quiet. They don't exactly fit in with new trending ways. They like to stick to themselves most of the time. It's a shame. This way they don't get nearly enough of the praise they deserve."




I nodded. "He didn't even seem to think his medals were a big deal."




"They are nothing but possessions to mer's like him. You see, the real treasure is in the history of won, and lost battles."




"I guess I never thought of it that way." After a moments silence, I remembered something else. "Oh, also while I was wandering around, before I met Kolfin, I heard some voices. I never saw who they were, but they seemed quite mysterious. But afterwards, I bumped into Lankris. He said he was just out for a swim." I awkwardly shrugged off the last part.




Quesia and Axarion are listening intently now. And I might have maybe seen Axarion's eyes dull when I said that last part.




Maybe?...




"That's odd... Did you recognize the voices?" He asked calmly.




I shook my head.




"Hm. Well I'll send a guard out that direction to keep an eye out on things. But keep your eyes open for any suspicious mer's you think it could've been."




Quesia and I both agreed.




"And one more thing..." I started, looking Axarion straight in the eye.




"Yes?"




Dang his eyes are radiant red... Wait, what? "Urm, when I left Kolfin's place, he said 'things aren't coincidental. When you go somewhere, it's for a reason.'"




Axarion stared straight back at me, thoughtfully. Soon he blinked and seemed to come out of a trance. "Listen to him and believe every word he says. People may say he is old and crazy, but he is one of the wisest mer's to live. What he says, is important." He said slowly.




"Okay. I'll trust you on that."




"Thanks. Is there anything else that happened?"




"Nope. That's all." I lied. Yeah I completely swerved around the fact that Lankris's eyes had been pure black. I'm not sure I'm ready to tell them that yet.. I think I'm starting to like Lankris. I don't want to start unimportant rumors. Besides, it's probably nothing.



..Right?...

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HAY :D

Check it out y'all. I updated two nights in a row. That's hot, isn't it? LOL I'M NUTS. Yeah, but I just felt like updating and got done with school early. So, yay. Kinda short.. But it's better than nothing, right?

OK OH. OH MY. AQUEMA CONFESSED TO HERSELF SHE MIGHT LIKE LANKRIS. Ok y'all, tell me now. Which do you root for? Lanquema? (Lankris+Aquema) Or Axarema? (Axarion+Aquema)

Some of these names are a little hard to depict, so here's a little guide thingy. Lol nerdy.

Axarion: X-air-e-on
Quesia: k-wesa
Kolfin: Col-fin

Ya-dee-ya-dee-ya. Those are the wackiest.

Soooo...

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-Go4girl