The Travels of Viski Lasi
The apprentice boy first went across the Wardash, heading for the lands formerly inhabited by the vile Gerbers. Hunting and foraging along the way, he made a living out of the nature. When he passed cities where wildlife was scarce, he stole what food he needed to move on. It was a harsh life, and he was caught several times and thrown in prison once. Luckily, he managed to escape through a narrow space in the wall. Even starvation can be a blessing at times.
He continued east, beyond the southern tip of the Keran Range, and entered the lands of Kalmar. He wandered the streets of Copenholm for a few days, trying to gather information about remote lands. It was then that he heard people speak of the New World. He did not understand where it was, or how to get there. Except there was a major clue: he had to travel by sea.
Viski Lasi ended up taking crew on a merchant ship. Its captain was based in Andama, but voyaged widely from Khemri in the south to Gammorea in the north. The boy worked pretty much like a common slave, and continued to do so for two years. Here, he learned much seamanship, and learned enough to understand a number of languages of Terrania. After a while, it was discovered that he had stolen coins from the captains desk, and was promptly booted ashore. He was now stranded somewhere in northern Davar, with nothing on his name but his ragged clothes and a broken oar.
Viski Lasi went inland, and soon met the local people. He saw the Valin cousins, and the Lengel cousins. His meeting with them was a violent one, and his killing of a Lengel sheriff* quickly brought him into trouble. He fled north, away from Davar, and reached the lands of the Citadel. He saw the vast harbor of Seaport, and the road threading westward up towards the high mountains. He also heard the locals speak of the vast knowledge contained inside the Citadel. The entire known world was mapped, they said, and anyone seeking to know its shape could but venture to the Citadel. The apprentice quickly heeded the advice.
Upon reaching the splenourous city of the Citadel, he wasted no time in heading to the Great Library to ask about the New World. He was welcomed like all visitors seeking knowledge, and particularily so for his interesting heritage as Gorimari. He agreed to speak of his lands in exchange for a route to the New World. After a series of interviews and scribed scrolls, he was shown a map of the entire Known World. When he was shown the range of his travels, he quickly saw that reaching the New World would be no easy feat. Still, he had not given up his mission commanded upon him by the venerable War-Cleric.
The apprentice did not leave immediately, however, as he was offered a place in the Great Library as a special student. He considered the offer, and agreed. Since he felt he was not ready to undertake the voyage further east without proper preparations and sufficient information, he saw it fit that he stay for a while in the Citadel to fully grasp all the knowledge the Citadelers had of the New World. He was only planning to stay for a few months at first, but his new life was far too comfortable and enriching to be quitted so hastily. The apprentice stayed in the Citadel for a total of five years, working as scribe, translator and even went a trip back to his homeland to update the Citadel's knowledge on the new Shalamari region inside Gorin.
After these five years of study and "luxury" had passed, he keenly felt he must fulfill his mission the sooner the better. He was now more than sufficiently educated to conduct the voyage east. He even had a small sum to fund his travel. It turned out to be just enough to get him to Norvalin, or the Union or Ardan as it was now known. He set off from the Citadel alone, and his absence was noticed indeed among the Citadelers. One of them even wrote a book on this strange foreigner.
The voyage east was a long and frankly boring one. The only thing that broke the dullness of it was the stop for supplies at Orum, and the violent storm of the northern ocean. The former of the two was exotic even for the seasoned traveler the apprentice was. The latter was a torture even for the seasoned seaman he was. Still, he proved his worth when one of the masts broke in the worst of the hurricane winds, as he was able to rally the desperate crew to bunker in and weather the storm. He parted with the crew in good spirits, and set off to find his next destination...
To be continued!
