I am currently sitting in my favourite tree singing to myself. Its branch perfectly supports my back and there is enough foliage to provide shade on a hot day. I like it here as it also is  just within the distance where I can hear if someone is calling me from the house.

“♪♪♪ and the future hangs over our heads,

And it moves with each current event.

Until it all falls around like cold steady rain.

Just stay in, if its looking that way. ♪♪♪”

“And the moons hanging low in the sk…”

(Land Locked Blues by Bright Eyes – Shorten Version)

I turn my head to see the teenage Anna staring up at me. She has a suspicious look on her face while she asked.

“What song was that and why where you singing it in a different language?”

I just jump down from the tree and land perfectly ten metres down on my feet. I turn to look at her and speak.

“We all have our deepest, darkest secrets. Do we not dear sister.”

She just scoffed and turned to walk away when she said.

“You know, sometimes you really scare me.”

Her face then turns to a pout as she walks off. I just slump my shoulders and chase after her not wanting to upset her. I then remind her about the diary which even though I’ve never read its hallowed contents am the only one in knowledge of its existence. As soon as I brought it up, I received a quick case of frostbite on my nose.

…

One of the chefs knew a bit of fire magic and had defrosted it for me since the ice refused to melt naturally. Once it was gone, I put some ointment on it which healed it almost instantly.

Once done I headed back out to the garden. As I was about to enter the forest again, I heard sobs coming from somewhere closer to the house.

As I approached, I saw mother.

To keep my mind straight my parents in this life where mother and father while the ones form earth were mum and dad. Both however would always get the Mummy/Daddy treatment when not in public. Well, that would be the case if he could get back to earth and his mum was still alive.

She is sitting in a small garden no more than four by three metres.

“Mommy, what’s wrong.”

She seemed shocked for a moment before a slight smile appeared on her face as she beckoned me towards the little garden.

“Do you know what this garden memorializes?”

I just shook my head waiting for her to respond as I took a seat next to her on the stone bench.

She pointed at a sword which had a rose bush growing off of it for support. She then said this is a memorial garden for your brother Michael.

“He was Philips Twin though they were anything but identical. Michael was born first and was meant to take over from your father but…”

She paused as her breath catches.

She then goes on to tell me about the wonder things he did and how he would have loved to meet you. But he had died on a trip to the royal capital almost ten years ago, when a demon spawns a few miles away from there convoy. He had managed to hold it off with his bodyguards while the local villagers escaped the surrounding area and by the time the Royal Army had arrived there was nothing left of him, but his sword covered in demonic blood plunged deep into the skull of the demon killing it.

It was then that I realised that mother although she looked young was about seventy and father was older than that at eighty.

A tear came down my eye for the fact that I never got to meet them. I stayed with mother as she sobbed. She explained she took one day a year to cry on the day of his death so she could spend the rest of the year with her duties.

…

It now a few weeks after my eight birthday and I needed to go to a temple so I could open my spiritual gate or something like that. I call bogus on gods again, but who knows.

We are travelling to the city of Emodin which is over the river Tamar. So, we are getting a carriage to the port of Wendell and then a boat across the river and when I mean river, I mean one that at some points is twenty miles across, to the town of Harpdon. Then another carriage to the city of Raven then finally to Emodin. And that’s still only a fourth the way to the capital.

Should I introduce trains to this world. They could even play the Thomas the tank engine theme tune. I burst out laughing in the carriage drawing the looks of Anna and Mother. Father can’t come since he’s constantly killing things on the borders and wastelands of the march.

In total the trip will take about four days. It only took about three hours to get to Wendall and we will be boarding the ship in about four hours till then we are heading to a nice restaurant.

The whole town was squished against the river. A wall about twenty metres tall went along the city. Outside the walls had been just forest. Apparently there wasn’t a lot of farming done here since most of the population where soldiers, tradesmen, or merchants. The city seemed to go along about four miles of the riverbank. The wall seems to be covered in one solid layer of cement, the interior of which remains a mystery.

Once we passed through the gate, I glanced out at the houses. Though Anna and Mother had been here multiple times, this was my first time in anything bigger than a town. Apparently, they came here often since it was only a few hours away by Drakos. We were using horses since we weren’t in a rush, but Drakos were apparently fast but far more expensive and tired easier.

Drakos looked like the raptors from Jurassic Park but with draconic spikes and horns. They also had a spiked thrill that came out of there head and protected their neck and rigged backs that made them unable to be ridden. How they were first tamed was a mystery.

The restaurant was nice. It served fancy plates of meat with sides of veg and what not. The culture of this world didn’t make sense. It was somewhere between medieval and the Victorian period but with random mixes of stuff.

There was a wired fruit jam that tastes sickly sweet. It was put on scones but had still made me wince from the sweetness. I never really had a sweet tooth, but it even made my sister who did wince. Apparently, it was a Quan Fruit which came from a variant of treeants.

The fruit had come from a trader whose magical preservations had failed on the trip from one place to another and was begging for anyone to buy them. So, the restaurant had bought a bunch and turned them into a preserve. I had double taken when I learned that this wasn’t a jam but preserve. How sweet would these be if they were fresh.

Once done we made our way to the cities Keep. Since this was still in our territory, we had properties throughout it. This one was built into the walls but was nowhere near as big as the manor. Once inside my sister and mother went to rest but I wandered around a bit before stumbling across a stone passageway towards the back of the keep. Where the previous wall had been plastered, this one was bare stone blocks. The stone felt weird it was kind of like a mix between chalk and sandstone and had a yellow and brown colour.

I followed it as it led to a spiral staircase. It was almost pitch black. The only light being the growing Lameos Moss which was probably planted in the walls to provide some light while not having to be maintained like a torch would. This isn’t Minecraft after all.

Once I made my way to the top of the staircase, I saw one of those sights that would stick with you forever. I saw the river Tamar flowing slowly as the moons hazily reflected on it. All the stars shined bright since there was barley any light pollution. The city walls seemed to be like a dent oval that went into the water as well. They snaked along both sides until they met at a giant gate that was currently closed.

Along the top of the wall was the exact space Lameos stones. The town below was mostly black except for the main streets that were lit with more Lameos stones. On the other side of the river, I could just about make out the bank. In the middle of the river was a small island with a castle built on it. It probably served as a watch point. The lights on the top of its wall showing its height.

The only thing I could hear being the gentle gust from the wind which carried a slightly salty spray with it, as I saw all this from thirty metres up. I just ended up looking at this view for ages. It was times like these that really just cemented how lucky I was to get a second chance at life.

…

I forgot how seasick I get. I mean this isn’t even the sea. I mean it’s been nearly twenty years since I was last at sea. At least the view is nice and it’s clear and sunny. I’ll probably get sun burn. Great.

The ship is like a galleon from the age of sale. It lacks any cannons since they probably haven’t been invented yet though. I watch as the sailors cast rigging and yell out orders while we coast through the calm waters.

…

Once we arrived in Harpdon it was about three hours after noon. We almost immediately got on a carriage which was being pulled be some type of ostrich that had white feathers. They were fast. About four times faster than a horse.

They had been given by the duke of Emodin as a loan to us to make our way to his city. We were already in his territory. The town of harpden was almost the same as Wendall except the it was smaller, and the walls were only about ten metres high. We soon left the city and began to make our way to Raven.