5 Chapter 1 - Into the seas

Part 4

After defeating the kraken, we stayed a little while above the waters and above the old man's merchant ship. The wooden ship was still rocking as the seas was still unstable. Some kraken's meat stuff floated together with its blue blood, which is bluer than the blue seas and the blue sky. That was a hard proof the young kraken was slew.

In the wooden ship, the Old man and his crews were dumbfounded on spectacle they saw, the spurting of the seawater and I inside the bubble barrier thrown with a jet speed up into the skies. Their haggard faces relieved as the same time astonished and amused.

"I am going down now. I do not know what you had pulled out, but that must have cost a lot of mana. For now, hide in the sling bag and rest."

"Un. Is there food in the bag?" She grinned and she blinked her way inside the bag.

I always keep bread in my bag, just in case Marikit would ask for food. Therefore, it was not a problem. I could tell without looking inside that she was already gnawing the bread.

As she slides herself in the bag, I started descending down to the ship. Everyone on the ship was cheering me with great smiles and laughs on their face.

"OOOOOO" "OOOOO" "OOOO!"

Such a waste.

I still could not understand what they were saying, but somehow the barracking ruckus was apparent that they were cheering. Of course, they were cheering on their hero.

Hehe... That's right. Praise me, more. More!

I kept myself 'humble' by pretentiously playing a hesitant smiled at them while scratching my head, basking myself from their wave of cheers and praise. It always feels good to be praise. Back in my village, I was always basked with such praises.

"Well done, Boy, as expected from the son of Rajah Suliman." The old man paused to give his thanks, a smile and a nod. "I owe you one, Boy." He heavily patted his big hands twice in my shoulder.

"Ouch, ouch... Too hard!" I protested.

The crew laughed as they see my hapless reaction, the laugh of relief after winning a vicious battle. Everyone was at ease now and smiled on their haggard faces were evident enough to tell.

Now that the danger was eliminated, the old man stood in front of everyone corresponded by raising his slim rapier and shouted –

"We'll be having a fest tonight! But before that, Move your arse!"

Naturally, I did not understand what he said for he spoke on their complicated language, so the old man translated it for me after. Even the young kraken was defeated, there were so much left to do; particularly repairing the ship.

Every crew of the ship did their job; reporting and repairing the damages on the ships. Some healed the injured, listing the broken and unharmed goods, and the broken arms, necks and arms too. Some crew collected the tattered meat of the kraken. I curiously asked the Old man why and it was shockingly unraveled to me that it could be used in potion and the meat was edible, and delicious. Yucks! You know, it was practically the same as cannibalism. The kraken has eaten a lot of human and bluuuuh – puke - Just imagining the horrid idea made me puke.

Moreover, the kraken's outer skin was a raw material in making armor. I'm sure it is.

"Ah… merchant things."

Oh, what? I heard someone.

Asking about my Father? The old man sure muttered 'the son of Rajah Suliman'. I guess have not told anything myself.

Okay, we will begin here.

I came from the eastern seas on the fragmented lands surrounded by the great ocean.

I was the son of Rajah Suliman. He was a member of Maginoo - the ruling class at the said archipelago. Therefore, I was a Maginoo, too. Rajah Suliman or my Papang was also the son of the great sultan, Sultan Luisong Tillano, who also ruled the Sultanate of the south. As the next sultan in line, Papang must prove to his subjects and household and especially to his father that he have sufficient power to rule and takes what it had to become the next sultan. A journey and adventure to learn more about something outside and inside him would do. He traveled far north, to the said mysterious land of Abbalon, in which many magical creatures were said to be living.

In his search of these magical creatures, Papang arrived upon a tiny village where My Mother, Inang dwelled. As behalf of the Datu, Inang as a village's Katolanan - the right hand of the Datu, guided Papang in his journey in slaying a certain creature, the Birbiruka – an evil water creature famous for luring villagers by using fishes as bait. However, after finishing their grueling adventure and slaying the creature, something outrageous happened to them, which I was the end product. I was an output of their uncontrollable outrageousness.

As far as I know, upon returning to his home sultanate, Sultan Luisong Tillano heard the outrageousness Papang did, made a selection to Papang: Leave Inang alone and be the next Sultan or choose Inang and be vanquished in the sultanate forever. Sultan Luisong Tillano did not approve on their relation for the reason that Inang was only Katolanan and did not have the blood of Maginoo for Only Maginoo blood had the right to be wed with another Maginoo blood.

Nevertheless, Papang, who was deeply in-loved and charmed by Inang, strongly opposed his own father, chose to live with Inang in Abbalon, and made a Balangay of his own. Luckily for me, he was a slave of Inang's beauty and chose the outrageousness. After many years had passed, Papang become the Paramount Rajah or the Leader of the Datus on that area of the Abbalon as he prove himself he was worthy of the position when he slew a mythical creature called Bitin, a large serpent which spits venom that melt even the sturdiest metal.

I was the first and only son (as far as I know, maybe I had other siblings lurking out there) of Rajah Suliman. I had a little sister who could also use water-attributed magic who would be the next Katalonan in our balangay with the supervision of Inang and grandmother, Nanang.

Knowing that I was a son of a Rajah, it might reason why the old man befriended me. It was important for merchants to had connections especially to important people…like me. Ho-ho

We were living peacefully in our village until a bad news came to Papang. It was involving to his older brother, who also left their father's Sultanate to found his own Balangay.

That is enough. It is so embarrassing talking about me.

****

After the incident, fortunately enough, the ship did not encounter another monster or been attack by pirate or something. Overall, our journey was smooth, even though occasionally, storms say hello in our way.

Months of being with the crew, I became close enough, not only to the old man, but also with them. Though the language barrier was still a thorn in our communication, we overcame it by using pointing and body language method, and by the power of friendship. Tomodachi, huh. Of course, they continued teaching me naming stuffs.

As days went by, we made our first stop on the nearest land to repair further the ship for one of the crew found out that a hole was hiding underneath the box. Whew, the Old Man was so grateful that the hole was discovered or else. After the first stop, from time to time, we would stop cities and towns that we passed to unload and load cargoes. You know, Merchant things, selling stuff and… stuff.

I helped doing things, of course; I did not have other things to do.

Some nights, out of the blue, the old Man would call for a party, and we drank ale until our bellies burst. Some days, when the ship still anchored in the port after unloading and loading cargoes, if time would permit, we roam the cities or towns and buy things. Of course, because I was penniless young man owning nothing but this gluttonous fly-like pixie, the old man would had to pay things for me and of course, since all the things that we needed had been already brought and loaded to the ship, so we buy only the things we want, not needed. Too many 'of course'.

Touring in towns and cities, the crowd mesmerized me. People from different lands with different languages interacted with each other in unfamiliar way from my little world. White-walled houses fenced the stoned-paved roads filled with walking crowds and running carriages. The crowds covered and dressed with colorful clothes and somehow, I got the feeling that they would stare me with query and estranged eyes. Why was that? Is this their first time seeing a person wearing only trouser and my ethnic tribe clothes. Somehow, I became accustomed to the stares.

The old man taught me countless different things. About the towns and cities. The people who lived there. Their tradition and customs. It made me realize the world was bigger than I thought. Way much bigger than I thought. Jumping in the trees in the woods and fishing in the clear blues seas, my world was only limit and focused on our place, our home.

Who could blame me if I were too ignorant? I could not care less about anything else but only the familiar things that I had seen. Sometimes, Nanang would tell stories about the outside world, but it's not really my concern because I could not imagine things that I haven't seen. But-

Now, new things filled my ignorant eyes, and not long enough, my brain would overheat.

The high-speed expansion of my little world began when I went aboard in this wooden merchant sails. My ignorant eyes were forced to open to the outside world of mine and still I had more unfamiliar things to learn in this world. There were so countless things that I would like to know. The intense curiosity somehow overwhelmed to make me forget the reason why I was on this ship. I found myself grateful that I was with this ship of this old man.

How I wished things would stay the same. How I wished I could stay in these days with the old man and his lively crew. Their smiles and their crook yellowish teeth, if there is left, will be always have a space in the corner of my mind.

I know things had always its end and my journey with them would end in our next stop, the Port of Pantala Empire.