Strange Awakening

The sound and smell of the early morning air brought me to consciousness. I blinked my eyes sleepily open and took in the radiant light. My eyes stung as if this were the first time opening them in ages. My body felt sore as I sat up slowly. I spotted a bright blue butterfly fluttering about me, and watched as it came to land at my feet. The butterfly flapped its wings slowly while still resting on the end of my toe until my focus shifted from the butterfly, to what lay beyond it. I shot to my feet and scanned the area frantically. I attempted to take a step back, but my legs buckled. It was an island. However, it was an island hundreds of feet in the air!

"What is going on here?" I thought. "What am I doing here? Where am I?"

As I wracked my mind and memory for the answers, I heard a great creaking from behind me. I looked over my shoulder just in time to lay down flat and avoid being plowed into by a giant ship, sailing through the air a mere inches from my nose. I sat back up and watched on as a second ship slipped out of the clouds on a crash course with the first. As the first ship began bringing itself about, I noticed a large flag flapping in the winds. It was gold with a red shield sewn into the middle of it. I looked back to the other ship and saw that their own banner of a blue and white wolf, bearing its teeth, on a black backing, was being flown. The ships became parallel to one another, when suddenly bolts of fire, lightning, and shards of ice began rocketing from the smaller "wolf" ship to the other. The two ships were soon making an exchange of firepower, though noticeably the larger ship was having a greater effect.

A wave of flame rained down from the clouds onto the larger ship, and a second ship bearing the banner of the wolf sailed into view. It kept its distance above the large ship just enough to keep out of range for it to return fire. I thought that under the combined fire, the larger ship would surely lose this fight. Then there was a bright light…and I could barely make out a small golden ball hovering over the deck of the large ship. I began to strain my eyes to look more closely at it, when it exploded and blinded me for a moment. My eyes readjusted and I looked back at the battle. The large ship was now enveloped in a great golden sphere of light that the other two ship's attacks crashed into with no effect, like water on rocks.

There was movement toward the bottom rear of the shielded ship, and what looked like doors opened up. I could hardly make out dozens of small figures drop out, and then pick back up into the air on a course for the second wolf ship. The ship in turn attempted to concentrate some fire upon the approaching figures. In short time, the first wolf ship began to plummet toward the earth, leaving a trail of black smoke behind it. The second ship began to maneuver and climb back into the clouds in the opposite direction of the monstrous ship. The small figures started giving chase, but were called back by two bright red explosions over their flag ship.

I stood in awe of what I had just witnessed as the ship began to move south. Nothing was making sense. First, waking up on an island…in the sky no less, then my legs giving out and not working, and three ships begin destroying each other hundreds of feet in the air. I crawled toward the edge of the island and looked down.

"How on earth am I going to get down from here?" I thought.

"Hey there."

I craned my neck to see behind me, and was astonished to see a dozen people seemingly standing on air as well as another smaller ship behind them. At that point I would have gladly run if I thought my legs would work, or if there were anywhere to go. The man at the head of the group made a motion with his hand and the rest of the group quickly flew past me and downward towards the fallen ship, with their own following close behind. I watched as they swarmed about the wreckage like ants picking clean a fallen bird. I flipped over to face the leader, as he stepped off of his platform and onto my little island.

He was a tall man, with long black hair that partially covered up his dark eyes. He reached behind him and tapped the platform he was standing on twice. The platform glowed faintly and began to fold over on itself again and again. Once it was about a one inch square, the man picked it out of the air and attached it to the front of his belt.

"Now then, what are you doing out here?" The man asked, though for some reason, I couldn't answer, so he continued, "Right. Where are my manners? I am Nelo Rohe. The leader of The Scavengers, Flaris Branch. And your name would be?"

The question seemed like an easy one, and yet, when I tried to give the answer I found I didn't know it. I closed my eyes, trying to focus. The answer was there I knew it, could feel it. Harder I focused, deeper I dug until finally the sounds came on their own.

"Ch…Chen is my name."

"Chen eh? That's a pretty odd name. So, now that formalities are out of the way, you mind telling me what you're doing up here?"

"I…I don't know. I just woke up here."

"You just woke up here? Ok, well what about before that?"

I tried to remember anything, but couldn't.

"Nothing." I replied.

"Hmm…sounds like you have some sort of amnesia," Nelo came closer and looked me over quickly. "but you don't look injured or anything. I guess that kills my theory."

"What?"

"I just figured since you were out here alone, and no memory, that maybe you were dropped here by one of the pirate ships."

"Pirates?"

"Yeah. The Saint Morning Wolves. They're a pirate guild. Earlier they raided a trade ship and I thought they may have taken some prisoners. One of their ships apparently didn't make it. Then again, I guess if they had taken prisoners they wouldn't have just been destroyed like that. Pretty reckless of them to take on Cerand. Even with two ships, they should've known better."

"How did you know…"

"Oh, well we were watching the fight."

"But then, why didn't you help the other ship?"

"Why would we? Even if they needed the help, which they never did, our ship isn't designed for aerial battles. We're scavengers, like I said. Other people's conflicts aren't really any of our business. Our guild may have a base in Flaris, but that doesn't make us subjects of Flaris, or any of the other cities in which we're based."

One of the others came flying up to Nelo and said, "We're about done sir. Unfortunately there wasn't all that much we could take."

"All right, just finish the rest of the salvage and bring the ship up here."

"Sir?"

"We're giving this young man a ride to Flaris."

"Yes sir."

The other man flew off again. Moments later the small ship came up alongside the island and with the help of Nelo, I boarded the Scavenger's ship.

Nelo Rohe, the leader of the Flaris branch of Scavengers, escorted me about the ship, and introduced me to the sixteen crew members. He allowed me the rest of the trip to just wander about if I wanted, as he had business to take care of in the holding bay. He offered me the chance to join him, but so much of what he had been talking about this far made nearly no sense to me, so I politely declined. He seemed somewhat disappointed. I made my way to the deck of the ship. Upon opening the door upward, a cool breeze hit my face, refreshing my senses. As nice as Nelo and the crew were, the inside of the ship had a strangely familiar, yet unsettling smell to it. I went to the port side of the ship and peered over the side.

"A ship in the air…amazing."

My mind was still troubled. So little of this world appeared familiar to me. Could what Nelo said be true? Did I have amnesia? The answers were all there. I knew they were, they just had to be, but how to get to them was the problem. A popping sound scattered my thoughts, and then I heard a voice.

"We'll be arriving in Flaris soon everyone, so get to your stations. It's a small load today so it looks like you'll all get a good amount of shore leave."

I could hear cheers coming from below. I looked to my right and spotted for the first time, the city that was our destination.