Chapter 3:
A/N: Hey there everyone so it's my first story of hopefully many more and it's great to already have some reviews. The first few chapters have been short but that wasn't by design, I'm simply writing them all in one sitting and posting them with no edit. At some point I'll go back over them and re-write a bit of it but for now I've been powering through and hopefully will continue to do so. Sorry for the poor quality in some places. Its been suggested I write longer chapters which is what I have planned to do from the end of this chapter, these essentially serve as a prologue so hopefully it hasn't been too boring. Now we can start crunching through the meat of this story and see where it ends up.
Day gave way to the night with the light of the moon shining down upon the surface, a pale imitation of the sun which hung in the cloudless sky hours before. Nothing stirred at night besides a small breeze that moved the sails gently back and forth. It was easy to get lost in thought on nights such as these, endlessly peaceful and calm.
Harry stood near the edge of the ship, looking down at the water below. The moon reflecting brightly upon the surface of the water so vividly, one could feel as if it were mere metres beneath, rather than miles away in the sky.
It was reassuring how similar this world was to his own; the devil was always in the details, however.
A singular moon and sun hung in the sky, at night and day respectively. The moon dwelt not alone in the night sky either, as it was accompanied by a myriad of stars all burning so very brightly so very far away. The constellations and positions were vastly different from Earth of course; however for one who took little notice of astronomy in their school years would find it pass by their notice. After all, how many can attest to truly paying attention to the night sky. The stars were always there, weren't they? Long after the passing of either magical or non-magical man, from birth until death, the stars did shine. What use was there for the masses to pay attention to what hung in the sky and affected them not at all? Something that was, is, and always will be generates little more than fleeting interest from most.
Humankind, magical and non-magical permeated this world too. Such a strange coincidence that human life could evolve identically to his own world. Perhaps there really is a higher power, watching over the lower realms and laughing as it drags life into existence on different worlds only to eventually turn away when bored, leaving their toys to do as they will. Just like children how they leave their toys strewn across the floor once their finished playing. English being spoken was certainly way out there in the probability scale, perhaps they were in some sort of game. In the end though it matters little, for such ruminations do little for anyone but distract from the tasks at hand.
In time, he would learn more about this world and how it functioned; its magic, its people, its monsters and everything in between.
It was late though and he was very tired, apparating around the ships each day to perform magic tricks for everyone was exhausting. Not physically or in any magical sense, but mentally it was difficult. Keeping up the moral for everyone was critical. Scared people in unknown situations, especially those with families and young children do stupid things in times of panic. Best to keep them occupied; an easy gesture he was happy to make.
Many days had passed since they had left the encampment behind and people were beginning to relax and settle down though. The announcement that by tomorrow they should come in sight of Kalimdor was undoubtedly influencing their mood too. Not that he could blame them; the endless sight of sea didn't sit well with him either.
His tracking charm hadn't changed direction either, hopefully wherever Sirius was he was comfortable. The patronus charm could also be used to track Sirius down now that he was far closer to the other continent. He felt in his gut that this was definitely the right place and it hadn't often led him astray before. Yet such a powerful piece of magic could attract all sorts of unwarranted attention; whilst he felt confident in his abilities to defend himself it was best to stick to the less obtrusive and subtle tracking method for now.
He apparated quietly back to his cabin and quickly undressed and hopped into bed. Tomorrow would undoubtedly bring about a lot of work when they arrived, and the best preparation was always a goodnight's sleep.
The sun was at its zenith and bore down with uncompromising intensity. Those not part of the crew had chosen to stay underneath the deck to escape the uncomfortable heat.
On top however of the many ships within the fleet rushed the crew and members of the soldiers cohort, preparing to dock with the land rapidly approaching, they had finally made it.
They all showed signs of exertion, exacerbated by the suns heat. Sweat painted their clothes and naked flesh, particularly noticeable on some as it rolled down their faces in shiny droplets from their hairline.
Only Harry remained unaffected, his pale and cool countenance at odds with the tanned, frantic features of those running around near him. He caught Hadrian's questioning gaze looking up at him.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he questioned with a light smirk, already knowing what the issue was.
Hadrian replied dryly, "There any chance you could help out us lowly mortals?"
Harry channelled his inner Dumbledore, eyes twinkling merrily as he replied, "Ah, you see me and think, 'Indeed, he must have used magic to shield himself from the piercing rays of the sun, why does he not afford us the same protection?' That is in fact, an erroneous way of thinking, young Hadrian! One must instead ask ourselves, not what magic can do for us rather, what can we do for magic." Harry trailed off quietly, scratching his temple as if to convey befuddlement, "I think that's something like he would say." He quietly muttered to himself.
Hadrian rolled his eyes, already used to the ridiculous nature of the sorcerer's sporadic whimsy. He knew when he was teased. Before he could reply however he was cut off abruptly.
"It's best to get used to the environment, Hadrian. I won't always be around to shield you all. It's best to begin adapting now, rather than later, yes?" Harry replied in a serious tone.
Hadrian turned away and nodded, he knew the sorcerer spoke truly and well. Who knows how long they'd be here for and relying on magic for every small problem now would leave them worse off for when it's gone.
The ship drew even closer now to the landing site they had scouted, already some of the ships had arrived and people had begun to disembark.
Harry turned to Hadrian with a laugh, recalling something pleasant, "We could always have a quick swordfight before we land if you're bored? His face sporting a wide grin, eyes alight with amusement.
In response, Hadrian scowled, before lapsing into a reluctant smile. His memories of that incident weren't altogether bad, after all Harry had given him another sword for the one he lost, apparently the one he now had was 'unbreakable'. That was seriously cool, although doubt nibbled at the back of his mind, perhaps it was enchanted to just be stronger and strike harder. Surely no sorcerer could make something indestructible; regardless he was itching to try it out on those filthy undead. He knew it wouldn't be long before they set their sights elsewhere.
Having convinced Harry to join him in a practice match, as he drew back to make his second strike against him the blade snapped off where it met the opposing sword. He dropped the entire sword in shock and Harry just stood there laughing, like the greatest joke had just been told. At least he knew why Harry didn't care about using live steel.
Apparently his sword had imbibed basilisk venom, whatever that was. Fucking sorcerers and their crazy ideas. Harry showed off his blade to the surrounding crowd after and it truly was an immaculate piece of work: sharp, sleek, deadly and it looked as if it had never been used. A giant ruby sat in the pommel of the sword which would surely be worth a small noble's fortune.
He asked Harry where he got it from and he received a nonsensical answer, 'From a hat', he couldn't tell whether he was being mocked or not. Harry was a better sort than most sorcerers he met, but he definitely still had his peculiarities.
"Perhaps later, far, far later" he said with a grimace, whilst tightening his grip on his sword's handle in a possessive fashion.
Harry just laughed.
The landing site drew nearer and from where they were standing on the ship they could begin to make out some of the basic terrain and geography. An endless stretch of desert could be seen careening off into the distant south. Rocky hills and craggy outcrops were all the rage it seemed in this desert and they jutted up everywhere and as far as the eye could see. They knew from maps there was a large forest occupying the northern areas of the continent but that was all.
It was safer to land here down in what seemed to be endless arid desert interspersed only be mountainous rock and the occasional cactus. This was the only known area allowing ships to disembark. Tempting fate by heading further up the coast could result in disastrous consequences; being unable to land was the least of these worries.
Their best bet would be to ensure everyone's safety here and then either head up towards the forest or further inwards in search of more hospitable lands. Hopefully here they could ascertain some clue as to Jaina's expedition passing by as well.
"I'm going to go join them on shore helping unload supplies and dock the rest of the ships." Harry said, able to apparate down now he could see where he was going.
In reply Hadrian just nodded.
Harry gave a mock solute and apparated away, the brief crack no longer startling the people on shore having become well accustomed to the sorcerer's strange method of teleportation.
As the ship drew closer to the shore, Hadrian silently prayed to the light. He hoped they would find salvation here, as well as the other survivors quickly. It went unsaid that hopefully nothing else found them in turn beforehand.
Just like all other prayers, this one too yet went unanswered as the Light was silent to him. However looking out across the landing site as his eyes passed over the sorcerer with dark black hair and green eyes, a stray thought crossed his mind.
Perhaps the Light had indeed answered their prayers, in a way he couldn't have possibly fathomed. Alas, only time would tell.