1 A world full of curiosities

Old city is a place avoided by locals and travellers alike, located in the middle of nowhere surrounded by dense jungles, a well-hidden place for thieves and criminals to occupy but even they won't dare come near this place.

A young human boy or a scrawny little urchin, depending on how you look at him can be seen huddled in a corner under the majestic archway of the decrepit castle. His body looked weaker than twigs and his lack of any clothing made it more apparent. His face can be best described as a pot of gruel made of fear, confusion, desperation and much of his free-flowing tears.

In this picturesque scene of the dilapidated red walls of the castle in contrast with the rich green of the forest, he is nothing but the stain that should not be there but is hard to remove. As if someone has forced him into this place, in obvious disagreement with the laws of the universe.

The little thing was so jumpy that he would shiver at the sound of a stupid squirrel passing by, what would he do if one of the beasts from the jungle decides to visit him?

Oh! how I thank the Almighty Father that the beasts are perceptive enough to not step in the vicinity of Old city, although the castle is the only sign of its existence now. I would much rather look at a painting marred by stains than to go in and clean any blood spots.

Sobbing and shivering at noises coming from the forest, he kept at it for all morning. I was bothered by it and was ready to leave Old city earlier than planned. Then out of nowhere his soft murmurings fell into my ears, which I had overlooked for all this time. He kept repeating something over and over and I couldn't hear it properly.

Focusing on his soft murmurings I went near him but still couldn't understand what he was saying. I was very excited, a new language! or at least what appears to be a new language, if it's not a kids odd ramblings. He was saying words that sounded like, okasaan, kūfuku, gohan... but I was not sure.

It has been a long time since I researched something this exciting and new, I was yearning to just walk up to him and demand for the sweet melody of something undiscovered. Alas! I couldn't do that, I'll lose any chance of finding new things forever. It is what it is, so I decided to postpone my exploratory travels and follow this kid, to find more about this language and his background.

Surprising me to no end, this kid kept at his sobbing and murmurings throughout the afternoon. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to go and observe the evolution of the nearby creatures, after all, I am visiting after centuries. So my evening was spent blissfully, measuring Draco horns, wyvern wings, flood dragon lengths and counting porcupine quills. When I came around, he had fallen asleep cuddled up as he was sitting without even moving an inch. So I chose a good Ceiba tree to settle down for the night.