“I’ll save you, I swear to the Stones.”

Books, pens, suits, anything into a single suitcase that he thought was important. He clenched his teeth, annoyed that the clip wouldn't shut. The case, although sturdy, looked as though it was about to burst. He applied more force, reddening his fingers until they finally closed. He hissed at the slight pain and caressed the reddened tips.

His eyes glanced down at his ring finger—the light of the crystalized engraving constantly dimming from brilliant crimson to dark maroon.

'I'll save you, I swear to the Stones.'

He rushed down the marbled stairs, passing by bewildered servants and startled guards without a single word. Ignoring their calls and questions.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' he cried in his head as he ran through the halls, trying to hide from the people, he'd rather not see anyone right now.

'I'm really sorry.' He felt his throat in a sudden dryness, he gulped, not seeing the person in front of him before he fell with a thump. It was Natiya.

"What are you doing, Young Ki— Jodie?" they asked, offering a hand with a sad smile. He didn't respond nor look up but they didn't seem to mind.

'Did they know what happened between him and his father?' He felt his sweat run down.

They continued with a soft voice, "We're friends, Jodeus, so when you need someone, I'll be here. I can protect you."

'I don't need protection. I am not helpless.'

"I…" he clutched his belongings, refusing to look them in the eye as he got back on his feet. "I have something to do. Don't follow me."

"Don't follow you? Jodie, what is going on? You can tell me you know," they furrowed their brows, genuinely concerned. He wished he didn't raise his head, this face hurt him more than he had imagined.

"Just…" he started but couldn't finish his sentence so instead he roughly pushed them aside, trying not to look so guilty. Maybe if he left with a bad impression, they wouldn't miss him so much.

He left Natiya standing there, confused.

Everyone had seen him either way, so he left through the main gate and went off to the stables to find his horse.

…

The forest was darker than he had remembered and the silence was deafening, to think that this place used to have so much life a few days ago.

Now there was nothing. It seemed colder, yet if he so much blinked or looked anywhere at all as the horse sped through the branches and trees, he'd see the light behind him, laughing joyously.

'He's not dead, he's not gone.' Jodeus whipped his horse to go faster, everything around him morphing into a fast blur. The castle behind him gradually disappeared as he got farther. He leaned against the horse's mane, letting it take the lead of the path, he felt his breath go cold as the thoughts of Brytos reached him.

"AGH!" he yelped in surprise as the horse halted to a stop, forcing him out of the saddle and unto a pile of leaves. "What now?!"

His horse neighed and huffed, obviously mad at him for a reason. Then the horse galloped beside him, rubbing his muzzle against his face. Jodeus got back up on his feet and reached for the saddle, he stopped short when he saw that there was a small block of ice in its main. He carefully pulled it off, suddenly feeling bad, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

He looked around at where they were, he should know where they were but his mind felt hazy so he leaned against a trunk and sighed into his hands, that's when he saw a twinkle on the ground. A blue shine caught his eye. He knelt and pushed the leaves away.

"The fountain pen… but the rest is missing," he whispered softly, admiring the tanzanite gem on the tip. He looked around the leaves to find the rest but there was only the cap. "Must've fallen out of his pockets." he laughed and wiped his tears, pulling himself up the saddle and moving on.

…

The towns near the borders were proud fishers, as they were the closest to the ocean. They also had what he currently needed. a way to leave the country.

The Alumnus had kindly purchased a boat out of his own pocket, along with other necessities. Although he would like to say farewell in person, The Alumnus preferred to stay behind and make sure that everyone was taken care of. He thanked him inwardly, grateful that he had someone willing to lend him a hand, a great teacher and a friend.

The harbor was bustling with energy as the fishermen carried their fresh catch in buckets, buyers haggled with vendors, and the children played as their parents went shopping. It's as if the catastrophe never even happened. The horse knew its way back to the castle, so he didn't have to worry, giving it a fair amount of water before saying goodbye. He passed through the shops and stalls, successfully avoiding attracting a crowd with his face concealed in a hood.

He glanced around at the edge of the port and finally found what he was looking for, an isolated shop that The Alumnus had purchased from.

"Excuse me? The Alumnus sent me for a boat?" he said aloud when the owner didn't seem to be around.

A fisher lady came out from the back, with gray hair and soft, hopeful eyes. "Ah yes, the boat is ready. We just finished the inspections. You can check it before you take it for a sail."

The boat looked new and polished, with two sails and a cabin. Although Jodeus had only read about the mechanics and management of a ship made to transport goods to another port, he imagined it wouldn't be so different from a smaller boat. This seemed fine, and it was bought by The Alumnus and he trusted him.

"There's no need. I'm in a hurry. I'll take my leave now."

The lady stopped him. "Now, before you go, I'll add more food to your stock, freshly baked salmon for lunch," she said, tone sweet and kind. She went back to her stall, presumably to get it for him.

She came back and offered the fish, but he insisted that he didn't need any, "You don't have to…"

"Oh please, I've made so much for myself... After all, you look like you need to eat," she said with a smile. "How about you have a bite first before you head to sea? I assume it would be a long way to go."

'Your future king is abandoning you. I don't deserve such a thing.'

He couldn't resist the tender look on the lady's face, she looked kind and caring, reminding him of his own mother. The first bite turned into two, it was delicious and it made him feel good inside, he took another bite, savoring the sauce and the heat.

"You remind me of my son," she said solemnly, a proud smile painted on her lips, but her eyes from down. He glanced up at that. "We were making woodwork before our village burned down recently."

He felt himself go still.

"Davis enjoyed crafting very much, growing up to be just like his father. Every time he'd come up with a new project, he'd have this serious look on his face. Just like you do now. I'd lend a hand and make him his favorite meal, so please, take this, if not for you then for me."

But he accepted the wrapped fish. "T-thank you... and I'm sure your son loved you very much," he said, meaning every word that came out of his mouth.

Jodeus boarded the boat, feeling the light sway as he walked around the deck. He waved goodbye to the lady who waved back at him, watching the port slowly drift away.

The fisher lady watched him sail away to the horizon, thinking when would their young king be back on his journey.

…

—Two Days at Sea—

Jodeus scanned the map The Alumnus had provided for him. He bit his lip, wondering if it was updated, more so, there were notes written at the back, 'be weary of high-end storms'. He had never seen one as his father commanded the rain, and everything was always perfect. It rained when they needed to, it became sunny when they wanted.

"Two oceans away... and that's only until I reach the border."

'More than a month at sea seemed overbearing enough. And if I manage to cross the two oceans, will I survive whatever is out there?'

Walking inside the cabin, he checked through the stock, making sure nothing was spoiled to ruin the others. He had enough food to last him for longer than two months, thanks to The Alumnus, along with the extra lunch that the fisher lady gave him.

He took out his scope, seeing nothing but the plain blue ocean. "I'll just have to keep heading south and I'll reach the border soon."

'Will Brytos even live that long?'

He shivered at the thought but ultimately tried to repress it. 'Of course, he will! Unlike me, he's strong and capable.'

'Strong'. He looked at his palms and remembered the fight he had with his father. The blessing of his mother came out powerful and steady at the time, but as of now, he could barely make a snowflake, let alone a cube. How does one teach themselves things they don't even know about?

"I should know how. All I have to do is remember how my parents did it, how Brytos did it. Shouldn't be that difficult."

He sat on the deck and put his hands together.

A few minutes passed and nothing came out. He tried again, gritting his own teeth in frustration. Thank goodness he was alone at the moment. If someone saw him, they would find him amusing and foolish. He wasn't alone, technically. but still embarrassing nonetheless. He sighed deeply, dropping his hands back to his waist, feeling dizzy.

Walking over to the side, he looked at the water, trying to see any fish following him but there were none. He hovered his hands on the surface and tried again, but this time with the water. A droplet floated from the sea.

He screamed in awe. Joyously marveling at the tiny little thing. Feeling confident, he froze the droplet, making it a marble of ice.

…

—Five Days at Sea—

He examined the sails for any tears for the hundredth time. Everything about the boat seemed sturdy enough, with no worrying holes or moss.

'This was a good purchase,' he thought proudly. He jotted his examination in his travel notebook, using a half-full ink bottle and his used quill. He'd rather use the fountain pen that he had given Brytos, but he only had the cap.

It was fascinating to finally be able to get the chance to apply your knowledge. Every book he had read about navigating had all come in handy. The gap between thinking about how it would work and working it is big.

He had been writing everything he had done for the day and the days before. Although they mostly consisted of technical stuff, he often wrote about what he saw and how he felt, like going to sleep and waking up to the same vast sea for the past few days, with nothing else in sight.

He'd stare at the water as the wind brought him in his direction, waiting to play with the school of fish and maybe even some dolphins. Sadly enough, there weren't many who were willing to say hi.

Although he had previously fantasized about traveling with Brytos, he had not anticipated it to be this way. It was a bitter thought but it was simply the truth as of now.

Each night, as he watched the sun go down, he would keep his ring close to his chest, feeling the warmth of the body he once knew, caressing the engraving on the metallic texture as the stars eventually came out.

…

—Eight Days at Sea—

"The wind is strong, and I have no trouble sailing. I've been cutting my rations every now and then, so my storage is enough for months," he said out loud as he jotted down his notes, pausing only to let the ink dry. He goes back into the cabin to eat breakfast, thinking of what he should reread next, having read all of them for the past few days.

When he couldn't focus on his back he decided to go back to training his blessings.

"I don't get it! I've done it perfectly before!"

He'd been snapping and wiggling his fingers for the past few hours as he tried to create a ball of snow, all of which ended up too small and quick to dissolve back into water. He groaned as he conjured up another failure. Although he had advanced beyond simply freezing water droplets, his abilities were still lacking and quite inconsistent.

'Just what is holding me back?'

He tried again but the ball simply melted, he wondered if it was considered two blessings— water and ice. But it seemed he had to still use the blessing of the Tanzanite Stone simultaneously to keep the ice bigger and stronger. He sighed at his hands, confused.

"And how did my parents manage their powers?" he frowned, feeling a pang of sudden guilt.

'They would've taught me how, and Brytos would've helped me.' He hugged himself, feeling cold. 'Maybe I was an idiot thinking I could help.'

…

—Thirteen Days at Sea—

"Day 13th—the border is in sight."

Seeing it on the horizon filled him with relief, knowing that he was getting closer to getting the help Brytos needed. But it also made his stomach churn. The boundary formed a vast cascade that encircled the nation and extended all the way to the horizon. It stood perhaps over a thousand feet tall.

He had read about it in his history books. This was conjured up by the fifth king, his great-grandfather, cutting them off from the rest of the world and preventing them from getting in and out.

The fifth king had made it to safeguard the populace. Rumor has it that he was also a sorcerer who made his own soldiers out of water. But he never used that power against anyone, a moral choice on his part. It was one of the powers the Stone had blessed him with, as making dolls had always been his passion. That was only a rumor, though.

He thought of ways to get through the boundary, but none of them seemed plausible. His father could probably get him over to the ocean without a scratch, 'if only'.

He had never understood why his father never left, he seemed to enjoy a sense of adventure— buying Jodeus books about the genre, letting him read his old favorite ones, and always looking out to the horizon. But then again, he was born with responsibility and he had accepted unlike him.

'I just have to prepare myself before reaching the boundary,' he thought out loud, his emotions were all over the place, from losing hope to feeling slightly determined to crying himself to sleep. What a journey.

He looked back at the three feet snowman in the middle of the deck. "What if I throw a snowman at it?" he jested himself, trying to lighten his mood, before settling to watch the waves wave over the deck, sighing.

"I'm not nearly good enough." He took a deep breath, "Yet."

He filled a pail with water and resumed his training.

…

—Sixteen Days at Sea—

From this distance, the boundary was much more menacing; only a few weeks prior, it was just an infinite foggy black line at the edge of the ocean. Now he could sense the size of the thing, seeing it from here, he was still far away but he couldn't feel being in awe.

"I'm getting close," he said, wrapping a handkerchief around his bloodied and bruised palms. He assumed a stance and raised his ice dagger against his practice dummy— the poor snowman he had to keep rebuilding. The dagger his mother had given him was beautiful and he wanted to cherish it long enough before actually using it for something but he wanted to see how it was.

He slit the dummy in half, before rebuilding it to be made perfectly with hardened ice. He slit it again, the boat swayed harshly as the block of ice fell on the deck. It was beautiful and sharp, just like his mother.

"Professional swordsmen name their trustworthy weapons, I wonder what kind of name would fit? What do you think, Bry? Too shabby?"

…

—Twenty - Eight Days at Sea—

Jodeus awakened at the sound of rain. He walked out of his cabin, groggy and disheveled—having gotten used to not having his personal valet fix him for the day.

"Woah…' he stared, jaw slack and shocked, slowly taking in what was in front of him.

The border seemed even greater up close; the waters were as dark as the bottom of the sea, the shower was as powerful as a storm that threatened to destroy his sails, and if you were to squint, they would appear as heaps of clouds above water.

He hugged himself tightly, shivering at the harsh winds it created. Now he somewhat understood why no one ever left. He couldn't even see the whole properly, as the salty spray of water was like getting doused with a buck, too strong for anyone to see clearly.

"How did Bry even get through this?"

The boat swayed in every direction from the currents, threatening to topple them under. The harsh winds from the giant cloudy spray constantly pushed his sails, forcing him backwards. He grabbed hold of the sides to keep himself from getting tossed over, not quite prepared to give up. It was cold and thoroughly uncomfortable in every way, he thought he was now immune to the cold due to his blessings, but he stood there, corrected and shivering.

He left, knowing there would be hardships and risks; he wouldn't back down now, especially, since it was just the beginning. But if he were to admit it to himself, this does make his heart race against his ears out of fear and awe. He took a deep breath and stood firm, breathing out icy vapor.

He felt his power surging through him, begging to be let out. He opened his palms as if seizing the water, imitating what his father did. He took a step forward and planted his sole on the deck.

"PAAART!" He commanded the boundary, unable to hear his own voice.

The waterfall roared and rained down on him, but ultimately did nothing. He stood there, unmoving for a while. He tried once more, this time making a hand motion resembling one made when opening a curtain.

"PAAART?" He said, quite unsure of what he was doing.

Still, nothing happened.

"Why won't it work?" he asked, trying again for the third time and waving his hands in various motions. He gave everything he got, feeling exhausted from the effort. He groaned and fell flat on the deck.

The wind blew harshly, pushing his sails in various directions, he tried to stay put by freezing the water around. And finally, something he did worked, but the ice was quick to melt so he had to think fast.

He lifted a palm of full saltwater and had it float in the air with ease. He sighed and let it fall back into the sea. "I need more power."

He sat down again and solemnly looked at his ring, hoping Brytos would spread out his wings and have them soar in the sky, and this time, he would open his eyes.

'The sky.' He looked up, squinting at the harsh water droplets ferociously dropping at his face. The waterfall reached the clouds, so far high up that he couldn't even see where it ended, or rather where it started.

'If only I could fly…' He looked up and grimaced at the height, once again.

"DAMN MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER! WHY DID HE BUILD IT SO HIGH ANYWAY??" he stomped his foot on the deck, frustrated.

He looked at his scraped palm from the weeks of practice and bit his lip. 'In the end, I really can't do anything, can I?'

"No, that's stupid!" he sighed in frustration, aggressively wiping the water out of his face, which proved futile.

"If I can't fly then I guess I'll finally start plan A, which doesn't even seem like a plan at all… Actually, none of my plans seem plausible." He looked at the now melted snowman, looking at his palm, forming a snowball with ease. It was cold but it didn't bother him at all, unlike the waterfall. But he had an idea. 'A ball.'

He stood firm on the deck, ice forming on his palm.

…

Blood dribbled down from his nose as he maintained the sphere of ice covering the whole boat. He could hear the water gushing closer as he frightfully approached the waterfall. He added another layer of ice to keep it from breaking, but the pressure was gradually getting heavier as they got close to an inch.

The sphere staggered mercilessly, rocking everything around him, he tried to balance his footing whilst maintaining the ice cover, which proved as difficult as it was outside of the sphere. The showers from the waterfalls rained down on the sphere, even with the covers, he could hear the tens of thousands pattering through it.

He made a pathway of ice to guide his way through, and Jodeus felt his own powers threatening to take a rest for a second, the fatigue surged through his legs as well. He tried to stay firm but he could feel his blessings wavering. 'Please, please.'

But as he pushed forward and finally entered the waterfall, the outer surface of the sphere cracked and the water surged through.

"OH SHI—!" The oncoming water spread the hole ever more, threatening to destroy his sphere completely in a matter of seconds.

He screamed as he tried to freeze the oncoming water but it surged nonstop, he tried keeping it closed for a few seconds before the whole sphere collapsed completely. He desperately grabbed hold of his ring as the water and his own fatigue flooded over him.

But then it was warm and calm, Jodeus didn't open his eyes and let himself drift along wherever the water wanted him to be.

He floated peacefully. No fear, dread, or shivering hope.

'The border protects'

He read that once in his book and scoffed. He thought of it as a cage, a great and beautiful one, but a cage nonetheless. But he never voiced that thought, never turned it against anyone. He was the only one who desired more; everyone else seemed content where they were, and he couldn't blame them for wanting to stay there.

They had their loved ones, and that was enough. That's why the kingdom prospered. Not because of the Stone, but because of the great people. Nerune, Caera, and The Alumnus all had the ability to leave but they didn't, why did they stay? Why did Brytos stay?

Why did their sanctuary burn?

Why did the border let it happen?

His tears wouldn't fall, but he felt as though he didn't have to.

The ocean glanced down at him with a thoughtful gaze: understanding and kind.

'The Winterstone calls for its Prince

All you need to do is answer it'

He opened his eyes and he was already on the other side.

…

Jodeus fixed his gaze on the hazy boundary. It was now hidden behind a cloud of mist, and not a single drop of water could be heard. He stood there on the deck, water trickling down from his hair to his feet, perplexed. A voice had asked him a question, but he didn't answer. He couldn't even recall who had done so and how he managed to get through.

'Am I really on the other side? '

He squinted at the mist as it vanished away into the air, leaving only the calm blue ocean, perplexed by what had just unfolded.

'I was sure I was dying but then I felt alive.' He flopped down on the firm deck, wincing at the pain. He sighed longer than he ever did before, a mix of relief and exasperation, covering his face with his hands and wiping the waters.

Nevertheless, he was where he wanted to be.

So he went back to his cabin to see what had been damaged before spinning the wheel to the right course. "Judging by the wind, I reckon we'd have a week or so at sea until we find land,"

He spoke out loud, a habit he'd been getting used to during these lonely times.

He'd also been honing his navigation skills with the single map and compass The Alumnus had provided. They were wet but not ruined, fortunately.

"We'll arrive in Uvite soon..." One last time, he looked back at where the waterfall was before deciding that whatever mysterious phenomenon it was, he wouldn't be the one solving it right. There was something he learned today, that his great-grandfather was something else.

That night, he held his ring close to his chest, trying to remember that serenity as he waited for the next day.