Chapter 3: The Imperials

Next day she walked alongside Katama, holding paper reports in hand on her way to where Solan was recovering.

"...Hey Sarah, look what I found yesterday…". Katama he showed the blade he found inside the elder.

"…A blade?" She asked confused and not overly impressed.

"It seems to be created from jade of some kind, and look at these engravings…".

"...Never seen those before…". Sarah said without even giving it a thought. 

"Anyways have you written the report yet?" 

Sarah looked at Katama with a sigh before telling him

"Yes, I did… I sent it out this morning… The fact we've found an elder beast and a boy inside of it…".

They walked their separate ways shortly after. Sarah arrived at the nursery seeing Solan staring at the emptiness. 

"How are you doing kid… I brought even more delicious food…".

 She sat across him, the boy still not batting an eye at her. 

She put it beside him.

"....Where am I?" Solan asked. 

She got a bit startled but the boy had finally spoken.

"...You're in outpost three, North west of O'Serman island". She spoke softly with a smile. 

"..But do tell me… do you know how you ended up in that Leviathan?" she asked straight out.

As silent as Solan was he answered 

"...I don't remember...": 

Sarah seemed disappointed, she had never had such case with a child being found inside a elder beast. She could've gotten a good paycheck if she had found out why.

"What about your name then?" Sarah asked curious. 

His voice was a bit husky "...S-Solan… that's my name….".

Sarah was surprised. Solan? That name sounds like something from the eastern continent.. where she too came from.

"Solan? That name sounds like something that came from my old country… Where are you from?"

Solan sat silently

":..I don't remember.. I lived on a small island with my father…". 

"And where is he now?" 

"...Dead…. He was killed by the elder beast that ate me…". 

"O-Oh.. I'm sorry…". 

For Sarah, it felt very wrong that she had to keep bombarding a child with questions especially after surviving for who knows long inside the beast. But as always it was her duty to know everything. 

A small silence followed after until he spoke again, his voice a bit clearer this time.

"...Why does the anax exist?" 

Sarah was surprised by his question, why mention Anax out of the blue?

"...The anax exist to sail across the sea.. to take on missions to get rid of leviathans across the sea… what about it?" 

"...Are they really insane?" he asked. 

"...Insane?... Well…". Sarah thought about it clearly before answering his question.

"To a certain degree, they are savage… The Anax hunters are more traditional in their way of hunting leviathans.. as for their weapons most of its pretty outdated".

"...My father died recklessly without enough resources to back his crew….". His voice was cold and empty of emotions. 

"...What's your name?" he finally stared at her back. 

"...It's Sarah sweetheart…". 

"...What are those ships standing at the port?" Solan asked curious. 

"Those? those are the fortified fleets belonging to me and the admiral who found you, we're similar to the anax hunters"

"...You hunt Leviathans?"

"Yes, in a more safer way I'd say… we are constantly developing new technology back at our base… Have you heard about us?"

"...No…".

"..Hehe, Well we work under the current master of the "Soldat", Our roles as admirals is to help anax hunters who are in an emergency… or if a leviathan is too dangerous for the anax hunters to handle, we step in… guardians of the sea if you could say so". 

"Can I join the marines?"

Sarah looked at him before she started chuckling, it came pretty much out of nowhere. 

"Hehe… I think you're too young, maybe when you get older you can apply for recruit". 

"I want to kill the leviathans…" his tone was laced with killing intent and as experienced as Sarah was she knew that feeling all too well. 

"I want to kill the leviathans... no matter what...": 

Sarah saw the determination, she sighed and said "...Solan was it?".

"...In a week's time, we'll be returning to Soldat's port. I'll write down a recommendation for you when you come of age. Does that sound like a plan?" 

"...Mhm…:".

The next upcoming days, Solan spent his days trying to walk again with the help of the nurses. He was also being fed heavily due to the fact he was malnourished. 

Solan also learnt a lot from Sarah. The history of the Soldats and their culture. 

Accordingly The Marines were the exact same like the Anax, except the fact they were more nontraditional. Anax hunters used smaller ships such as Ketch or Brigs, while the Marines used gigantic war ships such as galleons favoring power. As his last day arrived. Solan stood at dock watching the fleet taking up the last net of the elder beast's part. 

"...Die in hell like you deserve," Solan said, looking at the netted parts of the former beast that killed his father.

Sarah stood beside him, seeing how he clenched his fist hard she knew this boy had a deep hatred for the leviathans, a good trait to have amongst the marines. 

"Ah, there you are Sarah!" A familiar voice spoke up.

Katama approached with a wide smile as he too noticed Solan."Don't address me casual admiral katama…".

Katama looked at Solan with a chuckle "Hehe, don't care about her… she might be strict and cold to everyone but she has a soft spot for kids". 

She his but hard "Shut up Admiral…". she huffed, crossing her arms. 

"Anyways, I came to inform you that the fleets are ready to go… It will take at least one week from here to base"

Sarah looked at Solan before smiling. "Did you hear? Let's get ready now".

They boarded the ship and Solan was given a warm welcome by the other crew members. 

When the ship departed, Solan went to the front deck to see a scenery he would never forget. The huge blue sea, the orange clear sky and he decided to himself.

One day the leviathans will disappear from this world…