Chapter 1 - The Origins

      After the Great Flood, Aberald Cormac and his wife settled down in a small, snowy village at the feet of Mont Forel. The conditions were harsh, but the young couple did their best to survive and provide a loving, safe, warm home for their unborn child. At first, they lived in a shed, built as quickly as possible, to protect the family from the vicious claws of the post-apocalyptic world. Along with the fall, which didn't seem like the season they were used to, came a baby boy. His smiling face was as round as the moon, he looked at his mother with sparkling emerald eyes, just as she was the whole world for him. Let it stay that way for now - Rosamund thought and wrapped her son in a red, chequered blanket. She stroked his short, curly, copper hair and smiled, as the little boy snuggled right in.

     Years passed, and so did generations. Not many that saw the times of the Great Flood with their own eyes were alive anymore. What was once a tiny village, grew to be a small town and in a place of a little, dingy shed now standing was a big, wooden house with an engineer workshop on the ground floor. William Cormac was working downstairs, at the same time his only two children were running around the shared backyard with other neighborhood kids, like bolts of lightning on a stormy night.

 - I want to be a pirate! - the little girl shouted with fierce sparks in her green eyes, picked up a wooden sword and made a pose, that turned out incredibly intimidating, considering that she was seven.

- You can't be a pirate, you're a girl! - argued one of the boys, but the girl didn't let go.

- I will be a pirate. It's my birthday, I can be what I want and if you don't like it, you can always sit on a bench and play with us next time! - the little redhead stuck her toy weapon into the ground and folded her arms over her shoulders.

- You told him, Rosie! - another boy approached her. When they stood next to each other, they looked like two drops of water. Both had shiny, copper hair, that curled at the ends, fierce, bright green eyes, and their mother's smile. Rose picked up her sword and after a short while they went back to playing. They didn't even notice when sun started to slowly go down.

- Johnny, Rosie, it's getting dark! - the twins heard, as their mother sticked her head out the window. The women looked quite young. She had blonde, curly hair, that she put into a neat bun on the back of her head, her cheeks and lips were softly stained with rouge, making her look fresh and even more kind than she already was.

- Coming, mom! - the twins answered together. They quickly took their toys and went inside.

     The family sat around the fireplace, it was time to open the gifts that the kids got for their special day. Among the new toys and some clothes, Rose spotted two, that caught her attention. She stood up and grabbed one with her little hands. 

- J... o... h... n... n... y - she read slowly for she was just learning - Johnny, it's for you! - the girl cheered, passed a gift to her brother. He looked at the dedication and started mumbling the rest of the text to himself.

- It's from mom and dad! - he said, as he started to open the gift. Inside there was a mechanical toy bird, that flapped his wings if someone stroked his beak. Johnathan hugged both of his parents, thanking for the bird with the widest smile on his face. It was a good day - Bianca thought, she allowed her children to play for some time after it got dark, but eventually, their bedtime came. A little bit disappointed but tired, both of the twins went to sleep.

     The twins had a good life. They grew up in a loving home, and learned their father's craft to, one day, take over his business. Exactly eleven years passed and Rose and Johnathan were celebrating their birthday in the Fitch's Tavern, a couple blocks down from their home. They were supposed to turn into adults tonight, so the party didn't stop even when the sun was about to wake the rest of the town up. But they were about to get interrupted. As the third wine bottle was going down Johnathan's throat, a middle-aged man rushed through the door, panting, as if he just ran the distance between Netherfell Port and Mont Forel, to get there. Rose looked at him and saw fear mixed with grief in his eyes, as he approached her. She recognized their neighbor across the street in him.

- Your house... - he said, trying to catch his breath, at this time Johnathan saw that they were talking and had time to walk up to them - ...Caught on fire tonight. We don't know if your parents were inside, but the building is still burning. - after that sentence left the men's mouth, the twins felt like the time has stopped. Those few seconds felt like hours, as they were trying to process, what they just heard, and then they both rushed out of the tavern to their home without even saying anything. Rose's eye filled up with tears, when she saw the flames, at this point not much than a skeleton frame and a few walls of the house were left. At first, she wanted to run into the burning building, but her brother stopped her. He grabbed her by the arms and embraced her, restricting her movement. She was kicking him, trying to break free, screaming that they must go in there to get their mother and father out.

- You won't be able to help them, if you'll be dead, Rose. - Johnatan tried to calm her down, but he was struggling to stay that way himself. Suddenly, a loud crackle filled the air and both of the twins frozen in place. Johnathan held onto his sister, who didn't even move a muscle, as they watched in terror whilst something that was once their home turn into a smoldering ruin in just a few seconds. 

- No! No, no... Mom, dad... - Rose's voice was quiet and filled with pain. She snuggled into her brother's arms, he hugged her tight and started crying along with her. They lost everything. The fire took not only their family, but the home owned by Cormacs for almost a hundred years as well, leaving the last two that carried that name emotionally broken and penny less.

     The bodies of William and Bianca Cormac were recovered as soon as the rubble cooled down, two days after the accident. Twins stayed at their friend's house and this morning Johnatan insisted that Rose stayed inside, instead of going with him. Her once sparkling, emerald green eyes were now red and swollen, she was not only devasted, but crying left her weak and exhausted. She could barely stand up on her own and Johnatan felt like it was his duty to spare her as much tears and pain as he possibly could. Their father always told him, that, as a man, he should be the strong one and Johnatan wanted to live up to these expectations, so he took the weight of preparing the charred remains for the funeral on himself. It wasn't a long process. There was no way that the coffins could be open during the ceremony due to the state of the bodies, so the only thing that he had to do, after identifying his parents, was to say the last goodbye and tie a traditional knot on the cloth bag that the remains were placed into. 

- Don't cremate them. - he said to one of the men that worked at the morgue, with his eyes still fixed on the white fabric covering his mother's face - They wanted to be given to the ocean after they die. - and with this request, he left. Bianca always loved the water, she thought that, although deadly and unpredictable, there was some beautifulness in the freedom of the waves crashing into the land. She was too afraid to go into the water when she was alive, so she asked her children to let her body into the depths after her soul left it.

     An older woman stopped Johnatan right before he was about to enter the small attic bedroom that he was sharing with his sister.

- She's sleeping. - the woman kept her voice down, almost whispered. He nodded and followed her downstairs, so Rose could get some rest. 

-The funeral will be tomorrow. - he said and sat down next to the fireplace - After that, I'll probably search the rubble for something... Just anything that could get us started. I thought of leaving after that, I don't know if we'll be able to live here after - he stopped talking. This was the first time, since the fire, that he felt the weight that he placed on his shoulders and just couldn't take it. His eyes glazed over and a few tears went down his face, whilst the mother of one of his dearest friends placed her hand on his arm and stroked it with care - I have no idea what we are supposed to do. - his voice broke. He just admitted, that for the first time in his life, he didn't know which way to go.

- It's okay to grieve, Johnny. You'll figure it out, just give yourself a little bit of time and remember, that you're not alone in it. You still have a sister and I know, that you want to be strong for her, but you need to let yourself feel the pain that you're feeling at some point.

     The funeral took place the next day. Rose borrowed a black dress from one of her friends and Johnatan wore the same clothes he wore the day before, since they already were all black. It was snowing, just like the sky decided to cry over their loss along with the twins, with frozen, white tears. The wish of their mother was about to be executed. The bodies were put on a funeral wreath and loaded on a small airship. Now adult children didn't leave the side of their parents the whole trip and stayed, even when they were being thrown into the depths of water over the Arctic Ocean. The twins looked down over the railing and saw two light spots slowly getting swallowed by the waves.

- Goodbye. - they whispered. They both expected to feel pain at this moment, but they found themselves experiencing some inexplicable kind of relief. The fire took their parents violently from them, but now, seeing that the ocean accepted William and Bianca in like one of its own, it felt like their souls moved on and that the twins should do the same. 

     Rose insisted to go search the rubble with her brother. She got up before him, helped with the breakfast, just to keep her mind off the fact that she buried her parents two days ago, and was ready before Johnathan even woke up. 

- Look, I know that you're just trying to protect me and I appreciate it, but I can't be trapped here with my thoughts all day. - she said, as her twin was about to leave. She wasn't going to give up, no matter what he said.

- Are you sure you can do this? - he asked, knowing that, grieving or not, she was just as stubborn as he was. She pulled off her shoulder blades and nodded.

- I am.

- Alright, let's go. - after that, they left. Ruins of their house were not far, so they arrived pretty quickly, and just as they got there, Rose felt a sudden tightness in her stomach. She stopped for a second and took a deep breath. You can do this-she thought to herself, looked at Johnathan their eyes met and she realized, that he felt the exact same way. She reached her hand to his.

- We're not five anymore, Rosie. - Johnathan said and just kept walking, but his sister didn't give up, she caught up to him and held his hand, as they approached the ruins. - Ready?

- I hope so. - Rose closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and stepped into the rubble.

     Johnatan didn't find much more than their mother's old jewelry box. It was damaged but made of thick steel, so the content was mostly untouched, except maybe a little dirty. He looked at the sky and realized that it was already afternoon and that he probably should get Rose and go back. She sat on a piece of charred wood as he was approaching her. 

- You found anything? - he leaned over her shoulder. 

- Not much. Some of mom's jewelry, change, and this. - she opened her hand in which she held two shark tooth pendants, the straps they were once on completely burned off, but otherwise, they were almost perfectly fine. Twins got them from her mother for their sixteenth birthday, so they were both glad, that they found their way back to the owners. 

- We should go back. - Johnatan said and walked off the rubble. Rose wanted to do the same, but she spotted something, that looked familiar. She went up there and picked up something, that looked like just a very dirty piece of metal, but when she cleaned it up with her hands she was sure, that Johnny would like to see it again. 

- Hey, wait for me! - she ran out of the ruins and almost tripped on the way. - Look what I found. - saying that she gave him the object and he immediately stopped. - It is still flapping its wings when you rub its beak. - she said. This toy, in a seven-year-old's hand, looked much bigger. Now the old bird seemed so small when his already adult owner held it.