Koro yawned while buckling his leather belt. The sword at his
side slid into its sheath neatly; a soft scrape against metal made
him smile inwardly. Bright rays of sunlight brushed his face
warmly. It was definately a good day, no matter what else happened.
Even a sudden death couldn't have broken his mood. "Zap," he
started, "whadda ya want to do today?"

	The elder man was still sleeping soundly.

	"Awww. Doncha want to have a yummy breakfast? I could go find
some eggs or something. Wild pig is good over an open fire." All
his efforts were completely ignored by the dozing Zap. "Wake up!"
Koro pushed vainly at him, but his limited amount of muscle gave
way quickly. "C'mon. If you don't get up now, you'll never see this
beautiful sunrise."

	Zap winked an eye open. "Huh?" Koro hoisted a giant stick and
*bonked* Zap on the head. It did the trick amazingly quick. "Hey!
Wanderers need their sleep just like everybody else." He growled
good-naturedly. "We don't even know where we're going."

	"Right." Koro tore into some beef jerky he'd found days
before. "Have a piece?" he offered.

	On close inspection, Zap declined. "We need to plan our
journey. Could you possibly draw a cartographical scripture? I need
to get a directional thought of the geography in the area. Drawn to
scale, of course. Along with all towns, landmarks, tourist
attractions, shops, mountains, and other physical features..."

	Now it was the boy's turn to be confused. "What?"

	He smiled. "Just sketch a map in the dirt."

 	This was understood. Koro set to work with a stick. He first
drew in Zozo, which could still barely be seen behind them. Then it
was the mountain pass that wound its way down the valley,
eventually meeting with Jidoor. He didn't know the exact location
of the Opera House; it was placed somewhere to the south. All Koro
knew about Maranda was that it was southeast of Zozo. "And that's
about it around here."

	"Ok. If you say so." Zap paused when seeing the map. He
couldn't read the names placed near the supposed villages, and he
could only guess at what the scribbly thing under the mountains
was. "Kohlingen is where?"

	"It's about," - Koro drew a dot to the extreme north of Zozo,
probably floating in the ocean - "here. 'Course, we aren't going
there."

	Zap sighed. "Not for awhile. Anyway, I think that we should
go south. Jidoor sounds somewhat familiar." First settling into a
comfortable position, he silently traced a finger along the
proposed route. "We curve around there, and then follow the shore
until we reach that point, keeping in mind any wind resistance-"

	Koro interrupted with a loud, "Wait!"

	"What is it?"

	"Well, it's just that Jidoor was recently attacked by the
Empire. I don't know who one, but it has to be totally wrecked.
Might even be controlled by the Empire. Have you seen what they do
to people?" Zap shook his head slowly. "Turn them into zombies!"

	Zap doubted it, yet still knew of the pure evilness of the
New Empire. He'd heard of it before. "I suppose." He thought a
moment before adding, "We could always go near, and determine
things further from there. I doubt that a town would fall so
easily."

	"They've done it before; soldiers are fighting in Magitek..."
Zap replied with a shocked look. "Magic-powered suits that can
destroy whole groups of men by themselves."

	"You sure seem to know a lot for one of your years."

	"I've been around." The two planned the rest of the trip and
talked about some other stuff. Zap accepted some jerky. They
gathered up the meager gear the remained and strapped it to their
backs, Zap being able to support three times as much as Koro. On
down the path he led. The boy closely behind.

	"You grew up in Doma Castle?" Zap was asking.

	"Yes. I was actually born in a small farm outside, but had to
move in eventually on account of the Empire approaching. That was
when both of my parents were alive." He stopped painfully.
"Then... the poison..."

	Zap swallowed awkwardly. "Poison?"

	"It killed my mother," Koro murmered. "Killed almost
everyone, 'cept my Dad. Me and him escaped through a window and
returned to the farm. We raised chocobos for a long time. Soldiers
came. Asked us if we'd aided Doma. Dad did, of course. He had been
one of Cyan's sentries..." Koro related the events conspiring to
the death of his father.

	They took a short rest under the shade of some trees. Koro
slept through it while Zap thought about all that the younger had
talked about. He began to realize the true state of affairs. Mere
children were being forced to fight, and entire towns' spirits had
been broken by the Empire. He picked up the sword - crafted by his
own hands - that laid at Koro's side.

	"Akfek..." Koro whispered in his sleep.