How Levi’s travels started was not something he was proud of. In his youth, Levi was involved in the slave trade. It did not bother him at first, for it was a common practice. The people were not even considered people, merely cattle to be bought and sold. Over the years though, his mind changed. Unlike his peers, he began to see the slaves as people and not cattle. They were people with families and a will to survive. However unlikely as it may have seemed, Levi became a humanist. In some form of penitence he decided to devote himself to aid humanity.
There was a downside to aiding humanity: sometimes it came at a price. At the moment, there was quite a bounty on Levi’s head. He aided and abetted the escape of slaves, which was something their ‘masters’ were not exactly pleased with. Forced into hiding, there was little the land had little to offer him. He felt like his carefully honed skills were atrophying.
There were great changes afoot that would affect Levi’s life forever. The human race was slowly making its way across the sea. There were rumors of new and different cultures, creatures, and even treasure. With his mobility on land hindered, it only seemed natural that he would turn to the open sea.
The freedom which the sea offered did come with a price. The pirate ship Levi found himself on was absolutely dreadful. Not to say he was not appreciative for the opportunity, he just wished he had paid less for it. He could not fathom how people could merrily live in filth. Much to the surprise of the crew on board, Levi had made it his mission to clean the entire ship from top to bottom. It was a shame he could not get the others on the ship to follow his lead. Not that he expected them to aid him, but any sort of attempt at cleanliness would have been appreciated.
Life on the ship became so tedious, Levi almost wished he would have stayed on land. As the months went by Levi slipped into a routine. Just like any other day, he was polishing his sword when a commotion started on board; he found himself more annoyed than interested. That was until he heard an unfamiliar voice saying, ‘Turn back this instant!’ Whatever it was was a break from the monotony, so he decided to see from himself.
It was man, no a boy that was half fish that was causing the commotion. He had taken it upon himself to be a harbinger. The perils that the boy-fish cried out did not seem to resonant with his traveling companions who continued straight for him. If they did head into trouble Levi knew he would survive, but he would most likely end up injured saving this lot. They may have not been pillars of the community, but they had the balls to travel into the unknown. That was worth something, he thought.
As the men got closer to the boy-fish, they began to change. The captain seemed to have the brilliant idea to capture the creature. Something Levi wanted nothing to do with it, in fact he was quite against it. For it seemed sentient and non-threating. The way the creature called sailors away showed compassion. So in a sense one could say it possessed humanity; a trait which the sailors were quickly losing.
The frenzy in which the sailors attempted to capture it almost started Levi. They were acting like starved animals that just got tossed a turkey leg. They tossed a net over the boy-fish. “Fuckin’ little shits.” It sickened him to see his fellow humans act like mindless monsters. If they were going to act like monsters, he would treat them as such.
Just as the sailors were about to capture the fish-boy, Levi sprang into action. He almost seemed to fly as he cut down and knock out the men in his was. “Goddamnit,” he groaned as glanced the blood that stained the wood panels. He hated to waste time, and due to their greed his cleaning was for naught. It did not take him long to injured or kill a majority of those on deck. With one final slash on the back of the captain’s neck he slid down the rope to the net.
As Levi reached the boy-fish he cut the open the net. “You better have been worth all that bullshit…” His left hand still hung onto the rope. “Is land nearby? Or am I going to have to take on the annoyin’ task of taking this entire ship?”