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Saturday 2 June 2018

Episode I - XIII A Vengeance of Water (Shard I)



A Blood-soaked Legacy


XIII
A Vengeance of Water
(Shard I)


Tyverus opened his eyes into a darkness that surrounded him. As his senses came back to the world of the living from the depths of slumber, he could feel a mass of furs covering his legs and the pitched rocking of waves. The sounds of snoring mixed with the groans of wood with each wave that struck the hull of the ship.

He pushed the furs away and swiveled his legs over the side of the bed. The sounds of snoring sailors and Bhergom’s nasal whistling were all around him. Tyverus lifted his hand up and snapped his fingers to summon sparks from the air. With each snap, tiny embers came to life allowing him to see all the other beds and hammocks around him. Several metal lanterns chained to the roof of the hold swayed with each wave. The candles within had burnt themselves out a long time ago.

All around him, every hammock or bed was occupied by members of the expedition or the crew of the ship they had commissioned, that is all but the bed beside Tyverus’. A moment of concern washed over him as he stood up and ensured his breeches were tied secure. He let one of his hands run over the metal mantle branded into his exposed chest. He reached beside his pillow to pick up an old tunic and pulled it over his body to cover the metal and his exposed flesh. Next, he grabbed one of his wolf fur coats he had draped over the end of his bed for warmth.

The waves striking the hull of the ship didn’t affect him much as he made his way from the hold up to the midship. He was used to being on ships that had taken him to many of the battles he had seen in his short life. He made his way up the wooden stairs to the midship and grasped a nearby ladder to get up on to the deck. All around him the ship swayed in the water. Any crew manning the night-shift were practically invisible in their duties if they weren’t already asleep in the hold below.

As he opened the hatch to the deck, the chilled northern wind blew into his face and made him shudder for a moment. He pulled himself up onto the worn wood deck and made his way to the aft castle. He didn’t know where Isilda had gotten to, but she would suffer the cold out here if she was on deck.

“You can’t sleep either?” The now familiar and soothing sound of the young oracle came to Tyverus’ ears from behind him. He turned to see her pressing her back against the wall of the castle, with her arms stretched out and gripping at the wood frames on either side of her. “I don’t know if it’s just my nerves or all this damned rocking.”

“Nerves?” Tyverus walked towards Isilda and leaned against a nearby door-frame. “Don’t you want to go back down to the hold? You’ll catch your death out here.” Tyverus looked her up and down, seeing her barefoot and wearing nothing more than a nightgown covered by loose-fitting robes.

“I can’t be down there right now. I need to be up here and see the waves with my own eyes.” Isilda pushed her chin out to point at the dark mass of water around the ship barely visible over the deck. “As for the nerves, well, we’re almost there and I’m a little excited.”

“Oerstav Caelii.” Tyverus remarked rhetorically and looked to his right over the bow of the ship. “How can you see any of the waves when you’re hidden over here by the aft castle?” Tyverus leaned away from the wood with his arms crossed and looked around the deck nearby. “I can’t see anything from here. Don’t you want to move the rail to see?”

“No.” Isilda shook her head. “I’m afraid of falling overboard. The waves are too much for me.” She paused and sighed. “Well, I might not be able to see the waves, but I can see the stars, okay?”

Tyverus gave a chuckle and pushed from the door-frame to stand astride on the deck. The ship rocked and pitched beneath his feet but he kept still. He looked back to Isilda and then pressed toward the nearby port railing. He grasped onto the wood and raised an arm back to Isilda.

“No way.” Isilda shook her head vehemently and then stared down at her feet. Her nails dug into the wood around her. Her left foot slipped on the deck when one large wave tossed the boat but she caught herself.

“It’s fine. I’m here to catch you. You won’t go over as long as I’m here.” Tyverus smiled confidently back to Isilda and pushed his arm towards her a bit more. With his other hand, he patted the railing like it was a skittish horse. “I’m a knight, I know how these things work.”

“The waves are too much.” Isilda let go of one of the frames to clutch at her chest and then quickly grabbed the frame again. “The deck is icy over there, too. I trust you, I really do, but…” She trailed off and looked up at the sky above. “I’m from the desert, we don’t have ships like this and we certainly don’t have waves for that matter. I’m afraid.”

Tyverus felt the ship dip hard to port and saw a wave crash against the hull, sending spray over the deck. He pursed his lips and let his outstretched arm drop. He didn’t want to force the young oracle into anything if she would be fearful of it and there wasn’t much to do about the waves. He wanted to help ease her nerves and show her that the water below wasn’t as frightening as she thought, none of the elements were.

“I have an idea.” Tyverus raised his eyes to stare at Isilda. Her green eyes shone back at him expectantly. “Would you come over here if the waves stopped?”

Isilda gave out an incredulous laugh and turned her face from Tyverus. “Yeah, sure. If the gods came down and quelled the entire Heartsblood Sea, I’d gladly go over there.” She smiled and looked back to Tyverus. A shock of her golden hair flew over her face on the wind. “Good luck with that.”

Tyverus grinned at her words and lifted his arms up over his head. “Well, then let’s see if I can call down the gods.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on his elemental energies. He reached out to the sea around the ship and let his consciousness meld with it. He thought of the feelings that were building up in him concerning Isilda and the soothing presence she provided him. That same soothing and serene feeling he sent out to the sea. After a few smaller waves caressed the hull the ship ceased its pitching.

Isilda gasped and then slapped one of her palms on the wooden frame beside her. “No. It’s just a calm. The waves will start up again.” She muttered to herself under her breath. She reached out a foot from her place of safety to touch her toe upon the distant wood. “No way.”

“It is done.” Tyverus opened his eyes and looked back to her. “I have summoned the gods and quelled the sea.” The ship remained perfectly still despite the sounds of distant waves crashing against each other. He stepped away from the railing defiantly and kept his arms raised to his sides.

“You’re joking.” Isilda took a few steps away from the door-frame and then quickly ran back. She patted on the wood with one of her feet and then took another furtive step away from the frame. “Is this another of your pranks? You got me three times now since we left Morrthault City.”

“No pranks. Come see for yourself.” Tyverus let his arms drop and patted the rail beside him once more. “Everything is safe, no more waves.”

Isilda took another cautious step and then ran at Tyverus. She stopped on her heels and grabbed onto the railing like a falling climber might grab onto their last bits of rope. Taking advantage of her momentum, Tyverus pulled his fur coat from his shoulders and caught her in it, draping it over hers so that she might be warm. She looked at the water quickly, and then back up to Tyverus. Concern marred the beautiful features of her face. She tucked the warm fur around her and smiled up at him with thanks.

“You’re glowing.” Her remark was flat. She cocked one of her eyebrows up and lifted a hand to pat the tunic Tyverus wore. He looked down to see that his mantle was glowing a soft blue from beneath his clothes. Isilda turned away and looked back out to the water.

All around the boat the sea was completely calm. The black surface was like a dark mirror reflecting the light of the stars and the glowing white of Ishep on the starboard horizon. A hundred feet from the boat on all sides, waves crashed and spilled over the glass-like surface of calm water. Beyond that barrier, the world resumed its usual chaotic dance, uninterested and entirely blind to this bubble of serenity.

“I heard that the Guardian Knights of Morrthal could command the elements, but I never thought it was like this.” Isilda kept her eyes on the ocean around her. Getting braver with each moment, she leaned slightly over the rail to look at the water below. “I heard the stories about the devastation they caused. That they violently stole the powers of the elementals away. Tales about wars and bloodshed.”

“In some respects, the tales you were told were true.” Tyverus leaned forward to see what Isilda saw of the sea. He lifted his head to look her in the eye for a moment. “We are all trained as warriors. We don’t work with the elementals like those druids in Fyrrantha. We command the elements directly.” He paused for a moment, as some old memory gnawed at him. “I wish we were more peaceful with our arts, but we serve a vital purpose to the Hoelatha people. We are their defenders, and to defend things, sometimes we have to resort to war.”

Isilda bit her lip and gave a little puff of air. “Well, at least I can see now that this particular knight isn’t all war and duty.” She gave a sheepish sort of grin and went back to looking at the water with fascination. “I suppose even powers meant to destroy can create things that are beautiful.”

Tyverus felt his heart skip a beat and he neared Isilda by a step. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but he didn’t know if that would be too forward. He was duty-bound to protect her, and her master, by the Paladarc of his legion. He didn’t want to muddy the waters between them in case she rejected his feelings. He knew it would be hard for her to trust him to protect her if she wondered if he would keep pressing himself on her.

“The Scintillating Crown of the World is strong tonight.” Isilda pointed up to the northern sky ahead of the ship. Ribbons of green, orange, and purple flowed over the northern center of the world-plane high above the concerns of the mere mortals below. “Do you know about the significance of those lights?”

Tyverus turned to look at the slowly moving ribbons of glowing energy. “Not really. I remember hearing stories when I was still a child.” He paused and took in a sharp, cold breath. “I’ve seen them so much on the fields of battle. I remember they shone brightly during the Battle of the Wounded Wolf a year ago. I guess I never really bothered to think about them.”

Isilda made another little puff of air and continued on. “Well, they are a very important part of the world. It is said that they flow in a ring around the northern center of Aelth Myrris.” She let her hand slide down the weathered wood of the railing near to Tyverus’ hand. “It is said that within those ribbons of light are portals and conduits to one of the realms of the gods.”

“Which god?” Tyverus continued to look up at the lights gliding among the twinkling stars high above the clouds and mists of the northern lands. His mind began to wonder if it was a god of war that looked down upon the slaughter of knights and would-be conquerors here on the world. What god was it that watched his friends die at the hands of bloodthirsty savages.

“Nesharr.” Isilda’s voice cut through Tyverus’ thoughts with a matter-of-fact tone. “He is the god of visions. He is the one who graced the first oracles with their sight when our ancestors fled their old world for this one.”

“Nesharr?” Tyverus contemplated the name for a moment. “That sounds similar to the name of the ruins you and Bhergom want to go to. Wasn’t that once a city on Oerstav Caelli?”

“Yep.” Isilda pivoted from heel to toe and smiled at Tyverus. “It is said that Neshran was where Nesharr came to earth, from his realm in those ribbons, and he graced the first Morthavi survivors with the arts of Haeth. That was before the Morthavi faded away, but those who rebuilt society and called us Hoelatha did the same.”

“So your order was gifted by one of the gods?” Tyverus gave a chuckle. “Must be nice to have the sanction of such high beings.”

“I take it you’re not a believer in the gods? Have you not seen their works in your life? Look at those lights there. Look at the stars in the sky. Look at the waves crashing around us. The beauty of the world comes from them.”


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