The Stormborn Saga Page 3

  Valrin finished his coffee and thought of Edanos’ question. He knew what he wanted to do, but he wondered if it was too soon or too forward. It wasn't something the captain had suggested. He stood up and decided to see if it was possible.

  "Can I steer the ship?"

  The captain smiled. "I would like nothing better."

  They exited the Captain’s Quarters, and Valrin looked out across the ocean as they ascended the stairwells to the upper deck. The sea was vast and empty, a light blue in all directions, with a bright sun that was floating lower in the sky. Rortho had the helm of the ship and gave it up to Edanos as he approached.

  "Valrin, come here."

  He went up to the wheel and placed his hands on the wood.

  "A ship should be a part of you," Edanos began. "When you feel the rock of the waves and your weight shift from one boot to the next, you enjoy it and imagine the ship as your body and your body upon the sea itself. When you change course, it should feel as if you are simply moving over the surface with ease."

  Valrin could feel the tug of the rudder, and then shifted the wheel to his left, sending the ship to his right in a lunge.

  "Easy," Edanos told him. "Keep it straight for now."

  He shifted the ship back the other way and, this time, did it with grace.

  "Good," Edanos said.

  He looked down at the crew moving on the deck below. Some worked on ropes, others sharpened spears and swords, while watchers looked out from the deck for other ships.

  He then looked up into the sails. They were a mix of patchwork and different colors. The masts had marks from flames, and even a few arrows stuck in parts of the ropes. A flag was at the very top of the masts. It was dark blue with no adornments.

  "We fly the flag that is the color of our life-giving force. By our, I mean we, as Stormborn. The ocean is our life. We come from it, and we will, in time, return to it."

  Braei, the Rusis woman, joined them now. She came from below decks and held a bag of tobacco.

  "We are running out," she said.

  She began to scrape out a black pipe before packing the bowl and lighting it with a small firestick from a brazier at the aft of the ship.

  "We will get more," said Edanos.

  "You take us north. Where might we go to get something like that?"

  "Merea," he told her.

  She looked at him in surprise that even Valrin noticed as he glanced back.

  "Then you have told him? You mean to go through with it?"

  "We did not survive the night before to pass on this chance. He knows of the secret. He is excited about it."

  Rortho now took out his own pipe. He packed it and began to smoke almost as quickly as he had grabbed the pipe.

  "My kin will figure out that we are up to something. Before, we guarded the migrating humpback whales, and now we abruptly go north. He knows you have the amulet."

  "I do not have the amulet; the boy does. I will not take from him what is not mine."

  "Do you know what power you could give up?" Braei asked.

  "No, I do not. Neither do you nor do you know exactly what will happen before we can get there. We will go to Merea and speak with one who can guide us. I know this isn't exactly what we planned, but I need to face that I may never get my own back. The boy came to our lives by the will of the gods. We will not spit upon their workings."

  Valrin continued to hold the wheel. It was obvious that the two main crewmembers of the captain were a bit perturbed by his decision involving himself. He didn't understand why, but for now, he knew it wasn't his place.

  Though she was a bit abrasive, Braei offered to take him below deck. Rortho took the wheel again, and Edanos was to retire to his cabin for some time. He followed her across the deck and into the belly of the ship.

  The crew area was tight quarters compared to that where Valrin had slept.

  "Our crew changes frequently. Normally law breakers or some just trying to get away from their problems. We even have dwarves of Rugag. They were left on an island to freeze to death, and while I was okay with it, Edanos seems to not be able to do what is needed."

  "Isn't it good he helped them?" Valrin asked.

  She laughed uncomfortably. "You are young, innocent in the world. I do not doubt my captain, but I would have left them to die. Dwarves, at least in these parts, are not the type you help. Rortho has been friends with Edanos since Edanos was your age. He is the only dwarf this Rusis trusts."

  "What about you? How did you join the crew?"

  "I was rescued by him from a southern vessel that came to attempt to find ‘exotic’ slaves. If you can believe it, even Rugag's fleet helped Edanos in the effort to protect the northern waters. I was very young, and the only memory I have is of men wearing red garbs shouting and dying around me. Edanos pulled me from a cell and said I did not need to fear. That was twelve years ago."

  "So how old are you?"

  She laughed. "Old enough to tell you that you're asking too many questions now!"

  She led him to another area of the ship, walking past many stores of food to an area with an assortment of bladed weapons.

  "They may not like it, but you need one. Pick something out; make sure it feels good in your hand."

  He looked over the many curved and straight blades of varying lengths. He picked up a sword but found himself unable to lift it. He pushed it back on its side. He then took an ax in hand, but it felt too sloppy.

  "I don't know. What would you pick?"

  The woman opened her hand, and a small ball of fire illuminated the room. "I need no bladed weapon, but pick one you can at least use and not be tired after your second swing."

  He pulled a curved blade, similar to Edanos'.

  "A scimitar? That will be tiring. Go with a shorter blade for now, like this one.” She pulled a short but polished blade from the rack. “Now, come on, above deck. We will be nearing port soon."

  Back topside, he walked along the deck, touching engraved wood and jumping from the snaps of the sails as the winds shifted. The air upon him was like the icy blows of a winter storm, but he felt invigorated. In the distance, he began to see an island.

  In time, he went to the front of the ship, staring at the outlines of buildings on a snowy and rocky cliff-side town. The port area of the town was actually under a monstrous overhang of the city itself. Atop the massive cliffs was a snow-covered dome of sorts. As they came underneath the city itself, he noticed that the dome actually had a fire burning within it and suspended gardens just visible from the docks, spiraled vines that had frostbitten ends hanging down the cliffs.

  "A wonder of our world," Edanos told him. "Merea grows food for the many regions of the Glacial Seas. It is a place of both wonder and corruption, but it's a free city and not under the influences of Rugag's types."

  "How has it remained unaffected by the Barb king?"

  Edanos pointed above them.

  "Do you see the red crystals growing out of the rock?"

  "I do."

  "Those are marvelous dwarven constructs, back when the dwarves of this region were not as they are now. If danger threatens this small town, the weapons activate, and any ship caught in the water meets an untimely fate."

  "Have you seen it?"

  "No, but the fear of such an action keeps the dwarves far away. We are safe to do our business here, and while the ship is worked on, you and I will go into an older part of the town. Cover your amulet up. We do not want questions before the opportune time."

  The ship moved along the dock and was quickly tied off. They stepped off the ship, and Valrin was careful to bind his cloak around him. The docks themselves were made of stone and had runic etchings on the path they walked.

  "These docks are actually older than you can imagine. The dwarves simply built their buildings above it. The sea people from before were an ancient race, powerful beyond most magic. Their true culture was lost long ago."

  They left the regions of the docks and took a road through tall stone buildings with many people of varying races walking around. Though he had lived his life at sea, Valrin had never seen a person with gills like a fish on their necks.

  He tried not to stare, but it was such an odd sight, he couldn't help it.

  "They are elves crossed with merpeople. Do not stare—they've been known to ink someone. I understand it is not the least pleasant at all!"

  The smell of the salty air was stronger here than the actual sea. Cured fish hung in alleyways that were open to the cold sea breeze. They were walking up a hill, and with each step, Valrin's legs burned. They came to a flat area with many stalls on either side. Edanos went to the stalls and grabbed several different garments, stopping to look at Valrin.

  "I think, um, I guess it’s right."

  He paid the stall keeper and gave the clothes to Valrin.

  "You can dress properly once we get inside the chapel. The woman we meet will keep us waiting. It is what she does. It will give you time to become more comfortable."

  Valrin didn't know where they were going, but he felt that at the very least he would happily put on new clothes.

  They began up a narrow stairwell that wrapped up and around a series of buildings that rose up in an almost badly constructed tower. At last, they came to a single double gate and a long pathway that went over the sea. Edanos opened the gate, and they entered. The pathway actually was open to the sea at just past Valrin's hips. He felt nervous, and he even thought he felt a sway to the stone bridge way with the cruel glacial winds.

  He bound his coat over his head and watched Edanos' feet to lead his path. They came to a large building with a single crystal atop. It had a window, a lone circular lookout that wrapped around one-half of a crowning tower just off center from the crystal.

  Edanos knocked on the door and waited. At least the area they stood in now was shielded from the outside winds.

  "Go ahead, change. It will be a moment."

  He quickly took off his coat and put on the new clothes bought by Edanos. It felt weird wearing something not made from sheep's wool by his aunt. It fit well, though partially tight along his chest.

  "You will get used to it. Floppy clothing makes a poor man. You should look your best, particularly if you are captain of a ship."

  Valrin wasn't a captain, but he valued the guidance from his new friend.

  "It has been some time since I came here. She will wonder of why I have been away. Let me converse with her before you speak."

  The door cracked open.

  "Edanos, you leave me alone too long," a voice said.

  "I come to see you now."

  The door shut. Edanos knocked.

  "I am not here. Go away."

  He knocked again.

  "She is not here. Go away," the same voice said.

  "I really must speak with you," he said into the door.

  "Did you bring me something?"

  "Yes." He shook his head, looking at Valrin. "A new friend."

  "Can I eat it?"

  Valrin closed his eyes and dropped his head.

  "I forgot. She likes a snack. Just, just wait here and don't fall for her crazy stories. She likes to entertain."

  Edanos immediately began into a quick jog, and Valrin had no clue where he was going.

  "So are you human, I guess? Or elf? I normally can smell elves and holy dwarf dung. I know you’re not one of those sea cucumbers. What is your name, Stormborn?"

  How does she know that? he wondered. "Valrin."

  "A name of importance, like Edanos, but better, stronger. Have you ever been to Merea?"

  "Um, no. Never. I came from a small island to the far south."

  "I see. The storms of old blew further than that, but many never awake to their paths. It seems you have. There is much to speak of, but I fear that there is not the time for all to be spoken. We will talk again, after our meeting, at a different time. A time when you will wonder why I said this, but fear not. I do not just babble as some might say."

  It was a few moments later, and Edanos returned.

  "She wasn't babbling on, was she?"

  "I told you," she said from the other side of the door. "Do you have it?"

  Edanos held a fish in his hand.

  "Yes, I have your gift."

  The door creaked open, and Edanos straightened the collar of his jacket. "Come on, and don't touch anything," he warned him.

  The brightness of the outside was a stark contrast to the shadowy interior Valrin found himself in. It was an entryway with multiple candles in tiny recesses in the wall. There was a circular room sunken into the floor ahead down eight steps. The entire room had water flowing in a circle around the floor even though Valrin looked out the window and could see the expanse of the sea. He had no idea where the water was coming from. There were stone pews in a half moon facing a large statue of a mermaid. A fountain was below the statue’s feet, and he heard the voice of the woman again.

  "Feel the power of the Storm Children, together, interwoven in fate and action to seek out the one place they both desire for their destined fates so long ago foretold."

  "Do you intend to game, or will you show the boy your face?"

  "Testy human, we of the merfolk do as we want. Fish. Now."

  "You're not a mermaid," he said plainly, tossing the fish into the water.

  There was a soft laugh through the halls and the sounds of water rushing to and fro around the room. Valrin noticed the water flowed without sense, moving up and around the room and then back down to the pool before the statue. At last, the water all moved toward the statue, moving up its form and then sticking to the stone itself. The stone seemed to come alive for a moment, its eyes glowing brightly, and then a watery figure stepped into the pool. The fish turned to blood and was absorbed by the entity.

  Valrin reached out, and Edanos slapped his hand. "Do not touch the messenger of the god!"

  "Let the messenger decide of whom can touch her," the watery form said.

  The hand reaching out was just as Valrin's, except there was no bone or flesh, just water. He had retracted his hand, but now he took her beckoning and touched her.

  "Of the sea, of the streams, of all that is and was and will be, water, giver, and taker of life in equality of life and death. I am the shroud between this world and the next, and the giver of words from Meredaas to his followers."

  "Meredaas, the god of the seas?"

  He had heard the name before. Aunt Tua had a book about the gods of the North, and he remembered that image.

  "Yes, young Valrin, the great Meredaas, he who, as water, has taken many forms."

  "Are you really he?" Valrin asked.

  The vibration of the water seemed to change and move quickly. The figure laughed. "I am not, but I do like your questioning. I am a sprite of the temple grounds. None come here. None come from the city named after the Great One. So many are lost."

  The figure turned and pointed to Edanos. "I sense it upon him. You bring him to claim the birthrights of all Storm Children?"

  "The dwarves threaten the seas. They attack the free peoples; they bring war and bloodshed to the waters. It was by the will of the gods that I found this boy, and he is headstrong and capable. He has a heart about him, and that is needed to bring peace to these waters."

  "There will be no peace in these waters, but there will be a change. It was foretold and in time will come to pass. The Storm Children must prepare and be ever watchful of that."

  The sprite moved back to the pool before the statue.

  "There is a power in the Glacial Seas. These were once high holy lands of the sea peoples of old before they were known as sea people. Their power is still in the lands, but it is hidden. There is magic here untouched by the dread of the old gods of the South. There is purity, but there is also great evil contained throughout these vast frigid waters. The line between the realms of the living and the realms of the gods blur within the depths both above and below the sea.

  "Valrin of Travaa, you are young and know not of this world, but beneath your shirt, I sense your offering to the god of the sea, a binding contract to protect the waters of the vast seas, to guard the creatures of the ocean, and to contain an old magic within yourself. You are a Stormborn, one of the very few chosen at the formation of your soul and body to take this charge. Do you wish to embrace the path of the god's servant?"

  Valrin wasn't sure, and he looked to Edanos.

  "Have you?" he asked him.

  "Alas, I could not. It is your choice alone, but know there is much to be done by the one who takes this charge. I cannot force you, but I believe you can, as a fellow Stormborn."

  "I will do it," Valrin said.

  He finally felt a purpose, finally something beyond eel traps and desolation. He would embrace what he was born to do, though he still did not fully know what that was.

  The sprite receded into the pool, and there was a grinding sound behind them. The stairwell they had walked down split in two, revealing a doorway.

  Valrin walked forward. Edanos followed behind him. "I have never seen this place in all of the times I have come here."

  They went forward, and Valrin pushed open the doorway. There was a glowing room ahead. It was dark but had a blue hue. As they walked into the dome-like structure, a voice spoke from the walls around them.

  "Stormborn, you seek the path to your birthright. I tell you this alone. Follow the path north of Merea, through the many teeth of the Jagged Glaciers, and enter the fog realms, following the direction of moonrise. There, look for the whales and fish and the shell horn that sounds at dawn. It is upon that place you will find a doorway with a single star. Present your token and pass through. It is there you find what is yours. Complete your binding, and I take you into my house of protection until it is decreed you are to be no more."

  A pedestal rose from the floor, a single crystal.

  "This shall be your light in the fog realms. Only place it upon your ship, and the fogs will not hinder your progression."

  The room then went dark, and the doors behind them opened.