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25th Day in the 4th of Ründ’s Months, Dry Season, in the First Year of King Feyaz’s Reign, 126th Reckoned Year

…There are those with the sea in their eyes and the wind in their hearts. They breathe the sun and speak the language of ships. They stand in the deep and swim through the shallows. Their name is earned and cannot be given, it is felt more than it is spoken. These are those that we call Captains, and to them we say, ‘May the Saints fill your sails and the sea find your star.’

From ‘Christening Speech’ for the first King’s Fist, delivered by High Priest Lombit, transcribed by Scribe Yuldo-Lan in the Unreckoned Years

Both the King’s Haul and The Painful Lady bob gently on the surface of the water in the early morning light. They are lashed together using the tether that saved the Haul, preventing the Lady from drifting away due to its lack of anchor. They sailed as conjoined ships far enough away from the Flower to ensure a peace of mind, then they dropped the Haul’s anchor. After consulting his own maps and sextant, Wittkinson ascertained where they are. The Flower appears to have spat them out into the Slick Sea, home of the red whale and the Broadfell Navy. The Kingdom of Dintash is closely allied with Broadfell, so Wittkinson isn’t concerned about being in foreign waters. He is, however, distraught over not only having been delayed in reaching the Royal Mass, but also becoming farther from it than a few days prior. When Chapel boarded The Painful Lady last night, he was told the news of Harlan’s death. It was the first time Petsune saw him cry, and it made Pet feel guilty for not being more upset by the news. Once they lashed the two ships together to sleep for the night, Chapel held a small funeral by the light of the second Saint’s moon, and Pet carried out the rites that he had seen Father Haltur enact a few times before. He said some words he wasn’t sure were true for him; about losing a family member and friend, and so on. They each tied a deadweight to Harlan’s spear, and let it sink ceremoniously off the side of the Lady. It was a bittersweet night of reunions and grief, and Chapel was grateful to Wittkinson for giving them time to mourn and rest before striking out again.

Petsune fell asleep as soon as he laid his head down, but now that he is awake, he recalls a fitful rest. His dreams were strange and elusive, yet familiar. He remembers standing alone in a strange building yet feeling like he should know the place. Standing in front of him was an ageless man dressed in ragged cloaks and a crafty smile. He spoke, but his mouth did not move. “They have stolen from you, Son of Hope.”

A soft, cold breeze blew through the room and suddenly Pet was deep underwater, sinking. Above him, silhouetted against a cobbler’s moon, was a featureless woman, familiar yet unknown. She had no features but was instead a surface of changing light and shadows. She too spoke into his mind. “They have changed the story, Son of Hope.”

Pet looked below him into the very depths, and the darkness seemed to crawl and move. The movement wasn’t the ground, but a passing deepfoot, unbelievably colossal. The sheer size of its shell made it seem like the very ocean floor was moving. A low throaty rumble sounded from the ancient and mythical deepfoot, echoing through the primordial sea, reverberating through Petsune’s bones. It was like the sound a groaning ship’s hull makes, but infinitely deeper and louder. When Pet looked back up, the woman was gone, and he was suddenly on an empty floating mass. This time in front of Pet was a wizened old man, his back bent with age and his dress ornamental and glowing. More words sounded inside Pet’s head. “They have bent the truth, Son of Hope.”

The old man pointed a gnarled finger behind Pet, where he saw the ocean. A storm flashed and cracked overhead, and the waters roiled. Time seemed to freeze then, and the waves stopped moving. The woman of darkness and stars appeared on the frozen surface then, reaching below the water with her pale hand. She pulled out a figure from the depths and began leading them away, out across the impermeable water. Petsune could be wrong, but he thought it was Harlan. She sent the figure on without her, turning to speak into Petsune’s soul. “They have ended their faith, Son of Hope.” And that’s all he remembers before waking up.

Petsune emerges from the crew quarters, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The Saint’s sun is only half above the horizon, and it shines a blinding pink light across the water from the East. Shushilah is already awake, staring out at the first sunrise and the light glittering off the sea. Petsune approaches and asks Shush, “Have you seen the Captain?”

“Which one? They are all on the Haul, I’m thinking. Plotting a course, yes?”

“You have some medical background, don’t you?”

“Ah, yes. A little bit, from my father.”

“Would you mind coming with me to check on the injured soldiers?”

“Of course, Pet. Of course. Will be keeping me busy, I’m thinking.”

Petsune does a casual sweep about the Lady looking for Chapel, all while ruminating on his strange dream. When he doesn’t find the Captain aboard the Lady, he and Shush decide to check aboard the King’s Haul. When they step off the gangway, they are greeted by Bungle and Tussle. “What are you two deviants doing over here?” Pet says. But they scamper off dragging a worn leather boot. Most of the soldiers seem to be sleeping while they are allowed. Pet hears voices coming from Officer Wittkinson’s quarters, so the two of them begin walking that way. Petsune’s mind swirls with thoughts and emotions, but he is certain everyone else feels the same way.

Chapel, Wittkinson, and Mavis are all in the captain's quarters of the King’s Haul discussing what to do. Petsune and Shushilah enter the room, but they don’t interrupt the conversation, instead heading to the two injured soldiers set up near the stern. Chapel continues speaking. “Well, we could sail to the west, around the Flower, but my ship emptied it’s stores before leaving the Misty Shoals. We’ll run out of food before we reach another Mass.”

Wittkinson speaks up, “There is no Dintish Mass or Fellbin Post between here and the Royal Mass. The nearest one is Red Post, north of here, in Fellbin Bay.”

Mavis doesn’t speak, instead he seems to try to keep himself from saying anything, so Chapel responds. “What if you let us go to Red Post to resupply, then we met you at Dintash Mass?” Wittkinson looks about to object, so Chapel preempts his argument. “If we don’t show up within three days of you, you can have us branded enemies of the crown — put a bounty on us.”

Mavis speaks up in a heated growl, unable to contain himself any longer. “We saved your life, Officer. But you’ve already cost us one of ours.”

Chapel defends Wittkinson, “This isn’t his fault Mavis, he —”

“Yes it is! It is. He insisted we tempt the Flower, pushed for this route, and against my better judgment, I followed. Maybe if I hadn’t…”

Wittkinson looks away in a wince, feeling the stinging truth of Mavis’s comment. Chapel pats Mavis on the shoulder and tells him to get some fresh air, so Petsune walks out of the cabin with him. Chapel looks back to Wittkinson. “I’m sorry, he and Harlan —“

“It’s alright,” Wittkinson says coldly, “He’s right. It was my decision.”

Wittkinson stays quiet, then Chapel speaks. “We will stay with you. We can share rations, or fish along the way. We’ll figure out something.”

“Are you certain?” Wittkinson replies, surprised at Chapel’s statement.

“Yeah. I need to get to Dintash Mass as urgently as you, but for different reasons.” Chapel gives Wittkinson a soft smile, much more reserved than his usual self, then he nods to Shushilah and walks out of the cabin.

Petsune and Mavis are standing at the portside railing, though they don’t seem to be speaking. Chapel joins them without saying a word. Mavis is the first to speak. “It just doesn’t seem right, Captain.”

“I know.” Chapel says.

“We’ve never lost a crew member before. I’d forgotten what it’s like…”

Petsune hesitantly speaks up. “I… I had a thought earlier.”

Chapel glances to Pet. “Well? What was it?”

Petsune sees that the normally jovial air of Chapel has been beaten down, or subdued and it saddens him. He speaks somewhat hesitatingly, “If this is the first time you’ve… lost someone, maybe we ought to get the crew together and talk about — for Sprig’s sake. He’s bound to take this hard, and he hasn’t worked through this process before.” No one speaks for a few moments, so Petsune hastily adds, “I don’t know, I just thought maybe we should talk it through. That’s what we did in the Order, and it seemed to help…”

Mavis sniffs quietly and says, “I’d do it for Sprig.”

Chapel seems to think about the idea for a moment before speaking. “I think it’s a good idea, Pet. Not just for Sprig, but for all of us. Plus, there’s something I wanna talk to everyone about.”

Petsune raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask any further questions. Mavis straightens up from leaning on the railing, discreetly wiping his eye. “Right. Well, I’ll go gather the crew. Where do you want us, Captain?”

“Thanks, Mavis. Let’s do the captain's quarters. I’ll be there in a bit.”

Mavis says, “Aye, aye, Captain.” then walks off toward the gangway linking the ships.

Petsune waits a moment with Chapel, silently watching the light on the ripples in the sea. The Saint’s sun has risen and begun casting a blinding light across the water, causing oily rainbows to appear on the surface and reflect in shapeless patterns. Petsune senses that Chapel wants a moment to himself, so he walks back over to The Painful Lady. Chapel is left alone at the railing for a few minutes before the soldiers rise. He watches the streaks of pinkish rainbows in the red whale oil on the surface of the calm sea. He sees a small rockshell turtle swimming by, only about 15 feet across, it’s shell refulgent in the light. Seeing the creature makes Chapel seem to decide something internally. He then walks back over to the Lady as the first few soldiers begin waking. He passes by Bungle and Tussle having a tug-of-war match with some nondescript item. Chapel whistles and they both drop the item they were shredding, bounding along behind him toward the captain's quarters. Chapel opens the door and finds the crew in the middle of various activities, some mirthful but most are subdued. Bor is positioning a tray of sweetbread and grapples; Cheese is devouring an enormous hunk of whale fruit and sitting on Chapel’s table; Mavis, the Big Man, and Shushilah are all sitting in the chairs around the table, staring off at nothing. Petsune is looking at the map on the wall.

For a second after Chapel enters the cabin, he can see Sprig sitting under the table staring at the floor. It twists Chapel’s insides to see, until Bungle and Tussle charge into the room and bowl over the only thing on a level playing field. Sprig is pushed over by sniffs and licks and seems the slightest bit cheered up. Chapel stands for a second before speaking. “Alright. Family meeting. There’re some things I want to tell all of you and I wanted to open it up for everybody to have the chance at speaking.”

Everyone is attentive as Chapel begins. “I realized something while I was aboard the Haul: I haven’t been a very good captain.”

When Chapel says this, there is an immediate disquiet, but only General Tar speaks up. “Now, just wait a drowning minute. You’ve been a fine Captain and —”

“No,” Chapel says, and the General quiets, “no, I haven’t been. I’ve been a decent friend, maybe, but not a great leader.”

The General doesn’t say anything this time. Petsune feels his opinion of Chapel increase rather than decrease. Chapel finishes speaking. “I’ve been avoiding my responsibility because it scares me. I don’t want to become my father… but from now on, I will do better. I will be your captain, if you’ll have me.”

Everyone stands one at a time, giving forceful Aye’s until Sprig is the last one left sitting on the floor. Chapel crouches down with one hand on the table, staring at Sprig until he looks up. Both Bungle and Tussle are huddled under each arm, staring up at Sprig. When he looks up at Chapel, his youthful eyes are quivering with unspent tears. Sprig simply chokes out, “But it was my fault…” Chapel pulls him out into a hug and soothes him.

The rest of the crew is there in a blink, each squeezing Chapel and Sprig, until the Big Man gives them all a tight squish. Chapel speaks softly to Sprig. “It was not your fault, Sprig. It wasn’t. Mavis told me what happened. You were doing a good thing, trying to help these two,” Chapel pats Bungle and Tussle’s heads, “Harlan cared so much for you, why do you think he was always keeping an eye on you? He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he didn’t do everything in his power to save you.”

Mavis speaks to Sprig then, with a hitch in his voice. “An he wouldn’t have wanted you to feel responsible, lad. He was proud, and he chose to do what he did.”

Sprig sniffs loudly and wipes his face on his sleeve, which Bungle begins licking at. Chapel let’s go of Sprig and everyone returns to their place. It becomes quiet, and a slight tension begins to creep into the room. Petsune breaks the silence and the tension ebbs. “I also have something I want to say. It’s not really related, or at least not directly, and I’m sorry I haven’t told anyone really until now, though some of you know already, and I just, um, I wanted to uh —”

Shushilah cuts off Petsune with a reaffirming word. “Is okay, Pet. Take your time.”

Petsune breathes out a long sigh then tries speaking again. “I wanted to tell all of you this, but was afraid you would treat me differently. I know I was wrong to think that. I wanted to tell all of you that I am Coldor… but it’s more than that.” Pet pauses briefly, then says it at last, “I’m the heir to the Cleave. My parents were responsible for the North War.”

There are shocked murmurs and a few wide eyes. The Big Man speaks softly. “Oh, little Pet. I am so… so sorry. You must be feeling many things since the proclamation of war against your people.”

Petsune isn't surprised at the reaction, and yet there is a noticeable feeling of relief that accompanies speaking the truth. He knows these people, he thinks of them as family, and yet part of him still wondered what they would say.

Petsune wipes tears from his eyes and speaks through a wide smile. “Thank you, Benafield. That means a lot.” The Big Man walks over and squeezes Petsune in a tight hug, and Pet feels as though he is being juiced. Perhaps it is just Pet, but the room seems to radiate a sense of bonding, everyone drawing in closer emotionally. When Benafield releases Petsune from his intense hug, he doesn’t walk away. Instead, he searches deep in Petsune’s eyes, and they seem to plumb the depths of each other's souls. The Big Man speaks softly, but in the low soothing rumble of his Fellbin voice. “Belief is no excuse for hate…”

Yet when he says this, Petsune feels as though he sees a smoldering hatred in his eyes. There is a deep-seated hurt there that Petsune empathizes with and wishes he could explore, but now isn’t the time or place. Chapel speaks to the room in a clear voice. “Well, alright. I think that’s about it. From here, we’ll sail south across the Dead Ships and arrive at the Royal Mass around the same time as the rains.”

Cheese speaks up from the side of the cabin. “Aye, that ain’t it? What we doin’ to help Pet? In case you forgot, there’s a war gonna happen.”

Chapel says, “Well, we’re doing the only thing I could think to do. Trying to stop the war. If I can convince my father to talk to King Feyaz, maybe we can help that way.”

Chapel seems to hear how fragile his plan is, and he twists his mouth in debate. The General speaks next, though he seems hesitant. “But… if the Coldor truly did kill Bornidin the Young, would the Dintish not be justified in seeking retribution and such? I don’t mean to blame your people, Pet, I’m merely trying to voice both sides — Vésh’s advocate and all. Ahh, wait — I’m sorry, Pet. You must forgive an old goat his missteps.”

Petsune nods in appreciation for the consideration and gives The General a smile showing there’s no harm done. Shushilah responds to The General’s concern. “And why start the fighting again now? They started the North War, and now they are starting another, I’m thinking. What has changed? Is a good question to be thinking about.”

Chapel appears to be done with his internal debating and he speaks again. “I think… there may not be a simple answer, but regardless. Whatever we can do to help Petsune directly, I think we will all agree is a worthy action.”

The entire crew murmurs in assent.

The family meeting becomes a mingling of conversations as Chapel walks toward Petsune. The Captain motions him aside and says in a quieter voice. “I wanted to tell you one other thing, something that I have failed to say a few times now. You just showed a lot of courage, and I think I owe you the same.”

“Okay?” Petsune says hesitantly.

“See, I knew a lot about you before we met. I told you how your mother died, ending the North War. But I never said how I knew a baby was taken when she was killed.”

Petsune knows it before he says it, and it still feels like a deadweight that was dropped onto his chest. Chapel appears despondent when he looks at Pet. “My father is the one who killed her. He ended the North War, though at the time, he would’ve preferred to continue his… campaign.”

It seems to pain him when the Captain says it, but Petsune is surprised to find it doesn’t hurt him. Instead, he says, “What happened? Why’d he stop?”

“King Bornidin the Young called the navy to return. The Oullman was all too happy to end the fighting after the previous leader died in the war. Fellpost HelBenledore was going to surround Coldor from the north while Dintash attacked from the south, but he was forced to withdraw as well. King Bornidin the Young had already lost his father in the war, so I guess he felt that Dintash had given enough.”

“I see… War does tend to take from all sides,” Petsune says, “but I feel as though I gained something too.”Chapel looks up, surprised, and Petsune lays a hand on Chapel’s shoulder. He speaks comfortingly. “I never would’ve met all of you. And despite what you might think, you’re not your father, Chapel.” The Captain looks at Pet for a moment, then bows his head in recognition of Pet’s sagacious insight.

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