Fates Unbound: Across The All-Realm

Chapter 4: Doves & Crows

An excerpt from The Studies of Dark & Light
Translated by the wise masters at the Academy of Mystic Studies

When the night ends and a new day dawns
Betwixt threads of light dancing the horizon
Fiery eyes gazing from above
True strength can be found
Glory beyond man's grasp
Power at the start and end of life
Her name is Darkness
Behold Divinity.

"What does she do in there all day," Alden began to wonder aloud. He'd been staring at the door to the second mate's quarters for a while now, in thought. Princess Juniata had sequestered herself to the space since convincing them her wild story was in fact the truth.

"Staying away from the boat load of woman-starved fucks wanking off on the boat day and night, I suppose. Or sleeping." Lor interjected, offering a crass but honest answer. Alden would have rolled his eyes if they weren't so dry from the warm sea breeze.
The night of the raid, after the bloody chaos settled, Lor demanded answers from the fugitive princess. She'd explained that while walking the halls of Castle Greyhome, she'd overheard a conversation coming from a wedding guest's quarters. Whispers involving a plot on her own life. When asked why she simply didn't return home or tell the king what she'd heard,  she divulged that the conversation had taken place between the king himself, and a counselman she recognized from her father's court. Believing a return home would prove fatal, she sought a sanctuary away from King Wallis' reach and her father's. Such sanctuary could be found somewhere in Father's Mistress, according to the young princess. A place where she could disappear forever, with no harm to befall her.

Lor wandered back and forth between the railing and the table, upon which lay a map and a moonstone atop a bronze stand. "You said we were close. We don't look fucking close!" He'd begun to lose his temper at the man hunched over the table. Hands up defensively, the anxious fellow defended himself.

"I've never sailed here before, but if the moonstone says we're close, then we're close." Lor stomped over to the map and squinted at the paper. There, a faint dot of light highlighted a singular spot on the map. Sure enough, there was that famously shaped island nearby the dot that was meant to be them. He looked around once more and scoffed when nothing but blue greeted his eyes.

"How does this thing use moonlight in the daytime anyways. This is stupid. You've got us lost." He shouted at Mars, the only navigator who managed to live through the raide. His composure began to crumble for the first of what would surely be many times that day.

"I think that's land!" Alden shouted, pointing toward the fog ridden horizon. Lor pulled a monocular from his side, extending it and then putting it to his eye. He swept his gaze from left to right and then back again, shaking his head.

"Sorry, I thought it was," Alden apologized, slumping down beside a rain barrel. The blouse he'd tied around his head did little to ease the discomfort of the unrelenting sun's heat. His shoulders were red and stung to the touch. He clenched tired fists, fingers growing rough with calluses. Lor had wasted no time putting him to work once they'd taken hold of the ship. He'd barely had time to even touch his book as he spent his hours hoisting sails, moving cargo, and attempting to catch something resemblant of a fish. The best he'd managed to haul in was a large cluster of grass pearls which the crew gratefully added to their pot of stew for the day. Time at sea certainly left him a bit battered.

"I thought you said you sailed with your father once upon a time? You can't tell land from fog and sea?" Alden shut his eyes, shrugging. Sure he had spent many days on his father's trading vessel, but he'd been young. Many seasons had passed since he'd last stood beside Alwin at the bow of a ship. "We should have reached something by now, we've been following that damned dot for as long as I can stand it. I think Mars is lying to me. Hell, I'm starting to doubt the existence of Father's Mistress. A land of bullshit if you ask me." Suddenly something wet plopped down onto Lor's head. A slimy white line of gull poop rolled down his balding scalp. He slowly wiped the mess from his head, his mouth first crinkled in disgust, and then broadened into a smile.