My name is Scealai. My name means 'Fire on the Seas'. So, though I was born of the land, the sea, Shalea, has always been my mother. I have travelled much of this world that we call Domhan.In my travels I have seen many wondrous and inexplicable th...
We sailed predominantly east for nearly 2 weeks, taking advantage of a steady wind and small seas. The crew was in good spirits and the easy sailing allowed for a more social atmosphere on the Dochas. It was a time to get more acquainted with the newer members of the crew, who had joined when we first left Talamh.
It also allowed for more training for all members of the crew, as Belinda and James both trained those interested on the finer aspects of the pistol and long-gun. The best of the best would then be promoted to cannon masters and would be in charge of the 6 cannons, should a need ever arise to use them.
As for myself, I took the time to introduce more of my crew to the bow and arrow while Aingeal passed on her expertise on the art of sabre fighting.
It made me beam with pride to see the lengths that my crew had improved, especially since there was so much negativity from the other Captains of Talamh, as to my choices for crew members. To have a crew almost evenly split between male and female was unheard of, but I based my selections on ability, not gender. And I was convinced I had as good a crew as any that sailed the seas of Domhan and beyond.
Though we had set sail east, after about ten days, Liam had informed me that we had been pushed by the wind on a path that was taking us slightly north. We made adjustments to continue on a true easterly path, but it seemed every time we did, the wind worked against us and continued to push us back toward the north.
We finally accepted our fate and apart from a slight cooling in the temperature, especially at night, we were fortunate enough to continue with a steady wind and small seas.
I was asleep in my cabin when a knock on my door awoke me from a dream filled slumber. It was Frahley informing me that I was needed immediately on deck.
Moments later I was dressed and as I stepped through my cabin door, I was greeted by my entire crew. They had all been awaken to see a sight ahead of us.
"Is it not beautiful, Scealia?" Aingeal gasped.
I had to agree. The sky was alive with what looked like streaks of dancing green lights. My mind immediately went back to the island of the fairies and the amazing green lights of the pond where we had first met Aingeal. I looked at Aingeal's slightly sad face and I was sure her mind was there as well.
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"Reminds me of home," she whispered to me, reconfirming my suspicion of her feelings.
"What is it?" I wondered aloud, hoping someone could answer the question.
A shout from above caused everyone to look in that direction. It was Sean, who was in the crow's nest. "To the west," he yelled over and over.
All eyes went to that direction and we were all amazed at what we saw. Not only were the amazing green lights even more predominant than anywhere else, in the night sky, but what seemed to be a mountain range of some kind, was protruding from the ocean. It looked to be snowcapped and uninhabited.
Liam was at my side. "This is another unknown land mass, Captain. It shows not, on any map."
We could feel the Dochas turning slightly toward the mountains.
"Put us back on course Liam," I ordered. "I do not feel the need for us to go aground here."
Again Sean's voice echoed through the night. "A boat. A boat approaches."
I walked to the railing and strained my eyes. In the darkness of the mountain's shadow, I could make the outline of a small boat. It looked to be a two or three sail ship. Much smaller than ours.
I looked at Liam. "Set course for the ship. They may be in need of our assistance."
Liam hurried off to adjust our course. As he left, I thought I could hear a voice in the distance. I looked at Aingeal. "Do you hear that?"
She nodded. "I believe that is a man's voice. He seems to be calling to us."
Silence fell over the Dochas, as all listened to try and make out the words being said, as Liam changed our course.
A moment later, Frahley joined us. There was a panic in her voice. "He is telling us to turn around. To leave. He is yelling, 'danger'."
"What danger?" The words were no sooner out of my mouth than a sound louder than the loudest thunder crack, echoed across the sea.
"What hell is this?" Frahley gasped.
The mountains suddenly began to rise out of the water. Higher and higher it rose, until it darkened the night with its shadow. It then broke into several pieces and fell back into the sea, causing huge sprays of cold, salty seas to cascade over us. We were all thrown to the deck, as the waters washed over the Dochas.
I could hear yelling, as my crew grabbed at anything they could, as to not be washed overboard.
As I steadied myself and got to my knees, another sight took my breath away. The small seas that we had been accustomed to were suddenly gone and replaced by a churning angry, white capped hell.
"Lower the sails," I yelled, as loudly as I could.
