Steady as we go 1- Come Sail Away

Wilkes pulled Beatrice into a tight hug. The dock was alive with all the usual sounds. He stared at his home one last time before they’d leave. The soggy dock he’d spent years becoming a man on. The circling gulls that schemed to snatch fish from patrons where possible. And most importantly the woman he loved accepting that this was goodbye for now. He had been bracing himself for this, but facing it now was almost impossible. He thought of desertion. All the same, with her in his arms he knew he had to go. To move onward from all of this, just for now. For a few moons. He pulled back from her slowly, she still wore the black lace dress from the night before. Lingering touches broke as air filled where her warmth had been. He forced a smile, and dried her tears.

Hesitant steps led him to turn his back on her. The ramp leading up onto the Gracious Pearl was impossibly steep. All the same he marched onwards. Pauline waved from the naval ship. He returned the gesture, before turning to face his crew. The captain was already barking orders for departure. The sun had only been in the sky for a half hour, and already they were departing. One by one, people began to fill the dock as they raised anchor. Starry eyed children, their parents, and the elders of the island waved as their main sail unfurled.

“WILKES GIVE US A BOOST HERE!” The captain roared. Obliging him he walked up the stairs to the helm. A deep breath and a push of his arm and wind pushed the sail. The Gracious Pearl began to slice the water. He pushed again, and again. Home grew smaller, the calls of their community grew quieter. A green speck stayed at the front, waving them goodbye harder than anyone. He faltered for a moment, lowering his head and pushing again. He left Beatrice behind. The natural wind caught their sails now. He lowered his arm and stared at the crashing waves. Thellin shrank smaller and smaller as they raced forward. At this rate, they’d see Osan in two moons. They had food enough for one, and a stop along the way. With quarantine at their half point dragging things an additional moon.

His spirits deflated as reality sank in on him. Rangpar sat on the deck cross legged. He was dealing cards to Dortas and Svend. Leif was casting with a regular fishing rod, it seemed he missed why they used nets. Taking languid steps down the stairs, he decided to lay down on the deck. Folding his hands behind his head, he faced the yawning expanse above. The captain would steer and they would only take immediate actions to adjust the rigging when necessary. For now the wind was in their sails, the sky was peaceful, and the distance was mind numbing. Hell he could guarantee a clear sky the entire voyage now. It was entirely possible they made the trip in record time to and from. He shut his eyes. Resting in the warmth, sleep rose up to drag him under again. Positively soggy, Wilkes felt sand beneath his fingers again. Spitting up the water all over again he slicked the sopping wet hair back.

“Seriously?” He asked the empty beach. No one answered. Seems he had wandered on accident again. Rising up slowly he felt something clenched in his hand. A small grey pearl sat in his palm. It had the color of a storm cloud. Observing it slowly he had absolutely no clue what it was. “Huh, weird.”

The water crashed in this domain. On an insignificant island, he stared into choppy waters. White foam sawed through the deeper abyss. The waves were as dark as wine in a bottle. Sloshing around as if they could struggle hard enough to break free. He sat and pulled his knees to his chest. The small pearl, gnarled as it was, sat in his hand. Something unique happened, for once the infinitely starry sky above began to turn to dawn.

“She didn’t tell you what to do with that after creating it did she?” A voice spoke to him. It was a rich baritone, with a faint crackling like fire. Wilkes leapt up to face the origin of the noise. The island was deserted except for himself. A deep chuckle rumbled around him. “No little brother. Not on the island. Aim ever higher.”

Slowly he turned to face the horizon. The choppy waters had begun to boil in the distance. The hissing of steam punctuated foot falls. Deep thumps that subjugated the sea with the voice’s approach. Wilkes steeled himself. Raising his fists slowly, he regarded the approaching cacophony as potentially dangerous. Further laughter echoed across the waves. The ball of radiance that approached swept two arms wide from the golden glow. Skin as tanned as bronze, hands calloused from labor, and the sort of musculature that belied a skilled laborer. Perhaps a field worker, or some kind of carpenter.

“Mmm. Seems she didn’t speak of me either. Understandably so.” A man stepped out from the radiance, kicking it off like he had with his slippers. With a casual flick he launched the brilliant light back to the horizon. He stood on the waves. Try as they might to swallow him, they boiled away before a drop could touch him. Seeing him clearly now, he stood tall. Seemingly six foot at the shoulder, not quite as towering as rangpar, but still a looming figure all the same. “Sayila plays loose and fast with proper details. It’s why she has been… reallocated by Father. Have you learned his name yet?”

“Father? You mean my dad?” Wilkes answered a question with a question. The tan god nodded slowly. Seeing his face was like staring into the heart of a forge that slowly cooled down to coals. His features became clearer as the radiance slowly faded. A square jaw, sunken eyes that glowed a supernatural golden, hair of a bleached white similar to clouds that moved in an unseen breeze. “Who… who are you?”

“I am your brother. I am the last failed attempt. I am the rising of the sun. I am the invention of fire. I am the yolk of all mortals. And yet I am nothing.” The god spoke, his previous baritone now had a faint crackling like logs in a fire. He smiled in a bittersweet sort of way. The upward tilt at the corner of his glowing eyes made him seem almost playful despite the melancholy in his voice. “Now crush that pearl in your hand. At least that’s what you understand it to be right?”

“Yeah, a stormy colored, gnarled pearl.” Wilkes responded, turning the tiny thing over in his hand. The god stared at it intently, the warmth radiating off of him was becoming sickening. Like sitting by a fire too long and your lips growing dry.

“Hmm, a gnarled pearl. Quite the name isn’t it?” He teased further, stepping off the water and onto the sands. He still kept a ten foot distance between the two of them. Where his feet landed now, the sand screamed and turned into glass. The amused look on his face faded as he delivered the order again. “Crush it.”

Wilkes squeezed hard. A faint cracking sound in his palm told him he had performed what he’d been told. The full version of his conversation with Sayila came back to him. How she had accidentally informed him of his nature, how she had known what he was before even he did.

“Now wake.” the god spoke again. The dream shattered like a window having a brick hurled through it. His body lurched upwards on the deck of the Gracious Pearl. Arms were now faintly pink, the sun was far lower than when he had laid his head down. Groaning, he sat upright. Smacking his lips, he tried to get some moisture back into his mouth. Clearly some of the stimuli in the dream had been more physically grounded than he’d expected.

“Napping in the sun is not as fun as you thought, huh Wilkes?” Erik cast his shadow over him. He offered a helping hand in standing again. “Meryl wanted to talk to you when you woke up. Apparently you’ve been “dreaming in a dangerous domain” whatever that means.”

“Eh, flirting with danger is my usual shtick anyways right?” Wilkes said, dusting himself off. Lazy clouds overhead didn’t whisper of any storms in the immediate future. Judging by their path, and the wind to his back, they’d have another three days of smooth sailing. He couldn’t place exactly how he knew it, it just seemed like an intuitive thing. Musta been his nature. Rolling a stiff shoulder he waltzed down the stairs.

Below the deck was still filled to the brim with goods packed tight. It was roughly split into two other sections where space remained. The typical sorting station where they could bolster their rations if need be, and the improvised sleeping arrangements. The captain had explicitly stated he’d take the first day at the helm all on his lonesome. Once the rotation started he’d have the first night watch at the helm. After that the helm duty would rotate down by age. Meaning the responsibility would pass to Rangpar in the morning, then Wilkes the next night, followed by Erik at daybreak, before returning to Jonah. The apprentices had their own cycle they’d be rotating through, but exactly how long the shifts were he’d missed. What he was currently focused on, was the teardrop shape of black cloth sitting beneath the empty hammocks. Meryl’s typical flowing cloth made her almost resemble a pooling of ink in the dim area.

“Wilkes, you drifted in your dreams again. The how, where, and with whom is shrouded. Yet you received a pearl of wisdom from the encounter.” The only hint it had been a question was the subtle lifting of her tone at the end of her speech. Sitting down beside her, Wilkes wrapped an arm across her shoulders. The oracle shuddered subtly before scooting closer into the embrace. Her hands remained folded in her lap however.

“A pearl of wisdom huh? That’s exactly the wording I would use. Turns out another messy dream conversation had given me more information than I was supposed to have, and that could’ve caused issues down the line? Don’t entirely grasp it myself, but things are apparently on the right track now.” Wilkes said with a shrug. Despite the veil he felt glaring eyes lock onto him for a second. He gave her a crooked grin and pat her shoulder where his hand rested, rubbing softly. The added stimulus seemed to endear the oracle despite his laissez-faire attitude towards the mystic nonsense slowly enveloping his life. He was a demigod, a storm mage, unconcerned, and a sailor. What other reaction could he really have about all of this? Should he start waxing poetic to her about it? Trying to interpret the strangeness through a filter of amazement? What good would that do either of them? “Honestly, just a bad dream. Rude bit of conversation with a cryptic bit of the divine hierarchy it seems. Nothing too stressful, as absurd as it sounds.”

“There was more to it. You are choosing your verbiage like a clothier chooses threads. Be candid or remove your hand from me.” Meryl said firmly.

“Alright, alright. Only because you threatened to end our cuddle session. I fell asleep on the deck and woke up on the beach. The one where I had met Say- the sea goddess in a previous dream. She had given me information that meddled with some big divine scheme and plucked it out of the ole noggin o’ mine like a pearl. It had stayed with me, dreaming me… my soul I guess? Met another divine. Tan fella, did a lot of hissing and glowing. Said something about being the yoke of all mortals. He told me to crush the pearl and the full conversation with the sea goddess popped back into place in my memories.” Wilkes summarized briefly. He decided to skip the supposed familial ties. If all the gods were related, and he was somehow in the middle of some divine generations, it would be smart to keep his interactions vague. At least for now, until he could make heads or tails of who his father was. The only lead he had was the hair like clouds, and both the radiant fire guy and Sayila claimed him as a direct sibling. That could also just be how they spoke though. Scratching his chin he thought in circles about it.

“I see. You have not spoken or mentioned this encounter to me in visions yet. Strange.” Meryl said, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder. He planted a kiss on her forehead through the veil. She giggled and nuzzled further into the embrace. “I am sure there is reason enough for it. I trust you.”

“Yeah, that’s what makes me feel like an ass for omitting some details just now. Ye trust me like ye’ve known me like the back of yer hand fer years. And while I trust ye, and I’m really quite fond of ye… not quite sure how to navigate an imbalance of trust like that.” He admitted, his hand drifted from her shoulder. Before it returned to his side, she grabbed his wrist and put his arm back around her. He chuckled as she attempted to bury her head completely into the crook of his neck.

“You will navigate it like any other storm. Carefully, swiftfully, and with a grace belying a dignity innate to yourself.” Her voice was slightly muffled by his shoulder. She slowly reached up and began to scratch at his scalp. Slowly raking fingers through his hair, sending small tingles through him. Soft giggles came from beneath the veil.

“It’s cute when ye talk all funny like that Mer.” Wilkes said, his arm sliding down from her shoulder to her hip. The slight hitch in her breath, coupled with her continued scratching of his scalp, let him know everything he needed. He had caught her off guard in the best way. The pair stayed curled up like that on the floor for a while. After about twenty minutes he heard deep, even breathing from beneath the veil accompanied by soft muttering. She groaned when he shifted. Meryl had fallen asleep on him, literally. With his legs crossed from how he sat, he could slowly feel a foot falling asleep. A rock and a hard place. Let the cute oracle sleep, or let his foot sleep. Leaning back against her, he closed his own eyes. The ship rocked them gently. The air was warm, woody, and thick. He fell back asleep in a tangle of limbs with Meryl.

This time, his dream was far more peaceful. He was building an addition to his house, when suddenly Daisy stood on her hind legs and started stealing the branches to build her own dog house. No matter how much he brought to build and improve his home, the crafty hound took it and built her mansion ever larger. He had to bribe her with pats from himself, Meryl, Beatrice, and a fourth set of hands. Glancing over the crowd he saw the full spread of women at his side.

Beatrice smiled at him, still in the lacy dress from his going away party. A necklace with an ivory cloud she carved herself dangled in the neckline, a deep blush crept across her face when he saw it. Meryl wore her full garb, her eyes glowed green like when she spoke prophecy. A ring with a cloud insignia rested on one gloved hand. It was the third woman that gave him pause. Pauline also pet Daisy’s soft belly. She wore her naval uniform, but the coppery bits had been turned a deep slate gray. She wore a ring similar to Meryl’s. She smiled at him and gave a wink. He woke slowly after that. Leif shook him gently, a scowl on his face.

“Wilkes, get up and move. It’s my turn in the hammock and you’re blocking it. Moooooooooove!” He drawled. Gently waking the sleeping oracle, he obliged the younger sailor. Faint grumbles of discontent was all Meryl had to offer in conversation at this point.