[img]http://th06.deviantart.net/fs51/PRE/f/2009/292/b/8/Venice_Palace_by_eWKn.jpg[/img] [u][b]Ka'lae[/b][/u] [b]572 Days Ago[/b] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [i]Crack[/i] The twig shattered and Stephan froze in his steps. A moment passed and the men behind him held tight the grips of their blades. Only the wind came to greet them came, but a shared trepidation was driving them all to the edge of their nerves. To venture this close to the lords mansion, while the king was visiting no less, it was a fools errand and a death sentence. Stephan wanted to laugh at that. After all he was still here, and he had had no intention of just getting [i]close[/i]. Behind him were beggars, thieves and would be deserters, the type who joined the military because it meant an easy meal rather than any real loyalty. He had once cursed the luck of having them assigned to his ship, and now they were helping him commit high treason. A funny thing that was. Regardless, here he was creeping through the bushes toward the wall of the estate intent on a kidnapping. He would have called it a rescue but the bastard king was the child’s father in spite of his killing the mother, in spite of the fact Stephan’s sister was dead. He felt himself enough of a man to admit to what he was going to do, so kidnapping it was. Reaching the wall his men fanned out against it, keeping careful watch for the guards that had nearly seen them outside the estate border. Stephan pulled out two harsh climbing spikes and nodded to one of his men who reciprocated the gesture and boosted Stephan up to the first ledge. Digging the spikes in higher Stephan heaved himself up foot by foot leaving black gouges in the stone wall. Muscles aching but still alert Stephan peeked into the window of the room he knew the child to be in, sure enough the long crib sat in the rooms centre of the room perpendicular to a large wooden desk at the wall. After opening the window Stephan climbed in as slowly as possible and made his way to the crib, every step risking a creak in the old floorboards. Looking over the crib he was struck, the child looked more of his sister than the king by any measure. Their skin was the dark of the south and their eyes a deep brown, taking every care not to wake the child Stephan lifted them gently from the crib. For the first time in days he felt something beyond anger, perhaps it was happiness. Making his way back the window ever so carefully Stephan came to stop near the old desk. Resting there was a small silver box, he figured that the king should pay for his own child somehow and pocketed the thing. Out the window and half way down the wall Stephan looked down only to see the child open its tiny eyes. A second, a faint beginning of a cry before Stephan had covered its mouth. It was all it took. The light in another window flickered into existence as a lamp was lit and Stephan jumped the rest of the way. His men had already started to run and he spared no moment in matching their pace. Out through a hole in the fence and into the forest just as the sun began to rise Stephan and the child had escaped the den where his sisters killer had no doubt been launched into rage. By the time he was identified as a suspect and searched for his military mission had already been launched. Two years surveying the traffic going into Justinians city from across the continent from the sea. With a flag he hated raised high and a ships deck below Stephan went about his duties. Back in Ka'lae ever carefully the knowledge of what had been done on the night of his departure was erased from the world. [img]http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/338/8/a/battle_ship_by_gregmks-d34813p.jpg[/img] [u][b]Eastern Sea[/b][/u] [b]18 Days Ago[/b] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sea moved as it always did, the wind blew as it was like to do and yet not a soul dared speak. Every moment a speck on the horizon grew taller, closer. It had been two days at full sail now and they had crossed into the northern half of the sea. That detestable speck had followed them the whole time and now that they were far from the trade lanes it had begun to gain on them. Stephan watched it from the top deck, his spyglass making out only the masts and the hull, but there was no mistaking the shape, Stephan knew it well. That was a Dominion interceptor. They could run to Hokksulgug for all it mattered, a gun boat like this would never match the speed of an interceptor and sooner or later they would catch up. Stephan was loath to put his nephew in danger but he was without choice, his only advantage rested in his guns. He called out to the helmsman, “Bring us around! Keep sails at full! We can't outrun that.” The helmsman gave a grim nod and Stephan continued, “Gunners! Man your stations and load shells, prepare for a full broadside on my mark!” A few grumbled but went about their business, in the last two months only two men had defied Stephan, both were dead. The first was merciful enough, but the second one had met the keel and become fish bait. Nobody wanted to see what would happen to the third. The sun was at their backs as Stephan's ship, the [i]Empty Horizons[/i], charged at their enemy. Every moment it became clearer and when Stephan could see the confusion on his counterpart through the spyglass he shouted, “Turn our side to em!” The ship lurched and moved to a perpendicular course from the interceptor, lining the unfortunate vessel up with twenty and one protruding black barrels. With surprise on his side Stephan screamed the command, “All guns! Fire!” The world became a mess of white smoke and the small black spheres flew out at unfathomable speeds. The [i]Empty Horizons[/i] circled the interceptor as the guns reloaded and the smoke cleared. When the vessel came into view Stephan frowned, though the bow of the interceptor was smashed and holes were plentiful on the ships sails, it had aligned its own guns. He managed to yell, “Incoming!” And slam into the deck as a return volley placed eight holes in his own ships sides. Stephan scrambled to his feet and cursed, they had unimaginable luck to land every shot they had. With only fourteen cannons left Stephan declared, “Fire when ready! Continuous fire pattern!” More smoke filled the skies and the two ships drew every closer, blasting at each other whenever a cannon was ready, the short range giving them agency to completely ignore the concept of volleys. For a moment it was hell with dying shouts pounding the ears and reddish sun streaming through the veil of smoke painting a hellish landscape. Then the interceptors mast snapped like a twig. It was all he needed, every moment of this put the child in more danger and only luck had prevented a ball from hitting the cabin. To the relief of the helmsman Stephan ordered a withdrawal and the battered [i]Empty Horizons[/i] limped away, sails like cheese and sides like scrap wood. Fate proved cruel and all aboard had to watch the interceptors crew jumping deck behind them only to know that rescuing them would mean the water running out. Even worse, in this condition they could hardly go to port without questions. Deprived of options Stephan fetched the flag of his once hated enemy. Raising the old Somnus flag Stephan set course to a trade lane. If luck were his lady they would get supplies from a passing ship, if not they would be forced to dock in Lrev. Yuwan only knew what those Justinians would do to the child if they found out his father. [img]http://www.boatus.com/Assets/www.boatus.com/magazines/boatus/2013/4AugSep/img/explorer-03.jpg[/img] [u][b]Eastern Sea[/b][/u] [b]10 Days Ago[/b] ((Collab)) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sun was just rising and Stephan was ready to concede defeat. No ships had come and unless he turned back tonight there wouldn't be enough water to do so, it was his final day. The Justinians were bad, but death was worse regardless. Ready to despair a speck caught Stephan's eye as it came out of the setting sun, perhaps he was not so forsaken as he thought. He rang the morning bell as loudly as he was able and woke the crew, by the time the sun had hit noon they would be close. With the crew assembled on the deck Stephan threw one the spyglass and pointed out the direction, "What do you see there?" The crewman squinted for a while before his face lit up, "A fuckin ship!" The other crewmen crowded around the telescope and took turns verifying the fact, the state of the ship had been poor for days and any reprieve from repairs, no matter how mundane, was welcome. Stephan raised his voice above the muttered conversation, "Now! We see a ship coming, I'll bet you all it's a Justinian one. So remember, we're a crew who won't let the old Imperium go, that's why we're flying that shit flag! Act your best and we might get though this, if you fuck up I will be the first one to punish you, clear?" The threat was obvious enough and for the rest of the morning the crew took their roles to heart. When the time came that the other ship was close Stephan signalled them and hoped for the best. It soon become apparent that the approaching ship was massive in size, dwarfing Stephan's 42 gun warship. The nine masted ship was the kind found in the countries north of the Dominion. A flag, rippled by the wind, flew above the first and last of the masts. A pair of white tigers, rearing in front of a black and green background; the ship belonged to the Northern Tiger. As the ship drew closer it became apparent that there were a great many individuals on its deck. One of which waved a bright red flag over his head. After a few moments it became apparent that the flag was sending a message: "Keep your distance". The approaching ship was truly huge and Stephan had no trouble admitting that there was no luck involved in his spotting it so far out. On the deck were assembled a menagerie of people and he suspected the vast ship was a transport because of it. The red flag sent a clear message and Stephan kept back, though he was thankful for his education in that he knew the other flag the ship hoisted. An Otnemarcas ship this far south was an oddity indeed, the very kind he would have been obliged to report if he wasn't a deserter, pirate, and killer in the eyes of the Dominion. Still the vessel was inconvenient, if it had been a Charlin ship they would have had no problem, Stephan had been chosen for the mission for his fluency in the language. As it stood he was uncertain they could even ask for what they needed. It was lucky then that a northerner was aboard the ship, and one of the more educated ones at that. Monitors usually attracted the multilingual and Stephan had some confidence Aron would know the language. He called out to the deck, “Aron! You know Otnemarcan?” Aron shouted back, “Some, not much though.” Stephan shrugged “Doesn't matter, see I'll wave this white flag here and you shout help? Ok?” Aron nodded and Stephan grabbed the flag from a small stack near the helm. With Aron shouting Stephan hoped they might avoid an unpleasant encounter. There seemed to be a bit of a commotion on the Otnemarcasan ship as Aron called for help. Men shouting in both Otnemarcasan and several different languages could just barely be heard from across the waters. Minutes passed, but finally a man bellowed “You steady stay!” In the language of the Old Imperium, the country in which Stephan was claiming to be from. At first nothing seemed to happen; soon enough, however, the massive ship began to shift its course, gliding through the water with remarkable, for its size, grace until it had come alongside Stephan’s ship. A massive ballista, situated on the deck of the ship, was aimed at Stephan’s ship. His crew could make out what looked like cannons or smaller ballista waiting behind small ports in the side of the ship usually reserved for oars. “Leader come! Yes?” A man shouted in broken Imperium as a boarding ramp was lowered towards Stephan’s ship. For the first time in his life Stephan was glad for fighting the Imperium all those years ago at the inland sea. While not exactly fluent in the language enough conversation with sailors he rescued, and indeed the many refugees that had come over when the war ended, had imparted a passable understanding of it on Stephan. It was a benefit that the language, like most things Imperium, had its roots in the Dominion. Keeping things short and simple Stephan shouted back, “Coming!” As he adjusted his shirt and walked down to the deck. He waited for the ramp to be lowered and held up his hands in a non threatening gesture as he walked out on it, eyes ever drifting to the menacing ballista. As Stephan crested the boarding ramp he was greeted by two large soldiers wearing little more than the silken clothes of their homeland and a shortsword strapped to their waists. They nodded to him before gesturing towards the center of the ship’s deck. There rested two beautiful young ladies flanked on either side by a collection of servants and soldiers. Their clothing was more than simply “fine” or “good” as one would expect from a merchant or lower noble. No, the two ladies before him were, at the very least, from a very important noble family; perhaps one of the royal families in the empire or even the imperial family. One of the two ladies, the older of the two, gestured for him to approach. It didn't take long for Stephan to regret his decision, he figured he would eventually as he had almost every one other than leaving the Dominion. It seemed whatever boons he was given tended to sit on a fine precipice, one where a simple mistake would mean disaster. The women on the ships deck were clearly high born, and Stephan figured he would find out just how high rather soon. Regardless he did as the women asked, having his only experiences with a royals in the past being murder and kidnapping he figured things could only get better. He moved forward and evened out his grey hair to look at least a small bit less destitute and awaited whatever was to come. "Respect show!" One of the soldiers from the boarding ramp demanded as they followed Stephan. Stephan cursed internally at the mistake and gave a deep bow, hoping desperately that was what they wanted. “Welcome” The older of the two ladies said after looking at Stephan for a moment. “You said you needed help, no? Perhaps we can render you some aid.” She spoke clearly, but slowly, obviously spending time to seek out the words she wanted to use in the alien tongue of the Imperium. “Do you happen to know the tongue of the Dominion people? I fear my sister knows not your native tongue and I am more fluent in that of the Dominion anyways.” Stephan gave a mental prayer to Yuwan for that and switched to his native Dominion, deliberately slowing his speech, “I know the speech yes, and indeed we do require aid. Our ship was attacked by pirates some days ago now, though we prevailed over them the cost was great as you may be able to see. Between the damage and lost supplies we are mighty short of water, I fear we may have succumbed to thirst had you not come along. Whatever water you are able to spare would be of immense aid.” The older of the two ladies smiled as they listened to Stephan speak; for the briefest of moments the smile feral, but then it was gone, swept away as she spoke. “Irochi must have blessed you with this meeting then.” “No,” the younger sister said, “surely this is a trial placed before us by our Lord Justinian.” The older sister just barely kept from rolling her eyes. “I am Meirong of house Severin and this is my sister, Fuyumi. We would be pleased to share some of our water with our brothers and sister. Is there any other way we may help you sir….?” Her voice trailed off in search of his name. Stephan eyed the older for a moment wondering what faith she held before he turned to face the younger of the women. He gave a warm smile and replied, “I am Stephan Alisi, and if you have spare materials it would help in the repair of our ship. While the waters are calm for now any captain knows the oceans a fickle thing, should a storm beset us today we would be like to drown with the holes left in our ship. I hope not to abuse your kindness though, please I must offer something in return.” Stephan watched his words and tried his best to be polite, regardless of the older sisters faith the young one was a Justinian to the core, and they could never be trusted. That was the reason he faked a surname. “I shall see that what we can spare is given to you” Meirong said, a warm smile spread across her face. “You need not worry about paying us back. It is our duty to help those in need when we can. Our Lord would expect nothing less from us.” She gave Stephan a bow before taking her leave, speaking to one of her servants in her native tongue as she walked off. “Irochi can be a fickle god at times” Fuyumi said as her younger sister walked off. She let the silence, and the distance between them and her sister, stretch for a moment. “Perhaps I shall pry for your safe journey tonight, when Irochi is visible in the night sky.” She shrugged. “Could I bother you to tell me about these pirates?” Fuck. For a second Stephan was sure his face let something slip. The last time he had to spin a tale about pirates would have been in his childhood, needless to say he was not confident in that ability. Regardless he continued in the same thankful and warm tone, secretly glad the Justinian wasn't present for this, “Ah, I can only tell you so much but here is what I know. Some days ago, a week? Two? I am not quite sure when it started but a pirate vessel began to pursue us far south of here, we tried to run of course but they proved faster and chased us here gaining all the while. Perhaps foolishly I decided our only choice was to fight them and true enough it was a fight we won, but not an easy one. As for who they were I cannot say, I was able to prevent a boarding and by the time the fight was through we had not the resources to take prisoners. I wish I could provide you with more information though.” Stephan was rather thankful for advice he had been given by his father at at that moment. After all, the best lies are mostly true. “I see” Fuyumi said before saying something to a nearby servant in her native tongue. The servant bowed before dashing off, only to return with a paper parasol in hand. “As much as I would like to continue this conversation” She said as the servant held the parasol over her, shading her from the sun, “Lady Ahimatsu has seen fit to hold back not an ounce of her heat.” Her eyes turned to the horizon, gazing at the dark clouds that had come into sight. “It would also seem that Irochi doesn’t wish for this meeting to extend much further either.” She sighed, turning her gaze back to Stephan. “My sister asks for nothing in return for this aid, but I’m not so generous. You need not worry; I ask not for your gold or trinkets, they hold little value to me. What I do ask is a promise: should the house of Severin ever be in need and you have the capacity to render aid you do so, just as we have done so for you today. Does that sound fair to you Sir Alisi?” After a moment and his first honest smile Stephan replied, “Fair indeed. Well, I mean not to keep you. You have my thanks for the aid in this time situation.” Stephan gave another deep bow and departed. With a glance at the dark and foreboding clouds they came to dominate Stephan's thoughts. He had thought the meeting went too well, perhaps people like him were never meant for an easy life. Still, he wouldn't have minded one. [img]http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2010/281/b/6/storm_by_blinck-d30bli2.jpg[/img] [u][b]Charlin Bay[/b][/u] [b]The Present[/b] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Over the last few days Stephan had become convinced he was cursed. Supplies had arrived from the strangest source at the last moment only for them to be useless as a storm struck not five hours later. Had it been some rain, perhaps a few swells, it would have been fine. Shame it was a typhoon then. The [i]Empty Horizons[/i] had started to ride low in the water two days after the storm started and with no signs of it stopping Stephan had been forced to do the very thing he desperately wanted to avoid. So here he was in the middle of Charlin bay, listing to the port side and riding low enough that the cargo hold had four feet of water in it. The port city of Lrev lay ahead and though he had some forged logs prepared in the event this type of thing happened he was less than confident that his infantile knowledge of the area would pass the eye of whatever port authority waited for him. Stephan held the child's hand, he had named the boy Riken a year ago after his mothers father. Yes, the boys name was Ricken Serin, forever cursed to carry the name of both his mothers father and her killer. A year and some old he could speak but generally was quite quiet, Stephan wondered why some days, had he seen the death of his mother? Would the boy remember it even though he was hardly born at the time? The questions went on and Stephan looked out the window towards the cities lamps, it almost looked a kind place after so long at sea. He feared to a Yuwanist like himself Charlin was anything but.