The first week had gone by prodigiously slow as the weather was fair bordering on boring and winds amiable on the verge of being condescending. It was noon and Atacherel had invited the captains of the three other ships to have lunch with him on board the Behem as was his prerogative. In the common cabin below deck he was looking at maps of different sorts of the Mahara?a with the help of Merorae when Dettel, captain of the Arahara was announced. The red haired girl had proven much more capable and diplomatic than the manner she had been commissioned had suggested. She stormed into the common room aglow with intent.
"Commodore sir, if I may?"
Atacherel walked two paces away from the map table before answering, "This is an informal lunch Dettel, please speak."
"Actually sir I have a formal request to make of captain Merorae, if I may sir." It was Merorae's turn to step away from the maps, "what is it?" she enquired.
"As the captain of the Arahara I wish to put to you that it be moored to the Behem and towed for the remainder of the oceanic crossing."
In the silence that followed Atacherel walked to one of the chairs and sat before asking the obvious question, "Why?"
"My round hull, sir, is slowing us down, it's a fine ship and all, but it is no fast-sail and the hands, the older ones that is, are telling me that a storm is brewing beyond the horizon. In the bad weather the fast-sails will dash with the wind or risk breaking something to try and stay with the Arahara. If Captain Merorae would agree to tow us during the storm not only would we stay together but also we could shelter most of my crew on Behem only leaving what is needed for the duration of the storm, Arahara being an open deck with no shelter, sir."
Atacherel and Merorae looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"I am sorry Dettel," he apologized, "we are not laughing at you but at our own narrow minds, you see we assumed that since your commission appeared to have been paid for you'd be a pretentious insufferable know-it-all and that proposing to tow your ship was susceptible to vex you." Atacherel explained.
"Oh, I see," Dettel said, "But you are right commodore sir, my father bought the command for me, I was fine being a second, I have only been a second for a month when he did it without consulting me, of course I refused but he threatened to bar me from the family home never to see my mother and brothers again. So I accepted but I really don't want to be a captain. I mean, I do, but not now, it is too soon, I am too young..." The girl, bright red now, stopped rambling and stared at them.
"I have appointed a very capable second to you on the Arahara, Ita?men is a good man, he knows a lot about ships and the sea and he has sailed to Evening with Merorae and me." The girl nodded showing that she was aware of it. "I do not have the authority to undo a commission granted by the admiralty, I can merely advise you to rely on his advice at all times and ask that he takes over as soon as you are in doubt . If he contradicts you, which he shall only do in public if your actions put the crew at risk I admonish that you would listen to him and yield. I shall send these instructions to your log with a copy for his and make them valid for the duration of this cruise. Furthermore I shall order you to come along with me aboard whichever ship I shall be to bear witness and learn as shall be convenient. It is a good thing to admit one is not enough and, in the interest of all, that none shall be left to fail. We will indeed tow the Arahara until we reach the sight of the austral mountains of Mahara?a; as soon as we enter the Ring Sea it will take point and ascertain the nature of the waters as we proceed with navigation. Either of the two more senior captains will at times come aboard with your permission in order to assist." The commodore stood up as a brooding figure entered the cabin unannounced. The swarthy, black haired man that had come in could have been a shorter version of Atacherel himself so alike they were, except for their expressions: where Atacherel was open faced, bright eyed and welcoming in his manners albeit a little reserved; Mettetrel made for an atrabilious, cheerless figure almost to the point of hostility, nonetheless upon seeing Atacherel his countenance was instantly transformed and he rushed to embrace him with affection.
Stolen story; please report.
"Damn," he exclaimed looking around at the others present in the room, "isn't it typical of me to barge in and interrupt something I had no business to, terribly sorry." He went directly to Merorae and bowed formally introducing himself, "My name is Mettetrel of the Cave family, I command the Nebu now under the wizened leadership of Commodore Atacherel." Merorae looked at him frowning severely, then she leant to the side to speak directly to Atacherel and asked, "is he always that impossibly pompous or do I have to make him drunk to loosen the high bred stiffness?" Atacherel managed to repress his amusement but Dettel burst out laughing and couldn't stop herself. The captain of the Behem walked genuinely around Mettetrel and gathering the giggling girl by the elbow and took her in direction of the door, shouting back, "We'll take some fresh air while you start him up on the drinking, I'll take over when we return," and they left the two men alone in the cabin.
***
In the distance the three low long dark shapes were the islands called 'The Graves', together they marked the beginning of the Mahara?a. The little fleet had now entered the sailing ways of the Triad Lands, to the starboard side there were two Limorite traders and a Ziomite fishing ship and to port side a Ferollian transport remained conspicuously at large from a Gashite patrol ship, a fast-sail had dashed by earlier in the day but it was already gone beyond sight. In anticipation of the strong stream descending from the Wide Sea and fastened by its passage into the gullet between the last of the Patiline peaks and the first of the Monastic Island, the fleet veered as one towards the Shrouded Island and the entrance to the White Banks while maintaining a general course for the last of the Graves on the setting side. As they approached they started noticing several smaller crafts either fishing in the waters off the Grave or ferrying between Barebones Cape and the shadowy body of land that hid its shape and bulk in dense curtains of mists. The little boats disappeared in the white banks as they shifted here and there dancing their slow dance in the windless air.
"Where are they going?" Dettel asked no one in particular as she watched them vanish.
"To the harbor of the city of Haven." Merorae replied from the helm. The younger woman turned around to face her when asking in surprise, "there is a city on the Mahara?a?"
Merorae nodded, "yes, it is called Haven and it was founded by refugees from the vicious rule of the warlords of the Nameless Towns." She asked her pilot to take over and walked to stand side by side with Dettel.
"No Balà ship has ever birthed there yet, but Atacherel means to do so once we have sailed round."
They stared at the little ships hurrying away to and from the cape and into the mists and watched as the last of the Graves slid back behind them. Placing a hand on Dettel's arm Merorae pointed at the Scarlet Dusk sailing gracefully a small distance ahead of them. There was a man standing on the railing waving colorful flags furiously.
"The commodore signals us." They scrutinized the repeated movements of flags and color. It was a signal to regroup and the captains to convene aboard the Scarlet, they had entered the Ring Sea. The Arahara was still towed by the Behem but the Nebu had caught up with them and the captains were being pulled vigorously in their respective cutters towards the commodore's command when a great part of the blinding white sheet of mist tore away and revealed a towering wall-like mountain covered from water level to its very top with a forest of the most luscious kind, above and through which flew innumerable birds of a million different breed.
