Arachne had always yearned to touch the oceans that had been described so vividly in the books of her youth, to dip her toes into its waters to embrace its natural perfection and rhythmic pattern of its movement, but never did she expect to be on a vessel that would send her through the mass of vast blue nothingness; never did she expect to be above those waters in a position where people truly knew how to command it. The sails of the ship channeled the breeze surrounding them to propel the vehicle through the waters, and their orientation brought upon their masts determined direction.
She only vacated from Ezili's quarters come nightfall, to allow the tiefling to enjoy what little time she had for relaxation without her own figure looking over her as she would have done in the state of paranoia of which she found herself. However, for some strange reason, whenever she set foot upon the deck as dusk concluded and the time of darkness began, Arachne found herself in a state of tranquility, all her worries suddenly shifting as quickly as the waves did below them.
The gentle sway of the ship brought the vessel to cut its way through the waves causing an almost settling tone as the foam of the waters below reflected peacefully against the pure moonlight above them, no clouds in sight to taint the view of the perfection above as stars shimmered above them. Each one dotted across the sky as if to represent another lost soul traversing across the plains of the Astral Sea, never meant to be found and never meant to be lost, and perhaps that was where Amalica had been sent, with Eilistraee to defend her from the horrors her valorous soul would face.
Perhaps Arachne's own fate was of the same analogy, to never be found, but never to be meant to be lost, either, just as the depths of the ocean could tell, its murky waters proved just the same thing, and to gaze upon its beauty was a heart wrenching thing in more ways than one. It was no wonder Ezili couldn't tear herself away from the wheel that she held so dear to her heart and bloodline, for the place that she found to be her second home was stunning and brimming with life. If one stared hard enough, they could see the fish gliding through the water with their fins, living in perfect harmony with the chain of life.
Ezili had been trying to teach her what little common she could, although the grammar rules and the accent required of her was so foreign that Arachne could barely get a grasp of it, save for the two words "I'm sorry," that she chose to not utter due to their symbolism it held for her. Frankly, she could understand more than what she could speak just on context clues alone, which frustrated her. It had been the only time in a long while that she had not been able to understand something that seemed so… simple. With elvish (no doubt due to its correspondence with undercommon), Arachne seemed to decipher its grammar rules and accent far more proficiently than she had managed to thus far with the tongue of the surface world, and as such would no doubt be plagued with some form of accent for the remainder of her life.
She had expressed such a concern to Ezili, who had remarked rather nonchalantly that to those who were fluent in the common tongue and, for the most part, spoke it exclusively, accents added a form of depth to one's character, which, while confusing made some form of sense, although Arachne wasn't quite sure how she would like accents on people when she was attempting to translate common. She could barely understand it with someone who spoke it as their first language, let alone someone who was earning it just as she was! For someone of her own wit, it was almost demeaning to her own intelligence that she couldn't seem to understand the basis of a language spoken by millions, if not billions, of people.
And while she wasn't vigorously studying the tongue of the overworlders, Ezili, and her pseudodragon pet, who had been dubbed Harpoon by the wayward captain, had been attempting to teach the drow elf how to swim, which proved quite fruitless for all of their efforts. Allegedly, she had done well in her first attempt for someone of her condition when it came to water, her only exposure being the hot springs behind her home in childhood, which were shallow enough to reach to someone of average height's stomach, and even then she rarely traversed into the waters. It was something that her mother did, and Arachne would have rather died than do anything that her mother had partaken in.
She was akin to a flame faced with liquid, for the moment she touched it she was immediately doused, or, in her case, underneath the surface of the water, in need of being pulled out by her newfound friend, or rekindled. Arachne tried because, despite her lack of ability when it came to balancing herself in the ocean, it was enjoyable, something that she inevitably came out laughing even though she had risked her life by swimming so close to the ship whilst it moved.
However, on days where she wasn't doing either activity during the journey, Arachne practiced a sea shanty Ezili had taught her under her breath, preparing to sing it as they began to dock into her newfound salvation, the next of many, she was sure. One thing she was certain of, though, was that a 'sea shanty' was far more unique than how it sounded, for there was a beat it is meant to keep to aid the mariners in the rhythm required of them while they did their work, and it had to be lively enough to keep their senses aroused.
Such a style of music was so strange to the drow elf, for the music she had mainly heard in the Underdark was either horribly raspy and unappealing to the ears or slow and meant for worship. The liveliness she was instructed to keep was something Arachne viewed as a lighthearted challenge, and, better yet, she was singing it in elvish, which made it seem just a bit more peculiar, for elvish was meant to be a language of grace, not of the rough nature most shanties were sung in. However, in the month and a half it would take to journey to the Greenwald, she would have plenty of time to figure herself out.
On one of these nights, the drow elf decided to sing to herself to practice, and, with her feet hanging off the side of the hull, kicking her heels against the wood in beat, Arachne sung:
"Oh, up upon the ocean's glee
There did rest a lad at sea.
The weather was foul and the wind blew hard
And his friends all knew he wasn't gonna get too far.
Down he fell into the ocean's grasp
On his face he felt a hand, and the breath he took was sharp and fast.
There she was with eyes of green,
The beautiful Siren Queen…
Her skin fair, she leaned into the lad and did so decree:
'You come into my waters blue, then now what should I do with you?'
A smile reached her thin lips,
A grin upon her softened skin.
And with her grin she grabbed his hands and made her one demand:
'Find me the kraken's egg, and to the surface you will tread'
And with her nails as sharp as ice
She chuckled awaiting her desperate prize.
Whoever knew a woman could be so mean,
There she is, the Siren Queen…
In preparation for the final verse, Arachne smiled as she sung a bit louder in confidence that no one would hear her as she stared at the moon as it finally made itself seen through the shroud of clouds it had been hidden by.
The lad swam his way down her ocean all through the day
Finding where the kraken lay,
And after weeks of sleepless nights,
He found it with horrible fright.
Drawing his sword he fought his best,
Completing the Queen's damned test.
Returning to her with an egg of gold, meeting his fate as foretold.
Holding her gift the lad could hope for a fate of gentle bliss,
But with a grin she did say,
'You will be mine until one day!'
No one knows what he came to be
And nor of the ocean Queen.
All we know is that she lives in the sea,
The reign of the Siren Queen…"
Arachne hummed to herself a bit as she concluded her elvish rendition of the shanty Ezili had taught to her, the melody carrying in the tune she sung to herself, the notes weaving themselves into an enchanting tale meant to warn off sailors from sailing through a storm, only before she heard a voice from behind her, and instinctively, she jumped, and for a moment as she turned her head to see who the voice belonged to, she saw a flash of of a familiar sight.
Dusky gray skin, soft red eyes, voluminous white hair, and a lute cradled in her hand, in her entire being she seemed to be Amalica. That is, before reality returned to the drow elf.
The crimson eyes faded instead into carmine skin, and green replaced the red that once took its place, and there stood before her Ezili with a wide smile on her face as always, whose tail bounced delightfully as she hummed along with Arachne to the shanty she had just sung. "It just occurred to me that I've never heard you sing until now, and I'll just say you've got some talent there, Arachne." The captain winked as she sat down beside her, vermillion hands cradling her chin as she did so, "I may be able to get ya a gig. And before you say no, it'll be perfectly safe. Let's just say I have some connections."
Arachne smiled again, looking down at her boots as they hovered above the serene ocean below them, "Thanks Ezili," she began, "for everything."
~
"Dear M,
I'm off for the Greenwald again, but I'm sure you know that. You've got a thing for knowing everything. Maybe that's what I get for being friends with a woman of your talents, but I'm not complaining. Ship's been doing well, and so has the crew, and, honestly since we set off for this season, I've been pretty happy with the new recruits. Better than last year at least! I still can't believe… whatever, I won't waste ink on retelling that whole scandal, words are good enough.
Something that you and that diviner apprentice of yours might not know is that a rather interesting figure is headed your way, and I'd like you to do me a bit of a favor for my new friend. Don't worry, I'm not out of my mind, or at least I don't think so, but I found a stowaway on the ship before we left Faerun, and you won't believe what she was, because I sure didn't. A drow. I've got a drow elf in my midst, and she sings!
I don't know much about those spider-loving bootlickers, but I know enough to know that no normal drow woman sings, it's like a bad omen because of that goddess Eilistraee, right? And I also don't know a lot about innate magic, since I had to make a deal to get mine, but she's got something that I sure can't figure out. Maybe she's cut out for your line of magic, and maybe she's cut out to be a bard, I'm not sure, but you're an all-knowing elfy elf (still love you though) so I thought you might.
Anyways, I'm sending Harpoon to give this to you, so I know it'll get to you in time for this, but I know the King's having a ball for his and the Queen's anniversary, so I thought you'd be able to pull a few strings and get my girl to play. Figure her out and pick her up, or not, whatever you like, but at least treat her well. I'm just gonna let you know that she's something special, it's just a feeling I have. Sorta like how we found Erky. And look at him now.
Her name's Arachne, (typical drow name, am I right?) and she'll be wearing a mask, I think. Probably gonna tell her to go by "The Mystic Behind the Mask" or something like that. Also, she doesn't know that you know, or who you are, so try and not pull your "everyone knows me" thing, because I don't think she does. Anyways, tell the kid I miss him.
Much love,
E.N."