Arc 1~> On Board The Razor
Rowan went back to the main deck to find three men standing there. Behind them, the first sun, called the hue-less, was setting behind them but the world did not go dark, instead the the world was beginning to grow colourful by the rise of the second sun, the hue. Soon, shifting colours batted the world in light shades of yellow, red, and orange and all other colours. The bright colours of the hue sun reflected on the surface of the sea and made it seem like a painting that moved and buzzed. He walked to the wall of the ship, no bulkhead. Then he looked back to the keelsaw stream and gulped a mouth full, he had only ever seen one kellsaw before and he knew the kind of disaster that they cause to any type of ship, but this ship had just survived a hole school of them
"What kind of ship is this?" Rowan wondered, not expecting a reply.
"It's a ship of wonders, lad. And mostly just a runic ship." Bones said, laughing at his own slightly funny joke, at least to those who understood it, and that sadly did not include rowan, seeing as he just stood there looking at rowan in confusion.
"What is this rune? Sharp mentioned it before, too. What is it?" Rowan asked, this time, but did not get any reply.
"Lad, how did ye like those waters?" A voice asked rowan from behind, before rowan could reply it continued without pause. "That is what the razor was meant for defiance. Defiance to brave this seas in a way no other ship has accomplished."
Rowan looked to see the captain of the ship behind him. It was the first time he had seen the man close up and not specifically cloaked in radiance of the sun. The man before rowan was… well, he was a 'Man'. When Rowan looked at this man, he got a feeling of 'this is how men are supposed to be.' The man was tall and muscular he was young but not as young as Bones, his face held the grace of a leader, his dressing was seemilar to Bones. Only that he wore a hat.
"To brave the seas." Rowan said in a hushed voice. "But how did the ship sail through that stream of keelsaw?"
"Ye see, Lad, this ship is not just called the razor for nothing. Look as the path we just came from," the captain urged Rowan.
Rowan looked back to the keelsaw stream and looked at their path more closely. He was shocked to see that a straight line had been cut through the stream where all the Keelsaw fish seemed to avoid.
"Ye see, lad, that is the power of the razor, the very first runic ship. It has the power to cut through anything!" The captain said, his voice held pride as he talked about his ship.
"Rune? What's it?" Rowan asked.
"It is a language of power, used by witches for fighting and crafting. This ship was made by one of those witches." Rowan was still looking back at the keelsaw stream, when the captain replied his question.
'Language of power? Witches?' Rowan found himself having more questions for the captain
"Ah, lad, I can see the questions in your eyes. Wait for the feast before asking more questions, lad." He said laughing, rowan turned away from the sea to look at the captain as he walked away towards, Bones, sharp and the other man that the captain had called Bucker.
'How the hell could he see my eyes from behind me?' Rowan wondered.
Rowan looked around and just sat down on deck by the bulkhead, he looked at the men, Bones was saying something serious his face held a serious frown directed at the captain and the man bucker just stood looking at the two shaking his head, while sharp just looked uncomfortable and tired. Rowan had been thinking about how the men had stood on deck like the ship wasn't jerking back and forth, but he quickly added it to his long list of questions. Rowan hugged himself and looked at the ship, noticing something of for the first time.
Where's the mast and sails? He had never seen any ship without those, and he knew for a fact that ships didn't move without a sail. 'Just another question for the feast.'
Rowan eyes fell closed, and then he was walking on the beach back home by his side was Smith. He was smiling and saying something.
"... Your becoming more distant since James death. You know we've got to keep this dream alive." Smith said, his face growing a little gloomy.
'Keeping the dream alive.' Rowan thought.
Ever since the death of James, Rowan's father had taken beating Rowan anytime he talked about adventure like his job. Rowan didn't even realise it, but he was bending slowly to his father's will. Farming, marrying a fine wife and living a low-key life till death. Rowan had even started seeing a girl called Kelma. He thought he loved her, but maybe it was actually just the fact she resembled his mother. Maybe that was why he didn't feel any sexual attraction towards her, but he still felt like he loved her.
"Smith," rowan said, his voice a hush. "Don't you see! Don't you fucking see! there's no dream" Rowan said shaking his head. Did he belive what he was saying ' yes, there's no dream, where stuck here for life.'
"Where never going to leave this island!"
"Rowan, no. Don't say that." Smith said calmly. "Thats your father speaking. Yes, it's your father."
"And what if… What if it's me? What if it is me, Smith?" Rowan said looking down, he felt ashamed. He wanted to hide from smiths gaze. He wanted to cry but, no. He couldn't do that.
"Just look at you Rowan. Just look at you, you've given up and you're just a small man, a small man like my father and your father your father and for heavens sake every other damned man on this island" Smith said standing by Rowans side. "Everybody on this island is a shell of what they where in they're youth. All they're dreams crushed before it could ever even take flight. But not us rowan. Not us. We flew, we flew high and that it why I can't bear to see you like this. You're becoming even a smaller man than our parent's. And that's because you know. You know what this island those to it people"
Rowan was crying by the time, Smith finished. Smith stood tall, but Rowan, Rowan's back was bent so he could look at the ground more properly, so that he won't see the judging eyes of Smith and the peoplehe thought where always there looking, staring and judging.
"Rowan tell me a story, something you like. Remind yourself what you dreamed of, tell me a story."
Rowan's Eyes snapped open and he saw that the hue sun had set and the moon stood tall over the horizon. Rowan felt broken after getting that dream and remembering that he had given up. Now he sat here living the dream of his friend, the dream he had given up on.
'No! No!' Rowan removed the thought from his head, he remembered Bones words, to live for once self. But how could rowan live for himself, when he needed redemption.
'Yes, I can carry all they're dreams,and maybe find forgiveness one day.' Rowan tried to find belive in those words but there was non.
Rowan stood, he was shocked to see that he was crying, there where tears under his eyes and in his hands. he looked around and he saw the crew all siting round a circular table eating and laughing.
'Did they know that I was crying?'
He hugged himself and trying to walk silently towards the door that lead to the ladder, as he walked towards the door, it flung open only to reveal abara. As she saw rowan She smiled.
"Where are ye heading boi. Come on let's go to the feast table." She said loudly. Making everyone around the table to look back towards rowan.
"Aye, come on lad, join us around the mess." Rowan looked towards Bones, he said the words raising his stein towards rowan like he was offering a toast. It wasn't like he had a choice abara seemed like she was ready to carry him on one shoulder and bring him to the table.
He walked towards the table and sat on the ground the table was low and meant for people who obviously had no chair. Rowan looked at the table and he felt his stomach growl. Keelsaw fish, was prepared on the table along with other yummy looking foods, and Bones called this a mess. Rowan found himself smiling.
'Funny how sailors call feast, mess.' Rowan tried to kick out the happiness he felt but he couldn't. He had discovered that he always forgot his pains when he talked with people, and he had also not wanted to find happiness but here he was smiling at the crew's story.
"Aye I remember that one, what ye guys didn't know was that cap'n over hear was bedding a woman when they came he had to fight naked I remember it clearly." Abara said smiling at they're captain. Everyone burst into laughter.
"Now I know why ye find yourself in my cabin every night." The captain said and the whole crew burst into laughter including abara.
"Maybe that's the reason but will never know" abara said smiling.
"I remember when Bones challenged the cap'n to a duel and cap'n won by cutting off Bones pants that had to be embarrassing, Bones was it?" Bucker asked with a quizzical look on his face.
Bones answer by unsheating his sword.
"I challenge ye bucker to a duel, first blood. First thing tomorrow morning." Bone said his hand shaking. He was clearly drunk. "I don't fancy weaklings talking about a warriors moment."
"Abara, I noticed something today," Rowan said to abara silently, trying to ask abara without the others catching the question. Rowan had never really been comfortable talking in crowds like this he just felt his mouth run dry if he does.
"What!" Abara shouted causing everyone to pause and face him, they all looked at him with questions in they're eyes.
"Ah… well… nothing." Rowan said bearly able to form the words. He wised his voice would not brake, he remembered the way he had talked to Bones and the captain the first day he found himslef on board this ship, before he had remembered his insecurities.
"What? come on, lad, ye can do better than that. What did ye wanted to say lad?" Abara asked, rowan knew from the look in her eyes that she would not relent.
"I…" Rowan's throat felt like a desert by this time. " I… noticed that… that the ship had no mast and sails… so… uhm how does the ship moves forward" He asked and all the crew mates looked at each other and they all burst into laughter. Rowan felt pathetic he couldn't even look at them for long before he started staring at they're legs.
"Ah. Lad, really, that was a boring question but I'll answer your question." Abara said laughing, tears where visible at the corners of her eyes.
Before she could reply however the captain was already at it.
"This ship is polled forwards by mana ye see, set a course on one of the cardinal point and the mana wave going in that direction pulls the ship forward, that feature of the ship is worked by a complex runic engine made by witches. And it doesn't only pull the ship forward but also offers features like shield and regenerative abilities to the wood of the ship." The captain explained with a finger in the air and his voice suggested that he liked this topic in particular, but thinking about it was his ship they were talking about after all.
Rowan was looking at the captain at this point captivated by the captain's explanation and also confused. He looked around the table and everyone was starring at the captain except sharp who gave him a thumbs up with a smile. Then he said something not loud enough to be heard put rowan understood from reading his lips.
"Tell me your next question." he said, the captain by this time was done with his explanation and was talking about how he got the ship from a witch after impressing her in manly bedroom activities.
Rowan lipped his question to sharp not making a sound. "How do you guys interact with mana?"
"Ye see" the captian said drunkenly, his stein swinging through the air. "Witches hardly meet a man who can impress them so when I broke that little witches mind with my skills she just gave me all I wanted."
"So why don't you guys tell rowan, how we interact with mana he seems confused, I guess they didn't use mana in his island's." Sharp said a little louder than their captians story, causing everyone to look towards him, then he used his head to gesture towards rowan.
"Oh, I forgot the lad came from a back water." The captain said in between gulps of his meed. Rowan looked on at the captain but he looked uninterested by the topic and was drinking his meed without actual stops. Rowan looked at Bones and he looked at abara, who perked up in happiness as rowan looked at her.
"Okay, boi. Ye want me to tell you no problem then. I've got no problem with educating young boi's" she said smiling, rowan had a feeling she was the reason no other person had tried explaining to him. "Okay!"
Abara said jumping of her chair which was the deck below her and then she put both of her hands in front of her and then a orb the size of Rowan's head appeared on top of her hands only floating a little bit above them, the Orb was as black as midnight, but they where symbols on it that shined with power that caused rowan to have short headaches, the symbols glowed a blue that looked like the one from Bones.
"This here is what we call a mana orb," abara said dramatically. "And with this people are able to wield the power of mana."
Rowan stood up in shock, that was impossible, it went against everything he knew and the people of his island believed, what followed was a series of question from rowan forgetting his insecurities due to this shocking fact.