Jay's Journey

Chapter 11

In all the group's time in Lunabae, Jay had never actually bothered to go and see the ocean. The entire city was built around the crescent of the bay, and the smell of salt was always present in the air, but Jay had never actually seen it.

Now, Jay was terrified by its sheer enormity. The ocean had always been described as a beautiful blue, and maybe it was near the shore, but tracing towards the horizon the waters became black and opaque. The source of the Omnocean's name was starkly clear. While the actual ocean was far different, it was the most apt comparison to convey the magnitude of magic.

Standing on the boat, Jay already knew the journey would feel much longer than the eight days it was projected to actually take. Not only did he have to dress masculine for disguise purposes, but he also had to deal with the cold dread of the deep.

Yesterday, Zira had arrived in the late afternoon in a panic, telling them that they needed to leave the next day. The entire rest of the day had passed in a complete blur of packing. Jay had to let his employers know he had to leave, and asked if receiving half of a paycheck was possible. It wasn't. Thankfully, Vayen's employer was far more generous, but was still sad to see him go.

Then, Zira had looked at the map for two seconds before deciding that they needed to go to the island of Midorishima. It was a rather small island: only about a hundred miles across. However, it hosted several cities magnitudes larger than Lunabae as well as countless farming towns and villages further inland. As far as disappearing into the crowd was concerned, it was perfect.

So, now they were here on a ship that was leaving port. Jay's white knuckles clutched the railing tightly as the city slowly drowned below the horizon. Soon, the ship was drifting in a wasteland of dark, undrinkable water that stretched as far as the eye could see and uncomfortably far beyond even that.

As Jay predicted, time slowed to a passive drift. Each day looked the exact same, and each one began to blend into a spiral without variation. Without measurement and without clear sections, time could be of any length, and of course it had to be torturously long.

At the very least, the dread became easier to contend with. The quiet moments of listening to the wind reminded Jay of the only good part of the home he'd left behind months ago.

After every harvest, everyone reaped the fruits of their own labor without working for a few days. In that time where Summer and Fall were unclearly defined, the hills were still green and perennial flowers still thrived. Jay remembered making the decision to leave amongst those hills while the cool premonition of Winter blew past. It was near the end of those days that Jay realized being there was the only enjoyable thing within his life. It was also when Jay realized that the world had plenty of flowery hills with billowing breezes, and that the place he was born wasn't a home.

The fourth evening was relatively quiet. Hours past sunset, the wind was weakened to mere wisps, and the crew that would usually remain awake during the night instead decided to wait below decks. The only person left above deck was waiting up in the crow's nest. Thus, Zira wasn't getting in anyone's way when she crept up onto the deck and leaned against the railing.

The moon was half full above the sea, and despite its bright light, countless stars were still visible. Well travelled swells bobbed the ship gently and scattered the silvery reflection of the world's only orbital companion.

They had made it over half way on their journey to Midorishima. Zira wasn't sure what she would find there. A place like that was crawling with thieves, and those who were sharper at catching them. While there was more work, the competition for it was fierce, and it would be much harder to find a job for the others. She could work an honest job, but judging from Lunabae, that kind of work didn't pay nearly enough to live in any semblance of comfort. Thus, the ultimate responsibility to get money would fall on her more than the others.