Saint Seiya: The Legend of Seiya

77 - The First Relic

"Land ahoy!" shouted the voice of young Lunara, excited, followed by the sound of the bell.

At dawn on the fourth day of the voyage, Captain Kaire left his cabin at the sound of the bell ringing. He was soon greeted by the deck ensign and noticed Seiya behind the helm in his handsome shiny uniform; with the swiftness of a bird, Lunara appeared among them.

"Are you going to throw up on my deck, Seiya?"

"No, Sir, Captain, No!"

"We'll see about that."

He quickly crossed the quarterdeck and headed for the forecastle to lean over the rail, where June and Geist were already looking curiously out to sea. The captain said good morning to them and also put his face out of the boat so that he could glimpse, on the horizon, the great strip of land of the African coast.

"We're approaching the Suez Canal, Captain." said Geist. "We will be able to leave the Aegean Sea and reach the Indian Ocean through the Dead Sea."

"Yes, you are right as always, my dear first mate, but this time we will not cross the Canal."

"What?" June asked, confused, and saw that Captain Meko was smiling.

He strode back across the deck to the quarterdeck and put his hand on Seiya's shoulder.

"What do you think about putting this ship in the air?"

It was the first time in many days that June had seen a hint of a smile on Geist's face, and even Seiya let out an expression of someone who was about to experience something incredible. He locked the helm and walked away giving way to Captain Kaire, but Meko looked deep into his helmsman's eyes and offered him:

"I want the first fly to be yours, Seiya."

And then what was excitement turned to dread in the boy. He took the helm again, unlocked the helm, lifted a box to the side revealing a beautifully carved lever. He swallowed hard and felt a little dizzy with worry. The Captain's thunderous voice rang out to everyone on the vessel.

"All hands on deck!" he ordered, making sure everyone was in the gallery, while the commanding officers were each in their predetermined place.

"Helmsman, you will put this ship in the clouds at my command!"

Seiya locked the helm and put his hand on the lever beside him, trembling.

"Prepare for takeoff procedure, Ensign Lunara!" shouted the Captain.

"Yes sir!" she replied, aligning the angle of all the sails downwind.

The Galleon immediately picked up speed and Geist again ordered across the deck for everyone to straighten up.

"Ready, Ensign!" Captain Kaire warned. "Seiya, at my command, make this ship fly."

"At your command, Captain."

Captain Kaire leaned on the railing directly in front of Seiya and the Bronze Saint watched every inch of his body; he had his fist clenched at the side of his head and Seiya was just waiting for the signal. When at last the Captain pointed to the bow of the ship and exclaimed:

"Gllide, Pegasus!"

Seiya pulled the lever little by little, as he had done in training, but, even gently, everyone felt subtly unbalanced, because the Galleon was really taking off little by little from the waters of the Aegean Sea. They all felt a cold chill in their stomachs, like someone going quickly up a ramp; Lunara screamed with joy as she felt the wind getting stronger and stronger on her child's face. The sails swelled and it wasn't long before they were, in fact, taking flight, leaving the turbulent oceans behind to sail the white sea of cotton clouds.