Birthright: The Contested Seat

Varyth

The journey to The Triplets had gone quite well, as far as Varyth was concerned. His initial fears of spending nearly twenty-one days upon a ship were quickly soothed by how smoothly it sailed upon the waves. He had not been without his worry completely, however. The thought of being caught in a storm often overwhelmed him and sent him into a fit of panic. He had kept these fits to himself, as he did not want to worry the crew, or Lady Khuli for that matter.

He had spent most of his time working through his strategy for the Sage Superior. The old man was reasonable but not a fool. Legitimizing Kyran could throw Ethios into chaos, and that was not something The Triplets wanted to deal with. A civil war was one thing, but The Scholastic Order being implicated in having started it would be out of the question. Varyth hoped that Lady Khuli was not exaggerating about the extent of her relationship with the Sage Superior, for he had a feeling they would need to lean on it.

When he wasn't working on strategy, Varyth found solace in the small collection of weathered tomes provided in his chambers. They held knowledge from distant lands and bygone eras. He delved into the works of forgotten philosophers, their wisdom breathing life into his voracious mind. He had forgotten how much he had loved to read. He hadn't had much time for it until now.

He also found great pleasure in mingling amongst the captain and his crew above deck. Captain Wallace had been guiding ships through treacherous waters for decades and Varyth took the opportunity to learn about the art of navigation from him.

Captain Wallace, appreciative of his curiosity,  regaled him with tales of distant shores and starlit constellations. He showed Varyth how to read the stars, pointing out the constellations that had guided sailors since time immemorial. Under his tutelage, Varyth learned the subtle art of navigating by the heavens, an age-old dance between man and the cosmos.

However, the best part of the journey had been Lady Khuli. Varyth found it hard to admit just how taken he was with her. He had always been attracted to women of great intelligence, but Lady Khuli Hundreka was more interesting than all of those who had come before. She had taught him much about her tinctures, balms, and ointments since their trip began and he was grateful for it. She was the best healer he'd ever met, and that wasn't an exaggeration.

A sudden jolt of the ship nearly knocked him off his feet as he grabbed the post of his bed to keep himself steady. Shutting his eyes to ward off the dizziness, he listened closely to the sound of the waves outside. They were getting louder, and more violent. Just as he had feared, a low rumble of thunder rolled across the sky, shaking the ship even further. As if the thunder had shaken his trauma to the surface, flashes of the shipwreck overcame him.

Varyth sat on his bed, his body trembling with the aftershocks of his resurfaced memories. The thunderous clash of lightning and the breaking of the mast replayed in his mind, each detail etched into his psyche with vivid clarity. But the most haunting recollection was the moment he plunged into the unforgiving embrace of the ocean, the wreckage of his ship fading above him.

The image haunted him, dragging him back to the depths of despair. The suffocating weight of water, the disorienting darkness, and the desperate struggle for air—it all flooded his senses, threatening to drown him in a sea of torment. His breaths grew shallow, his pulse erratic, as panic gripped him in its vise-like hold.

As the storm grew worse outside, a flicker of movement caught Varyth's eye. Lady Khuli, knowing of his fears, entered the room to check on his well-being, her gaze filled with concern. She had seen the telltale signs of his distress, the ghosts of his past consuming him in the present.

She approached him, her footsteps steady and comforting. In her hands, she held a small jar, a medicinal balm that she had prepared to aid in soothing his troubled spirit. Her eyes held an understanding born of her time treating him on Ilyrian, a beacon of empathy in the midst of Varyth's storm-tossed emotions.