Mirror of the Past

Dace 7- Silent seasickness

The ship carved its way through the waves as gracefully as a dancer, the rock and bob of the ship was almost unfelt on the decks above as the sailors walked happily, their balance naturally shifting with the waves as they went about their tasks, securing rope, moving the sails mopping sea spray from the deck. The sun had just set behind them for the night, the water becoming darker and darker with each passing moment. The sea creatures that had swam beside the ship, singing to the sailors, who had cheered at their sight, had retreated into the depths to sleep, or so the captain had claimed. Tylo was now up on the helm, standing with one hand lazily on the ship's wheel, the other wrapped around the neck of a bottle, loosely dangling by his waist.

Of the twelve killers hired by the old slaver, only Dace, Silence and the pair Fillt and Sail were on the deck as the moon shone overhead. The rest were in the hold, sleeping, drinking or chatting, the sounds of which came muffled through the shifting wood below. Silence had stowed his longsword and was sitting on the bench beside some of the slaves rowing the large vessel. His feet stretched out in front of him, his head bobbing with the heave and pull of the oars. The men he sat beside seemed simply terrified at first, never before having encountered the situation, worrying they would be attacked or punished if they fell out of rhythm. Their increased effort in keeping in rhythm with the other seven rows of benches actually causing them to slightly go out of rhythm, with an increase in speed, not that it bothered the strange man in the slightest it seemed.

Fillt and Sail were standing together, Fillt still wore the angry scowl on his face that hadn't left after his outburst some sun's hands before when they first were introduced. He had a heavy spear at his feet, the point of which was barbed and would look very worrying if you were standing on the wrong side of it. He was murmuring quietly to sail on the opposite side of the ship from where Dace lay, one leg dangling over the side of the ship, above the churning water below, comfortable with his coat folded as a pillow. The strange man Sail still wore his hood up, at no point ever facing the light in a way his face could be seen. Dace had tried to enter the man's mind, the air shimmering slightly but he could see nothing, which had been worrying. Maybe he has some protection. There were old stories of enchanted items that gave the user access to mild forms of power, or protection from magic. Often sold in the vast markets of the Summer Isles, but fakes made up almost all of the sales, the merchants being masters of lies and coercion. A few with the Golden Voice able to sell anything from a blade of grass, to a vial of gull dung for extortionate prices. Once caught however, they faced horrible punishments for the wasteful use of their powers.

Whatever, the reason, I don't like it. Dace had almost felt as if Sail was watching him, even with his back turned towards him. The man didn't even appear to carry a weapon, but under his hooded robe, he could easily have hidden a small sword or knife. If he has magic then things may go sour. As it always had in Dace's history of meeting those who could wield fractions of the Gods' powers. The children of Yulla, humans who received part of her spirit weren't too bad in Dace's mind. They tended to hospitals all over the Far South, and the Summer Isles. There were even two in the Diamond Quarter of Port Hordo, who has used their gifts to keep the rich and powerful from death, living in great mansions and kept under careful guard. There were even rumours of one woman living in Kerda, who was blessed with both Yulla's gift, and the dedication to Rayl opening her mind to the world around her. Thankfully the woman had never been caught, as keeping the last vestiges of magic and religion alive in the world was important in keeping the darkness of the past at bay, but if humans were able to wield the full power of the Gods, then history may repeat itself, and more people would be engulfed by the flames that tore the Gods and the City of Angels from the world.