The lore of many kingdoms says that their roots lie in other countries, in far-off places that their ancestors traveled from. Some crossed the waters to escape great hardships, others out of a spirit of adventure. There has been much debate as to the validity of their claims, and one important detail is at the center of the debate.
No one has ever gone back.
There have been those who have tried, several over the course of history, but survivors of those ill-fated expeditions have told the same stories. Travel after a certain point becomes impossible: the waters are too harsh, the weather unpredictable, and the lack of any land masses mean that if the ship is damaged, it stays that way. The space between the mainland and the small halo of islands a few days' trip away was the only part of the ocean that had been successfully mapped and traveled. Beyond that, there was nothing.
Or, at least, next to nothing. Those who travel the ocean waters know that beyond the islands there is another small stretch of water that is still harsh and inhospitable, but not entirely unconquerable. If, say, someone were a seasoned sailor, and trying to escape the reach of the law, they could flee to those waters and lose their potential captors in the storms and surf. Those waters belonged to the pirates, and them alone.
There are a few moral and upright persons who would go to those waters willingly, but just as many who are dragged out unwillingly. Of those who managed to escape, none would dare go back.
Not unless they absolutely had to.
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On the Deep Waters
FantasySooner or later, everyone has to face their past. Sometimes, you don't get a say in when. OR the sequel to The Raven and the Dragon, where Solomon Obote must face his dark and troubled past. Originally posted on singlequantumevent.com.
