The Dread Legion Advances...
The Poison Arrow passed into deep towering formations of clouds that engulfed us and cast the world into a fog. The cold damp hung on the canvas and ropes making them heavy with moisture and the vessel a little less swift, a little more lubberly in her gait.
Our helmsman and Captain turned out to be an independent merchant, which explained the absence of Fleet personnel on board. He looked like a Human when I approached him but corrected me almost immediately when I tried to make small talk.
“So…can you tell me a little about where we are going?” I leaned against the railing on the raised aft deck. The Captain stood at the ship’s wheel and took readings off of a tall complex looking device, a collection of gears, metal disks, clockwork and a tall silver filled tube set with numerals.
The Captain grunted and continued to take his readings.
“Not interested in talking to me? You only speak to other Humans? A Xeph not good enough for you?”
“Elan.”
“What?”
“I am not any more Human than you are. I am Elan.” The Captain peered at me through thick white bangs that fell over his eyes. The wind tossed his rather impressive mane of hair about him. His eyes were an old color, a sort of amber golden color.
“What’s an Elan?”
“You don’t know? I thought all Xeph would know. Is this your first time to Sepulcher?”
I answered with a nod feeling uncomfortable that my lack of knowledge about my own people would become the topic of conversations. I had only meant to draw the Captain into small talk to pass the time.
The Captain stood and gestured with his hand. Strangely the wheel held to its course as though invisible hands guided it. He stepped over to me and offered a hand.
I shook hands with him.
“I am Victor.” The Elan gestured with long pale hands at the device next to the ship’s wheel. “Have you ever seen one of these before?”
I shook me head. This was my first time on a Rigger ship of this size. The first time I had left the city in my entire life.
“This….is called the Ship’s Vein. If the Poison Arrow had a heart then this would be it.”
Victor gestured to the ribbons tied to the top of the Ship’s Vein. “As you know all of the moonlets travel in orbits around the great permanent storms found at the center of each of the four realms. What you might not know is that weather and wind always pass outwards from these central storms…”
“You are talking about the Gods Eyes.” I stepped closer gaining interest.
“Yes, exactly right. Wind and storms move out from the central storm eye or Gods Eyes as they are known in The Dominion in a counter clockwise direction. These ribbons, the flags on the Poison Arrow, they easily show with a glance the direction of the wind. Facing into the wind we call the direction Windward and facing down from the wind we call…”
“Haven.” That much I knew.
“Why do we call the downwind direction Haven?”
I shrugged.
“Because all ports are constructed on the downwind side of any great moonlet. You see that the sheer cliff face on the trailing edge of a moonlet provides a natural windbreak for Rigger Ships that arrive in port. Vessels docked on the Haven side are less likely to face troubles from storms or high winds.”
Victor tapped a compass set in the top of the Ship’s Vein with his finger. “You know what a compass is I hope…”
I answered with a nod.
“Good. So you know the compass needle points at the closest God’s Eye. The great storms create an invisible force. It is like a magical force but it is not magical. This force pulls the compass needle to point towards the God’s Eye and since the God’s Eye is at the center of each orbiting system of moonlets we know…”
“You know when you are sailing deeper into a system of moonlets, or a realm.”
“Exactly, and that direction is called?”
I shrugged. I was no sailor.
“Core. It is called sailing into the Core or traveling Coreward.”
“What about sailing out of a system with the God’s Eye behind us?”
Again I was a blank. Victor looked disappointed.
“That is sailing Spinward. Remember Spinward is out of a system and Coreward is into a system. So the four directions we now know are?”
“Windward..Haven..Core and Spinward?”
“Yes, perfect.”
Victor tapped the tall glass tube filled with silver liquid. “This tube of liquid changes depending on the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. When we sail lower the liquid climbs higher into the tube. When we go upward the liquid goes lower in the tube. The markings here, they measure where we are high or low in the Empyrean. That is important as well if you intend to find your way from place to place.”
“What’s this?” I pointed at a glass that had the appearance of a spyglass but was attached to an odd ruler like device.
“That is for taking readings.”
“Readings? I don’t understand.”
“You can find your position using a map, the compass, the silver, and this. You find a star, not just any star, but certain stars or the moon or the position of the sun and you can work out where you are on one of these.” He tapped his finger on one of the etched metal discs.
“What is that?”
“This? It’s a chart…you know, a map. You see the moonlets move in their course the same position, at the same time, year after year. Some take less than a year to orbit all the way around the God’s Eye, some take two or three years to go all the way around. The fact is that we know exactly how long it takes to go around once and where each moonlet is depending on the…”
“Depending on the time..and the date.”
“Yes…”
“So what your telling me is that this device with the gears inside is basically a mechanical calendar and clock…like they have in the Fleet offices?”
“Yes, exactly like those and you see these discs each have a map etched on them. I set the maps in correctly and using the Ship’s Vein…”
“You can find your way anywhere you like.”
“Well, almost. Some places are quite a bit easier than others to find. If you sail outside of one of the more well traveled charts you take your chances. Some regions have not been explored or mapped very accurately. Not like the Empyrean within one of the four realms.”
I stretched and looked out over the deck of the ship to spy Scout, Spiral and Candle clustered together talking on the central deck.
“Do you know what is to become of us then?”
“Not really. I try to not pay very close attention to matters that involve The Dominion. No offense. Officer Sorrow doesn’t pay me to know too much about what goes on.”
I sighed and gave a nod.
“Don’t be too horribly sad young master. I’m sure that you and your friends will be alright. One thing I do know is that the Dominion doesn’t pay good money to sail perfectly useful individuals such as yourselves off without having something quite special in mind for you.”
“Yes, exactly, that is what worries me.” I answered.
Victor laughed. It was a good solid hearty chuckle. “Good point lad. Good point.”