The Call of the Sea (Mariana)

[Elissa Vuronia]

Hours had passed since the wonderful ship had left port. Elissa had been wondering what it would be like to travel on such a magnificently crafted ship, but now she wished that she hadn't! She felt sick in her stomach. Luckily however it was a sensation that was easy to ignore, constantly she would check in on Amity within the cargo hold of the ship. But with the extra coin added to the agreed price for herself and Amity to be onboard the captain's ship there was no doubt that her white stallion steed was going to be well looked after.

With Amity safe in the holds Elissa decided to get some fresh air. After opening a door, which led into the ship itself, she gazed out into the open sea and gasped in amazement. Everywhere as far as she could see was nothing but pure crystal clear blue sea and bright blue skies, along with fluffy white clouds, which gave a signal that, it was a good day for sailing.

She walked northwards for a few steps, and placed her hands on the wooden handrail. A small gust of wind swept across her skin like a tiny feather as she began to admire what was standing before her, so this was what it was like to sail across the mighty ocean! Elissa had said thought to herself. Her garments still consisted of her silver coloured tunic and trousers, but left her long cloak inside her cabin.

Elissa began to appreciate the captain for allowing her to come aboard and let her see such a beautiful view of the ocean. She knew that she had to pay her way to getting on board the ship, but it was payment that was well worth it! Although her stomach still felt a bit uncomfortable due to it being her first time sailing across the sea! But her focus remained unchanged and simply stood quietly admiring the majestic ocean, she never once disturbed the crew. All she could think about was whether or not her journey was either for nothing or there was meaning behind it?

With a relaxing sigh Elissa stood calmly watching the ocean as she tried her best to enjoy the journey to the Anderfels. It would be a long travel there by ship, but all that mattered to Elissa was that Amity was safe and her personal journey to discover the meaning of life continued.

[Mariana]

Mariana hummed softly to herself as she steered the ship. It had been too long... For the first time since the Mermaid had sunk, she felt whole... at peace. It was strange, after three years, to have a deck beneath her feet that was hers and not something she had to pay to be allowed on... To have the wheel in her hands, listen to the ship's creaks and moans... The Bastard spoke to her just the way the Mermaid had.

She was floating on her joy when she caught sight of the little noble girl coming up on deck looking green but awed. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. Elissa, was it? Well, Mariana was in a damned good mood and thought maybe she'd try to make peace. She didn't care whether Elissa approved of her - which would never happen - but they could at least try to get along, yes?

Handing the wheel off to the sailing master, Mariana made her way down from the rearcastle to speak with the girl. "Gorgeous isn't it?" she asked, hopping up to sit on the rail with her legs dangling out over the open water. "She'll take you anywhere, you know, if you know how to handle her. The ocean, I mean. She's a cruel bitch, and she'll spread her legs for anyone who knows how, but she'll never leave you. And once she's in your blood you can always feel her, calling you home when you're away... And a good ship, she's everything good about the ocean with none of the bad bits, so long as you love her. If you listen close, she'll even talk to you."

Tearing her eyes away from the horizon, she leaned back to meet Elissa's gaze. She'd been running on a bit and she knew it, but she couldn't seem to help it. It was the ocean, and the ship... Her greatest loves. Maybe she and Elissa could find some common ground there.

"It's a six-month trip to the Anderfels. Want to learn about sailing?"

[Elissa Vuronia]

Seeing the sea for the first time brought a sense of calm and relaxation within Elissa's heart. It was as though the sea itself was like a mirror that reflected one's soul, the water was so clear and the air felt fresh. Her stomach may feel sick but her spirit was calm and her heart felt at peace, indeed it was a beautiful sight to behold. But it was still going to be difficult to get used to seeing the sea all around her, All she could do now was just enjoy the view, keep an eye on Amity and get used to sailing.

A voice soon snapped her out of the view, which made Elissa, turned towards it and saw the captain of the ship Mariana sitting just beside the teen noble. She expressed her feelings about the sea, from it being rough some times to it being a wonderful ally; Elissa quietly listened to Mariana's words and took everything to heart. Mariana was much experienced in sailing then Elissa and she knew that the captain must have seen many things with her wonderful ship. It was quite interesting to hear what Mariana had to say about the sea, if she knew a lot about the sea then perhaps Mariana knew how to get used to sea sickness?

With a calming sigh Elissa decided to return her feelings of the sea. And spoke while keeping her eye on the ocean, her voice filled with relaxing words of honesty. "It’s my first time sailing, but I have never seen something so beautiful. The air here is so fine here and I just can't stop admiring such a wonderful view from this magnificent ship you have" Of course hearing from Mariana that it would take six months to reach the Anderfels. Never the less Elissa felt confident she could get used to this view.

Then a question was asked by Mariana and wondered if Elissa was interested in learning how to sail. It was a perfect opportunity to learn how things what Mariana was taught; turning her gaze back to Mariana she smiled in excitement and nodded while she immediately replied with a grin. "I'd love too, thanks captain".

[Mariana]

Mariana grinned at Elissa and swung her legs over the rail to hop back on deck. "First thing first - you look a little sick, yeah? Happens to a lot of people. I get the same thing on land myself. Bit of ginger's just the thing to get you settled." Walking smoothly toward the hatch, she glanced over her shoulder and called back with a wink. "Come along, love, I keep some pickled ginger in the hold. Won't take advantage unless you ask me to."

With that, she opened the hatch and stepped below deck. Pickled ginger should be with ship supplies... Now where did the bloody boatswain put them? Without stopping, she made her way astern. She'd checked all the cargo as it came aboard, and again once it was all loaded, so she knew where it all was. The problem with pirates was that they didn't label anything in case of raids.

It only took a minute to find the barrel of pickled ginger, though, and she dropped a couple of pieces on a wooden dish. "Here you go love. It's always here, just tell either me or the boatswain you're taking some if yo uneed it so we can mark it down. You can tell Cinza too, if you can work up the nerve, but he's not friendly with strangers. Tal vashoth can be scary bastards."

Heading back up to the deck, she kept talking to Elissa as they went, "So, anything special you want to learn about? Rigging? Navigation?" Mariana arched a brow. "Morale?"

[Elissa Vuronia]

A sea of relief washed over Elissa's confidence, as Mariana was about to teach her about sailing. These lessons would be quite valuable for her for if she wanted to travel again she could use what learned from Mariana and make her journey a lot more relaxing, and fun at the same time. Plus if she can get rid of her sea sickness then the rest of the journey would be a breeze, plus Elissa would be doing something that not even her brother hadn't done before. Now it was going to be her turn to teach him, she could feel her blood boil in excitement and looked forward to what Mariana had in store.

And things got even better as Mariana had spotted Elissa's uncomfortable feeling. The captain spoke in words that proved that she knew what was doing and almost immediately Elissa followed her down into the ship, to Elissa it was like travelling down a hall of wood. But then again the ship was made out of wood and was the only thing that kept her from drowning, She felt really happy to get rid of this sick like feeling and had wondered what Mariana was thinking about it.

It did however make Elissa feel a little better knowing that even Mariana had seasickness as well. Soon the captain revealed something rather different to Elissa's eyes, now lying before her was a type of food, which was known as a pickled ginger. At first Elissa was stunned as how pickled ginger would help seasickness, but she trusted Mariana's words and gently she took the plate into her hands.

Using one hand to hold the wooden plate and the other to pick up a piece of the pickled ginger, Elissa looked at it slightly and bravely she placed it into her mouth and used her teeth to bite into it. The taste seemed strange to her taste buds, there was a vinegary like feeling in her mouth but at the same time her tongue experienced a tingling feeling on her mouth but it was only slight feeling.

She soon gulped it down and placed the plate down onto a nearby crate. And pretty soon her stomach felt a little better! Elissa rubbed her tummy and was amazed by the pickled ginger’s effectiveness on her seasickness, a smile crept up on her face and she quickly spoke in utter amazement. " Wow captain! I feel better already! Thank you. I'll be sure to do that" Her words spoke with a newfound respect for Mariana. Elissa followed Mariana back up to deck and was even given a choice on what she could learn; the choices were difficult to make.

But once choice sparked her interest. Eager to learn more and gain some experience in sailing, Elissa turned her gaze to Mariana and replied with a voice of excitement and focus. "Navigation sounds interesting, it also sounds quite useful".

[Mariana]

Mariana offered an exaggerated bow in response to Elissa's thanks. "Like I said - I get just the same feeling whenever I try making my way on land. Wouldn't wish that on anyone." Flashing a grin, she waved Elissa to go on ahead of her. "Unless they deserved it of course. Like folks who don't know the difference between a boat and a ship. Besides, you're not bad for a noble. You don't look down your nose quite as much as some of the others."

But the girl wanted to learn about navigation, and Mariana waved her on to the prow as she went to get her sextant and astrolabe. It didn't take long, she just had to get them off her desk in the captain's berth - she just had to remind herself to knock in case Alistair was in there. She shook her head. Sometimes it was more trouble than it was worth, letting the king have the only private room on the ship.

Trotting across the deck back to Elissa, Mariana hopped up to sit on the railing. "Now being at sea's different from trying to get around on land - there's no signs or people to ask for directions, or even roads or landmarks to let you know where you are or where you're going. All you got here is the sea and sky - that's where these little bastards come in." Holding out the sextant and astrolabe for Elissa to examine, she started on explaining their purpose. "These let you measure the angle of the sun and stars - they're about the only landmarks you get out here.

"Sun's noon is when you don't throw a shadow - if you measure the sun against the horizon, you get your latitude - that's how far south you are. At night, you measure between the moon and southern star, you get your longitude - that's how far west you are. You take those two measurements and put them to a sea chart, and you see where you are accurate enough to cut straight across the open ocean for a ways." Casting Elissa a sidelong glance and a broad grin, she asked, "Want to try?"

[Elissa Vuronia]

Learning all about sailing from Mariana was a great honour and a privilege for Elissa. It would a great time to learn from the captain and become a better person on the open sea's, besides she would not want to get lost if she had enough coin to buy her own ship someday. Plus learning how to deal with sea sickness had helped her a lot for her stomach was much better thanks to pickled ginger. It was still surprising to learn that this type of food helped the stomach for this kind of situation, still she also learned that Mariana was actually quite a nice person.

As she slowly headed back the way she came, Elissa happily listened to Mariana's words. She even commented about the young noble, Elissa could help but let out a small chuckle and responded in respect for her new teacher. "HAHAHA, your not to bad yourself captain. But seriously, I am not like that. I treat everyone as equals,” the teen said in complete honesty.

After heading back out onto the deck Elissa happily enjoyed the view once again while Mariana suddenly went to get something. It didn’t take the captain look to head back to where Elissa was standing, she noticed that in the hands of the captain was two objects that looked pretty different. Their true meaning was revealed as she looked into the captain's eyes in complete focus and took every bit of information into her mind.

It was astounding to know that these instruments were used to measure to angle of the sun and the stars. Elissa could tell that navigation was pretty useful, but she also knew it was going to be difficult to learn how to use these wonderful items. Still there was no time like the present, she was now more then ever to learn from Mariana. Returning a smile to Mariana, Elissa made her smile a sign of respect to the captain. "Sure" Her voice spoke with excitement. It was her first time learning how to use these important instruments, despite knowing it will be difficult; Elissa was determined to not let Mariana down.

[Mariana]

Mariana grinned. It was always good to see someone learn to love the sea. Elissa didn't know what she was getting into. Once the ocean was in her blood she was doomed, never able to escape the siren call of the water. The waves would sing in her sleep to call her home, just as they did to Mariana, pull in her veins when she was away...

Of course Elissa might not fall in love with the ocean. Some people never did no matter how long they sailed, and the ocean was just water and a ship was just a ship. Mariana could never understand it, could never understand the obsession with the roads and the signposts and the bloody directions... The ocean could be a cruel bitch but she was free. A lot freer than the land would ever let anyone be.

But Elissa wanted to learn, and Mariana was more than glad to teach her. "Try the astrolabe first. Careful, now, it's heavy," she said, handing the instrument over. She wasn't kidding when she said it was heavy - even with the frame design they used on ships the thick cast brass circle was easily as heavy as the girl's shield. And the astrolabe was held outward from the body, rather than strapped to an arm.

"Now getting your latitude is easy. You take this and measure how high the sun is off the horizon when it's at its highest. Now what you do is you hold it straight up and down, so the crosspiece in the middle makes a 't' and it says ninety on the top."

Moving to stand behind Elissa, Mariana corrected the girl's grip and turned her to face the sun directly. "Always face what your measuring straight on, or you won't get a proper measurement. Now, see this little bar on the side? That's called the alidade. You want to tilt the far end of that up slowly until the sun just barely doesn't cast a shadow on it. Then you do some math. Your latitude is ninety degrees minus the altitude plus declination. Every ship keeps a book with the sun and certain stars declinations for each part of the year. Mine's in the cabin, if you want we can look it up and check the sea chart at the same time. It's not perfect, but it keeps you close enough to get you where you need to be." Mariana chuckled softly to herself. "Getting a bit long-winded aren't I?"

---

This is actually how the astrolabe was used - it just wasn't very accurate. They tended to be off by as much as five degrees if the user didn't take a perfect reading.

[Elissa Vuronia]

Using two important items uses by navigators made Elissa feel a little worried. Still she felt proud to know that Mariana trusted her to use them, carefully her scanned the shape of each item and looked at each section of them in every detail. She confirmed to herself that it was indeed the first time seeing them, but despite now knowing this Elissa was more then ready to see what their functions were.

Judging from Mariana's words of wisdom these were very important when it comes to charting a set course. And without it then they would be lost, the captain soon spoke about the astrolabe causing Elissa to looked at it gently and slowly placed her hands onto it in a very delicate manner and held it steadily. Mariana wasn’t kidding though; it was indeed quite heavy as she felt pressure pushing down on her hands. Holding the astrolabe in her hands made a memory appear in her mind, the pressure reminded Elissa of the first time she held a sword thanks to her brother.

Back when she began her first training session with her older brother, Elissa struggled. The first time she tried to pick up an actual sword caused her to drop it. Each time her hands tried to pick the hilt of the sword up, she either held it for a few seconds and even then her hands and arms would shake due to the weight of the sword.

Her brother was embarrassed so he decided to physically train her until her body was strong enough. Elissa could still remember the look on his face, now the pressure that the astrolabe gave off was now nothing compared to the weight of the sword. Listening carefully to Mariana's instructions Elissa held the astrolabe and lifted it upward towards the sun, there she very slowly followed the instructions to the latter.

Sure enough her grip on the astrolabe was modified. But Elissa didn't mind as she needed to know how everything worked, it was truly impressive how such an important tool was able to do something like this. While the captain asked a question, the teen replied with a smile of excitement and a look of focus, while her voice was filled with determination. "Not at all captain, your just teaching me on how to use them. Besides I need to know all the details on how to use these properly".

[Mariana]

"You do now? Thinking of signing on?" Mariana winked, teasing Elissa. "Best be careful love, once the sea's in your blood you'll never escape it - she'll sing in your sleep and pull you back to her, and you won't even want to fight." She chuckled. "Sounds a bit ominous doesn't it? It's not though... I couldn't dream of anything but the open sea and freedom. And if I treat her right, this ship will love me better and truer than any man or woman alive. Anyway, we can't take our longitude until night, so why don't we head over to the cabin and look at those books and charts, yeah? Come on if you're coming."

Turning back astern, she strode easily across the deck to the cabin and in a bare few minutes had her various charts spread out on her desk. The single piece of furniture was huge, taking up most of the space in the cabin and fighting for room with the bed. Between the two there was just barely room for a small chest containing some of King Alistair's essentials and a chair for the desk. Not a luxurious room by any standards, but it was private and really it had everything it needed. And as long as the king didn't need it, she was free to work - and, as the moment required, teach.

Pulling out a chart that showed the general part of the Waking Sea they occupied and her almanac, she waved for Elissa to take the chair. "Now a sea chart isn't quite the same as a map - if you can see, it's all on a fine grid, and the proportions are different. See here? It's important that the water is to scale, and you don't get that on a regular map - they stretch the seas and oceans out so the land fits properly." Setting her almanac in front of Elissa, she flipped open the pages and started explaining it. "This book here is called an almanac. It shows the declinations for the sun and stars at different times of the year - has a different page for each day. You remember the formula to get your latitude?"

[Elissa Vuronia]

It was clear to Elissa that Mariana loved the sea and sailing. She could feel that the captain of this marvellous ship had a deep compassion for the ocean, and the life of gliding across the ocean surface, which brought happiness to her heart. All she could was smile at Mariana's words and simply just stood there with a heart-warming smile of excitement and of respect for her teacher. With a determination looming over her heart she followed the captain back inside the ship and arrived at a cabin.

This room looked slightly different to the others she had been in. Elissa didn't complain one bit as her cabin was fairly basic and that was all she needed. However this room had a chest, a large piece of furniture and something which resembled one giant piece of scroll. As Mariana showed her, Elissa calmly sat down on a wooden chair and paid close attention to the detail of the paper, which was now in front of her.

Indeed the captain was right about this. Sure enough it was different to any other map, but the attention to detail was much greater then that of a treasure map. She followed Mariana's words on the sea chart like a hawk and soon could understand her teachings about the sea chart. And as a question fell upon on her, Elissa turned to Mariana and spoke with utter confidence, which filled her voice while nodding her head. "Yes I do".