Chapter 4: In the Shadow of the Forest
After spending several days following the coast and keeping an eye out for the signs Sitara had indicated, Emrys spotted two figures on the beach in the early morn of the 20th of the 7th moon. Once the crew had traveled to shore and Sitara made herself known, they were greeted by her uncle Radovan and her cousin Havyril, who led the crew inland. Upon arriving at their caravan, Havyril’s twin Damijan, dropped down out of a tree, nearly assaulting Sitara, before she was overwhelmed by her family’s welcome.
A beautiful, barefooted lady, who seemed to dance even as she ran, was the first to reach Sitara. Their resemblance was striking; Akash and Kasumi were placing bets on whether she was the Captain’s sister when Sitara introduced the woman as her mother, Svetlana. Soon, two more women, who appeared older than Svetlana, joined the embrace, and Sitara presented her aunts, Krasava and Tsura.
The Krejci greeted Sitara in turn, until the crowd parted for an elderly woman wrapped in an exquisite shawl descending slowly from one of the wagons. Her thin lips curled into a smile around a pipe with an impressively long stem, wisps of smoke curling about her silvered waves as she approached, her proud bearing far exceeding her wizened body. Sitara stepped forward to meet her, and the old woman raised her chin expectantly. She leaned over to kiss the woman’s leathery cheek before being pulled into a tight hug.
"Welcome home, little Danika.” One by one, Sitara introduced her crew to her grandmother Dragica, matriarch and lorekeeper of the Krejci.
Dasha recognized Danika as the name of one of the jewels of Visatori’s cloak, the Morning Star. Akash knew both Oami and Ash-Sh’b enough to realize Sitara had been named for the same star in both tongues. Many of her kin also affectionately referred to Sitara as what Dasha understood to be her deed name, Derja, “of the sea.”
In addition to the crew, Sitara introduced her family to Viz Leany, who beheld the ship in awe, admiring its beautiful and pious craftsmanship. Seeing their quiet murmurs in response to the ship’s figurehead and name, she suddenly understood why she had not heard the Tale of Leany growing up, given the circumstances of her mother and father. While Sitara found Svetlana to be in good spirits, she could sense her mother’s resignation.
...*...
Over the next few days, the crew and the Krejci exchanged many stories, songs, and dances. Some of the crew were entirely too curious to hear stories about their captain from her childhood. Emrys regaled his eager audience with many tales of the adventures of the brave crew of Viz Leany. Svetlana was very pleased her daughter seemed to have finally found employment better suited to her temperament, given her...difficulties with her prior contracts. And the crew soon learned where Sitara’s grace came from when they discovered Svetlana was herself an exceptional dancer, though her ethereal manner of movement was markedly different from her daughter’s own dynamic style.
After introducing Akash as a mashalah, one who may affect the Dream, Dragica unabashedly inquired after his role in her granddaughter’s personal life. Slightly exasperated, Sitara firmly asserted Akash was a friend and an invaluable member of her crew, nothing more. After affectionately chastising her grandmother’s shameless behavior, Sitara wandered off into the dances. Turning back to Akash, Dragica remarked that it was a pity...but she did not believe such a thing was in the cards for their Derja.
Akash took the opportunity to ask Dragica for her wisdom concerning his strange page of Oami script. Looking over it, she confirmed that it was indeed ancient, from a time long before the Crossing. When he asked for her aid in translating it, she agreed she could divulge some of its meaning, but that he needed to speak with the Larinovna elder for the rest.
The page spoke of a mysterious being named Cecarza Rozka, He of Broken Glass, as well as an artifact called the Biterie Cerule, the Stone of the Sky. Taking a hit off her pipe, the formidable Krejci elder also warned him that if any harm should befall her granddaughter in the course of his search for them, it would come back upon him.
Both thrilled at his progress and a little unsettled, Akash enjoyed the rest of the evening and his smokes. After many rounds of dancing, Sitara finally took a break to dine with her companions. As they partook of delicious food and drink, Akash lightly inquired whether Sitara knew of any Oami possessing powers such as his, or perhaps other abilities such as laying curses upon others. Giving him an uncomfortably astute stare, she answered only with a knowing, coy smile.
Though Dasha enjoyed being back in the company of her people under the canopy of the Great Redwoods, seeing the Krejci embrace Sitara’s return left her feeling subdued. Sitara finally understood the significant glances cast Dasha’s way since their arrival when the Krejci revealed that her clan, the Larinovna, had changed their route, leaving their deep inland homepaths for the southern coast of the forest.
After about a fortnight, the crew bid the lively Krejci farewell and Viz Leany followed the coast south.
...*...
Near a week later, on the 14th of the 8th moon, Viz Leany came upon Calica, the same village from which Dasha had booked passage to Rhakosis with Captain Ranbir. Still at a distance, Emrys noticed smoke rising from the village. Weighing anchor, the crew rowed to shore, and as they approached, they saw multiple fires, but strangely, heard no commotion or panicked cries. Reaching the edge of the village, they soon realized why. No one was there.
Walking through the streets, they found multiple signs that Calica had been recently ransacked, but not a single villager was to be found...not even a corpse. The village appeared empty, abandoned. As Dasha and Akash continued deeper into the village, Sitara and Mesi headed to the beach to search for signs of raiders.
Just south of the village, Sitara saw a strange divot in the sand. Upon closer inspection, Mesi recognized it as the mark of a Ta Atouan assault barge running up on the beach, the kind of barge used by slavers. Realizing what had happened, they rushed back to the longboat, calling out for the others.
Evidence of plundering continued as Dasha and Akash made their way through Calica. Just outside the village, they came upon an Oami caravan showing similar signs of violence. Dasha’s horror intensified as she recognized the wagons. She darted about the caravan, gathering up some personal effects before sprinting back towards the beach, where Sitara was already signaling Viz Leany to make ready to sail. They exchanged what they had discovered as they rowed back to the ship, before the Captain looked solemnly to Mesi and asked her what they were in for.
...*...
Returning to Viz Leany, the Captain wasted no time in mobilizing the crew to make all speed towards Al Qura. Once they were on course, she called everyone together on deck to explain what they had discovered on shore: It seemed Ta Atouan slavers, deciding to look outside of their own nation for resources, had raided the village, capturing the Dascean peasants as well as an Oami caravan, Dasha’s clan. From the relatively fresh signs they had found in Calica, the barge could not have gone far, and if they made haste, Viz Leany could catch them well before they reached Al Qura. From what Mesi had told them, the barge would likely have employed a unit of marines, perhaps a dozen, in addition to two dozen rowers, who would either be slaves, or soldiers.
Excluding Masha, Viz Leany’s crew numbered twenty and four, including the Captain. She acknowledged the odds were not in their favor, though their chances would be improved if the slaves could be turned against their overseers. That said, she confirmed she could not, in good conscience, allow the Ta Atouans’ atrocity to go unanswered, even had it not been Dasha’s kin who were stolen, not when there was a chance to save them. Sitara looked to her crew, declaring she would not command them to follow her on such a deadly endeavor. Rather, she fervently implored them to help her--for Dasha’s family, for the villagers, for the slaves, for the freedom of all who lived by and traveled the sea.
Kamal spoke for the crew, who were moved by the Captain’s impassioned entreaty, answering that it was the right thing to do, no matter the odds, and they would follow her. As they set about to devise a plan for how to deal with a ship full of trained Ta Atouan warriors, Emrys remarked that it was going to make one hell of a story.
...*...
Catching up with the Ta Atouan assault barge, Mesi recognized the ship as Mastiga tou Theo, Scourge of God, captained by Aimatiro Kyma Spiros Antonis, also known as the Bloody Wave. Sitara hailed the ship, offering to turn in Mesi and Diallo for the bounties on their heads. After the Captains’ negotiations, Antonis’ guards led the two belowdecks.
As Mesi and Diallo descended below, they counted a few dozen rowers chained to their benches. Entering the hold, they found it full of people, some who resembled Dasha.
When one of the marines went to grab Mesi’s bindings, she wrenched her arms apart and launched a kick at his face. As he fell, her foot caught him in the throat, and she stomped down with a loud crunch. Grabbing the other guard flanking them, Diallo rammed him into a beam, stunning him as they grappled for control.
With two soldiers remaining, Mesi jammed her elbow into one, knocking the wind out of him, as the other went for his sword and took a swing at Mesi. Luckily, her armor absorbed the worst of the impact. Grabbing the fallen marine’s blade, Mesi retaliated, driving the sword through his chest. Coughing up blood, he slumped over the sword.
The third marine swung and missed Mesi, and she returned with a slash of her own. As her blade struck true, the guard wrestling Diallo gained the upper hand, and started to choke him. Mesi rushed to Diallo’s aid, cracking the guard’s skull with the pommel of her sword. Unfortunately, the soldier she had abandoned took the opportunity to knock Mesi in the back of the head. Through her daze, Mesi felt herself overcome with rage as she surged forward and ran the man through, lifting him into the air for a moment before his body slid off the blade.
With all four marines down, Mesi and Diallo took their keys and started freeing the captives. They were soon joined by a large, strong Ta Atouan woman named Efigenia who had been taken captive with the Larinovna Clan. As they were freeing the rest of the prisoners, a pair of guards spotted them and sounded the alarm.
A vicious battle ensued, with Mesi and Diallo attempting to fight their way up from belowdecks, while Kasumi set about freeing the slave rowers. Rallying the freed slaves, Mesi directed them to the top deck, and the crowd surged forward and upwards.
...*...
As Mesi and Diallo disappeared into the hold, the Captain made something of a show of inspecting the reward offered by Antonis, and inquired if he would be interested in any other trades of goods this day. Akash and Kasumi bickered and bumbled about as they carried crates to and fro. With all eyes on the continuing negotiations, Kasumi dropped unnoticed off the edge of the barge and began to climb towards one of portholes below. Several minutes passed before they heard shouting from belowdecks, and Antonis’ head snapped towards the sound. As he began to bark orders and the marines turned to respond, Sitara interrupted his commands with her swords, launching the surprise attack as her crew leapt onto the barge from the deck of Viz Leany.
Sitara, Dasha, and Akash engaged Captain Antonis at first, until Akash saw some of the crew struggling against the marines and went to assist them.The captains’ blades met again and again, and as the contest continued, they found themselves roughly matched. Suddenly Dasha threw herself into Antonis, driving her blade through his chest and pinning him to the deck. As Dasha rose to her feet and tried to recover from the shock of what she had done, Sitara rushed to aid her crew, but even as she slashed her way through the marines between them, ahead of her she saw one of her men fall, then another...and another.
Suddenly the deck was overrun with a stream of slaves pouring out from belowdecks, rushing their overseers. As Mesi and Kasumi reached the top deck, the battle was all but over as the slaves overwhelmed the remaining marines, though, scattered amongst the enemy, they saw many of their own. With the rest of the crew providing what assistance they could, Dasha and Diallo were able to save Adam, Wasi, Jian, and Jyotish, all of whom were gravely injured. Shakeel, Nimat, and Kamal, however, had succumbed to their wounds.
With a vengeance, the newly freed slaves strung up Antonis’ body to the mast and re-christened the vessel Sea’s Wrath.
Idowu Idir, one of the rowers who had stepped forward to lead the freed slaves, gave his condolences and offered whatever assistance he could provide to support the crew and the freed captives. Stating that the captives would be the first to be fed, it was decided that the next morning the two ships would head for Vertel, with Viz Leany heading into port for supplies, before continuing north to the remains of Calica.
...*...
The crew of Viz Leany bid their fallen farewell and gave them over to the sea, in the tradition of Ash-sh’b sailors, before setting sail. A subdued lull fell over the ship. While Dasha was relieved her family and the villagers were safe, she confided to Sitara she felt partly responsible that they had lost crew in helping her clan. Sitara assured her the fault was not hers, that they had given their lives for a cause they believed in, though her own words sounded hollow to her ears.
Emrys retreated to the crow’s nest, seldom appearing and only to refill his skin, his usual joyous singing reduced to a mournful murmur on the sea wind. One sleepless night, Sitara climbed up to join him in drinking. When she lamented not reaching Kamal, Shakeel, and Nimat in time, that they would still be here had she not lead them into this, the inebriated bard gently advised her that if she were looking for blame, she would find none there.
...*...
On the 7th day of the 9th moon, Viz Leany made port at Vertel to acquire trade goods and supplies for the refugees before heading north to meet with Sea’s Wrath, and returning the refugees home. Nearly a week later, Viz Leany arrived at the remains of Calica, and the two crews assisted the refugees as they began to rebuild their homes and caravans.
Sitara took Viz Leany north to alert her family of the threat of the Ta Atouan raiders, and returned to Calica with some of the Krejci who had offered to help the Larinovna rebuild their caravan.
Akash approached Dasha’s grandmother Ludmila, their family elder, and showed her the ancient Oami text, telling her the Krejci elder Dragica had suggested he ask her help with the translation. As thanks for the crew saving her family, Ludmila agreed to translate the remainder of the script, though she too cautioned him that such beings, the Cecarza, were not to be trifled with.
Dasha finally revealed to her friends the whole story of the creature who had driven the Larinovna west from their homepaths, the reason behind her leaving her clan in the first place. Not long after Dasha suffered her miscarriage, she and her dear cousin Natalia went foraging in the woods some distance away from their caravan. They were exploring an unfamiliar grove, when they were ambushed by a creature that loomed over even Dasha, possessed with a savage fury.
In a flash, the monster had struck down Natalia, and the terrified Dasha fled. Though she admitted to having no way to fend off the beast, and her family did not blame her for the tragedy, she had never forgiven herself for what had happened. Haunted by the nightmares of that fateful day, she no longer felt safe in the forest she had called home. Between that, and the devastation of losing her child and her best friend, Dasha decided to leave her tribe, and her fiancé, setting out to the west.
Sitara, Akash, Kasumi, and Mesi offered to hunt the monster, so the Larinovna could return to their homepaths. The journey inland and back would not be brief, but neither was rebuilding the caravan. Masha, her task of returning Dasha to her family now compete, offered her assistance, along with the Ta Atouan expatriate Efigenia. Though Dasha was visibly apprehensive, she agreed.
On the 9th of the 10th moon, everyone took a break from work to celebrate Sitara’s birthday. Over the next few days, the crew gathered supplies and prepared for the trip inland. On the morning of Akash’s birthday on the 14th, they bid farewell to the freed slaves. Idowu Idir, whom the freed slaves had elected their captain, told them Sea’s Wrath was bound for the Free Isles, and that they would never forget what Viz Leany had done for them and the refugees. After seeing them off, the party began their journey east, into the depths of the Oamre Forest.
...*...
The expedition party walked for weeks through the wilderness, taking a day to celebrate Mesi’s birthday on the 5th of the 11th moon. Though their travel was smooth, as the days passed, the amiable and easygoing Sitara seemed to grow restless and oddly peevish. By the time of the fallen sailor Nimat’s birthday on the 23rd, she was on edge, snapping at the slightest annoyance.
On the 24th if the 11th moon, Dasha found herself in familiar territory...frighteningly familiar. They were passing by that large, twisted root she’d tripped over, the cluster of saplings she had broken as she went barreling through them, and soon, a thicket of red berries bordering a large grove. “Here,” she whispered. The party exchanged wary glances before pressing forward, the silence between them taut as a bowstring—until it was broken by an impatient sigh.
To everyone’s horror, the Captain began to complain loudly that there was nothing here, this beast would never be found, and they never should have come. As Sitara’s griping echoed in the unsettling quiet of the grove, Akash stopped mid-stride as he realized it was not only the woods that were mute. For the first time in his life, he could no longer hear the whispers of the Jinn. In that moment of utter isolation, something huge dropped from the canopy.
It struck the forest floor with a thunderous crack, before swatting Kasumi and Akash across the clearing and the party beheld the creature that haunted Dasha’s nightmares: a great, hulking mass that stood like a man, rippling with ligneous muscle and viny sinew, with two dark eyes glaring from beneath gnarled brows which extended from its crown into two branch-like antlers.
Efigenia and Mesi pierced the beast with their spears, trying to hold it even as the monster slashed them with its claws. Masha attempted to stab the beast, but her knives couldn't pierce the its knotted hide, and those who did manage to wound the creature watched in horror as the gashes slowly closed, seeming to mend themselves.
Sitara took a running leap at the creature, driving her swords into its back, and began the arduous climb towards its head. Akash called on the winds to overturn the creature, but was suddenly ensnared by vines erupting from the earth beneath his feet. Kasumi loosed some arrows at the beast and freed Akash from the entangling vines, before joining the Captain, using his shuko to scale the beast’s massive form.
Dasha quickly gathered a bundle of incense and called to the creature to calm itself. Her cries of “Cecarza!” seemed to grab the creature’s attention, bringing the battle to an uneasy standstill for a brief moment as it stared at her. Kasumi, perched on the creature’s back, sensed it was about to charge Dasha, and called upon the mon’s power as he raked his claws across its face, gouging out chunks and leaving visceral scars as the beast howled in pain.
Once more, Akash again called upon the wind, but his muted power was unable to topple the beast, instead driving Mesi off her spear and forcing Sitara off the beast’s back, though she was able to grab ahold of one of the beast’s antlers just in time. And once again, vines sprang forth, latching onto Akash. He tried to launch himself into the air to escape the vines, but it only drew more foliage to him, almost completely smothering him. Sitara, dangling precariously next to the creature's head, drew her boot knife and thrust it into the eye of the monster.
Enraged, the creature slammed Sitara against a tree and rampaged about the clearing. Masha and Mesi managed to grab hold of Mesi’s spear, still implanted in the creature’s chest, and together they tore the spear free before diving aside to escape its wild swings. Taking advantage of the distraction, Efigenia leapt at the beast, taking ahold of her own implanted spear while driving her sword into the gap left by Mesi’s spear.
Kasumi attempted to move but found himself pinned by the creature’s shoulder blades as it thrashed about. Sitara swung herself back atop the beast to assist him, as Masha ran to try to help Akash escape the creeping vines. Mesi rushed to defend Dasha from the creature’s attacks, and they watched in shock as the creature shot up into the air with Sitara clinging to its back, Kasumi stuck behind its neck, and Efigenia clutching to her weapons stuck its chest. As the beast plummeted, about to crush Dasha, Mesi went to grab her and dive out of the way, when Dasha took hold of Mesi’s spear and braced herself, aiming it at the descending form of the creature.
Like a meteor the monster crashed into the ground, Sitara and Kasumi managing to jump off of the creature at just the last moment, however, Efigenia and Dasha disappeared, buried beneath the beast’s form. Hoping against hope, they watched as the creature slowly began to push itself up, revealing the broken remains of Mesi’s spear lodged in its jaw. As everyone tried to recover from the impact, Sitara drew her Skenden clan dagger and slid beneath the beast as it start to rise. As she drove the long knife into the beast’s other eye, she felt the blade grow hot and heard a sound like the shattering of crystal.
Blinded, the creature thrashed about. Sitara circled the beast, looking for a window to retrieve her weapons, all of which were now buried within it. Dasha, realizing that the creature was no longer healing from its wounds, started lighting torches for the archers in the group. Weary of fighting his bonds, Akash vowed that he would find the Cecarza Rozka, and seemingly in response, the beast leapt upon him, driving him to the ground. When Dasha called out to get its attention, it turned to charge her instead. As it broke away from Akash, the archers opened fire with flaming arrows. It swatted aside Efigenia’s arrow, and Mesi’s was extinguished, but Kasumi’s arrow struck home, finding the gap created by Efigenia’s sword. As the flames touched it, the creature erupted into an inferno before crashing at Dasha’s feet. Burning briefly, but intensely, soon nothing was left of the creature but ash.
Making camp, Mesi set out to find shelter and water. Finding a stream running outside a large cave, she returned to camp to help tend to her companions.
...*...
The next day, the party decided to explore the cave Mesi had discovered, though the rest had to convince their querulous Captain and indifferent accountant to go along. Once they had arrived, Sitara and Kasumi sat impatiently at the cave entrance while Mesi, Akash, and Dasha ventured inside.
After passing through the mouth of the cave, it opened into a voluminous cavern with a lofty ceiling and apertures in the rock on either side, through which rays of light shone. As the trio explored deeper, they discovered a large stone formation at the back of the cavern. Having realized the others were out of easy reach, Sitara and Kasumi soon followed, and stepped into the cavern to find their companions gathered around the odd formation.
Unimpressed, Sitara berated her companions for wasting their time. As the party started to leave, Akash said he felt something strange in the stone. Examining it closer, Akash could swear there was a seam running around the stone near the top. Seeing no such thing, Sitara and Kasumi were dismissive, but Akash convinced Dasha and Mesi to help him try and move it. They pushed and pushed until, with the grinding of stone, the seal broke.
Lifting and sliding the stone lid aside, they were blinded by a burst of prismatic light from within the stone. As their vision cleared, the party discovered the strange formation was hollow. Inside was a large sphere which appeared to be made of innumerable small pieces of colored glass, each fragment pulsing with its own light. While the rest stared in astonishment and uncertainty, Akash reached out and, before anyone could stop him, placed a hand on the sphere.
The sound of tinkling of glass echoed in the cavern as the shimmering orb began to expand, rising up out of its chamber. The kaleidoscopic sphere began to spin above them, until it seemed to unfurl, revealing a statuesque figure with alabaster skin and a mane of platinum hair, clad only in a wrap of iridescent cloth, and sandals which were laced about his calves. From his back spread a pair of enormous wings of the same shards of colored glass that glowed though no light shone through them.
The towering figure stepped forth from the chamber, regarding each of the crew. Slowly, he reached out to each in turn, though his hand never touched them.
Looking upon this wondrous entity, Akash knew this must be the one of which he had read, He of Broken Glass, and wondered truly if he stood in the presence of one of the Jinn themselves. Addressing the majestic figure as Cecarza Rozka, Akash excitedly welcomed him, waxing lyrical about how he had long sought such legends as this.
As the figure approached Mesi, she was struck by a feeling that she knew more than she thought, and felt a lightness in her chest that belied the weight of the Mon.
Sitara gazed up at the majestic figure in awed obeisance; surely this being could be an avatar of Visatori or an aspect of the Dream. The kaleidoscope of colored light that passed across her vision as he stretched his wings evoked the window of her cabin, and she felt another pang of longing. As he looked on her, his expression shifted slightly, and she felt all of the aggravation, the vexation she had been carrying simply melt away, until all that was left was the serenity of the memory of home.
Kasumi, upon seeing the giant alabaster being, asked, "What are you?" The being held out his hand, exuding pure power, not harming Kasumi, but imparting a sense of overwhelming strength. Next to this, Akash's strongest gusts of wind felt nothing more than a gentle breeze, leaving Kasumi speechless.
The crew followed the figure walking slowly towards the cavern entrance, their spirits alight in his presence. Stepping out of the cave, the being seemed to bask in the sunlight before regarding the crew one final time and launching himself into the heavens, quickly lost to sight. Though Kasumi reacted…strongly to the being’s departure, as he felt he was owed some answers, the others returned to the stone chamber to marvel at its remaining contents.
Inside lay a wealth of artifacts, which Kasumi meticulously catalogued. With Akash's help, they determined which of the treasures had some kind of occult power. There was an assortment of exceptional gems and jewelry that didn't emit any supernatural energy, but certain items seemed to possess some trace of power.
The first two items, a monocle and a mirror, both revealed some hidden nature of whatever they viewed, and proved useful in reviewing the other treasures. A darkwood spear, which was perfectly balanced and its blade razor sharp, gave off a spiritual energy, but they could discern no more about its power. They found a set of four crystal goblets and a large bowl of the highest quality, a set of rough ember-colored gems which gave off a faint warmth, as well as a necklace set with a rainbow of gemstones, finer than anything Akash had ever produced. Dasha claimed a set of robes which appeared to be made from the same iridescent material as the being’s wrap, as she was the only one of large enough stature to don them. Finally, Akash came upon a flawless blue orb, the gemstone he had set out to find, the Biterie Cerule.
Loot in hand, the party returned to camp and took the rest of the day to process everything that had transpired. They set out for the coast the next morning, on the 25th of the 11th moon.
...*...
The first fortnight of their journey back to Calica passed uneventfully, but as the days crept by, the party once again found Sitara growing irritable. One evening, after chastising Kasumi for cataloguing their findings from the cave yet again, she knocked aside his inkstone and brushes and stormed out of the camp, heading west.
Akash followed after, demanding to the reason for her behavior, while Sitara insisted that they were taking too long, all of this stopping and resting was slowing them down, and she would go on ahead. Despite her protests, Akash attempted to restrain her with his magic. Furious, Sitara resisted and quickly broke free before he called to the winds again, suspending her upside down in the air. In a peculiar moment, her temper seemed to break. She relented and agreed to return to camp, although she lamented that her friends just didn’t understand that she needed to get back.
Somewhat snippy still, Sitara seemed to channel her agitation into being the first to rise in the mornings and the last to retire in the evenings. Once the party broke out of the forest’s edge and they saw the glistening ocean in the distance, Sitara took off at a run. Reaching the beach, she dove into the sea, joyfully splashing in the waves until the rest of the party caught up, and they continued down the coast south.
...*...
After returning to Calica, the village held a celebration in honor of the heroes. Many times they recounted their battle with the wrathful forest spirit and their encounter with the wondrous being with wings of colored glass. Each rendition became more and more elaborate, as stories are wont to do, especially under the influence of Oami spiced ciders. Mesi and Kasumi drank themselves into a stupor, while an earnest and tiddly Sitara led Dasha and her fiance Ermolai into a heartfelt discussion, though they hardly required assistance.
Later that evening, the Captain urged Dasha to consider carefully. While she would always be welcome aboard Viz Leany, would always be part of the crew, Sitara advised Dasha to take her time and to make certain her choice would not be one she would later regret.
Efigenia spent some time smithing for the village and working with Akash on their crafts. He donated a ruby to her greatest project, that she might craft a sword to surpass the one she carried. Setting her sights on furthering her skill, Efigenia said her farewells, planning to travel south to set up shop in Vertel. Masha also took her leave to accompany Efigenia on her journey, promising to warn the disparate Dascean lords of the threat of Ta Atouan raiders, though Masha was skeptical they could reasonably be moved to any real course of action. Besides, there was always work for bounty hunters in Vertel.
Ultimately, Dasha decided to remain with her family, who were nearly prepared to return inland to their home paths. On the 15th if the 1st moon, Dasha and the crew exchanged their goodbyes, some more sentimental than others. While Akash declared he would not miss his feathery rival, Kannuki made certain to give Grim one last pet. Sitara, who had come to regard Dasha as a sister, bade her farewell with a glimmer in her eyes. Kasumi even managed to give Dasha an impressively civil well-wishing before their departure.
And they bid the goats farewell. They were to remain with Dasha to help the Larinovna replenish their livestock, much to the sadness of some, and to the relief of many.
On the one year anniversary of Viz Leany embarking on her maiden voyage, she set sail, turning her bow back towards Rhakosis.
A beautiful, barefooted lady, who seemed to dance even as she ran, was the first to reach Sitara. Their resemblance was striking; Akash and Kasumi were placing bets on whether she was the Captain’s sister when Sitara introduced the woman as her mother, Svetlana. Soon, two more women, who appeared older than Svetlana, joined the embrace, and Sitara presented her aunts, Krasava and Tsura.
The Krejci greeted Sitara in turn, until the crowd parted for an elderly woman wrapped in an exquisite shawl descending slowly from one of the wagons. Her thin lips curled into a smile around a pipe with an impressively long stem, wisps of smoke curling about her silvered waves as she approached, her proud bearing far exceeding her wizened body. Sitara stepped forward to meet her, and the old woman raised her chin expectantly. She leaned over to kiss the woman’s leathery cheek before being pulled into a tight hug.
"Welcome home, little Danika.” One by one, Sitara introduced her crew to her grandmother Dragica, matriarch and lorekeeper of the Krejci.
Dasha recognized Danika as the name of one of the jewels of Visatori’s cloak, the Morning Star. Akash knew both Oami and Ash-Sh’b enough to realize Sitara had been named for the same star in both tongues. Many of her kin also affectionately referred to Sitara as what Dasha understood to be her deed name, Derja, “of the sea.”
In addition to the crew, Sitara introduced her family to Viz Leany, who beheld the ship in awe, admiring its beautiful and pious craftsmanship. Seeing their quiet murmurs in response to the ship’s figurehead and name, she suddenly understood why she had not heard the Tale of Leany growing up, given the circumstances of her mother and father. While Sitara found Svetlana to be in good spirits, she could sense her mother’s resignation.
...*...
Over the next few days, the crew and the Krejci exchanged many stories, songs, and dances. Some of the crew were entirely too curious to hear stories about their captain from her childhood. Emrys regaled his eager audience with many tales of the adventures of the brave crew of Viz Leany. Svetlana was very pleased her daughter seemed to have finally found employment better suited to her temperament, given her...difficulties with her prior contracts. And the crew soon learned where Sitara’s grace came from when they discovered Svetlana was herself an exceptional dancer, though her ethereal manner of movement was markedly different from her daughter’s own dynamic style.
After introducing Akash as a mashalah, one who may affect the Dream, Dragica unabashedly inquired after his role in her granddaughter’s personal life. Slightly exasperated, Sitara firmly asserted Akash was a friend and an invaluable member of her crew, nothing more. After affectionately chastising her grandmother’s shameless behavior, Sitara wandered off into the dances. Turning back to Akash, Dragica remarked that it was a pity...but she did not believe such a thing was in the cards for their Derja.
Akash took the opportunity to ask Dragica for her wisdom concerning his strange page of Oami script. Looking over it, she confirmed that it was indeed ancient, from a time long before the Crossing. When he asked for her aid in translating it, she agreed she could divulge some of its meaning, but that he needed to speak with the Larinovna elder for the rest.
The page spoke of a mysterious being named Cecarza Rozka, He of Broken Glass, as well as an artifact called the Biterie Cerule, the Stone of the Sky. Taking a hit off her pipe, the formidable Krejci elder also warned him that if any harm should befall her granddaughter in the course of his search for them, it would come back upon him.
Both thrilled at his progress and a little unsettled, Akash enjoyed the rest of the evening and his smokes. After many rounds of dancing, Sitara finally took a break to dine with her companions. As they partook of delicious food and drink, Akash lightly inquired whether Sitara knew of any Oami possessing powers such as his, or perhaps other abilities such as laying curses upon others. Giving him an uncomfortably astute stare, she answered only with a knowing, coy smile.
Though Dasha enjoyed being back in the company of her people under the canopy of the Great Redwoods, seeing the Krejci embrace Sitara’s return left her feeling subdued. Sitara finally understood the significant glances cast Dasha’s way since their arrival when the Krejci revealed that her clan, the Larinovna, had changed their route, leaving their deep inland homepaths for the southern coast of the forest.
After about a fortnight, the crew bid the lively Krejci farewell and Viz Leany followed the coast south.
...*...
Near a week later, on the 14th of the 8th moon, Viz Leany came upon Calica, the same village from which Dasha had booked passage to Rhakosis with Captain Ranbir. Still at a distance, Emrys noticed smoke rising from the village. Weighing anchor, the crew rowed to shore, and as they approached, they saw multiple fires, but strangely, heard no commotion or panicked cries. Reaching the edge of the village, they soon realized why. No one was there.
Walking through the streets, they found multiple signs that Calica had been recently ransacked, but not a single villager was to be found...not even a corpse. The village appeared empty, abandoned. As Dasha and Akash continued deeper into the village, Sitara and Mesi headed to the beach to search for signs of raiders.
Just south of the village, Sitara saw a strange divot in the sand. Upon closer inspection, Mesi recognized it as the mark of a Ta Atouan assault barge running up on the beach, the kind of barge used by slavers. Realizing what had happened, they rushed back to the longboat, calling out for the others.
Evidence of plundering continued as Dasha and Akash made their way through Calica. Just outside the village, they came upon an Oami caravan showing similar signs of violence. Dasha’s horror intensified as she recognized the wagons. She darted about the caravan, gathering up some personal effects before sprinting back towards the beach, where Sitara was already signaling Viz Leany to make ready to sail. They exchanged what they had discovered as they rowed back to the ship, before the Captain looked solemnly to Mesi and asked her what they were in for.
...*...
Returning to Viz Leany, the Captain wasted no time in mobilizing the crew to make all speed towards Al Qura. Once they were on course, she called everyone together on deck to explain what they had discovered on shore: It seemed Ta Atouan slavers, deciding to look outside of their own nation for resources, had raided the village, capturing the Dascean peasants as well as an Oami caravan, Dasha’s clan. From the relatively fresh signs they had found in Calica, the barge could not have gone far, and if they made haste, Viz Leany could catch them well before they reached Al Qura. From what Mesi had told them, the barge would likely have employed a unit of marines, perhaps a dozen, in addition to two dozen rowers, who would either be slaves, or soldiers.
Excluding Masha, Viz Leany’s crew numbered twenty and four, including the Captain. She acknowledged the odds were not in their favor, though their chances would be improved if the slaves could be turned against their overseers. That said, she confirmed she could not, in good conscience, allow the Ta Atouans’ atrocity to go unanswered, even had it not been Dasha’s kin who were stolen, not when there was a chance to save them. Sitara looked to her crew, declaring she would not command them to follow her on such a deadly endeavor. Rather, she fervently implored them to help her--for Dasha’s family, for the villagers, for the slaves, for the freedom of all who lived by and traveled the sea.
Kamal spoke for the crew, who were moved by the Captain’s impassioned entreaty, answering that it was the right thing to do, no matter the odds, and they would follow her. As they set about to devise a plan for how to deal with a ship full of trained Ta Atouan warriors, Emrys remarked that it was going to make one hell of a story.
...*...
Catching up with the Ta Atouan assault barge, Mesi recognized the ship as Mastiga tou Theo, Scourge of God, captained by Aimatiro Kyma Spiros Antonis, also known as the Bloody Wave. Sitara hailed the ship, offering to turn in Mesi and Diallo for the bounties on their heads. After the Captains’ negotiations, Antonis’ guards led the two belowdecks.
As Mesi and Diallo descended below, they counted a few dozen rowers chained to their benches. Entering the hold, they found it full of people, some who resembled Dasha.
When one of the marines went to grab Mesi’s bindings, she wrenched her arms apart and launched a kick at his face. As he fell, her foot caught him in the throat, and she stomped down with a loud crunch. Grabbing the other guard flanking them, Diallo rammed him into a beam, stunning him as they grappled for control.
With two soldiers remaining, Mesi jammed her elbow into one, knocking the wind out of him, as the other went for his sword and took a swing at Mesi. Luckily, her armor absorbed the worst of the impact. Grabbing the fallen marine’s blade, Mesi retaliated, driving the sword through his chest. Coughing up blood, he slumped over the sword.
The third marine swung and missed Mesi, and she returned with a slash of her own. As her blade struck true, the guard wrestling Diallo gained the upper hand, and started to choke him. Mesi rushed to Diallo’s aid, cracking the guard’s skull with the pommel of her sword. Unfortunately, the soldier she had abandoned took the opportunity to knock Mesi in the back of the head. Through her daze, Mesi felt herself overcome with rage as she surged forward and ran the man through, lifting him into the air for a moment before his body slid off the blade.
With all four marines down, Mesi and Diallo took their keys and started freeing the captives. They were soon joined by a large, strong Ta Atouan woman named Efigenia who had been taken captive with the Larinovna Clan. As they were freeing the rest of the prisoners, a pair of guards spotted them and sounded the alarm.
A vicious battle ensued, with Mesi and Diallo attempting to fight their way up from belowdecks, while Kasumi set about freeing the slave rowers. Rallying the freed slaves, Mesi directed them to the top deck, and the crowd surged forward and upwards.
...*...
As Mesi and Diallo disappeared into the hold, the Captain made something of a show of inspecting the reward offered by Antonis, and inquired if he would be interested in any other trades of goods this day. Akash and Kasumi bickered and bumbled about as they carried crates to and fro. With all eyes on the continuing negotiations, Kasumi dropped unnoticed off the edge of the barge and began to climb towards one of portholes below. Several minutes passed before they heard shouting from belowdecks, and Antonis’ head snapped towards the sound. As he began to bark orders and the marines turned to respond, Sitara interrupted his commands with her swords, launching the surprise attack as her crew leapt onto the barge from the deck of Viz Leany.
Sitara, Dasha, and Akash engaged Captain Antonis at first, until Akash saw some of the crew struggling against the marines and went to assist them.The captains’ blades met again and again, and as the contest continued, they found themselves roughly matched. Suddenly Dasha threw herself into Antonis, driving her blade through his chest and pinning him to the deck. As Dasha rose to her feet and tried to recover from the shock of what she had done, Sitara rushed to aid her crew, but even as she slashed her way through the marines between them, ahead of her she saw one of her men fall, then another...and another.
Suddenly the deck was overrun with a stream of slaves pouring out from belowdecks, rushing their overseers. As Mesi and Kasumi reached the top deck, the battle was all but over as the slaves overwhelmed the remaining marines, though, scattered amongst the enemy, they saw many of their own. With the rest of the crew providing what assistance they could, Dasha and Diallo were able to save Adam, Wasi, Jian, and Jyotish, all of whom were gravely injured. Shakeel, Nimat, and Kamal, however, had succumbed to their wounds.
With a vengeance, the newly freed slaves strung up Antonis’ body to the mast and re-christened the vessel Sea’s Wrath.
Idowu Idir, one of the rowers who had stepped forward to lead the freed slaves, gave his condolences and offered whatever assistance he could provide to support the crew and the freed captives. Stating that the captives would be the first to be fed, it was decided that the next morning the two ships would head for Vertel, with Viz Leany heading into port for supplies, before continuing north to the remains of Calica.
...*...
The crew of Viz Leany bid their fallen farewell and gave them over to the sea, in the tradition of Ash-sh’b sailors, before setting sail. A subdued lull fell over the ship. While Dasha was relieved her family and the villagers were safe, she confided to Sitara she felt partly responsible that they had lost crew in helping her clan. Sitara assured her the fault was not hers, that they had given their lives for a cause they believed in, though her own words sounded hollow to her ears.
Emrys retreated to the crow’s nest, seldom appearing and only to refill his skin, his usual joyous singing reduced to a mournful murmur on the sea wind. One sleepless night, Sitara climbed up to join him in drinking. When she lamented not reaching Kamal, Shakeel, and Nimat in time, that they would still be here had she not lead them into this, the inebriated bard gently advised her that if she were looking for blame, she would find none there.
...*...
On the 7th day of the 9th moon, Viz Leany made port at Vertel to acquire trade goods and supplies for the refugees before heading north to meet with Sea’s Wrath, and returning the refugees home. Nearly a week later, Viz Leany arrived at the remains of Calica, and the two crews assisted the refugees as they began to rebuild their homes and caravans.
Sitara took Viz Leany north to alert her family of the threat of the Ta Atouan raiders, and returned to Calica with some of the Krejci who had offered to help the Larinovna rebuild their caravan.
Akash approached Dasha’s grandmother Ludmila, their family elder, and showed her the ancient Oami text, telling her the Krejci elder Dragica had suggested he ask her help with the translation. As thanks for the crew saving her family, Ludmila agreed to translate the remainder of the script, though she too cautioned him that such beings, the Cecarza, were not to be trifled with.
Dasha finally revealed to her friends the whole story of the creature who had driven the Larinovna west from their homepaths, the reason behind her leaving her clan in the first place. Not long after Dasha suffered her miscarriage, she and her dear cousin Natalia went foraging in the woods some distance away from their caravan. They were exploring an unfamiliar grove, when they were ambushed by a creature that loomed over even Dasha, possessed with a savage fury.
In a flash, the monster had struck down Natalia, and the terrified Dasha fled. Though she admitted to having no way to fend off the beast, and her family did not blame her for the tragedy, she had never forgiven herself for what had happened. Haunted by the nightmares of that fateful day, she no longer felt safe in the forest she had called home. Between that, and the devastation of losing her child and her best friend, Dasha decided to leave her tribe, and her fiancé, setting out to the west.
Sitara, Akash, Kasumi, and Mesi offered to hunt the monster, so the Larinovna could return to their homepaths. The journey inland and back would not be brief, but neither was rebuilding the caravan. Masha, her task of returning Dasha to her family now compete, offered her assistance, along with the Ta Atouan expatriate Efigenia. Though Dasha was visibly apprehensive, she agreed.
On the 9th of the 10th moon, everyone took a break from work to celebrate Sitara’s birthday. Over the next few days, the crew gathered supplies and prepared for the trip inland. On the morning of Akash’s birthday on the 14th, they bid farewell to the freed slaves. Idowu Idir, whom the freed slaves had elected their captain, told them Sea’s Wrath was bound for the Free Isles, and that they would never forget what Viz Leany had done for them and the refugees. After seeing them off, the party began their journey east, into the depths of the Oamre Forest.
...*...
The expedition party walked for weeks through the wilderness, taking a day to celebrate Mesi’s birthday on the 5th of the 11th moon. Though their travel was smooth, as the days passed, the amiable and easygoing Sitara seemed to grow restless and oddly peevish. By the time of the fallen sailor Nimat’s birthday on the 23rd, she was on edge, snapping at the slightest annoyance.
On the 24th if the 11th moon, Dasha found herself in familiar territory...frighteningly familiar. They were passing by that large, twisted root she’d tripped over, the cluster of saplings she had broken as she went barreling through them, and soon, a thicket of red berries bordering a large grove. “Here,” she whispered. The party exchanged wary glances before pressing forward, the silence between them taut as a bowstring—until it was broken by an impatient sigh.
To everyone’s horror, the Captain began to complain loudly that there was nothing here, this beast would never be found, and they never should have come. As Sitara’s griping echoed in the unsettling quiet of the grove, Akash stopped mid-stride as he realized it was not only the woods that were mute. For the first time in his life, he could no longer hear the whispers of the Jinn. In that moment of utter isolation, something huge dropped from the canopy.
It struck the forest floor with a thunderous crack, before swatting Kasumi and Akash across the clearing and the party beheld the creature that haunted Dasha’s nightmares: a great, hulking mass that stood like a man, rippling with ligneous muscle and viny sinew, with two dark eyes glaring from beneath gnarled brows which extended from its crown into two branch-like antlers.
Efigenia and Mesi pierced the beast with their spears, trying to hold it even as the monster slashed them with its claws. Masha attempted to stab the beast, but her knives couldn't pierce the its knotted hide, and those who did manage to wound the creature watched in horror as the gashes slowly closed, seeming to mend themselves.
Sitara took a running leap at the creature, driving her swords into its back, and began the arduous climb towards its head. Akash called on the winds to overturn the creature, but was suddenly ensnared by vines erupting from the earth beneath his feet. Kasumi loosed some arrows at the beast and freed Akash from the entangling vines, before joining the Captain, using his shuko to scale the beast’s massive form.
Dasha quickly gathered a bundle of incense and called to the creature to calm itself. Her cries of “Cecarza!” seemed to grab the creature’s attention, bringing the battle to an uneasy standstill for a brief moment as it stared at her. Kasumi, perched on the creature’s back, sensed it was about to charge Dasha, and called upon the mon’s power as he raked his claws across its face, gouging out chunks and leaving visceral scars as the beast howled in pain.
Once more, Akash again called upon the wind, but his muted power was unable to topple the beast, instead driving Mesi off her spear and forcing Sitara off the beast’s back, though she was able to grab ahold of one of the beast’s antlers just in time. And once again, vines sprang forth, latching onto Akash. He tried to launch himself into the air to escape the vines, but it only drew more foliage to him, almost completely smothering him. Sitara, dangling precariously next to the creature's head, drew her boot knife and thrust it into the eye of the monster.
Enraged, the creature slammed Sitara against a tree and rampaged about the clearing. Masha and Mesi managed to grab hold of Mesi’s spear, still implanted in the creature’s chest, and together they tore the spear free before diving aside to escape its wild swings. Taking advantage of the distraction, Efigenia leapt at the beast, taking ahold of her own implanted spear while driving her sword into the gap left by Mesi’s spear.
Kasumi attempted to move but found himself pinned by the creature’s shoulder blades as it thrashed about. Sitara swung herself back atop the beast to assist him, as Masha ran to try to help Akash escape the creeping vines. Mesi rushed to defend Dasha from the creature’s attacks, and they watched in shock as the creature shot up into the air with Sitara clinging to its back, Kasumi stuck behind its neck, and Efigenia clutching to her weapons stuck its chest. As the beast plummeted, about to crush Dasha, Mesi went to grab her and dive out of the way, when Dasha took hold of Mesi’s spear and braced herself, aiming it at the descending form of the creature.
Like a meteor the monster crashed into the ground, Sitara and Kasumi managing to jump off of the creature at just the last moment, however, Efigenia and Dasha disappeared, buried beneath the beast’s form. Hoping against hope, they watched as the creature slowly began to push itself up, revealing the broken remains of Mesi’s spear lodged in its jaw. As everyone tried to recover from the impact, Sitara drew her Skenden clan dagger and slid beneath the beast as it start to rise. As she drove the long knife into the beast’s other eye, she felt the blade grow hot and heard a sound like the shattering of crystal.
Blinded, the creature thrashed about. Sitara circled the beast, looking for a window to retrieve her weapons, all of which were now buried within it. Dasha, realizing that the creature was no longer healing from its wounds, started lighting torches for the archers in the group. Weary of fighting his bonds, Akash vowed that he would find the Cecarza Rozka, and seemingly in response, the beast leapt upon him, driving him to the ground. When Dasha called out to get its attention, it turned to charge her instead. As it broke away from Akash, the archers opened fire with flaming arrows. It swatted aside Efigenia’s arrow, and Mesi’s was extinguished, but Kasumi’s arrow struck home, finding the gap created by Efigenia’s sword. As the flames touched it, the creature erupted into an inferno before crashing at Dasha’s feet. Burning briefly, but intensely, soon nothing was left of the creature but ash.
Making camp, Mesi set out to find shelter and water. Finding a stream running outside a large cave, she returned to camp to help tend to her companions.
...*...
The next day, the party decided to explore the cave Mesi had discovered, though the rest had to convince their querulous Captain and indifferent accountant to go along. Once they had arrived, Sitara and Kasumi sat impatiently at the cave entrance while Mesi, Akash, and Dasha ventured inside.
After passing through the mouth of the cave, it opened into a voluminous cavern with a lofty ceiling and apertures in the rock on either side, through which rays of light shone. As the trio explored deeper, they discovered a large stone formation at the back of the cavern. Having realized the others were out of easy reach, Sitara and Kasumi soon followed, and stepped into the cavern to find their companions gathered around the odd formation.
Unimpressed, Sitara berated her companions for wasting their time. As the party started to leave, Akash said he felt something strange in the stone. Examining it closer, Akash could swear there was a seam running around the stone near the top. Seeing no such thing, Sitara and Kasumi were dismissive, but Akash convinced Dasha and Mesi to help him try and move it. They pushed and pushed until, with the grinding of stone, the seal broke.
Lifting and sliding the stone lid aside, they were blinded by a burst of prismatic light from within the stone. As their vision cleared, the party discovered the strange formation was hollow. Inside was a large sphere which appeared to be made of innumerable small pieces of colored glass, each fragment pulsing with its own light. While the rest stared in astonishment and uncertainty, Akash reached out and, before anyone could stop him, placed a hand on the sphere.
The sound of tinkling of glass echoed in the cavern as the shimmering orb began to expand, rising up out of its chamber. The kaleidoscopic sphere began to spin above them, until it seemed to unfurl, revealing a statuesque figure with alabaster skin and a mane of platinum hair, clad only in a wrap of iridescent cloth, and sandals which were laced about his calves. From his back spread a pair of enormous wings of the same shards of colored glass that glowed though no light shone through them.
The towering figure stepped forth from the chamber, regarding each of the crew. Slowly, he reached out to each in turn, though his hand never touched them.
Looking upon this wondrous entity, Akash knew this must be the one of which he had read, He of Broken Glass, and wondered truly if he stood in the presence of one of the Jinn themselves. Addressing the majestic figure as Cecarza Rozka, Akash excitedly welcomed him, waxing lyrical about how he had long sought such legends as this.
As the figure approached Mesi, she was struck by a feeling that she knew more than she thought, and felt a lightness in her chest that belied the weight of the Mon.
Sitara gazed up at the majestic figure in awed obeisance; surely this being could be an avatar of Visatori or an aspect of the Dream. The kaleidoscope of colored light that passed across her vision as he stretched his wings evoked the window of her cabin, and she felt another pang of longing. As he looked on her, his expression shifted slightly, and she felt all of the aggravation, the vexation she had been carrying simply melt away, until all that was left was the serenity of the memory of home.
Kasumi, upon seeing the giant alabaster being, asked, "What are you?" The being held out his hand, exuding pure power, not harming Kasumi, but imparting a sense of overwhelming strength. Next to this, Akash's strongest gusts of wind felt nothing more than a gentle breeze, leaving Kasumi speechless.
The crew followed the figure walking slowly towards the cavern entrance, their spirits alight in his presence. Stepping out of the cave, the being seemed to bask in the sunlight before regarding the crew one final time and launching himself into the heavens, quickly lost to sight. Though Kasumi reacted…strongly to the being’s departure, as he felt he was owed some answers, the others returned to the stone chamber to marvel at its remaining contents.
Inside lay a wealth of artifacts, which Kasumi meticulously catalogued. With Akash's help, they determined which of the treasures had some kind of occult power. There was an assortment of exceptional gems and jewelry that didn't emit any supernatural energy, but certain items seemed to possess some trace of power.
The first two items, a monocle and a mirror, both revealed some hidden nature of whatever they viewed, and proved useful in reviewing the other treasures. A darkwood spear, which was perfectly balanced and its blade razor sharp, gave off a spiritual energy, but they could discern no more about its power. They found a set of four crystal goblets and a large bowl of the highest quality, a set of rough ember-colored gems which gave off a faint warmth, as well as a necklace set with a rainbow of gemstones, finer than anything Akash had ever produced. Dasha claimed a set of robes which appeared to be made from the same iridescent material as the being’s wrap, as she was the only one of large enough stature to don them. Finally, Akash came upon a flawless blue orb, the gemstone he had set out to find, the Biterie Cerule.
Loot in hand, the party returned to camp and took the rest of the day to process everything that had transpired. They set out for the coast the next morning, on the 25th of the 11th moon.
...*...
The first fortnight of their journey back to Calica passed uneventfully, but as the days crept by, the party once again found Sitara growing irritable. One evening, after chastising Kasumi for cataloguing their findings from the cave yet again, she knocked aside his inkstone and brushes and stormed out of the camp, heading west.
Akash followed after, demanding to the reason for her behavior, while Sitara insisted that they were taking too long, all of this stopping and resting was slowing them down, and she would go on ahead. Despite her protests, Akash attempted to restrain her with his magic. Furious, Sitara resisted and quickly broke free before he called to the winds again, suspending her upside down in the air. In a peculiar moment, her temper seemed to break. She relented and agreed to return to camp, although she lamented that her friends just didn’t understand that she needed to get back.
Somewhat snippy still, Sitara seemed to channel her agitation into being the first to rise in the mornings and the last to retire in the evenings. Once the party broke out of the forest’s edge and they saw the glistening ocean in the distance, Sitara took off at a run. Reaching the beach, she dove into the sea, joyfully splashing in the waves until the rest of the party caught up, and they continued down the coast south.
...*...
After returning to Calica, the village held a celebration in honor of the heroes. Many times they recounted their battle with the wrathful forest spirit and their encounter with the wondrous being with wings of colored glass. Each rendition became more and more elaborate, as stories are wont to do, especially under the influence of Oami spiced ciders. Mesi and Kasumi drank themselves into a stupor, while an earnest and tiddly Sitara led Dasha and her fiance Ermolai into a heartfelt discussion, though they hardly required assistance.
Later that evening, the Captain urged Dasha to consider carefully. While she would always be welcome aboard Viz Leany, would always be part of the crew, Sitara advised Dasha to take her time and to make certain her choice would not be one she would later regret.
Efigenia spent some time smithing for the village and working with Akash on their crafts. He donated a ruby to her greatest project, that she might craft a sword to surpass the one she carried. Setting her sights on furthering her skill, Efigenia said her farewells, planning to travel south to set up shop in Vertel. Masha also took her leave to accompany Efigenia on her journey, promising to warn the disparate Dascean lords of the threat of Ta Atouan raiders, though Masha was skeptical they could reasonably be moved to any real course of action. Besides, there was always work for bounty hunters in Vertel.
Ultimately, Dasha decided to remain with her family, who were nearly prepared to return inland to their home paths. On the 15th if the 1st moon, Dasha and the crew exchanged their goodbyes, some more sentimental than others. While Akash declared he would not miss his feathery rival, Kannuki made certain to give Grim one last pet. Sitara, who had come to regard Dasha as a sister, bade her farewell with a glimmer in her eyes. Kasumi even managed to give Dasha an impressively civil well-wishing before their departure.
And they bid the goats farewell. They were to remain with Dasha to help the Larinovna replenish their livestock, much to the sadness of some, and to the relief of many.
On the one year anniversary of Viz Leany embarking on her maiden voyage, she set sail, turning her bow back towards Rhakosis.
The Tale of the Cecarza of Broken Glass
Of the greater beings, perhaps the most enigmatic are the Cecarza. Known to be powerful beyond measure, their goals are known only to themselves and the Dreamer. Of those known, it is said the greatest was the one called the Cecarza Rozka, or He of Broken Glass. Beautiful and terrible in equal measure, the Cecarza Rozka went to the children of the Dreamer to guide them in the way of things.
Few stories are told of the Cecarza Rozka, though it is said he was garbed in the light of the Dreamer and was closest to him of all beings. Guiding with a gentle hand, and swiftly destroying those who angered him for unknown slights, those he was sent to guide came to worship him instead of the Dreamer. Angered by their foolishness, the Cecarza Rozka rebuked them and cast them down.
In recompense, the peoples gave offerings to the Cecarza Rozka. Amongst these offerings were the vestments of the faithful, including the Biterie Cerule, the Stone of the Sky. How the people came by such artifacts is not known, nor is it known how the Cecarza Rozka reacted to the offerings, be it graciously or gravely.
It is unknown what became of the Cecarza Rozka, or any of his ilk, as they have not been seen in the lands of our family for many ages. Nor is it known what became of the offerings the people gave, though it is believed they were left behind in this world when the peoples were no more.
Of the other Cecarza even less is known. Even their number and path are lost to us. It is known they were all of great mien, impossible to mistake for even the most impressive of peoples. Their garb was their own, though crafted by the Dreamer or of their own imagination it is impossible to say.
Though they appear in the dreams of the family from time to time, the Cecarza are lost to us. Much as our homes were lost to us in the mists of the past, there are yet signs the Dreamer gives to lead us. There will be light followed by darkness, and all peoples must be ready to follow the light held aloft. As the peoples yearn to find what will be their new homes, so too must the family set out from our well worn paths for the world the Dreamer has prepared for us.
In this world there will be many wonders and terrors. If we are to survive, we must find the spires which will shelter and comfort us. In this new world we may yet find that which is lost, though what price we will pay may be beyond measure. We must hold to the Dreamer and know that all nightmares pass, that even during the darkest night, and though we may not see it, the Dreamer guides us and watches over us always.
Few stories are told of the Cecarza Rozka, though it is said he was garbed in the light of the Dreamer and was closest to him of all beings. Guiding with a gentle hand, and swiftly destroying those who angered him for unknown slights, those he was sent to guide came to worship him instead of the Dreamer. Angered by their foolishness, the Cecarza Rozka rebuked them and cast them down.
In recompense, the peoples gave offerings to the Cecarza Rozka. Amongst these offerings were the vestments of the faithful, including the Biterie Cerule, the Stone of the Sky. How the people came by such artifacts is not known, nor is it known how the Cecarza Rozka reacted to the offerings, be it graciously or gravely.
It is unknown what became of the Cecarza Rozka, or any of his ilk, as they have not been seen in the lands of our family for many ages. Nor is it known what became of the offerings the people gave, though it is believed they were left behind in this world when the peoples were no more.
Of the other Cecarza even less is known. Even their number and path are lost to us. It is known they were all of great mien, impossible to mistake for even the most impressive of peoples. Their garb was their own, though crafted by the Dreamer or of their own imagination it is impossible to say.
Though they appear in the dreams of the family from time to time, the Cecarza are lost to us. Much as our homes were lost to us in the mists of the past, there are yet signs the Dreamer gives to lead us. There will be light followed by darkness, and all peoples must be ready to follow the light held aloft. As the peoples yearn to find what will be their new homes, so too must the family set out from our well worn paths for the world the Dreamer has prepared for us.
In this world there will be many wonders and terrors. If we are to survive, we must find the spires which will shelter and comfort us. In this new world we may yet find that which is lost, though what price we will pay may be beyond measure. We must hold to the Dreamer and know that all nightmares pass, that even during the darkest night, and though we may not see it, the Dreamer guides us and watches over us always.
