ARC 3 - HALLOWED

CHAPTER 14 - ORACLE

Tera woke and wiped a dried drop of drool from the corner of her mouth. She groaned as she sat upright in the chair and noted that the candles had long since burned out. With a glance at the window she realized it was morning, the sky still holding on to the translucent blue of the crossover between night and day. She re-stacked the papers that lay strewn about on her desk from when she’d undoubtedly succumbed to sleep while trying in vain to translate the text.

With a quick change into fresh clothes she departed her room and went to knock on Raegn’s door, but there was no response. Still sleeping or already up for the day? she wondered. The latter, based on how poorly her farling lover slept on any given night. She tried Kai’s room instead and found it empty as well. Perhaps they were already eating breakfast. She huffed, feeling slighted at the absence of an invitation, but headed down the stairs to the Great Hall all the same.

At such an early hour of the morning only those with early shifts or chores were present and the long tables were sparsely occupied. She found Kai with relative ease, but the islander revealed that Raegn had skipped breakfast and gone straight to the beach on the western edge of the island some time ago. Noting that Kai still looked half-asleep, Tera didn’t bother to ask if he wanted to accompany her as she left the hall and made her way across the grounds and down the path to the sea.

The waves lapped lazily at the shore as though they too were having a hard time waking with the dawn. In their midst up to his waist in the tide, Raegn stood with a shield slung over his back. How he wasn’t frozen was beyond her and she shuddered against the breeze coming from off the water. The world would begin to warm again once they reached Frostbreak in another season or so, but the cold would linger each day until then. Swimming was an activity that wouldn’t be common for many days to come.

Raegn noticed her arrival and gave up on whatever he was trying to lift from beneath the water. He trudged towards her and holy Heavens did he look like a dashing siren, dripping with salty spray and wearing nothing but soaked trousers as he emerged from the surf. Tera was willing to lean up on her toes to give him a small kiss, but she didn’t allow him too close. Each drip of the seawater she felt on her face from his hair was enough to send a series of shivers across her body.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“Trying to practice something,” Raegn said between heavy breaths.

Whatever it was it had been taxing, Tera noted. It took a good bit of exercise to get his shoulders heaving like that, though she’d seen it a few times before when she’d been…she shook her head and cleared her thoughts. If she started thinking like that now she’d be liable to be distracted the whole day.

“Now that you’re here, though, you can help,” Raegn continued.

“Help?” Tera started to ask, then shook her head as Raegn turned back towards the water and motioned for her to follow. “No. Absolutely not,” she said. “It’s got to be freezing in there!”

‘It’s not so bad once you get used to it,” he said, but it did little good to convince her—she could see the blue that faintly colored his lips.

“Whatever you’re practicing, there has got to be a better way,” she said and raised her arms to defend herself as he approached her.

“Not if you don’t want to get hurt.”

Tera shrieked, at first because Raegn had lunged for her, but then at how cold the water on his skin was. He was warm beneath it, of course, but that initial touch of his hands was like ice.

“Stop. Raegn, stop!” she pleaded as he hauled her towards the water atop his shoulder. “I’m wearing too many clothes!”

“That’s your excuse?” he chuckled. “Fine.”

He plopped her down and Tera took a much needed breath now that she no longer felt the need to scream. She briefly considered bolting away, but Raegn stood so close she doubted she’d make it very far. A barrier between them would solve that, but that seemed a bit like cheating.

“You’re horrible,” she muttered as she pulled the cloak from her shoulders. The tunic, boots, and stockings quickly followed, leaving her shivering in little more than tight trousers and a gray blouse.

“Shall I carry you again, my lady?” Raegn teased.

Tera crossed her arms and pouted. “You’re not getting me in there any other way.”

She yelped as he effortlessly threw her over his shoulder. If the first few splashes of water that reached her from his strides were bad, the plunge beneath the waves as he toppled himself into the sea was horrendous. The cold was like a slap over her entire body at first, then faded to a dull ache. When she surfaced but a moment later she was trembling horribly while trying to wrap herself up in her own arms. Raegn just smiled at her. Fucking farling, she thought. Stupid eastern blood. Not everyone likes the cold!

“Now what?” she asked between chattering teeth, mainly because she wanted to get whatever this was over with.

“Well,” Raegn began and reached below the water. When his hands came back up they held a long piece of rope. He approached her, then began to tie it around her waist. “I’ve been trying to see how far I could throw a rock to simulate your weight, but I got it suctioned to the bottom and I can’t dig it up. Now that you’re here we can practice for real.”

“You want to throw me?” What a stupid fucking idea. And holy fuck does the wind have to blow right now?! Their interaction had been cute on the beach, but her mood was plummeting like her temperature.

“After last night it occurred to me that it might be a good tactic,” Raegn said as he finished tying the knot. “It could get you up to higher ground or places that we couldn’t normally reach. Over a wall even, depending on its height.”

“That’s what this is about?” Tera asked. “Because I asked Kai to lift me instead of you?”

“No…” Raegn’s eyes were downcast and his shoulders slumped some.

“Oh for…” She couldn’t believe she’d endured this torture for a bit of hurt pride. Raegn looked up at her from under his brow, waiting for her to finish the thought. Was he…using pitiful dog eyes on her? Seriously? And why was it working? Tera cursed under her breath, both at Raegn for using such a cruel method of persuasion and again at the bitter water just for good measure. “What do I need to do?” she huffed.

Raegn flashed a smile. “First, we’ll just get you atop the shield and see how that works. Then, with a bit of a running start and some Light we’ll really see how high we can get you.”

“Raegn, the water’s not very deep,” she said, with a worried look down at her feet.

“That’s what the rope’s for,” he answered cheerfully. “I’ll get you out into the deep parts the higher we go and then pull you back so you don’t have to swim so much.”

Tera blinked at him repeatedly. For such a stupid thing to practice he’d thought it out surprisingly well. Still, she was getting the sinking feeling like she might end up being a ragdoll. She sighed and shook her head at him, but clambered atop the shield all the same. The first toss put her up only as far as she was tall, yet just as she broke the surface of the water on the way down she found herself cradled in Raegn’s arms. He planted a kiss squarely on her half-frozen lips and she couldn’t help but giggle.

“The rock was heavier than you,” he teased. “Ready for a real one?”

Tera smiled and nodded. It was rare to see him this happy or enthusiastic and she could do little but swoon beneath his passion. On the second toss her eyes watered with the speed she left the shield and by the third she had no doubt that she could clear all but Elysium’s tallest walls. The air was cold and the sea stung worse each time she crashed down beneath its surface, but she no longer cared. Glee and bliss pumped through her veins and gave her warmth as she soared through the sky with each new attempt.

They began to add complexity to the movement, first with her taking a running start from the shallow tide near the shore, then having her imbue herself with Light to take an enhanced leap at the same moment Raegn heaved her from the shield. The finale, if this little spectacle could be called that, required Raegn to run at her atop the water for added height. She still had no idea how he made small barriers with his feet like that, but the result was impossible to deny.

Tera took off, ignorant of her numb toes as they splashed through ever-deepening water. Raegn began his approach soon after and at just the right moment Tera pushed the Light into her legs. She leapt up out of the water to land gracefully on the shield, then repeated the feat, pushing off the cold metal. Raegn roared as he spun and hurled her into the sky. She twirled with the momentum, spraying seawater in a spiral as she reached the height of the cliffs behind the shore. She lingered at the apex of her ascent, closing her eyes and feeling the faint warmth of the sun before it was replaced by the cold rush of wind as she plummeted downward. With a nimble tuck she turned her fall into a dive and plunged beneath the waves.

They reached the shore with arms wrapped around one another for warmth and laughing at the feat they’d achieved. Nalani and Kai approached them from the end of the path that led down the cliffs, each with a questioning grin as they eyed their soaked friends.

“We just saw you in mid-air from the top of the cliffs!” Nalani exclaimed. “Seven Heavens, what were you two doing?”

“Training!” Tera exclaimed giddily between chattering teeth and pressed herself harder into Raegn for warmth.

Kai chuckled and shook his head in dismay. “We’re going out to get some supplies, foodstuffs and trinkets, mostly. Care to abandon your insane ideas and join us?”

Raegn started to agree, but stopped when Tera said she had other plans.

“I had planned on heading to the library until I got…distracted,” she explained, looking up at him from underneath his arm.

Raegn shrugged. “I’ll tag along, then.”

“Suit yourselves,” Nalani said. She took Kai’s offered arm as they walked away and Tera snickered a bit. For all her friend had said about not being seen with Kai after becoming a Crusader, she seemed to be having a hard time living up to the words.

Tera gathered the exterior layers she’d been forced to abandon and Raegn did the same with his clothing, though he’d left his on a rock at the bottom of the cliff rather than piling it in the sand. They snuck their way across the grounds in an attempt to limit how many people saw them return dripping wet and shaking, but they caught several curious stares all the same. A quick change into warm, dry clothes and a few bites of breakfast later, they hurried over the bridge that separated the Citadel from the rest of Elysium and down the main street towards the Church.

Raegn stood guard over the documents Tera had laid out across the table beneath the stained glass window while she went to hunt down a few books on coded language and deciphering. Raegn sniffed, trying to clear his sinuses of the salt that remained from his early-morning training, but resorted to wiping his nose on the inside of his cloak when the treacherous drop of water refused to halt its tickling.

Tera returned after a short while with a bundle of books in her arms and quickly took to her studying. Raegn tried to seem interested, but these texts were even more dull than the ones she’d had days before when he’d first found her in the midst of pursuing knowledge. He yawned and closed the text he’d been pretending to read, then leaned back in his chair and placed his feet on its opposite beneath the other side of the table. Tera still turned through pages as though they held little more than pictures, her eyes scanning the lines faster than Raegn could ever hope to and her mouth subtly twitching at some of the words. He studied her face as intently as she studied the book and saw the faintest hint of freckles across her nose and the tops of her cheeks. Had those always been there? Funny, the things one could overlook when something more prominent was present.

Raegn sat upright. Speaking of things being overlooked…it occurred to him that he sat in the middle of all of humanity’s collective knowledge. The Church kept records of everything, from changes of weather across the Realm to historical events, ancestry, and everything in between. Merced had said he’d read things about people they didn’t know about themselves, so would it not be possible to learn of something more simple? Perhaps something like the origins of a local legend? Raegn whispered that he was going to look for something and Tera gave an absent nod and wave of her hand.

Figuring out where to start, however, proved more difficult than he thought. Discerning the content of each section of the library was not something Raegn had mastered and he quickly became frustrated after several failed attempts at locating anything that would even be remotely useful. He turned down another row of towering shelves and nearly crashed into a man grasping for the spine of a book just out of reach.

“Sorry,” Raegn muttered and tried to slide past.

“Wait,” the man said.

Raegn turned to face him and realized it wasn’t an adult, but a teen. Despite being almost Raegn’s height the boy’s face still carried trace amounts of childish fat and there was a glistening to the skin that yearned for a bath despite an otherwise cleanly appearance.

“Can you help me grab that book real quick? The one with the red cover.”

Raegn shrugged and stretched to pluck the tome from a shelf above his head. The boy flipped through dozens of pages quite quickly, then clucked his tongue and sighed.

“Not the one you needed?” Raegn asked.

“No,” the boy said dejectedly. “It never is.”

“I can put it back for you, if you’d like,” Raegn offered.

The corner of the boy’s mouth lifted a touch and he passed the book back. “I appreciate it. A favor for a favor? Is there anything I can help you find?”

Raegn questioned if someone that young might be able to find what he was looking for, but the lad had certainly discerned in a matter of moments that the text he’d held wasn’t fitting. It was then that he noticed the tabard with golden edges over gray robes and a small brooch of an all-seeing eye pinned to the upper chest. The outfit was obvious enough but the sigil might as well have been a slap to the face.

“You’re an Oracle,” Raegn exclaimed. The boy gave him a judging look at the words, but nodded. “Yes!” he continued upon realizing the boy could indeed be of some help. “Yes, um, is there a section on legends? Local ones, preferably?”

“Looking for some fun reading, then, are you?” the Oracle asked with a grin. “Any name in particular?”

“Erkan the Eviscerator,” Raegn stated confidently.

The Oracle chewed his lip for a moment, then perked up. “I remember that one! It’s been awhile since I’ve heard the name, though. Follow me.”

Raegn did, though the first steps he took were a little too energetic for what the boy could apparently manage. He nearly tripped into the Oracle’s back until he realized the boy walked with a severe limp. He did his best to hide his frustration with the agonizingly slow pace they took down the aisle, up to the second level, and snaking through endless rows of books. The Oracle plucked a book from shelves here and there as they made there way to some unknown destination.

“I’ve read about him before too, you know,” the boy commented as they walked. Or hobbled, really. “The Eviscerator. What a name. Certainly sparks a certain…image, in the mind.”

“Wait,” Raegn said, pausing midway down one of the aisles and forcing the Oracle to halt as well. “Maybe you can just answer my question, then.” The Oracle shrugged, but didn’t deny the possibility. “Was the Eviscerator a member of the Order? And is he still?”

The ghost of a smile crossed the Oracle’s lips. “Those are interesting questions, indeed. You’re so close, in fact, that I feel as though I’d ruin the splendor of discovery for you if you didn’t find out for yourself.”

Raegn rolled his eyes. Why couldn’t anyone ever make anything easy? “I thought Oracle’s were supposed to help those in search of knowledge, not tease people with it,” he retorted.

That drew a childish laugh from the crippled boy. “We are indeed keepers, collectors, and distributors of knowledge, though we’re only required to share it if someone of import asks it. Seeing that you’re not a bishop, Crusader, Senior Cleric, or anything of that sort, helping you comes purely from my own good will. For that reason, I’d ask that you trust me. Finding the answers on your own is much more satisfying. Come on, it's just this way.”

The Oracle turned and continued his painful walk down the aisle and Raegn was forced to follow. For being “just this way”, it was further than Raegn had hoped. He peered over the railing as they walked along the second story to make sure Tera hadn’t move. She didn’t look to have moved at all in fact, her head still buried in pages, and Raegn resigned himself to being escorted through the library.

“You must spend your whole life in here if you know it this well,” Raegn remarked after losing track of which row of books they headed down next.

“Mmm, something like that. It’s more of a recent thing, really. I was put on a longer term mission to discover some information,” the boy said.

“Something tells me your missions are not the same kind the Order goes on,” Raegn said absently. Then, with more conviction, “What are you looking for that’s so hard to find?”

“That,” the Oracle answered, “is above your rank, unfortunately.”

Raegn raised a brow, but decided not to push the issue. People always made things out to seem more interesting than they were, anyway. Bastion had been the same way in some regards. Of all the information discussed around the table at War Council meetings, laughably little of it was ever communicated down to the commanders of the city’s forces. They were told all that was necessary, though, so Raegn imagined this was much the same process.

“Here we are,” the Oracle said, stopping next to shelves lined with drawers.

The boy scanned several of the small inscriptions written onto the wood of the drawers, then passed off the books he’d been carrying to Raegn and pulled one open. The wood squeaked as though it’d fused with the shelf, but opened. The Oracle flipped through dozens of pieces of parchment before grabbing a group of them and laying them atop the books Raegn now held in his arms.

“That should do it.” The Oracle surveyed the stack of documents Raegn carried, then nodded, seemingly content with his work.

“Well…thanks,” Raegn said with a shrug he instantly regretted when the papers threatened to spill onto the floor. “I, uh, didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh, it’s Casum,” the boy answered. “And you are?”

“Raegn,” he answered. Then after a brief pause, added, “Edelgard.”

“Ah,” the Oracle said with a knowing grin. “I remember you. First to complete the exam portion of your Templar trial. Had a bit of identity crisis somewhere in there, did you?”

Raegn scowled. “We’ve met?”

“No, not really,” Casum explained. “I was the Oracle standing in the hall when you left. I am glad to see you passed the trial, though. Your scores on the test were exemplary, if I remember correctly.”

Raegn squinted at the boy, but the face didn’t really look all that familiar. Probably because you were staring straight ahead and not looking at people, he reminded himself.

“Well, I do appreciate the help Casum,” he said. “Hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“Me too,” Casum muttered, but gave a soft wave and began to hobble down the aisle in the opposite direction Raegn went.

Tera happened to glance up from atop her book just as Raegn approached the table and relieved himself of the burden of knowledge that filled his arms.

“What’s all that?” she asked.

“I went looking for something and then an Oracle gave me more than I planned on,” Raegn said, partially exasperated. Now that he took a good look at the amount of reading before him he wasn’t so excited about learning who the Eviscerator really was.

“Well,” Tera said, “these papers were result of my project and it only takes one of us to translate them, anyway. You might as well get started on your project, too.”

Raegn didn’t have much of an idea on where to start, so he grabbed a book at random and began to scan the pages for something related to the name he’d heard so many times but knew so little about. His eyes widened at the information written so plainly before him. He powered through the first book and hungrily opened the next, eager to discover what secrets it might bring to light.

The day drew on quickly and before Raegn knew it he’d learned more than he would’ve thought possible. He grinned as his mind began to piece together how he might broach the topic with Erkan. The only question that had gone unanswered is how the man ended up a cook, but perhaps when he revealed everything else he knew Erkan might tell him.

Tera groaned softly as she stretched and pressed her back against the top of her chair. Raegn looked up her, then spun quickly when a hand clasped his shoulder. He blinked repeatedly to focus his eyes on something that was more than half an arm's length away. Who knew that reading for that long would tire the eyes so badly? When his vision cleared he found Kai mocking him with crossed eyes expression and Nalani circling the table to Tera’s side.

“Learn anything?” Nalani asked.

“A bit,” Tera said as Kai flicked the back of Raegn’s ear the moment he turned away from the islander. Raegn drove an elbow back into what he hoped was Kai’s groan, but it turned out to be a meaty thigh.

“And?” Nalani pressed.

Tera shrugged and sounded a bit defeated. “It’s mostly just a list of supplies it seems like. I’m not done yet, though,” she added.

“Well, I suppose we can still hope for something beneficial,” Nalani said with a sigh. “Otherwise we just robbed a merchant of his shopping list.”

Raegn noticed Tera purse her lips and her shoulders slump. It wouldn’t be great if they’d been wrong about their suspicions, but the nature of the group had been odd enough that he doubted they’d be in any real trouble.

“I’m sure something will turn up,” he said in Tera’s defense. Then, in an attempt to change the subject asked, “You two finish your shopping?”

“Sure did,” Kai replied. “Take a look at this lovely little dose of good ideas.” The islander plopped a large bottle of what looked to be some sort of haggard liquor on the table.

“He’s very proud of it, if you can’t tell,” Nalani said with a roll of her eyes.

“I got it for half price!” Kai boasted. “Argued with the bastard for nearly a full bell to get him down that low!”

“If it were me, I would’ve given it to you for free to get you out of my shop,” Raegn muttered.

A burst of laughter escaped Nalani’s lungs before she clamped her hands over her mouth and struggled to stay quiet. Kai snatched the bottle from the table and put it back in the bag slung across his shoulder.

“Fine,” he said with a pout. “None for you, then.”

“We’re going to head back,” Nalani said once she’d finished wiping the tears from her eyes. “We’ll see you two for dinner?”

Raegn and Tera nodded and their two friends left the library all but arm-in-arm. Kai whispered something into Nalani’s ear which she promptly answered with a hip-check that nearly toppled the bookshelf Kai collided with. Tera returned to her work and Raegn attempted to do the same, but she gave a frustrated sigh after translating a single line and closed the book in front of her with a loud thump.

“Come on,” she said. “I think I’m done for the day.”

Raegn couldn’t come up with anything encouraging to say and he’d read more than enough information about the Eviscerator to have sated his curiosity, so he mirrored her motions of gathering the books on the table. He left his on a desk in the center of the library for the Oracles to sort and re-shelve later while Tera shoved her stack of papers back into her bag.

The eastern portion of the Church’s grounds offered some protection, but once they came around the large cathedral were forced to bear the full brunt of the wind. It had turned bitter now that the sun was getting low in the sky and Raegn watched Tera pull her cloak higher around her neck. He considered putting an arm around her since they weren’t in uniform, but thought better of it since she’d been fussy about those sorts of displays in the past.

As they headed towards the Dawn Gate, Raegn halted at a timid voice calling out a name he’d nearly forgotten.

“Caelan?”

He turned to face the sound. A short girl with a rounded face, auburn hair, and several piercings in the top of her ear looked at him with a cocked head. He squinted a bit, then recognized his one-time healer.

“Rue?”

“It is you!” Rue rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Raegn chuckled and returned the gesture, but stiffened some as Tera cleared her throat. With a bit of gentle pressure he separated himself and turned to so he could face both the girls.

“Rue, this is Tera Caloman, she’s a Templar in the Order. And Tera, this is Rue. She’s part of Joyce’s caravan. The one who tended my wounds when they found me, actually.”

“I doubt she’s part of the caravan anymore if she’s wearing that,” Tera commented with a tone as cold as the wind. “And his name isn’t Caelan, it’s Raegn,” she added.

Raegn pressed his lips together, but Rue didn’t seem to take any offense to Tera’s tone. She hardly gave any indication that she cared about his name, either. Maybe Joyce told her, he thought. And what did Tera mean by… he studied Rue’s outfit. The simple gray and white robes made it quite obvious.

“You’re a Cleric?” he asked.

Rue smiled and shrugged. “Just an Acolyte for now, but they said I’d probably promote quickly given my skills.”

“What about the caravan?”

That simple question seemed to change Rue’s mood more than Tera’s attitude had. The girl’s face darkened and she looked down at her feet.

“I left,” she mumbled. “It wasn’t much of a caravan anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Raegn asked.

Rue sighed, but began to recount the tale. “Joyce might have done well without any travel, but not everyone was so successful. Farvald promised them a return to good fortune. Those that followed him stole the wagons and horses and gathered even more to their side once they had the majority of the resources. He said they would be trading, but it was a lie. All he did was take bounty contracts. I left the first chance I got.”

If Farvald wanted to be a bounty hunter that was one thing, but the farling would go about it brutally, no doubt. Raegn ground his teeth.

“What about Joyce? And Kulkani?”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Rue said. “Kulkani got a job on a trading ship awhile back and I talked to Joyce about half a season ago. Part of the reason Farvald can’t trade is because she had all her contacts blacklist him. I guess her shop will just be a permanent fixture, now.” Rue sniffed and rubbed her rosy nose, then perked up some. “She’s the one who recommended I join the Church, actually. After she saw how successful you’d been with it she thought my healing would be a good fit.”

“Well for what it’s worth, I agree,” Raegn noted.

“Thank you,” Rue replied, then took a cautious glance in Tera’s direction. “I should get going, though. They don’t give us much time to eat between classes.”

Raegn tried not to look apprehensive about the storm-filled face that stood alongside him. “Alright.”

“We’ll talk again?” Rue asked.

“Of course,” he assured her.

Rue turned and headed back into the depths of the Church, her robes blowing in the wind and prompting her to scurry a bit to get out of the elements. Raegn hazarded a peek at Tera, but his companion just swept a strand of hair behind her ear before pulling up her hood and turning to head through the gate. A small grin broke Raegn’s dry lips. Gets a bit jealous, does she? He knew it wasn’t the best of emotions, but at least it meant she was protective of him.

With Rue’s mention of Joyce’s shop, Nalani and Kai’s shopping, and that habit Tera had of fixing her hair, Raegn was reminded of an idea he’d come up with some days ago.

“Tera,” he called out. She paused to look at him from over her shoulder and let him catch up. “I’ve got something I need to buy. It’ll only take a bit. I’ll be back for dinner.”

“You’re going to make a lady walk home alone?” she asked.

Raegn laughed and wrapped her in a hug as if to give he warmth to carry with her on her walk.

“What’s so funny?” Tera asked with a pout.

He looked down at her wind-nipped cheeks that had hidden her faint freckles behind pink skin. “You don’t make many jokes,” he teased. “I’ve never heard you refer to yourself as a lady before.”

The Sea Witch swayed to and fro with each press the sea put against her hull. Nora leaned forward, watching the white froth of the waves leave their temporary kiss against the thick wood only to be replaced by another line a few moments later. The gentle bobbing would have had her heaving a season or so ago, but now it was a source of relaxation. A good nights sleep in a hammock, rocked to sleep by nature’s will, would do her good.

“You’re looking a bit solemn, Justicar. Sad to be headed back to Elysia so soon?”

Nora turned to see Captain Atherton taking the final strides to join her at the railing along the ship’s bow.

“Soon? We were supposed to be in the Islands for a few days,” she grumbled, “not a whole season.”

“Ah, delays always happen.” Captain Atherton placed her elbows on the railing and leaned forward to rest her chin in her palms. “I take it the Angel didn’t find what he needed. He doesn’t look any different.”

“No, he didn’t,” Nora answered flatly.

Atherton gave a soft sigh. “Shame he doesn’t want to stay longer. I’ve always loved Motu. The waters are blue, the winds warm, and the people friendly.”

Nora smiled faintly for the captain spoke true. Elysia’s weather was fair throughout most of the year, but though the air carried the scent of salt it seemed fresher around the endless shores of Motu.

“I thought most sailors hated the islands, what with all the pirates,” Nora commented.

“Oh, there’s not so many of them anymore,” Atherton said. She straightened and surveyed the horizon, almost as if she might be looking for such a foe. “Once the Royal Navy defeated the family on Wairua that controlled the pirate fleet the rest scattered. We don’t even come to patrol these waters anymore.”

Nora furrowed her brow. “We?”

The captain of the Sea Witch did have a bit of military stoicism about her. With enough of a squint Nora could place her on Elysian ships rife with sailors and light-bearers blowing apart enemy hulls. A bit odd a scene considering the Royal Navy didn’t wear black coats and Atherton wasn’t armed.

The Captain’s eyes flicked over in Nora’s direction. “Slip of the tongue.”

Curiosity got the best of her and Nora ignored normal courtesy. “You were in the Elysian Navy?” she pressed.

“How do you think someone of my age has the experience to captain a ship?” Atherton said, turning to face her.

“I wouldn’t know,” Nora shrugged. “I’ve spent my life in the Order.”

“My parents were foresters with little more than coppers for wealth. I earned my position, Justicar, much in the same way you had to earn yours. And I became one of the greatest the fleet had ever seen.”

Nora nodded fervently in an attempt to show she meant no offense. She could respect someone climbing the ranks from the bottom and it was true that she’d done something similar, albeit abnormally fast due to the training her father had given her before he passed. Still, Atherton didn’t look to be all that much older. Even a few strands of gray would’ve stood out amongst the Captain’s raven locks sticking out from under the tri-cornered hat. If Atherton claimed to be one of the best at her relatively young age she must have an impeccable record.

“Did you sink many pirate ships?” Nora asked.

“Just the one,” Atherton said, then, noting Nora’s frown, continued, “it was probably the other two dozen or so we captured that mattered.”

Capturing a single foe was often hard - not that the Justicar took many prisoners - but a whole ship of them? Nora chuckled absently. One of the best, indeed.

“So why leave?” she asked.

“Like I said, I’ve always loved the Islands of Motu. When we stopped patrolling, I found a way back.”

Her curiosity satisfied, Nora returned to watching the waves rise and fall ahead of the ship. Somewhere ahead the walls of Elysium stretched across the horizon, but they were probably still a few days away from the sight. It was an odd feeling to be useless. She had little more to do than sit around and wait. The crew needed no help to run the ship and Uriel had all but locked himself in his room. How many times had they tried to find whatever it was he was searching for? Over a dozen? He’d plunged his arms into pools of lava more times than Nora could bear to watch.

She shuddered at the memory. Each time he’d been unharmed, but there was something about watching the molten earth crawl up his arms to the shoulder and expecting little more than bone to be left behind that sickened the mind. The Void that had been present at each location over the season or so they’d been sailing between the islands had only added to the discomfort. It was like the evil knew where they were going to be. And strangely, none of the islanders reported seeing the creatures, which meant they must have been appearing just before their arrival.

A yawn next to Nora interrupted her weighing the odds of the islanders not encountering the Void.

“Is there something else I can help you with, Captain?”

Atherton sniffed and resumed her lean against the railing. “I’m just here for conversation, Justicar. You had me bragging there for a moment—a rarity these days. I only ever see the same people on my ship. You’re still new. That makes you interesting.”

Nora fought the urge to roll her eyes. The Captain had been willing to ferry them across the sea for the Order’s standard payment. It couldn’t have been nearly as profitable as transporting goods, so she did her best to put on good airs for her host. Plus, she’d all but interrogated Atherton moments ago about her past. If she was going to be forced into a conversation, though, she would do her best to get the most out of it.

“Is that why you asked the Angel if he had any weaknesses?” she asked. “Because he was interesting?”

“Told you about that, did he?” Atherton answered with a grin. “It was natural curiosity. I think anyone would find an Angel quite interesting.”

Nora narrowed her eyes. “Since I’m apparently interesting as well am I to assume you want to know mine?”

“Mmm, no,” Atherton said after a time. “I imagine the Justicar have the same weaknesses all humans do. You need air, food, water, shelter…the usual things. I’d rather just learn about you. About a life other than that at sea. Have anyone you’re trying to make it home to? A husband? A lover?” Atherton flashed a mischievous smile. “Or perhaps both? Those always make the best stories.”

Nora raised a brow. “You want to talk about my romantic endeavors?”

The Captain gave a discontented sigh. “Look around you. How many women do you see on this ship?”

“Not many,” Nora grumbled without bothering to look. The smell of most of the lower decks was evidence enough that men had claimed nearly all of the ship.

“Do you know how often I’m forced to hear how well someone fucked someone else every time we leave port? I’ve nearly lost interest in all things love. You offer me the chance to hear the other, and arguably better, side. So come now, tell me of your pursuits.”

This time Nora did roll her eyes. “I’m a Justicar, Captain. I hardly have the time for such things.”

Nora swore she saw the woman’s shoulders slump slightly. Odd, considering the intrepid grace that usually lingered on Atherton’s every move. This was a touch childish and closer to how she imagined Tera would ask of things, not some hero of the Elysian Fleet. Yet there was a part of her that could sympathize with the lonely captain.

“But if I did…” Nora sighed, realizing the reality of her romantic interests. “They wouldn’t be all that impressive. The only man I want won’t have me.”

Captain Atherton shivered at the words. “Unrequited love. How lamentably beautiful.” She licked her lips as though savoring some long-awaited meal. “He desires someone else?”

“No. For him duty will always come first,” Nora grumbled.

“Well how very noble of him,” Atherton said with a chuckle. “He’s a Justicar as well, I presume?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

Captain Atherton seemed to give the situation an undue amount of thought. Was she really this interested? The woman must be starved for affection, Nora thought. Though it was hard to blame her. The crewmen who worked about the Sea Witch weren’t exactly the type Nora would ever see a future with. Or even one night, she told herself, nearly gagging at the thought.

“I see but one course of action for you, then,” Atherton said with enough enthusiasm that Nora found it hard not to perk up a bit at the advice lingering in the air. “Rise to a rank above him. Then your whims can become his duty.”

And with that statement Nora’s glimmer of excitement disappeared like a candle blown out by the wind. She sunk back down on the railing and went back to watching the waves.

“For one, that would be a horrible misuse of power,” she said condescendingly. Then with another sigh, “And two, quite impossible. He…leads the Justicar.”

“Misuse of power?” Atherton scoffed. “I’d say it all depends on how you frame it. I had a First Mate once who was more than willing.”

“I thought you said you lost interest in all things love,” Nora said with a faint grin.

“Nearly lost interest,” Atherton corrected. “Your second point does provide a bit of an added challenge, though.”

“You’re telling me…”

Captain Atherton rose from the railing and took a deep breath of salty air. “You’ll just have to find a way to convince him. If he’s bound to duty then you’ll have to replace his sense of service with one that serves you.”