Completed Riding the Storm

[Lacerta]

--Winter 88th, 500 AV—

Lacerta sat on the deck of her ship, a worried look in her eyes. A storm was brewing… she could tell. There were grey clouds in the sky, a whispy but warm wind on the air… and she could smell it. It was funny how you could use your nose to identify a storm, but it worked. The air was humid, that was part of it, but there was something… else. Despite all her years on the seas, she had yet to figure out the reason for it… maybe she would someday. But right now… all she needed to do was rest for a bit, and prepare for the coming storm. For some odd reason, she always loved the feeling of a storm brewing- the calm before the storm, really. The simple, plain time before the disaster strikes. She also enjoyed sailing out storms… it was risking her life, something she rarely did… but this felt… natural. As if she was testing herself, becoming stronger… Anyways, it was a settling feeling, bringing her to general steadiness. Yawning once, and staring at the thick grey clouds, she turned down to her music book, analyzing the notes of the already half written song. She’d written quite a number about storms, and each time they became better and better… an encouragement really, as if she was slowly capturing more and more of the tempest’s essence in song.

She thought about what to happen next in the piece. She’d already written the ‘calm’… a series of long, low, and quiet notes slowly speeding up in tempo, moving up and down more durastically on the scale… but then came the ‘quiet’. She had yet to decide if she should put notes there, or just settle for a long set of rests. Since this was a solo… she settled for a mix of the two. It started with a two bar rest, then a short note, then one and a half, another note. One bar… another note. Alternating quarter rests and notes for two bars… before constant staccato quarter notes for four bars. Then… the storm came. But she wasn’t quite sure what to put there… as the storm hadn’t really started yet. All that happened was the calm and the quiet…

By now, the wind had died down, letting her boat settle slowly, unmoving. The clouds were darker now, and the water was a similar color, reflecting the sky. The air seemed to thicken, and the ‘smell’ became more obvious. Well… time to pack up. She needed to stow her books below deck. As if she was jinxing it, a small drop of rain plopped from the sky and fell inches from her music, threatening it. She snapped it closed, before rushing down to the cabin and storing her things safely. That done, she moved up again, securely locking the door on her way out. Though sometimes it was smarter to stay anchored while the wind went crazy, this wasn’t one of those times. She knew if she tried to stay stable… the waves would rip her vessel to shreds. She raised the anchor, and paused, checking the direction of the wind. It was coming right behind them… perfect for moving fast. Wherever she was heading… she’d get there quickly. The Eth quickly tacked the sails, adjusting it to a position to best take advantage of the wind. She needed to ride on top of the waves… ride with the wind. Considering… this would be fun!

x

[Lacerta]

The wind quickly increased in speed, pushing them forward with the increasing waves. Rain began, pattering down on the deck, and quickly soaking Lacerta’s hair. She smiled at the sound of it hitting her glassy horns, ignoring the cold it infused her with. Despite wearing her waterproof jacket, her hands were already freezing from the rain. They were clutched tightly on the wheel, and the Ethaefal’s eyes were focused sternly on the water before her. The wind picked up, raging in her ears until she could barely hear anything else. Starry Sea began bouncing on the waves, moving at full speed forward, and rushing over the lumps in the water. It wasn’t as smooth as she could hope for, since her boat was a small one, and even medium sized waves affected her. Instead, the ship almost ‘hopped’ across the water, landing in an indent, riding up a wave, before splashing down again. Each crash in the water sent up a massive spray of the liquid, dousing anything on board that wasn’t already wet from the rain.

Lacerta could barely see, and she had to wipe her eyes every few moments to clear her vision. It was funny how quickly the skies could open up so quickly. Still, her face set determinately, she held the wheel stiff and straight. Every once in a while, a current, or a stray breeze, would try to set her off course, sending the ship wheeling off right or left. In those moments, she had to forcefully spin the wheel in the opposite direction, or occasionally adjust the sails slightly so the wind would turn her back, and then re-tack to then pick up the majority of the wind again. It was a jarring, stressful ride, one that was tiring yet exhilarating at the same time.

A large burst of wind suddenly hit the sail, spinning them nearly 180 degrees. The sail, not ready for the sudden change in pressure, slapped against the mast, louder than even the gale itself. Lacerta swore like a true sailor and rushed to the ropes, yanking on one to straighten out the yardarm, and fix the sail’s position. By a change of luck, the wind died down slightly, letting the Ethaefal securely readjust the sail and yardarm, stopping the intense flapping. She quickly dashed back to her wheel, nearly slipping on the soaked deck, and spun it, letting them slowly turn counter-clockwise, and back in their original direction. However, her luck failed just at that moment as the wind picked up, roaring in her ears and slamming into the canvas of the sail, sending them once again spinning into confusion. By now, she had no clue of where they were going, except that she simple needed to straighten the boat, and head with the wind.

Running back to the sail, cursing her poor aching legs and arms, she found another rope and pulled, tightening the sail until it was as stiff as the head of a drum. The snapping sound stopped, but they were quickly being pushed in squiggles and odd circles. Grabbing a rope to tack the sail, she heaved on it, putting all her strength into fixing this problem. A massive wave slammed into the ship’s side, sending the Eth sprawling, but she pulled herself up again and secured the cord, sliding along the deck back to the wheel. She once again turned it, using the sail as well as the rudder to adjust their course. Soon enough, they were back in a relatively straight line, and Lacerta was watching the area ahead for any sign of… something. She wasn’t quite sure how close she was to shore, and if they came to close to any shallow ground… she’d be in a real mess.

That was when she spotted… another boat.

x

[Lacerta]

Her hair was whipping in her face, and rain got in her eyes…. But Lacerta was sure of what she saw. Another ship and its crew. And she was heading straight towards them. If she continued on her current path… there’d be a collision. As they drew nearer, she saw it was horizontal to the wind, trying to stay still. Silly, really. Either they really, really did not want to get sent off course, or they were stupid… possibly both. Still… she had to adjust her course or risk disaster. Thinking quickly, she shoved the anchor into the water, and let it sink behind them, hopefully stopping their course and turning the boat. She then rushed to the sail and undid one of the corners, and folded the canvas up on itself. This would stop the propulsion… and slow her down enough to avoid a crash. Onto the third stage of her setup, she dashed to the wheel and turned it, letting the boat slide slowly ninety degrees, as to be parallel with the other boat. That done… all she could do was wait.

By now, the other ship had noticed her approach, and it’s two crew members raised arms to her. It was much too loud to even attempt speaking, so this was a generic form of communication. The Eth returned the greeting, and watched the two men. One was older, whispy grey hair fluttering in the wind. He had a stern, determined face and leaned on the wheel, preventing it and the rudder from turning. He stared straight at the Eth, watching and waiting for her approach. The other man was a little less stiff, young, with pale brown hair that would have reached his shoulders if it was staying straight. Instead, it was all twisted into knots and curls from the fury of the wind. Though she could barely see most of his features from here, she could almost make out startling blue eyes, and an ocean themed tattoo on his bare right arm. A Svefra, then. And this was obviously a casinor. The guy had a massive grin on his face, probably exhilarated by both the storm and the new arrival.

As she drifted slowly towards the still boat, Lacerta breathed a sigh of relief. There was no crash, and the two boats clunked slowly together as the wind died. Her hair twisted around her horns, the musician fixed it, forcing it unsuccessfully behind her face. ”Afternoon” she greeted the pair, voice louder than normal. It wasn’t as necessary as it might have been, however, as the last drops of rain spattered their decks and wind died into silence. ”Afternoon” was the equal reply from the elder, but his younger counterpart seemed to have more to say. ”Hey! Fun storm, no? And… wait. Why do you have horns??” He stared at the Eth in shock and surprise, extracting a sigh from the other two present. ”She’s an Ethaefal, silly.” the older man stated bluntly, and when he only received a confused look, continued ”I’ll explain later…” Re-focusing his attention on Lacerta, he greeted her. ”Well… interesting time for a meeting. I’m Shofo Stormrider. And this is my son, Foren Stormrider.”

x

[Lacerta]

Several chimes later, the trio sat on the slowly warming deck, each holding a steaming mug of tea. Surprisingly, the father was a minorly skilled reimancer, and was able to make the hot drink with ease. For this bit of luck Lacerta was eternally grateful, her numb hands slowly thawing from the heat. She wasn’t actually drinking the thing, it was too hot for that, but still… tea had many more uses than just for drinking. ”So… what is an Ethaefal doing out on the Suvan?” Shofo asked after they’d settled themselves. ”Sailing, obviously…” she said, she said, adding a little sarcasm and a raised eyebrow to the statement. Still, she grinned, not wanting to ruin their hospitality. ”And what’s two Svefra doing away from their pod? Shouldn’t you all stay together?” There were plenty of reasons for a single casinor to stray from its group, but the least likely was that they weren’t part of a pod. The Svefra as a whole would literally draft any other member into a pod if they didn’t have one of their own.

Shofo chuckled at the question, before elaborating. Foren was silent, staring awkwardly at the tall woman, before away at sea again. ”We were out fishing, Foren and I. The storm came around, and, well…. We ended up here. Now… will you answer our question? It’s quite surprising for a non-Svefra like you to be out sailing alone, especially in a storm.” There was the hint of a suggestion that she was ‘inexperienced’ in the Svefra’s question, causing the musician to smile ruefully. Their answer was logical, and made sense, and it was time for her to repay them in turn. ”I’ve been sailing the Suvan for longer than you have been alive” she stated bluntly, raising an eyebrow. ”I sail because I love it, and the sea. I was sailing in the storm, because… well, why not? It’s a challenge, and I always like that.” She shrugged, and elicited a laugh from the older man, and a grin from the younger. ”How old can you be? You barely look twenty!” He chuckled again, a deep sound that sounded quite soothing. Again, Lacerta smirked, more at their lack of knowledge than anything. ”You know of my race, but not much. We don’t age like most other races. I’m actually around 370 years old, give or take a few years.” This gained her blank stares from the men, before Foren’s jaw dropped. ”Wow!” he exclaimed, his delight obvious. His father had explained the basics of her race earlier, the whole horns thing, Syna and Leth, and their form changes. He didn’t know about the aging, however. ”That’s amazing!” he continued, awed.

”Yes, I guess.” she shrugged, not wanting to delve into the slightly awkward topic. It was nice to sit here, on a boat, absorbing Syna’s light with company. It was relaxing, and her fingers had that odd tingly feeling that said they were numbing. She took a sip of the cooled tea, noting the warm feeling of it working its way through her system. Though she didn’t need to eat or drink in this form, she couldn’t deny she enjoyed tastes and warmth like this tea provided. She stared into the rippling liquid, her mind mostly blank, and watched the greenish tea swirl around. It was quite pretty considering, with the sunlight reflecting of its surface, causing its usually plain texture to sparkle. Then… out of nowhere… a drop splashed into the mug, creating miniature waves. The Eth glanced up, confused, then swore. Shofo and Faren did so as well, after a moment, all three staring into the sky before quickly packing their things.

It was raining again.

x

[Radiant]

Lacerta :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Writing	+1 XP
Music Composition	+1 XP
Sailing	+3 XP
Endurance	+1 XP
Planning	+1 XP
Socialization	+1 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

The Signs Of A Brewing Storm

How To Navigate A Ship In A Storm

Shofo And Foren Stormrider: Acquaintance

Loots

Notes :

Short and nice. Enjoy your grades.

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.