Timestamp Early Fall 516 AV
One phenomenon that Syka always experienced was the fact that the sun never gradually sank into the ocean like it did on the west coast. Instead, darkness seemed to swarm over the city all at once. The sunset fell over the trees, far out past the ruins that were buried in the depth of the Maw. And the disappearance of the sun often signaled fellowship. Folks in the new settlement would often gather, sometimes at the commons, and sometimes on Swing Beach and someone would light a bonfire.
Today the fire was on the beach. There were only three gathered, everyone else having been caught busy elsewhere. James, Mathias, and Randal sat around the fire relaxing. Lines on faces eased. Eyes were brightly fixed on the storyteller of the moment, and quite nods encouraged the tale.
Seats were pulled around made of tree stumps or newly carved chairs. There were always extras, an unspoken invite to newcommers and strangers to join them.
And then the stories would come out. If one smoked, the chicory root cigarettes would be lit or a pipe was packed, and then the conversation would begin. James, having captained the Veronica for years, often had good ones. He would start out the same way with his stories, causing the gathering to hush.
"It was the winter of 481 and I was just a lad.... sixteen or so..." James would start out, always siting a date or season and sometimes if they were lucky both. "Winter had a firm grip on the land. We were out to sea in the middle suvan, the gut if you will, and the icebergs started showing up. We had no experience with such things, especially free floating in the center of the world. The Suvan had never had such things before. Sure, up by Avanthal all the time. But in the Suvan? Never. At first, we blamed it on the weather and the extreme cold. But we couldn't have been any more wrong...." He said, having been one of those that lit a pipe. He took a long draw on it, letting the hook of the story hit the audience before he continued.
"Two ships went down. We were heavy with passengers because right behind them we rode, drawing drowning sailors up out of the drink. We lost most to frostbite and exposure eventually, but those that remained told the same story...." James added, his rich voice adding a dramatic element to the story.
The rest of the small gathering listened quietly. Mathias nodded, muttering something about remembering how hard that particular winter had been. Randal simply remained quiet. He'd lived most of his life on the land and didn't have much experience with such things as ships, winter, or icebergs.
"The bergs were coming out of nowhere. One moment the seas would be clear and the next they would be rising up like whales breaching to breath, and dominating the ocean. Ships couldn't maneuver around them fast enough because they couldn't see them in time. We were convinced we were next, waiting for one of the icy pillars to rise up in front of us and threaten our lives. But that's not what happened.... not at all..." He added, pausing again for dramatic effect.
