It was obvious from the way Kailani smiled that she was one who enjoyed mischief. To willingly go into a ship graveyard was something that never seemed like the best idea regardless of the context. And yet, she smiled. Kynier held tighter to the rigging as the ship shifted suddenly from the Sunset Tide turning. Their voyage was swift and over before Kailani had finished telling her story. Kynier could’ve been mistaken for a fixture, the way he stood still and listened to her tale. Kailani, was a survivor.
As the ship quietly floated in the cove she remarked about major events and their accompaniment by storms. That was a metaphor on life it seemed. As least to Kynier’s experience it was. And while he had not one sailing bone in his body, he was able to find admiration for the Svefra’s ability to endure several storms and still stand there smiling. With the ship more or less stationary, Kynier walked over to the mast and leaned against it. He looked out towards Lodestar Isle. The Lighthouse still functioned but failed to purge the island of an ominous presence.
When she asked him about his history and how he had been led to Sunberth, Kynier Crossed his arms and sighed. He had set himself up to be in a stranger’s presence, a woman’s presence, for nearly a day with no intermissions. As reclusive as he tended to be, he did not like the idea of an awkward silence between the two of them. “I was born in Nyka. My parents were regular people able to provide for a comfortable means of living. One day they decided it was best to move to a different city. For whatever reason, they decided against taking a ship and joined a travelling caravan bound for Syliras via overland.”
The memories came to him. First, it was the smell of smoke before even the gray veiled images came to mind. The sight of so many strangers he had gotten to speak to, laying in the grass to never stand again. “But the caravan was raided. My father died, and my mother…” Kynier shook his head, “I never found out her fate.” Biting down on his lower lip, Kynier tried to banish the memories to the back of his mind where he preferred them. “I wandered the wilderness for a few days,” he turned to looked at Kailani, “no storms thankfully,” he said with a jesting smile. “Then I was found by an old Eypharian. He took me in and educated me.”
“As for why I came to Sunberth… well… to put it simply, I wanted to do something to damage the slave trade. It was slavers that raided that caravan. And Sunberth has a large market for slaves. Seemed to me that doing something to make a change here would be the most effective change that I could possibly do. But then,” he shrugged his shoulders, “you get distracted by the effort to not get knifed in the back every day. To manage to afford shelter and a meal. And to try and avoid the attention of the groups that don’t sound very ideal.” Yet here he was, sticking his nose into their affairs. Potentially.
“It’s not as thrilling of a tale as yours. Which did not seem that sappy.” His attention was more on the open waters around the island. There were no ships to be seen. After a few chimes he sat down against the base of the mast and removed his back to set it between his legs. Usually he would’ve enjoyed trying to draw something. Perhaps Syna laying on the water’s horizon, or Kailani managing the helm. But the Fall had been extremely damp and would’ve ruined the parchment before an image could begin to form. So, from the magic pack he withdrew the three pieces of his oboe and fastened them together.
“I once heard that sailors would pass the time at sea with music,” he said as he attached the last of the three sections. Kynier licked his lips and wet the reed. Then he set his lips to the reed and blew. A long breath was applied as Kynier worked the keys to go through each note from lowest to highest as a warm up. He found that playing the instrument was helpful for multiple reasons. First, it helped him to relax and think of something else. Second, he could feel it conditioning his lungs to hold more air and have better breath control. As the last note came to an end he took a deeper than average breath for his empty lungs. “Do you either sing or make music when sailing?” he asked Kailani.
As the ship quietly floated in the cove she remarked about major events and their accompaniment by storms. That was a metaphor on life it seemed. As least to Kynier’s experience it was. And while he had not one sailing bone in his body, he was able to find admiration for the Svefra’s ability to endure several storms and still stand there smiling. With the ship more or less stationary, Kynier walked over to the mast and leaned against it. He looked out towards Lodestar Isle. The Lighthouse still functioned but failed to purge the island of an ominous presence.
When she asked him about his history and how he had been led to Sunberth, Kynier Crossed his arms and sighed. He had set himself up to be in a stranger’s presence, a woman’s presence, for nearly a day with no intermissions. As reclusive as he tended to be, he did not like the idea of an awkward silence between the two of them. “I was born in Nyka. My parents were regular people able to provide for a comfortable means of living. One day they decided it was best to move to a different city. For whatever reason, they decided against taking a ship and joined a travelling caravan bound for Syliras via overland.”
The memories came to him. First, it was the smell of smoke before even the gray veiled images came to mind. The sight of so many strangers he had gotten to speak to, laying in the grass to never stand again. “But the caravan was raided. My father died, and my mother…” Kynier shook his head, “I never found out her fate.” Biting down on his lower lip, Kynier tried to banish the memories to the back of his mind where he preferred them. “I wandered the wilderness for a few days,” he turned to looked at Kailani, “no storms thankfully,” he said with a jesting smile. “Then I was found by an old Eypharian. He took me in and educated me.”
“As for why I came to Sunberth… well… to put it simply, I wanted to do something to damage the slave trade. It was slavers that raided that caravan. And Sunberth has a large market for slaves. Seemed to me that doing something to make a change here would be the most effective change that I could possibly do. But then,” he shrugged his shoulders, “you get distracted by the effort to not get knifed in the back every day. To manage to afford shelter and a meal. And to try and avoid the attention of the groups that don’t sound very ideal.” Yet here he was, sticking his nose into their affairs. Potentially.
“It’s not as thrilling of a tale as yours. Which did not seem that sappy.” His attention was more on the open waters around the island. There were no ships to be seen. After a few chimes he sat down against the base of the mast and removed his back to set it between his legs. Usually he would’ve enjoyed trying to draw something. Perhaps Syna laying on the water’s horizon, or Kailani managing the helm. But the Fall had been extremely damp and would’ve ruined the parchment before an image could begin to form. So, from the magic pack he withdrew the three pieces of his oboe and fastened them together.
“I once heard that sailors would pass the time at sea with music,” he said as he attached the last of the three sections. Kynier licked his lips and wet the reed. Then he set his lips to the reed and blew. A long breath was applied as Kynier worked the keys to go through each note from lowest to highest as a warm up. He found that playing the instrument was helpful for multiple reasons. First, it helped him to relax and think of something else. Second, he could feel it conditioning his lungs to hold more air and have better breath control. As the last note came to an end he took a deeper than average breath for his empty lungs. “Do you either sing or make music when sailing?” he asked Kailani.
Boxcode credit goes to Gossamer!
