Timestamp: 2nd of Winter, 518 A.V.
It was midday the sun sat overhead, a gentle sea breeze wafted through, and the commotion of sailors and dock workers could be heard. A man in his early twenties sat at the edge of an empty dock. He sat by himself paying no mind to the people around him. Only occasionally glancing up to see if he was in someone's way. The sound of the waves coming up against the shores and docks helped him to concentrate. The scent of the sea comforted him as he sat there quietly. The young man is Vasin, a mercenary by trade though perhaps more accurately a loan shark at this point. He had the look of a sellsword about him as well, but instead of a sword in his hands was a book. Of course, he had a sword at his side, it would be foolish to not have protection in this city. A lesson he had learned a fairly long time ago, at these very docks. Vasin would watch as a boat passed by for a moment before he grumbled about being distracted. It was hard not to be distracted by such things, especially considering the book he was reading.
The book he was thumbing through and rather enjoying was named 'An Account of the Circumnavigation of Mizahar'. It had captured his imagination and reminded him of a time before he came to this city. It may look rather odd to people that a sellsword thug was reading, very few people in sunberth held any value in reading. For a time Vasin was one of those people, but this book had caught his eye, as a distant memory brought right to the surface. Vasin had not been given a chance lately to sit down and read this book, so he was making the time to now. Reading through the preface which gave a hint of things to come. In his mind, he separated the words on the pages into chunks in an attempt to digest it better in his mind. He did not have a piece of paper to take notes and believed he might look silly doing so out here. A smirk came to his face as the words he read sparked in his mind. That some of the places in this book had been unvisited since Captain Kenabelle Wright!
With that he flipped the page into the very first chapter of the book, he struggled of course as his reading was a bit rusty. But he would double back and whisper out the words to sound them out. This first chapter was about the beginning, or as the book mentioned it what led to the construction of the ship used in the voyage. It spoke of Zeltivan trading routes which went to the very edge of the Suvan Sea. A shadow appeared in his mind, but he brushed it aside knowing that is where his father came from. There was also a growing curiosity about what had come of the realms of Suva after Valterrian. As this trade network did not directly touch them action would have to be taken to find out. So the University of Zeltiva set about having the College of Navigation prepare for an expedition. Vasin as he read this scratched his beard a little as his eyes rolled over the pages. He was not at all familiar with this University of College and wondered too about the Suva. He himself had never gone to the Suvan sea, an unfortunate consequence of what had happened.
Indeed, there was terminology, places, and people in this book he was unfamiliar with. Something he would have to rectify later, maybe ask around town? See if any merchants own books? He couldn't afford to buy an entire collection after all, and this book kept raising questions in his mind. Vasin decided he would just have to hope the book answered some of them later. As he read he became more and more absorbed into it, he glanced around him became less common as the light above provided ample opportunity to read. He became more comfortable as he read the remainder of the chapter which did its best to explain this early stage. To him, it seemed a considerable number of resources, and information was needed for expeditions like this. Also, something to do with Cartography was required, as it seemed the maps they had did not map out the area? That was fairly weird Vasin thought to himself as he would adjust his position.
Before he knew it he reached the end of the first chapter and thumbed the next page over to chapter two. Relaxed and enjoying himself he found he grew less and less distracted as he became used to the scenery and surroundings.