Prologue
The sky was a crisp, cloudless blue. The gulls were circling over the docks. People were everywhere shouting and laughing. To see everything at once was impossible. The port was far too vast and changed seemingly almost every hour.
One little girl could have been lost in an instant in all the hustle and bustle. Her father though kept a tight grip on her hand. He wasn't trying to protect her from what was around them though. No, he wanted her to see the people, the poor especially.
All about them, in plain sight and hidden away, the poor of the earth were scattered about the dock hoping to be the beneficiary of some meager left overs brought in by the merchant ships. Every time they passed someone begging and in rags, the father would draw the little girl's attention to the person. He would ask how she could help. But the little girl had no answer. She knew she wanted to help, but thought herself too small to do anything.
Upon hearing this, her father smiled. He came to a halt and pointed to a large brigantine being built in the dry docks. This was their answer he said. Getting down on eye level with his child, the father gazed intently at her and explained that even the littlest of life boats can withstand the largest of waves. She would need to be strong to withstand the wave, like challenges their new future with the ship would hold. For if she was strong, she would usher in the wave of change that would shape their world forever.
Gazing at the ship, and then out to the open space, the little girl believed.
And so, the wave began.