The last thing I remember is slamming into a rock in a storm. Lovely memory. I shiver and look around the tall pine trees are so different from the fruit and maple trees I am so use to. The ground is wet and sticks to my boots. This is so different from my home islands.

I guess I should tell you who I am. My name is Kira wavesong and I am sixteen. I come from an island nation that few know about that is at the edge of the known world. Every time a ruler comes to power in Araluan or Skanda we sail and make a new treaty. We ask to be left alone and in return we give some of our technology. See because we are isolated we are much more advanced with more efficient boats and great resources we don't have to fight over and because we look mostly like Araluans we can come and go without being noticed. I was part of the group that was coming to Skanda to make a new treaty with the new Orberjarl Erak. I was scouting ahead to make sure there were no pirates when a squall came up and dashed my small boat to pieces and slamming me into that rock, close to the Skandians' main city or town or whatever. Now I have nothing but my life vest, whistle, bow, and sailing clothes.

Now that you know my situation you can understand my problem I can't just go to the town they probably all knew each other and would know I'm not a native even though I speak common fluently as a native. I stand on a rock overlooking the sea. And watch it. "Kaprie or whatever god watches over this part of the great sea guide and aid me in returning to my people." It would be another week at least possibly longer for the rest of the group to reach the main town and that was without stops. I still and watch as a boat that is like a rough version of a (insert ship name) sailed by. It is different but similar to our own design. I wave and the skipper or person steering the boat brings it close. "Can I get a ride to the town nearest here?"

The boy in back calls out "the nearest town is Hallashom."

"Fine, I can swim out to you."

"You can swim? And in this water?"

I had sailed here in a tiny boat with no lower deck and a deck only a foot above the sea and then I washed up on the shore after hitting a rock. I think I can deal with the water. I don't say that instead I simply replied "I can manage." And to prove my point I jump off the rock and efficiently swim to the boat and am hauled aboard by two large boys or young men they all are about my age. And they won't stop staring even the skipper who had to yell out suddenly for the sail to be trimmed as they were losing wind. I studied the sail arrangement so as to ignore the boys staring at me the sail that was up looked pretty normal but then they also had a second sail lying on the ground opposite the raised sail. Hadn't they ever heard of a goose neck (1)?

Hal's POV

I saw a movement on the coast and saw a person waving I sailed as close to the shore as possible and allowed the person to get a ride after all it was only one boy and there were eight of us. I was surprised when he claimed he would swim to us and that's what he did. As Stig and Ingvard hauled the boy on deck I forgot about keeping us on course because the new comer was not a boy but a girl. She had dark hair and tanned shin she looked like an Araluan but slightly different she had almost feline shaped eyes and long lashes and her form was easy to see through her wet clothes. She wore the strangest clothes close fitting breaches and boots and a thick belt holding a sax knife and small pouch hung. She wore a thick padded vest that cut off at her mid rift and had two straps over her shoulders with a small breast pocket it was brightly dyed orange and under it she wore a dark long sleeve shirt made of the same material as her breaches that end at her palm with a slit for her thumbs she also wore light gloves that fitted her small hands closely. She also wore the strangest bow on her back it looked to be made of metal with three strings and it was strapped to her back securely. She ignored us choosing to study our sails instead. "What's your name?"

"I am Kira Wavesong." She sounded like an Araluan but she couldn't be the Araluans would not bring a woman with them and she did not dress like an Araluan.

"I'm Hal. This is the heron and that's Stig, Jesper, Wulf and Ulf, Ingvard, Stefan, and Edvin. We are taking the Heron on her first voyage."

"You don't have reefs (Is that how you spell it?) on your sail what will you do if there is a storm?"

I looked at Stig in surprise what girl knew about reefs? "We are going to put them on soon." This seemed a good answer for the girl who simply thanked us for giving her a ride. "No problem but if you don't mind me asking Miss Wavesong why you were out in the wilderness."

"Just call me Kira and I was ship wreaked and hit my head on a rock so I lost track of where I was."

I studied her she looked like she had been banged up slightly but if she was shipwrecked why was she the only person. It seemed that there were a lot of gaps in her story.

I returned my attention to the heron and calculated the angle needed to get through the cliffs feeling a bit of pride at my boat. Okay a lot of pride but what can I say. I glanced over at Kira she stood like an experienced sailor with her legs spread slightly apart. Who was she?

"Hal shouldn't we lower the sails?" Stig pointed out

"We can make it." I replied steadily

"What about the Wolfwind?"

Crap forgot about the oberjarl's ship that messed up my plans but I could beach next to the ship.

"Tell the others to be ready to row"

"And the girl?"

"The Girl is right here and I will stay out of the way. I have been on ships before you know."

Hi I know I should be working on my other stories but this has been annoying me for a long time. So I am posting it. I don't know what boat Hal has so bear with me anyone who knows review! Or if you don't know still review. I am not going to cover the whole first book maybe do a few short one shots then pick up where book one ends. Have not read any other book except book one.

(1) Gooseneck is a sort of hinge that allows a sail to move up and down and left to right it is on most triangle sails and is attached to the boom and mast.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Kira everything else belongs to Flanagan.