Chapter 2 – The Search for the Son of A Hero
Ryne lay outstretched on the beach, letting the cool mist of the waterfall caress his face and bare chest. The large silver moon dominated the sky above, causing the moon crystal in the back of his hand to glow softly, illuminating the small area. He sighed softly and watched the stars. As a child, he and his father had done this regularly, his father teaching his the various constellations that would help guide him through the vast skies. It had become a favorite pastime of his, along with sword training, which his father also instructed. Every once in a while his Grandfather Dyne would "Learn him a thing or two", but those times were getting few and far between.
Ryne watched as an unusually slow falling star made it's way into the Arcadian atmosphere. He followed it's trail until it disappeared behind one of the sky rifts that made Mid-Ocean impassable to smaller ships. Ryne grinned with the thought of trying to find it with his Father and the crew of the Phoenix. From the look of it, it had been a pretty sizable moonstone and would fetch a hefty price depending on what color it was…
Listen to me… he thought, laughing to himself, I sound just like my father…
Ry shook his head, and got up out of the grass that was now his bed. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well work on his training…
"I can't believe we got to meet the Vyse!" Leos exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. "The guy's will never believe this…"
"Oh settle down, you meathead." Jay said, rolling her eyes as she often did when her brother got carried away. "He's just a regular guy who got caught up in some extraordinary circumstances. He even said so himself."
"Awww, he's just being modest. C'mon, most girls your age are gaga over the guy."
"Oh yeah, never mind the fact that he's 37 and married!"
Leos shrugged, "I hear he's got a son who's the same age as you…" He said with a wink.
"You seriously need to get a life of your own…"
Leos said something else, but Jaycera just turned back to her instruments and ignored him. She hated it when he got like this. She knew he was just trying to get her to act like a normal sixteen-year-old girl, but that was the problem… she wasn't a normal sixteen-year-old girl. Her childhood had been stolen from her when she was only ten, and she wasn't going to go looking for it, let alone carry on childish fantasies about a legendary sky captain and his teenage son.
The Sky around them was inky black, as the Silver moon had slipped behind a large cloud. The only light in the sky was a strange glow coming from a small island not far from Shrine Isle. She pointed it out to her brother.
"Probably just some hardcore campers." He said, dismissing the oddity with a wave of his hand. "Nothing to look into."
"Didn't Vyse say that his wife and Son were at Shine Isle?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well there's no ship there, and they've been gone for almost two days. Maybe that's them, shipwrecked."
"You think too much Jay."
"I'm just saying that we should check it out. I'm sure there'd be some money involved…"
"It's not the money I'm worried about. What if it turns out to be pirates? Or a hidden base like Pirate Isle? I'm not risking it."
"Whatever you say Capt'n…" Jay said feeling a bit put off. "Hey, I need to go get some fresh air. You mind?"
"Sure, just don't fall off the boat." Her brother said, not taking his eyes off the expanse of sky that lay before them.
Jay nodded and left her post, making her way down the short hall that separated the cabin from the above decks. The cool night air licked at her dark curls, threatening to turn them into worse tangles than she dealt with every morning when she got up. She ignored this however, and briskly removed her vest and over shirt, laying them down on the cold wooden deck for use as a pillow. With a sigh of contentment, she began to survey the stars, noting the familiar formations she'd been taught since she was a child. Then something else caught her eye. The silvery glint of a falling star streaking unusually slowly across the night sky. She followed its leisurely path until it disappeared behind the Mid-Ocean rift. Now that ought to be worth something… she thought to herself, but quickly pushed the notion from her head, realizing the she nor her brother had the strength or equipment to carry such a large stone.
Underneath the silent vigil of the stars, Jay felt safe and untouchable. As if the very moons would come to her aid if she asked them to. If was in this state that Jay drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a better life. Dreaming of her parents. Dreaming of love lost, and love yet to find…
"Jay, wake up." A muffled voice said, somewhere in the real world. Jay didn't want to comply.
"Jaycera, c'mon, we've reached Sailors Isle." The voice said again, this time joined by a gentle rocking. Jay snorted and rolled over onto her stomach, cradling her discarded clothes. The next time, the call wasn't so gentle. Jay snapped into consciousness as a bucket of water was dumped over top of her.
"What was that for?!" Jay yelled, crossing her arms over her wet shirt in an attempt to cover her chest.
"I need your help loading some supplies onto the ship." Leos stated simply. "That is, after you change into something decent."
Jay glared daggers at her brother and stormed down to her room, quickly changing her clothes, trying in vain to dry her hair, and then joining her brother by a stack of crates on solid land. Without saying a word to him, she grabbed one of the smaller ones and made her way down the cargo area, and setting it down, none too gently.
"Hey, easy there slugger." Leos said from behind her. "What'd that box do to you?"
"Fraternized with the enemy." She spat, still angry.
"Calm down Sis, it was only a little water." Her brother said with a smile and a pat on the back. "It's not going to kill you."
"No, but it might kill you…" Jay mumbled under her breath. "You're going to pay for this, you know that right?"
"Yeah, I know, but the opportunity was too good to miss."
Jay punched her older brother in the arm affectionately, letting him know that she forgave him, but he wasn't off the hook yet. The rest of the loading was done in silence, mostly because there was nothing to say.
"Hey, I'm going to go into the tavern to get a drink alright?" Her brother said, breathing deeply and raggedly. "I need to wet my mouth a bit."
"Alright, I think I'll go check out the Sailor's guild to check into some potential jobs. Meet cha back at the ship in an hour."
Leos gave her a thumbs up, and practically ran to the nearby tavern. Jay shook her head. He'd give any excuse to get a little alcohol in his system. This was one of the better ones she'd heard in a while, but she could still see through it.
She made her way through the city gates and made a sharp right into the Sailor's guild. Inside the small building she saw eye-patched manager sitting behind his desk, arguing with a thin man with thick black wild hair held up by a pair of goggles.
"I'm telling you it's not there anymore." The man insisted, jamming his index finger into the rough wood countertop. "Just a big gaping hole."
The Sailor's Guild manager ran a hand through his thinning hair with an exasperated look on his face.
"Are you sure the heat wasn't playing with your eyes Domingo? A monument like the Temple of Pyryn doesn't just disappear overnight…"
"Yeah, well that's exactly what I'm telling you happened. I anchored in Nasr for the night, in clear view of the temple, and when I woke up, it was gone."
The older man pushed his wire rim glasses further onto his nose.
"The best I can give you right now is 100 in gold for a rumor. If I hear more reports you can collect the full amount the next time you come in."
The famed explorer sighed heavily and collected the small sum of money without another word being said, while the manager busied himself writing in the large journal behind the desk. The tall man slid past her, without taking much notice, and went out the door, seeming none too pleased. Jay walked up to the desk, and the man behind it smiled and stood to greet her, his hand outstretched.
"Jaycera Delasari, to what do I owe this great honor?" He said taking her hand and smiling widely.
"What else? Money." Jay said in return, not even trying to echo his polite tone. "Any shipping jobs come in lately. You know how much we can load."
"Hmmmm…" The manager shuffled around behind his desk, eventually pulling out a large, red bound book. "Nope, I'm sorry. All the freelance loads I have right now are too high a capacity for your ship."
"Oh…" Jay sighed, disappointed.
"There is one thing that came in this morning, though every ship in the sky will be trying for it with the amount that tagged onto it…"
Jay lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds good to me, what is it?"
The man opened a folder and pulled out a sheet of paper with the picture of a young man. He was handsome by most standards, but the white hair that covered his head gave him the look of someone far older than sixteen years.
"Who is it?" Jay said softly, studying the picture.
"Ryne Vyse." The manager said simply.
Jay's gaze grew stony.
"Great, just what we need… a missing air pirate." Jay muttered.
"If you're not interested, I'm going to need that paper back. I'm sure there's going to be quite a demand by noon once the word gets out. I have a sheet for his mother as well."
Jay looked at the face on the paper once again. Slowly, she folded up the paper and shoved it into the pouch at her side, and held out her hand for the second sheet.
"I'll take it."
Ryne lay outstretched on the beach, letting the cool mist of the waterfall caress his face and bare chest. The large silver moon dominated the sky above, causing the moon crystal in the back of his hand to glow softly, illuminating the small area. He sighed softly and watched the stars. As a child, he and his father had done this regularly, his father teaching his the various constellations that would help guide him through the vast skies. It had become a favorite pastime of his, along with sword training, which his father also instructed. Every once in a while his Grandfather Dyne would "Learn him a thing or two", but those times were getting few and far between.
Ryne watched as an unusually slow falling star made it's way into the Arcadian atmosphere. He followed it's trail until it disappeared behind one of the sky rifts that made Mid-Ocean impassable to smaller ships. Ryne grinned with the thought of trying to find it with his Father and the crew of the Phoenix. From the look of it, it had been a pretty sizable moonstone and would fetch a hefty price depending on what color it was…
Listen to me… he thought, laughing to himself, I sound just like my father…
Ry shook his head, and got up out of the grass that was now his bed. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well work on his training…
"I can't believe we got to meet the Vyse!" Leos exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. "The guy's will never believe this…"
"Oh settle down, you meathead." Jay said, rolling her eyes as she often did when her brother got carried away. "He's just a regular guy who got caught up in some extraordinary circumstances. He even said so himself."
"Awww, he's just being modest. C'mon, most girls your age are gaga over the guy."
"Oh yeah, never mind the fact that he's 37 and married!"
Leos shrugged, "I hear he's got a son who's the same age as you…" He said with a wink.
"You seriously need to get a life of your own…"
Leos said something else, but Jaycera just turned back to her instruments and ignored him. She hated it when he got like this. She knew he was just trying to get her to act like a normal sixteen-year-old girl, but that was the problem… she wasn't a normal sixteen-year-old girl. Her childhood had been stolen from her when she was only ten, and she wasn't going to go looking for it, let alone carry on childish fantasies about a legendary sky captain and his teenage son.
The Sky around them was inky black, as the Silver moon had slipped behind a large cloud. The only light in the sky was a strange glow coming from a small island not far from Shrine Isle. She pointed it out to her brother.
"Probably just some hardcore campers." He said, dismissing the oddity with a wave of his hand. "Nothing to look into."
"Didn't Vyse say that his wife and Son were at Shine Isle?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well there's no ship there, and they've been gone for almost two days. Maybe that's them, shipwrecked."
"You think too much Jay."
"I'm just saying that we should check it out. I'm sure there'd be some money involved…"
"It's not the money I'm worried about. What if it turns out to be pirates? Or a hidden base like Pirate Isle? I'm not risking it."
"Whatever you say Capt'n…" Jay said feeling a bit put off. "Hey, I need to go get some fresh air. You mind?"
"Sure, just don't fall off the boat." Her brother said, not taking his eyes off the expanse of sky that lay before them.
Jay nodded and left her post, making her way down the short hall that separated the cabin from the above decks. The cool night air licked at her dark curls, threatening to turn them into worse tangles than she dealt with every morning when she got up. She ignored this however, and briskly removed her vest and over shirt, laying them down on the cold wooden deck for use as a pillow. With a sigh of contentment, she began to survey the stars, noting the familiar formations she'd been taught since she was a child. Then something else caught her eye. The silvery glint of a falling star streaking unusually slowly across the night sky. She followed its leisurely path until it disappeared behind the Mid-Ocean rift. Now that ought to be worth something… she thought to herself, but quickly pushed the notion from her head, realizing the she nor her brother had the strength or equipment to carry such a large stone.
Underneath the silent vigil of the stars, Jay felt safe and untouchable. As if the very moons would come to her aid if she asked them to. If was in this state that Jay drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a better life. Dreaming of her parents. Dreaming of love lost, and love yet to find…
"Jay, wake up." A muffled voice said, somewhere in the real world. Jay didn't want to comply.
"Jaycera, c'mon, we've reached Sailors Isle." The voice said again, this time joined by a gentle rocking. Jay snorted and rolled over onto her stomach, cradling her discarded clothes. The next time, the call wasn't so gentle. Jay snapped into consciousness as a bucket of water was dumped over top of her.
"What was that for?!" Jay yelled, crossing her arms over her wet shirt in an attempt to cover her chest.
"I need your help loading some supplies onto the ship." Leos stated simply. "That is, after you change into something decent."
Jay glared daggers at her brother and stormed down to her room, quickly changing her clothes, trying in vain to dry her hair, and then joining her brother by a stack of crates on solid land. Without saying a word to him, she grabbed one of the smaller ones and made her way down the cargo area, and setting it down, none too gently.
"Hey, easy there slugger." Leos said from behind her. "What'd that box do to you?"
"Fraternized with the enemy." She spat, still angry.
"Calm down Sis, it was only a little water." Her brother said with a smile and a pat on the back. "It's not going to kill you."
"No, but it might kill you…" Jay mumbled under her breath. "You're going to pay for this, you know that right?"
"Yeah, I know, but the opportunity was too good to miss."
Jay punched her older brother in the arm affectionately, letting him know that she forgave him, but he wasn't off the hook yet. The rest of the loading was done in silence, mostly because there was nothing to say.
"Hey, I'm going to go into the tavern to get a drink alright?" Her brother said, breathing deeply and raggedly. "I need to wet my mouth a bit."
"Alright, I think I'll go check out the Sailor's guild to check into some potential jobs. Meet cha back at the ship in an hour."
Leos gave her a thumbs up, and practically ran to the nearby tavern. Jay shook her head. He'd give any excuse to get a little alcohol in his system. This was one of the better ones she'd heard in a while, but she could still see through it.
She made her way through the city gates and made a sharp right into the Sailor's guild. Inside the small building she saw eye-patched manager sitting behind his desk, arguing with a thin man with thick black wild hair held up by a pair of goggles.
"I'm telling you it's not there anymore." The man insisted, jamming his index finger into the rough wood countertop. "Just a big gaping hole."
The Sailor's Guild manager ran a hand through his thinning hair with an exasperated look on his face.
"Are you sure the heat wasn't playing with your eyes Domingo? A monument like the Temple of Pyryn doesn't just disappear overnight…"
"Yeah, well that's exactly what I'm telling you happened. I anchored in Nasr for the night, in clear view of the temple, and when I woke up, it was gone."
The older man pushed his wire rim glasses further onto his nose.
"The best I can give you right now is 100 in gold for a rumor. If I hear more reports you can collect the full amount the next time you come in."
The famed explorer sighed heavily and collected the small sum of money without another word being said, while the manager busied himself writing in the large journal behind the desk. The tall man slid past her, without taking much notice, and went out the door, seeming none too pleased. Jay walked up to the desk, and the man behind it smiled and stood to greet her, his hand outstretched.
"Jaycera Delasari, to what do I owe this great honor?" He said taking her hand and smiling widely.
"What else? Money." Jay said in return, not even trying to echo his polite tone. "Any shipping jobs come in lately. You know how much we can load."
"Hmmmm…" The manager shuffled around behind his desk, eventually pulling out a large, red bound book. "Nope, I'm sorry. All the freelance loads I have right now are too high a capacity for your ship."
"Oh…" Jay sighed, disappointed.
"There is one thing that came in this morning, though every ship in the sky will be trying for it with the amount that tagged onto it…"
Jay lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds good to me, what is it?"
The man opened a folder and pulled out a sheet of paper with the picture of a young man. He was handsome by most standards, but the white hair that covered his head gave him the look of someone far older than sixteen years.
"Who is it?" Jay said softly, studying the picture.
"Ryne Vyse." The manager said simply.
Jay's gaze grew stony.
"Great, just what we need… a missing air pirate." Jay muttered.
"If you're not interested, I'm going to need that paper back. I'm sure there's going to be quite a demand by noon once the word gets out. I have a sheet for his mother as well."
Jay looked at the face on the paper once again. Slowly, she folded up the paper and shoved it into the pouch at her side, and held out her hand for the second sheet.
"I'll take it."