...
~ One ~
It was before dawn when the king's fleet pulled out of harbor. The wind was still and the skies were clear, and the waves were near as calm as an inland lake. Above the little lights of Varda shown bright as if to light their way with ease.
More than a few wondered at this, some growing nervous that the gods in their anger would get the best of them yet. These men kept their superstitions to themselves; none dared cross the purpose of their king, especially not in the fearless and furious state he was in, nor at the point they had reached in pursuing this war. Most of the king's men, his closest kin and trusted advisers, felt the same.
The king clearly had no such reservations. So assured was he in his strength and purpose that his stirring orations were hard for any of his subjects to hear without feeling the pride in their island and its fair and noble people ignite and flame passionately.
But among those who felt the stirrings of misgiving was the captain of one of the ships among the endless fleet, a cousin of the king. He'd had doubts over the king's actions over the years, but would get caught up in the flame of feeling that sweep up the crowds of Armenelos, and would fear to speak up with any hint of doubt in his words, and also felt a particular duty to honor the king's wishes as one among his trusted kin and courtiers.
And so the massive ships crept along through the quiet waters. They reached the open sea by dawn and the order to unfurl masts spread throughout the fleet. As the morning sun crept over the horizon the great sheets of red and black rolled down and rippled out from the king's castle of a ship, fanning out like a dark blaze had been set to the sea by Lord of the Waters himself.
The king's cousin gazed out on the dark little waves glittering in the new morning sun, and felt a soft breeze come up from behind. He looked up and saw the grand dark sails fill and the ship pushed forward, along with all the others alongside. For a moment he wondered at this, the weather working for them so perfectly. He looked behind them and the fair island behind them had grown very small looking already. Something about that thought made him shudder with a quiet fear he could not explain. With a sigh and a shake of his head and put it out of his mind and focused on the journey ahead.