Nasim Sameer stood in the Hecate cabin, facing eastward. He had not said the ritual prayers in years; he was ashamed of his own embarrassment and cowardice. Life had been hard ever since that terrible day when extremists of his religion, a beautiful and peaceful religion, had destroyed the Twin Towers in an act of suicidal terrorism. Nasim hadn't prayed since that day.
After the attacks - attacks Nasim and his father had mourned over as much as the rest of America - the Sameers had been subjected to minor acts of terrorism by their own neighbors. Rocks through the store windows, calls of "go home terrorist", that sort of thing. Nasim's father, Amal Sameer, had accepted it with nobility and grace. He had prayed and, when his son had given up praying, Amal had prayed for his son.
Nasim found it hard to even pray to the Greek gods. He believed that they could have stopped the al-Qaeda's attack and saved Nasim's people from persecution. But his mother, Hecate, had been there for Nasim and even taught him the magical arts. Nasim still thought she might be wrong in adopting dogs, which were unclean creatures, as her symbol.
It was amazing how much the noonday sun could mean to a boy who was only fifteen years old, but to him it meant prayer, and not saying prayer, and the reasons for not saying prayers, and terrorism, and persecution, and fathers, and mothers, and even dogs.
"Unclean animals," he muttered, turning away from the east when a knock sounded on the door of the cabin. "Couldn't she have chosen cats instead? I thought black cats were magical."
Lou Ellen and Sabrina Myrddin, Nasim's half-sisters, were somewhere outside. He liked them well enough and was glad he was on their good sides; it is always best to be on the good side of sorceresses.
Nasim opened the door of his cabin and saw three people standing there. Well, not exactly people, as Chiron was a centaur. A girl, Nasim thought her name might be Andy, stood at Chiron's side. He was pretty sure she was from the Hades cabin, but he also was fairly sure her father wasn't Hades. A boy, one Nasim didn't know, stood at the front.
"Nasim, this is Robin," Chiron said. "He just arrived at camp yesterday. His mother is Calliope."
"Muse of epic poetry," Nasim said, shaking Robin's hand.
"Yes. Robin's just been given a quest, and he thinks that either you or one of your sisters can help him with transportation," the centaur said.
"Like a translocation spell?" Nasim asked. "I don't know, those are pretty tricky. I don't even think Lou has the hand of them yet." Sabrina had once been the head counselor for Cabin Sixteen, but Lou had more magical powers so she had ascended to her place. Other cabins' counselors were chosen based on age, but the Hecate cabin had agreed that power may be a better way to go about it.
"No, I have something else in mind," Robin said. "I just need your magic, I can shape it into what I want."
"Simple lending of power? I can do that," Nasim agreed. He slipped on his flip flops and stepped outside.
Nasim had dark, tan skin like almost all people from the Middle East. While Nasim was slightly ashamed of his coloring, his father said that their people were "sun burnished". His hair was dark and thick, his eyebrows sharp and well-defined, thick eyelashes framed dark, deer-like eyes. He was not very tall, but taller than average and thin as a bean-pole.
When Robin led them all to the beach, Nasim dropped back to talk with Chiron.
"What is the quest?" he asked.
"He has to find a statue of a virgin goddess and 'right' it," the centaur explained. "He believes the statue is somewhere in the south. Apparently, a water nymph named Oenone was also taken and is being held with the statue. Robin wants to rescue her."
"Isn't it a bit odd that two quests should go one at the same time?" Nasim asked, thinking of Jason, Leo, and Piper and how they had left this morning.
"I don't see why, if they're going two completely different places to do two completely different things," Chiron said, but it sounded more like he was reassuring himself.
It seemed that half the camp had gathered on the beach to watch. Robin did not pay attention to these watchers, but pulled a thick wallet out of his pocket and opened it. Nasim's eyes widened as the other boy pulled out an entire thick book from the tiny wallet.
Robin opened the book and gestured for Nasim to come over. He did and obediently put his hands on Robin's shoulders when asked to. Robin turned to face the sound and, holding the book in one hand, lifted his other hand to face the sea.
"Then she led the way to the borders of the island where tall trees were standing, alder and popular and fir, reaching to the skies, long dry and well-seasoned, which would float for him lightly. He fell to cutting timbers, and his work went forward apace. Twenty trees in all did he fell, and trimmed them with the axe; then he cunningly smoothed them all and made them straight to the line." As Robin read, Nasim felt the pull of magic as it flowed from him into the other boy. Robin read well, so that Nasim almost thought he could hear the sound of an axe chopping and trees crashing to the ground.
"He bored all the pieces and fitted them to one another, and with pegs and morticings did he hammer it together. Wide as a man well-skilled in carpentry marks out the curve of the hull of a freight-ship, broad of beam, even so wide did Odysseus make his raft." Nasim's magic was pulling stronger now, and he could definitely hear the sound of hammering. When he looked around, he saw everyone on the beach listening intently.
"And he set up the deck-beams, bolting them to the close-set ribs, and labored on; and he finished the raft with long gunwales. In it he set a mast and a yard-arm, fitted to it, and furthermore made him a steering-oar, wherewith to steer. Then he fenced in the whole from stem to stern with willow withes to be a defense against the wave, and strewed much brush thereon."
Nasim blinked and frowned. It seemed that the waves in front of them were churning more than they ought to. Above them, the air seemed to twist and bend like smoke. The waves crashed up and the smoke churned around until Nasim could just make out the outline of a boat forming in the sound.
"He was brought cloth to make him a sail, and he fashioned that too with skill." Nasim saw the smoke twist and bulge outward, forming an almost transparent sail. "And he made fast in the raft braces and halyards and sheets, and then with levers forced it down into the bright sea."
With a crash of water, the smoky ship took solid form and fell, dipping its prow, into the sea. It was at least forty meters long, made of dark honey-colored wood. It's deck looked to be about 3 meters above the water, with three decks of rows. Its prow was... well, there was no other word for it: beaked. An eye, slanted and carefully painted, marked the prow just above this beak. A mast was located midships and a small, tilted sail was hung near the front. The ropes and sails snapped in the wind as the ship, a full Greek trireme, bobbed up and down in the sound.
"How the Hades?" someone said.
"Robin, you totally just built the Black Pearl!" Andy said. Robin gave a confused smile, like he didn't understand the reference.
"I did not build it," Robin said. "Nasim and Homer did. Well, technically Odysseus as well." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Would you like to name it Black Pearl?"
"Yes," Nasim said immediately. Robin, Andy, and Chiron looked at him. "Oh, sorry, you weren't asking me."
"You would not be too far off it assuming that," Robin said. "I would be honored if you would join be on this quest. We can name the ship Black Pearl if that is a condition to your attendance."
"Yes!" Nasim said. "I mean, no it's not a condition. Yes, I want to come!"
"Black Pearl," Robin said thoughtfully. "I think it is appropriate. To those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, pray to Hecate, as Hesiod tells us. And is she not the goddess of the dark side of the moon, which is often compared to a black pearl?"
Nasim was astounded that Robin was able to figure out a way in which a pirate ship owned by Captain Jack Sparrow could relate to classical mythology. He had to agree to name the ship the Black Pearl simply out of respect for the obscure connection. Plus, it was a honor for his mother. I mean, better that then Dog's Breath, Nasim thought.
Robin went onto the ship to explore it while Andy and Nasim went to their cabins to pack.
A/N: Footnotes:
Dogs: Hecate's companions are dogs which are considered to be unclean animals in the Islamic faith
The ship: This is the description of the raft Odysseus builds in book 5 of the Odyssey
The Black Pearl: That quote is straight from Hesiod, who was very fond of Hecate and seemed to put more of an emphasis on her than his contemporaries. Hecate is associated with the moon, but more specifically with the dark side of the moon (the new moon) and the time for witch-craft.