The Albatross sailed apace through the Mid Ocean; its engines seethed with newfound power courtesy of a haul of refined moonstones that the crew had taken off the Cygnus. Dyne's crew had become exceedingly efficient over the years, perfecting both halves of "hit and run." The raw materials for powering a ship's engines were harder to come by this far out from the "civilized" world but Valuan vessels guzzled the stones faster than Mabel could hit a bottle of loqua. The Cygnus was a damn large ship and that meant plenty of moonstones to pilfer.

Other things were taken—munitions, caches of gold, a few spare uniforms, a rather fine tea set—but the moonstones mattered most. Freshly dumped into your ship's engines, they gave a boost like nothing else. The Albatross was already an exceptionally fast ship and the best thing any Blue Rogue could do after striking a Valuan ship was to be damn well good and gone by the time any patrols arrived. Hit them hard, hit them fast. Leave them guessing afterwards.

The wind whipped exceptionally swift along the ship's deck as a result. It seemed to have sent Fina into a daze as she pattered carefully about. Each passing cloud, every little hovering rock filled her wide green eyes with wonder. Vyse kept close lest she stumble and regarded the strange woman with bemusement.

The young woman had the look of someone astounded by the world. He knew that look well because he wore it on his face every time he set sail. The crispness of the air, the shifting blue of sky. The knowledge that you could go anywhere you wanted. Yet, Fina's gaze held an even deeper sense of wonder.

"If I didn't know better," he started, walking with her closer to the port side. "I'd guess that you'd never sailed a day in your life."

Fina looked at him bashfully for a moment before looking away. The pair peered over the side. A school of thin sky sardis followed in the Albatross' wake. They watched the fish sweep and swim about.

"I've never traveled like this," Fina finally admitted.

Aika sauntered up behind the pair and leaned directly against the deck's rails.

"Well, you're not a pirate so it'd be a little weird if you had a lot of experience with pirate ships." The redhead chuckled before producing a bright green apple and crunching into it.

Vyse grinned. "I dunno, Aika," he said with a gesture towards Fina's immaculately white dress. "She might be the Queen of the Rogues. On a dangerous mission for the Pirate Lords."

Fina spoke up. "Oh, uh.. I'm not that," she offered sweetly. "What I mean is that I've never been on a wooden ship. One with cloths catching the wind."

Aika coughed on a piece of her apple. "You mean sails? How the hell did you get anywhere?" She and Vyse looked at each other in utter bafflement as they awaited Fina's explanation

Fina shrunk a little. "There was nowhere to travel to," she said. "My people… live only in one place and we had everything we needed. This is my first time away from home at all."

That caught Vyse's attention more than anything else Fina had said. His intuition had been right; Fina was sailing for the first time. While the girl was sworn to keep many secrets, there was a chance he might learn more about a strange new aspect of the world. Fina could learn in turn. His heart leapt at the idea of such an exchange. Vyse cared for gold and glory as much as the next pirate but he'd always cared most intensely about people and places. Perhaps there were lands no one even knew of or villages like Fina's that were all but unknown. Every port held new possibilities, every island featured new and beautiful sights. The people were the best. New drinking partners. Passing travelers with pearls of wisdom. He even relished meeting new rivals and enemies. Now? He hoped to make a new friend.

He pushed off the deck's railing and sauntered over to a bag he'd left near mizzenmast. He rifled his hand about before returning with a leather-bound journal and his trusty and well-worn map. Aika chuckled. Even when he wasn't on duty, all Vyse could think about was sailing.

Her friend returned, unfurling the map and holding it before Fina.

"Okay, I know you can't say what your mission is but what about where you were going?" He smiled at her. "If we're close, we can figure the best way to help you. After we've gone back and stashed away whatever we took from the Valuans."

Fina looked at the map for a moment and her face took on a strange touch of sadness. "Why is your map so small?" She asked the question as innocently as a child.

Aika leaned in. The map looked good to her: Valua to the far north, the desert kingdom of Nasr somewhat beside it. Further above, the Frontier Lands and their speckled islands. There was the familiar Mid Ocean and the essentially impassable South Ocean near the bottom. "Looks about right to me."

Vyse cocked his head in agreement. "Yeah, I dunno what you mean."

Fina regarded her companions. Clueless and careless, both of them. There's so much they don't know.

"It's nothing," she said gently before looking at the map. "In truth, I'd not quite decided where I was going. I barely arrived here when I was attacked by…. You called them "Valuans". I know some things about them but not much. A very large empire, yes?"

"Not just a large empire," Vyse explained carefully. He made no mention of Fina's apparently limited world experience but it left him with a question: how could anyone be so removed from the empire while also being so wanted by them?

"They're the empire. The largest the world's ever known."

Aika leaned over to point at a massive landmass on the northern part of the map. "That's them," she said. "They control most of the sky these days. You're lucky it was only one ship chasing you."

Fina looked warmly at Aika. "I am lucky… that you and Vyse saved me," she said. "The Moons bless us in strange ways, it seems." It was a comfortable thought that lingered on the air before she spoke again. "But… so much has happened and I don't know your- ...this part of the sky well. Where are we exactly?"

Vyse tapped his nose in a knowing gesture. "Thought you'd ask that," he said before moving to point towards a collection of islands at the map's center. "We're here in the Mid Ocean. All these islands are part of a loose collection called the Meridian Islands, so it's also sometimes just called Meridia."

"Under the Silver Moon," Fina noted quietly to herself.

Aika once again leaned to point at one of the larger islands in the chain. "That's where we're going," she said. "Pirate Isle. That's our home!"

Fina nodded. "And this… Meridia is ruled by the Pirate Lords you mentioned before?"

The young rogues doubled over with laughter. It wasn't cruel or teasing; they weren't enjoying themselves at Fina's expense. They were simply overjoyed to be in the presence of someone so curious and captivating.

Fina looked at the pair with something approaching worry. Had she broken some sort of social rule?

Aika caught her breath first. "Oh Moons, no! Vyse was joking! There's no Pirate Lords or Queen of the Rogues," she explained before a deviousness came over her eyes. "Though if we're auditioning for the part, I suppose I'll have to give it a shot.."

"At least two… Maybe three.." Vyse muttered to the side. Aika rounded on him dramatically.

"What was that?!" Her voice rose higher.

"Noooothing, Aika," Vyse shot back with his own amusement. It was like a married couple sniping back and forth. "You'd make a great Queen of the Rogues..."

Fina still seemed confused. "Do you have a ruler? Your father didn't want me to bow to him…"

Vyse nodded. "The villages have elders and other leaders like my father," he explained. "But it's nothing too serious. They meet up if there's anything big that needs to be discussed but that's about it."

"Elders…" Fina became pensive for a moment. "And Valua doesn't come this way?"

Aika shrugged. "Why would they? There's nothing there."

The blonde woman blinked. "Your home is called Pirate Isle…? They'll know that you are there surely.."

Vyse chuckled. "That's what folks might call it casually," he explained. "But on the map it's just Windmill Isle. Sleepy little village in the middle of nowhere. Totally not a base for Dyne of the Blue Storm."

Fina gave an understanding smile. "I see…"

Vyse rolled up the map and slipped it into a pocket. He brought up his journal instead and began to flip through it. There were pages of navigational notes and a few personal musings, lists that seemed to correspond with different raids and salvage operations, and hand-drawn maps that appeared to be marking the flow of wind currents. As he flipped, he paused on certain sections where rich drawings filled the page. Fina felt she could reach out and touch them.

The Silver Moon caught high in the clouds. Large rocks with strange coral growths snaking off their sides like flowers in bloom. Aika posing with her boomerang over her shoulder. A landscape dotted with jagged crystal and small pools that Fina somehow understood to be springs surrounded by sprouting silver moonstones. The rugged and reluctant face of Vyse's father. Sribbled out images of various skulls and other designs somewhat like the emblem she saw in the captain's quarters. Ships. So many ships. All of them sailing off into an astounding and intoxicating horizon.

There were two fresh images as well: a large tower of rocks with a ship's anchor wrapped about it. Perhaps the grave that she'd heard Vyse and the others get so excited over? ….And there was the image of a sleeping woman; her features were fair and her eyes closed in what seemed to be a peaceful rest. A tattoo graced her forehead; a circle with a line running downwards from the center until it resolved in a sort of rising slash to the left. It was her.

That gave the woman pause but not for fear of anything untoward. The drawing's detail emphasized the time it must have taken for Vyse to compose. Had he and Aika truly held vigil at her bedside for so long? They were strangers—idolatrous and dangerous brutes according to the Elders—who had no cause to care about her. Her presence on the page begged to differ. She had been in danger and they'd saved her. And as she lay in dark and dreaming sleep, Vyse had been there.

Fina turned to look at Vyse. A stirring came to her heart for a moment. A fleeting and young feeling. The young man looked back for longer than he intended before speaking up.

"Folks say that Meridia is a dull place," he explained. "But even if we ignore its kickass pirate crews and free skies, there's plenty to see. Plenty of people to meet. I… try to keep a record of it all; when I travel even further, I'll have notes on the whole world!"

Aika tossed her finished apple over the ship's edge and walked over to Vyse, ruffling his hair. "One thing at a time, Daccat."

Fina looked at Aika. "Daccat?"

The redhead nodded. "Most famous pirate ever," she said with a grin. "Maybe the closest thing we've had to one of those 'pirate lords' you thought were real."

Vyse demurred a little. He closed his journal. "Long way to go before I'm anywhere close to as famous as him."

Aika winked at her friend. "Until we're both as famous!"

Fina didn't completely understand but she smiled. The pair had a way of pulling the young woman out of herself that she found surprising. "I'm certain you'll both succeed," she said genuinely before looking to the sky off the ship's side again.

"What is it?" Vyse couldn't help but notice her renewed curiosity. He closed his journal and returned it to his bag.

Fina hummed in thought. "It's merely peculiar," she said. "So this is what it's like down below…"

"Below?" Aika's follow up question made Fina's heart seize. She'd said too much.

The solution to her verbal predicament came with a swiftness that surprised her. Fina nodded, turning to look at the redhead with a smile. "The island I live on is up higher in the sky," she said. It was a lie. Mostly.

Those people are dangerous, Fina. Remember that always. Do whatever you must to protect yourself from them, and protect both the knowledge of your duty and this place from them.

That was what Elder Prime had told her. So she told a lie. It felt foul to do so; there was a part of Fina ashamed at herself and worried what else she might need to do in order to complete her quest.

Aika accepted the answer but not without some chagrin. "Must be pretty high up," she noted.

Fina nodded nervously but it was Vyse who spoke up. "Let's not pry," he noted even if every ounce of his curiosity was pushing him to ask questions. "She's not supposed to talk about it, y'know?"

"Fiiiiine," Aika relented. She turned to point towards a landmass near the Albatross' bow. "But only because we're here!"

The spirited woman took Fina by the shoulders and excitedly spun her to look at the ever-approaching island. "Pirate Island, off the port side! You're gonna love it, Fina!"

The Albatross' arrival to Pirate Isle, otherwise called Windmill Isle, was initially like any other ship arriving at its home berth. From the village below, friends and family rushed out of their cabins to wave at the triumphant pirate crew. Those that could gathered upon the deck to wave back. Fina stood among them and gazed down at the small hamlet. It was so… primitive and simple. Common houses of log or other wood, a quaint windmill that hummed with traces of blue moonstone modification that she could sense upon the air. There was dirt and grass throughout the island, and only a few scant stone paths or wooden walkways.

Yet, as she looked down at the people they seemed content and that brought a smile to her face.

There was the question of what you actually did with a large and well-known pirate vessel after a raid—Fina had no experience in thievery but it seemed only natural that hiding would be prudent. That problem was handled with a surprising solution. As the Albatross approached, it descended until it seemed that it was going to slam right into the rocky cliffs beneath the village. Instead, a segment of stone pushed outward as if by mechanism and shifted aside. The Albatross coasted right into the very heart of the island and into a bustling underground dock lit by a mixture of torchlight and glowing yellow moonstones.

In short order, the vessel came to dock—cleat hitches tied, spent moonstones removed from the engines—and the crew began to unload its cargo first to the deck and then down a large gangplank that automatically unfurled itself like a proper Valuan machine… which it probably was given how many pieces of The Albatross were stolen from their ships. Burly pirates heaved chests of goods into a small cache on the cavern's floor. A few of the villagers from above had apparently slipped downwards to this secret haunt to help them and make dramatic greetings. A round pirate rushed down to hug a small and almost sickly looking boy with glasses. Another with a scar on his eye dropped a chest on the ground and turned to find that a young woman with a blue bandana reached up to caress his cheek before looking towards the loot and starting the process of taking inventory. Fina watched it all.

"Every time we head out, there's a chance we don't come back," a voice said behind her. It was Vyse, who walked over to her side. "Air Pirates aren't just thieves and crooks…"

"Even if we definitely are that!" Aika shouted from somewhere in the hustle and bustle behind the pair.

"... we're just people," Vyse finished.

Fina nodded. "It is nice to see," she said. "I had worried the people here would be… something different. My Elders warned me that.. No, I shouldn't speak of it.."

Vyse shrugged. "Can't judge anyone until you've met them," he said as plain and as simple as anything he'd said before. "C'mon." He nodded down the gangplank and began to walk. Fina kept close behind him.

An older woman with wrapped hair and a plain purple dress regarded Vyse with a bemused look bordering on shock. "Vyse!"

"Mom!" The young man ran forward to give his mother a hug. Johanna Dyne peered over his shoulder at Fina. The young woman looked away. His mother disengaged from the hug and looked sternly at Vyse.

"...Did you get married?! Why didn't you say anything? Who is she? Where did you meet? Is she nice? She looks nice and my what a lovely gown. Oh, son I can't believe you didn't…"

Victor Dyne marched commandingly down the gangplank towards his wife and son, giving a laugh that rumbled up and about the underground dock.

"Relax, Johanna," he said. "Our boy might rush from time to time but not like that! This is Fina; a guest who we… disentangled from the Valuans."

The older woman gave the world's most resounding sigh. "Oh, thank the Moons…"

Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. His face glowed like a red moonstone. "She's a friend," he said. "Her ship was destroyed and they'd taken her.."

Dyne gave his wife a kiss on the forehead. "Not quite back in time for breakfast," he said apologetically. "Sorry."

Fina lingered behind everyone. "Married?" She didn't quite understand the content of the conversation save that it made Vyse embarrassed.

Aika slinked behind her, cat-like, and whispered an explanation into the naive woman's ears. Fina turned a shade of red to match Vyse, something that Aika took a giggling delight in as she moved to deposit a small bag of goods on the loot pile.

The blonde haired woman took a step towards Vyse's mother. "It's nothing like that," she insisted. "It's as Captain Dyne said. I'm a… traveler, and I greatly appreciate all the help everyone has offered me."

This was topped off with a small bow to the woman. The gesture seemed to endear her more to Johanna, who dipped a kind head back in response. "You're welcome here, Fina."

"Consider yourself my personal guest until we can find the best way for you to resume your journey," Dyne offered. "For the moment, perhaps Vyse and Aika could show you around the island."

Aika gave a small cheer of excitement. "A mini-adventure within your adventure!" The comment prompted a giggle from Fina.

Vyse gazed to the gangplank. 'Let's wait one moment," he said as Luke walked downward from the deck with Mabel in tow. He kept an arm about her, which she bristled against only for appearances sake before the pair stopped before Fina and the others.

"I'm guessin' yer the gal what saved my life?" Mabel noted with a tired smile. She regarded Fina carefully, as if to take stock of her savior. "Maiden in White pulling me back from the dark depths?"

Luke sighed. "Maybe so, but she snuck into your room…" Mabel waved a hand to dismiss that.

Fina hesitated. "I… used some magic I know to help you," she said simply. Mabel walked forward and gave Fina a small tap on the nose.

"Whoever you are, whatever the hell you're here to do… I'm glad for it."

It was a surprisingly serious comment from the raider that quickly gave way to a shout at her fellow pirates. "Someone uncork the loqua! Turns out I ain't dead yet!"

The pirates gave a boisterous roar and it was only a moment before cups poured over with a red and all-too-intoxicating liquor. The day was theirs and, Moons willing, so would every day after this one be too. Fina leaned to look at the strange drink in their cups but Dyne gave his son a nod. It would be best to keep the young woman as far away from pirate carousing as possible.

"C'mon," Vyse said to his friends. "It's less rowdy up above."

Vyse had been partly correct in his assessment. The village of "Windmill Isle" wasn't packed with loqua-drinking pirates or loud ship repairs but it held its own energy. Old women gossiping as the trio walked by; most muttering about the strange new girl that walked amongst them. Some curious would-be sailors asked Vyse how many Valuans he killed to which he bashfully reminded them that the stealing was the point. Aika was more than eager to boast of their battles to strangers. At first, the tale was close to the truth but with each new chance to give updates about the raids Antonio's size grew three times.

Eventually, they were afforded some manner of quiet. Fina looked about with her characteristic mixture of wonder and sadness that Vyse couldn't quite understand yet.

"It's a very nice village," she said. "There's so much… life here."

"We do what we can," Vyse said with a grin. "Windmill helps keep things running—mills grain but also helps power everything in the base down below—and the island's small enough that everyone knows each other."

Fina smiled. "It's lovely," she said. "Where I lived, there was only one other person my age. A boy… You remind me of him in some ways. Curious and brave."

Aika chimed in. "There wasn't anyone else?"

Fina shook her head. "There's very few of us," she explained. "But it is calm and comfortable. I miss it already…"

Vyse nodded sympathetically. "We'll get you back there soon eno-"

"SURPRISE ATTACK!" A young voice cried out. "Blue Rogues! Send them dogs to the depths!"

At that Vyse was immediately swarmed by a gaggle of children. A brown-haired boy with a red shirt and coveralls descended upon Vyse with a wooden sword, flanked by the somewhat sickly looking boy from down in the port and a young girl in a yellow dress.

"Look out, Vyse," Aika said dramatically. "It's Captain Alan and his crew!"

The young rogue feigned fear. "No! Not the most daring Blue Rogues ever!"

Alan, the red shirted boy and apparently the gang's leader, took a step forward. "Aye, and we'll be taking all your gold!"

Vyse took a fighter's stance. "Never! You'll have to take my life!"

The children pounced with a yell, Vyse fighting off their attacks with light slaps from his hands that deflected their swords. He reached up and scooped up the frailer looking boy.

"He's got Jimmy!" The young girl cried. "Alan!"

Vyse gave an evil laugh. "Indeed! I've spirited him away to my evil ghost ship! And you'll never get him back!"

Alan rushed at Vyse. "Cutlass fueeeeuuuueeeerrrrrrrrrrrry!" The bombastic cry coincided with a fake stab to Vyse's gut. The young man made an exaggerated "blaaaaauggh!" before gently placing Jimmy on the ground and making an affected showing of the stab. He fell to the dirt and played dead.

Aika laughed before speaking up. "Oh no, my dearest friend Vyse has fallen! I guess I'll just have to loot all his stuff," she said before looking at Fina. "Unless a wondrous maiden could save him…"

Fina looked at Aika with momentary confusion before comprehension dawned on her face. She stepped forward towards Vyse.

"R.. Right… I am she …. And I will revive my brave friend Vyse so that he can face Captain Alan and his crew another day…"

Stepping forward, she knelt at his side. Vyse turned from his fake death to give Fina an appreciative wink. The young woman focused and cast the faintest of sacri spells, the emerald light of the Green Moon's magic sparkling over Vyse. The gathered children oooh'd and aaah'd until Vyse leapt back to his feet.

Aika gave an excited clap. "And behold, Vyse has been saved!"

Alan and the others began to swirl about Fina, asking questions about how she knew magic and if she was actually a maiden or even a princess. The blonde woman looked to Vyse and Aika for aid and they did little more than laugh at the sight.

"Alright, clear out!" Captain Dyne's commanding voice once again thundered as he walked into the village square. "Vyse, I need to speak with you for a moment. Aika? Might you show Fina around a little more?"

Aika grinned. "Aye, captain," she said while taking Fina's hand. "Might as well freshen up some. Right, Fina?" The demure woman could hardly respond before she was being dragged off towards Aika's home.

It took only a little time before Vyse and his father found a quieter spot on the village's walkways where they could speak. In the sky, the sun was beginning to set and the windmill churned ever slower.

"What is it, Dad?" Vyse wasn't entirely sure what his father wanted to talk about and what could have kept him from celebrating with the crew.

Dyne sat on a makeshift bench by the outer wall of the windmill. "First, I want to say that you did well," he offered. "You stayed on task out there even if you rushed into that fight first."

"Aika had my back."

"I know," the old captain said. "And you two are as perfect as partners can get but… you need to be prepared, son. I got time left in me yet but you're not so far off from the age I was when I formed my first crew. It's good to be confident but better to be smart."

Vyse sighed. "I guess we bit off more than expected," he said. "This wasn't just attacking an Admiral. Dad, I… I don't know what's going on but I feel… restless. And not like I usually do."

"Which is what I want to talk to you about," Dyne noted. "That girl, Fina. Now I told her I wouldn't pry in her business and I meant that. I keep my words. But as Luke and Mabel told it, Alfonso seemed mighty worried about making off with her. Something's up… and I, well, I'm worried about what it could mean."

"What can I do about it?" Vyse was ready to leap into action already.

Dyne shook his head. "There's that rushing," he said with a smile. "What you can do… is look after her. Look after that girl as long as she's here. Live up to the promise you made to me on the ship."

Vyse hesitated. "You're not asking me to spy on her or anything, right?"

His father chuckled but shook his head. "No," he said seriously. "Just… be decent. Make a friend. You're good at that. She trusts you and Aika. I don't know what lies ahead save for the odd stirring in my mind that something's amiss. So I'm saying this as your father: keep that trust."

"I've never seen you like this," Vyse said. "Worried, and talking like something's wrong."

"Because I've never let you," his father said softly. "But consider the circumstances: an Admiral sails with no escort into Meridian skies—which Valua sure as hell knows belongs to us and not them—all so they can chase that girl?"

Vyse nodded. "And now she's here.."

"Exactly. As our guest and under our protection. You understand?"

"Yeah…" Vyse thought about Fina for a moment and found himself smiling in spite of the mood. "She's something else, isn't she?"

Dyne laughed. "Don't rush that sort of thing either," he said. "Aika might toss you up to the Moons."

Vyse rolled his eyes. "It's never been like that," Vyse insisted. Perhaps a bit too forcefully. Dyne stood up, clapping his son on the shoulder.

"Sure," he said teasingly. "I guess what I'm saying with all this is: no matter what the hell is going on.. be you. It's the best thing you can ever be in this life. And if you have friends like Aika… and maybe even like Fina… I think you'll do alright."

Aika's home was a smallish cabin with only a few bare necessities but somehow still plenty of clutter. An unkempt bed rested low to the floor at one end with a light red blanket and loose sheets ruffled about upon the top. A nightstand at the bedside held a small and somewhat underwhelming potted plant that Aika seemed to be trying to make the most of. Trinkets and trophies rested in places that defied logic. A straw dummy with a dented Valuan armet that seemed both singed with the ambient signs of red magic and the strikes of some sort of weapon. A table with raggedy stuffed cat dolls that made Fina think of a lone toy she had back when she was a child. Spare moonstones lay among their floppy forms. A sort of furry lump of… something rested underneath the table. Loose clothing was everywhere.

"Make yourself at home," Aika said before bounding towards the bed and sitting upon it. With a pull of her hair ties, she shook her head and let her red locks fall down. Choice sections fell in front of her ears. She gave a large sigh. "Just taking a moment to put myself back together again."

Fina smiled. "Back home, after a long lesson in magicks… I also took time to simply.. Well, I guess clean up and maybe look down at the world."

Aika had found a brush and begun running it through her hair. "Were you really so high up?"

"Very," Fina said. "The view always made me so curious about what it must've bee-"

"Pow! Pow! Pow pow!" The lump beneath Aika's table leapt to life at the sound of a new voice. A strange purple furred creature began to approach Fina, who gave a yelp and scooted back until she literally fell into Aika's bed. The animal, a small dog-like critter continued to rush at Fina.

"It's a beast! Aika!"

The redhead continued to brush her hair. "That's just Pow," she explained. "Vyse's pet huskra. He was spending the night before we ran off to chase that ship you were on. He's harmless."

Pow growled and barked again. "Pow! Pow, pow, pow!"

Fina moved further back on Aika's bed. "You live with animals?"

"What? You never had any pets where you were from?"

Pow leapt to the bed and continued to prowl playfully towards Fina. Aika turned to look at the huskra. "Behave, Pow! This is a friend. Got it? Friiieeeendddd…"

Fina hesitated, regarding the purple furred beastie with a continued mix of fear and interest. Surreptitiously, she reached out with her mind and began to sense the creature's intentions. Among her own people, the ability to project outwards and sense feelings was a simple bit of magic that even a child could do with training. Empathically, she listened to the huskra's thoughts.

Food! Food! Strange! Big! Bright! Food? Friend? Friend? Play! Play! Friend? Friend!

Aika spoke up again: "He wants you to pet him."

Fina reached out and gave him a little scratch behind the ears. "You can hear him too?"

Aika gave Fina a weird look. "Little troublemaker was barking up a storm. So, yeah.."

As Pow appreciated the ear-scritches, he came to a rest besides Fina. She idly pet him but mostly looked at Aika. It seemed that she didn't "hear" Pow the same way that she could. Another thing lost and denied to these broken people. Not that Pow seemed to mind; he walked over to Aika and flopped onto her lap.

Fina looked around the house. "You live here by yourself?"

Aika put down her brush and began to re-braid her hair. "Not always," she said with a hint of sadness. "Used to live with my parents but they died when I was pretty young. For a while I lived with Vyse and his family, and then when I got older I just… came back here."

Fina hesitated. "I don't… I mean, is it rude for me to ask what happened?"

The redhead continued her braiding. "Not really, but I guess some might say it's a little rude. My dad was Captain Dyne's quartermaster. That's a bit like being someone who solves arguments while also helping with navigation and stuff. They sailed together for a long time."

She paused. "I guess he was from Nasr out where the Red Moon shines," she explained. "Joined the captain after the navy ship he was on was attacked. Captain Dyne saved them all from being executed by the Valuans."

It was only then that Fina noticed the slighter tanner quality of Aika's skin. "He met my mom here and they had me. This was a little after the war started.."

"War?" Fina could only think of one particular war and she knew for certain it wasn't what Aika meant.

"Between Nasr and Valua," Aika explained as she finished braiding her hair. "Did your people really not get involved at all? Looking down from… wherever the hell you lived?"

Fina shook her head. "I'm sorry, no."

She turned to look directly at Fina, shifting to sit cross-legged on the bed. "Some type of land dispute or bullshit that grew until everyone was fighting." She groaned in annoyance of the politics of it all.

"Valua, Nasr, Blue Rogues, Black Rogues. Fighting all the time for a year or two. To hear the vets talk about it, it was a big, stupid mess until…"

Fina leaned in curiously. "Until…. what?"

"The Lord of the Valuan Armada was shot down and Valua sorta… fell back, I guess? Some folks in Nasr still wanted to fight…

Aika hesitated for a moment, thinking about a silent pain that only she could understand and doing her best to phrase it carefully.

"Dad wanted to help them. He and mom asked Captain Dyne to look after me and then they sailed off to help refugees and run supplies to resistance holdouts still raiding Valuan ships after the war. I guess I was maybe three or four years old…"

A pause. "They never came back," Aika said. She'd had enough time to come to terms with it. "Their ship was caught by the Valuans…"

Pow pawed sympathetically upon Aika's lap. Fina looked aghast at her new friend.

"That's terrible," she said. "That there's still war like that.."

Aika shrugged. "Nothing can be done, I guess," she said with somewhat forced sanguinity. "Ma and Pop wanted to help people. It was important to them. It's important to me too…"

Fina placed a kind hand on Aika's shoulder. "You helped me."

The rogue gave a quiet laugh. "Guesso," she said with a smile. "And I'm glad we did. Look, Fina, I know you can't say anything about why you're traveling and I don't know you much but…"

"But what?" Fina wasn't sure what Aika was trying to say. The redhead shook a confused head.

"I dunno. I guess… Well, I guess I'm saying that whatever we can do to help you on your way.."

Fina smiled. "You've already done so much," she said nervously. "You, and Vyse…"

Aika snapped to attention. "Oh Moons, Vyse! We've probably kept him waiting long enough," she said before looking towards a small window where beams of orange sunlight drifted down. "Sunset, eh? I know just where we'll find him…"

Vyse sat upon the highest point on Pirate Isle. It was a small spit of a rock that floated far above the rest of the village which was mostly used as a lookout point. A lengthy ladder connected it to the rest of the island, one long enough that it took a minute or two to climb. Following his conversation with his father, he'd grabbed his journal and made his way to the top. The young rogue rested on a bench, sketching the clouds and warm sunset on a fresh page.. Whenever he was home, he came up here at the end of the day to dream about what wonders the world could hold. To sit and sketch and consider the future.

He was more than sure that Aika would come to join him but was even more pleased when, after a considerable time working on his drawing, he heard his friend clamber up the final rungs of the ladder and saw that she'd also brought Fina. He beamed at the two. "Did you lovely ladies have a fine afternoon?"

Aika made a show of huffing and puffing as she stepped away from the ladder. "I'd say so," she offered with a wink back at Fina. "How was your super secret talk with your dad?"

Vyse shrugged. "Not so secret and not too super," he said. "I think he's worried about everything that's happened. About the admiral, about Fina."

The white dressed girl stepped forward and offered Vyse an apologetic bow. "I'm so very sorry, Vyse. I don't want to cause anyone here worry."

He shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "And we don't need to think about that for now. I come up here to avoid worrying about silly stuff like that."

He gestured towards the sunset. The sky itself had begun to fill with a warm burnt-orange glow as the sun began to list closer to the horizon.

"It's so beautiful," Fina noticed.

"Far upwards too," Aika added kindly. She sat on the bench by Vyse and beckoned Fina over. The quiet woman took a seat with admirable poise. "Does being up this high make you feel closer to your home?"

Fina smiled at the thought. "I suppose it does," she admitted. "Even if they're so very far away."

The three of them sat for a moment and gazed at the splendor before them. An open sky full of possibility. A world full of joys and dangers. Joys like finding a new friend. Dangers like running afoul of the Empire. Somehow they'd managed both those things. Vyse broke the silence.

"I love it up here," he said. His voice was soft and steeped in infectious cheer. "It's so peaceful. I come up here to relax and watch the sunsets. When I'm up here, I often wonder what lies beyond the sky…"

Fina looked at him. "Beyond... the sky...?" These people know so little, and yet..

"Some say there's monsters," he said without any sense of fear. There was only excitement and possibility. "Others say there's a maelstrom that either blows ships away, or pulls them in... and they're never seen again. And there are others that just say it's... impossible…"

He said the last word with disdain. "I don't believe that," he said simply. "Even if something's impossible, you need to try. You'll never learn anything unless you go and see for yourself."

Fina hesitated before speaking. "I'm sure there's… so much there," she offered.

"Someday, I'll be the captain of my own ship," Vyse said confidently. "I'll go beyond that sunset, and I'll see what's out there. Hell, maybe we'll all get to go."

Aika sighed contentedly. "You'd have to pry my from your side with a bar before you could sail off on a journey like that by your lonesome," she noted. "I want to see it too. I bet if you could go beyond the sunset, the sky would look even more beautiful.."

The thought seems to place them into a reverie and the trio shifted comfortably upon the bench as they gazed upon the sky. The orange glow held until, without warning, a bright streak of white light shot across the curtain of the encroaching night.

"Woah!" Aika stood up immediately. "Did you see that?

Vyse leapt to his feet and ran towards the lookout's edge. "That was a moonstone!"

"... A moonstone," Fina repeated. "Was that really…?"

The sky began to fill with a stream of falling moonstones. One, then another and then another which fell down into the sky. Then a final speeding line of magical light that landed on another island in the distance. Vyse flicked the side of his goggle and zoomed into the see a small but somewhat familiar island bearing a tall stone ruin.

"That one landed on Shrine Island," he said excitedly before flicking the side of his goggle again and disabling the magnification. "That's not too far from here!"

"S'been a long time since we had a moonstone shower," Aika noted. For her part, Fina seemed confused.

"I don't understand. Those were moonstones?"

Aika nodded. "They fall right from the moons themselves," she explained. "From time to time, a whole bunch break off and fall."

Fina pictured the image in her mind. Something more sinister and destructive crept in: an image of the world on fire as moonstones cascaded downwards. Her face gave away nothing.

"I know what moonstones are," she said quietly. "But it's my first time actually seeing any fall from the sky…"

Vyse looked to Aika. His best friend was already looking back with a cat-like grin. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

"Of course," Vyse said. "A freshly fallen moonstone like that's gonna have a lotta energy. Could forge some weapons or even just sell the damn thing if we wanted!"

Aika rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Oh, Vyse," she said teasingly. "Don't you think Pow would look perfect in a cape made of pure gold?"

"I think he's already very cute," Fina managed to say. She didn't bother asking what it meant to sell a moonstone.

Vyse grinned wide. "That settles it," he said boldly. "Tomorrow, we're salvaging a moonstone!"