~Red Dawn~
1
This world consists of two oceans…
Separated into four smaller seas.
The North Blue.
The South Blue.
The East Blue.
The West Blue.
The separation of these waters is due to the Red Line.
A Singular landmass that cuts through the center of the blues—
And the Grand Line–
A treacherous body of water that runs perpendicular to the Red Line.
Among these waters are islands scattered and sprinkled through out the blues and various parts of the Grand Line.
Only the most daring and brave of Pirates dare cross these treacherous seas in search of the journey of the lands and the treasures they may hold.
Legend tells of an elusive island…
One said to be based on nothing more than lore or fairy tail…
Stories told so many times over that it's believed to not even be of existence…
But some of the Pirates who dare to dream…
Still believe these places to be–
After all…
A Legend is only Legendary…
…Until Someone proves it's real~
"What's that…?" Beckman asks as he watches Shanks lay down a roll of parchment that seemed to have the Red Hair Pirate Captain feeling giddy.
"...Looks old…" he said, between swigs of Sake.
"...I've found it, Beckman." Shanks said with a grin, "This is it!"
Beckman's eyes went wide.
"You don't mean…"
"It's a map." Shanks said to him, "I won it in a poker game and if it's true to what it claims to be~" he hummed, "Then this is a Map to Red Dawn!"
"Red Dawn!?" Yasopp scoffed, "You mean that weird island that's supposedly elusive to the wary and yet redder than crimson blood?" he chuckles, "The story of that island is a myth!" said Yasopp, "It's been left to nothing but lore and fairy tail…there's no way that's real… Hate to say it captain…but I think you might have got duped."
The fellow crew mates couldn't help but share a laugh after that.
Shanks always was a dreamer but even they thought that not even Red Hair Shanks would risk traveling to a mythical island under the belief that it MIGHT exist…
Though sometimes…
Even the crew can just as easily underestimate their own captain.
"But what if it is real?" asked Shanks, "Imagine it boys…an island out in the middle of a treacherous sea– in full bloom of crimson red flowers with healing properties and possibly a key to prolonging or…even eternal life!?" he hummed, "...I bet they'd make for a sweet Sake!" he chuckled.
"There;s no way it's real." said Yasopp, "Think about it…if it actually was– Don't you think millions of other Pirates would have tried to find it?" he asks, "Or at the very least…seen the place?" he sighed, "There's little to no information about Red Dawn…"
"Possibly because they didn't have a map don't you think?" Shanks laughed.
"...Or possibly because the place is non existent?" said Yasopp, "I mean think about it Shanks, an island in full bloom of a red flower with healing properties and could possibly grant eternal life– Sounds too good to be true." said Yasopp, "And if something sounds too good to be true– that usually means it is!"
"Well Obviously someone had to have heard something somewhere, right?" asked Shanks, "After all, tall tales have to start from somewhere. All stories usually contain some bit of truth to them, am I right?" he chuckled, "I'll admit, the whole eternal life thing is a bit up in the air." he states, "The stories I hear the most about these red flowers is that then can SAVE a life, not grant an eternal one–" he hums, "But even so– even if it's just some medicinal herb in the end, who really cares?" he asks, "Still seems like a pretty nice treasure to have in my opinion…" he shrugs, "Say that the nectar of these flowers really can help cure illness or even save a life–
Wouldn't it be worth going after for that much alone?"
"And yet no one seems to have done so…" said Beckman.
"All the more reason to believe that it's all fake! A Ruse! A Scam!" he chuckled, "The Story of Red Dawn is more like a fairy tail I'd tell my boy to entertain him."
"Well there's no way of really knowing weather it's true or not unless we actually go, right~"
The crew fell silent…
Each pair of eyes slowly rested on Shanks…
Whose cheeky grin only got gradually wider as time went by…
"...You're not really giving us a choice here…are you captain?" asked Yasopp.
Shanks didn't say a single word.
He only continued to grin and hold up the rolled up map in his hands.
…And Yasopp sighed.
"Well…you know how The Captain is…" said Beckman, "Come on then…let's roll it out see if it really is fake or not."
Shanks agreed giddily while he and Beckman cleared off the table free of booze and carefully unrolled the parchment across its surface.
The crew gathered silently around…
Each one examining it and touching it…
Studying its contents and wracking their brains to try and make sense on if this map was the real deal or not.
"Well…it doesn't seem fake." said Beckman, "In fact it looks really dated, like it's been passed down."
"See? What did I tell ya!" asked Shanks, with a cheeky grin, "Real map! Real treasure, right?"
"Okay but even if the map IS real…" said Yasopp, "That doesn't mean it actually leads to Red Dawn." he said with a shrug.
"There's still no proof of that crimson island even existing…"
"Well…Maybe it leads to Red Dawn…and maybe it doesn't." Shanks shrugged, "The fact of the matter is…this appears to be a real map." he stated, "And it appears to lead to SOME island, right?"
"W-Well yeah…I guess you're not wrong there…"
"So then…let's see just what island it is!"
"WHAT!?" the crew all gasped in shock.
Though they didn't really know why they bothered being surprise.
Shank's crazy antics were really no surprise to anyone that ran with this crew.
"You're not seriously suggesting we GO, Captain!?" asked Yasopp.
"You really want to try and follow this map and see where it leads?" asked a fellow crew mate that seemed to share in Yasopp's concern–
"But what if it really is nothing and we just waste our time?"
"Well…sometimes there will be disappointments…" Shanks chuckled, "But that's part of the adventure too."
Beckman sighed, sitting in silence for a while before standing up slowly and lighting up a spark to smoke. He takes a deep…
Slow…
Long drag…
And gradually releases the smoke between his lips, looking up at the sky.
"I take it we're really doing this then…eh captain?"
Shanks grinned.
"Damn right we are~" he smirks.
And Beckman couldn't help but chuckle while his fellow crew mates all groaned and expressed their unease and concerns.
"Ahhh quit your whining men…ya'll heard the boss…" Beckman chuckled, "Come on everyone…let's prepare to set sail.
"All right then." said Shanks, as he adjusted his straw hat and grins, "Set a course…to Red Dawn~!"
To Be Continued