My name is Scealai. My name means 'Fire on the Seas'. So, though I was born of the land, the sea, Shalea, has always been my mother. I have travelled much of this world that we call Domhan.In my travels I have seen many wondrous and inexplicable th...
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We spent much of the rest of the day recovering from the extreme attack that the angry sea had unleashed on us.
Unfortunately, once again, we had to witness Cullen add two more names to the mainmast of the Dochas. Connor, who was one of our riggers and Sean, who manned the crow's nest had their names added to those we had previously lost on the fairy island. We drank a toast of rum and said a prayer to the Mother of the seas, to accept their souls. We also prayed for the souls lost on the smaller sailing vessel that had disappeared in the waves. Surely none survived.
We had not lost many provisions, though some of our precious water supplies had been tainted by the sea's salty hand. Our boatswain, Paddy, suggested that we lower a dory, so that it could gather ice from one of the large bergs. He informed me that the ice was not poisoned by salt and once melted, it would provide good drinking.
Within a couple hours, all empty containers and barrels on board, were filled with chipped ice.
As night approached, the darkened sky was once again alive with the dancing green lights that we had seen a day earlier. Liam, Frahley and I had spent several hours trying to decide what course of action and direction we should take to remove ourselves from the sea of ice. Our greatest fear now was that the large ice floes would surround us, trapping us in its wake or worse than that, the huge ice would crush the Dochas and leave us stranded on the many floes that littered the sea. That would surely mean our demise.
It was Zada who suggested that we set sail in the general direction of the green light. From her perch in the crow's nest, she could see openings between the floes that appeared to be large enough for the Dochas to sail through. "Beyond that, I see fairly open waters," she informed us. "It may be our only safe passage."
I needed assurance from Liam that the winds could provide us with the necessary speed.
"I don't see any other choice," he answered. "We have to move or else the inevitable will befall us and we will be surrounded by ice. He looked at Zada. "I will need your eyes to help direct us, as my vision is hindered by the mountains of ice."
I handed Zada my personal spyglass. "Find us a safe passage."
"I am honoured that you trust me with such a task, Captain."
I hugged the young woman. "You are our 1st mate of the nest now. I expect you to choose and train your 1st mate, once we are through this maze."
The young woman smiled and quickly hurried off. We watched as she skillfully climbed the rigging to her perch, high on the mainmast. Behind her, the riggers were raising the mainsail. Liam decided that it would be sufficient to maneuver with just that sail. His fear was more sails would not allow what he was sure would be tricky diversions.
"Why don't you get some rest, Scealai," Frahley suggested. "I will take the wheel. Liam and I, along with Zada will get us free of this icy maze."
I was exhausted. The battle with the angry seas and the stress of losing yet two more members of my crew, was weighing heavy on me. "I will rest, but awaken me once we are free of this ."
Frahley assured me she would and I retired to my cabin. As I lay in bed, awaiting sleep, my mind began to assess our journey so far. We had already lost 6 crew members, 5 of which were men. My mind flashed back to our last night in Talamh, as I shared a drink with the other Captains.
"You have cursed your ship, Scealai," Captain Morrison determined. "You have brought too many wenches on board. They do not have the knowledge or strength of men. They will cower at the first sign of danger and they will surely be the downfall of the Dochas. They will cause your men to make choices based on their dicks and not their experience. Surely you have cursed your ship. This will surely be the last journey of the Dochas."
His sentiment was shared by the other Captains that sat at our table. Not even my argument that my crew were all seasoned sailors could dissuade the thoughts of the other male Captains.
"You have cursed your ship, Scealai. Cursed your ship."
His voice echoed in my head repeating that phrase over and over.
Was Captain Morrison right? Had I cursed my ship and crew?
