The Treasure Map Of The Heart

Part One

Now dear reader before you become attached to this story filled with characters that you will fall in love with, you must understand the commitment you are giving yourself. You are embarking on a four part journey that will require time and dedication, so my friend you must prepare yourself for what is coming, for once you have begun there is no turning back.

Not too many years ago, but enough that none alive shall still remember, there lived a pirate, whom sailed the seas. He sailed all seven to be quite exact. He was captain of his ship, a ship known as the blood pearl. The name behind this ship will become known to you in another part of this journey, but for now you must not worry yourself with such details. His name was Nioclàs, but he was known as captain Nio. You are right, it is not a terrifying pirate name but it is indeed a name that was known and slightly feared, for he was not a violent pirate but a pirate who stood his ground with strong beliefs.

He journeyed the seas with his loyal crew, in search of various tyrants and treasures. He had been considered the best pirate of all the land for many years, but this still left him in search of more, he wanted more from his pirate life. He was uncertain of how he could handle being just a pirate, yes it was what he had dreamed of since he was a child and something he truly excelled at but there was still something missing.

The captain was what one would call a roguishly handsome man. He had shaggy brown hair that slightly swept down across his forehead and slightly over his eyes. He was a tall and somewhat slender man. He was graced with hands that were delicate despite the rough work that he did. He wore beige pants that hung loosely around his waist, and a loose white blouse that flowed with the ocean's breeze.

His crew was full of those he believed deserved a chance in life and that deserved the ability to try again in life, to be trusted and taught loyalty. He worked hard, ran a tight ship, but also allowed a sense of freedom, of independence, and joy flow throughout. He was man who believed in the value of friendship but also in having authority and discipline. He ran his ship to the best of his abilities, and his men respected him for that. He was known as the best captain around; everyone wanted to work for him.

Now, I am sure that when you think of pirates you think of terrible human beings, ones who are not clean, who lack religious values, who are pick pockets and hoodlums, terrorizing the innocent and pillaging villages. But this is not the case. Pirating may not be the most honest work, but it was not something to be frowned upon, not something that was conceived to be so awful that these people need to outcast. They were part of the community as much as anyone else, they kept cities afloat most of the time, an older version of Robin Hood if you will. They brought the wealthy down while raising the poor. Nioclàs highly believed in this idea, of bringing the ability to eat to many who normally couldn't, of spreading his beliefs to poorer individuals, of keeping the wealthy from getting too big headed.

One night as the captain lay awake, unable to sleep, his mind wondered to far off places. He thought of happiness, and how he brought it to others but did not yet have it. He remembered the love that he helped rekindle by aiding to their financial strife and the fact that he still did not have someone to hold as the night came to a close. His mind continued to whir through all of the things he had done and all of the things he was missing. The parts that could help make him whole.

An idea struck the captain, similarly to that of lightening. He sprung from his bed, running to his study. Now by this point his crew was used to his late night shenanigans, it's when he did his best thinking.

He sat at his large desk pulling out large sheets of parchment and bottles of ink. Grabbing his long back quill he got to work. Drawing and scribbling across the page. Now most people would think him to be crazy had they not known the captain, but they did, they knew he was an intelligent man, thinking up answers to the world's largest problem. If you heard him utter the explanation to what he was creating, you would think it impossible, but nothing was for Nioclàs.