"At the beginning of everything, there was the ocean."
A husky voice aged by time spoke, an old lady with white hair and very tanned skin surrounded by very young children, who looked with their bright eyes at the immensity of the sea from the top of a green hill. It was a wonderful day with few clouds in the sky and the crystalline sea reflected that blue immensity. The attention of the little ones was attracted by the old lady who behind them was filling a ceramic basin with water from a jug.
"A world of water." she continued, draining the water, gently stirring its surface. "And water is an energy of many moods. It can be calm and nurturing, as well as dangerous and destructive."
The children all sat around the old lady, as they always did in their morning classes.
"The sea is the source and foundation of life. And its waves are the moods of the God of the Sea, Tangaroa."
The children were amazed when the lady revealed the dark painting of a large whale on one of the wicker curtains of that open sanctuary. With waves and islands drawn around the majestic creature.
"Listen well, children. This place we live in is huge. With lots of plains and trees, mountains and beaches, islands and caves. And if you take a canoe and sail forever, you will reach even more incredible places, where the water falls white from the sky, very cold, and where there are infinite oceans of sand and houses as tall as volcanoes."
She met every look of those children, who listened to her tell an incredible story; her voice trailed off and her finger raised in the air, pointing at the great whale.
"But the World of Tangaroa is even bigger than this world we live in, much bigger. So big that it is said that it's possible to set everything that exists in our world in the Realm of Tangaroa and there would still be a lot of space left."
The little ones gaped, not understanding how that was possible.
"But everything is hidden under the sea."
The old lady then walked to the other side of that open room to nature and pulled another wicker curtain where many painted creatures were seen.
"The immense Tangaroa had many, many children that you know very well. Like the dolphins of the gulf, the sharks of the reef, the octopuses of the deep and even the mermaids of the lagoons are all children of Tangaroa. For he is the father of all that live under the sea."
She drew back the two curtains on the sides of the sanctuary and pulled back a single curtain that was in the center of the hall with a menacing design that made the children a little scared at first as they snuggled closer to her.
"Among these many sons of Tangaroa, there is one who stands out for his enormous wrath and strength: Ikatere."
The children exclaimed softly, but she continued, always in her ethereal, mysterious tone.
"It's Ikatere who rumbles when storms take over the sky, or even when the waters of the river overflow to destroy the crops. He is brave and very strong. And what he wants most is to live in our World. To have everything his father couldn't have. Heaven and Earth in which we live."
She said, pointing to the ceiling and the trees ahead.
"For when Tangaroa, the God of the Sea, rose from the waters to take our islands and our land, the wonderful Tāne stood before him and did not let him have what he so desired. She protected our land and our islands with the help of her greatest hero of all: Maui."
The kids loved Maui's adventures and smiled at the revelation of their beloved hero, in yet another one of his stories; they often played at storytelling and battling along the beach as if they were inside the adventures of Maui.
"And that's how Tangaroa was forever locked under the sea." the old lady ended, not before raising an alert for the children of that class. "But his son, the mighty Ikatere, remains in the depths of the ocean and never tires of trying to rise from the sea and avenge his father. And that's why we always need to navigate with both of our eyes opened."
"Captain's log, twenty-third day of the voyage. I can see the islands on the horizon already. It's good to be back home. Since the affair with the sirens, the Galleon no longer encountered obstacles and was able to sail with ease back to the South Pacific. Lieutenant Navigator Lunara has finally managed to convince the immediate Geist that it would be an excellent idea for everyone to disembark on the paradise beaches of my people and I believe it is really a good time for the entire crew to have a few days of peace. A shore leave. It's possible that I got a little carried away by the moment and promised gifts to the officers. Lieutenant Lunara took this very seriously and now I need to think about something real quick. It's good to be back."
The Galleon was tearing through the Pacific Ocean at full speed, its sails all unfurled and aligned to take advantage of every breath there was on that side of the seas. The breeze that hit Seiya and the crew's faces filled them with confidence and joy; Lunara really looked like the enchanted child she was, now always with her headphones to her ear as if her workday was eternally rocked by an appropriate soundtrack for each moment. In that particular one, she heard the rumblings and drums of heroic instrumental music.
The door to the Captain's Cabin opened and Meko Kaire emerged without his overcoat or even his Cetus Cloth; his bare chest covered with dark tattoos of his great adventures and victories startled the crew. He ordered Geist to prepare the auxiliary boat and walked across the deck to the jib, where he leaned with a huge smile on his face as he saw his homeland appear on the horizon.
"It's beach day, Captain!" cried Lunara, standing by his side, and the Sea-Captain hugged the little girl.
"It is, little one."
"Are we getting presents, Captain?" she asked, and Meko felt a little uncomfortable.
She really was not going to let it go.
The Galleon anchored close to the coast and after three trips in the small auxiliary boat, soon all the crew of the Galleon disembarked on the fine and delicious sands of the beach of a tropical and paradise island. Received by an entourage of very tanned men and women, with dark hair, bare chests, many tattooed like the Captain and also with lots of dancing and joy.
"Did you leave this place to go to Sanctuary?" June asked the captain, who only replied with a smile.
Lunara was already mingling with the children; she danced and kicked in the shallows with her boot on her waist and her bare feet in the sea. Seiya and Geist were somewhat awkwardly receiving flower necklaces and an iced green coconut with a bamboo straw to drink from that strange but delicious drink.
"Meko!" shouted two voices appearing on the beach.
They were two men even bigger than the Captain, which was impressive, and as soon as they approached Kaire, they hugged him and stroked his hair as if playing with a child, such a complexion of those two thunder-voiced giants.
"Well, Meko. Isn't that really true? We heard you were coming back, but could not believe it!" said the first.
"What is it, Meko, are you not eating? You're so week." commented the other, lifting Kaire off the ground.
"Oh, come on, Taika. I'm in shape." protested the Captain, and Seiya was delighted to see Meko disconcerted.
"I missed you, brother." smiled the first one, who was called Piki. "But where have you been? Have you jumped on a pool of spears?"
"Oh, it's a warrior's life." Meko replied, noticing that his brothers were impressed by the scars.
"Oh, a warrior?" mocked Taika. "Let's go to the sea and I'll show you a warrior!"
"You're very strong too, Taika."
And they hugged each other again with a huge smile on their faces.
"The old Te-Maia awaits you." Piki said, pleased.
"I'll see her as soon as they're okay." replied the Captain, mentioning his crew.
"We'll take good care of them." said Taika.
"I know you will."
In addition to his two brothers, it was natural for Captain Kaire to draw attention, as there were aunts and uncles, acquaintances, old friends, cousins with children in their arms, a number of gentlemen and ladies who had seen him grow up. It was a paradise island and far removed from the modern archipelago of islands in the region, so having visitors there was rare, if not impossible. So that was a really big event.
Little by little, however, everyone left the paradisiacal beach to be escorted to the main village, which was surrounded by a lively forest of various beautiful shades of green. It was an absolutely incredible village, as the buildings were made of the most varied materials and decorated with delicate wicker filigrees that seemed to have sprouted from the earth, such was the mixture between nature and architecture in those houses.
Little Lunara was extremely impressed with the village; she walked along the walls and sidings, tapestries and filigree, all to understand the texture and, more than that, how they had been so accurately made. And that gave Captain Kaire the perfect idea for a gift for the little one: an entire afternoon with the village artisans to learn how to weave wicker in such a way that she could make whatever she wanted.
She really loved the gift and spent most of the afternoon just watching the women and men braiding wicker, cutting the coconut, shaping detailed ceramics and finally putting all the elements together into decorations and even household items. All this she watched and absorbed with her eyes, for she really didn't understand a word.
Geist maintained her posture even with a necklace of flowers, but June was already seated in a circle in what appeared to be the central square, under a pleasant shadow cast by a large coconut tree; she was with a group of crew members and natives who were drumming and singing songs, each one from his own region. The inhabitants of that island spoke no language other than their own, so even though the Saints were taught two or three languages in addition to their own, they were by no means able to communicate.
And so they sang.
June proved to be an excellent percussionist, accompanying the rhythm of large and small guitars of the natives who sang telling stories of the sea. And the instruments passed from hand to hand, the drums too, some sailors took a risk in the choreography of men and women of the island. June refused the guitar, staying on the drums, but Seiya was not embarrassed and as soon as the guitar fell into his hand, he immediately started to accompany the song, much to June's surprise.
"That's a good one, helmsman. You never ceases to amaze me." said Captain Kaire approaching the helmsman.
Seiya smiled and chanted the rhythm with his mouth, not knowing the lyrics. Meko himself released his voice, singing along with his own people, his huge hand on the shoulder of the boy who was happily playing the songs of those people.
"You should have a guitar at the Galleon, Seiya." said Captain Kaire at the end of the song.
"I learned a little from my sister."
Meko smiled at him and said something for him around the circle.
"Play something for us, Seiya." he asked, and Seiya was immediately filled with shame, but the group encouraged him to sing something.
Until he gave up and sang a lively and dancing song from his homeland, which made the drums shiver and the dancers stamp their feet. The catchy chorus, if not sung correctly, at least had its melody repeated by everyone until at the end it was effusively applauded. Meko was one of the happiest and announced right there:
"This guitar is yours, Seiya!" he said, and the boy's face lit up with joy, although June beside him wasn't so happy, with a mocking smile on her face.
"Now we're going to have to put up with him playing this everyday!"
"You're pretending not to like, but I can see that you also have some talent." he commented.
"Well, I'll pass your gift." she said mockingly, and the Captain laughed.
And as he laughed, he saw in the distance that Geist was watching the waves of the sea break on the horizon, her coat fluttering and the necklace of flowers around her neck. He said goodbye to the singing group and went to her, always very serious, and perhaps a little out of place among so much partying.
"The beach suits you very well, first-mate." scoffed the Captain.
"The sea suits me better, Captain." she said back.
"Don't you think I've forgotten our mission, first-mate."
"It didn't even cross my mind, Captain. In fact, I think you should also enjoy it and get some rest."
Captain Kaire looked at his first mate and saw her return a brief smile, something completely unthinkable for her who was always so serious; perhaps his weariness was really evident.
"I will heed your recommendation, immediate Geist. But before that, there's a place I'd like you to visit."
She looked at him a little curiously and followed him along a forest path into and above the forest.
A very well-kept path, with well-hewn wooden steps, but which climbed subtly around that hill; Geist soon guessed that the Captain would like to take her to the top, where a handsome, wood-hewn shrine rose from an open, though covered, platform, decorated with wicker curtains lowered on some sides with black paintings.
"This is where children come to learn about the world. Where we came from. It was here that I learned about life and the seas."
"A school?" asked Geist.
"You can say that, yes." he said, looking for something on some shelves.
There were no children, as they were all at the party, and there was also no person in charge of the place.
"Here." he said, finding a large thick-leafed book. "For your collection."
Geist accepted, as she would never deny a book.
"Won't it be missed?" she asked.
"Every kid here gets one of these for life. And each of them writes a new one so it stays here for the next generation. Only then does the Old Te-Maia let you go sailing."
"Is it a children's book?" she asked, confused by the gift.
"It is a book that tells the history of our people." he said, pointing to the tattoos on his body. "In our own way and through our art."
The girl then opened the large book she had in her hand, leafing through it delicately, and noticed that each page was meticulously written by hand, in black ink, but also in other colors, of few words, but of many images in the style of the tattoos that had on Meko's torso. She felt enormously honored.
"Thank you very much, Captain." she said, looking him in the eye.
He nodded and looked away at the bright sea on the horizon; It had been a long time since he'd been there, and Geist stood beside him to look out to sea. She recognized in the first pictures of that book the rock formations in front of them, which plummeted down to the sand strip on the horizon.
"I'll leave you alone, first-mate. There are many other books and paintings here to satiate your curiosity."
She let out a brief smile, thanking him again, when Meko, in fact, went down alone back to the village, leaving his first mate with all that knowledge; an enormous trust, she well knew, but this was her Captain and this was her perfect gift.
At the foot of the hill, at the entrance to the trail, June came toward him, her face cut into a mocking smile.
"Did you find her a present?"
"Books." he said, to a smile from June. "Now I need to find yours."
"Want to give me a present?" she asked, following him. "Tell me why you left this heavenly place to go to the Sanctuary. I've been with your people, I've drank your drinks and I can't imagine anyone leaving this island for anywhere else."
"You are right." he said. "It's quite rare for anyone to leave this island."
She was looking at him, really curious. He spoke again.
"Come with me."
And together, but in silence, they walked along another path, much less marked and more covered by the island's vegetation. Even a large tree with a huge dark entrance in the middle of its roots, with carefully carved totems in the shape of many animals of the forest and even the seas.
"Some years ago I lost a very important person on this island."
He didn't beat around the bush, and June realized that this was a sacred place where those who left the plane of the living were apparently honored. She immediately felt bad, for having been so curious and a little short-sighted, for not imagining something similar.
"I'm so sorry, Captain."
"There's nothing to apologize for, June." he said calmly. "She was amazing. A fabulous warrior."
And June saw beside her the silver cosmos of her Captain Meko Kaire shining on his body.
"She found the Urn of Cetus on one of the islands near here. And she was fascinated by the power it exuded, as well as the secrets behind it. And she decided to walk the silver path as far as it took her. And I was very proud of her choice."
He swallowed hard before continuing.
"But it wasn't meant to be. And she was gone before she could even wear the holy Cloth of Cetus."
Meko placed his closed fist close to his heart before continuing to speak.
"And so I decided to follow the path for her. Complete her dream."
And then the Captain looked with his one eye at June, smiling, convinced that he had fulfilled his beloved's dream. And June understood the beauty of that decision, and for a moment she felt very foolish to imagine that he would leave a place like this for any foolishness. She looked at the tree and, as if something had invaded her, she missed Shun immensely.
In awe and in silence, they stood before that tree and, as they were, they could still hear the waves of the sea breaking in the distance, for the sea was everywhere on that little island. Captain Meko spoke again, taking the floor:
"Go back to the village, June. Seiya must be missing your drumming."
"Where are you going, Captain?"
"There's someone very important I need to see." he replied with a contented smile.
June said goodbye returning to the village and Meko followed that poorly maintained trail to a strip of sand that was far from everything.
Appearing on the strip of sand after lifting a huge green leaf, he found an old lady on top of a rock looking at the sea that wandered in front of her.
"Ah, has Captain Kaire come to see his granny at last?"
The Captain stepped onto the sand and she turned to look at him; she wore a simple but pretty dress, and had white hair pulled back on her head, lots of wrinkles, but a reassuring smile on her face.
"You are the same as always, my grandmother." he said.
"And you have been fighting too much, my grandson. It's been a long time, Meko."
"Far too long, my grandmother, forgive me." he replied.
She let out a low laugh as she reached for his hand.
"The time of a voyage is the time of a voyage. Especially when you're going into a shark's mouth like you were."
"You worry too much." he replied. "I missed you so much."
"I know your heart has always been with us, Meko."
"As yours has always been with me."
She had the best smile in the world.
"How is everyone?" asked Meko.
"They are as you found them. Your happy brother Piki continues to complain about everything he can, while Taika continues to keep interested parties away from here."
"Te Waipounamu?" asked Meko, as if sensing the village's problems.
"You know it is. Nothing we can't handle..." she said, taking a deep breath of the ocean's salty air.
"Maybe I can help." he said, to his grandmother's surprised face.
"Who is this Captain Kaire from the other side of the seas anyways?" she asked, drawing a smile from her grandson.
"The same. But now I know more people."
"Yes, I'm sure." she said. "But don't worry about it, after all you have bigger concerns."
Meko then looked into her smiling eyes, immediately realizing that she knew of his mission across the Seven Seas. As all the other representatives knew, it was even true that there were ancient Civilizations across the Oceans that held Poseidon's power. Something he still doubted within himself.
"The Relic of the Sea?" he asked, not finding the words for his anguish any better.
She nodded.
"Then it's really true." he continued. "I couldn't believe it when I was told, after all I was born and raised on this island, grand Te-Maia, and I never knew absolutely nothing about Poseidon."
"Few know about it, my grandson. Many will never know."
He was also looking at the ocean with his grandmother, for he knew that those were the domains of Tangaroa and, however, they were also the lands of Poseidon.
"How?"
"Stories older than yourself." she said, for that was how she always answered at school.
"Who else knows about this?
"The Guardian of the Relic."
Meko's stomach froze as he looked at her and guessed who it could be, because after all it couldn't be anyone else. In his chest, the memories of sad memories when he called out a powerful name.
"Ikatere."
"The Son of Tangaroa."
Close to the reefs, the waves broke and rolled salty to the beach.
"Ikatere is a keeper for Poseidon? Is this what the son of Tangaroa has become?"
The Old Te-Maia couldn't hide the smile that escaped her face.
"Poseidon, the Earthshaker of the Sea." she repeated, her voice rising. "You know Ikatere well, he would never be anything for Old-Poseidon. He doesn't care about Poseidon. But every opportunity, however small, to confront us, he gladly takes advantage of."
Meko looked at her with confusion in his eyes.
"I know all the stories of our people. But Poseidon was never a part of any of them."
The Old Te-Maia smiled and made the crystal clear sea water that touched her feet recoil with a wave of her hands.
"You know the stories well, my grandson. When Maui defeated Tangaroa at sea many, many years ago, the Three Brothers Overseas had not even been born."
"And then Tāne took care of the waters as well." reminded Meko of his classes when he was a child.
"Until this Poseidon-One came along." commented the old woman. "Powerful, very powerful, it's true. But he could not take the old domains of Tangaroa as he wished."
"Ikatere."
"The proud Ikatere." corrected the old lady. "Even victorious, Ikatere saw that opportunity to cause some embarrassment to Tāne and all of us. He willingly offered to keep Poseidon's Sea Relic, as long as Poseidon let Tāne out of the seas."
"Just to spite us?"
"Just to spite us." agreed Te-Maia. "And so it was decided that the seas would be with Ikatere and this Poseidon-One."
The grandson looked at the sea, as if he has little patience for something like that.
"And where is the Relic?" he asked finally.
"I never knew. I never saw it. Ikatere knows."
Of course he knew, which made this Athena's Galleon mission very, very dangerous, finally. That peace his crew enjoyed in the village would soon be interrupted.
"I'm going to him." announced Meko.
"She knew too."
Meko, who had his eyes determined and hard against the ocean, felt his heart skip a few beats and his stomach freeze completely. He searched his grandmother's eyes, confused, but also with a chest full of pain, for deep in his being there was a longing for a brunette who had taken his heart when he was younger; and when they were younger, she died very painfully for Meko.
"Mia would follow in my footsteps, even if she didn't know it, and that's why she knew about the Relic of the Sea. And much more than me: she knew where it was."
Captain Kaire was another apprentice of Grandma Te-Maia, but his aching heart also made him understand many things that, for nights on end, he wondered alone in the darkness. Mainly the reasons why both he and Mia were where they were on that fateful night when she came to lose her life. For they were exactly where Meko now needed to be.
He looked at his grandmother and smiled, pulling her into a long hug again, but she stopped him halfway and, with her black fingers from an ink that she always had on her lap, she drew on her grandson's chest a beautiful whale next to another of his many tattoos.
"May Tangaroa receive you well, my grandson."
"He always welcomes me, my grandmother. It's his son that worries me."
"Ikatere will be waiting for you by now." she said. "Rest in the afternoon and leave at night."
"Thank you, my grandmother." he said. "See you from the other side of the sea."
"Always, my son. I will always be by your side." she smiled.
And so they embraced for a long time, with Meko letting his grandmother do what she liked best, which was dancing with the waters and singing the waves of the sea. He returned to the village to fulfill his mission as an Athena Saint.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: When I decided that I would make an adventure arc before Asgard along the lines of the Elemental Temples Arc of Omega, the paths were soon opening for the story. At first I thought it must be something related to Poseidon. I remembered the chapter in Lost Canvas on the guardians of the Seal of Poseidon and thought it would be nice to have that same Seal, or Relic, in several other places. It soon became clear that the story would have 7 places to be sealed (much like Omega). At first, I thought of places like Asgard, on land, but I soon considered that it would make a lot more sense if the places were only accessed by the sea of Poseidon. That is, I would need a boat. The Boat from Lost Canvas. And with a boat, I would need a crew. And Moses (or Meko in my story) was still alive, so he was an obvious choice to be captain (as was Geist) as they are the only sea characters we know of in the Sanctuary order. And how perfect it wasn't to find out on Moses' file that he's from New Zealand, so the main arc of this whole trip would have to be his homeland. Heavily inspired by Maori and Polynesian stories (I won't pretend that the Disney movie I love the most also inspired me: Moana). =) This is a chapter of peace, exploring some of the Captain's past to humanize him and extending his bonds between the crew.
NEXT CHAPTER: THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA DOMAINS
Although peace fills his chest as he returns home, Captain Kaire knows he is there to fulfill his mission. But he is mistaken if he thinks he will do it alone.