Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe

by James M. Ward

  Wily continued to speak calmly, all the while defending himself from increasingly faster pike strikes. "In this duel between us, the first one to touch the other's body with the pike wins. Notice how the chief constantly lunges low at me in an effort to get me to lower my weapon shaft. That's not going to happen."

  Blows rained down on the commander during his speech. It was impossible to tell how many Chief Fallow threw at him while Officer Wily continued to speak. Every Fallow attack failed, striking some portion of the commander's pike instead of his body. All the while, the chief kept a grin on his face, but the smile became more and more strained.

  "I have noticed that our good chief here..."

  His dialogue stopped as the chief used his pike as a pole with which to vault, raising his feet to the commander. When he slammed the pike to the deck, it became a lever to propel him at Wily's chest. The red glow of the commander's spell momentarily grew brighter. It was as if his feet struck a stone wall. The spell allowed the commander to be totally unaffected by the heavy blow instead of going backward, and, caught off balance, Chief Fallow fell awkwardly to the deck.

  With that, the commander easily tapped Fallow on the chest with the pike, and the duel was over. He politely helped Fallow up.

  "Good tactic that, it would have caught most off guard. I've never seen you use it. Thank you for your time." Wily bowed politely as those around him cheered his victory, slamming their pikes on the deck to honor him. He walked out of the circle not acknowledging the cheers of the watchers.

  "Blithe, get back in the center of the circle," the chief ordered, clearly irritated. "The commander's encounter put us a bit behind schedule. As most of you know, wizards from Arcania can hurl their magic through a held blast-pike. That's why it's called a blast-pike."

  The chief moved stiffly around the circle, glaring at those who watched. The grins at seeing the chief defeated were now stowed away, as no one wanted to face the chief when he was angry.

  "Blithe here hasn't had the opportunity to use his magic through a blast-pike. I'm going to ask him to try in a few seconds. You will all remember your first attempts and refrain from laughing." The chief's glare looked them all in the eyes, and most shifted their positions uneasily.

  "Mr. Blithe, your weapon is capable of..."

  Suddenly six crewmen and a stretcher appeared on deck with the ship's surgeon. No one knew why, and Chief Fallow wasn't stopping for them.

  "...is capable of boosting your magical energy, but it's a difficult feat to master. You might be years in the training before you can even perform a mild blast from your pike. When you master it, you will find it takes less of your energy to use the pike with your magic than using your magic alone," Fallow said. "Having no magical ability myself, I have this on good authority from past officers with magical skills. I'm told the enchanted metal of the pike head and the rowan wood all work to help the spell-caster. Therefore, stand firm at the center of the circle and try throwing your spell energy through the pike at me. Don't be concerned if nothing happens. There is no honor to be lost in the effort. Begin."

  Blithe was very hesitant to throw any kind of spell at the chief. On the other hand, Midshipwizard First Class Merand didn't hesitate when she threw her spell. The chief was standing there with his blast-pike covering the front of his body.

  "Get a move on, Mr. Blithe. We haven't got all day," the chief ordered.

  Nervous, Blithe breathed deeply, summoning up his inner magical resources, and threw all the energy he had through his hands and into the pike pointed at the chief.

  In less than a second, Blithe's entire pike crackled with a blue energy and blue sparks flew off the head of the pike.

  Chief Fallow's face had just a second to register surprise as a thick beam of blue sparks struck his pike and bashed it hard into his body. It seemed as if nothing of Blithe's energy was absorbed by the chief's pike. Thrown back at least ten feet, Fallow hit the deck with a bone-crunching thud.

  Blithe dropped his pike and rushed over to the chief. There was a big burn mark on the chief's padded chest and a dazed expression on his face. He was looking up at the sky.

  "Chief, are you all right?" Blithe asked.

  "Ack" was all the chief could say.

  "Blithe, you are the seventh son of a seventh son, aren't you?" Senior Lieutenant Solvalson asked him as the others crowded around to look down at the fallen chief.

  "Yes, I am. Is the chief going to be all right?"

  Solvalson smiled back. "Oh, he will be all right, but maybe in the future when you are dealing with magical things, you should tell your instructors about your birthright. The pikes react differently to you than to others."

  "Ack," the chief said again as the six crewmen carried him to sickbay.

  The amused captain's voice came down from the quarterdeck. "I believe that will be all the blast-pike practice for the day. Carry on, men."

  The lieutenants and junior lieutenants gave their weapons to the midshipwizards to rack in the armory. Awkwardly the younger officers carried bundles of the blast-pikes down the ship's stairs.

  Dart was behind Halcyon as they made their way belowdecks. "Put down two of the ship's best today, Hal. That's quite the first practice you've had there."

  Tupper, on the stairs below them, stopped for a second to look up at Hal. "If I were you I would just put myself in sickbay before the next practice because Fallow and Darkwater are going to put you there for sure the next time you meet them over blast-pikes."

  All Hal could do was shake his head, knowing the next training session would be a bad one for him.

  his majesty's articles of war: article viii

  Captains, commanders, or other officers of any of His Majesty's ships or vessels shall not receive on board any goods or merchandise not for use on the ship, except gold, silver, or jewels or materials taken from shipwrecks. Those taking unauthorized goods or merchandise and being convicted by a court-martial shall be cashiered, and ever afterward rendered incapable of serving in any naval office.

  As the midshipwizards assembled on the quarterdeck, Senior Chief Petty Officer Fallow approached Halcyon. "Mr. Blithe, a word alone if you please."

  "Certainly, Chief, what do you need?" asked Blithe.

  They moved apart from the rest of the group.

  Fallow spoke in low tones. "I'm taking the helm in a moment. We're going to be doing some special maneuvers and I want to make sure they work themselves out flawlessly. I just wanted to say that I was on a frigate once, in the middle of a battle off the Sorbol coast. The frigate exploded under me and I found myself high in the air. Even surprised, I was able to take a big breath of air and hold it before I hit the water hard. Now, it may seem silly, an old sailor telling tales to a young officer like yourself, but you never know when such knowledge comes in handy, begging your pardon, Midshipwizard." With that, Fallow walked off to the quarterdeck and the helm.

  "Not a bit, Chief," Halcyon said to Fallow's back, watching him walk away. Blithe raised his voice a bit louder to make sure the chief heard. "You can tell me anything you feel I should know at any time, with my thanks."

  All of the midshipwizards were on the forecastle. Blithe noticed right away that topsails and topgallants appeared tied tight to the sticks. The ship could be cruising at only four knots at the most. Halcyon had started guessing speeds, as he had been spending time with the line and the timer in the last two days.

  "Mr. Blithe, if you please, stop your woolgathering and pay attention," First Officer Wily ordered, standing tall and proud in front of the group. "We have much to go over in this training session today. As I talk, all of you take off your duty boots, now."

  Everyone had the exact same questioning looks on their faces as they hunched down on the deck and shucked off their boots.

  "Mr. Boatson," Wily asked, "what is the force of the wind at this moment?"

  The midshipwizard had to stand up on one bare foot and one booted foot to look over the railing at the sea. "Force-four
, sir. To my mind it's been that way for almost a week, sir."

  "Correct, Mr. Boatson. Continue taking off your boots, if you please. How many of you consider yourselves swimmers?" Wily asked all of them. "Raise your hands for me, please."

  All of the assembled crew of midshipwizards raised their hands.

  "Excellent, some of you might be amazed at how many navy men can't swim," Wily said, smiling at them. "Now, how many of you would call yourselves excellent swimmers?"

  Only Blithe, Merand, and Swordson raised their hands in response to that question.

  "Mr. Blithe, please stand up and come to the railing with me. While he does that, Mr. Haywhen, I'm told by a certain irritated junior lieutenant that you have become uncommonly good at reciting the Articles of War. What is the eighteenth article, if you please?" Wily asked.

  " 'All robbery committed by any person in the fleet shall be punished with death, or otherwise, as a court-martial, upon consideration of the circumstances, shall find meet,' sir." Tupper recited the article without faltering once.

  "Getting wet, you are." That thought flew into Blithe's head. Halcyon knew it was the sea dragon trying to talk to him. Halcyon shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the dragon's intrusion. Having been berated for not paying attention, he didn't want the officer to admonish him again. "Later!" he thought back at the sea dragon.

  "Today, it's my duty to make sure all of you know what to do when a man goes overboard. There are several things you should keep in mind while in the water." Wily said this while pacing back and forth behind Blithe.

  The young midshipwizard was the only one of the midshipwizards standing and it made him self-conscious.

  Just then, the dragonship lurched and slowed down to a crawl as the dragon actually fought its sails and used its tail and flippers to slow down the ship even more. The midshipwizards were all startled. They'd never felt the dragon do such a thing and some of them had been serving on the Sanguine for years.

  "A swimmer must try to stay calm." Wily had a strange grin on his face as Blithe turned his head to watch his first officer. Wily continued, "A swimmer must try to conserve their energy and not become exhausted fighting the sea. To better stay afloat, a swimmer should shuck their shirt and pants after taking off their boots. However, as I've always said, there is nothing like a fine example to teach a class. Mr. Surehand, at my signal please shout as loud as you can the words 'man overboard.' "

  Wily then magically gestured, and with that wave of his hand Halcyon flew up off the deck and found himself hurled into the sea.

  Halcyon hit the ocean hard. Even in his surprise, he'd managed to fill his lungs with air thanks to Chief Fallow's words of caution. He went a few feet below the water but bobbed right up like a cork. The numbing cold saltwater closed in around him.

  Dart didn't wait for the officer to allow him to scream. He'd just seen his friend launched over the side. "Man overboard! Man overboard!" Dart leapt up to watch Hal strike the water.

  Halcyon sputtered his eyes and face clear of seawater, and started stroking hard for the ship, even though he knew he could never catch up to it. Then the words of the officer hit him. He should be conserving his energy, maybe even taking off the now heavy shirt that was dragging on his arms.

  Back at the ship, the rest of the class sat in shock at what just happened. "Mr. Argo, come to the railing and watch our Mr. Blithe as he tries to survive through this demonstration. It's vital that someone pay attention to where the swimmer fell off the boat until he is safe back on board. Note the swimmer's body in the water and feel free to constantly point in his direction to help others spot him." Wily spoke calmly as Argo rushed up to the railing.

  The first officer smiled at the rest of the midshipwizards. "Alvena, Jacom, Dart, Elan, you help the crew man the dinghy. Let's see how fast you can launch it. Go!"

  The four of them rushed to the forecastle where the crew was already working on the winches to take the dinghy over the side.

  "As you can see when someone, our Mr. Surehand in this case, shouts 'man overboard,' the crew is trained to do certain things. The crew at the forecastle has a standing order to launch the dinghy," Wily remarked. "The helmsman will begin tacking the ship in a figure-eight maneuver that is guaranteed to get the ship back somewhere in the general area of where the crewman fell overboard."

  In the water, Blithe rose and fell with the waves. He'd cast off his shirt, that made floating easier. At the crest of the waves, he would hurl the soaked mass into the air to help people spot him from the ship. Now his pants were starting to weigh him down. He was still in shock. He couldn't believe the first officer threw him overboard. Halcyon thought Wily liked him. If it wasn't for the warm sun beating down on his body, he didn't know how he would survive. He could feel his arms and legs going numb from the cold. It was still easy to keep his lungs full of air. He did shuck off his pants and was able to float even better. His mind filled with fear seeing the Sanguine turn away from his position.

  The dragon started roaring loudly in obvious distress. Blithe thought that distress might be because of him.

  Back at the ship, Wily continued the lesson. "So, we have a man in the water. He's at least a hundred yards away, what can we do?"

  "Dive in after him," suggested Andorvan.

  "Bad idea, that's sending more good men after one in danger. They might drown as well. Anyone else?" Wily asked.

  "Throw out a lifeline," suggested James.

  "Excellent thought, Mr. Grunseth," Wily said. "I would also suggest that the one who throws out that lifeline take the time to tie a loop at the rope's end. This gives the end more weight, allowing it to go farther in the toss." Officer Wily picked up part of a large coiled rope at the stern of the ship. He offered it to the midshipwizard. "Mr. Grunseth, if you please, since it was your idea. I myself would favor a bowline knot for the loop, but many others would use the reef knot. Next week remind me, all of you, and we'll review sailing knots. I promise not to tie anyone up." Wily smirked at his own jest. His watching officers-in-training were too nervous to laugh.

  Grunseth quickly put a large loop in the rope. As he worked, the officer continued to talk.

  "Those with no magic or ability to help the rope along should be tossing the rope underhand off the ship. That will take the line farther out to sea. There are some like Mr. Surehand, who I'm happy to see has managed to get the dinghy into the water in record time, who can use earth spells to throw the rope out even farther. Go ahead, Mr. Grunseth; toss the rope as far as you can."

  The midshipwizard was able to toss the thick line out past the sea dragon's tail. The line began uncoiling farther and farther out to sea.

  "All of you watch for Mr. Blithe. Mr. Argo, do you still see him?" Wily asked.

  Jason had moved along the railing to keep Halcyon in sight. He was at the stern of the ship as the warship tacked along the top half of its maneuver. The sound of the dragon's distress was thundering in its volume. The creature clearly didn't like one of its crew over the side.

  "Yes, sir. Halcyon's throwing up his shirt every once in a while. You can note his position easily from that." Argo never took his face away from the swimmer in the water.

  "What a clever fellow our Mr. Blithe is. That's a good idea as long as he has the strength for it," Wily commented.

  Captain Olden stood with his hands behind his back, scowling at Commander Wily and the midshipwizards from his quarterdeck. Naturally, Wily had consulted Olden about this lesson. The captain didn't like the thought of throwing one of his own overboard, but wanted to give Wily a free hand in the lesson as he agreed with some of the things it would teach the midshipwizards. It had been the captain's idea to shorten sail that morning. Olden was amazed at the reaction of the sea dragon. The creature seemed quite beside itself as it roared new tones the captain had never heard before. Hours before, the captain conferred with Chief Fallow about the special maneuvers the ship would have to go through to try and pick up the overboard crewman. The ca
ptain chided himself for not thinking of launching the jolly boat into the water hours before the exercise began.

  Blithe sputtered, catching a throatful of the sea. He was getting a bit tired and the cold was making him even more exhausted. He tried to think of a single spell that would help him at this moment. He knew only a few of them, but vowed that if he survived this exercise he would take the time to learn more water spells. There was a magical ring in his sea chest that would have allowed him to breathe under water; naturally, it was in his chest. He also vowed to learn some protective magics, never wanting to turn into a skipping stone for another wizard again. He hadn't liked being picked up by Wily's magic.

  Wily presented a calm demeanor to the nervous midshipwizards. "Now, we've thrown out the lifeline. We've launched the dinghy in record time. Can anyone tell me why we do both?"

  Midshipwizard Forrest raised his hand.

  "Mr. Forrest, tell us," Wily ordered.

  The young man gulped in nervousness as he faced his first officer. "The rope could fall off and the dinghy can still get the crewman. In addition, that rope might never reach the drowning man. We must use both the boat and the rope to increase the chance to save the sailor in the water," Mark answered.

  "Exactly right, Mr. Forrest, good work," replied Officer Wily. "Notice that our Mr. Blithe has taken off his pants. I see he's thrown those up in the air for us to see. The cold of the sea is hard on a body. It makes one weak. Spellcasting for a wizard is made doubly difficult because of the numbing of the hands. It's times like those where spells cast just with words come in handy. Be sure to ask Lieutenant Commander Giantson to teach you some useful spells cast with just words.