Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe

by James M. Ward

  "Sir, yes sir," Daton replied, and moved to his duty station at the other side of the wheel.

  Aft the quarterdeck

  The gallant captain stands

  Looking to windward

  With his glass in his hand

  What he is thinking of

  We know very well

  He's thinking more of shortening sail

  Than striking the bell.

  Strike the bell, second mate

  Let us go below

  Look away to windward

  You can see it's going to blow

  Look at the glass

  You can see that it is fell

  We wish that you would hurry up

  And strike, strike the bell

  As with most chanteys, when the song played itself out and the chanter gave his finishing yodel, the ship appeared rigged and ready for the worst weather. Only a short crew stayed on each deck to handle damage from the storm. The rest were below. By now, word had spread about what Blithe had done. The curious looks of before were changed to angry glances.

  Six men, three to a wheel, stood ready to steer the ship into the storm's waves.

  First Officer Wily said, "We're ready for the storm, Captain."

  Once again, stern Captain Olden faced Halcyon. "In your colossal ignorance, Mr. Blithe, you've put your ship and crew in deadly danger. If we survive this storm, a storm that you caused, you will face a court-martial. Release your hold on the weather and stand at your duty station. You will watch what your carelessness has done." The captain turned his back on Blithe.

  "Aye, aye, sir" was all Blithe could answer. He released his hold on the sky. The dark blue thread wrapping around his body and flowing into the sunny sky vanished. Halcyon couldn't help sighing in relief as a great pressure lifted from his chest and skull.

  Up until that moment, the choppy waves had a few white crests from the force-four winds Halcyon had purposely caused. With the releasing of the spell, the entire sea turned white with spume.

  "By the gods, we're dead men," came a cry of dread from the forecastle. It was the worst of storms, with force-twelve winds that showed the white sea.

  Griffon shouted, "Lieutenant, take down that man's name. We will have quiet in the ranks!"

  The sky directly above the ship erupted in black clouds. The dark mass swirled round and round, growing in size until it blotted out the sun and the dragonship found itself cast in darkness. Black, lightning-laced storm clouds filled the sky from horizon to horizon. Lightning and a sheet of rain crashed into the sea and the ship.

  "Storm lanterns lit," Wily shouted above the growing din, to all three decks. Large magical lanterns, brought up from below, now hung from the masts.

  The sea dragon roared, but in seconds the wind drowned out even the loud roars of the beast.

  Halcyon had never heard such a wind. It groaned in a mad circle around and then over the decks of the ship.

  The sea was thick in white spume.

  The wind tossed it everywhere.

  The deafening howl of the air smashed against ears in maddening buffets.

  From the choppy waves of minutes ago, the sea rose about the ship in walls of white, deadly water. Instead of the large ship of the line being master of the sea, it became a storm-tossed match-stick at the whim of every mountainous wave. The great size of the sea dragon became a detriment as it rose and fell among the titanic waves. The sea dragon's body bent cruelly from the wave action and the bruising force of tons of water smashing over its sides. Every time the dragonship moved between mammoth waves, the action of wind and water worked to bend the sea dragon, wreaking havoc along its body.

  The captain had the ship turn in to the waves. Only this way could the ship have a chance of surviving in the storm. The two weather sails helped the ship, but the sea dragon itself also swam strongly, meeting each wave head-on, often rising to the top of the mountainous wall of water.

  Over the roar of the wind, the ship's trumpet blared out orders to generate the talgon deck spell. The deck glowed the color of the moon as strategically placed wizards cast their magic to keep the water just off the deck, insuring the footing of the crew as they battled the storm. Magic couldn't stop the tons of water from smashing down time after time, but it could force the water to slide just inches off the deck, allowing the water to roll off the sides of the ship.

  The talgon spell was the first one Halcyon had learned at the academy. The brutal power of the waves still crashed over the ship, but, with magically enhanced footing, the crew stood a better chance of surviving on the storm-tossed decks.

  The miserable Halcyon stood on the deck clutching the lifeline, watching walls of white water smash down on them, battering mind and body. As a midshipwizard, he lent his magical strength to the lieutenants who controlled the talgon spell.

  "Don't belong here, don't belong here." The sea dragon's mental anguish blasted into Halcyon's mind.

  At first, he didn't have the slightest idea what the dragon meant. Then he realized the dragon wanted to be under the water in its natural element. It hated being in the storm-tossed sea. Blithe's guilt grew as he realized that his action caused pain to the dragon as well as his crew. What a fool he was. Gods, please don't take the Sanguine, take me but leave the ship and crew alone, he prayed to the dark heavens above.

  His only reply was more lightning and thunder from the angry sky.

  After the first hour, numbness set in for everyone. Huge ship-tall walls of water continued to pound down hard over the decks. Every man was thinking the same thing repeatedly: When will it end?

  Breathing became difficult as there was no relief from rain, spume, and waves beating and beating some more against the ship and crew.

  Halcyon was across the deck when his crew took up the shout "Loose tube, loose tube!" One of the blast-tubes on the port side tore loose from its bindings and rammed itself across the deck into another blast-tube on the starboard side. The tons of metal could break masts and crew in its deadly slashes as its weight created a path of destruction wherever the storm tossed it.

  Crewmen drew back, wanting at all costs to avoid being in the path of the hurtling weapon. Ignoring the danger, Halcyon lunged toward the deadly mass of metal. He mentally ordered the nearest coils of rope to grasp the blast-tube and hold it fast against the port railing. He didn't have a chance in the world of stopping the tube from its mad dash by himself, but his rope-speaking talent could do the work his body failed to do. Rope rose at his order, taking on a life of its own. The strands wrapped themselves around the onrushing tube. Attached to the railing, the ropes tugged with energy Halcyon gave them from his own inner reserves. The deadly motion of the tube stopped. In heartbeats the heavy artillery was fastened down and not going anywhere as coils of rope wrapped themselves round and round the piece.

  Lieutenant Solvalson shouted in Halcyon's ear over the roar of the storm, "Check the starboard blast-tube. The one this tube struck. You're a damned idiot, but that last bit was good work!"

  Halcyon went over to the blast-tube. He found its carriage smashed from the loose tube crashing into it. He and the mast crew were easily able to tie it down tighter, even with the action of the storm battering them hard. The ropes around the blast-tube seemed to want to hold the weapon down as the crew and Halcyon worked to make sure the tube was secure. As they labored, some of the crew shouted at him, but Blithe couldn't hear a word they were saying over the roar of the wind.

  In the third hour of the storm, half of the leather hatch cover ripped up and bent double on itself. Waves of water flooded down into the ship in the minute it took to refasten the cover. The hatch was tall and above the protective action of the deck spell. As the crew worked to restore the hatch, the lieutenant bent toward Blithe.

  Solvalson shouted, "Get to the orlop deck, and check the dragon's heart and liver for sea damage. Hurry, man!"

  Blithe moved as fast as he could, but he was bone-tired from the beating of the waves. Closing the quarterdec
k hatch behind him was a relief as he went belowdecks. At least he could breathe easier out of the storm.

  The heart of the dragon was one of the two uncovered organs kept exposed on the back of the beast. It and the liver were the reasons the dragon wouldn't submerge itself. If any quantity of seawater covered those organs, the sea dragon would submerge itself under the water, destroying the ship and killing the crew. Halcyon was glad to see no water on the lower deck by the men manning the pumps. Their action was keeping the water away from the orlop deck. Special vents in each of the upper and middle blast-tube decks took any water that fell there to the starboard and port walls. The pumps would then take the water out of the ship and over the side.

  Blithe raced to the heart chamber. Men clustered around the stairs of the orlop waiting for word on the storm. Halcyon ignored them. Moving to the center of the orlop deck, he found the heart-chamber hatch open.

  The light of the chamber streamed out into the darkened hold. Magical lights constantly lit the heart chamber as a safety precaution. As he entered, Blithe thought it odd to find the hatch unlocked. There were two ways into the heart chamber and the keys to both hatches hung by their locks. Throwing open the hatch, he saw someone's back as the crew member left through the other hatch, but he could see only the officer's rain slicker and couldn't tell who it was.

  "Hold up there, what are you doing down here?" Halcyon asked, but the other hatch closed before the person could answer.

  The heart chamber was roomy, with ten feet around the huge beating heart. Halcyon hadn't been in this chamber very much. The blood-pumping organ of the dragon pulsed in the middle of the room. Thick, ropy red veins covered the organ and special steel clamps prevented the dragon's outer flesh from growing over the heart, as it normally would have in the wild.

  Halcyon stood scanning the chamber, relieved to see no water on the deck.

  The organ itself was ten feet tall. Magic from the ship's doctor caused the heart to enlarge to many times its normal size. When a sea dragon became a ship of the line, growth spells cast over the heart dramatically increased its size. As the creature grew older, the heart had to pump blood through the walls of the ship. Forcing the heart to a larger size allowed the dragon to maintain its health even with the increased flow through walls of flesh it didn't have to handle in its wild state.

  As Halcyon watched the heart pump away, an odd odor that didn't belong in the chamber caused him to inspect the heart. Walking around the organ, he was shocked to see that someone had covered one side of the lower portion of the organ in blast gel.

  The heart beat faster, as the dragon struggled to survive in the storm. The sea creature's organ grew hotter. Once it got hot enough—and Halcyon suspected that time would be soon—the gel would ignite, destroying the heart and killing the dragon.

  Halcyon knelt by the heart. From his academy training with the gel, he knew he couldn't just scrape it off. Any forceful touch on the gel caused it to ignite.

  The waves of heat from the heart muscle working hard told him the gel could explode at any time. If he didn't do something, and soon, the dragon and every man and woman aboard the ship would be dead.

  Halcyon did the only thing he knew to prevent the gel from blowing up. He mentally said the opening word to his sea chest and summoned the crystal vial hidden in the chest. The vial appeared in his hand. The memory of the words of his dear mother explained the vial's use.

  "Halcyon, keep this vial safe." She handed him the oddest vial he'd ever seen, green and glowing. It was a tiny thing in the palm of his hand—pixie work, he was sure. "These vials are gifts to our family from the pixies of the Tanar forest. Once, long ago, our ancestors did them a favor. The pixies have always rewarded us by giving each child a wishing potion. It's become a Blithe tradition, as new members join the navy, for a vial to appear for them, a gift of the grateful pixies. The magic of this vial is high magic, son, and very powerful. Think carefully on what your need is as you smash the vial. Whatever you wish for happens instantly, but you will pay a magic cost from your inner reserves of strength. Don't use it unless you have to and keep the wish simple. The magic in the vial works only once. At the academy, spend time reading about the nature of wishes. You can't alter what's already happened, but often you can fix recent past actions with an intelligent wish."

  The ship rocked sideways in the storm, and if anything, the heart began to beat even faster.

  Holding the tiny crystal in his hand, he thought about his options. Could he run to fetch Olden or Giantson before the heart exploded? No. Exhausted, could he use some type of air or water spell to rid the dragon's heart of this damage? No. He thought about Article III then, saying it out loud, going over the meaning of the words. "His Majesty's Articles of War, Article III states that the use of high magic is expressly forbidden on any of His Majesty's ships. 'If any officer, mariner, or soldier or other aforesaid uses high magic on board His Majesty's ship, every such person so offending, and being convicted thereof by the sentence of the court-martial, shall be punished with death, or such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offense shall deserve and the court-martial shall impose.' "

  He knew that his weather spell and its damage to ship and crew was more than enough to get him hanged. He wasn't about to allow the Sanguine to die at the hands of a saboteur. Halcyon thought about the wish. He didn't even want to try to wish away the gel; that might cause it to explode. He also wanted to keep the wish as simple as possible.

  Raising the vial above his head, he smashed it down on the back of the dragon. He focused on the blast gel, wishing for healing coolness and the ship to be safe. The crystal shattered, and a sparkling mist bent to Halcyon's will and wrapped itself around the lower portion of the heart. Some of the mist left the chamber. The emerald mist became thicker and thicker as the midshipwizard's reserve of magical energy flowed from his body and bent itself into the magic of the wishing potion.

  Darkness filled the exhausted Halcyon. He fell to the deck unconscious, not knowing what his wish had done.

  his majesty's articles of war: article xiv

  If any person in the fleet shall quarrel or fight with any other person in the fleet, o use reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures, tending to make any quarrel or disturbance, he shall, upon being convicted thereof, suffer such punishment as the offense shall deserve and a court-martial shall impose.

  "He's not going to like waking up in the brig, I can tell you that for sure," Tupper said, standing over his sleeping bunkmate.

  "It really doesn't matter what he likes or dislikes," replied Jock Woodson. "The scuttlebutt says he used high magic during the storm. Everyone knows if you break the Articles, you go in the brig."

  "Shush, you'll wake him," Tupper whispered.

  "The surgeon said he's in a deep sleep, that's common after using high magic. Blast-tubes going off in here couldn't wake him up," Woodson told his friend.

  "Marine! Why is that brig hatch open?" barked Commander Wily, who'd come along the corridor and now stood outside Blithe's cell.

  "Sir, two of the prisoner's friends are in there looking after him," replied the marine.

  "Marine, this isn't a drinking hall, it's the brig! You two in there, come out here front and center, now!" ordered Wily.

  The two midshipwizards rushed out of the brig cell and stood at attention in front of the very irritated first officer.

  "What were you two doing in there?" Wily asked.

  "Sir, we didn't mean any harm." Woodson quivered in front of the obviously angry first officer.

  "We only wanted to see how our friend was doing," Tupper replied.

  "Midshipwizard Blithe is in the brig for a purpose. This is not a social time for him," Wily stormed at the two youths. "You both get to your duty stations or berths, whichever is appropriate. I'll have no more friends in this brig. Carry on."

  The two hastily left down the corridor of the orlop deck. Wily glared at the marine.

  For his part, th
e trooper stood stiffly at attention.

  "Marine, after this shift, you will place yourself on report. You will explain to your superior officer why you allowed friends of the prisoner into his cell." Wily entered the cell, speaking back to the marine. "I'm entering the cell now. You will close the hatch behind me and lock it. When I'm through here, you will open the hatch, let me out, and lock it again. Only superior officers are allowed in this cell. Is that clear to you, Marine?"

  "Sir, yes sir!" the marine replied in his best military manner.

  "Get back to your post," Wily ordered.

  The marine closed the cell hatch and locked it. He then stood at attention by the hatch, not wanting to go down the corridor to the duty station and miss Wily calling out to open the cell.

  For the next twenty minutes, the marine thought he heard Wily mumbling something in the prisoner's cell. If they were words of encouragement or orders to get up, the words were too faint for him to hear. At one point, he smelled burnt flesh, but there were all sorts of smells wafting through the orlop-deck corridors from the galley on the next deck. Cookie was probably burning the salt pork again.

  Eventually, Wily came to the hatch and ordered it open.

  The marine watched the first officer's back as he went away. The marine's only thoughts were of thanking the gods he hadn't been ordered to stand to the mast for a taste of the cat.

  In the next three hours, other midshipwizards came to see their friend, but the marine refused to let them in to see the sleeping form of Mr. Blithe; orders were orders, after all.

  Darkness.

  Halcyon woke to blackness all around. As he looked up from his resting place, all he could see was a darkness blacker than anything he'd experienced before.