Ruin & Reliance

by Jeremy Dwyer

Under the cover of bent light, Aislinn screamed "Let me go! Please! Where is God?"

  "In the Holy Name of God, I demand that you take your hands off that young woman!" Duchess Keeva said.

  "God protects the virtue of His Children," Duke Kenrick said.

  ~~~

  "Who is God? What can He do to stop me? I take what I like. You should be glad I like you. Pretty girls do well on my ship, as long as they're friendly. This old captain isn't so old, you'll soon find out. And after some jolly times, you'll have plenty of fun sailing the seas, drinking and holding my hand," Captain Morten said.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of bent light, Aislinn started crying.

  "I command you, in the Holy Name of God, to let her go!" Duke Kenrick said.

  ~~~

  "You shut up, old man! You don't command Captain Morten! You and your God are nothing to me! I'll kill all of you! Me and my men are in charge! We'll take the pretties and have all the fun we like!" Captain Morten said.

  ~~~

  Tiago stood under the cover of darkness. When he heard Saskia's voice telepathically command: "Tiago! Strike now!" the twenty-seven (27) year old man plunged his dagger into Captain Morten's jugular vein. Next to the old pirate, the eight (8) henchmen fell swiftly, some by broken necks and others by seared skin caused by burning hot lights.

  "The rest of the pirates are dead already. Tiago, ease up on the darkness," Captain Fernao said.

  Tiago eased his powers of darkness so that he and the rest of the crew appeared.

  “I got seven (7) of them,” Zeferino said. The twenty-nine (29) year old man’s hands were stained with blood.

  ~~~

  Under the cover of bent light, Aislinn felt relief that the grip on her chest was released and the pirate captain and his henchmen were dead. "Who are you? What happened?" she asked.

  ~~~

  "We're just here to help. You're safe. And we see you, so you don't need the light bending thing anymore," Captain Fernao said.

  Aislinn eased her powers of bending light so that she, Duke Kenrick, Duchess Keeva and the two hundred sixty-eight (268) farmers all reappeared.

  "God works in surprising ways. He sent you to help us in our moment of need," Duke Kenrick said.

  "Who are you?" Duchess Keeva asked.

  "I'm Captain Fernao, a light scout. This is Tiago, our dark scout. That's Zeferino, he's a swordfighter. Bartel is a crystal bender. Saskia's our telepath. Margaux handles the wildlife. And that's Aletta. She takes care of the spooks. Our navigator is Rafael. He's back on the ship," the thirty-six (36) year old captain said.

  "You said the other pirates were all dead,” Aislinn said.

  “Yeah. We sank their ship and they’re all dead,” Captain Fernao said.

  “And their spirits are descending, just like they should,” Aletta said. The thirty-seven (37) year old woman watched the spirit world for any sign that the dead pirates’ souls had been saved, but they were plunged into the darkness.

  “God will be the judge of them,” Duke Kenrick said.

  “He can forgive or exact vengeance. We must all defer to His Justice and His Mercy,” Duchess Keeva said.

  “Pirates don’t deserve mercy. Not from us, anyway,” Captain Fernao said.

  “We only noticed their arrival too late. We didn't notice yours at all," Aislinn said.

  "The pirates didn't notice, either. That's the way we like it. And you might want some purer Lujladia water and a little more practice at the light bending trick if you want to keep out of sight of pirates," Captain Fernao said.

  Bartel knelt down by the corpse of Captain Morten and pulled a diamond from its hand. He drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial and was energized with the power to manipulate crystal and stone. The thirty-eight (38) year old man then examined the low-level structure and said: "This is a light ray normalizer. That's why Morten saw through the light bending.”

  "Thank God you came when you did," Duke Kenrick said.

  "I'd like to repay you," Duchess Keeva said.

  "Don't worry about it. We can't stick around. There are plenty more pirates out there. The Provincial Isles are a favorite target of theirs, so we have to keep hunting them down," Captain Fernao said.

  "I'd like to kiss you," Aislinn said. Rather than waiting for approval, she kissed Captain Fernao on the cheek.

  "I really wish I could stay, but we do have to be going and prevent more problems," Captain Fernao said.

  "We still have a problem. Those cargo ships and the frigate that guarded them were from the central bank. They were expecting supplies of cash crops from us in return for the citrines they delivered," Duke Kenrick said.

  "I know. I read your thoughts as we approached," Saskia said. The forty-six (46) year old woman continued probing the thoughts of the rescued people. However, she didn’t need telepathy to realize that Aislinn had a fast crush on Captain Fernao. Saskia’s telepathy did reveal that Fernao didn’t feel anything toward the young woman, if only because he was completely devoted to ridding the oceans of all pirates. She probed his mind often, hoping to catch him thinking of her, but there was nothing.

  "Our first job is to hunt down and kill pirates. Let's go," Captain Fernao said.

  ~~~

  Captain Fernao walked out to the docks and along the pier, followed by his crew.

  As they passed by, heading toward their ship, the five hundred twelve (512) crates stacked on the piers ruptured before them. The yellow citrines within spilled out.

  Margaux drank anew of the waters of the Gradaken Ocean from her vial to be energized with the power to control plants and animals. The twenty-nine (29) year old woman examined the crates and said: "The wood is pine, and there's no rotting. This shouldn't have happened. It's like the crates were overstuffed."

  Bartel began examining the spilled crystals and said: "These aren't regular citrines. There's something odd about them."

  Captain Fernao drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial and was energized with the power of light. He bent the ambient light into the crevices of the crates and around the spilled citrines, counting them precisely. After several minutes, he said: "there are three million one hundred ninety five thousand two (3195002) citrines. The manifests in the crates indicate there should be two million nine hundred eighty-five thousand nine hundred eighty-four (2985984) crystals."

  "The citrines fractured and split. Their quality is low. These shipments are from the central bank. They're very precise when it comes to coins, precious gems, food crops, interest rates and everything else they deal in. There's no way a shipping error that large would occur accidentally," Bartel said.

  "Which means it's probably fraud. Somebody falsified something along the way. We need to know who, and stop it," Captain Fernao said.

  "But we've got pirates to hunt," Tiago said.

  "We do. This is just a different kind of pirate: the kind that tampers with cargo and knows how to rip people off. These gems are knockoffs: they're cheap and there's too many of them. That's going to cause somebody a problem. It's a way for a crook to cover up their crimes somewhere else," Captain Fernao said.

  "I agree. Anybody that receives fake or cheap gems, or has supply problems of any kind, is going to get suspicious. Accusations will be made, and the cargo captains will be blamed, when someone else is responsible for the fraud," Bartel said.

  "The manifests inside the crates claim that these gems came from the Scholar's Path, in the Port of Hithagredil. We need to go there and ask a few questions of the central bank officers there," Captain Fernao said.

  "And make sure that they're telling the truth," Saskia said.

  "Let's get to the Blazing Payback and set our course," Captain Fernao said. He led the way and his crew followed him as he walked along the pier and up the boarding ramp of the ship.

  Once they were all on board the Blazing Payback – a one hundred ninety (190) foot long frigate with four (4) double-masted, pivoting sails – Captain
Fernao approached Bartel and asked: “Bartel, are the twister crystals from the pirate ship any good?”

  “I’ll have to take a closer look at them,” Bartel said.

  “Please do. We could use them as spares,” Captain Fernao said. He then walked directly to the wheelhouse where his navigator was waiting.

  "Rafael, chart a course for the Port of Hithagredil, in the Scholar's Path," Captain Fernao said.

  Rafael drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized with the power to listen to the sounds of the stars. The thirty (30) year old man concentrated to learn their paths and positions and used the information to chart a course. Rafael pulled levers to retract the boarding ramp and raise the anchor. He then steered the Blazing Payback eastward across the Gradaken Ocean, navigating around the many islands.

  ~~~

  The spirits of Captain Morten and his seventy-three (73) pirates descended into a place of darkness, pain and confusion.

  “What is this place?” the spirit of Captain Morten asked.

  “This is the Maelstrom of Vengeance, where your cruelty shall be repaid and your souls shall be plundered,” a deep and terrifying voice said.

  “Who are you?” the spirit of Captain Morten asked.

  “I am Gadamalto, the Master of Spirits in this domain. Each of you lived as pirates, bringing pain, death and shame to distant shores. Here, you will all suffer endless pain, experience eternal death and feel the shame of your own meaningless existences,” the deep and terrifying voice said. Gadamalto then tormented the spirits of Captain Morten and his crew without end and without mercy.

  CHAPTER 39: Gathering of Ingredients and Threats

  “Our anger is growing! Fear our power! Release our spirit kin!” the swarm of spirits said.

  “Your songs are powerfully destructive, Erikkos. Please sing one to tear down this wall, quickly. With each passing moment, we are more in danger from these spirits,” Kastor said.

  Erikkos drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial to be energized with the powers of music and sound. He began to form a melody, then made changes to it, but did not sing, because he was not certain of how to achieve the precise effect he needed. He could perform any song, but he needed to first compose the proper song to shatter the cylindrical crystal structure around them without also shredding himself and Kastor with the fragments. Even if Kastor’s powers to slow time could offer some protection, that wasn’t enough of a guarantee. He continued searching for a melody, but knew that it would take time. He decided to stall the spirit swarm with questions. “Under the authority of the Oath, they should answer the Chronicler’s questions,” Erikkos said.

  “I can speak for myself,” Judith said. She took hold of her scope and examined the sapphire that Kastor still held in his hand.

  “Do not play games, Erikkos. We will lose against their power,” Kastor said.

  “Listen to your friend! Sing a powerful song to break these walls and release our kindred spirits as well as yourselves. Then, we can go our separate ways without a dangerous battle,” the swarm of spirits said.

  “Erikkos! Please!” Kastor said.

  “We’re waiting for answers,” Erikkos said.

  “Who are you? Why do you care for these other spirits? What is the connection between you and them? Remember, I have time to wait. What are your answers?” Judith asked.

  “We sailed the seas together in the first age,” the swarm of spirits said.

  “There must be more to the story than that,” Judith said.

  “You are too curious, and we are growing angrier,” the swarm of spirits said.

  Judith turned to the next page in her book and prepared to write more. “I’m here to observe and to record the truth, not to run in fear from an opportunity to learn,” she said.

  “I admire the Chronicler who speaks like a true explorer. Kastor, you should be at least as curious,” Erikkos said.

  “This will not work, Erikkos. She is safe from the wrath of these spirits. We are not,” Kastor said.

  “You said you want us to free these kindred spirits. Do you plan to sail the seas with them again? Why were you even here?” Judith asked.

  “We ruled this region and the surrounding seas. We collected taxes and divided the land among the farmers and miners. We decided the waterbindings the people took and kept the peace here while King Xander brought the rest of the world to slavery and war in search of the mythical unified ocean waters,” the swarm of spirits said.

  “You believe the unified waters are myth?” Judith asked.

  “We sent powerful and clever explorers around the world, looking for them. For twenty-seven (27) years they sailed the seas, hiked the mountains and valleys and trekked through the swamps, searching for these supposed all-powerful waters, yet nothing was found,” the swarm of spirits said.

  “You sent them? You must be a figure of authority. Who are you?” Judith asked.

  “I am King Stathis and these other spirits, including those trapped in the walls of this crystal structure, are my vassals. I drank the waters of the Atrejan Ocean and thereby learned the paths and the positions of the stars – all of them, including the giant violet and grand indigo suns, along with the noble emerald green and bright orange merchant stars – before they were made to vanish. I used my knowledge of the sky to map the land and the sea and then deployed the explorers across the world to find the unified waters,” the spirit of King Stathis said, in a calmer tone of voice, different from that of the spirit swarm.

  Judith wrote all of this into her book.

  “I’ve never heard of you, King Stathis. You left no monument by which to remember your authority or your prosperity,” Erikkos said.

  “The world forgets the truth all too easily, because it is too difficult for them. They resist the hard work necessary to maintain the truth,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “What truth is this?” Judith asked.

  “When King Xander terrorized most of the world of the first age, the people in my kingdom prayed to God for peace and safety. I taught them to reject these myths and choose logic. They needed to do the hard work of designing and building a better world – defensive walls, fortresses and castles, fleets of warships – without depending on the false hopes and empty promises of a deity coming to rescue them. Religion held them hostage. Reason set them free,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “You deny God?” Judith asked.

  “Of course! Religion locks a mind into following a path of ignorance. Reason must be applied to gain true knowledge and overcome superstition. Yet, reason requires great effort and personal responsibility,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “You are dead. Yet, your spirits were lingering here, even before these crystal walls were built,” Judith said.

  “Our spirits are confined to this land we once ruled, unable to roam beyond its boundaries,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “You have life beyond the grave. Yet, reason was not able to set your spirits free,” Judith said.

  “No, it was not,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “Then reason has failed you. Turn to God and pray for freedom,” Judith said. She recorded all of this conversation into her book.

  “You are a fool to believe such things, Chronicler. So long as this crystal wall stands, you are trapped here with us,” Kastor said.

  “We will escape before long,” Erikkos said.

  “Without any help from God,” Kastor said.

  “We will not surrender to the Will of God or any other being,” the spirit of King Stathis said.

  “I will,” Judith said. She knelt down onto the swampy ground and said: “I pray to Thee, One True God, to guide me in my search for truth, in fulfillment of my sworn Oath, in service to Your Will.” Then, she stood up.

  “As you clearly don’t drink the Zovvin waters to be able to influence or command the spirits, that isn’t going to work,” Erikkos said.

 
“But your songs will, Erikkos. You’ve asked your questions. Why do you keep delaying your music?” Kastor asked.

  “Because I want more answers,” Erikkos said.

  “That sapphire you are holding activated the constructor,” Judith said.

  “Yes, it did,” Kastor said.

  Judith again used her scope to examine the sapphire that Kastor held. She then looked through the scope and reversed its direction, so that the sapphire looked smaller. She unfastened the smaller lens from the scope and said: “Let me hold the sapphire.”

  “What are you doing?” Kastor asked.

  “You have something interesting in mind,” Erikkos said.

  “I pay attention to the structure of everything I see, and I look closely to learn more. That is the Oath I took,” Judith said.

  “Give her the sapphire,” Erikkos said.

  “This is a waste of our time. Are you unable to use a song, Erikkos? Are you delaying because you don’t have the power to break these crystal walls?” Kastor asked.

  “I do have the power. I have more than enough, in fact. I would prefer that the crystal fragments not shatter around us. We’re on the inside. I have to be extra careful when composing the melody, so I’m not going to rush into anything,” Erikkos said.

  Judith held out her hand and said: “Give me the sapphire, please.”

  “I’m curious as to what she has in mind. Let her have it,” Erikkos said.

  “Very well,” Kastor said and he gave the sapphire to Judith.

  Judith placed the sapphire inside of her scope, replaced the smaller lens and held the scope up above her head. A thin beam of blue light emanated from within it, projecting toward the sapphires atop each of the thirty-nine (39) constructor pillars. Those sapphires turned blue and emitted beams of blue light toward those atop the other pillars, forming all seven hundred two (702) geometric diagonals. The beams began to rotate and then the cylindrical crystal structures – both the inner and the outer walls – began to dissolve into mist. Those mists condensed and fell to the swampy ground below.

  The swarm of spirits grew larger as more spirits escaped from the disassembled crystal cylindrical structures and joined with them.