[ The Omen was utterly unlike any structure that Annaliese had seen before in her life. She was no stranger to ships – when she was younger and more fragile, her condition had occasionally been dire enough to necessitate trips across the ocean to healers and alchemists on far-off shores who could aid in the healing of her lungs or at least ease her pain for a time. The trips had tapered off as she'd grown older and more aware of her own limits, but she still had fond memories of the warm, comfortable cabin and the bright, organized cheer of the ship.
The Omen, by contrast, was a dark and dingy thing. Even the wood that gave it shape had been stained black by countless trips across the ocean and the rigging above their heads was a jungle of criss-crossing ropes, chains and cloths. It creaked and moaned at night as though the sea pained it and no matter where she was on the ship, something was damp and musty. Curiously, though, she felt oddly reassured by the ship's condition – rather than being fresh-faced and untested it bore the scars of every battle it had waged against the tides and won. She could only ask it to tread her kindly on her own voyage, and perhaps to imbue some of that toughness on her, too.
It was a week and some days into her passage aboard the ship that something changed. She awoke one night from an unusually fitful sleep to a cacophony of noise around her – shouting and chattering amongst the crew, the wind and waves raging outside and the Omen howling and moaning from deep within like a wild beast struck a mortal wound. Though she knew it was wiser to stay below deck, alarm – and, if she was honest with herself, morbid curiosity – drove her from her room and up top, to try and see just what was causing such a commotion. The Omen had plunged through a storm like this before, but nothing that had caused them such trouble, nothing that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise quite like this. ]
Captain– [ She was barely out on deck for more than a moment before ending up soaked. Rain lashed down in a solid sheet that drenched her to the bone and had her hair plastered to her face. She had to shout to be heard above the commotion, even to herself. ] What's happening? Surely a storm like this–
"It's no storm." [ The gruff captain of the Omen wasn't quite as old as he looked – a life on the ocean had prematurely salt-and-peppered his hair and wizened his face. When he laughed or smiled, which was often, there was a disarming boyishness to him that was absent now, replaced by the cold control of a man forged at sea. ] "The ship wouldn't howl that way for a bit of wind. There's a beast out there."
[ A beast. She thought for a moment he was speaking colourfully, but when he took his eyes away from the horizon for a moment to glance at her, Annaliese understood that he meant the words entirely literally. Something was here – some manner of beast or demon – and it was tormenting the ship to whatever end. Perhaps their own.
Annaliese let out a heavy breath that came out in a cloud of white. She wracked her mind for something, anything that she could do but any spell she could pull out of herself quick enough to help was too weak and small to do anything to keep the ship steady. And even if she could, if it came down to her against something powerful enough to toss the Omen around like a child's plaything... she knew how that sort of a matchup would end.
And yet – she couldn't not try.
Unconsciously, simply seeking something to anchor herself amidst the rolling waves, Annaliese clutched the engagement ring dangling from the chain at her neck. She had no right or desire to wear it on her finger anymore but the icy metal was grounding as it bit into her palm. She had come too far and thrown away far too much to end up drowned at sea for what? The fickle whims of some cruel sea beast?
Like a harpist reaching across strings, she closed her eyes and tried to feel her way across the rolling waters, to find some loose thread that she could latch onto or pull. There had to be something – with all their lives on the line, Annaliese couldn't let herself believe there was nothing. ]
[ For the first time in her life, Annaliese understands what it feels like to fly.
Her feet remain as firmly fixed to the ground as any mortals but in spirit, she's become as free as a bird. The foreign shore the Omen had deposited her on was strange and new to her, hot and humid in all the ways Astrild had been cold and dry. Though rain had poured and wind had battered her, she hadn't gotten sick and though her stamina didn't stretch as far as she suspected it should for a woman her age, she nevertheless felt stronger than she ever had before.
So this was what it felt like to have the devil's own luck.
They've travelled and seen so many new things, she and this companion of hers. She had expected this to be a solitary journey but she's finding that having someone to share all her new discoveries with has been an unexpected and wonderful delight. One of those discoveries is the town they've stumbled into – Annaliese doesn't know its name, if it has one, only that it's a charming little settlement on the main road and that as the sun had begun to sink, the buildings had lit up with torches and magic and music and festivities had filled the streets. She doesn't know if this is a nightly occurrence or if they've stumbled across some sort of celebration but either way, she's delighted. ]
Shall we stay until the morning? [ She says it with a gleam in her eye that makes it clear she already knows what the answer might be. ] Who knows when we next might come across such a lively gathering on our travels.
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The Omen, by contrast, was a dark and dingy thing. Even the wood that gave it shape had been stained black by countless trips across the ocean and the rigging above their heads was a jungle of criss-crossing ropes, chains and cloths. It creaked and moaned at night as though the sea pained it and no matter where she was on the ship, something was damp and musty. Curiously, though, she felt oddly reassured by the ship's condition – rather than being fresh-faced and untested it bore the scars of every battle it had waged against the tides and won. She could only ask it to tread her kindly on her own voyage, and perhaps to imbue some of that toughness on her, too.
It was a week and some days into her passage aboard the ship that something changed. She awoke one night from an unusually fitful sleep to a cacophony of noise around her – shouting and chattering amongst the crew, the wind and waves raging outside and the Omen howling and moaning from deep within like a wild beast struck a mortal wound. Though she knew it was wiser to stay below deck, alarm – and, if she was honest with herself, morbid curiosity – drove her from her room and up top, to try and see just what was causing such a commotion. The Omen had plunged through a storm like this before, but nothing that had caused them such trouble, nothing that made the hairs on the back of her neck raise quite like this. ]
Captain– [ She was barely out on deck for more than a moment before ending up soaked. Rain lashed down in a solid sheet that drenched her to the bone and had her hair plastered to her face. She had to shout to be heard above the commotion, even to herself. ] What's happening? Surely a storm like this–
"It's no storm." [ The gruff captain of the Omen wasn't quite as old as he looked – a life on the ocean had prematurely salt-and-peppered his hair and wizened his face. When he laughed or smiled, which was often, there was a disarming boyishness to him that was absent now, replaced by the cold control of a man forged at sea. ] "The ship wouldn't howl that way for a bit of wind. There's a beast out there."
[ A beast. She thought for a moment he was speaking colourfully, but when he took his eyes away from the horizon for a moment to glance at her, Annaliese understood that he meant the words entirely literally. Something was here – some manner of beast or demon – and it was tormenting the ship to whatever end. Perhaps their own.
Annaliese let out a heavy breath that came out in a cloud of white. She wracked her mind for something, anything that she could do but any spell she could pull out of herself quick enough to help was too weak and small to do anything to keep the ship steady. And even if she could, if it came down to her against something powerful enough to toss the Omen around like a child's plaything... she knew how that sort of a matchup would end.
And yet – she couldn't not try.
Unconsciously, simply seeking something to anchor herself amidst the rolling waves, Annaliese clutched the engagement ring dangling from the chain at her neck. She had no right or desire to wear it on her finger anymore but the icy metal was grounding as it bit into her palm. She had come too far and thrown away far too much to end up drowned at sea for what? The fickle whims of some cruel sea beast?
Like a harpist reaching across strings, she closed her eyes and tried to feel her way across the rolling waters, to find some loose thread that she could latch onto or pull. There had to be something – with all their lives on the line, Annaliese couldn't let herself believe there was nothing. ]
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Her feet remain as firmly fixed to the ground as any mortals but in spirit, she's become as free as a bird. The foreign shore the Omen had deposited her on was strange and new to her, hot and humid in all the ways Astrild had been cold and dry. Though rain had poured and wind had battered her, she hadn't gotten sick and though her stamina didn't stretch as far as she suspected it should for a woman her age, she nevertheless felt stronger than she ever had before.
So this was what it felt like to have the devil's own luck.
They've travelled and seen so many new things, she and this companion of hers. She had expected this to be a solitary journey but she's finding that having someone to share all her new discoveries with has been an unexpected and wonderful delight. One of those discoveries is the town they've stumbled into – Annaliese doesn't know its name, if it has one, only that it's a charming little settlement on the main road and that as the sun had begun to sink, the buildings had lit up with torches and magic and music and festivities had filled the streets. She doesn't know if this is a nightly occurrence or if they've stumbled across some sort of celebration but either way, she's delighted. ]
Shall we stay until the morning? [ She says it with a gleam in her eye that makes it clear she already knows what the answer might be. ] Who knows when we next might come across such a lively gathering on our travels.