Unknown Island in the Gloomy Sea

Unknown Sol of Araḫ Šabaṭu. 419 EM

Off in the distance the sky begins to darken. A chill can be felt in the air as the winds begin to rise. The tides begin to shift as a woman rises from the shallow waters. She looks around confused as she tries to regain her bearings. The once glistening sands beneath her hands begin to darken as the light fades. She reaches to her face and wipes away the blood that has begun to run down the cheek. Her titian uniform is torn and soaked from the sea water. To her right she hears someone walk through the shallow waters. She rises to meet the unknown person who approaches her. Her hands fall on an empty scabbard, they dart to a knife at the back of her waist. She draws it without hesitation.

“I was sure no one could have survived the storm. It seems that you are no ordinary woman.” The approaching woman says. Her tan skin still glistens in the fading light. Her beauty is a commanding presence yet her eyes are calm. Her beige kaftan dances across the sand as she grows closer. “What is your name child?”. She continues with a smile. The trees up the beach begin to dance as the winds pass through.

The woman straightened herself before speaking. “I am Katrín of the Van Kan Family, Daughter of Klaas, Head of the Sea''. She holds the woman's gaze and stands tall. The blood from her head burns her eye as it falls down her face but she does not look away. Her presence is commanding but pales in comparison to the tanned women. 

The other woman laughs and smiles as she walks over to Katrín. “Ah the daughter of the so-called serpent. I have heard many tales of your father. Yet I know of many to be false.” She says as she offers Katrín a piece of cloth to wipe away the blood. Katrín takes the cloth with her free hand as her blade stays ready as the woman steps away and kneels in the tides. She wets the cloth and presses against the gash on her head. “Your father is an excellent sailor, yet to call himself a serpent is something I can not allow. For the serpents of these waters would swallow him whole with little thought”. She smiles as she speaks while playing in the water at her feet. 

Katrín can feel her blood boil as the anger begins to fill her heart. “What do you know, you're nothing more than a little girl playing in the sands”. She binds her head with the cloth and begins to walk away. She searches the horizon looking for any ships in passing.

“I know that your brother sent you here with no more than three ships. The only daughter of a powerful family and yet you are cast aside because of your mothers blood”. She says as she rises to face Katrín. Her smile has vanished and Katrín can feel a different presence from her. “You are a girl lost in herself. You struggle to decide who you are. You have your fathers mind but your mothers heart. The same heart that broke as you were taken from her''. Fear begins to wash over Katrín as the young girl before her is not the same from the moment before. Her calm eyes now match the turbulent seas that swell around them. 

“Who are you?”. Katrín demands as the winds rise and the waves crashing at her feet become larger and larger. She retreats further up the shore, never turning her back to the woman. 

“I am Mari, the Goddess of the Sea”. A smile returns to her face and the winds and waves die down. She turns away from Katrín and plays with her auburn hair. “Forgive me my child, for I find it hard to control my emotions sometimes”. 

Katrín is stunned for a moment before she drops to her knees before Mari. “Forgive me my goddess, I did not know that I was in your presence”. 

“Fear not my child, for I am here because of you, so you have nothing to fear”. Mari's smile grows bigger as Katrín bows before her. She walks over to her and helps her stand but Katrín does not meet her eyes as they stay fixed on the sands. 

“ I don't understand, why are you here for me? And why do you show yourself to me at all?”. Katrín’s eyes finally rise to meet Mari. To her surprise her eyes fill with tears and she gazes into Mari’s eyes. The blue of her eyes move with the waves behind her and bring a sense of calm to her. She drops to her knees once again and cries. The realization washes over her as parts of her ship have begun to wash ashore. 

“I was asked to save you my child. I rarely answer the prayers of my children much to their despair. But I can not refuse the wishes of my younger brother. For he did not abandon me when others did”. She embraces Katrín as she continues to weep. Off in the distance the dark clouds have faded away.

Some time has passed and Katrín wipes away the last of her tears. “If the God of the Storms wished for me to be saved then why did he unleash that storm upon us?”. Katrín asks. "Hundreds of men have died and for what?". The wreckage around them has amassed and the broken hulls of half a dozen ships litter the coastline. Dozens of bodies accompany the wreckage. Men wearing the same colored uniforms as Katrín lie motionless. Alongside them are bodies of men, elves and uruk-hai  wearing mismatched clothing. 

"Poor child, do you know so little of your fathers transgressions towards the Old Gods, he is a snake among those who truly believe. He enslaves the children of my brother and slaughters my own. I must watch helplessly as he offers me hollow prayers as he appeases the usurper gods. If I had a fraction of the power I once had I would have sent your father to the depths of the sea years ago". Mari's voice is filled with disappointment. "As to why my brother wishes for you to live, It is the only son of Ulfursson who prays for your safe return". 

"You speak lies, my father is faithful to the Old Gods, he does what he must to maintain peace with the Order and the rest of the Company".  Katrín answers back. She stands defiant of the Goddess before her. 

"If this is what you believe then you are far more lost than I believed. I pity the boy who is your salvation as you speak not of his prayers to keep you safe". Mari wishes to speak more but worries that the words will fall on deaf ears. 

The fire behind Katrín's eyes is extinguished as she finally answers back.

"I speak not of his prayers as the mere thought of him brings me great sadness. My feelings for him are the very reason I was sent out here. My family does not trust me when it comes to the affairs of the Teuta. They believe that I have turned on them siding with my mothers people." Her heart grows heavy as the words escape her lips. 

"The winds of the world are beginning to shift. Time will soon come when you must decide where your loyalties will lie. Our time will soon end and the fates will be out of our control". They both hold each others gaze as the weight of Mari's words fall upon Katrín. Mari looks behind her and motions to something behind her in the distance. Katrín turns to see a ship sailing around the far side of the island. The ship sails the Companies colors but as Katrín turns back to Mari she is gone. She searches the surroundings and sees no sign of her. Katrín turns back to the ship and begins to walk towards the jolly boats approaching the shore.