The Sea Comes to Cloud Temple

[JuniperSelkie 241]

A single masked mali sat in the boundaries of the Cloud Temple, well dressed but barefoot. His unshod feet dangled in the water in front of him. His peculiar mask seemed to be from leather and wood, and resembled the visage of a manta. “Tell me, what do you think of the sea?” He would ask of passersby, and some would respond with confusion, others had little to no opinion. “Sit, sit, please. Join me. Let me tell you a story.” Bone-hued hair wound into dreadlocks tumbled over his shoulder as he cocked his head. “Where to begin…” He absentmindedly toyed with the harp sitting in his lap.

“There was a man one, who married a beautiful woman. The finest lady he’d ever known, with a large fortune, a large family, and who created beautiful art. They gave birth to a baby girl, who grew up on her father’s stories of heroes fighting monsters. And when she was 17, she found out that real monsters hide inside of people. She watched her mother kill her father over a petty dispute, and she ran away. Her mother’s entire family, she found out later, were monsters. It didn’t run in their blood, and they weren’t forced to it. They -chose- to be monsters. And that’s what terrified the girl so much.” He paused, taking a drink from his flask.

“Now, this girl had a terrible habit of getting herself into trouble. But she would sneak onto ships disguised as a boy, and travel around. Sometimes she would work for it, sometimes she would pray not to be found. Eventually, in her thirties, she ended up on a most unusual ship. They called themselves pirates. But they didn’t steal, or raid, or anything like that. They just liked the term, felt like it had a little more zest to it. And the girl, now a woman, had grown to love the sea at this point. And she joined the crew. These were the happiest days of her life. The sea didn’t ask where she came from, or who she was before, and neither did her crew. They didn’t judge her on the color of her hair or skin, or by the shape of her ears. And the sea didn’t either.”

“The sea treats everyone the same. And when it took their ship, those who survived survived by luck. But she couldn’t hate the sea. It was the only place where she could feel like herself, where she was free. She took up the captain’s hat for herself, rallied her new family around her, and built a new ship. And then another one. And another. Her family kept growing. It didn’t matter how many fresh young faces, or tired old faces joined. She loved all of them, and the sea loved all of them. She was happy until the day she died.”

He stopped plucking strings. “The aren’t many people like her left. There aren’t many places like that left. What do you do when freedom is stamped down, and individual talent and differences are strangled out, leaving just...copies of the same thing over and over again? You start over, yes? Where would -you- start?”

[blago 1602]

Cassius nods

[__WaterFox__ 636]

Zatanaes sat down next to the figure then spoke, “I’ll answer your question with a tale of my own. There was a human princess of old that was extremely gifted with magic, if not summoning maelstroms to cripple her foes then she would channel a breeze to cool her friends. As you can imagine she was highly sought after... for marriage, for war, and all manner of other needs. The constant demand wearied, the lack of people who truly loved her and not her magic wearied her, so she took off on a gust of wind to travel about the world. That is the philosphy I subscribe to, the philosophy of air in which you travel without bonds to where ever you please, but such gets so lonely

 

     Zatanaes frowned as she pulled off a simple vine like ring with an emerald set into it,“My daughter has taken to much the same along with the rest of ny family. . . That’s how wind it is, it does not wait for you to catch up nor does it have any qualms with leaving. A philosophy of water would say be flexible, but together”

 

[Ruby 15]

The clopping of wood against stone could be heard in increasing loudness as the two conversed. Approaching them was a figure in garbs not unlike those by farfolk, crimson robes with sandals and a straw hat which obscured his face against the sun. When it got close enough to the group the details of his visage could be seen, it was clear he was no human but some horrid blue thing that masked it’s face in theatrical makeup. The thing rested it its arm on a swordhilt at its side and leaned into the couple as if doing a bow.

 

“If manzflesh talkingz about the zea, no one knowz more, not more than me.

Gobboman travelz all over the water, lotz o’ talez from the maelzstromz like the onez of you’z daughter.

For instanze, take this advize I can whip. Itz da motion of da ocean, not the size of da ship!”

 

The strange man would do a laugh and give a toothy tusked grin at the group before inviting himself to sit down.

 

“Zo what iz wantz from the blue expanze, az it’ll kill youz if youz givez it the chanze.

Perhapz lat wantz what help I can give. Why not do buziness, with ol’ Beetlegib?”
 

 

[osumanduas 1442]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

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