Let the New Eye Come
![EOSS-logo-small-wa.png](/uploads/images/9c89a312498084540b0b7d6f9fc2caff.png)
Yulduz Sesi, Mystic and Voice of the Stars
***
Sakshi woke with a start. Above her, she heard clangs, thuds, and shouts. Most of the cots were empty, even those belonging to the night crew. Sakshi's first thought was that they'd simply disembarked, but with a pang, she realized she couldn't be sure. It hadn't been clear to her who had been lost in the battle. She pushed away thoughts of the man she'd failed to save. Rolling from her cot, groaning at the ache in her muscles, Sakshi plodded up to the deck. She found herself greeted by a frenzy of construction and the creamy light of Celesta. Tunis could not be seen, his light fully waned.
Exhaustion settled on Sakshi. It was Midday. Being on the night shift, she shouldn't be up yet. But, between the pounding of the repairs to the starship and the memories that had plagued her dreams, it would be some time before she fell back to sleep. Besides, islandfall interupted normal assignments. One daytime excursion would be acceptable.
This was an island Sakshi had never been to, nor, as far as she could tell, one she'd heard of. The dock consisted of a series of tigran loops, a sturdy anchoring feature made of a titanium-granite meld common to high traffic islands, fastened to the face of several cliffs. In fact, the entire island was rimmed with cliffs, all sloping down to a valley housing a small city, which could be reached via steps carved into lilac-tinted stone.
With a yawn, and another groan, Sakshi crossed the gangplank, a four foot wide iron-wood board lowered from the side of Starship Dobaara onto the edge of the island. As she crossed, an aquamarine aether stream broke free from a pool of aether and drifted through the dark void beneath the gangplank. It whipped drops onto her arm before weaving back into the larger azure eddy upon which the Dobaara floated. Though the small stream was boistrous, most of the aether was slow and steady. It was rare to find aether as ideal for anchoring close enough to an island to support docked ships.
It was a boon, after a night of madness. Even before she saw the state of the Dobaara, Sakshi had known some of the anchors had been lost or detatched in the battle. This would usually make an already obscenely expensive repair worse. Few anchors meant the weight of the starship would put increased and uneven strain on the remaining docking mechanisms. But, with this eddy buoying the vessel, they'd only need one or two anchors to keep the ship from drifting.
Reaching the cliff, Sakshi took time to evaluate what she saw. Minimal vegetation grew on the rocky cliffs, though the residents seemed to have cultivated some flora in the valley. Still, Sakshi didn't think their native food supply would be sufficient to feed the population, which was quite large, if she judged by the size of the city below. This island must participate in trade.
People milled in the city, but many of them must be her fellow shipmates. She wondered how much of the Brine Beast's blood and mucous had been scraped together. After the terror had passed, many of the crew had started complaining that the beast had slipped into the Deep Sea rather than collapsing onboard. Parts from a Brine Beast would bring a high price at markets. It would have offset the cost of the damage nicely. But all they'd found was the violet blood and salty mucous. Usually, Sakshi would have helped them. Bartering wasn't the most exciting way to obtain starshards, but one always needed common specimens to spend. But, exhaustion won out over greed last night.
By now, the locals would have an idea of what the Dobaara's crew wanted to buy and sell and prices would have changed. Sakshi didn't relish the idea of haggling today. Besides, Sakshi was more intrigued by the groups of people gathered on the cliffs.
From her spot on the dock cliffs, she could see several dense collections of people spread along the edge of the island like pips on a clock face. What was it that these people were doing? If Sakshi lived on an island, she'd spend her time watching the aether currents and the starships that sailed upon them. Were these people of a same mind as her?
Was it worth investigating?
But before she could decide, Sakshi noticed Kuldeep ascending the lilac stone stairs toward her, a bag slung over his shoulder and some type of foreign, roughly orb-shaped produce in his hand. Sakshi waited to greet him.
"What do you think of Palíponi?" Kuldeep had casualness in his walk. It was a very different scene to the standoff of the night before. Sakshi shivered.
"Palíponi?"
"The island." Offering a soft smile, Sakshi glanced down at the valley. "It's beautiful."
"But?"
"I prefer the Open Sea to islands."
Kuldeep raised the produce to his mouth and took a bite. The orb crunched, a sweet fruity aroma permeating the air. As he chewed he considered her answer. After half a minute, he swallowed. "Even after last night?"
Emotions flooded Sakshi. Contentment at the feel of solar wind and aether spray. Fear of the Brine Beast. Wonder at the beauty of the Azure sea. Guilt for the man she'd failed to catch. Defiance against the suggestion that struggle meant surrender.
"I am a starhunter. Monster attacks will happen." Did Kuldeep realize that Sakshi was adopting the posture and demeanor he'd worn as he'd stared down the Brine Beast?
Another bit of sweet fruit and mindful observation later, Kuldeep nodded. In the space of a blink, he shifted into his role as Commander. "Starship Dobaara will be ready in three days time. All members of the crew should be ready for departure the moment she is seaworthy."
Sakshi nodded. Three days. How she hoped Tunis and Celesta held strong until then. She wanted to be there when they fell. A first year starhunter with a moonheart in her collection would be a wonder deserving of what StarSea had to offer.
"You should keep your sleep schedule intact. I need everyone at their best. We are down a few," Kuldeep said. Sadness hid beneath his fortitude. Again, Sakshi thought of the man she'd lost. She gritted her teeth. Next time, it would be different.
"Yes, Commander. If I may, I'd like just a few hours to walk the island in sunlight." And to clear her mind of memories before trying to sleep.
"Granted." Kuldeep looked back at the valley city. "It is worth seeing a place in all lights." He took a final bite of the fruit, tossed it on the ground, and strode to the gangplank, calling to the tinkerers at work on the mast.
Wasting no more time, Sakshi wandered along the continuous mountain rim towards the closest group of people on the cliffs. As she neared the group, whispered conversations reached her ears, and with them a familiar voice.
"Along the Valmis current, you say. Hmm. I was sure Current Ingatag would bring us closer," Keol said.
Sakshi pushed past a few people to find Dobaara's startographer, a current map in one hand, the other arm bandaged and secured to his torso. "Keol." Relief dosed with shame washed over her. She was happy he was alive, yes, but Sakshi knew her relief was for his ability to lead her to the moonheart rather than his value as a mortal.
Keol looked up at the sound of his name. "Newbie." His eyes flashed with some unspoken sentiment, but Sakshi could not decipher it. She had been treated like an outsider for most of her time on the Dobaara. Even when she'd earned begrudging acceptance, few of her fellow swain had spent enough time with her for an inherent understanding of such communication.
Sakshi chose to listen silently.
Keol returned his attention to the group. "You are sure Current Valmis is the one we should take? It doesn't match my calculations."
"Do not concern yourself with the discrepency. The stars are shifting," an elderly woman said, "They are preparing, should the new age require a great change in them. What once was constant is now fluid. They guide us still, but even they are unsure."
Keol looked up at the day sky. Sakshi's eyes followed his gaze. The Eye of StarSea watched its domain: Tunis, the pupil of the eye, was now barely visible, Celesta, the white iris, shining strongly at a near full wax. Around them shone pinprick sized day stars. The hues faded with every minute, as Celesta waned brighter.
"No star's fall has rendered the stars unreliable before," Keol said.
"Perhaps not in our time, but StarSea is far older than even I." The elderly woman gestured to her wrinkled face, her humorous smile accenting the lines around her eyes and within her cheeks.
"You speak of the whispers." The words had left Sakshi's mouth before she thought to restrain the thought.
Eyes shifted to her. The old woman's gaze was acute. "Of what whispers do you speak."
Keol's eyes flashed with communication again, but Sakshi still didn't understand.
"On nearly every island we've visited recently, we've heard whispers of a simultaneous Moonfall and Sunfall."
The old woman nodded sagely. "Yes. I speak of the whispers. And much more. The time of Apocalypse is upon us."
"Apocalypse?" Sakshi felt her blood run cold. "Surely it is not so drastic. Moon and Sunfalls have occured before. There are starhearts, shards, and dust to prove it. New stars shall take Tunis and Celesta's place."
"Regardless...," Keol started, but was interupted.
"Oh, surely, new stars shall claim watch of StarSea, but with a new eye comes new light and a new age. The Age of Mortals comes to a close, The Age of Monsters arrives."
"Age of Monsters?" Sakshi muttered the phrase as her mind processed the statement. The Brine Beast, uncommon in the Azure Open Sea. The overall increased attacks. The whispers had referenced such occurances. Yet, the wording this woman used spoke of something deeper. The end and beginning of an Age. But Monsters' dominance was a thing of the past. "Mortals have devised ways of defending and hunting. We wield Mystica, and apply Alchemy. We build ships and much more. A falling Moon would not change that."
The woman smiled sadly. "I may possess a Mystic Affinity for the stars, but I do not command them. They choose how to use their power and influence. Celesta and Tunis have aided us. We shall suffer without them."
"I do not intend to be without Tunis." Sakshi found the woman's words fueled her desire to find the moonheart. Hope was quickly changing to need.
"Sakshi," Keol warned.
"Intend or do not, you have no say."
The woman's words burned. No say. Sakshi was not yet worth their respect. But one day, she would be."We will find the starfield and collect the moonheart. Possessing such a rarety gives a person say."
"Possess it." The woman turned to Keol, question in her eyes. He shook his head.
Sakshi barely noticed. "Of course. We are starhunters."
Fire. In every eye which instantly latched onto her. The fire of fury. Keol, the woman, everyone was furious with her.
"Starhunter!" the woman cried, "Liar." This was directed at Keol. "Out of respect? Does possessing a being of great power show respect? How dare you!"
Sakshi stumbled back. Even for her, an indirect recipient of the scorn, the force of the rage was like a tangible shove. Keol skittered out of the cluster of people closing in on him. He offered no excuse, no retraction.
"Come, child." He growled his words, then dashed toward Starship Dobaara without waiting for Sakshi to follow. But follow she did. There was no welcome for her on that cliff.
***
Sakshi didn't bother visiting the rest of the town. Her yearning for the Azure Sea, and, specifically, the moonheart she'd only find by sailing the aether currents, had waxed full. She committed to her responsibilities with fervor. Daytime she spent in her cot, resting, if she couldn't sleep, replacing memories of the battle with imaginings of the sun and moonfall. At night, she ate in the mess, and cleaned the deck from the day's repairs.
After cornering Sakshi to give her a blazing tirade about how she'd ruined his chance of learning more from the mystics, Keol spent his time researching currents, charting the stars, and ignoring Sakshi. She was too determined to feel guilty for doing something she hadn't realized was problematic.
Tunis waxed on the third night, and Sakshi hummed with excitement. The tinkerers only had to attach one more solar sail, and the Dobaara was ready to leave. Sakshi grabbed her bucket of water and rag, and walked toward the bow, intent on her job.
Standing on the dock cliff, scrutinizing the starship, was the old woman Sakshi had talked to that first day on Palíponi. Sakshi walked to the edge of the ship and stared back at the woman.
"Tonight," the woman called, "Tonight, the moon shall fall, the sun close behind! Apocalypse has arrived!!"
Sakshi smiled. If this woman meant to threaten her, she'd failed.
"Do not sail. StarSea shall quake, pattern shall evaporate. Destruction awaits!"
Sakshi turned her back to the woman and walked to her post.
Starship Dobaara set off three hours later. They sailed Current Valmis. Apparantly, Keol had decided to trust the mystics.
"Unfold the sails." Sakshi moved to the fore solar sail line, timing the tightening with the actions of fellow crew members. As she tied the line to a post, she thought of the night so short ago, and let it fuel her determination to ensure a different future.
It was as she huddled on the bow, watching for ripples, at the end of her shift, when Tunis and Celesta shone with equal brightness that her dream became possible.
Sakshi felt it before she saw it. The warm solar wind which had whipped at her back for hours turned icy. But more than that, a sense of dread seeped into her and slowly spread through her veins.
"He falls!"
The call came one second before Sakshi, already shifting her attention toward the Eye of StarSea, heard the thundering crack.
Tunis, large and dark, had fractured. Sharp streaks of creamy light burst through the fissures, but then, another crack, louder this time, rent Celesta.
Though Sakshi had thought the fracturing loud, she was proven wrong. A deafening boom assaulted her ears as Tunis exploded. Sakshi hadn't even gotten her hands to her ears before Celesta's explosion rendered her nearly deaf. Darkness descended in the space of a blink. Stardust and starshards shot from where the two stars had been like a three-dimensional ripple. So powerful was the force, that it took mere seconds for the the shrapnel to expand from the high sea to the open sea where it pummeled the Dobaara.
The Dobaara shuddered and rocked beneath Sakshi. Clambering for a handhold, Sakshi barely managed to grip the raised edge of the bow before another impact sent the ship reeling in the other direction. As she clung to the ship, Sakshi coughed on the plumes of stardust, hissing as tiny razor sharp starshards nicked her arms, legs and face and embedded in the iron-wood of the starship.
"Retract the Sails!" With her ears ringing in pain, Sakshi barely heard Kuldeep's command. Even the cacophany of panicked shouts, raging currents, and starshard impacts was muffled.
A piece of holey silicon-cloth spattered with blood drifted to aether in front of her. "Not again," she muttered. She gritted her teeth. It was not a Monster attack, but her crew faced great danger, and this time would be different.
She waited until the ship righted itself, then released her hold, using the tension in her life line to swing left as she lunged for a part of the edge farther from the point of the bow. Just in time, her fingers closed on the ledge. A violent aether current collided with the ship, and it rocked again. The ship was doused with aether. Sakshi's hands burned with icy pain, and her grip began to slip.
Knowing she could not hold on until the ship was righted, and that she was likely to be tossed again anyway, Sakshi released her hold while the ship was still at a 30 degree angle. She slid across the iron-wood deck toward the post she was tied to, her arms outstreatched. With a painful thunk, Sakshi's right arm caught on the foremast. Though her bones and muscles screamed in pain, Sakshi leveraged herself ontop of the mast. As the ship righted, Sakshi fought for footholds. She found little purchase. But, as the ship jerked again, Sakshi braced her feet against the mast and wrapped her arms about it. She yelped, her right arm shooting with hot pain. But fear of being jerked through the air by her stomach or tumbling into the seething aether outweighed the agony, and she clung on.
As the ship righted, then rolled the other direction, Sakshi looped her legs on the mast and hung like a sloth. There, time slowed as she watched a cloud of dust spew from each of the falling stars in the direction of the open sea. The speckled mass expanded, raining into all Seven Seas. But, streaking through the dust came two large multifaceted crystaline objects. Faster than the dust, they broke through the cloud, creating mini plumes, and raced downward.
The sun and moonhearts!
All sense of pain and panic evaporated. All Sakshi saw was the moonheart. Sputtering black crystal plumeting. She tracked the prize, a painful need eclipsing all other desires.
"Land in the Azure Sea," she commanded the moonheart. Let Keol be right. "Come to me."
The thrill of anticipation built within Sakshi, slowly consuming every part of her. The moonheart dropped into a pool of aether close to the Dobaara.
Sakshi shouted in triumph. "There!," she called, "There!"
But the crew did not seem to answer. Currents raged, solar winds were gone. And the Dobaara and her crew flailed about in a frenzy.
Sakshi tried to release her hold on the mast - to find a way to be heard by someone, anyone. The moonheart was so close. It was within her reach. Surely, this crew could discard maddness for a moment.
But her cries went unheeded. With a shout of dispair, Sakshi cast her eyes to where the moonheart had fallen. The currents had changed, and pools of complete void blossomed in the expanse. With a painful thud of her heart, Sakshi realized that the moonheart might be anywhere now.
Her limbs went limp. No! All the preparation. All the dreams. It was within her grasp mere moments ago. She shook her head. It must be there. She must get there.
Even StarSea wanted her to get the moonheart, Sakshi thought, as the Dobaara was thrown into in an unexpectedly still eddy. Sakshi didn't hesitate. She released the mast, landing with a splash upon the slick iron-wood deck. She ran, or more accurately slid, to the life boat containers, searching for the lever which would open the encasement and drop the small starship into the aether. She'd go herself if the crew was unwilling.
A roar rent the air. Sakshi froze. She recognzied the cry of Monsters. For it was clearly more than one. Before her, a writhing mass three times bigger than the Dobaara burst through the aether from the Deep Sea. It took a moment for Sakshi to realize she was seeing Monsters locked in battle.
Shrieks, roars, gutteral echoes joined by the sickening sound of tearing flesh - the sounds of the battle were terrifying. But it was as the creatures broke free from each other and she could see them individually that her blood ran cold.
The three Cardinal Monsters, warring leaders of the Deep Sea, were only a few dozen nautical miles from the Dobaara. The glowing eyes of the Giant King Crab, the Kraken, and the Sea Dragon locked onto each other. Sakshi breathed in a raspy breath.
So, she thought, this was to be her fate. The moonheart, her goal, her need - she would never possess it. Possession. The warnings of the mystic on Palíponi echoed in her mind. The Age of Mortals has come to an end.
As the Sea Dragon shot into motion, snaking toward the Kraken, Sakshi recalled her words to Kuldeep. I am a starhunter. Monster attacks will happen. And this time would be different.
"Sea Dragon!" she cried, "Kraken! King Crab!" With an about face, she darted for her post at the bow of the ship as fast as the undulating starship would allow. Finally, she was seeing what she should have long ago. Starship Dobaara was ruinously damaged. Newly constructed masts and sails were down. Crewmates were injured and terrified. Even Kuldeep scrambled to tend to swain under heavy posts or impaled by starshards and shattered iron-wood.
The Open Sea raged around them. Currents shuttered and shifted, mist thin regions of aether pooled and spouted. All around them, empty pockets of void grew. They were lucky the starship hadn't been thrown into a void. Plummeting through that emptiness would likely bring death, and ensured unpredictable dangers for any who survived the descent.
"Sea Dragon!" Sakshi cried again. She grabbled grabbed the line for the fore solar sail, and pulled. The sail retracted. "King Crab!" With every cry, more of the crew paid her heed. People began to act. Some were slow by necessity, others almost too hasty, but the crew was coming together.
And just in time.
The Valmis Current lurched, and far ahead curved into the path of the battling monsters. Then with whiplash speed, the direction of the aether reversed. The monsters roared, but kept battling as the aether rushed them directly at the Starship Dobaara.
"To your posts, now!!" Kuldeep was beside Sakshi, shoving a harpoon gun into her hands, bumping her tender arm. "Hard Starboard! To Palíponi!" Sakshi nodded, despite the pain. She'd lowered her sail and could not help those in the engine room, but she could take aim and wait as roiling aether pitched the starship violently.
The starship was turning, but it was so slow. Too slow. The battling Cardinal Monsters were getting closer. Though there was still a Nautical mile between her and them, flecks of aether displaced by their haphazard movements splashed Sakshi's face. The more the Dobaara turned, the closer the monsters got. Closer, closer closer, until the writhing limbs swung within feet of the starship. Finally, the bow of the Dobaara faced mostly away from the monsters, but that only heightened the anxiety because all Sakshi could do was stare through the wreckage on deck at the tails, pincers, and tentacles which flailed about
One of the Kracken's tentacles collided with Dobaara first. The thin end flicked across the crooked masts, pulling the ship into an acute angle. Sakshi jabbed the harpoon end of her gun into the deck, and clung to it with her uninjured arm. When the tentacle had passed, the starship recoiled, rocketing a few of the crew into the air, life lines yanking them back down. One missed the Dobaara and splashed into the aether. Crewmates pulled on her rope, struggling to get her back onboard.
"Faster!" Kuldeep and at least a dozen other voices cried together.
The rocking of the ship kept undoing the progress, but finally, the woman was back on board, soaked and shivering.
Mere degrees from a full about face, a massive wing-finned claw rose from the aether, hovering above the Dobaara. The span of the limb was larger than the entire ship, and powerful enough to propel the crystal scaled creature it was attached too.
"Dust the drives! Now!"
The starship jolted forward, but wasn't quite headed the right direction. Though they still turned Starboard, there was a pocket of void growing to the port side. Sakshi screamed as the starship raced along the edge of the current, tilting dangerously toward the emptiness. But with a shutter, the navigator slammed the helm starboard, and the Dobaara crashed back into the aether with a splash.
For just a moment, Sakshi thought they were safe. But then, dissonant shrieks pierced the air, and Sakshi watched as the Sea Dragon closed its jaw around the King Crab's claw. The two of them wrestled madly.
"Full dust!"
But Sakshi knew it was going to be close.
She couldn't get the harpoon out of the deck, so she detatched it from the barrel, loading the replacement secured to the top of the gun. Other crew members followed suit.
The dragon flung the King Crab into the air. The crab clicked hectically. Sakshi took aim, waiting for the monster to flip in the air so the soft underbelly was visible.
"Fire!" she shouted. Projectiles streaked toward the King Crab, striking and embedding. The creature roared, in pain, anger, or annoyance, but the force of the volley was too little to slow or change the trajectory. With a sickening crash, the soft belly of the crab slammed into the aft gunwale, it's claws swiping in the air, never finding purchase.
The collision propelled the Dobaara faster while the King Crab, momentum halted by the starship, flailed in the aether. Sakshi marvelled. She hadn't thought they'd survive that.
The now irate King Crab reared up in the aether, one eye turned on the Dobaara, the other at the tumbling Sea Dragon and Kraken.
Slamming her heel into the iron-wood board, Sakshi splintered a weakpoint, and then wrestled the embedded harpoon free. She loaded and aimed at the crab.
It felt like all of time passed in the space of the few seconds before the King Crab charged. Visions of yesteryear, today, and tomorrow coalesced. Sakshi's first step on the Dobaara, her dismissal of the mystic, the future of renown she craved: all of Sakshi's life centered on this moment.
Here, now, she was making her stand. Tunis and Celesta were gone, their starhearts swallowed in the madness. Without them, what was she? And what was StarSea?
The King Crab roared. The Kraken and Sea Dragon responded in kind.
Sakshi narrowed her gaze, shoulders back in a show of defiance. Monsters, madness, starfalls. They added up to one thing.
"I am a starhunter!" Sakshi shouted as the next volley of harpoons flew.
The Age of Monsters was here, but so was Sakshi and so was the Dobaara. They'd braved the Seven Seas before, and they'd brave them still. Her crew was good, and they'd get better whether the new stars favored them or not. Struggle was never surrender.
Let Tunis fall.
Let Apocalypse rage.
Let the new eye come.Name Meanings
Sakshi means "witness"
Dobaara means "again"
Kuldeep means "Light of the Family"
Keol means "keel of a ship"
Palíponi means "cliff"
Valmis means "ready, prepared"
Ingatag means "fickle, mutable"
Yulduz means "star"
Sesi means "voice"
Links Found in Article
Tunis (Of Stars and Times)
The Azure Sea
Aether Currents
Starship
Void
Monsters
The Deep Sea
Startographer
StarHunters
Starhearts (Starhearts, Sunhearts, and Moonhearts
Starshards
Stardust
Heavens (The High Sea)
The High Sea
Solar Winds
Stars(Of Stars and Times)
Celesta (Of Stars and Times)
Wake Drive
Solar Sails
Islands
Meld (Alchemy)
The Open Sea
Tinkerers (Tinkering)
The Eye of StarSea (Of Stars and Times)
Apocalypse (Of Stars and Times)
The Age of Mortals (Of Stars and Times)
The Age of Monsters (Of Stars and Times)
Mystica
Alchemy
The Seven Seas
Giant King Crab
Kraken
Dragon
Whoa! What an absolute blast I jus5 had! I really want Alaskin King Crab for dinner!!! It reminds me of Sinbad, Pirates of the Caribbean and Stardust! I felt like I was right there shooting Harpoons and dodging star shards! She has got to find a way to get the Moon Star in the next installment! Love, love love it!!!