The Rays are looking for the focus, remember, as an effigy of the corrupted mindset causing fear and apathy toward the ocean. Someone who would place the hunt over the safety of his mother ship on the ocean has a corrupted mindset already and probably doesn't consider himself an Ocean Friend.
If they can't just go off and look for the focus, how are they able to find it?
By talking, asking questions, listening. Those identifying phrases I mentioned before are useful--if Ocean Friends find themselves in conversation with each other, they can speak more freely about the hunt. Otherwise they have to listen to what other people are saying. Even someone who isn't one of the friends might accidentally reveal some important information.
So they're gathering hints about where to find the focus. When they do find it, what happens then?
When they find out who has it, they spread the word. By then the Rays will know what ship it's on and what its itinerary is. It's a slow process to arrange a meeting by word of mouth, but eventually they do it. Usually it's during a winds shift when there's less to do that the Rays will choose a date and time to converge.
Would you--would the focus holder ever just run away?
That would be as unthinkable as a Ray abandoning his responsibilities to concentrate on the hunt. The game has to be played fairly. It's not about me against the Rays. As Ocean Friends we're all on the same side, and when the conditions are met the hunt is complete. There's no winning or losing. When I'm found, I'll hand over the focus like I'm supposed to. There will be some chants spoken, and then we'll all pass the focus from hand to hand. Once all the Rays have held it, the last one in line drops it into the water. This is how we show the passing of flawed thoughts down the generations, and our decision to let go of them.
And this is all happening in secret? How?
*laughter* Did I even once say the hunt was secret? Or the Ocean's Friends? Oh no, the other Tideriders know very much we exist. They know about the game and they tolerate it as us having a little fun. What we don't mention is the part about what the focus represents.
Once you've disposed of a focus, how do you get another one?
We all decide what the next object should be, and the first person who finds a suitable one is the next focus holder.
What if more than one person finds it?
When that happens, it makes the hunt all the more interesting! But that's very rare. There's a code we use, easy to slip into ship-to-ship messages, that tells us when the hunt begins again.
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