Part 6

Ravi blinked an eye open as he heard movement on the other side of the room. Stiffly he sat up from his make-shift bed on his cabin’s window seat, stretching aching muscles to relieve some of the soreness in them. He wasn’t quite sure what had made him carry the priest back to his cabin last night and give the priest his bed. In retrospect it was at least owed the exhausted priest a night’s sleep on a real bed for what he’d done. Even if it had been against Ravi’s orders and completely foolish, Ravi had gathered from reports by his crew that the priest had taken care of nearly every injured man on the ship. Be it infection, sickness, or open wound, all but the most minor of troubles had been healed away by the priest.

“Captain?”

The priest spoke hesitantly from where he sat up in Ravi’s bed. Peeking out the window beside him, Ravi judged it an indecent hour to be awake and resettled himself to go back to sleep. “What?”

“Thank you for lending me your bed.”

With a grunt, Ravi let his eyes close as he drifted back into sleep.

“Is it alright if I go on deck?”

He wanted to go walking now? Priests, Ravi determined, had no common sense whatsoever. Or at least this one didn’t.

“Fine. Whatever. If you’re not going to use the bed I might as well do so.”

Groggily Ravi uncurled himself and stumbled towards his bed. The priest quickly vacated the spot, though Ravi didn’t know if he just moved to the side or left the cabin entirely. As he fell onto the soft warmth of the bed and pulled the covers over himself, he found that he really didn’t care.

Teylin breathed in the fresh morning air with a strange sense of happiness inside of him. He was sore and tired, enough so that his body protested his movements across the ship’s deck. If his muscles had had an say in his activities, he’d still be sleeping in the Captain’s warm bed. As it was his mind was too awake for him to rest just yet, and he felt he still had certain matters to take care of before he could rest fully. Glancing around the deck he tried to find a sunlit spot that seemed out of the way enough. With a shrug he quietly padded up the stairs to the helm. A crewman that Teylin vaguely remembered healing the previous night stood watch, occasionally turning the giant wheel fastened to the deck one way or another in what Teylin assumed were slight corrections to their course.

“Would it bother you if I sat on deck for a while? I will try not to be a disturbance.”

The man grinned widely at him. “Nah, won’t bother me.” He extended a hand towards Teylin in a friendly gesture. As he took the proffered hand after a short moment’s hesitation, Teylin couldn’t help but notice how foreign the gesture felt to him. Shaking hands. A common greeting for any man but for the High Priest of Raased the act was tantamount to heresy. He gripped the man’s hand firmly and smiled in return, a slight upturn of his lips that showed more in his eyes.

“Me, I’m Ardric. Didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier for helping me out. But we do appreciate what you did. All of the crew, that is.”

Teylin’s smile widened subconsciously. “Thank you.”

“Don’t believe you’ve told us you’re name, priest.”

“Teylin.” He was surprised that they wanted to know. It was touching that somebody actually cared enough to want to know his real name.

“Well, Teylin. Don’t go telling the Captain this, but with the crew and me, well, let’s just say you’ve got free walk of the ship where we’re concerned. Was right nice of you to go around curing all of us of this and that.”

“Thank you.” He wasn’t quite sure how to take that so he pushed the thought aside for later contemplation. With a nod, he moved farther to the end of the ship until he came to the very tail end. Kneeling in front of the railing, Teylin sat facing forward, the rays of the rising sun hitting him full on the face. As he closed his eyes he pictured the circle that was the sun focused in front of him, a point on which his concentration centered.

Most Holy Raased, Lord of Light and Keeper of Creation. I pray thee receive my thoughts for due consideration.

Teylin felt the rays of the sun surrounding him as he started into his prayer. His lips moved only slightly, barely opening wide enough for breath as he quietly whispered the words of the prayer. His mind automatically translated his thoughts into the first and oldest language, so old that it was now only used by the High Priest of Raased for prayers to Raased.

Firstly I wish that you would deal with Almighty Vaug, the God of Gates in easing the passage of those who had once served you. The men and women slain by the men surrounding me, I ask that you give due consideration so that their ties with the earth may be quickly settled and their spirits pass through the Gates to the land beyond.

I realize, my Lord, that my request is a bit in vain as I have most recently done a great disservice to you. I ask that you forgive my transgressions towards you and allow me to knowingly continue this deception a while longer.

At that moment the circle of the sun darkened and Teylin found himself no longer in the dreamy state of mediation he had once been in. Circles upon circles expended outwards to form a dark shell around him and Teylin found himself gazing upon a solitary raven. The bird turned its head partially away from Teylin so that a single blood red eye focused on him.

“I approve.”

With those words, the raven disappeared, though the red circle of its eye remained. This time the circles of blackness drew inward, being absorbed by the red until all that remained was the solitary red circle. Teylin’s vision refocused on his surroundings. Blue skies suddenly appeared around the circle, as well as clouds and water and a glaring face, and Teylin was left staring at the sun as he regained full control of his mind and body.

He turned to the Captain.