Part 7

“Done?”

Slowly Teylin nodded. The small motion made his head spin and he closed his eyes against the bright light of the sun.

“Well are you going to get up any time soon?”

A hand shook his shoulder lightly and Teylin cracked his eye open slightly. He stared at Ravi silently for a few seconds. In a show of uncharacteristic concern, the Captain extended a hand to help Teylin to his feet. Blearily, Teylin grasped the hand. He swayed as Ravi pulled him up and strong arms held him as his vision faded to black for a moment. Reflexively, he grabbed a hold of Ravi’s shirt to keep himself upright.

“You alright?”

“Something went wrong.”

“What?”

A warm hand was pressed against his forehead before he was scooped into Ravi’s arms. His head reeled as he was lifted off his feet. From a distance he heard concerned voices but his consciousness seemed to have faded so that all that he could see was the light of the sun.

Teylin woke for the second time that day in a soft bed and wondered what he was doing there. A wet cloth was pressed against his forehead even though he didn’t feel feverish. With a slight yawn, he sat up. Looking around, Teylin found he was alone in the Captain’s cabin.

He took a moment to study the room while he didn’t have the Captain watching him. The bed he sat in was covered in a light fur blanket and soft sheets. It was far larger than a normal cabin bed, though it paled in comparison to Teylin’s bed in the Temple of Golden Light. A door was set into one of the long walls of the rectangular room. Across from it there was a large window seat as well as several other windows set about waist length off the floor. The bed was against one of the short sides. Shelves were built into the other short wall, as well as set into the wall with the only door to the room. In the center of the room sat a large desk littered with maps and papers. Chests, random objects and bits of clothing littered the floor of the room. While the furnishings were lower in quality than Teylin’s personal rooms, these rooms soothed Teylin more than his own room ever had.

As he was running a hand absently over the windows, the door opened behind him. He waited a second, staring at the blue sky visible beyond the pane of glass. Clouds rolled in slowly, turning the sky black with an impending story. After a moment of staring at the sky, Teylin turned his head to look over his shoulder at Captain Ravi who was watching him as intently as Teylin had been watching the sky. The meeting of their eyes seemed to spurn Ravi forward and he moved forward to stand next to Teylin.

“It’s going to storm?” Teylin wasn’t sure what prompted him to ask the obvious.

“Yes, though this one seems to have come upon us rather suddenly.”

“I’ve never been in a storm.”

That earned him a strange glance from the Captain. “It’d be best if you stayed below during the storm. And don’t do anything strange this time.”

Blinking, Teylin turned to regard the Captain curiously. “Pardon?”

Ravi glared at him. “I’m not picking you up off the floor again.”

“Oh.” With a blush of embarrassment, Teylin turned away.

“Are you feeling better?”

That was an unexpected question but he nodded in response automatically. “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

Ravi stared fixedly out the window. “Thank you for helping the crew.”

“It’s my duty to help.”

The Captain turned his gaze back to Teylin with an arched eyebrow. “It’s your duty to overwork yourself until you pass out. Twice.”

Teylin blushed, ashamed at acting as weak as an acolyte. “The last was an accident. Things didn’t go as they were supposed to.” He didn’t think he should go into his vision. He doubted that the Captain would understand.

“Right.”

The boat rocked suddenly, accompanied by a low rumble outside. Looking out the window again, Teylin was surprised at how black the sky had turned.

“Get below.”

Teylin followed as Ravi marched out of cabin. A strong blast of wind smacked into Teylin as he stepped on deck and he stretched a hand out to stabilize himself against the wall of the cabin. His eyes widened as the ship tilted towards the side, waves crashing wildly all around them. Rain pelted against the deck, soaking through Teylin’s thin robe quickly.

“Move.”

Suddenly Teylin was being shoved towards the hatch to the lower decks as Ravi pushed forward, barking out orders to the crew as he went. Teylin tried to move to the hatch but the tilting of the deck made it nearly impossible. The air buzzed around him, his skin tingling in the charged atmosphere. Tension filled him and Teylin froze, turning his head to the clouds above. He barely had time to shout a warning before he felt lightning arc towards the ship.

Without thought Teylin stepped forward, his eyes blazing as crew members saw the lightning coming and dived out of the way. Raising a hand Teylin caught the lightning with his magic before it struck the ship and deflecting it away. His senses came into full alert as he realized something wasn’t quite right with this storm. He’d seen storms through the glass at the Temple. This felt different. Something wasn’t right.

Archaic words flowed from his mouth as his eyes fixed skyward, ignoring the freezing rain that beat against him and the shouts of the crew around him. Stretching his hands towards the sky, he sent his senses out into the surrounding air. He could feel the storm around him, but beyond that there was a malice that directed the storm. This storm did not belong here, but before he could do something about the storm he needed to stop the force causing it. A few muttered words created a circle of light at his feet, spiraled designs curving around his feet to anchor him to the deck as it heaved in the storm.

Sending his thoughts out, he followed the malice of the storm. It trailed south from their ship, over rolling waters to an area outside the storm’s effects where a ship with black sails lay at rest. On deck a three black robed figures formed a triangle. As one they noticed Teylin’s attention on them and they focused on him. Distantly, he felt the ship heave and a wave of cold water washed over him. He ignored the effects on his physical body as he tried to turn back their magic. Resistance met his efforts and Teylin’s brow furrowed. Sharp word rolled off his tongue and he concentrated. He felt the power of Raased backing him, binding the opposing mages to their corporeal forms. It was an effortless incantation for Teylin, one learned early in his training but not one he’d ever needed to use before.

The mages taken care of, Teylin turned his attention to the storm still raging against the ship. His mind expanded, taking in the local weather patterns. Abnormalities made themselves known to him immediately and he hummed slightly, almost singing as he slowly unraveled the storm around them. Clouds dissipated around the ship, sent back where they had been drawn from. Gradually, the sea calmed and Teylin brought his mind back to his body. He found himself trembling fiercely, the cold of the water freezing him to the bone. As he unraveled the spell holding him to the deck, his knees buckled.

He could hear the Captain approaching, as violent in mood as the storm that had just departed.