ventus

Arthur Pendleton walked along the deck of his small sky ship looking at the fading light of the sunset if you could call it that on the horizon occasionally stopping to look down into the swirling mist below. A good 50 ft below the sky ship he could see a beautiful and terrifying sight the bioluminescent mist shrimp have begun their dance or as a biologist would put it their mating season a sign that the mother storm would soon be here. The sight of the shrimp dancing around the mist sea was mesmerizing and as beautiful as it was everyone in the world of ventus understood that It was a sign of impending Doom to the unprepared. Arthur himself was a simple man who wore a pair of loose and comfortable slacks and a button up shirt under an overcoat that came down to just above his knees indeed the most pristine part of his appearance was likely the small locket he carried around his neck and his well-polished boots that is reinforced with a metal plate under the leather. Having shaved just that morning there was only some stubble on his face and despite his age he had very few wrinkles The only sure sign he was a man in his seventies was the fact that there wasn't a single black hair on his head All his hair had gone gray years ago. "I better get to Liliana's rest fast." Arthur Mumble to himself absent-mindedly. "Should take me about two more days unless I push it." Arthur grumbled to himself as he went back to the engine and marveled at it for a moment It was an older model engine consisting of the twin thrusters for propulsion and the reservoir which contained the wind crystals. The simple engine could never top something you'd find on a war ship however for a simple cargo ship like his the engine was more than enough. Arthur opened the panel on the side of the engine to see that most of the wind crystals were still activated and the energy crystal that sat suspended above them was incredibly dim indicating that he would have to replace it soon. "When I get to Liliana's rest I'll have to make sure I stock up." Arthur continued to speak to himself absent-mindedly a habit which has earned him many uncomfortable stares over the years however he had little interest in changing his habit especially when it was a practical habit that helped him focus his thoughts. Arthur walked to the crates that sat next to the engine to see his reserve cases of wind crystals and each energy crystal carefully secured and stored individually in small cylinders also made of glass to ensure that there was no accidents. He had seen the devastation when two energy crystals contact each other and he'd never seen a ship go down into the mist sea so fast, he is only grateful that he was not on that ship. Arthur walked back to the front of his ship to view the horizon again his ship was small and could be handled by a single person as long as they were skilled enough, however his old body was starting to feel its age. He was remarkably healthy and spry for a man at the age of seventy-three however he could slowly feel the age catching up to him and he knew in the next 5 years or so he would likely have to hire a crew to help him or just settle down and sell his ship. As Arthur prepared to walk back to his cabin which sat in the very center of the ship which contained the cockpit where he steered and controlled his vessel as well as a bed and a desk and a small kitchen he saw out of the corner of his eye a small flash of light in the sky and by the time he turned his head it had started to descend and he instantly knew what it was. "A child of the storm already." Arthur said was a bit of astonishment in his voice as by his estimation the mother storm should be in at least three days However most of the children of the storm arrive right after it passes and occasionally right before. Arthur being has curious now as he was when he was a boy grabbed the controls of his skyship and turned towards where the light had fallen. The controls consisted of three levers the two on the sides controlled the direction of the ship while the one in the center controlled the thrust so the ship was easy to understand and in truth this kind of vessel was good for first time pilots and experienced pilots all the same. "Will you ever grow up." The voice of Arthur's blood brother Duncan rang in his head in that thick Scottish accent and deep booming voice as if he were standing right in the room. "You're too damn nice for your own good do you know that." "I guess I never will change Duncan." he laughed to himself in truth Arthur knew he was like a cat as soon as it found something that caught its interest even if it was a stupid idea he would have to pursue it even if it led right into the jaws of a hound and not to mention he often stuck his head out for others far too often. The mother storm could be coming the next day if he were wrong in his estimations and he's still at least a day away from Liliana's rest and now he's wasting more time investigating a light that might not even be a child of the storm as these lights are sometimes just a precursor to the storm. Arthur didn't want to take the chance that a child of the storm would be caught in the mother's storm itself as he knew the area well and knew that in this stretch of sky there would be no towns until Liliana's rest in fact they were very few sky islands with livable resources like water and food in this area. as Arthur steered his skyship towards the purplish pink light he eventually came to where it landed the area still bathed in a somewhat fluorescent hue and like you'd guessed it was just on a large floating boulder with nothing on it aside from the trembling figure huddled in a fetal position in the center. Arthur couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman as the figure seemed somewhat androgynous having short hair and a small frame but eventually the figure noticed the ship has Arthur was a precision of a master stopped the ship right on the edge of the boulder. "Permission to come aboard." The person said in a high-pitched and shaky voice. "permission granted." Arthur said with a smile happy that he had made the right choice has anyone who looked around could tell she wouldn't have lasted a week on this rock and she certainly wouldn't have survived the mother storm. The figure stumbled to their feet and walked shakily over to the ship by this point Arthur could tell it was a girl probably in her teenage years. The girl after hopping over the side of the ship took a heavy breath Arthur gave her a few seconds to collect herself before asking her anything as it can be traumatizing finding yourself in a new place seemingly in the blink of an eye and finding yourself floating in what seems to be a void on a vacant boulder would probably be enough to give someone a heart attack. "When you get your breath back may I ask you your name?" Arthur said giving her a jar of water. As she chugged the jar of water Arthur noted her appearance she was definitely a teenager or at the very least a young looking 20 something year old wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top under a leather jacket and her hair was cropped right above shoulder length. "My name's Brittany but you can just call me Britt." She said handing Arthur back the jar. "My name is Arthur Pendleton." he said tipping is hat and a polite gesture. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." "I'm sorry but where am I." she said abruptly having her thoughts come back to her now that she was safe at least for the moment. "Right now you're in a world for lack of a better word called ventus." Arthur said walking to the front of the ship followed by Britt. "Hey wait a sec What do you mean another world I was just going to my part-time job when..." she said clearly unable to process what the hell he just said. "That's just some fantasy trope there's no way there can really be other worlds." Arthur who at this point was checking the magnetic dial located at the front of the ship. It was similar to a compass but was designed to resemble a sundial. the magnetic dial was suspended between two metal rods and would rotate based on magnetic fields given off by clusters or the geographical term would be an archipelago of floating islands. Without it sailing and navigation would be nearly impossible when in large sections of the border skies as there have been stories about ships being lost never to be found again in the borders between clusters. "I'm sorry my dear but I will fill you in on extra details after we're back on track." Arthur said. "I need you to do me a favor I need you to just tell me when this arrow on the dial is pointing straight. Arthur walked back into the cockpit and took the controls turning the ship away from the boulder and gently adjusting the throttle to begin moving. After a few seconds Britt gave the signal in the form of a thumbs up to tell you that you found the right course. Normally Arthur Would be able to see it from where he stood at the controls however the light was now dim enough that he couldn't see it clearly and even a few inches off can be disastrous when navigating. Britt entered the cockpit and walked up to Arthur who had set the throttle forward going at a steady pace. Stepping away from the controls he walked over to the small dining area and offered Britt a seat while he grabbed the pot of tea that he had almost completely forgotten about and two cups a small jar of sugar. "All right my dear I'll answer any questions I can what's your first one?" Arthur said pouring her a cup of tea. "I've already established that this is not some dream so you're saying that I really am in some other world?" she asked while putting a few spoons of sugar into her tea. "Yes my dear though there is a question as to whether ventus is counted as a world." Arthur said fixing his own tea. "There is no known bottom to the Mist sea and I don't know if you took notice earlier but there is no sun in the sky the light you saw was what we call the light band." "Wait so there's no sun and nothing below that sea of mist!" "There is a few land masses below the mist sea however there usually pretty small and there is some flora and fauna that live down there as well, I don't know if you were paying attention but there is a type of bioluminescent shrimp or something similar that is currently at the surface doing their mating dance." "Yeah I saw them and they're beautiful and all but The biggest question on my mind is how did I get here?" "That one's a little more difficult to answer but I'll do my best." Arthur said putting his teacup down. "You see Britt you are what is called a child of the storm the reason being is a powerful natural phenomena called the mother storm that brought you here." "Wait you're saying some bad weather brought me here." "I'm not sure like I said no one knows if this is some kind of sentient force that brings people here during this time or if it's just random. All that is known about the mother storm is every few decades it comes and reeks havoc and all the while brings anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred people to this world." "How did you know where I was?" "From where I was I could see the light from where you entered this world It has a purplish pink color to it and it's pretty easy to spot." "So wait a second you were just out here by chance." "Yes I suppose it was your lucky day even if the mother storm didn't kill you, you wouldn't have lasted a week on that rock with no food or water." Britt was sipping her tea slowly however the reality hit her as bluntly as slap to the face that she would be dead if it wasn't for dumb luck. "Okay but what were you doing out here, It seems pretty desolate?" "In my spare time these days I function as a sort of courier in the past it helped me earn money for expeditions and traveling however I don't do much of that anymore." Arthur said chuckling bitterly to himself. "In truth I had just taken a few weeks to pilots my skyship to the neighboring cluster what you might call a archipelago of sky Islands." "so you were just making a long distance delivery and just happen to be close to me when I came to this um...ventus." "I made such a rookie mistake agreeing to do it knowing that the mother storm must be coming up especially when the guy handed me a script for extra payment upon delivery." Arthur said irritated with his own complacency. "It's been too long since I've actually been sailing I almost completely forgot that were long overdue for a mother's storm and if we don't get to Liliana's rest in the next few days were both likely going to die." "You shouldn't beat yourself up, I mean if you weren't out here I wouldn't have got off that rock so thank you." Britt said. "I'm glad I was out here don't mistake my mood for wishing I wasn't it's the fact that I didn't even think about it the fact that I just the other day started seeing the mist shrimp doing their mating dance and then noticing that I've been ignoring all the other signs like random drops in pressure to sudden storms that have been happening for weeks." He said sipping his tea. "I probably would have made the delivery anyway but it's the fact that I was caught off guard when there were so many obvious signs in the air." "What's this place that you said we were going to Lillian's rest." "Liliana's rest is the name of a small sky Island on the outskirts of Nova Stella, it's the name of a cluster that is the equivalent of a kingdom so to speak." Arthur said as he finished his tea and proceeded to pour himself another cup. "It's not the nicest town but there's always work to be had." "I have one more question for now, it's about your accent you sound British?" "That's because I am British I came here about fifty years ago just like you did The only difference is I came with a friend and at least the hole I found myself in was somewhat habitable." Arthur said smiling at her astonished face. "Although the year I came from was 1891." "Are you saying the children of the storm come from not just like different worlds but different times as well." Britt was looking at him unsure of how to respond or what to say. "I know it's a complicated subject so I would recommend getting some sleep before we talk more." Arthur said taking their empty cups and the pot of tea over to the sink counter. "Better yet let's wait until we get to Liliana's rest where we can get on solid ground." Arthur handed Britt some blankets and let her take the bed while he took his reclining chair as he usually slept in it anyway due to how comfortable it was. Britt to her credit was asleep in no time at all snoring loudly and Arthur who was also more tired than he realized was asleep quickly enough as well.