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Where we left off:
Victoria had been told by some mysterious voice to gather all of the maps and important documents and throw them overboard. Both Ylli and Khaldun took notice of this, and she was prevented. However, she will not confess why she was driven to do this.

Meanwhile, Dorian means to have some sort of discussion with Daemon in the crow's nest, and relationships continue to go nowhere.

Victoria stood staring at the sea, unwilling to give in to the fact that she had nearly doomed them all. Shaking her head, she stood her ground as best her quivering voice would allow. "No, I don't know... There were papers and a voice, and the papers and the voice were fighting. The papers lost, so they needed to be destroyed." It was the only defense she could manage. Surely Khaldun, at least, would see how logical the whole mess was.

Daemon, too, seemed ready to defend himself against whatever harsh words the assassin (for that was all he really was) would offer. But none came. Dorian simply leaned back against the wall of the nest, satisfied that there was little protest from the wood as he did so. No sense in me tumbling to deck at this point. Unless a good scare is in order. Laughing to himself, his pink eyes settled on the young boy before him.

When no assault came, Daemon drew a breath to speak. Of course, now Dorian had to jump in, if only to annoy the boy with an interruption. "Think before you speak, boy. I won't be held accountable if one of us tumbles into the sea later on. Think on it."

Daemon paused, his eyebrow raising in a critical manner. "I don't know who you think you are, but I can certainly tell you that you are no hero." Dorian's face seemed to crack in a wide grin but made no protest. Daemon's mouth set in a hard frown, but he could not make himself meet the eye of the man that murdered his parents.

"You think the world revolves around you and that you have all the answers, but you don't. You think that everyone would fall to your knees if you wished it and yes, maybe some people would. But I am not one of them. I'm tired of being terrified of your actions when you are around, and I'm tired of jumping at every shadow I see when you're not. I'm so tired of everything at this point I really just wish you would go away. I don't know why Khaldun thinks we need you, but this is his ship after all. So far the only thing you've done is deliver us to danger again and again. You seem to find some sort of amusement in seeing how close to death you can bring us all without actually getting us hurt -too- badly. But one day you'll miscalculate and one of us will be killed and you'll think nothing of it. But the rest of us will be changed forever because you thought something would be good for a laugh."

Daemon now rose his gaze to challenge the killer. He found no fury in the other man's eyes, only a thin layer of apathy used to disguise the furious enmity that lay just beyond the surface. It was then that Daemon realized that his words would never do any good. Compassion and reason never affect the heartless.

Dorian tapped the bottom of the nest with a sharp fingernail. "Your little lover will be needing your help soon, I think. Perhaps you should go help him. Maybe you can nag the enemy to death before it casts a spell."

The boy's face twisted in confusion before looking down. Victoria was standing on deck with Khaldun and one of the ship's men. Unsure if Dorian was using the gathering as a distraction or if there was a legitimate problem, Daemon's eyes darted around as he readied to climb down. But before he could swing a leg over, the entire ship lurched to one side, knocking the boy back into the nest and into the wall.

Victoria, too, was knocked from her feet, directly into poor Ylli's arms. The force was so strong that the sea swept over the deck and attempted to drag the girl away with it into the sea. Over the side of the ship, a great hand rose from the depths, made purely of the sea it came from. With a great force, it knocked away a portion of the deck's railing before sinking below.

Dorian held tight in his location, his back still against the wall. Even from his visual disadvantage, he could hear the roar of the sea as another hand rose high with the threat of destruction. "Too late," he smiled at the bewildered Daemon and braced himself for the second blow.

The old man's thin legs were knocked from beneath him as the boat lurched, sending Apollo's frail body to the planks below before he knew what was happening. Struggling to his feet again, the clamor of footsteps rushing above brought him to slowly follow the stream of men who went above to the deck.

Stepping out cautiously, he went against what little sense of danger he had left and remained above deck to learn of what had happened. Some distant memory of a small ship afloat in a wide river came to him, a ship full of people he knew. The ship had been thrown into the waters as his home sank below the waves in the destruction of....

"No!"

Both spoken within his mind and aloud, the grayed King began to venture to the open expanse of the deck before he could stop his feet.

Ylli continued to press the girl. [[If you know something, and I know you do, do not keep it from us.]] His face still formed his perplexing grin, a vain attempt to calm the girl. He knew if she would give her answers it would only be to the captain, but he did what he could.

Khaldun's attention was divided in countless directions, to the sea and the magic forming there, the sails, the crew, the mast. Sailing on his father's ships had never been this difficult. But...he did not have such responsibility then either. If he made a mistake, his father was always there to correct it. Not so now. Now, nearly two dozen sailors, four passengers, and the only person he had ever found worthy of his love depended upon his ability to act in this chaos. And not just to act, but to make the "right" decision.

His eyes glanced down at Daemon, sprawled at his feet. While he felt relieved, it was Dorian who had been the hero. Once more he owed the madman for a debt he could not repay, and Khaldun realized that his life was no longer his. Nothing he did seemed to be for his own benefit or his own desire. Even without the ship and her crew, Dorian would always be there, demanding his rights to his slave. Rights he prayed would remain business-like in nature.

Turning his attention to the sea's words, his first thought was that it referred to Apollo, but knowing little of lore, save the Xephira history and the superstitions known to any sailor, he asked Daemon if he knew what the sea was referring to.

Victoria shook her head. "It was just the wind. Just the wind." She seemed distracted now, perhaps more so than usual, at the deep voice of the sea. It had a comforting nature about it that calmed her spirits.

Daemon dared not look over the side. The giant hand from his dreams had just become a reality and he did not wish for the face of the sea to haunt his dreams until he was Apollo's age. "I don't know of the title. I would think Apollo, but..." he trailed off. Even Apollo was not so far gone as to not remember a title. In his mind he was still in the age of his prime so it would only make sense that he would recognize the term if it were truly his.

A quivering voice came behind Apollo. Morrigan had come up at the initial commotion but remained silent. "Dat es mine fater's title."

"No more," came the rumbling voice.

Morrigan's stunned silence signaled that she understood the meaning behind the sea's curt sentence.

"All that remains of the Sun Kingdom is a broken traitor and a wildling child. You are the Sun King."

Silently watching his grandson converse with the Sea, Apollo remained looking over the edge to the waters below as if such a sight was no longer a surprise to him. Glancing back at Dorian, the old smile formed on his lips. "You always managed to find your way into the best adventures, Dorian...this one is proving most interesting."

Ylli nodded in turn with Victoria. She was perfectly correct in her assertion, and he wondered why others would view it as nothing more than nonsense.

Khaldun rose to his feet, and bowing, said, "We shall do all in our power to see the princess delivered to the West, my Lord." Only once the sea king had sunken back into the depths from whence he came did Khaldun relax, but only for a moment before he once more began to bark out orders.

[[Otokar! Gather a crew and begin repairs posthaste! We have a long journey ahead of us.]]

Otokar grumbled and drew yet another flask from his innumerable pockets, which Khaldun swiped and dumped its contents into the sea.

Motioning for the other officers to gather, Ylli relinquished Victoria, and Cenek shambled over. [[I realize our journey has nearly doubled in length, but I still feel it is extremely important to gather those we can in Danadur. We need not only an able-bodied crew, but one willing to work for our cause, and we shall only find them there. From Danadur, we sail back to Gallenia, dock for supplies, and set course for Kuzoth.]]

Cenek knitted his brows while listening to Khaldun's plan, but agreed. [[You are right to replace the men. There are few here now who would sacrifice their wage, let alone their lives, for this quest.]]

Ylli seemed to avoid the topic altogether. [[Deserts are oceans condemned by the sea.]]

Taking that as his answer, Khaldun nodded. [[Right, then keep the course for Danadur...Daemon, how are the rations? Can we make Danadur without docking?]]

Noting the more than disgruntled aura about the crew, Daemon gave a quick nod. "I think time is more our enemy now than anything else. If the winds are on our side we have nothing to worry about."

Victoria, seeming oblivious to all else around her, leaned over the damaged railing and waved excitedly. "Goodbye, old man! We'll see you later!" With a large grin she continued to ramble on in her own language, something that only Daemon would be forced to comprehend.

Dorian's eyes lit up at the stone. That couldn't be... Unable to help it, the composite began laughing rather hysterically. Victoria paused in her rambles to give Dorian a quizzical look. "And they call me crazy..."

Morrigan looked at the stone, then to Dorian as he laughed, and finally to Apollo. "Thank you, Sir. I vill hold close." Her mind was still unable to process the idea that her family was dead. Instead she found herself looking at the spark within, wondering what magics could make a stone hold fire within.