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rainbowfic2012-04-24 11:57 pm
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2012-04-24 11:57 pm
Emerald #5, Daffodil #10, Lotus #9
Story: New Frontiers
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Emerald #5. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more., Daffodil #10. fresh grass, Lotus #9. Enlightenment
Supplies and Materials: photography, eraser (Confessions AU), glitter (Investigation), glue ("It's easier to overcome your own inertia if you are passionate about your goals."), acrylic, chalk
Word Count: 625
Rating: PG
Characters: Mel Artwick
Warnings: References to Kit's crimes, ostracism.
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always. This takes place in an alternate 984 FY.
Mel was from one of the higher-ranked lines in Clan Artwick--one of those eligible to become Clan Head, even--but the last four years had been...awkward.
It wasn't so much that people avoided him, or didn't want him to serve on their ships--he'd found another captain, with an Old Warrior, who'd been willing to take him on--but what he'd done still read too much like a betrayal, whatever principles had motivated it. On the other hand, he was a powerful mage, of a line that produced at least one captain a generation. Despite...everything, he was still a valuable asset on a ship. So, he had a place in the working Clan hierarchy, but felt much like an outsider when he tried to find his place in the social one.
Which was why it had come as such a surprise when his second captain had left him the Grey Dragon when he'd retired. True, he had rank, and people listened to him on official business issues, even if they excluded him socially--but, then, maybe that was why. He'd proven himself impartial when faced with serious transgressions, which could be valuable in a captain.
But here he was, captain for a year, and the not-quite-stares he still got from people were grating on him more and more. He'd spent a lot of time thinking of what he could do to get them to stop, and it was becoming more and more obvious that the only way to do that was to leave.
After releasing his crew for their shore leave, he'd spent a lot of time shut up in the old house--the Dragon needed some minor repairs anyway--thinking. He had a few options to get away legitimately. He could retire; select someone in his crew to whom he could leave the ship. He'd saved up a lot of money over the years since he'd left with--since he'd signed on with the Scarlet Eagle. He could certainly afford to set himself up somewhere new, find some sort of work, and live a life where no one knew he'd sold out his brother and he could, in time, integrate into a new community.
Or he could go on an exploration mission. Those got approved every so often--exploring the southern ice caps, sailing all the way around the Continent...
Exploring appealed to him more than just starting over. But no one had ever returned from a southern mission, and a loop trip seemed not quite far enough away.
After staring at the map for what felt like hours, it finally hit him. He could do something no one had done in living memory. He could sail west.
The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him. He'd have to get approval from the Head, of course, and he'd probably have to formally release his crew and it would likely take at least a year for him to build up a new one. And then he would have to supply the trip, and gods alone knew when (or even if) he'd hit land. But...
But no one would know him, or his story. It would be the same as settling someone else, but without the finality and without any ideas of what a retired Islander water-mage captain should be. And...well, on a trip like that, he might even get close to some of his crew. That would be nice.
Sailing west, then. It was the best option.
He rolled up the map and collected paper and a pen to write up a formal proposal to the Clan Head. If all went well, in a year he'd be off to the other side of the world.
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: Emerald #5. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more., Daffodil #10. fresh grass, Lotus #9. Enlightenment
Supplies and Materials: photography, eraser (Confessions AU), glitter (Investigation), glue ("It's easier to overcome your own inertia if you are passionate about your goals."), acrylic, chalk
Word Count: 625
Rating: PG
Characters: Mel Artwick
Warnings: References to Kit's crimes, ostracism.
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always. This takes place in an alternate 984 FY.
Mel was from one of the higher-ranked lines in Clan Artwick--one of those eligible to become Clan Head, even--but the last four years had been...awkward.
It wasn't so much that people avoided him, or didn't want him to serve on their ships--he'd found another captain, with an Old Warrior, who'd been willing to take him on--but what he'd done still read too much like a betrayal, whatever principles had motivated it. On the other hand, he was a powerful mage, of a line that produced at least one captain a generation. Despite...everything, he was still a valuable asset on a ship. So, he had a place in the working Clan hierarchy, but felt much like an outsider when he tried to find his place in the social one.
Which was why it had come as such a surprise when his second captain had left him the Grey Dragon when he'd retired. True, he had rank, and people listened to him on official business issues, even if they excluded him socially--but, then, maybe that was why. He'd proven himself impartial when faced with serious transgressions, which could be valuable in a captain.
But here he was, captain for a year, and the not-quite-stares he still got from people were grating on him more and more. He'd spent a lot of time thinking of what he could do to get them to stop, and it was becoming more and more obvious that the only way to do that was to leave.
After releasing his crew for their shore leave, he'd spent a lot of time shut up in the old house--the Dragon needed some minor repairs anyway--thinking. He had a few options to get away legitimately. He could retire; select someone in his crew to whom he could leave the ship. He'd saved up a lot of money over the years since he'd left with--since he'd signed on with the Scarlet Eagle. He could certainly afford to set himself up somewhere new, find some sort of work, and live a life where no one knew he'd sold out his brother and he could, in time, integrate into a new community.
Or he could go on an exploration mission. Those got approved every so often--exploring the southern ice caps, sailing all the way around the Continent...
Exploring appealed to him more than just starting over. But no one had ever returned from a southern mission, and a loop trip seemed not quite far enough away.
After staring at the map for what felt like hours, it finally hit him. He could do something no one had done in living memory. He could sail west.
The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him. He'd have to get approval from the Head, of course, and he'd probably have to formally release his crew and it would likely take at least a year for him to build up a new one. And then he would have to supply the trip, and gods alone knew when (or even if) he'd hit land. But...
But no one would know him, or his story. It would be the same as settling someone else, but without the finality and without any ideas of what a retired Islander water-mage captain should be. And...well, on a trip like that, he might even get close to some of his crew. That would be nice.
Sailing west, then. It was the best option.
He rolled up the map and collected paper and a pen to write up a formal proposal to the Clan Head. If all went well, in a year he'd be off to the other side of the world.