"First time on a ship?" Cassius did not quite hear the words, but something at the edge of his consciousness knew they were said. He had the vague idea that Elisor said them. The ship rocked and for a moment he wished it would stop, but he knew, from what the druids had told him, that wishing it would stop and fighting against the undulating vessel only worsened the sea sickness. It was best to accept and flow with the motion. The ship rocked again and Cassius resisted and wished all the same. He sank to the rough wood floor in a dank corner of some small room on the ship.

"Have you finished?" Elisor used his walking stick to tap the black leather-bound tome Cassius clutched.

Cassius searched for an answer for the old man. Yes? No, I haven't finished. I feel like throwing up. He thought for a while then rolled to his back. A rat scurried past the end of Elisor's robes and out the door. "Uhm, yes. It is my first time on a boat. And I really don't understand the book. It talks about things that aren't real. It's a story. It even says it at the beginning."

"Ahh, yes, yes. It was written as an account of long dead myths by those who do not believe. But given what you have seen, do you think it is just a story, young Juliei?"

"I don't know." Cassius pressed his palms to his eyes. "How much longer?"

"Oh, you foolish child. Do not let the waves overwhelm you. Come now, let us get some air. At least this way, if you make a mess you can do it over the side."

Cassius took the book and followed Elisor up two rickety wood ladders to the deck of the large ship. The intense transition to the bright sunlight of midday as he emerged from below deck stung and blurred Cassisus's vision. He knelt for a moment, blinked and pressed against his eyes again. He glanced up, could not see clearly without squinting and some pain, then blinked and pressed his eyes again. It worked.

Vencian knights, fully dressed for battle, seemed to the boy to be larger than life as they worked hand in hand with the ship's crew. Thirty Druids, or more, dressed in their black robes, stood around the ship's railing facing out to sea. Some held engraved talismans adorned with stones and brown and black feathers out over the side. They raised them to the sky then lowered them, then raised them. Up and down in an endless loop. Those without talismans stood in nearly the position of Vissum, without the extended fingers, and chanted something to themselves.

Cassius knew from the third book Elisor had given him, two before his current one, when he still cared to read them, that they were seeking favor of their respective Old God or Old Gods. They would begin by thanking the Old God for its contributions to the world, be it the crops grown with the rain from Porcella, or the victories in battle from the ever silent Bellum. Then the Druid would state how they would like things to go, then say how they would do their part and they trust the Old God would as well. In this way they would gain the favor of the Old God and with this favor they would call the storms, bend the will of man and beast or set things ablaze with a simple touch. It was indeed the stuff of myth, but Cassius had seen it. He had done it. He only wished there was a way for the gods to cure him of this seasickness.

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"Ahh, there boy. Breathe the crisp salty air." Elisor said, doing so and spreading his arms out.

Cassius did take a breath, deep in through his nose, but if he could have thrown that up he would have. Cassius began to vomit before he reached the ship's rails, and kept vomiting over the side long enough for some of the crew to begin cleaning his mess. Undaunted, Elisor stood beside him while he finished.

"There. Good as new, Cassius." Elisor patted him after an extended moment of not throwing up.

"I didn't finish the book." Cassius said as he hung on the railing. "Just the first parts." He perked up a little and turned to Elisor. "It mentioned Hagsbane though."

"Yes. Indeed it did. Were you able to read it's story?"

"Not all of it. It said the knife was made by an Old God to kill another one. But it was never used."

"Yes, well, not quite. Fraudem, the trickster God, helped the Underground Man make the knife. He wanted a man to kill Porcella. The story is Fraudem loved Porcella, but the affection was not returned. Fraudem devised the plan with Bellum and a mortal."

"And the man got to live forever." Cassius interjected.

"As long as he held the knife." Elisor finished.

"So the knife my dad is going to bring can kill an Old God?" Cassius asked as he turned back to the sea.

"Indeed."

"Why did you send him? He isn't one of you."

"Oh, young Juliei." Elisor paused to find the correct words. "I don't send anyone or make plans or order anyone about. I simply see things. In the future and the past thanks to Vissum." Elisor motioned to his eyes, "As much as it baffled even me at the time, I saw that both you and your father Howlen seemed to play a role in the coming war. I let your father know that, same as I am letting you know now. Your father then made decisions himself, and here we are."

"Is that how you recognized us then?" Cassius asked.

Elisor chuckled. "No. In fact the primary reason I knew it was you was the story of your dog. Sunday was it? I had never heard of a dog being taken, but in my visions the barking was, well, deafening."

"Can I be one of you? Can I be a Druid?" Cassius asked.

Elisor patted the boy again. "Ahh, yes. Young Cassius Juliei you possess a strange knack for our ways. I have never seen such an impressive young man. Your contributions will go down in history, but you must be careful. The coming trial will test your limits. Do not be afraid of them, Cassius. If you are, it may be the end of us all."

Cassius was too excited by the prospect of becoming a Druid to mind the vague warning.

"Cassius," Elisor said, waking the boy from his brief daydream. "We have a day's ride south to Joan. Before we get there, you must find me. We will watch what happens from afar. Do you understand?"

Cassius raised up, off the edge of the rail of the ship for the first time and took in a deep breath. "Yeah, I do." He said beaming with pride at his new future, but still a little green.