The rays of the rising sun were creeping through the gaps in Calico’s window as he began to wake up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he shot up and reached over to his desk to grab his father's map. Goosebumps slowly spread up the hairs on his forearms.
“So it really wasn't a dream” he thought to himself, “This is real.”
A mixture of feelings were burning inside of Calicos chest. He didn’t know whether to feel excited or angry as he sat there examining the continents in the map. Someone was lying, that's for sure, he just didn't know who. For as long as he could remember, all the citizens of Tortuga were taught that Perla was the only continent in the world and as a result, it was in the center of every map he had ever seen. People rumoured about badlands and barren islands over past the horizon, but Calico’s map showed whole continents instead.
“Calico, breakfast is ready, don't let it get cold again like yesterday,” Diyana shouted at Calico from downstairs.
As soon as Calico was finished putting on the garments he found the previous night, he went downstairs and was determined to get some answers.
“Hey Auntie, do you know anything about this ?” Calico asked. As he sat down in front of his food, he pulled the map out of his satchel and handed it to Diyana
“What’s this? …Did you make this?” Diyana asked with a look of confusion across her face.
“Me? No…. It was with Dad’s things.”
“Your Dad had this? I would’ve remembered seeing a map like this when I put all his things in there in the first place. Although I’ve never seen a map like this before either. Why isn’t Perla in the middle? ..and what are these other━” She was interrupted abruptly by the sound of the front door swinging open.
“Oh hey honey” She said as she handed the map back to Calico.
“Heyo!” Talio said as he closed the door behind him with his knee. “ I brought the milk, but can you believe that old man Brigs was clean out of stock. I had to run all the way to the central square to find some. But anyway, what's cooking?! Im starved” Talio said as he set the two gallons on the table, making all the plates rattle. “ Oh looky here, isn’t someone up early today,” He said with a smile on his face as he looked towards Calico.
“Uncle, I have a serious question to ask you…”
“Hm..?” he raised an eyebrow
“Is Perla the only continent in the world?” Calico was staring directly into Talio’s eyes as to see if he would flinch.
Noticing that there was no joking undertone in Calico’s voice, Talio’s smile faded into a serious mug. “What the hell are you talking about Calico, you know the answer to that.”
“I found this in Dad’s things last night, in the shack” Calico handed the map over to his Uncle.
Talio glanced at Diyana, then at Calico for a few seconds before swiping the map and bringing it close to his face.
A few moments of silence filled the room, as Calico waited for his Uncle to say something.
“Well...have you seen a map like that before?” Calico began to grow impatient.
“These continents…...Rankast..?” Talio was looking all over the map with a confused look on his face. “ Where exactly did you find this?” beads of sweat began to form around Talio’s forehead.
“I….I found it hidden in Dad’s satchel, under the lining….almost like if he was ….hiding it” Calico slowly began to realize the severity of the situation.
“No...Th..This can’t be,” the hair on Talio’s neck stood on its ends as his grip on the map began to waver. “ There's no way…. Then...that means that…….. GOD DAMN IT, SIRJAA!” he yelled as he brought his fist down on the table making another hole that shook its whole foundation.
“Sirjaa....as in my Dad??!” Calico said to himself.
“I'm such an idiot….Sirjaa….after all these years that I thought that you…...” Talio dropped his body into a chair and put one hand on his forehead as the other barely hung on the the map. Blood started to slowly drip from his hand to his elbow, then onto the floor.
“Talio, can you please explain to me what the hell is going on with you?” Diyana shouted with her heart beating faster than usual.
“Calico….do you know how your father died…” Talio said softly with his hand still on his forehead.
This took Calico by surprise, as he had to recollect himself before answering
“Dad? Yeah…....well not exactly. I was only 5 years old so I don't remember everything. From what I do remember, he had an accident out in the sea in one of his last voyages…...r..right?” For some reason, for the first time in his life, he felt unsure as to how his father died.
“All this time... I thought that too,” he raised the map up so that Calico could see it. “Now it all makes sense….... because of this map… Sirjaa may have been murdered.”
Murder. This word resonated within Calico’s mind as he couldn’t make sense of what his Uncle was saying. Seeing Calico motionless, Diyana turned her attention to Talio.
“What the hell do you mean ‘murdered’, Talio?” she too didn’t fully understand what was going on.
“Well, A few weeks before Sirjaa.....died, he kept telling me that he was on the verge of finishing something that he had spent years working on. He never once told me, his own blood, what he was working on, but he was always the quiet type I guess. That was also around the time that the current King took the throne so all sorts of revolutions were sparking up throughout Perla. Sirjaa left as if it was any other voyage, he asked if we could take care of you, and that he’d be back in a couple of weeks. Not even a week after, a fishing crew reported that a shipwreck was found a day’s sail north from Perla. That ship was the ‘Iron Sun’, your Dad’s. No survivors reported, and Sirjaa never came back. He was pronounced ‘dead at sea’.”
That last sentence seemed to wake Calico from his daze.
“So… what role does the map play in all of this?” he managed to say.
“There's a reason why every map on this continent is different from this one,” Talio explained. “I think Sirjaa was uncovering the truth, and was creating this map.”
“Wait… you’re saying that my Dad traveled all the way to the corners of this map, then drew a world map, and was killed for it… why the hell would anyone want to kill someone for that?!” Calico’s voice started to grow louder as he clenched his fists.
“Well Calico, if someone has a big enough secret that they want to protect, they will go through anything...or anyone to keep it a secret. As of right now, I have no idea who would’ve wanted to kill Sirjaa. Pirate politics can get heavy sometimes. A lot of the information and history about what happens beyond the Oceanic Boundaries is kept within the inner circle of Pirates.”
“So all I have to do is become a Pirate, and I can ask the King directly to help me find out who could've done this.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“That's easier said than done kid. don't forget that you still have to pass the Trial de Sangre and work under an official Pirate Captain for a year.”
“Then I shouldn’t be standing here, I should get to work. I’ll take the map back too.”
Calico stretched his arm out.
“ I just told you that this map might’ve gotten your Dad killed. There's no way that I’d hand off something like this to a 17 year old boy. But it was your dads, so as long as you can pass the Trial, then I’ll hand it over to ya” Talio rolled up the map and put it under his arm. “Until then, you better train your ass off. And remember, not a word of this to anyone.”
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The sun was high in the sky as Calico walked along the cobblestone road with two other boys his age
‘Pass the Trial and then I’ll give it back to you’ repeated Calico in a sarcastic tone as his friends laughed at his impersonation.
“Hahaha dang Calico , so your Uncle really showed you who the real man in the house was, huh” teased a taller skinny boy as he walked along with Calico.
“You’re one to talk Roey, didn’t your dad take your ship away? You know you’re gonna need it for the Trials right…?” Calico teased as Roey responded with a hurt scowl.
“WELL it's been finished for over a month, that's why he took it away, well at least til the Trials start. He said I kept adding too many “extra parts” , whatever that meant anyway…” Roey put both hands on top of his head as they continued down towards the Main Square.
“Forget about Roey’s daddy issues, tell me more about this map that your Uncle won't return to you, Calico.” said the second boy. He was a bit shorter than both Roey and Calico but he was more stocky and darker than them. His hair was buzzed all over and wore a folded grey bandana on his head that was tied on the back.
“I already told you Dayno, it was and old treasure map that was in my Dad’s things” said Calico without blinking an eye. He knew that he had to conceal the real contents of the map in order to protect those close to him. “All I gotta do is pass the test, and we can all go looking for it together.”
Calico suddenly swung both of his hands around the boys’ necks. “Guys the Trials are in exactly one month! Look alive! Haha!”
“Hey hey get off, I’m still sore from sparring with Dayno last night bro!” said Roey as he tried to wiggle out of Calico’s grip.
“Guys…?” Dayno said slowly while managing to break free from Calico’s grasp
Calico and Roey kept horsing around with each other as if their pride was on the line over that head lock.
“GUYS”
They stopped what they were doing and walked to where Dayno was standing. From the hill that they were on, they could see the whole view of Tortuga. The circular shape of the city resembled a series of circles within a larger one. All the roads seemed to meet in the middle where there the Main Square was.
Dayno pointed his finger to the center of the city. From where they were standing, they saw a large group of people standing in the main square. They appeared to all be wearing the same attire, a red and black tunic that was tied at the waist.
Calico pulled out a spyglass from his satchel and held it up to his eye.
“Who the hell are those guys?” said Roey.
“I don't know, but they’re standing in front of the Wardens Office. Which can only mean one thing…” replied Dayno as he looked through his own spyglass.
A slow smile slowly spread across Calico’s face. “They’re here for the Trials….just like us.”
“Come on let's go then!” Yelled Roey with excitement in his voice.
The three ran down the hill and into Tortuga towards the Warden's Office.
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Down in the Main Square, a tall, serious looking bald man wearing a black and red tunic approached the Warden's Office with a group of 25 people behind him.
“My name is Tortis.” He spread one hand out towards the group behind him. “These 25 behind me are all from Darmon and are here to register for the Trial de Sangre.”
‘Ahh Tortis, it's been a long time now hasn’t it. I haven’t seen you in years.” a middle aged man from the Warden's Office walked out towards Tornis. He had curly locks that fell down to his neck. The stubble of his day old beard was all across his face an ran down to his neck. He had a muscular build and walked with an air of confidence.
“Draye, I see you chose to keep living here in the Capital.” Tortis replied with a faint look of disgust across his face.
“Yea, you know. Every since our honorary Pirate stint was over, you disappeared. I decided to stay here in the place where I learned what it mean to be a Pirate.”
“Such stories should stay buried in the past. I didn’t come here to see you, I came to guide the next generation of true Pirates.” he looked at the group behind him with a proud smile. “Make sure you all register, we won't be back until the day of the trial”
“Yeah, I can see that. No contestant can be turned away. As long as they meet the minimum age requirement of 17 of course.” Draye added.
“17 you say? I do have one student who meets that criteria. The rest are a few years older.” he seemed to look amongst the group of boys as if to find someone. “ Rayn! Step forward!.”
A few of the boys started to shift left and right to make way for someone who was trying to walk to the front of the group. A boy had emerged and was standing in between Tornis and the rest of the boys.
“Well….introduce yourself.” Tortis told the boy.
“My name is Rayn Kuro, disciple of Tortis, and citizen of Darmon. I’m 17 years old.” the boy said sternly while standing straight up with his head slightly looking down. The boy stood at 6 feet tall, and had an athletic build with broad shoulders. He had a short, messy mohawk with the sides of his head shaved to the skin. The color of his eyes was the same as the color of his hair, white. Tattoo’s ran up the boys tan forearms and stopped at the elbows. He wore a sleeveless tunic, and his bronze muscular arms were down by his sides.
“Rayn huh, well best of luck to you. I haven't seen a youngin’ like you tackle the Trials and pass it on their first go, it should be fun to watch.” Draye said with a smile on his face.
Calico and his friends had just reached the Main Square and saw some sort of commotion going on by the Warden's Office. People passing by had stopped to see what was going on as Tornis and Draye stood across from each other.
“Fun… to watch?” said Tortis, as he cracked a small smile. “ Rayn, show him what you can do.”
Rayn glanded up and looked over at Tortis as if to see if it was really okay, in which Tortis responded with a small nod. Rayn then shifted his legs, one in front of the other. He raised his left arm and held it bent in front of him. His right hand was raised over his head with his fist pointed forward as he bent his knees a little bit.
Draye had his hands folded across his chest and was looking at Rayn, waiting to see what he would show him.
Rayn closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them, a wave of air went out in all directions. Everyone in the crowd took a step back. At this point, Calico had managed to make it to the front of the crowd and had a perfect view of what was going on. He recognized Draye but he didnt know who the rest were, much less the kid holding a battle stance in the middle of the Main Square.
The tattoos on Rayn’s forearms started to slowly turn white as he began to focus. Just as his tattoos became solid white, a transparent aura seemed to ooze out of them. This transparent aura had slowly fallen to Rayn’s feet and seemed to hang there like a cloud. Suddenly, Rayn broke the stance and put his hands on his knees as he panted for breath. Not a second later, he shot up and crossed his hands on his chest and ripped them downwards to his sides. The transparent aura had dispersed and came back around onto Rayn’s body solidifying as it formed shapes on his body.. Sticking out of his forearms were three rows of shark teeth made up of the transparent aura he had manifested earlier. Each tooth was about 5 inches long. On his back was the dorsal fin of a shark and more teeth began to manifest on his spine and shins. All of the new additions seemed to hover in place as Rayn began to stretch his limbs.
The crowd took a few steps back, unsure if they were in danger or not. Calico’s eyes were wide open as he stared at Rayn from behind. Excitement and fear shot through his body as he stood there, unsure what to say.
“A shark huh” Draye was looking at Rayn as if it wasn’t the first time he had seen something like that happen before. “I do have to say, you have potential kid, just don’t underestimate the Trials… many people have tried them and few have succeeded.
In what had seemed a second, Rayn crossed his arms again and did the same ripping motion to his sides. The aura had dispersed and thinned out to leave no trace of it. He turned around and walked back to the group of boys. One older boy in particular seemed annoyed that Rayn was getting the spotlight treatment.
“Don't think you’re special kid, and don't forget…. you have to get through ME as well as the Trials.” the red haired kid said out loud.
“Break it up. Everyone finished registering? Well, we best be on our way now anyway, it's starting to stink in this city. See you on the day of the Trials” Tornis said sarcastically as he turned around and waved one hand.
“I’ll see you in a month’s time.” Replied Draye with his arms still crossed over his chest.
Just then, someone had walked to the center of the crowd and was standing in the middle where Rayn was before. Looking down, he noticed that there were imprints in the ground, as if the aura had physically damaged the earth.
“WAIT!” Calico yelled. “Rayn….was it?”
Rayn turned around. He kept his head down but only lifted his eyes to see who it was that had called his name. Calico was standing in the same spot that Rayn had been in and held his fist out in front of him, pointing it straight at Rayn.
“You’re not the only 17 year old challenging the Trials this year, ya know.” He said with a smirk on his face.
Rayn had lifted his head to get a better view, but gave an uninterested look as he glared back at Calico.
Although unintentionally, Calico’s eyes slowly began to glow green. Startled, Rayn’s eyes opened a little.
“The name’s Calico,” he jerked his thumb to his chest. “ You’re gonna have to get through ME too”