Our vessel trudged on, searing through the grey murk like a sword. It was a lumbering beast almost a quarter in length of that of a Tower. I remember watching the Spires ever shrinking away from the distance, solid black shafts rising from the conjoined waters of the Triumvirate as we ventured ever deeper into the Mare Graucus. Much like the rolling, swelling waves that beset the blackened hull of the ship, my emotions rose and slushed inside of me. One moment I was ecstatic at seeing and going at a different place, the sights and thrill of something new thrilled me and then the next I would be panged by some deepseated sorrow in my chest at seeing the only home I had ever known shrink away from the distance (My mother awaited till we are well away to tell me our true destination, probably anticipating that I would throw some sort of tantrum at leaving our home, which is to say sort of insulting that she thought me some brat at the age of eight. I remember being as almost as somber as my father with regards to me temperament at the time.)
The waters of the Mare Graucus were reasonably comely at that time of the year, a near-endless expanse of stormy-grey waters accompanied by an ever present fog that have never abated. The Greyveil it was called. It was an ominous looking mist that stretched the better part of the Grey Seas, enshrouding it in perpetual drab of grey, much like the waters that we sailed on. The ship sallied forth, seemingly undeterred by the thick blanket of grey that made it impossible to discern anything 20 yards from the ships boundaries and the waters beyond. I found myself unknowingly frightened of it as me and mother would always settle on the ship's open decks, among with the vast litany of other travelers, mostly hailing from other lands rather than native Sorezii going home. I was beset with question after question. How did the ships navigate these waters? Did they worry about colliding with other ships what with the everpresent fog of the Greyveil?
"The stars, Anri" she said, huddling me against the cold clime, a dark halfcloak on her shoulders to stave off the worst of the cold.
The stars?" I repeated, glancing upwards. Her hands were on my shoulders and I held them, playing on her fingertips to ward of the cold as well.
"Aye. Every seafaring vessel, especially those Greywaters-worthy ship like this one, have devices called starseekers. They use it to pinpoint our location in the map, how close we are to the nearest charted land or what shipping lane we are treading on. And see those lights on the ships prow?"
"Yes?" I noticed them, held in small iron lanterns, with gilded metal in each inside, making the reflection of their light ever brighter. There was a myriad of them placed close to the prow and the hull of the ship.
"Those are signlights. Each ship has a distinct signlight unique to them, making them known amongst other ship captains. They could be seen a good distance off, even in the Greyveil to prevent collision. There hasn't been a massive collision in years, so fret not."
We stood there in silence, staring at nothing in particular. The Greyveil lived up to its name. I stared and stared, not growing bored or fidgety. I do not truly know what it was I was looking for. The veil dredged up this.....this feeling of something out there, in the greywaters. What it is, I do not know for certain. I am certain my mother was ensnared by that selfsame feeling watching out there in the cold waters. Though her gaze wasn't as searching as mine. There was a resolve her eyes as if she had taken a peek at the grey fog or at least had some faint premonition of what lies behind. I do not know how long we stood there, just being in the moment, before my mother broke the silence.
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"And we have the Star of Sor as well, the oldest of blessings for a sailor in these here waters. Have you and your tutor tackled it yet?"
"Yes mama." I answered earnestly. Then added, "Why do they called it the Star of Sor?"
"Good, good. You will understand better when you see it," she replied cryptically, a hint of a teasing tone in her voice.
Night descended upon us. Night in the Grey was even more foreboding than the day. Which is why probably the commissary and the cantina as well were lit like a feast. Orange vibrant lanterns lit and an almost feast-like mood were set among the passengers. Sorezii sailors though would partake a little in the talks and chats and games to entertain the guest, a great majority were still on duty out there in the cold gloom of the deck. I noticed that the passengers were more lively in their interactions with one another, a little bit forced joviality really. Was it to keep their spirits up? What with the assailing gloom of the mists.
"These mists scares me, mama," I said to my mother then, clinging to her skirts as she took her place always close to the ship's prow. We stood amongst a few number of souls on deck, enjoying the quiet away from the boisterous cacophony of voices within the ship's halls.
"Aye, it is wise to be so." She replied. There was a wistful, almost nostalgic smile as she did so however.
"Does it never cease? The Greyveil?" I asked.
"Never. For the better part of our people's history, the veil made it nigh impossible to traverse the Grey Sea. It wasn't until 400 years ago, upon the induction of the starseekers that we actually ventured out into the deep waters and beyond the veil. Before then we all but traded through land by way of our neighbors."
"Why? it's just mist." I said a little puffed up by some false sense of bravery.
My mother looked at me, really looked into me. Green eyes staring into my same green gaze. It wasn't a scolding gaze nor admonishing. Then in an almost flat, serious tone she said, "There are things hiding in the great mists. unnamable things. Lost cities and forgotten islands best remained as they are, lost and forgotten."
"Don't tease me, mama. I'm eight now! Not a baby anymore!" I said in a offput-joking manner I did not truly feel. Something to turn the conversation in a happier light.
It worked. She giggled, pinching me in the cheek, adored the baby fat that still gave me a plump toddler look. But the hint of seriousness was still there in her eyes, in the slight downturn of her smiling lips. It was still in her thoughts. She continued on, "The more brave fishermen of olde would venture ever deeper into the mists, away from the sight of any land to try their luck at a bigger catch. They'd hear things. Strange things away from the mists. Hints of shadows and of weird shapes splashing about."
"it's just their imagination."
"Is it? imagine it my love, You are alone out here, nothing but the great grey waters and the impenetrable wan haze of the Veil. Not a soul for a hundred miles in all directions. Nothing but the sloshing waters at your paltry dinghy. Maybe it was their imaginations, the mind can be a mischievous wandering thing. But deep down, those stories you hear others tell, of things away from your sight. They might exist in one form or another. Something far beyond our notice or ken. Be wary of this wisdom Addy, it is a hard won knowledge our people had learned, a long, long time ago."
I was speechless. I found a deep regard of respect and fear and awe at the blanket of murk that surrounded the ship. I did not answer, hoped to whatever power in the universe never to know the answer to that question.