A woolen sailcloth, imagine that. That was what the captain had chosen as his treasure for the afterlife, and though it would've been impractical on an actual sail, it had its meaning when viewed through the lens of Ed's fears.
Born into a long line of privateers, Edward had been fated to live on the seas, and although he'd taken well to the challenges the seas could offer in life, it was always the fear of what death would bring that fueled his nightmares.
A flying fish to the water, he was always comfortable with the waves, be it beneath or over them, and where his living body could offer up enough heat to resist the chill of the shallows, imaginings of the frozen depths claiming his unmoving form were what woke him plenty-a-night.
Ed had been one of, if not the most grounded humans Onyx had ever known, and although it would appear a common and rational thought to assume death a release from the worries of comfort and condition, the cold of the afterlife was one fear the man had never grown to reason with.
Add to that the fact all seafaring folk were expected to claim their rest where they would have toiled, on the seas, and you'd have a crippling fear that had led to the weaving of this cloth.
Sheered from the coveted vicuna every 4 years, the yarn spun from the divine wool would be treated for 3 more before winding pairs of string into doublets for the weave, with the finished tapestry curing for an additional year before unveiling.
It was thus no surprise that finished products all started at quite the fortune, given how long the process took from start to finish, the rarity of the camelid source not withstanding.
Even something as small as a pair of baby booties could go for a sizable sum, so Onyx could only imagine how much a whole sailcloth fit for a cruising boat's main sail would go for.
Whatever the price had been, it hadn't, and could never be expensive enough to dissuade Ed from purchasing it, since this alone could provide him with peace of mind in lieu of what would follow his eventual death, and now that the man had passed, it was Onyx's duty to prepare Ed for his final plunge.
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Stripping Ed down to his birthday suit, Onyx dipped and cleansed his body in a warm broth of herb and exotic salts, and once his body was ready, he removed him to a make-shift bed of cloth over leaves, and there he dried and oiled him before tending to the matter of passage.
In Ed's customs, the journey to the next cycle had to be handled with care since mortals just beyond the bounds of their mere existence couldn't handle a full exposure to what death entailed.
Conversely, a measure of exposure could go towards insights in the one, and an eventual enlightenment over a number of cycles, and this made such journey's a balancing act.
Where sewing those eyes shut could suffice for guarding against the detriments, it was a resolution reserved for the poor or the hated since it closed off all avenues to enlightenment, in a situation that called for a tiered exposure, as opposed to full ignorance.
For those who chose that measured approach, the customs provided guidelines on how to achieve this. They divided the journey into 3 parts where blindness was prescribed for the first, an open eye for the second, and a full view for the third.
As for how the dead could achieve bodily control in their stillness, they wouldn't have to, as circumstance and higher powers would assist them with this instead.
The solution was in the toll required for passage through the afterlife, the total a sum of what was owed to two apex entities, the Maker and the Taker.
For the Taker, his due was to be placed over the left eye, and for his price he demanded a bronze for coach, a silver to 2 golds for different tiers of seating in first class, and a platinum for the helmsman's seat.
Where the Taker's prices were monetary and determinant, the Maker's dues were nuanced by the relative value of what could be offered in the allowable threshold of size, and where degree of wealth was oft the measure of nuance, for one with no living ties like Onyx, sentiment was King instead.
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Though their relationship had started off as master and servant through a bond of servitude, it had fast been replaced by the chains of camaraderie as they overcame trial after trial, and from Captain and Vice, to brothers beyond blood as their bond weathered error on either party's part.
Where the fondest of words oft-remained unsaid between men, Ed had been a contrarian in that regard, crystallizing their brotherly bond in a speech so cringe it made Onyx's blood curdle at the thought of it.
They had broken bread and chased adventure into their advanced ages, and though no amount of the riches they'd accumulated could help ease the pain of this loss, at least one of these items would find a use in easing his brother's passage to the next part of the cycle.
Onyx would be sure to give his best item for the Maker's dues, as whatever he could give up would go towards a head start in the circle of reincarnation.
Luckily enough, he had just the thing, and it seemed to have been named for this very purpose. The
Either half would make for quite the price given both its monetary and sentimental value, and he had even considered giving up the whole set before deciding against it as doing so would've touted his own virtue, whilst spitting in the face of his brother's wishes.
Placing a platinum over the left, and the
He then wrapped Ed's shriveled form in the burial cloth and where its cut represented a tradition he couldn't run away from, the wool would provide him a measure of warmth that no other material could've ever afforded.
He made sure to wrap him tightly, leaving no space for any water to seep through and as he did so, he couldn't help but marvel at the foresight, if not paranoid insanity, and the perfectionism that Ed had employed in including an [Ever-Dry] enchantment in the weave.
As soon as Ed was snug within his cocoon, Onyx retrieved 3 lengths of rope and with each, he secured a section of the cocoon in a bind. He then looped each end through the perforations on a cannonball, all of which would serve to weigh the package that was Ed down to the bottom where the Taker's ships would be waiting for the departed.
Once there, the Taker would loosen the external binds and ease the body from its cocoon before making to claim their dues. Removing the diagonal wrap over the left eye, the Taker would then check for the presence of their fee and when absent, they would be bound again at the ankles, hung over the side of the ship and left to the mercies of the journey through the afterlife.
However, if their loved ones had provided a fare for them, the fee would be taken and a guide would be assigned to usher them to their quarters, and should one have a platinum, the Taker would personally show them to the helm before moving on to the next batch of fallen souls.
The ship would eventually make it to the gates of the hereafter, where the departed would disembark. Once at the gate, the Maker would unwrap the right eye and retrieve the objects for evaluation, the worth of these fares deciding what paths the souls would be assigned to for reincarnation.
Now that Ed's prep was over and done with, all that was left was for the actual sendoff, and it wouldn't do to delay for too long.
Placing the cocoon on their raft, Onyx boarded beside it, and with the help of a length of bamboo, he rowed east, the only side with an end in their world.
Where north became south and vice-versa, one would also meet the easterly lands if they traveled west enough, but when one would reach the ends of the east, only doom would be there to welcome them if they dared progress any further.
This would be the case for all, and even those who'd just breached from west would have to continue in that direction. These mysterious disappearances were all that awaited those who attempted this journey on the open seas.
The only exception to this rule would be found in the bounds of Azad, and specifically near the shallows, a stretch of sea that only extended a hundred meters out before abruptly terminating at the eastern end and there, a reflective boundary could be seen rising into the skies beyond view.
Though limited in breadth, there was an irony in that naming as those shallows fast became a plunge towards the boundary. It was here, and not the open seas that Ed had chosen as his point of board, for though they were no more than a pond, they would always be the first seas he'd ever known.
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Once he was a single row away from the boundary, Onyx dropped anchor fast, bringing the raft to halt before easing the cocoon into the water with care.
Only a few bubbles rose as it descended, the quick cessation of the popping the only confirmation he would get of the airtight nature of his handiwork.
With lit pipe on his lips and a shamisen in his hands, he watched the cocoon as it sunk to the bottom, the upbeat music in stark contrast to its slow descent, and the mood expected of this moment.
The package eventually plopped onto the seabed and once the disturbed waters had settled to reveal its unmoving form, Onyx considered his work done.
Removing the helm that was his keepsake, he watered the raft down with accelerant before sliding off, and once he was in the water, he put flame to the wood by way of his pipe.
Making his way back to the beach, he watched the blaze until the last embers were quenched as the remains of the ship sunk below the surface, its remains drifting to join their captain on the sea floor.
It was in this moment that this new reality fully dawned on Onyx. The captain was dead, but as Ed had once told him, "long live the captain".