The Silent Ship II

To change the subject, she asked about something that piqued her curiosity in the captain's previous sentence, "What do you mean by the sea currents weaken at night? I've never heard of such a thing. Is that even possible?"

The captain sighed as he spoke in a low voice, "I wasn't meant ta say that; this here info's meant ta be kept from the public. Thought you’d know, given yer status as a mage."He looked at Silora's curious and ignorant expression and continued in a low voice, "It started two years ago, outta nowhere, the sea currents formed by the whirlpool—The Cycle of Life—got 20% weaker fer five hours every night. As ya might guess, it caused a fair few losses that no one wanted ta report. I can’t speak fer other sectors, but in maritime—my area—it hit us hard. We had ta learn ta deal with it. Not much of a story, short as it may be."

"NOT Much!!! Have you lost your mind, old man?" Silora said in the loudest tone possible without being heard by the crew or passengers on the upper deck of the ship. "There hasn't been any change in the whirlpool even before the Alliance was established, thousands of years, if not much longer. There must be a reason. Tell me the details, no, tell me everything you know."

The captain adjusted his stance in front of the helm, "This is gonna be a long talk, I see.," he said helplessly. "You’re right on one thing—no one saw the whirlpool—Cycle of Life—form. It was only found by the founder o' the Free City, thousands o' years ago. Since then, not a thing’s changed... until two years ago. I can’t tell ya why; nobody knows, just like everyone else. But I can tell ya what folks say and what I've seen meself."

Silora nodded carefully and listened attentively. "Nine months ago, they announced missions to explore the depths of the whirlpool. Now, I’ve no doubt they’d been doin' this a long time; they only told us when they got what they were after… And three months after that, the results were announced. Course, that’s mage business, but as a Captain, I hear more than I’d like. So, I know what they know." The Captain took a deep breath and continued, "Contrary ta all expectations, the announcement was simple, but the reaction was big. Ain't every day new Mana Cracks are found. They didn’t say much—like how many or how big—but they said there were more, and they were bigger than the ones near the surface of the whirlpool... As a mage, ya know how important this news is." he said cautiously.

Of course, Silora knew the immense, unprecedented significance of such news. What are Mana Cracks? Mana cracks are natural sources of magical energy or Mana; they are massive and extremely powerful. They act as reservoirs of mana that mages can use for various purposes and are a crucial element in the establishment and prosperity of the Free City itself. And why does everyone think they are important? (Especially mages). Natural Mana Cracks of this size are very rare in the world. Just having one can significantly increase the value of the area. The whirlpool beneath the Free City held seven Cracks of different sizes. This number alone was greater than all the other announced Mana Cracks in the vast world, even the smallest Cracks in the whirlpool exceeded the size of all others outside the whirlpool's vicinity. This number increased the value of the Free City and the Island Alliance to unprecedented heights, especially in the field of magic, where few other places can provide the same level of resources and support for magical learning. Additionally, these Mana Cracks are also economic and strategic assets. Their presence attracts scholars, researchers, and powerful mages, boosting the local economy and making the Free City a hub of magical activity. 'And now there are more. More numerous and larger.'

Before Silora could put words to her thoughts, the captain said calmly, "Even with this news, folks ain’t forgotten the trouble with the currents. Some reckless mages accused the leaders of the Free City, sayin’ they were coverin' up what’s really goin’ on with the whirlpool. Mages agreed, sayin' they felt no increase in magical energy around 'em. I’m no expert, but even I know more Mana Cracks should mean more mana in the air… And that’s when the rumors started. Most o' them nonsense, makin' me doubt the sanity o' these mages. ‘The whirlpool’ll swallow us,’ ‘It’ll explode,’—ha! Ridiculous! Even heard there’s another world beneath it. Madness."

Silora listened carefully and asked one of her many questions before the captain continued his words, "What was the Free City's response to these claims?"

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"Not much else, really," the captain said with amusement. "They kept sayin' we should trust the word, using the city's name ta sway opinion. As ya might guess, it just made 'em mage angrier. As the sayin' goes, 'Ya don’t want to anger a mage.' In the end, the Free City said they’d send expeditions ta collect Crystallized Mana from these new Cracks. It calmed 'em down some, but plenty o' questions remain unanswered, despite the pressure."

Silora nodded, this gave her a lot of information, but it still didn't solve the mystery of the weakening sea currents at night. 'Why only at night? Why only 20%? Why only 5 hours? And why exactly two years ago?' Silora knew there was no point in asking the first three questions, but the last one? She decided to focus on that, hoping to come up with something. "Did something happen two years ago?" Silora asked quietly.

"Funny, that was one question they wouldn’t answer." the captain said with a smile. "Not quite, but close enough. Two years ago, The Strangers showed up on our islands. Said they were headin' for the Continent of Light, but never named it—like they didn’t know it. Claimed their aim was ta reach the Northern Empire—the greatest power after the Island Alliance—and said the Alliance was their path. Funny thing is, they never went ta the Continent. They stayed in the Free City. No one thought much of it; the Free City’s a mage’s dream, after all. But they didn’t stay long before vanishin' without a trace. What drove the city's mages mad was the timing—these strangers showin' up and disappearin' just as the currents weakened—Never happened before."

Under Silora's curious gaze, the captain took a tired breath before continuing. "The question they wouldn’t answer was, ‘What happened to those strangers two years ago?’ Course, curious folks like yerself went lookin' fer answers. And they found somethin' shockin'—every two years, strangers arrive at our islands, claimin' the same reason: they wanna reach the Northern Empire. They stay in the Free City, then disappear mysteriously. No one cared before 'cause it didn’t affect their lives, but now, with the sea currents actin' strange, it’s got all the mages talkin'."

Silora's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, hoping to confirm the idea that had crossed her mind, "These strangers, you said they come every two years, where do they come from? And when was their first arrival?"

"The first record o' these strangers comin' was ten years ago." the captain said thoughtfully. "Or that’s what they found, anyhow. Where they come from? No one knows. Even now, with all the pressure, the authorities won’t say. With no answers here, they turned their eyes ta the Continent of Light, especially the Northern Empire. They denied it all, said they knew naught o' these strangers, claimed it was just some trick by the Free City ta lure their mages over. In short, they washed their hands of it and blamed the Free City."

'Could my father's vile killer be one of these strangers?' Silora thought with some hope. She turned her focus to the captain and asked eagerly, "Is there any record of the names of these strangers?"

"Yer awful curious about all this, ain't ya?" the captain said, but when he saw Silora's serious expression, he knew it was more than curiosity. "Don't know why it matters so much ta ya, and I don't think I want ta know. But yeah, there’s a list o' names goin' around among the city’s mages. Didn’t care enough ta check it myself. Sorry ‘bout that."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Silora replied with guilt. "The Free City was on my way anyway, but now it seems it's my destination. Should I expect chaos when I arrive?"

The captain smiled at that and said, "Not really. The higher-ups got a good grip on things. The chance ta explore and gather crystallized Mana kept things from boilin' over. The mages talk, but most of 'em are watchin' from a distance; they know how valuable this chance is... But there’s always a few loud ones who don’t know when ta keep quiet. As long as ya steer clear o' them, ya’ll be fine." He pretended to think for a moment and asked with hidden curiosity, "Why the Free City?"

Silora didn't want to involve the kind Captain in her troubles, so she only told part of the truth. "My mother left me a message telling me to go to the Free City." Thinking about this message, and with all the information Silora had just learned, there was definitely a reason for her mother to send her to such a place. She was almost certain that Ashe—the killer of her father—was one of these unknown strangers. Could her mother be involved in all this chaos somehow? 'That's impossible, my mother, like me, rarely left the farm. And when she did, she was accompanied by my father or my siblings.'

'And why does the word strangers ring a bell?' Silora felt familiar with the word, as if she had heard it before. But trying to remember something based on a faint instinct didn't help much. 'There's something strange about the whole situation.'

The captain responded to Silora's words, "As a mage, ye'll love it there. But be wary, lass. The surface may seem calm, but them hidden currents can drag ya under before ya know it."

Silora thanked the captain for his serious warning and promised to take the necessary precautions. She excused herself and made her way to her private room in the passenger cabin's—the middle deck.