Brian Rathbone - The Dawning of Power

A large island came into view. It was covered with trees that were laden with color, flowers weighing down their branches. Here Catrin saw a beautiful but distressing sight: violet hummingbirds by the hundreds, forming clouds of iridescent light that danced through the trees. If the birds ended their migration here, that meant Catrin's idea of following them to the Firstland had been founded on a mistake. She had gambled and lost. Now they were months from the Greatland and faced with the possibility of getting stuck there.

Twice the Slippery Eel dragged along the seafloor, dangerously close to running aground, but Kenward did not want to completely empty the hold yet, not knowing how much farther the shallows continued. The Stealthy Shark rode higher in the water, but they, too, had come close to disaster, caught between shallow water and the ruins of an ancient fortress, but her crew managed to avoid the dangers.

"Have mercy!" the lookout called. "Look at that!"

A ring of stone pillars, each the size of a greatoak, stood in a circle. There would be twenty-four in all, if not for the two that had fallen and now lay across the shallows ahead, creating a formidable barrier. Each column had a face carved on it, and they were visages of madness and despair.

"We're gonna have to sail around it," Kenward said.

"Zjhon warship grounded to the south, sir. Looks like it's been abandoned," Bryn called out from the rigging.

"They didn't make it," Kenward said. "I hope we have better luck than they did."

The sight of the ship gave Catrin heart; this was no ancient shipwreck. Perhaps they were going the right way after all. Still, there would be no way to tell which way to go beyond the shallows. Kenward had once told her that ships leave no footprints, and now she understood the hard truth of his words.

After furious debate between the ships, they split up to survey the area, hoping to find a safe channel to sail through. Kenward turned the Eel north, sailing perpendicular to the fallen columns. Pieces of other columns, which had obviously been much taller at one time, littered the area, and they had to move slowly. The farther north they sailed, though, the fouler the air became, filled with a noxious odor.

Beyond the fallen columns were luminous rifts in the seafloor; the gas they spewed churned the waters violently, and a foul haze hung over the water.

"It's not safe to sail over gas bubbles," Kenward said. "Ships have sunk in water filled with bubbles. When there is so much gas in the water, it disturbs the buoyancy that keeps us afloat. If even part of the ship enters those waters, she could be torn apart. We'll have to go back."

Not long after they turned around came a dreadful series of flashes-a distress call. The Stealthy Shark was grounded.

"They made it past the Zjhon warship, but the currents pulled them into sand. They are trying to pull themselves free using the anchor and windlass, but it doesn't look good. The only blessing is that they are on a sand bar. If we can pull her free, she shouldn't take much damage. We just have to get to the other side. Mother wants me to come south now and tow them backwards, but I disagree. We're going to try and make the other side, and then we'll pull them forward."

"Are you sure you want to disobey your mother?" Catrin asked, imagining the fight it would cause.

"My mother knows that sometimes you must follow your instincts to survive. My instincts are telling me to get through first. Besides, if I fail, she'll have a long swim before she can scold me."

Setting a course for the columns that still stood, Kenward scanned the water along with everyone else. They found several gaps between fallen chunks of column, but they led nowhere.

"There!" Bryn called. "Look, sir, to the north. See the gap?"

"Send a boat to check the depth, and see if the water beyond is deep enough as well."

Men scrambled to comply, knowing that time was running out for the Shark.

The gap proved wide enough for the Eel to slip through unscathed, which was obviously not the case for the Zjhon ships that had preceded them. Rub marks and even bits of wood clung to the columns.

"They came this way. That's for certain," Bryn said, and Kenward nodded his agreement, clearly deep in thought.

As they sailed within the columns, Catrin was overwhelmed by the similarities to the Grove of the Elders, and even though it was covered in water, she could feel the power of the land beneath her. Here, too, she guessed, was a place where the power of the land was most concentrated. Drinking it in, she let the natural energy flow around her and bolster her.

The seafloor rose in a gentle dome that crested at the center of the columns. Unable to cut straight through, Kenward guided the ship in an arc, following the columns as guides. Once past the fallen columns, he turned north. As they passed through two of the tallest columns that remained standing, Catrin felt as if she were leaving one world and entering another. Departure from the intense energy field left her swaying on her feet.

Cutting a meandering course, they reached waters not far from where the Stealthy Shark waited, eerily still in the water. Gathered at the stern, the crew were taking turns at the windlass. As soon as they spotted the Eel, a flurry of flashes came.

"She's not happy," Kenward said with a grin. "We'll see what song she sings when I pull them out. Fasha might just walk the plank on her own." When they had gotten as close to the Shark as they safely could, he turned to his crew. "Get a boat dropped and take a heavy line to the Shark."

Once the rope was firmly secured to each ship, Kenward raised the sails. For a time, nothing happened, but then both ships began to slide forward a finger's width at a time until the Shark slipped free.

The waters ahead were deeper, and the level of tension decreased greatly, but still they were wary of unforeseen obstacles. In the shadow of the giant mountain, which was now so close that Catrin felt she could reach out and touch it, the foul smell they had experienced earlier became strong once again, and pockets of bubbles suddenly erupted in the waters around them. Careful to avoid the roiling waters, they lost time finding a clear path.

Cheers rose from both ships, though, when the lookouts spotted the end of the shallows, and Catrin climbed the rigging to see the dark waters for herself. Beyond a ragged line of white sand, it beckoned and threatened. Unexplored waters awaited.

When the ships gained deep water, the order to fish immediately followed. Knowing they might need more food than the ships could hold to survive the voyage, they made use of every bit of space and packed it with food. Both ships sat low in the water by nightfall.

"I must admit," Kenward said. "I feel as if I have survived the dragon's claws only to land in his teeth. Do you have any idea of what way we should go now?"

"I don't," Catrin said, wishing she could do something. Then a desperate idea came to her, and she wondered if it could work. "Brother Vaughn, may I discuss something that happened in the Inner Sanctuary with violating confidence?"

"These circumstances warrant flexibility. Speak freely."

"Were you one of those who chanted during my time in the viewing chamber?"

"Yes. I was."

"Do you know both sides of the harmony?"

"Actually, I do. I learned only one part at first, but when you did not return, we had to be creative, and I ended up learning the other part as well. What are you thinking?"

"Could you teach the crew how to perform the chant?"

"I suppose I could," Brother Vaughn said, thoughtful. "I don't know if it will work without the stone chair… or the special chambers. I don't know."

"We could try," Catrin said firmly.

"We could try," he conceded. "But I'm still not certain it will be safe."