Upon Wind and Sea

A chill wind battered her dirty robes as she knelt onto the deck. Voah Sahnsuur, Arbiter of the Five Pillars of Mizar set down her censer. She shuddered, her mouth parched, Voah swallowed hard, trying to clear her throat of the residual bolus of rock-hard biscuit.

"Cambena..." she closed her eyes and breathed the words to herself, calling on the Goddess.

She steadied herself as the ship rolled. It had been over a month and a half since Voah had set foot on solid ground and the word on the crew's lips was that they would soon see landfall. The final days of this unforgiving voyage were upon them.

For the first week, she was as miserable as the other passengers, suffering bouts of dizziness, yet she tried her damnedest to maintain an appearance of strength for the morale of the people aboard. Thank Cambena the sea-sickness had finally abated and she no longer had to isolate herself or make excuses to disappear and vomit up her meager rations. She had learned to nibble her food and sip her drinks with ginger, position herself in the best places, and get fresh air whenever possible. It helped that she had convinced the crew of her importance above deck. She was tired, hungry and sick of being in cramped quarters below deck with low ceilings, sickening smells, and sweaty soldiers.

Voah slowly inhaled and exhaled a long sigh. She then opened her eyes, let loose her long blonde hair and rose confidently from her position of prayer. She stood erect, her chin up, one hand on the mainmast and the other outstretched, receiving the untamed freedom of the ocean.

She fixed her eyes to the horizon where the grey sky kissed the deep blue sea as the sailing vessel careened forward unto destiny.