"A waning star, a world on death's door. The wind will not blow, not on land, not near shore, all the sailboats have been left at moor. When will they set sail? 'Nevermore.' " - Poem by Bisho
- - - - -
"Bishop Kayes!" The man seated atop the foremast of an airborne galley frowned a bit at the voice, taking a second to finish signing his name before casually tucking away his pen and paper. "We are preparing to make for port."
"Is that so?" Kayes looked around from his vantage point, up to the clouds and down to the waves below. Sure enough, the clouds seemed further away and the waves looked larger than before. "Would it be possible for me to remain up here while we land, Captain? I very much enjoy the view from up here."
The Captain of this vessel took a look around the deck as some of the incredibly nervous sailors shook their heads.
"I'm afraid not, Bishop. Given our current environment I think it would be unwise, your presence risks the safety of both sailor and ship."
"A pity. . ." Kayes took one more look around, this time towards the seemingly endless expanse of land whose shore they had been flying parallel to. "A pity."
Content with what he had seen thus far, he vaulted over the side of the crow's nest, free-falling all the way down to the deck. Naturally he landed firmly on his feet, but Captain and crew alike were apprehensive. Their concerns was not for the Bishop, they knew well enough that a fall of that height could not present an issue for him. They were worried about the status of the deck where he landed. Should he have left a dent or crack they would need to spend the better part of a day removing nails and fashioning a replacement.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for everything thus far. I apologize that this place is so unpleasant, I truly underestimated how bad the situation was."
"Please, Bishop Kayes, we came here understanding that there would be discomfort. To apologize to us in such a manner is an insult to our resolve."
"So it is, so it is." Bishop Kayes took out one sheet of paper from inside of his coat and wrote something down on it. "Would I still be able to remain on deck? I feel more comfortable when I can see the sky, as dim as it may be."
"That should be fine, but I will have to ask you to stay near the rear of the galley, away from any ropes. You should be out of the way there."
"As you wish." Kayes bowed slightly before turning away. He was a bishop, a symbol of authority within the Holifanian Theocracy, but he was not a sailor. He knew his strengths, he knew his weaknesses, and he knew that he needed to get out of the way of people at work. His presence would only cause problems.
Climbing up a short flight of stairs to the elevated stern, the Bishop took a moment to lean on the railing, staring out over the ship's edge at the seemingly endless expanse of fields and forests. It didn't look right, no part of it did. The foliage was not the vibrant green normally associated with a healthy environment. If it was only a one or two patches of grass or a few trees it could be dismissed as relatively normal, but the ugly brown-green paste that painted this land evoked images of death in his mind.
Even the rivers and streams looked like they were dying, at least the ones that he could see did. There were remarkably few of them.
"Will we be alright Sir?" A familiar voice from behind him, the child he had chosen to teach in following with his duties as a Bishop.
"We may feel lethargic, we may get headaches, but ultimately we will be fine. It is the people who call this place home who suffer the most, Cayzi."
The boy, only ten years old, joined him by the railing. He could only barely see over, but it was enough to get a look at what lay below.
"Is it even possible for someone to call this home?" He did not mean to be malicious, but it certainly came off that way. He was a compassionate soul lacking a filter. Cayzi said things as he saw them, and it was his biggest fault.
"People find home in many places young Cayzi, even in places that try their hardest to kill them. You remember our visit to the Nirti? They live so high up that they struggle to breath."
"I understand that, but they live there by choice. These people are . . . trapped." Kayes frowned at the child, understanding that he was deeply disturbed by the sight before him. For a religion so focused on finding salvation through others, the idea that there could be a people condemned from birth to a life of suffering. "Surely they had begged for assistance right? How could their neighbors be so callous?"
Kayes ruffled Cayzi's hair, trying to tear his attention away from the despair that permeated the atmosphere.
"As awful as it seems, they must have had their reasons. Not every realm is as blessed as the Theocracy, so it stands to reason they would have trouble accommodating so many people." Kayes knew that was probably not a sufficient explanation for the role he was required to perform, but he still felt Cayzi to be incapable of grasping just how awful 'people' could be. "The Nekh may be struggling more than their neighbors, but that doesn't mean that their neighbors aren't struggling. Given the color of the stars nearby, they aren't in that much better of a situation."
A sweet little lie with a kernel of truth. They might be normal in comparison to the galactic standard, but they were far below the standard achieved by the Theocracy. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to lift Cayzi's spirits much.
"Oh, that's right. I've got another poem for you to look over." Kayes shuffled around his interior coat pockets looking for the correct piece of paper. He had put it away in a rush, so he wasn't quite sure where it was. "Here. What do you think?"
Cayzi accepted the paper rectangle with a hint of reluctance, grasping it firmly so that it didn't escape him in the wind. He had been brought to the church at the age of eight, his affinity for split having been identified fairly early on. They probably could have let him remain with his parents for a few more years before inducting him into their ranks, but the Bishops were worried that would not be making the most of his abilities. Naturally there were concerns surrounding his mental health and development, so Kayes had to be careful with him. He still had a job to do, but the Bishops were willing to let a few corners be cut at such an early stage to ensure he remained healthy in the future.
Of course, taking care of a child's mental health was not something covered by Kayes' training and education as a Bishop, so he was always on the hunt for ways to make him happy. Recently, as in a few months ago, the subject of literature and poetry had been brought up in conversation, Cayzi revealing that he was a bookworm.
Kayes was anything but an author. He was more suited to sword and spear to pen and paper, but he was more well read than the boy and was more than happy to appease him through book purchases and poetry.
"Ummm. . . Three out of ten at best." That didn't mean he was good at poetry. "I like that there is a clear rhyming scheme, but it doesn't really flow well. I can probably excuse it because of it's brevity, but the fact there is nothing beyond a single rhyming sound doesn't really work."
"Well, it's just a first draft. Something for me to work on."
Kayes once more looked out over the continent, leaning over the edge to look below the ship. There were clusters of what could only have been buildings by the water's edge. He moved his line of sight along the coast, the clusters increasing in size and density culminating in a large metropolis that faded into the blue-brown haze of the atmosphere. The capital was still far away, but they were getting close.
"Did you bring your sword out with you?"
"No? Why?"
"We will be landing soon, and there are things I need to talk with you about before we meet with their ruler and nobility. As you can see, there is a need for urgency, so we need to make the most of our time."
Cayzi looked up to Bishop Kayes and frowned. He didn't like the sword. He didn't like fighting in general. If he could have had his way, he would have chosen one of the other Bishops to be his mentor, someone who wasn't tasked with hunting down people who had offended the Theocracy to the extent that they needed to be killed. He liked Bishop Kayes as a person, but he did not like what he found himself having to do.
"Okay."
"Good kid. Bring a book or two with you, there will probably be a good portion of time where you won't be able to help."
Cayzi perked up a little bit at the mention of books. They had left the Sanctum almost immediately after they arrived, but Kayes had made time to take Cayzi to a bookstore and gave him a generous allotment of funds to purchase whatever he wished. He purchased more than just books, he was diligently studying and learning how to write so he needed materials. Paper, pens, ink refills, whatever Cayzi needed Kayes paid for, though he did buy some for himself. It wasn't like that money was being used for anything else.
That said, the vast majority of the money Cayzi spent was on books. He bought the thirteen compendiums he didn't yet own a personal copy of, 25 books considered to be 'classics' of Old Holifanian literature, and ten textbooks governing a range of topics associated with his education. They weren't part of the curriculum Kayes was tasked with teaching him, but they had received his seal of approval after a short overview. One of them had already proven itself to be amazing supplemental material towards his lessons with regards to the Montaug and his story, a book titled 'The Complete History of the Last Modern War - Part 1 of 7'.
It included pictures, graphs, maps and all sorts of diagrams that explained not just the progression of the war, but how individual pieces of equipment operated. From what he had read from the foreword, that 800-something page book covered the first year of the war as well as the lead up to it, the Final Martyr's death the result of one of the earliest combat actions of the conflict - the Siege of Tiran.
"Cayzi."
"Yes sir?"
"Bring some paper and pens with you. We may need to take notes." Giving him a job would keep him from feeling like baggage, even if Kayes was confident he could remember anything important.
"Yes sir!"
cakeonfrosting Short chapter, sorry, but a little under 2k was a better cut off than a potential 4k or 5k words. A short intro for Bishop Kayes and his novitiate, and for the depressing planet that is Nekh. Get ready for some heavy stuff.
"A waning star, a world on death's door. The wind will not blow, not on land, not near shore, all the sailboats have been left at moor. When will they set sail? 'Nevermore.' " - Poem by Bisho
- - - - -
"Bishop Kayes!" The man seated atop the foremast of an airborne galley frowned a bit at the voice, taking a second to finish signing his name before casually tucking away his pen and paper. "We are preparing to make for port."
"Is that so?" Kayes looked around from his vantage point, up to the clouds and down to the waves below. Sure enough, the clouds seemed further away and the waves looked larger than before. "Would it be possible for me to remain up here while we land, Captain? I very much enjoy the view from up here."
The Captain of this vessel took a look around the deck as some of the incredibly nervous sailors shook their heads.
"I'm afraid not, Bishop. Given our current environment I think it would be unwise, your presence risks the safety of both sailor and ship."
"A pity. . ." Kayes took one more look around, this time towards the seemingly endless expanse of land whose shore they had been flying parallel to. "A pity."
Content with what he had seen thus far, he vaulted over the side of the crow's nest, free-falling all the way down to the deck. Naturally he landed firmly on his feet, but Captain and crew alike were apprehensive. Their concerns was not for the Bishop, they knew well enough that a fall of that height could not present an issue for him. They were worried about the status of the deck where he landed. Should he have left a dent or crack they would need to spend the better part of a day removing nails and fashioning a replacement.
"Thank you, gentlemen, for everything thus far. I apologize that this place is so unpleasant, I truly underestimated how bad the situation was."
"Please, Bishop Kayes, we came here understanding that there would be discomfort. To apologize to us in such a manner is an insult to our resolve."
"So it is, so it is." Bishop Kayes took out one sheet of paper from inside of his coat and wrote something down on it. "Would I still be able to remain on deck? I feel more comfortable when I can see the sky, as dim as it may be."
"That should be fine, but I will have to ask you to stay near the rear of the galley, away from any ropes. You should be out of the way there."
"As you wish." Kayes bowed slightly before turning away. He was a bishop, a symbol of authority within the Holifanian Theocracy, but he was not a sailor. He knew his strengths, he knew his weaknesses, and he knew that he needed to get out of the way of people at work. His presence would only cause problems.
Climbing up a short flight of stairs to the elevated stern, the Bishop took a moment to lean on the railing, staring out over the ship's edge at the seemingly endless expanse of fields and forests. It didn't look right, no part of it did. The foliage was not the vibrant green normally associated with a healthy environment. If it was only a one or two patches of grass or a few trees it could be dismissed as relatively normal, but the ugly brown-green paste that painted this land evoked images of death in his mind.
Even the rivers and streams looked like they were dying, at least the ones that he could see did. There were remarkably few of them.
"Will we be alright Sir?" A familiar voice from behind him, the child he had chosen to teach in following with his duties as a Bishop.
"We may feel lethargic, we may get headaches, but ultimately we will be fine. It is the people who call this place home who suffer the most, Cayzi."
The boy, only ten years old, joined him by the railing. He could only barely see over, but it was enough to get a look at what lay below.
"Is it even possible for someone to call this home?" He did not mean to be malicious, but it certainly came off that way. He was a compassionate soul lacking a filter. Cayzi said things as he saw them, and it was his biggest fault.
"People find home in many places young Cayzi, even in places that try their hardest to kill them. You remember our visit to the Nirti? They live so high up that they struggle to breath."
"I understand that, but they live there by choice. These people are . . . trapped." Kayes frowned at the child, understanding that he was deeply disturbed by the sight before him. For a religion so focused on finding salvation through others, the idea that there could be a people condemned from birth to a life of suffering. "Surely they had begged for assistance right? How could their neighbors be so callous?"
Kayes ruffled Cayzi's hair, trying to tear his attention away from the despair that permeated the atmosphere.
"As awful as it seems, they must have had their reasons. Not every realm is as blessed as the Theocracy, so it stands to reason they would have trouble accommodating so many people." Kayes knew that was probably not a sufficient explanation for the role he was required to perform, but he still felt Cayzi to be incapable of grasping just how awful 'people' could be. "The Nekh may be struggling more than their neighbors, but that doesn't mean that their neighbors aren't struggling. Given the color of the stars nearby, they aren't in that much better of a situation."
A sweet little lie with a kernel of truth. They might be normal in comparison to the galactic standard, but they were far below the standard achieved by the Theocracy. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to lift Cayzi's spirits much.
"Oh, that's right. I've got another poem for you to look over." Kayes shuffled around his interior coat pockets looking for the correct piece of paper. He had put it away in a rush, so he wasn't quite sure where it was. "Here. What do you think?"
Cayzi accepted the paper rectangle with a hint of reluctance, grasping it firmly so that it didn't escape him in the wind. He had been brought to the church at the age of eight, his affinity for split having been identified fairly early on. They probably could have let him remain with his parents for a few more years before inducting him into their ranks, but the Bishops were worried that would not be making the most of his abilities. Naturally there were concerns surrounding his mental health and development, so Kayes had to be careful with him. He still had a job to do, but the Bishops were willing to let a few corners be cut at such an early stage to ensure he remained healthy in the future.
Of course, taking care of a child's mental health was not something covered by Kayes' training and education as a Bishop, so he was always on the hunt for ways to make him happy. Recently, as in a few months ago, the subject of literature and poetry had been brought up in conversation, Cayzi revealing that he was a bookworm.
Kayes was anything but an author. He was more suited to sword and spear to pen and paper, but he was more well read than the boy and was more than happy to appease him through book purchases and poetry.
"Ummm. . . Three out of ten at best." That didn't mean he was good at poetry. "I like that there is a clear rhyming scheme, but it doesn't really flow well. I can probably excuse it because of it's brevity, but the fact there is nothing beyond a single rhyming sound doesn't really work."
"Well, it's just a first draft. Something for me to work on."
Kayes once more looked out over the continent, leaning over the edge to look below the ship. There were clusters of what could only have been buildings by the water's edge. He moved his line of sight along the coast, the clusters increasing in size and density culminating in a large metropolis that faded into the blue-brown haze of the atmosphere. The capital was still far away, but they were getting close.
"Did you bring your sword out with you?"
"No? Why?"
"We will be landing soon, and there are things I need to talk with you about before we meet with their ruler and nobility. As you can see, there is a need for urgency, so we need to make the most of our time."
Cayzi looked up to Bishop Kayes and frowned. He didn't like the sword. He didn't like fighting in general. If he could have had his way, he would have chosen one of the other Bishops to be his mentor, someone who wasn't tasked with hunting down people who had offended the Theocracy to the extent that they needed to be killed. He liked Bishop Kayes as a person, but he did not like what he found himself having to do.
"Okay."
"Good kid. Bring a book or two with you, there will probably be a good portion of time where you won't be able to help."
Cayzi perked up a little bit at the mention of books. They had left the Sanctum almost immediately after they arrived, but Kayes had made time to take Cayzi to a bookstore and gave him a generous allotment of funds to purchase whatever he wished. He purchased more than just books, he was diligently studying and learning how to write so he needed materials. Paper, pens, ink refills, whatever Cayzi needed Kayes paid for, though he did buy some for himself. It wasn't like that money was being used for anything else.
That said, the vast majority of the money Cayzi spent was on books. He bought the thirteen compendiums he didn't yet own a personal copy of, 25 books considered to be 'classics' of Old Holifanian literature, and ten textbooks governing a range of topics associated with his education. They weren't part of the curriculum Kayes was tasked with teaching him, but they had received his seal of approval after a short overview. One of them had already proven itself to be amazing supplemental material towards his lessons with regards to the Montaug and his story, a book titled 'The Complete History of the Last Modern War - Part 1 of 7'.
It included pictures, graphs, maps and all sorts of diagrams that explained not just the progression of the war, but how individual pieces of equipment operated. From what he had read from the foreword, that 800-something page book covered the first year of the war as well as the lead up to it, the Final Martyr's death the result of one of the earliest combat actions of the conflict - the Siege of Tiran.
"Cayzi."
"Yes sir?"
"Bring some paper and pens with you. We may need to take notes." Giving him a job would keep him from feeling like baggage, even if Kayes was confident he could remember anything important.
"Yes sir!"
cakeonfrosting Short chapter, sorry, but a little under 2k was a better cut off than a potential 4k or 5k words. A short intro for Bishop Kayes and his novitiate, and for the depressing planet that is Nekh. Get ready for some heavy stuff.
