We couldn’t even see this mystery speaker, but his intensity came through loud and clear. He wanted us to pray. We all stood, confused and a little overwhelmed.
“Well, if prayin’ will make the fish come back...” I muttered.
“I recognize this voice,” Furt said. “We heard this guy when we went north. He gave us the same instructions, so we all prayed on board our ship.”
Together, we went over the pose the priests had taught us in the temple. “We’ve gotta raise our hands and right leg... right?”
“And you’ve gotta shout, ‘Praise be to the gods!’” Furt added, demonstrating for us.
I wasn’t convinced that praying would actually change things, but I couldn’t refuse to try. It was for the good of the duchy—or so we were being told—and we commoners would end up in more trouble than most if our land and ocean didn’t improve.
“Let us pray to Lady Rozemyne, the Divine Avatar of Mestionora!” the voice announced. “Praise be to the gods!”
“Praise be to the gods?”
We did our best, but it wasn’t good enough; the noble we couldn’t see immediately started criticizing us.
“That was insulting! Take this seriously! There is no divide between nobles and commoners when it comes to prayer! To all the nobles out there—you should understand just how much mana this spell demands and how much Lady Rozemyne is shaving down her life to cast it. Now, everyone, make your hearts one! Give a prayer befitting Lady Rozemyne’s magic!”
As it turned out, nobles were being forced to give this prayer too. I didn’t know who was leading the charge, but we imagined the looks on the nobles’ faces and cackled.
“Funny to think we’re all in the same boat.”
“Lady Rozemyne’s givin’ up some of her life to do somethin’ that even nobles find tough?”
An image of our new aub appeared in my mind—a young woman not even old enough to wear her hair up. She was from another duchy but hadn’t even hesitated to cast this spell for us. It was our duty as citizens to help out.
“Maybe we weren’t takin’ it seriously enough...” I said. “Let’s put our all into this next one.”
By the third prayer, we could hear shouting from outside the port. By the fourth, we were all competing to be the loudest, and our voices boomed to the point that it sounded like the whole city was praying.
“We’re getting there!” the leader of our prayer exclaimed. “One more! Let us pray to Lady Rozemyne, the Divine Avatar of Mestionora! The avatar of a goddess! Praise be to the gods!”
“Praise be to the gods!”
We prayed so passionately that the whole city seemed to shake, and that was when I saw the green light coming back toward us. It had twisted all around the duchy and spread so far that there were barely any more gaps in the night sky.
“We’re so close! The circle’s connecting!”
The line returned to the castle, completing the magic circle, and a dazzling flash lit up the night sky. Green light rained down on the entire duchy as if the circle had started to crumble.
“Ooh! Praise be to the gods!”
We all cheered at once, maybe because praying together had united us. The voice coming from the strange device raved the entire time.
“We witness the revival of an ancient spell using divine mana from the gods! How glorious! Praise be to Lady Rozemyne! To our Divine Avatar of Mestionora! Everyone who prayed, behold your rejuvenated duchy and express your gratitude to your new aub!”
Those of us near the ocean peered down into the water, but my wife was right—it was too dark for us to notice any changes. Still, we had high hopes based on what Furt had seen in Kannawitz.
“Can’t wait for tomorrow. Let’s go get some sleep. Meet back here at dawn and we’ll check out the ocean together!”
As we rushed down the buzzing city streets on our way home, our wives teased us that we were all too excited to get any rest.
Morning came, and once again, Fina was right—I had barely slept a wink and woke up even earlier than usual. It was still dark out, but it wouldn’t be too long before the sun came up. I ran outside and raced down the steps, intending to pass right by the well, but I stopped in my tracks when something rustled under my feet.
“What the...?!”
There hadn’t been grass there the night before, but now it was tall enough to reach my shins. I crouched down and touched it. Even through my sandals, I could feel that the hard, dry earth had turned soft.
“Is this real...?” I murmured. “Man, if even the well changed this much, how’s the ocean gonna be?”
I continued rushing toward the port, excitement brewing in my chest. The sky seemed to get brighter with each step. I’d probably have an amazing view of the ocean by the time I reached the port.
Taking deep breaths, I ran through the alleys and turned sharp corners. I reached the main street, which led straight to the port, and... stopped. Beyond white buildings and the white road, I saw a bright blue-green ocean. Even from this far away, I could tell the water was clear.
“No way... I’ve never seen the ocean like this.”
Only then did it occur to me just how dark and murky the water had been before. Ever since those black-and-silver boats had come through, the fish had started dying faster than ever, and the ocean had become especially clouded. I thought of all the days we’d set out to sea and come back empty-handed.
“This is how it used to be...” said a voice I immediately recognized.
I turned and saw Segt with his dad. They were heading to the port as well. We decided to make the rest of the journey together.
“Decided to let your old man set sail with ya, eh?” I asked Segt. I remembered their arguments over who owned their ship and whether his dad would return from retirement, but maybe they’d finally reached an agreement.
“I’m gettin’ me ship back,” Segt’s dad declared. “The aub fixed me up like it were nothin’! Gotta thank her by gettin’ her fish!”
“Huh?! I told ya I’m the one gettin’ her fish!” Segt complained. “You’re retired, old man! Stay outta this!”
So much for them reaching an agreement. It didn’t really matter to me which one of them took charge, but there was one thing I couldn’t let fly. I stretched my arms and then raced on ahead.
“Too bad, both of ya! I’m gonna get the aub her fish!”
“Huh?! Get back here, Jiffy!”
“We’ll straight’n this out later, son. Don’t let ’im win!”
We raced each other to the port, where we found other fishermen already trying to launch their boats. We must have been on the late side.
“Finally up an’ about, eh?” one of our mates teased us. “We’re goin’ on ahead. It’s a race to see who gets to thank Lady Rozemyne first!”
“Hoorah! Weigh anchor! Prepare to set out!”
“Praise be to Lady Rozemyne! Praise be to the gods!”
Fishermen launched their boats and sailed out onto the sparkling ocean. There were so many fish swimming around that we could see them with our own two eyes, and their glistening scales made for an even more wonderful sight.
I climbed aboard my own boat and set out as well.