Chapter Text
The island was barren, sparse trees dotting the rocky landscape. It was barely a few miles long, and one could traverse its length in a few hours on foot, save for that if you tried you would doubtless be taken by the mist that shrouded the western side of the island.
A single village was nestled into the curve of its bay, dark and freezing waters lapping at the rocky shore. A few solitary boats floated in the distance, on the brink of being concealed by the fog that surrounded the island. The air was heavy, and when you breathed you could taste the brine in the air.
The town was silent, nobody walked in the streets except for a dark figure wrapped up in a cloak. They strode down the pebbled streets, head held high with purpose, away from the sea. It began to rain, water pooling in the alleys and adding to the overall dampness of the night. She faded away like some creature into the depths of a dark lake, melting into the fog.
They briskly walked the path out of town, continuing on even when the cobblestone path shifted into dirt, turned into green grass speckled with early morning dew. Once the roofs of the buildings were nothing more than blobs of color on the rocky cliffs, she pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing a long braid of pink hair. Dots of sweat and rain clung to her forehead as she climbed the steadily increasing slope of the island’s western cliff, brushing away the brambles and leaves that clung to her.
As she reached the peak, the fog was burned away by the rising sun, revealing the island in its entirety. Her hometown couldn’t even be seen by then, covered by the few trees that dotted the grassy plains. Their feet ached, the sudden shift from the freezing cold of rain to the burn of the morning sun making them stumble on. The clifftop leveled out, revealing an expanse of ocean and steeply dropping cliffs to the left, and a veritable castle to the right.
It was tall, made out of dark stone that seemed to glitter in the sunlight and yet also, swallowed it up. There were cracks and gaps in the roof and the grass around it almost seemed to be one with the moss and vines that covered the building. She slowed, breathed in the clean sea air. She walked up, shoulders thrown back and cloak falling away from her and fluttering away in the wind. Her hand traced the familiar tall door, laughing when she got a splinter from the pitted and rough wood. And behind her, a dark figure loomed, laughing along with a shark like grin.
- - -
The ocean loves, you see. Cry salt and you will know this for a fact. It will always be a part of us in the end, the depths we rose out of and never returned to, and the ocean misses us always. That’s why it gives. That’s why it has to take.
Proverbs for the Oceanfarer, 20XX