Skeletal

He stood on the bow of the Seacutter overlooking the vast ocean in front of him. This ship was fabled among many as being one of the fastest and most luxurious leaving the port. It had been several days since the ship had left the docks, and there was still quite a journey before him. While the Seacutter had made incredible time across the water, living up to its name, it would be a long time until Nikola Dumont arrived at his destination.

Although his family was upset by his decision to leave, they understood. The lands from which he came were intolerant towards those with certain...abilities...and the last thing the young man wanted was to bring trouble to his home. Several months before, a wizard made the mistake of settling in Briarhaven. As the townsfolk were mistrustful of anyone wielding the mystic arts, it wasn’t long before the magic user disappeared, and not because of a spell. Anyone observed wielding what they thought of as the “dark arts” were often met with violent and torturous ends. It was an unspoken law to deal with anyone demonstrating an “unnatural” prowess. Children were taught at a young age to fear and resent those who could master mysticism. While Nikola’s powers were not magical in nature, he doubted the townsfolk would care about the distinction. Instead, the young man decided to leave his home to protect himself and his family.

It had been a couple of years since his abilities began to manifest. There were no mystical words spoken, no rituals, no ancient artifacts imbued with supernatural power. Instead, all it took for Nikola to wield his ability was a mere thought. Perhaps one of his most amazing abilities was being able to sense the history of an object by holding it and concentrating. It was like viewing the world through the eyes of an inanimate object over a short span of time. Of course, this was just one of several other abilities.

Over the years, he had yet to find another person such as himself who could perform similar wonderous things. Then again, given the history of the townsfolk, he highly doubted he ever would. This was another reason why he decided to move on; to find others like himself. It wasn’t like the powers he had read about, where sorcerers could destroy an entire house by flinging a fireball. From what he had read in old books, those kinds of skills required teaching by a master of darkness. Instead, it felt as though his abilities were more internal. Nikola felt as though he could simply think of his objective and it would happen. It took him a great deal of time to understand the boundaries of his powers through a process of trial and error. The downside, though, was that excessive use seemed to drain every bit of energy he could muster. In one instance, he passed out for several hours while trying to see the full history of a family heirloom. It was unintentional, as he was thoroughly invested in viewing the history of his grandfather’s hand-written journal.

Not having a physical manifestation of a spell made it far easier to hide from the townsfolk. Yet, there was always fear that if anyone found out what he could do, Nikola would find himself on one of the “purification pyres” in the center of town. The townsfolk thought of those burning to death on the pyre as being “cleansed”. The ashes and remnants of flesh that remained were then collected and given an honorable burial.

The breeze from the sea felt good on his face as the temperature had been particularly hot that season. Off in the distance, the sun began its nightly routine of sinking into the waters of the horizon and the stars began to twinkle to life one by one. But the swell of peace had begun to dissipate. It felt as though something was clawing at the very fabric of the pleasant weather. The last time Nikola felt a similar sensation was prior to a monsoon that struck the coastline near Briarhaven. That was the first time his family became aware of the young man’s talents. He was able to see the approaching storm and save a lot of lives in the process. As his family provided convincing stories to the townsfolk, none were the wiser that the young boy could see things before they actually happened. In this instance, though, it was something far more ominous.

Using what sunlight he had left, Nikola gazed upon the horizon in front of the ship. He began to concentrate the same way he had before when observing the monsoon all those years ago. The young man realized his suspicions as he could foresee the beginnings of a powerful storm bearing down on their position. He had to be careful, though. Any attempt to warn the helmsman or the Captain could result in attracting unwanted attention to his abilities. Even though the Seacutter was viewed upon as a luxury ship filled with comfort and splendid amenities, she had a reputation for keel hauling magic users at sea. The Captain, a portly old man with a stout beard, was one of the loudest voices for purification in Briarhaven. There was no doubt that Nikola would find himself dragged underwater should he display anything out of the ordinary. Since the young man would rather arrive at his destination still breathing, he decided to err on the side of caution. Nikola would have to time it just right to avoid drawing attention to himself while alerting the crew. On the other hand, he could bet on the skill of the crew themselves as they would surely see the storm coming before it was too late.

The dining room on the Seacutter wasn’t a large area, but it was sizeable enough for the twenty or so passengers on the ship that night. The crew had their own galley and quarters below. Nikola sat at a table poking what he imagined was a bit of meat smothered in gravy. The food, itself, smelled well enough, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was just over the horizon. What was worse was that he wasn’t able to let anyone know of the impending storm just yet. To do so would surely tip his hand about his abilities. As he moved the suspected meat around his plate, Nikola was hoping that someone on deck would see some sign of the storm. The less he had to interact with the crew, the better. Until he was safely off the ship, the young man viewed everyone as a potential threat. It was surely going to be a stressful couple of months before the Seacutter made port.

He was only able to stomach a small amount of his meat and gravy concoction. The stress of the coming storm had made him extremely nervous while dashing any hopes of having an appetite. Nikola strolled along the deck of the ship, occasionally glancing at the horizon, waiting for some sign of the storm that would be obvious to seasoned seamen. With each passing moment, his anxiety worsened. The storm he saw was something far worse than he had experienced before. At least from the perspective of someone standing on a shoreline. This was his first voyage by sea, and he was concerned it may be his last. Nonetheless, he was unable to shake the feeling of impending doom for everyone onboard. Even though most of the folk traveling that night shared the belief of prejudice against magic users, Nikola had no ill will towards them. It was as his mother told him many times before, that the young man had a “good soul”.

“It’s a beautiful night, is it not?” a young woman’s voice said from behind him, breaking his concentration on the upcoming storm.

“What?” he turned, startled by the intrusion.

“I was just commenting on the night sky,” she replied. The sea was eerily calm and not a cloud hung in the sky. A massive blanket of stars covered the sea that night, and the light of a full moon created a thin, white overlay on the ship. The young woman’s dress seemed to absorb most of the light as it was one of the brightest objects on the deck, surrounded by dark, shadowy hues of brown wood. Nikola was so enthralled with the coming storm that he had not noticed just how serene the water seemed surrounding the Seacutter.

“Yes, it is beautiful,” he replied knowing full well that it was about to go sour. The two stood side-by-side taking in the ambiance of the calm sea. While it would have been a picturesque example of tranquility, the young man knew what was on its way.

“My name is Seska, by the way. What is yours?” she asked. He turned to look at her for a moment. Her eyes were the deepest blue he had ever seen, and her long, blonde hair was pulled back into a braided tail. The young woman’s skin appeared soft and reminded him of a porcelain doll. Someone so beautiful must not have been traveling alone.

“Nikola,” he replied looking back across the water. Because of his abilities, he found it ultimately impossible to make friends. Most people he had come across would turn him into the authorities while others we less than ideal as compatriots.

“Well, it’s getting late. I’m going to my room. I hope to see you again, Nikola,” she said turning to walk away. His eyes turned to meet hers as she gave a coy smile. It was obvious that she was displaying interest in the young man. There was something about her eyes that drew him in and away from the storm. For a brief moment, he felt as though he was safe from the rest of the world. It was as if she was providing a sense of warmth and familiarity, assuring him that she was harmless. It was a nice reprieve from the storm, albeit a brief one. Nikola watched as she walked away. His curiosity was piqued, and he decided that he would meet with her again, once the distraction from the storm had passed.

The storm...

Nikola turned to face the horizon. With an exceptionally faint flash of lightning, he knew now would be a good time to inform someone from the crew that it appeared a storm was off in the distance. It was his hope the crew would take him seriously and not discredit the information as the ramblings of a paranoid passenger who had never set foot on a ship prior to his current voyage.