Chapter 3: Chapter II: A Crew
A week passed since Oberon Hel had set sail for the wandering Isle. He had finally anchored his ship far off the coast and taken a longboat to shore after having pulled all of his treasures from the ship into his storage pouch.
Stepping onto the docs, he stuck out like a sore thumb, his clothing were were crafted to fit his body well and the style was empirical and modern, fit for the summer. To be a slave his whole life, Oberon was a bit flamboyant with his presentation and his interaction with people. He hated to feel weak or less than. He no longer wanted to be repressed or managed. To be a blinding light without dimming for anybody was his dream.
With his sword and dagger on his waist, it was an odd sight as rifles were the weapons of the modern age. And if one didn't have weapons, they used small weapons because fighting Grisha required throwing weapons and a manner of other tools. A sword was meant for close combat and only brought death before one could even get close to a Grisha.
Oberon soon found himself in an Inn, drinking a mug of warm cider and picking meat from the leg of a stag and the body of a fish.
"Boy, you aren't from around here. What're you doin'?" a man asked as he took a seat at Oberon's table.
"Looking for a crew," Oberon replied as he picked more meat and brought it to his mouth.
Suddenly everyone's eyes brightened. They had assumed the strange man was there to cause trouble.
"You a whaler?" the man asked.
"Of sorts. Do you have slaves here?"
"Grisha and Animals. Neither fit to have on a ship. Say, I know some guys in need of work, they'll be happy to help you with a few good catches."
Oberon didn't reply and continued to eat. When he was finished, he stood up and said, "I want to see the slaves."
Sometime later, Oberon arrived at a lot lined with cages and packed with people. Animals and Grisha shared the same cages and Oberon's blood boiled with anger. Oberon stepped up to the cage and spoke.
"I need Tidemakers!"
He spoke this seven times in seven different languages
"I need Durast and Alkemi. I need squallers, Heartrenders, and Healers" he added.
The Grisha looked up and saw the blue-eyed white-haired man with a look of death in his eyes.
"Hey! Who the fuck are you ?" A slaver shouted as he and his group rushed out.
"Mann, it's okay. He's come to buy." the man from the tavern spoke.
"Boy, how old are you?" Mann asked.
Oberon thought. He remembered the sky when he left Fjerda. He remembered the sky when he set sail for Rehab's lair, and he remembered the sky when he left Ulla's Caves.
'Three years.' he thought.
"Soon to be twenty," Oberon spoke and all of the men laughed.
"And you think you can purchase a lot?"
"And that wolf," Oberon added while pointing at the biggest pup with a tuft of black fur on its brow, knees, and elbows.
"If you can't pay, you join them," Mann spoke as the confidence in Oberon had slightly shaken him.
"Tidemakers! Stand up!"
This was the start of an appraisal process.
Oberon looked each group over and picked three of the healthiest from each lot. In the end, he had a wolf and 18 Grisha.
"Has the wolf been blooded?" Oberon asked.
"Of course not." the slaver replied.
Oberon hummed as he took out a two-pound bar of gold.
"This should cover it,'' he said.
The slavers were shocked but Oberon didn't stay to chat as he walked his slaves into the wilderness. It was the strangest thing the villagers had ever seen. Strange because his clothing was slim and the air was freezing. Strange because a two-pound bar of gold could provide for a family for a year. Finally, it was strange because no one entered the woods as nonchalantly as Oberon had.
"What do you want with us?" an outspoken squaller spoke up.
"What's your name?" Oberon asked as he finally stopped in the depths of the wilderness.
"Puck." the squaller replied.
"Well, Puck…." Oberon stopped speaking and 18 water blades freed the Grisha much to their shock.
"I need a crew." Oberon finished.
"Y-you're Grisha."
"Last time I checked, yes," Oberon replied.
"Why didn't you free us all?" A blonde-haired girl asked, visibly distraught.
However, Puck was the only one that hadn't overlooked Oberon's single-hand activation of power.
"Why is the sky blue, and the ocean cold? Why do Grisha exist? None of this matters right now. If you want to free them all, then go. I bought you all not from sympathy or some higher calling of Grisha freedom. As I said, I need a crew. Feared or respected, there will be people who always hunt Grisha. We might as well focus on our own freedom. And if we have the means, then hey, I guess freeing Grisha wouldn't be so bad, someday."
The former Grisha slaves looked at each other. Oberon had spoken the truth. Who were they? Ravka. Grisha's freedom wasn't part of their destiny. Hell, they had just been enslaved themselves. Encountering Oberon was a stroke of luck and they decided to treat it as such.
"Lord, what do you need a crew for." a young healer asked.
"Obviously to sail a ship." Puck spoke.
"I know that! But what is the job? Hunting whales, privateer work?" the young healer asked.
"The world is cruel, so we will profit from it. Above racial and religious bias, this world favors money. So we will take what makes them rich and it will make us rich. "
"What if the druskelle comes?" another asked.
"That's why we will be pirates and not Highwaymen. And when we reach Kerch, we're done." Oberon explained.
The group stood silent for a while. It was Puck who spoke first.
"A life away from this place doesn't sound too bad."
Oberon ignored him as the woods suddenly emitted an odd presence.
"Puck, is it?" Oberon asked.
"Yes."
"Puck, tell me about these woods," said Oberon.
"Woods of Istamere. Woods of the fairies." Puck replied in low voice.
"Hmm, have you seen one? These fairies?"
"No, Lord. Fable says that fairies are made of light. Without a sun summoner, we will never see the return of fairies."
"I feel them." Oberon gasped as an electric pulse rolled through his body.
The Grisha shared an odd look at each other.
"L-lord. Fairies….they aren't real." Puck added.
"Shh.." Oberon threw up his hand, "If you want to leave…leave. Puck, you said you'll join me. Follow me then."
Oberon looked down on his left and saw the small pup. He picked the pup up and held it in his arms, feeding it pieces of dried fish as he walked into the wooded land. He had originally wanted to hide in the forest to evaluate the Grisha level of abilities, but now he was single-mindedly following impulse.
"Puck, what should we do? We can't go back." the blonde woman spoke.
"Then we follow the man who purchased us." Puck replied.
"But he set us free." A big red-haired man spoke.
"Then do what you want. But if we make it to Kerch or even Novyi Zem, we are truly free. So I will use his boat." Puck followed after Oberon as he finished.
One by one the Grisha slaves followed. Before they knew it, they were trekking into the deep woods as the sun vanished and the north chill intensified.
And finally, when the night was old and the Grisha shivered from head to toe, Puck shouted, "Lord!".
Oberon finally stopped.
"Puck, I told you to call me Oberon. What is it that you want?"
"The crewmen, they're cold and tired."
Oberon sighed and turned around. He eyed the shivering crew then said, "We rest here."
"Lord, how do we start a fire? We don't have an Inferni and the wood is too wet." Anise spoke.
"Squallers can dry the wood and we can light it," Craig added.
"Just gather the wood there." Oberon pointed at a random spot as his eyes remained glued on a distant point deeper in the woods.
'snap out of it, Oberon. You have tasks at hand.' Oberon told himself as he turned around to face the crew.
"My apologies. How would you all like to sleep?" Oberon asked and the crew found it odd. But when they began to think, many of them desire to sleep together because they were born into slavery and it was all they knew.
On the contrary, those who were captured later in life would rather stay with their gender unless they had a partner to warm them in the night.
"Together it is," Oberon spoke as the crew took too long to reply.
A moment later a large folded cloth sail appeared. Oberon cut down a tree with a water blade before going on to display exceptional control by making wood posts.
"Alright, let's get this tent up. The faster the better." Oberon sang, waking the crew up from their shock.
Sometime later, a large tent was constructed, big enough to fit everyone and insulated enough warm the night.
In the middle of the ten, a small fire was going and Oberon stared calmly into it as his wolf pup rested in his lap.
"You've been here for a while," said Puck.
"Thinking," Oberon replied.
"About what? Raising a pup, managing a crew, making a living, serving the trip to Kerch. I can go on, but no matter how long or hard you look into that fire, not all solutions can be from a simple thought. Some solutions take experience and a helping hand." Puck spoke as he joined Oberon.
Oberon looked at Puck. He then looked around the tent and found the rest of the crew sleeping in groups but not far from the fire.
"You're not like us," said Puck, regaining Oberon's attention.
"Fjerdans call us witches. Novy Zem calls us blessed. Kerch and Ravka call us Grisha. Up here, we have too many insulting names to count. But in the traditional sense, you are more than Grisha. I watched summon the water blades with one hand. It's like your performing magic more so than small science." Puck spoke with a bit of caution.
"What are you?" Puck finally asked.
"I'm the future." Oberon replied, "Do you know what this wolf pup is?"
Puck shook his head.
"This is an isenulf. A white wolf bred to go into battle with the drüskelle. They are said to be larger than normal wolves, but highly trained and deadly in a battle against Grisha, as they are not affected by Heartrender powers. A great existence right? It had the potential to become more, to become the dominant wolf species, and possibly acquire great abilities...
But the isenulf have been bred by one family near Stenrink for a number of generations. It is a tradition for drüskelle in training to visit the breeding grounds in the Ring of Stones to choose a puppy. Not all drüskelle get an isenulf if there are not enough puppies bred that year. They can only be paired as puppies...
If an isenulf is killed, though it is a terrible loss, the drüskelle may train a new wolf if he chooses. If a drüskelle is killed, on the other hand, the isenulf is sent back to the wild, where it roams unaccepted by any pack, meaning hopes of future offspring is very slim, painting their managed existence...
But like me, this special guy has appeared so far from home and is two times the size of an average isenulf puppy. These black tufts are also uncharacteristic of his kind. He is different. He is the future of his kind." Oberon finally paused and Puck stared silently at him.
"Puck, I have a vision of the future this pup can create without the bias against...magic and with the help of someone willing to push the boundaries. So tell me, what is the future of free Grisha working to push the boundaries without fear of shattering what little love this world has left for us."
Puck remained silently as the presence of Oberon slowly became bigger and bigger.
'Why can't we summon the elements with one hand?' Puck thought in his heart, 'Why can't my control over wind lift me to fly through the sky?'
Oberon smiled as he watched Puck.
"I was born outside the Grisha community, in a way. Those around weren't very coherent. Without rules and people telling me how. I had to make my own way and I became something different. Something we all have the potential to be. "
"Hahaha," Puck chuckled, "So two anomalies of their kind are going to shake up the world. I like it. I really do. So, Mr. Future, what's next?"
"Back home, we used to have these shelves that held material. And every once in a while, someone would be so turned around they would bump into it. When that happened, one shelf would hit the other and soon every shelf would be falling one after the other. These woods are the next shelf of my life. I can hear it free falling. So we're going to stay awhile." Oberon replied before he stood up and walked away.
Oberon wrapped up in some furs and left Puck all alone to manage the small fire keeping everyone warm.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone