CoESC Book 18-13.2: Ports of Call (Patreon)

The high waves came soon after, and the pleasure yacht soon found itself facing a swell that was more than twice the height of its mast. A dull rumble battered Yuriko’s ears, and it took a moment to realise that it was louder than it seemed. 

The Sea Sage tilted up as it struggled to climb the swell. She felt the engine rev through the deck as the captain turned the ship so it could take on the wave properly. Milo Troive, the captain’s younger son and the all-around deckhand, rushed up on the bow deck to secure loose lines and hatches. 

“Get below decks!” The young man yelled, his voice breaking due to his age. 

“I can help!” Yuriko yelled even as she cast a Helpful Hand, which shot towards one of the loose lines. Behind her, the sail started to furl, aided by both machinery and muscle. 

Milo stared at the glimmering construct for a long moment, shook his head and yelled back, “Just batten down the hatches and secure all the rope. Tie one around you too!” 

Yuriko shrugged and didn’t bother doing the last bit. If she fell into the ocean, it wouldn’t take much effort to get back. Or rather, since she couldn’t fly, it would take too much effort, yeah. Grumbling to herself, she belatedly obeyed by wrapping a length of rope around her waist, knotted firmly, though carelessly. The rope could slip if she moved too vigorously, but the yacht was halfway up the swell, and had tilted so much that it was only her grip that kept her from falling towards the stern. 

She deftly manoeuvred her Helpful Hand to nudge Milo towards her just as he slipped. He would have fallen overboard, she assumed, or smashed his back against the pilot’s cabin. Instead, the slight push was enough so that she caught him with her left arm. 

“Oof!” He grunted as he landed hard against her bicep. He was a slight man, younger than her true age by three or so years, which meant that he was fifteen just as Amalia was. He would have been bigger than the girl too, if she had not grown to her normal proportions. 

Yuriko’s true self had Actualised at fifteen, which froze her features at that developmental level. Nothing to her detriment, she felt, and Damien concurred back then. She would mature as the years passed, and while she would never look naturally older than a teenager, Transformation allowed her to change things if necessary. Radiant Physique added things, too. Actualisation froze her age, but it was only a natural function. Tempering her body wasn’t a natural process. 

Milo was slender too, but he had wiry muscles all over his body. His arms were actually quite well developed for his age, and like his brother and father, he had sandy hair and light brown eyes, quite like most of the Davar men. 

… this body hadn’t been with anyone at all since she took over, and the Mien was unrelenting with the appetites it gave her.

… maybe she shouldn’t blame the Mien for it though, and accept its role in her own proclivities. 

She didn’t have much time to ruminate considering this incarnation only had six strands of consciousness. She understood that her true self prioritised her 1st incarnation’s recovery since that one had been left with four strands. Well, it was an even six now, and perhaps she should find out—or ask her true self to do it—if Ambrosia would allow her to grow more strands of consciousness. Ever since she gained the numerous strands she had, their growth had become rather stagnant. Several years and barely a ten percent growth. But then again, strands of consciousness weren’t like Anima, or Ennoias. Not even Will and Intent. Those grew at a steady rate, but strands of consciousness didn’t grow without great need or sacrifice. 

It occurred to her that her greater self didn’t really gain strands beyond a hundred until after her first incarnation split off. Perhaps that was the trick, eh? But she couldn’t split off incarnations at will either way. 

The Sea Sage was nearly at a fifty-degree angle from normal, and it was near the crest. Her perception range wasn’t wide enough to cover the entirety of the Sea Sage if she left it in normal configuration, so she flashed to conical, aimed at the back…er, stern. Thankfully, she didn’t see anyone going overboard, and a quick check showed that everyone else was below decks. Violently sick, as it turned out, at least for Lucian and Chloe. Her brother had actually turned a pale shade of green. As for Tristan, the younger…er, older than her current body, he was smoking in his room, staring at the glowing light at the tip of his cigarette as if it contained the secrets of the world. When the ship tilted as it climbed the swell, he had adjusted by sitting on the wall, but was otherwise unbothered. 

The guy was quite interesting, Yuriko decided early on. She felt he was attracted to her; in fact, it practically oozed out of him, but that was mostly because of the natural effects the Mishala Mien had. The effects weren’t as potent as they would have been with her true self, and had about the same fraction as the difference between true body and incarnation. The current one was 1/20th. That meant her reach was at thirty-seven and a half or so paces, though it grew by a fourth of an inch every day—meaning her true body’s reach was growing at five paces a day now. She knew something happened to prompt that growth, but they hadn’t synchronised memories yet, so she didn’t know what it was. She had an inkling, but didn’t want to presume. Either way, it didn’t really mean much to her current circumstances. 

Anywho, the cute, broody boy was attracted to her, but did absolutely nothing to act on it. That was the curious and interesting thing. Everyone else, including the married captain, his two sons, and the steward-slash-chef, felt the same attraction and struggled not to act on it. Nemeo was also similarly affected, but his magus training was enough to control himself. The other women were affected too, but since her Mien was diluted, it wasn’t enough to overcome their orientation. 

Not that she intended to do anything about it, at the moment. Even if she did, she’d prefer to spend more time getting to know her potential toys…lovers first. Dealing with the repercussions of the Mien trained her Will and Intent anyway, and she didn’t foresee a future where she stopped training it. She was sure Intent and Will were necessary conditions to advance anyway. 

Elaine Nemdahl and Nemeo were next to the captain, who had a death grip on the wheel. The leader of the Bellemer recruitment team was in the midst of casting a spell, and Yuriko caught the tag of it. Her components were a mixture of somatic and vocal, and since it was probably an inscribed spell, most of the casting had been accomplished in parallel by her Arcana Heart. Unlike Bressian casting, Irisvaile magi do not create a visible mandala of sigils when they weave, and somehow, it didn’t weaken their casting at all. 

“Reinforce Object!” Elaine intoned as she finished the weaving by pressing her hands on the dashboard. There was no visible light or effect, but the ship, which had been close to capsizing, suddenly stabilised. This had the effect of pushing the bow into the wave, however, and the water washed over the deck. Yuriko practically hugged Milo tightly, and when the water slammed into both of them, she absorbed the shock. Well, since the boy was in front of her, he was pushed hard against her front. 

A moment later, the ship burst past the crest, only to be met by the sight of another wave rolling towards them. This one wasn’t quite as high, but was still higher than the Sea Sage was long. As the ship tilted downwards towards the valley of the waves, Yuriko turned her gaze towards the plume of smoke. She could see it coming from a small mountain…

“Volcano?” she muttered. 

She felt the wind rush by, something she’d ignored the signs of earlier, considering how strongly the winds blew across the Inner Ocean. Amalia had never left Rakkisgrad, and even though it was purportedly a port city, it was more than a hundred longstrides across. The closest the girl had come to bodies of water was the river. 

Yuriko had rarely ventured into oceans before the accident that saw them wash up against Bresia’s shores. The few planets they explored in Empty Space did have oceans, though they didn’t really explore them, save for that one station where she spent weeks swimming and exploring. There, the ocean currents were mild, and the water was warm. Here, the ocean sapped away the heat…or it would have. Oddly, or perhaps understandably, the wave that washed across the deck was warm. 

Milo squirmed against her chest, sputtering and spitting out water. Yuriko thought to release him, but the Sea Sage dipped to ride down the opposite side of the giant wave. This time, it was her arm that held the boy secure. 

“Ahhhh!” Milo screamed as the rush down the slope probably shot his stomach up to his throat. It was a familiar feeling and one she’d experienced every time she flew…or her greater selves did. She never felt the freedom of the skies.

This was probably the closest it could come to, she supposed. She noticed that she’d never seen any planes flying overhead, and as a capital city, Rakkisgrad would have every sort of transportation available in this plane. So the inability to fly might not be targeted to her or the magi, but a planar law. Annoying. 

She felt that if she was a tiny smidge stronger, if she had her Astorian self’s power, she’d be able to defy the planar law. Her true self would laugh and ignore the restriction, her Will too strong to be held down. A pity, but perhaps it was only a matter of time. Like her Astorian self, she was limited to a fraction of what her true self held, but she always improved, always grew stronger. 

The Sea Sage reached the valley of the wave and transitioned smoothly. She could feel Elaine’s spell shrouding the yacht, empowering and controlling it. The woman could not possibly move the hunk of metal on her own, but she could nudge. And all it took to avoid disaster was that nudge. She felt the ship list to her right, before abruptly returning as if pushed. The bow turned to her left, off centre from hitting the wave directly, only to shift back with a jolt. She could feel Elaine’s brow dampening with sweat at the effort. If only she could use her Animakinesis….

Half-heartedly, Yuriko cast several more Helpful Hands that she used to secure the loose rope and to help steady the ship. Casting took Animus, but she’d read and heard over the past week that Irisvaile’s version took energy one received from eating. Calories, it was measured, and a good meal would allow one to cast a simple, 1-circle spell. That must be why the other three looked like they lost a bit of weight. On the other hand, Elaine and Nemoe looked quite well fed, but nowhere near overweight. The reason hadn’t been revealed, but she supposed that was why magi organised into academies. 

The Sea Sage started climbing again, and while Milo had been stunned by the sudden watery smack, it seemed he had recovered. 

“I’m alright now,” he said in a low voice. Yuriko let him go without a word, but thought to remain close in case he needed steadying again. Ah, he had been secured properly with rope so he wouldn’t have gone overboard anyway.

As the Sea Sage crested the wave, the rest of the distance towards Brosmore revealed that while the water was still choppy, it wasn’t as bad as the first waves. Meanwhile, she spied the town and harbour, as well as the origin of the smoke, and probably the shockwaves that caused the waves. 

What she couldn’t understand was why, even though the volcano was probably on the far side of the island, the port itself was on fire.