The black haired woman felt the tears on her cheek as she closed the eyes on the deceased man, amid the burned and twisted remains of the creatures he had fought valiantly, to no avail. He was not the only one, in fact, all the guardians had met a similar fate in the last few days. She still examined the body but already knew the result, she would not find the seal. None of them still possessed their seal.

Shaking her head, she wiped the tears from her eyes and rose, looking to the heavens. The night sky had no clouds, the twin moons shining, and to the east, the alignment of the stars was only a few days away, signaling the Arrival, that the human race had worked so hard to prepare for.

This series of attacks against the guardians was not a coincidence, the attacks too coordinated. Someone wanted to do something with the powers of the seals, using the heightened magical powers that the alignment would bring. To what goal? The woman had been working tirelessly to find out why ever since she had received news of the death of the guardian of Light. And she was not closer to an answer, which frustrated her. Murmuring a quick prayer to the god of knowledge, that she had served faithfully for all those years, she turned to her companions.

Like the others. Cousin, sister-in-law, this is really bad, this is the fifth seal we have lost trace of, and I am tired of being two steps behind. Did your contacts managed to trace the remaining guardians?

The women she was addressing couldn’t have been more different if they had wanted to. One was dressed in a silken white robe, her golden hair framing a maternal face, more used to smiling than frowning. The other was taller, with broad shoulders, dressed in a black and red full plate armor that seemed to pulse, like if it had a beating heart of its own. Although from opposing religions, normally enemies, they had come to the summon of the smaller woman, family to both of them.

And they had the same reaction to her question, a resigned shake of the head. The scholar closed her eyes a moment and sighed.

Whoever is doing this is playing with the fate of our entire world…

The White Swan left Caer Callidyr at the next tide, barely resupplied, with extra material to have the ship repaired at sea. The harbormaster was really disappointed, but there was no way the captain would needlessly risk any of his crew, so he set sail south toward the island of Gwynneth.  The following days were not easy for Styx, Ersin, Kali and Wind. Their disobedience of Machrel instructions had resulted in them getting having extra duty, all their skills used to repair the ship, from sun up to sun down. But the fact that they saved their crewmates from an unknown fate at the paws of intellect devourers and their iIlithid masters did spare them the whip the woman was know to be very good with.

Ersin in particular had attracted the ire of Hector, to which the half-elf simply shrugged and did what was required of him, Esa trying to convince him to blast Hector into the water. The captain did bring him in his office and questioned the half elf about his true identity, the ship wizard present, the captain ultimately telling him that he didn’t care who Ersin was without his magic mask, the sincerity and actions undertaken by the warlock to warn the crew of the imminent danger were all that he needed to trust him. Ersin did however receive a cautionary tale and a story about hiding his true face, the captain recalling when a elven shipmate of his turned out to be a drow concealing his heritage with a magic mask. The actions of this legendary drow were all he needed to have the trust of his shipmates, not the color of his skin.

Sandron asked, ordered would be a more appropriate word, to the two new crewmembers followers of Selune to prepare and cast detection spells against aberrations, to which Torinn accepted, Asuni not advanced enough in her studies to have gained that spell yet. Fortunately, everyone in the crew was really who it said it was, lifting a big weight of suspicion that had permeated the first leg of the journey. This also lifted the additional duties the four delinquents had to accomplish, the captain interceding in their favor.

Torinn quickly learned that heavy armor had no place on a sailing ship, but his strength was quickly valued by the crew, his politeness marking  a sharp contrast with the roughness of the sailors. Captain Mattegan seemed to have something for people with scales, as evidenced by his friendship with Sandron, and his invitation to the Tortle. He also took a fancy for the paladin,  inviting him and the tortle to his table, Asuni following as she was never far from Torinn. The male half elf proved to be a very gracious host, with a lot of sea stories and the evening proved to be a good time.

The tortle wizard kept smiling through all this, getting to be known and liked by the crew with its easygoing, no worries, attitude. He did become the target of a less scrupulous member that though his constant smile meant he was not very bright and tried to fleece him at a card game, but Sunny was not fooled  and the lad ended up being laughed at by his crew mates, when he spent a good part of a day finding it very difficult to lift anything, the wizard always smiling at him.

There was one person the Tortle tried to approach and was not successful. Sandron remained elusive and the younger wizard barely managed to extract a handful of words from the lizard folk.

Kali approached Torinn after her days of extra duty were over and asked if she could spar with him, the dragonborn being the only one in the crew to approach her martial skill level. The clacking of wooden swords became a regular occurrence and it was after one of those sparring session that she asked him about what it meant to be a paladin, and what would it take for one to fall from grace. Torinn gracefully replied to the best of his knowledge, but got stonewalled by the tiefling when he asked why she was interested in the subject.

All the followers of Selune were enjoying the night sky, basking in the moonlight the mostly clear sky offered. One night, Torinn had to leave earlier, called by Wind to help him with a sick crewmate, leaving Asuni and Styx alone on the deck. No one knew what transpired during that night, the watchman recalling that the bugbear and half elf talking for a long time. But there was a change in the relationship between those two after that night, the half elf caught a few times calling Styx “Hugbear” while giggling. The shy woman became ever more devout in her prayers, often joined by Styx. There was an underlining frustration in the acolyte, that she worked really hard to conceal.

Wind… was being Wind. The druid did have a scare when he had to go climb down the side of the ship to repair a hole created by a ballista bolt and a stray wave washed him off. Fortunately, Kali was watching him and she was able to pull him back on the ship with the safety rope. Wind shook himself dry, before telling Kali that she had had her wish, a wet Tabaxi!

Reaching the bottom of the ladder into the starboard Bilge, water laps gently above my ankles as the ship rolls. Damn it! I guess I will be going barefoot while these dry out. Florence was right we must have a leaking seam in here somewhere. Well better to patch it now then wait for it open further during a storm or action. I leave the lantern above and bring the rest of my tools down with me and close the hatch leaving the bilge in total darkness except for one small ray of light just above the water level. There you are.

I make my way over to the leak and ready my tools. Once I have everything ready and marked the leak I whisper a few words and throw my left hand to the side while holding my crystal focus in my right and release four glowing motes that fill the bilge with soft white light. Just cause I can see in the dark doesn't mean I like working in it.

"There's got to be something more interesting you can do with your time. Maybe you could go thwack Azure Scales or Lashing Tail with one of those wooden swords? Or that Torn Ear, surely we can find some means of getting him over the side. That one is too full of his own importance!" Esa has draped herself across one of the rungs of the ladder near the hatch to the floor above eyeing the water below with loathing.

I smile at the thought. "Hector has served with this crew for a long time and earned his position. It was my own actions that earned his animosity; there's no point earning more."

As I continue patching the small leak I thought about her other comment. It might not be a bad idea to get in some practice with Kali and Big Blue, I might prefer to keep a distance in a fight but as demonstrated at the Spitting Mermaid that's not always possible. Still, there are some things it is better to keep to myself for now.

"You're right; sparring with Torinn and Kali is a good idea. That creature would've had me without your help."

I am not sure what to do about the others. While it is always useful to have a friend with Asuni's skill set she seems closed off except to those who share her faith. I could pretend to worship Selune but I don't want to keep that up long term and it would probably anger her and the others when the truth was inevitably revealed. Sunny seems intelligent, hell probably more than me. Maybe I can approach him and talk about history, that might be something he is interested in. I should really try and get a sense of his capabilities it might have relevance in the near future.

My thoughts wander back to that conversation with the Captain shortly after we were underway. He meant well but he doesn't really understand, how could he. Of course a legend might be accepted for what they are but for someone less notable it is very different. Some day I hope to reach such status but that is far in the future.

I sit back and watch the patch to see if it is holding. After a few minutes I do not see any trace of a leak. I nod in satisfaction as I gather up my tools and head towards the ladder, the motes of light slowly fading out behind me. Maybe I can convince the First Mate to have Styx work the Bilge Pump. Some honest work would do him good.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

We set sail at the next tide and as I predicted, I had extra work to do. Thankfully, I didn't have to clean the privies, but it still wasn't fun. After roughly four days of non-stop work, the Captain finally took pity on us and let us go back to just our normal duties.

Now that I had a bit more time, I took to sparring with Torinn. The Dragonborn's style meshed well with mine and I knew with practice we could be a formidable team. His also being a Paladin could pose useful in finding out about what my father may have been like. Although, I wasn't sure I was ready to admit I was curious about him, even less that I felt a pang of sadness that I was not able to know him.

Torinn, what does it mean to be a Paladin? What manner of things would cause a Paladin to fall from grace?

Torinn was proving to be a great ally, but I was not quite ready to admit why I wanted the information when he asked, I just shook my head and the tip of my tail twitched in such a manner that he didn't push the subject further.

A few days later, I was on deck helping to secure the ropes of those tasked with repairing the ballista bolt hole in the side of the ship when a chance occurrence made this the most glorious day. Wind got caught in a wave and had not been braced well enough on the ship and he was swept into the sea. I was able to pull him up easily enough, but I could not contain my laughter once I had dumped the tabaxi back on deck. I was fairly certain the rest of the crew either hadn't known I could laugh or had forgotten since I had been rather surly during the days of extra duty. Seeing the waterlogged druid had me doubled-over scarcely able to breathe. Once I had finally caught my breath, I stood straight and wiped a tear out of each of my eyes.

Thank you, Wind. That was precisely what I needed. That has made this journey much more bearable.

The night before we were to dock at the next port, I had an odd dream. Off in the distance of what appeared to be my birthplace, a fully armored person rode atop a flaming horse. I could not tell for sure if the person was a man, but it seemed large enough it almost had to be and he seemed to be leading me somewhere. I was never allowed to get close enough to identify the person atop the horse, but he never got so far ahead as to lose me. It stopped beside the entrance to the cemetery and dismounted. The flaming horse ran off before blinking out of sight. I stood there a moment unsure of what to do when the rider went through the gate, seemingly with a purpose. He led me through a maze in the cemetery until he stopped in front of a grave and then he too disappeared. I didn't often go to the cemetery as I was not religious and was usually too occupied with work to make the trip out of town, but the path I was led down seemed familiar. I finally made it to the grave and read the name on the stone.

I woke up in a cold sweat and sat straight up in my bunk, Father?

Great, back on the boat.  Styx wasn't nearly as comfortable on the boat.  He liked having his feet on solid ground.  Sure, the sleep (or lack thereof) was great with the swaying back and forth motion, but Styx thrived in urban environments; not that anyone would believe it.  He was flustered and had a hard time focusing.  His mind was much more occupied these past few days and he needed to get back on track.  While not really sure what the root cause of his lack of focus was, he had a lot of time to think about it while pulling double duty throughout week long journey.

There wasn't much free time in the first 4 days, the punishment making it hard to do anything but work and then crash from exhaustion, but he tried to find the time to speak to everyone, including the crew he was less familiar with, in hopes to gather information.  It wasn't that Styx was trying to play any game here or use the information against any of the others.  It was just that, even though Styx oozed confidence from every pore, he wasn't the most intelligent of the group and he knew it.  Having the additional information allowed him to make more informed decisions, so as to not make things worse, especially in social interactions.  He knew himself well enough that it was a necessity.

Not surprisingly, Styx found comfort in the never-ending smile of Sunny the Tortle, as he was very similar in that aspect.  People tend to think that Styx doesn't take things seriously, but in reality, keeping general morale up through humor and a goofy smile, worked wonders on a crew that seemed to be more business than pleasure.  Don't get me wrong, you need that sort of coordination on a ship, but you can't let the things you can't control, control you....might as well do it with a smile.

Anyways, he knew he'd get into some trouble with Sunny (and some more with Wind for that matter), but it would all be in good clean fun.  Styx liked that Sunny seemed much more deep than he led on and that he didn't let others roll over him due to his "Sunny" disposition.

Torinn was a tough one.  He knew calling him a coward at their first interaction was a necessity at the time, but also knew the consequences of that action.  Torinn was abrupt and cold to him most of the time, but not unpleasant.  It would take time for him to warm up to Styx, if that should ever happen.  He'd work on rebuilding that relationship another time, as Torinn kept himself busy sparring with Kali most of the journey.

Kali was a spitfire, that is for sure.  He really liked her Bravado and her willingness to get into trouble just for the sake of trouble, especially when it was needed for manipulation's sake;  the spitting mermaid being the perfect example of that.  Styx made sure to meet with Kali a couple of times over the course of the journey, to foster that camaraderie.  He could see a real friendship coming out of that one, though he could tell there was something deeper that irked her, that she wasn't ready to talk about now.  In time....

Ersin...where should he begin with that one.  Ersin was not a fan of him, that much he could tell.  He chalked it up to Ersin falsely judging a book by its cover and not reading between the lines when it came to Styx, however, he really couldn't blame him.  That was the persona Styx oozed, but he had his reasons for doing such.  He'd have to tone it down a bit around Ersin, as should they be working together in the future, he didn't want someone around who wouldn't have his back.

Then there was Asuni.  That night on the boat was quite magical in a lot of ways.  Styx truly believed it was Selune that brought them together that night under the moon. They were complete opposites in a lot of ways and it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for their shared faith;  they just felt comfortable with each other.

They each shared a lot about their past that night, something that Styx wasn't always keen on talking about.  Hearing about Asuni's past was eye opening.  The pain and hardship she endured under the iron fist of the high priest since his arrival at the church, brought conflict to her faith and frustration with her studies.  In a way she seemed lost, but Styx was good with helping those who couldn't find their way, like the orphaned kids he had grown to love and take care of back home.

Each day their relationship grew, spending most, if not all of their time together during prayers and finding more and more time to talk together while the others sparred or .  Styx tried to reassure Asuni that progression was not a race and that she was already much more advanced than he was.  That seemed to help, but he could tell that she would need more encouragement on the days and weeks to come, something that he was more than happy to do.  It was nice having someone around that knew where he came from and accepted him for it as well, a common bond of broken pasts.

He made sure to meet and talk with most of the crew, like Ernesto, Hector and Machrel, but knew that after the trouble he had gotten into at the Spitting Mermaid, those relationships  were a bit strained at the moment...and Ernesto tended to keep his distance, not wanting to lose any more money in cards.

Styx also spent a lot of time thinking about his path forward too, after talking with Asuni that second night on the water. His faith wasn't wavering, not in the least.  It was just hard to have a path, with no real sign of what that path was.  His High Priestess said he was the one Selune needed, that his unique skill-set would be what sets him apart and to embrace it...to use my inner darkness to be her shining light.  It was all so vague, that he now always found himself on his toes, looking, waiting, wondering if this time or that time was when his real journey would begin.  So Styx did what he knew best, he continued to information gather in hopes that something...anything would become more clear.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:22, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

This ship was amazing! It had only been a short stay in Alaron for Sunny but he had already been looking forward to being on a ship again. He had never been a sailor really but that didn't stop him from enjoying the taste of salt in the air and the sea spray constantly blowing up and sprinkling his shell with the passing winds. There was something about being far from shore on what was essentially a floating island. Away from land for even a few days meant they would have to depend entirely on the ship and the people aboard it. There were no landmarks out here, only the eyes of the sky and their twinkling brethren at night. His memory and recall of maps and terrain were useless out here, and there was something inherently risky about that. That thought of risk... Well that's what the call to venture into the world was all about wasn't it?

For everyone on board there were duties, meals, places to sleep, moments of peace, and moments that were less so. Yet to some extent, all aboard the vessel contributed to the nature of their isolated society. One day, toward the end of his life, he would tell his clutch the tales of these days and those to come. He could feel it. But for now he contented himself to listen to the tales told to him by the captain. And to play a prank or to here and there. For the professional sailors here, the voyage seemed to be a way of life with rules of conduct and a distinct social order. For Sunny though, the voyage was a temporary interruption, a period of little responsibility or control.

He wasn't idle though. Even if he hadn't "learned the ropes" he could still be useful here and there and there was always room to make time for a good laugh. At his expense usually or just in good fun. Sunny enjoyed the company of every person he interacted with on the ship but there were some he found himself gravitating toward more than others. The short and well groomed, though perhaps not as sea ready, bugbear, Styx was one of such individuals. "Hugbear" he had overheard the pet name just once, but once was all he needed. And now after opening his mouth he was stuck with a nickname of his own, "Shelly". A fitting moniker for sure and of course it too was all in the name of keeping morale up.

With most of the folks on the ship busy with their various tasks, Sunny found himself wishing he hadn't lost the wood cricket he'd played day in and day out when he was younger. He could still clearly remember rubbing the odd little instrument's spine with the wooden stick up and down on its back making a cricket's chirping or buzzing sound. While thinking about it he ran the wood of his staff along the ridges of his shell creating a familiar much deeper almost croaking sound. It wasn't pleasant. Maybe someone on this ship would know a thing or two about carving and could either recreate his wooden cricket or teach him how to do so himself... He'd ask around.

When time permitted and there were crew who were willing to accept his help, Sunny went about the deck lightening loads for people for a short time here or a short time there while chatting with them about anything and everything that they might want but never forcing conversation on someone who didn't want it. His smile was ever present but it was most evident when there was a lightness to his step that shouldn't be possible as he practiced his understanding of gravity. It would have been great to get another wizards take on the things he knew and those within his father's tome but it just didn't seem to be possible to grab the attention of the older lizard folk who he was told studied the arcane arts.

All in all it had been a pleasant few days for Sunny.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Mon 10 Aug 2020.

As I would occasionally walk down by the docks on my walks trough the city I often wondered how long it took the sailors to adjust to a life at sea. How long until their legs adjusted to a constantly moving floor, how long it took to fall asleep to the rocking of the ocean, how quickly they would manage when caught in a storm. I wonder no more. It was quicker then I had expected it to take. Life in a vessel such as The White Swan was always busy. My new friends had be given extra duty because of their disregard of the captain’s orders but none got it worse the Ersin, which seemed strange. The captain is an honorable man and made it a point to get to know me. There were many a night where Asuni and I would join him and Sunny for meals and speak of many things. I enjoyed hearing his stories and getting to know Sunny better. His name fits his disposition, Sunny. In any situation a being like that only make things better for all those around them.

I accommodated to the ship as quickly as I could, since Asuni and I were only added to the crew recently I wanted to carry our weight. I cast spells to protect the ship (which was also useful in being able to teach them to Asuni), healed the sick or injured and used my strength whenever it was needed. My armor and weapons sat well prepared but unused most of the time in the chest I use, near Asuni’s space (she insisted I sleep as close to the curtain separating women and men). When not “on duty” with the ship or healing I have been spending my time practice fighting with Kali. She was right that our fighting techniques work well together and having a constant partner to practice with keeps both our skills sharp. She is a very talented fighter, I’m glad to be next her and not in front of her blade. I occasionally see Ersin watching us practice, I will need to invite him to join us. I have yet to see his skill with a weapon, I’m interested to see how he fights. It’s always good to see how strong your companions are. In our conversation he’s very logical in his thoughts and actions. This seemed to be in direct conflict to our first conversation. It seems he was playing me, I would find humor in this if it wasn’t me he was trying to play. He’s cunning, I’m beginning to like him.

Rare is the time Asuni is far from me these days, I am glad for this as she is my constant companion and now dear friend. She has been slowly reaching out to others. She has stuck up a friendship with Styx. I’m glad about that. I should not be her only source of friendship. I’m doing my best to handle my feelings with Styx. I know his insults to me and my devotion to Selune were to stir up my complacency but Dragonborn are a proud people. I try to to keep a tight reign on my pride but it’s bred in me like an instinct and it’s hard not to be colder to him. I will have to work on that.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

The night of the alignment happened and the plan was revealed to all with the power to sense the disturbance in the heaven given order of things. Watching with magical screening the black haired woman looked on with horror as the energy vortices appeared over the land, seemingly at random, causing natural disasters wherever they touched down. Grabbing her staff, a powerful artefact in its own right, and her magical bag, she ran to the teleporter room. Panicking acolytes and seraphs were running around, trying to do something, anything, to stop this disaster, and Kristal, a normally level headed scholar, trained by the woman herself, tried to stop her.

Chosen One, no! You can’t go there, you won’t be able to come back!

Let me pass, Kristal.

No! I won’t let you! We need you here!

Need me, Kristal? You are under the protection of our God here… I need to go protect those that aren’t as close to Him.

But what could you do?

The woman hesitated a second before answering, her solid purple eyes glowing.

I’m disappointed in you, Kristal. I thought you knew me better. Now let me pass.

Chastised, the seraph moved aside, tears in her eyes. The woman strode in the room and took hold of a rock engraved with a opened book that she keep on a necklace, beside the one that held 2 feathers, said a single word and disappeared.

**************************************

The wind was the first to announce the horrors to come. Howling fiercely, coming from nowhere, it buffeted the White Swan like a  toy boat in a bathtub with a trashing baby. Caught by surprise by the sudden gale, the crew scrambled to prepare the ship for an unexpected storm. Worried, the captain ordered to set sail towards the nearest land to try to find a shelter, but the wind kept pushing the pirate chaser towards the open sea, despite all the efforts. The growing waves forced the crew to lash everything down, dropping the sails to preserve them.

For most of the day, the ship was rocked by the wind, under an impossibly clear sky with not a single cloud in the sky, several of the experienced sailors feeling sick of the motion. Anyone non-essential to the running of the ship was locked below deck, and safety lines tied those brave souls above deck to the ship, should they be sweep overboard. Kali and Torinn were asked to stay close to the hatch, as their strength might be needed to haul up crewmates thrown overboard by the waves, but the constant motion got to Kali and the poor woman was wracked by seasickness. Styx, while not as strong, volunteered to take her place, hoping that his long limbs would be of help, but fortunately the security team was not needed. The tiefling was taken away by Asuni, who had taken the task of helping the sick, with some help from the druid. Wind gave a red berry to Kali, that settled her stomach somewhat, but did nothing for her queasiness. It did have her question where the hell did he find fresh berries on a ship….

Just then, the blue sky was suddenly zigzagged by hundreds of weird purplish lightning strikes, black and red clouds appearing in the wake of the lightning, covering the entire sky in a matter of minutes, blocking out the sun, turning the day into a dark as ink night. Storm lamps  lit on the ship barely pierced the gloom and it felt like the entire world had reduced itself to the ship and the weirdly silent lightning streaked sky. This lasted  for what seemed for hours, time perception distorted in the hushed environment, until suddenly the light show stopped and the battered ship found itself in the middle of a windless night, a large full moon shining on the ship, with no land in sight.

Cautiously, the crew got out on the deck to get some fresh air. Work crews  were swiftly organized to clean up below deck and to assess damages the ship might have sustained. The captain got his sextant out, to calculate where the wind had pushed the White Swan. Looking confused, he asked for Hector and Machrel, Wind delighted to replace the wiry man up in the crow’s nest. The three sailors started an animated discussion, pointing at maps and at the sky, all three of them taking turns with the sextant. Sandron came to join them, his brusque manner event more abrupt than usual. Kali and Ersin overheard the concern of the vessel leadership  and they approached Sunny, already seen as a learned individual, telling him what they overheard. In the week they had known him, the tortle had never lost his smile, but it did dip now, concern in his voice :

Those aren't the stars my mother taught me... I don't think we're where we were before that storm. Maybe another world entirely. But the night eye, the moon, is unchanged... This is... Intriguing...

Asuni had volunteered to clean up below deck and was just coming out of the hold, bearing a bucket of soiled water that she prepared to dump overboard. She heard the wizard and called Styx and Torinn, both working far enough to not have heard either the captain or the wizard, to look at the moon.

Something was very wrong.

Asuni, her bucket forgotten, approached the other two followers of Selune and taking both their hands, told them in a fearful voice.

We need to pray, now! I don’t feel Her as much!

And just as the trio was dropping down on their knees, they all started to see a second,  unknown, moon raising up at the horizon….
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:26, Mon 10 Aug 2020.

Not quite like Charlie's stories but I will take it! This is exactly the kind of opportunity I have been hoping for! Well not this exactly, I mean I wasn't expecting my first adventure to include possible travel to another world but beggars and choosers right. Unknown location, mysterious circumstances this is just fantastic!

As the second moon broached the horizon a wide smile split my face and I had to suppress the desire to whistle. You know what fuck it who cares what the others think and I start whistling a jaunty tune trying to get some of the other sailors to join in. Who cares if the religious folk are in a tizzy this is the start of something amazing.

Esa sat in her perch on the spreader staring at the new moon, her head cocked to the side but keeping her opinion to herself. That is proof enough foe me that we are in for interesting times ahead!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:44, Mon 10 Aug 2020.

Asuni came running up to me, her eyes screaming panic, her voice cracking. 

We need to pray, now! I don’t feel Her as much!

Relax Asuni, it will be okay.  I can't feel her either, but that doesn't mean she isn't here.  It could just be that this second moon is causing some sort of interference with our connection to Her.  It could be that we are in a completely different place too and we are cut off from Her in some way. While I never had access to her magic, are you both still able to use the favors she has given you?  Can you still cast spells Torinn...Asuni?

As he waited for a response, he knew that his mission had been set in motion.  He may not know what he was supposed to do, but this was a sign he couldn't ignore.  This was too big to not be his path.

He pulled Asuni close, reassuring her that whatever happened, they will find a way to fix it.  Don't lose faith when we need it most Asuni.

Two moons. Moons. Plural. This was very intriguing. His first thought of being somewhere else entirely was all but proven with this development. It was strange to look into the night sky and see alien constellations. More than strange though, it was fascinating. Concerning? Alarming? Yes. But fascinating as well. That smile on his tortle face that had begun to dip with his concern was already creeping back. This would be a tale for sure.

His eyes never leaving the night sky and the bright moons hovering there, Sunny reached for his tome, ever present in the satchel that hung at his side, and opened it. Flipping past the trivial bits about spells and arcane knowledge he had poured over year after year he came to the section that had always been more personally interesting to him. The bit where his father's journaling on the mechanics of gravitational effects and the manipulation of such began to be filled with more and more specualation as there were some things that his wise and intelligent father had never been able to prove or even test. He'd never had the right environment. This spelled opportunity.

It was a hard thing to keep one eye in the sky and one on the pages of his tome. Impossible really to truly manage and so he diverted his gaze to the pages of his father's work until he read something that brought him back to the moment.

No world revolves around a single entity.

Though it was his father's writing it was his mother's voice he heard reading it in his mind. Her empathy flooded him again and he snapped back to reality looking around at those who may be panicked or at the very least worried rather than intrigued. Searching for something to say to calm folks he blurred out. "A storm like that... Well it's a good thing we're not in it anymore. Nice weather now though. Uhm as soon as the Captain gets his uh bearings I'm sure it will be smooth sailing eh? We'll figure this out. Don't worry."

Hearing Sonny put voice to my fears made my heart jump into my throat. Calm down and think Kali. There has to be some way to track this, just like any other event. It has to be big enough to leave some sort of trace behind.

Sonny, is there some sort of way to track magical signatures? Something big enough to pull us to a completely different world would have to leave something behind, right? Like footprints?

From behind Sonny, I could see a second moon rising on the horizon and a small, almost inaudible gasp escaped my lips, my hand reaching out as if to touch it.

Wow! Would you look at that? Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?

I took a few light, quick steps over to the railing, my eyes flitting back and forth between the two moons, my tail held low to the ground to help stabilize my balance, slowly brushing back and forth as if I was preparing to leap in the air to join them. The awed expression on my face, softening my features from the usual glare I wore to keep the weak-willed from approaching me.

Asuni came running over to Styx and me. Panic in her voice.

We need to pray, now! I don’t feel Her as much!

She was right! The song that I hear deep in my heart, my soul, Selune has grown quieter. We drop to our knees in prayer. It’s so quiet, why? Asuni is getting upset I can hear her quiet weeping. Styx begins consoling her. He is a devoted follower but he doesn’t understand, not in the way Asuni and I do. We are connected to Her differently then he. I take the moment to try something. A spell, a quick easy spell that I could perform in my sleep. Something easy like detecting good and evil. Ironically Ersin is not near to see the spell he so badly wanted to see earlier. I begin the ritual, but something is wrong it’s taking to long and needs more energy then usual. It’s draining, it’s never been like this before. It’s taking twice or more of the divine power that I have learned to harness. Selune what has happened.

Everyone’s voices pull me away from my focus to see finally the source of our separation. There is a second moon. It’s it disrupting our connection. I hear Kali speak of its beauty all I see is it the pain it will cause.

No

Was all I could say.

The stars...the constellations...were they forming a pair of eyes in the night sky or was I just seeing things? Are you guys seeing this? Styx says while pointing up to the night sky.

While the others look where I was pointing, I notice something else.  Far out at sea, sitting low on the horizon is a moving light that seems to go out in all directions. I can't tell what it is, but maybe in the Crow's Nest I can get a better view.

Using my talents for acrobatics, I shuffle up the mast bouncing off metal hooks or swinging higher on ropes, finally settling next to Wind in the Crow's Nest.  What the heck could that be Wind?

I peer out into the night, hoping to get a better look.  I close one eye, mimicking a pirate with an eyepatch, but that doesn't work at all.  I am just not good at this.  Either way, looking out, I notice that light must be at least a good 60 miles away, at the edge of the horizon.  Something that bright at this distance must be powerful.

I quickly scamper back down to tell the others what I see.

With some direction from Styx, I was able to look past the second moon long enough to see the constellations shaped like eyes. I was not sure if this was the work of a powerful mage or if one of the trickster gods was having the time of his life up in the heavens. There seemed to be something else bothering Styx, but he didn’t voice his concerns so I didn’t push him on it. However, he did mention seeing a light while up in the crows nest, so I climbed the mast up to it to see if I could identify it when he could not. Unfortunately, I could not see the light. Maybe it was short lived and had dimmed already. I greeted Wind before climbing back down once more.

I went to go join Asuni and Torinn since they were looking troubled.

You two seem to be much more bothered by the appearance of this second moon. What’s going on?