[center][h1][b][color=cyan]Aubri Silverblade[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
[center][h3]At Sea, Nearing Hathforth's Harbor, Present Day[/h3][/center]
[center][@HereComesTheSnow][/center]

When one rode the waves as passenger, there were generally one of two responses to the movement of the ship. The body surrendered to an old feeling of maternal love nestled in the subconscious, being rocked back and forth by the endless shift of the hull, as a child in a crib. Or the feeling of unsteady earth beneath one’s feet, as the ground itself rose in revolt and shook the stones of the land, tearing foundations down and throwing all manner of people to the dirt. Aubri only felt the first a few times on this voyage, always when taking a tumble with a sailor in the hold of the ship. All other days, he was not far from the aft of the vessel, surrendering the morning’s porridge and evening's hardtack to the sea.

Much as Ameri might rib him about this in good humor, the reaction wasn’t normal for him. Aubri’s first time at sea had been at the age of eight. Standing beside his father near the helm while his eldest brother Mayel captained a ship for the first time under Pater’s watchful gaze. Even then, Aubri had kept his food down and merely wondered at the endless expanse of water over the railing. The cresting of dolphin pods, the occasional shark fin- these things had been described to him by his tutors but never seen in person before on the high seas. Only one time during that first voyage was there any semblance of danger as a kraken tentacle brushed the surface of the water. Even then the ship’s sworn Brother Bretan Mirthless had merely kept an eye on the beast. Never drawing that fabled sword of coral at his hip the whole voyage through the shallow sea.

[color=cyan][i]Well, unless we are wildly off course, today is the day,[/i][/color] Aubri thought before surrendering another biscuit to the sea. [color=cyan][i]And now I am to risk life and limb for father’s dreams. If I succeed, father and Mayel’s stars will rise in the Assembly. If I fail, it means I am dead, and their stars will continue to rise.[/i][/color]

Any other year, any other day, if Pater had come with the mission and demanded his son obey, Aubri would have told the old man to go choke on a seagull’s beak. Then give up his inheritance and start life anew on the docks as a common sea-hand. Maybe even become a true [i]courtesa[/i], just to cause scandal and make Pater’s ambitions to climb that much more difficult.

[i]The[/i] Golden Gale [i]is missing. Lost in Arrowfell with all hands gone.[/i]

Just the right words to get Aubri’s attention. And just the right twist of the knife at the end to ensure the hook had landed firmly.

[color=cyan]“Arrowfell can burn for all I care,”[/color] he grumbled, wiping bile from his lips on his sleeve. [color=cyan]“But I will find you, Auron. And if you live no longer, I will drown whoever did thus to you.”[/color]

Which was a timely statement to make, all things considered.

Aubri took care to gather his loose hair into something resembling a ponytail, tied with a silk band to keep the dyed strands out of his vision. His wide face was usually expressive and jovial, but he took care to narrow his eyelids and purse his full lips. A look that had long been practiced in the mirror before and throughought their voyage- his best attempt at a passive diplomat’s expression. Unreadable, perhaps friendly, perhaps skeptical.

As he walked unsteadily toward the forecastle he took care to give wide berth to the busy sailors preparing to make port. Aubri took his place beside Amerigo. A splash of cold water struck him as the ship broke a wave and he tried not to flinch. He failed, but whether from the water or the sight before him was anyone's guess. The city was awash in flames. The size of the catastrophe made all the more apparent by their distance from the formerly safe harbor. For all he knew, the Queen might well be overthrown already. It seemed too close a coincidence to the fall of the old king years ago. A sudden disaster in the city. Chaos. Ruin. Change.

[color=cyan][i]If only it were so simple.[/i][/color]

[color=cyan]“Brother Amerigo,”[/color] Aubri said. He hated when Ameri used his formal title. It irked Aubri's sense of inferiority to no end, being given a title without having to earn it. Unlike the Brother beside him. [color=cyan]“It is too much to hope that this… unfortunate tragedy is something other than a cow kicking a bucket into a candle. Do you scent anything else on the wind? Gunpowder?”[/color]