Journey to the stars and worlds of imagination: 2025 V : Vigil

V is always a hard word for the challenge, right up there with Q and Z. In the challenge, "V" is for Vigil. If you have followed me for a while you might remember that I have said on numerous occasions that some of my most productive writing has been at two in the morning while in a bedside vigil. Instead of recounting any of my bedside vigils, I thought I would share some of the dark days and nights that those who inhabit the worlds of windmaster and the draghsi have spent.

Ellspeth looked down at Dal. The stubble of a beard covered his usually clean-shaven jaw. He’s not much over thirty turns, she mused. That’s only a turn older than me. The realization forced her to look at him anew. His features, peaceful in repose, seemed a sharp contrast to the turbulence of her thoughts. She searched for the cause of her agitation. The Sea Falcon had been put back to rights. The damage, although severe, was rapidly being corrected. None of the crewman washed overboard had died, thanks to the safety lines. The ship’s cat was the only casualty. Her eyes strayed to her sleeping charge, and the unwelcome connection she felt to the man.

She was captain of the Sea Falcon. She’d worked too hard to earn it. There will be repercussions, an insistent inner voice warned. Dal is not only a powerful wizard and friend of the King. He saved your ship. That last thought resonated with her sense of duty and honor.

Ellspeth bowed her head. For several moments she prayed to the water gods worshipped by most of her crew. In the tradition of the Mtwan Mountains she added, “Ancestors preserve your descendent, Dal.Guard him in this world.