Sucking down one of Her Majesty's cigarettes was one of my favorite parts about this job. Standing at the helm of the Garuda, I feel as though I possess the skies themselves. Even the clouds would bend to my will should I see fit, not that there were any clouds today. On this day, my merry band of high-risk capitalists and I have our eyes on what should be an unguarded cargo ship of the Crystal Baronies. Of course, the crews of the Baronies seemed to always have a rather high amount of unicorns, which could make for a troublesome time if they decided to not do things nice. But that was why the Garuda was the perfect vessel for the job. Her three turbines might run off of steam, but at this elevation the extra weight was worth it for just how fast she could move in and out of engagement range compared to those crystal powered vessels.
Before any of that could happen, however, we'd first need to spot the cargo ship in the skies, and right now they seemed clear. That's the only upsetting part of these designated bounties, not having the freedom to just plunder what you want wherever you want, inevitably you always ended up having to wait for the target to come to you. After a quick glance to double check we weren't about to get ambushed, I lock the wheel in place and decide to make my rounds. As always, my first stop is the galley, which admittedly isn't that large on a vessel like this. Stopping in, I offer a greeting in the form of a nod to Heavenly Delight, our cook and one of our assault pegasi.
"Is Gold Flight ready in case those merchants feel like putting up a fight?"
"Aye, sir," he smiles, exposing his chipped tooth.
"I swear, when we next make port you seriously need to get that fixed. It makes me question the food you serve," I reply with a smile of my own.
"No can do, captain. If I were to get it fixed I'd forget how I broke it." We both share a laugh before I turn away.
"Perhaps you could write it down while we wait for that Diamond Balloon to appear on the horizon."
Always one to get the last word in, the last thing I hear him say as I move on is "Maybe if I can find a pencil, otherwise the tooth stays." I had long since given up trying to actually get him to get his appearance into shape. While I always had a dream for sailing the high skies with a crew that might make Her Majesty proud, I found something in the disheveled appearance our crew I offered, heart. And no matter of professionalism could ever replace the lengths a crew with heart would be willing to go to in order to get the job done.
Moving on, my next stop was the cargo hold which also doubled as our crew quarters. Again, this was a ship made for agility, not necessarily lugging cargo. Others using a Valkyrie class airship would often stock the hold with additional ammunition since they were neither required to live on the ship nor take loot from their targets in order to make a living. Taking the staircase down from the main deck, I find much of my assault crew seated around a barrel playing cards. I decide to wait for them to finish their current hand before I clear my throat to announce my presence.
Silver Stream is the first up, as she always is, and loudly announces, "Officer on deck!" before saluting. The rest of them follow my first mate's example and salute me as well.
Despite my dream of wanting a professional crew, I roll my eyes and disarm the tension with a simple, "At ease, everypony." As they lower their hooves, I turn to Silver, "You know you're not in the Royal Navy anymore, yeah?"
"Apologies, capta-, Steel."
"No apologies needed," I say as I rest a hoof on her shoulder. "I just need everyone ready, you know how often things don't go according to plan in this lifestyle."
"Aye, sir."
With a sigh, I remove the hoof. "See to it everyone is ready. We may have to repel boarders if things get muddy."
"Yes, sir." She turns to the assembled ponies and starts issuing orders, having Crimson Moon double check the engines, Star Chaser preparing the hull charges, and everyone else getting to battle stations.
She definitely has the respect of the crew, perhaps more so than I. She was the first to join my crew, and yet to this day she has yet to tell me why she was no longer in the Royal Navy. Perhaps it was something she didn't want to remember, or it could just be her perspective being to always look forward and never back. Regardless, she is a mare I can trust by my side in the thick of things and that's all I need her to be.
As I make my way back topside, Quick Eyes calls down to me, "Captain Dusk, we've got contact, port side!"
I quicken my pace and as soon as I'm once again surrounded by the clear skies of Aetheria, I spot the tell tale Diamond patterned balloon off in the distance.
"Right then, fillies and gentlecolts, we have our target in sight! Mister Gadget, I want you to bring us down fifteen meters, Lilac Breeze, I want Gold Flight ready to break their hull! We've all done this before, let's not make it sloppy!"
My lieutenants go about getting everything settled as I return to the helm, unlocking it and spinning the Garuda around to come up behind the Baronies ship. As we make our approach I lower our speed, hoping that coming from below they won't notice us until it's too late. The less time they have to prepare, the better our chances of getting in and out without a fuss. As we get nearer I turn to Quick, "Any sign they've noticed us?"
"No, sir. She seems to be maintaining velocity West."
"Good, Silver! Ready the tarp."
The silver mare fires off a salute before grabbing one of the other pegasi to follow her into the cargo hold. It only takes us a few minutes to get into position beneath the freighter, and once we're there the silent order is given to Gold Flight. They dust off, sticky charges at the ready, and set them up in position on the hull of the freighter. Should all go to plan, when they detonate, Gold Flight will be able to infiltrate the hold directly and start shovelling anything that isn't bolted down out to us.
Once all charges in place, I give the signal and the pins are pulled, the charges go off without a hitch, and Gold Flight makes for their insertion while the unicorns above are alerted to our presence. But this is different than the last few times we've hit freighters like this, when Gold Flight goes for their insertion, they still bounce off. As the smoke clears, I see what the problem is, my cigarette dropping from my mouth.
"They've got it shielded!" Delight calls out, Gold Flight standing mostly still in the air as the confusion shoots through everypony's eyes. That is, except the Baronites, who begin firing down at us!
"Gold Flight, land and rearm, Gadget, drop us further, Silver, prepare for boarders!" I call out as I push the Garuda ahead so we're directly under the Diamond. Gold Flight makes their return but not quite everypony makes it, some of them dropping out of the skies from the magic bolts. Of those that fall, only half are able to be caught and brought onto the ship. I lock the wheel into position again and run to the bow, "Quick, I need eyes maintained on that ship! If they cut our tethers, we're done for!" Staring up, I see them maintaining their bearing which is good for us, for the time being.
Looking to my left, I see Silver returning from the hold with those of the crew incapable of flight, all armed with swords. "Be careful, everypony. If they've got a shield around that hold, they've got a powerful unicorn protecting that ship." Even still, we watch the sides, waiting for their boarding party to come down. It's classic aerial warfare strategy, if you lack pegasi and the enemy is below you, you swing down to commandeer the ship. Of course, that'd land them in a melee with a crew of Earth ponies, something these ponies always seem to forget about when they can't use their big guns to attack the ship itself.
Taking defense postures, my crew is ready to repel boarders, but a poof from behind distracts me. Turning, I spot a blue cloud of smoke fading from the command deck, and behind it is exposed a group of seven unicorns, three on each side with horns charged flanking what must be their captain. The captain himself stands taller than the rest, with a sharper horn to boot, and separates himself from the rest with a gaudy uniform covered in so many trinkets, I'm amazed I didn't hear them clattering against each other over the hum of our engines. He steps forward, past the helm, and props himself up on the railing at the edge of the deck before calling out with a heavily accented voice.
"Who here is captain of vessel?"
Doing my due diligence, I step towards him, "That would be me, Captain Steel Dusk, at your service."
"Ahhh, you are Captain Dusk, notorious to all of Empire's enemies! Captain, I am honored to introduce myself as Admiral Soomrak of the Crystal Baronies. Under the authority of the Council of Barons, I am placing you under arrest." The guards flanking him each take a step or two forward, horns still aimed at my crew and myself.
I take a step towards him, making no sudden movements but still drawing the attention of the admiral's six guards. "And what exactly am I being arrested for?" I ask with a sly grin.
The admiral smirks, "Oh, always one to bask in glory, you are. Need I list the charges from all of Aetheria, or shall just those decreed by the Barons suit you?"
I turn to face off the deck, staring out at the clouds, "Oh just those of the Baronies should be fine."
With another poof, a scroll appears in front of the unicorn who began to read aloud, "Seven counts of piracy against ships under protection of Council of Barons, twelve counts of aggression against citizens of Crystal Baronies, -" he pauses and I have to stifle a chuckle. He grits his teeth and the scroll poofs away again, "Enough of games, you will surrender now, da?"
"And what if I don't surrender? What if I decide to try capturing an Admiral for Her Majesty, and get the payday of a lifetime? You call yourself an admiral, Soomrak, but I see one ship here. One ship, does not a fleet make."
A twisted grin creeps across the admiral's face, "If you not want surrender, then you see fleet." The admiral's horn begins to glow before shooting out a beam that explodes into a ball of light off the starboard deck. Not liking the feeling in my gut, I glance between him and where the bang went off at, before finally it hits me. The skies were clear today, not a cloud in sight. So where did those clouds come fro-
"That's no fleet," I mutter to myself as the clouds disperse, revealing an armada of Diamond Balloons of all different classes. And at their head, a Dreadnought.
"So, I believe now is when you surrender?"
Awestruck by the approaching mass of ships, I don't realize that my jaw has dropped until I go to speak, "Well, you certainly make quite the compelling argument, Admiral Soomrak. However, I have a date later tonight that I can't afford to miss." He cocks a brow before I continue, "A date with destiny." Before anypony can react, I dive off the edge of the Garuda, sending myself barreling down to the icy mountains below.
Just as I disappear over the side of the ship, I fire my hoof mounted grappling hook to catch onto the netting on the underside of the hull of Garuda and swing along under the ship. As I reach the apex of my pendulum swing on the other side of the ship, I see that a fight has erupted on the deck between my crew and the Barony's unicorns before I'm caught by none other than Heavenly Delight.
"What, was Silver not up for catching me this time?" I jest as he brings me back to the ship.
"You know she hates when you do that, Cap. Besides, she's distracting the Admiral for ya."
"Good mare," I say as I'm set down, "Go tell Mister Gadget I want those engines ready for full throttle, Moonshine."
With a sigh, Delight is off and I call out, "Admiral Soomrak, I'm not done just yet!" On the lower deck I spot him and Silver with their swords locked together, and so I run over and hop down before drawing my own sword. He turns to me before giving Silver a kick so he can disengage and turn to face his true prize. I start with an overhead slice which is easily blocked by the taller unicorn before hopping up to give him a kick in the chest.
"Oh, I always hear of you being honorable pony, Captain Dusk, not one of rabble who does such dirty tricks," the admiral taunts before going for a downward thrust towards my own chest. I narrowly manage to deflect it to the side by twisting my body around before going for a slice at his legs.
"Says the one who sets a trap for little ol' me," I reply playfully. I'm fortunate to find that my strike connects, eliciting a cry of pain from Soomrak who reacts by slashing downwards. Were he not quite so tall, it might very well be the end of me, but given the extra second to react I dodge to the side and buck the sword out of his grip. As he's distracted trying to pull the sword back with his telekinesis, I hop up and give a solid hit to the base of his horn, causing the aura around it to fizzle and crack.
"Nuh uh uh, no magic on my ship, admiral," I jeer before taking advantage of him being stunned and give him a second hit to the head, this time the face. The admiral crumples like a coat and I dash back to the helm. Most of the boarders have either vanished from the deck or been slain, and so my priority is to get out of here before that Dreadnought is in range. Just as I hit the throttle, however, I find we're well past that time and so begins the chase. With a lurch forward, we begin shooting off, leaving our target behind in our steam and just narrowly avoiding a Dragonshot from the Dreadnought. Those still fighting on the deck tumbled over from the sudden shift in speed, which made finishing off the rest of the boarders foal's play.
"Silver, we need a ring for the admiral, and get him in the brig!"
"Captain, we don't have a brig!"
"Stuff him in a barrel in the cargo hold then I don't care, just do it!"
With an annoyed look on her face, Silver belts out orders to a couple of the other Earth ponies on our ship and took care of the Admiral. "Quick," I call out, "I need a bearing to the nearest friendly port!"
It takes a second, which is rare for Quick Eyes, but he's able to call back from the observation deck, "Captain, the nearest friendly port is to the... To the south!" Checking my compass, I find south to be starboard and when I steer the ship, I see why there was the hesitation. Our quickest way to safety is past the armada. I know we can outrun any one of those ships, but we didn't have the fuel capacity to go around them. Thinking under pressure as the Dreadnought begins to present its broadside to us, I belt out, "Mister Gadget, bring us up, fifty meters, stop Moonshine!"
We get another few moments left of dashing speed before we're back to our regular throttle and the ship begins to ascend. Silver returns from the cargo hold and offers a quick salute which I make note to discipline her for later, "Sir, the admiral has been restrained."
"Good, now get Gold Flight ready for a rapid strike and issue charges to all non engineering crew."
"S-Sir?" she starts with uncertainty before continuing, "Are you planning to actually engage all of those ships?"
"Nope, but today Garuda is bagging herself a dreadnought," I reply confidently.
She sighs annoyed before once again disappearing back into the cargo hold and I'm left by myself above deck. Staring at my prize for the day ahead, I briefly wonder why I do this. Why have I adopted such a hazardous lifestyle? Why am I always urged to go after the biggest threats? As fire from the dreadnought begins to shoot up past our balloon, I remember. It's that thumping in my chest. The racing of my heart. It's for the thrill of living every day with no expectations and limitless possibilities. A smile forms across my lips as the dreadnought vanishes beneath the horizon of Garuda's bow.
"All crew, topside!" I shout and am immediately greeted by the survivors of my crew, those ponies whom I've considered family the past four years. "When we pass over the dreadnought, I want all of Gold Flight to drop charges on their balloon directly under the Garuda, and everypony else to drop em over the sides. Twenty second fuse to be lit just as we pass over it, if we don't take this out then we'll likely lose our turbines as we pass. Mister Gadget, I'm going to want you checking on the turbines while Crimson Moon gets every last drop we can get out of that Moonshine. Everypony else, I hope you're a good tosser. Dismissed."
As the ponies all get into position to bomb the dreadnought, I look at the bow. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a gun or two on here, but that's a conversation for after we get paid for the admiral. Surely Her Majesty would be willing to overlook us failing our job when she sees what we bring her instead. Peeking over the side, Silver holds up a hoof to me, seemingly counting down in her head before finally announcing, "We are in position, Gold Flight, rapid strike!"
The four other Earth ponies still on deck after Gold Flight deployed all lit their fuses and dropped their charges overboard. Five seconds pass and Gold Flight returns to the deck and everypony braces themselves as I shout "Crimson, Moonshine!" and immediately feel the ship pick up in speed. "Gadget, let me know if those propellers start looking weak!" I call as I lock the helm and look over the stern. The mighty dreadnought once again begins to shrink as we start putting distance between us and it again, and just as I see their guns open up on us, I'm blinded by the series of explosions along the center of the balloon. Once I regain my sight, I look back to see the dreadnought rapidly dropping out of the air, no longer having a balloon to keep it airborne. The loud cheering next to me takes me out of my tunnel vision and I find that I'm surrounded by everypony, and despite her professionalism even Silver can't contain her excitement and smiles.
"See? I know what I'm doing," I say, fairly smug.
"Only sometimes, Captain," she replies playfully. "So what about the rest of those ships?"
"They don't have the guns to hit us up here, and by the time they get to the right altitude we'll be out of their range." I turn to smile forward, towards the Empire. "By the way, I wanna talk to you about putting some guns on here," I say offhandedly and without even looking I can tell Silver has plenty of ideas. It'll be a long trip home, but it'll certainly be a good one.
It had been far too long that I had put this off. Drifting from place to place until finally I found myself in the basin town of Pondera, right along the edge where greenery could still be seen. Preparing myself for the journey, I buttoned up a shirt that had seen better days, affixed some bracers on my forehooves and spats for hind, and a leather coat for warmth, though I made sure to poke my wings out the holes, and for my head a wide brim hat and some goggles. Never knew when a dust storm would come by. Next came a bandolier holding my Shock Revolver, a hand me down from a former boss somewhere at some point in the past, and lastly an old hunting rifle in case I ran into anything the revolver wouldn’t put down.
Next it was time to pack my bag, a blanket for sleeping, enough food for the trip there and back, a tarp was always good to have and even better with rope. Lastly, I turned to the urn. It hurt to look at, and internally I stabbed myself for taking so long. I hadn’t even done anything, and she obviously deserved more. With a sigh, I set it into the bag, fastened the buckles, and was on my way.
Life in Pondera was simple, no airship access due to how close it was to the Maelstrom so the only way to come in or out was by hoof or rail. The main road, if it could be called that, was fairly empty today as it was most days. Typically, at this time of day, the ponies here would either be working the fields for every last crop they could force out of the soil, or in the forest bringing down some trees for whatever state was looking to add some cheap airships to their fleet. Of course, every town with its name had a general store, and it was here I stopped in.
“Finally leaving us?” the clerk asked as he spotted the tortoise shell of a bag I carried.
“No, just taking a trip up the mountains. Should only be gone a week,” I replied as I set the pack down on the floor by the counter.
“Ah, so what brings you here?” he asked, leaning against the counter to follow me as I dove into the bag. “Need some extra supplies? I think the missus just finished another batch of biscuits, they should keep fresh for a bit.”
“No no no,” I started as I pulled the urn out and sat it on the counter. “Was looking for something to freshen this up.”
“Ah, who was it if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Someone close,” I stated with finality.
“All right, all right, well… Lemme see if there’s anything I got around here, usually this isn’t the sort of thing a customer is looking for.”
He started digging around, checking random aisles for anything he might have. My eyes started glancing along the shelf behind the counter, more just looking for somewhere to focus my eyes until finally I picked up on something, up on the top shelf.
“Hey, uhh, what about that?” I said, pointing a hoof as I turned back towards him.
His head poked up out of the aisle as he followed my hoof, “Huh, that? The Hearthswarming wreath?”
“Yeah, can you grab it?”
Trotting behind the counter, he grabbed a hook and finagled around with it before finally hooking the wreath and lowering it down onto the counter. “Guess I forgot to put it away last Hearthswarming. It’s not actually for sale, just some store decoration for the holidays, sorry.”
I leaned in close, examining it. It was a traditional wreath, wrapped from boxwood, but accented with winterberries. The preservation of the plants was fairly surprising, and I expressed as such to the clerk.
“Yeah, it’s been in the family for some time, from way before the Maelstrom was a thing. We go ahead and rejuvenate them every so often to keep ‘em from rotting away. Still, though, I’d better put it away, is there anything else here you think would work?”
“Please! I mean, please…” I thought for a moment, “Forty bits, and I’ll bring it back. Just… She liked winterberries.”
The clerk hmmm’d and hawww’d as he fiddled with the wreath in his hooves, thoughts running through his head before finally, “Sixty bits. And you bring it back.”
“Yes, I- thank you.” Blushing, I fished around in a pocket and withdrew a coin pouch, counted out the bits, and set ‘em on the desk. “Two weeks, and I’ll have it back. Promise.”
Double checking my count before passing the wreath over, he nodded, “It’s not often nowadays that you can trust somepony’s word, but… I’ll be waiting.”
I couldn’t be offended, and took the wreath, wrapped it around the base of the urn, and then gently stuffed it back into the pack. “Like I said, one week, and back on the shelf or wherever else you want it.”
With a nod to acknowledge the accord, I was dismissed and so I left. Outside, I looked at the mountain, the base a few miles North and the top far too high to guess at. Down here at basin level, you could still make out some green on the trees, but the higher up you went the more lifeless the mountain became. Up at the top was where I intended to go to finally make my peace, and so with the last of my preparations, I set off.
The first couple of days were the easiest, I was fresh with energy, able to forage with some difficulty my meals to conserve supplies, and filled with determination. As Pondera disappeared behind the brush and the trees began to become more and more bare, spirits lowered and soon I was doing little else but counting the hoofsteps as I slowly rose higher and higher. Life was a cycle of waking up, having a breakfast of eggs, packing up camp, hiking, unpacking camp, having a dinner of potatoes, and finally sleep. I had packed some biscuits that had already lost most of their chewiness that I would usually munch on while I walked, washing them down with water to make chewing easier, and to clear out the dry feeling in my mouth.
The fourth day I began noticing occasional marks on the trees. Deep cuts in sets of four, they were evidence of a desperate scavenger hoping to find something along the browning leaves up above. A bear. Continuing to proceed like normal would be dangerous, the weight of the pack made me a very easy target, and judging by how fresh the marks were, the scavenger would be nearby.
I set up camp early that day, making sure to leave all of my food in the backpack. I then spent the rest of the day scouting a clearing and using some rope to dangle the bag from a tree branch. With the trap set, I found myself a bush that still maintained some of its greenery to hide away in, not wanting to be seen as I brought my rifle to bare. I had twenty cartridges set in the bandolier and seven loaded into the rifle, more than enough to bring a bear down. And there I waited.
I was getting a bit restless, a branch had ended up getting poked into my flank when I moved to take a sip from my canteen several minutes ago, when finally I heard the bear approaching. Taking in a deep breath, I quickly learned to live with the branch and focused down the sights of the rifle, waiting for the bear to come into view. Finally, a withered husk of the sort commonly found in the wilderness of the Crystal Baronies emerged into my field of vision.
As it sauntered its way towards the bag, I felt pity for the beast, but knew it was better for both of us for it to end this way. And so I focused the rifle ahead of it, waiting for the beast to stop before I dare pull the trigger. Once it reached the backpack, rose up onto its hindlegs and began fumbling with the bag with its claws while it sniffed around with its snout. This was my moment. Not wanting to risk hitting the bag, I aimed for the bear’s heart and pulled the trigger. The roar of the rifle echoed through the dying forest, but was quickly joined by a matching roar by the bear! My shot had missed!
What little concealment I had didn’t help me now that the bear was alert, and it quickly began barreling its way towards me. Caught in the moment, I fired shot after shot, working the lever between each pull of the trigger, but it wasn’t enough! The bear rammed into me, pushing me over onto my back, and reared up to scar my face the way it had oh so many trees around here. By pure reflex, I held the rifle up and managed to block the swipe, but doing so had bent the barrel of the rifle and shattered the wood furniture. The bear roared again, and I took the moment to put distance between the two of us while I fumbled the Shock Revolver from its holster.
Kzzzt! spat the revolver as it pulled magical energy from the gem and shot a green beam at the bear. My aim was wild and so I fired off several more shots, Kzzzt! Kzzzt! The bear soaked the single hit with an angry roar as it once again charged at me. I fired off the last three rounds before quickly popping open the cylinder and slamming home a fresh gem. The bear once again shoved into me, this time knocking me out of the air and pinning me to a tree! As its claw raised up, I desperately emptied the second gem into the bear’s torso. The claw hung in the air for a moment and I braced myself for the worst, before it finally fell and the massive beast tumbled, with me atop it.
Rising up, I winced and turned back to see that the trunk had wounded my wing. I tried to flutter myself up, but once again felt the pain roar through me. With a sigh, I returned to the opening and shot the line holding the backpack up. Once caught, I slid the revolver back into its holster, threw the back onto my good side, and made my way back to camp. By the time I made it there, the sun had set, and the eggs inside the backpack were dripping out onto my good wing.
I didn’t see anything else living after the bear. All green evaporated and soon the wood joined it. It was just me, the smog filled skies above, and the stone of the mountain. A rather lonely setting, but I was sure it would be worth it. The nights were quiet, empty, leaving me with my thoughts. I would think back to the tales I had been told in my youth, of a time before all of this war and mistrust. A time when you could see the sun shining bright during the day, and distant specks of light called stars at night. A time when there was harmony in these lands. A time before the Maelstrom, before the Celestial Kingdom, the Lunar Republic, and all the other states that wage petty grievances against one another. A time when a mailmare managed to save all of Equestria!
I’m not ashamed to say that I cried a few of those nights.
Another couple of days and I caught notice of what seemed to be a good spot. My wing aching still, wrapped in some cut fabric from my shirt, I decided to check it out. I was certainly high enough, but I wanted to make sure wherever I did this was the right location for it. As I stepped closer to the precipice, my hooves slowed down. I fell backwards onto my posterior in awe, you could see so much from here. Having served a number of airship captains before, I was no stranger to the panoramic views, but making the journey on hoof somehow made it so much more beautiful.
From here I could spy the Maelstrom, a ball of radiated magic energy, leftover from some epic battle between one of the mythological princesses and a horrid demon, if you believed the stories at least. It consumed my focus as I thought of all of the hurt it had brought to the world, the destruction of so many lives, the devastation of the Basin, the death of harmony in this land which was once called Equestria. It took several moments to pull my attention away and look further away, spying New Canterlot as a shadow in the haze. The castle which housed the queen of the inappropriately named Harmonic Kingdom, likely planning whatever raids she could think of against the other Ponish powers.
Various airships soared just beneath the clouds of smog, delivering goods all across the Aetherian continent. Along the surface I was able to spot one of the few forests that refused to give in to the Maelstrom, as well as the village Pondera. That brought me back to why I was here in the first place, and given the view I felt this was as apt a location as any other. I dropped my pack off and dug around for the urn. Pulling it out, I found the wreath was beginning to wilt, but I should still have plenty of time to make my way back to the general store. I then approached the very edge of the precipice, taking another look out at the wide vista.
I wasn’t very much religious, but I still bowed my head and did my best to pay my respects in the way of the Harmonic cult. It was what she would want. Raising my head, I removed the lid on the urn and readied myself. Tipping the urn brought a gentle stream of ashes that increased in velocity as I tipped it more and more over the edge. The wind caught them and began to drag them along its current as I watched, tears once more filling my eyes.
As the ashes drifted out, I began noticing tiny red specks in the air. I wiped the tears from my eyes to focus and noticed that the ashes had been catching the light of… I glanced around before finally I caught a red glow emanating from the Maelstrom. Turning back to the ashes, I found them twinkling red, like the stars I had been told of so many years ago. Was this what my grandmother meant? Was I now, here, seeing the same sorts of stars that used to fill the night sky? As I watched them shift with the winds, I almost could’ve sworn that I saw the shape of a heart for a moment, but before I could confirm it, it was gone.
I sat there for a while, just watching, even after the ashes had drifted far enough away that I could no longer see the scarlet stars. I wasn’t sure what to do, what to say, until finally, my head sagged. “See ya, Nana. Love you.”
Author's Note
Here's the fully compiled story, had a couple people read over it and they found it made sense. Let me know what other sorts of stories you'd like to see from this world!
