Dancing in the Legendary Sea - Chapter 10 Part 1

The time seemed to be close to midday. The winter sun was dazzling. The high sail shook in the wind. Her body was shaking constantly. Lokira, who noticed that she was lying on the bottom of the boat, sat up. The cloak that was covering her body also slipped down effortlessly. Her spirit, after some sleep, had returned a little.  Looking around, there was a huge panorama she had never seen before. Water was all over.  Even when she looked up at the sky and back down towards the earth, it was all water. It was the horizon that met her eyes. The overwhelming vastness that was quite scary, filled her view.

“This…..is the sea?”

Lokira only realized it then. She thought she knew the sea, but looking at it now, she finally realized didn’t know anything. The sea she knew was only a stream at the corner, but when she was in the middle of it, it changed into something like this. A much heavier smell of salt than in Delos pierced her nasal cavities. The shallow water on the coast had a clear jade color in summer, but now it was not such a pretty and transparent color. A dark blue color of unknown and ominous depth was constantly tossing and churning. The waves were like mountains rising out of the water. The boat carrying her crossed the crests of seawater again and again. This boat wasn’t so big, would it flip over? She wondered and started to get scared.

“Don’t look at the water for too long. Get your eyes off it.”

Orion suddenly spoke. Only then did Lokira look at him. The man gave his cloak to her, so he was wearing only short sleeveless clothes. He didn’t look very cold even though he was struck by the winter sea breeze. Rather, he perspired while stirring this large water with one paddle. He rowed across the waves at regular intervals and rowed again, and each time, his veins stood out from his upper arms and thighs. The leather gaiters wrapped around the knees were tight. Has this man been rowing all this time?  As she couldn’t see any land around, it was obvious that they were quite far from Delos.

What happened at the temple was an irreversible incident. She had to keep going like this and followed the man’s instructions. And she was in the middle of the sea anyway. Jumping off this boat wouldn’t solve anything. She couldn’t change the past, and she couldn’t do anything right now. Upon realizing that, her agitation subsided a little. She rolled her lips a few times and then asked.

“Where am I ?”

“Here? The sea.”

What kind of answer was this? Lokira became more anxious. When Orion gauged the location of the sun, he then added.

“Look. It is daytime, you can see the sun right away. We’re heading due south.”

“South…”

“You have to eat something first. Open the sack there.”

Yes, she was hungry even in the midst of all this. The sack was under the mast. She opened it with her knees. A water bag made of sheepskin was first seen, followed by barley bread, cheese, and dried figs. She took them out. Orion plucked up the paddle and approached her. The ship rocked along the currents. He took the water pouch to his mouth. Lokira plucked the barley bread and forcibly chewed it.

“It tastes the same as what I ate at the temple.  “

“Of course. I stole it from your temple.”

Cough! Cough!

Orion handed her the water pouch. After calming down from shock, she uttered the words that came to her mind.

“Theft, looting… “

“Pretend it is the grace of Artemis. Consider it a tribute that Delos gave for selling your name, it’s not even a mote.”

He tore the bread in half and sandwiched the cheese in between. Then he crushed the cheese by pressing the bread on both sides. After putting figs on top, he quickly put it in my mouth at once.

“There’s a rumor that you’ve increased your spiritual powers through training. It’s packed with gold and wine all over but they keep saying there’s nothing here.”

“I haven’t even seen anything outside. Everyone believed it.”

“Simply put, you’re the temple’s treasure trove, the golden calf. However, your brother’s authority is the real kind of magic. In other words, you were sold out.”

Lokira gradually lost her appetite. Was that why the temple people always hit and scared her? Was it because they knew she wouldn’t run away? The madness she experienced last night suddenly hit her memory. She was certainly used to being beaten. Last night, the beating was clearly more savage than usual.

The beating was filled with loathing. It was normal for the High Priest to scold her in anger, but it was the first time he used a sword on her. She shuddered at the memory of almost being killed. Then, she ripped off the corner of the cheese as she spoke.

“The high priest always said that he disciplined me for my own good. l also thought I couldn’t follow his teachings because I wasn’t good enough. But he tried to stab me with a sword….”

The cheese tasted good. Eventually, she forcibly swallowed it. Orion replied after shaking the crumbs off his hand,

“That’s what he will always be like. He must have thought that exchanging words with a dirty man would have lowered your value. You’ll forget all about it when you get out anyway.”

“You’re grumpy, not dirty.”

“Thank you for your words. No, but wait. What … grumpy?”

He picked up the oar and looked back. Lokira was thinking that the man’s reaction was fierce.

“Your words are always mean and cold. Your heart seems to be different, so I’m going to find another adjective. I will!”

“Okay. Do whatever you want. Whatever you call me is fine.”

He smacked his own forehead impetuously and said, ‘What the hell did I do ..…’

After muttering those words, he regained his energy and started rowing. The sea, which had been calm for a while, soared up again, and soon subsided. Lokira got a little scared and grabbed the mast. From that moment, she had to endure the unpredictability of the sea. She learned that the water was calm but it was also violent.

“Where are you going?”

She asked, but then she remembered the name of his hometown.

“Atlantis? How can we get there the soonest? We can’t go on with this food.”