Enlightened Empire

Chapter 280

Not once in his life had Atau felt nostalgic. When he had been sent into exile by his father, he had felt anger, but had shed no tear for his old home. Even when they had returned to Medala after their exile, Atau had remained indifferent. Now however, as he gazed upon the green sea all around him, he began to feel the emotions well up inside him.

“Finally, we are back in known waters,” he said to himself, relieved to see something familiar after years of novelty.

Their journey had been long and harsh. An entire three years they had been away from their home. They had fought off countless dangers and withstood countless days of boredom. In return, they had gained countless treasures to bring home with them. Now they were finally back in the Verduic Sea, back in waters Atau had been familiar with ever since his youth.

Only a few days more due east and they would return home to Saniya, to enjoy wealth and glory. After all, that was why they had gone on their journey: To be immortalized as great explorers, and to become rich off the trade. As Atau began to dream of a solid bed and a banquet in his honor, his happy thoughts were interrupted by the outlook high above his head.

“Smoke starboard!” the man shouted. Rather than follow the instructions, Atau shielded his eyes and stared up to the crow's nest, where the sailor's silhouette pointed over to the side.

Confused, Atau followed his instructions and stared to his right. Although the captain's eyes were excellent, even he could only barely see the plume of smoke that rose from that direction. The smoke was rising from an island not far away, or rather, from its coastline.

Not enough smoke for a forest fire, and too far on the edge. Should be man made.

If he remembered correctly, this island group of the Verdant Isles should have been uninhabited, and there were many stories spread about it within the local folklore. Unless something dramatic had changed in his three years away, these flames were the sign of either castaways or hidden pirates. To determine which, Atau looked through his telescope and got his answer right away. Atop a distant rock, he saw two small figures jumping up and down, backlit by a small, but smokey fire behind them.

“What are we dealing with, captain?” Atau's second-in command asked from behind.

“They're castaways,” the captain replied as he put the telescope back down.

“Do we take them in?” Ivo sounded unsure.

Atau wasn't surprised at his first mate's reluctance, since there was a small chance that they were dealing with pirates in disguise, eager to lure them into a trap. Even more, their crew had gone through enough over the past few years. At this point, all of Atau's men wanted nothing more than to go home. They didn't want to bother with another delay, even if it saved another man's life. However, Atau himself wouldn't break the proper conduct of the high seas.

As for the threat of pirates? They still had five ships left, loaded up with cannons and battle-hardened sailors. If pirates tried to take their ships, Atau would be amazed at their stupidity.

“Of course we take them in. You don't just ignore a castaway at seas,” he said with determination in his voice. “Lower the sails, and signal to the fleet that we're taking a break to regroup. In the meantime, organize a small landing crew to collect at least two people from that island.”

“Aye aye, captain.”

With a smile, Atau watched his well-drilled crew execute his orders. Despite their feelings, not one of them uttered a single word of complaint as they worked. These were the kinds of people he was willing to risk his life for, and the men he was proud to call his crew. Satisfied, he looked back over to the jumping shadows. He really wondered what kind of guests they would be taking aboard for the last leg of their journey.

“What the fuck is this?”

Atau had readied himself atop the maindeck to greet his newest guests aboard his ship. In fact, he even had brushed out his beard in a mirror to make sure he would make a good first impression on what could be the first fellow Yaku he had met in years. Yet when he saw the first castaway climb up the ladder and clamber over the Homeward's railing, he was stunned into curses. Because the one who came aboard wasn't some grateful castaway, but instead Atau's own cousin.

“That's not the proper way to welcome your king on board, is it?” Corco asked the shocked Atau in a happy tone. Before the captain had even understood what was happening, his cousin had already charged towards him and greeted him with a hug.

“Welcome home, and congratulations on your return!”

“Yeah.”

Still shocked, Atau gave a non-commital answer and waited until Corco released his grip. When he did, he once again looked at his cousin and realized that he had indeed picked up a castaway. Corco's skin looked much darker than it usually did. While his hair was kept neat, he didn't have his headband and from the sharp smell, it was clear that he hadn't washed his flayed clothing in days. In fact, he didn't even wear his usual chainmail armor.

Behind him, only a single person more came up the ladder, which showed that they truly were the only people stranded on that island. This was a young woman with dark, knotted long hair and wild eyes. Whatever they were doing on this island, this wasn't some pre-planned welcoming committee for Atau and his crew. There was some story behind Corco's sudden interest in nature survival.

“So what happened?” Atau asked in confusion.

“Ah, that's complicated,” Corco grinned like he was happy to finally ramble in front of Atau again. “Short version: We came here because these islands are one giant treasure. Then someone got a lucky guess and sank our battleship. Basically, we may want to be careful, as there may be some Bornish galleons traveling in the Verduic Sea now. And they don't like us.”

“That can't be right. How could they show up here?” Atau asked. “I've seen not even traces of Arcavians on the second half of my journey, and in Arcavia I didn't hear of a single ship that traveled that direction. How could they complete a journey around the world and not announce it?”

For a moment, he thought back to what Aurea had told him about the discovery of a new continent east of Arcavia. If the new world was east or Arcavia, and the earth was round, that meant that the new world would also be somewhere west of Chutwa.

“Maybe they came here via the new world?” he mumbled, though Corco didn't seem interested in his speculation.

“Either way, we were attacked by suddenly appearing enemy ships,” he explained with a shrug as if it hadn't been him who had been shipwrecked, “which at this point seems to have been bad luck more than anything. There was no way for them to know that we were coming, so they were probably hiding out here, for one reason or another. In the end, they saw us sail past and thought we were hunting them, or maybe they just wanted to remain hidden, so they attacked us. Unless someone else is stuck on the surrounding islands, the two of us are the only survivors.”

“And this is...” Again, Atau looked at the young woman. Although she seemed familiar, he couldn't quite connect her face to a name.

“Ah, this:” Without any resistance from the woman, Corco put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. “Is my wife.”

For the third time in minutes, Atau was shocked. This time, he wasn't alone. Even the girl herself seemed surprised by Corco's announcement.

“What do you mean?” she asked, though she sounded more confused than offended. “And why don't I know anything about this?”

“Well, we've done all the required steps, haven't we?” Corco's eyes narrowed as if he had thought of a crafty plot. “We left together, on a ship. Then we were trapped alone on an uninhabited island, only reliant on each other... In fact, I'd argue that our marriage is more legit than those fake marriages you get to see these days, with pre-arranged islands and travel schedules. This way, we even avoid the trouble of dealing with our families over the issue. Just present them with established facts. I mean, unless you have a problem with this.”

For a second, Corco looked a bit fretful as he stared over at his 'wife'. However, the woman seemed to approve of his plan.

“No complaints here,” she said with a grin, and kissed her new husband. Who was this woman? All of a sudden, something clicked in Atau's head, and he connected the unkempt woman before him with the chatty brat in the classroom.

“Wait, you're Princess Sumaci,” he determined, full of shock.

“The very same, captain,” the girl replied as she gave the hint of a bow. “Congratulations on your journey around the world. Please do tell me of your adventures when you find the time. I'm very interested in your tales of the corners of the earth. Surely there are some fascinating stories to tell.”

Rather than reply to the princess, Atau looked over to Corco again.

“Mayu won't like this,” the captain said in a bitter tone.

“No, he won't,” Corco shrugged. “He also won't like that you came back alive. How dare you? He also won't like that it's too hot out today, so he can't wear his silly coat. There's too many things Mayu dislikes. I can't consider all of them, can I?”

Originally, Atau had never been one too concerned with politics anyways. Thus, he simply left the complicated diplomatic problems to others and assumed Corco had a handle on things. When it came to politics, his cousin usually did. Thus, he just laughed at the thought of his annoyed cousin throwing a fit over his lost love, and left it at that.

“In any case, I'll be the first to congratulate the happy couple on their union.”

“Congratulations King Corco! Congratulations Queen Sumaci!” the crowd around them sounded. Although Atau found their reactions corny, he wasn't surprised. Originally, the king's marriage was a huge moment for the people of the southern kingdom. And when they weren't at sea, his men were as much citizens of Saniya as anyone.

“Thank you, thank you.” Both of them spread their arms and took bows like theater people, neither of them serious about their situation.

“No speeches today, we're busy trying to get home,” Corco continued. “Such a shipwreck really takes it out of you, I tell ya.”

“Sounds like things are serious,” Atau replied. “I guess we should get back as soon as possible, huh?”

“That would be for the best,” Corco replied. “And you should prepare to send a ship over to the green king as well.”

“Princess Sumaci, can you help my second navigate this area?” Atau asked his cousin's new wife. “We need to get back to Saniya as soon as we can, and you should know the area around the eastern Verdant Isles better than us.”

“Of course.”

“In the meantime, Laqhis, I'll have to give you a wedding present, don't I?”

After a laugh of anticipation, Atau lead Corco down into the ship's storage.

Not long after, the two men stood below deck, surrounded by treasure. With great interest, Corco inspected all kinds of goods, from plants to minerals and everything in between. Since he had arrived in Sadraiy, Atau had collected boxes full of items. In the end, he had brought not only the products offered at the markets, like dyes, dried fruits and spices, he had even brought soil samples, live plants and entire animals.

As if on command, the distinct, guttural bellow of Atau's horses sounded in the distance. Surprised, the king stood straight and stared at Atau.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked.

“Yup, I finally found your horses,” Atau replied with pride in his voice. It wasn't every day that he managed to surprise Corco. However, his chance to gloat didn't last long. Even as Atau still spoke, the king was already marching towards the source of the noise.

“We even bought two of them, a male and a female, for breeding. If you fund another expedition, we can easily get more,” Atau explained while he tried to keep up with his cousin. By the time he was done with his explanation, they stood in front of the two animals, who had been crowded into small, temporary enclosure his crew had constructed beneath deck. They had tried larger ones before, but the animals kept falling over in bad weather, so this was the best they could do.

Within their dumb faces atop their long necks were giant mouths, which constantly chewed on the straw from the trough before them. Their lazy eyes stared at the arrivals for a second, before they once again looked around into nothingness.

As if fascinated, Corco brushed over the humpbacks of one of the animals. However, when he turned to Atau, the king didn't look nearly as grateful or shocked as the captain had expected. Rather, he looked almost... amused?

“They're camels,” Corco said, as he tried hard to stifle a laugh.

Confused, Atau could only manage a dull “huh?”, but Corco had already regained his composure.

“Never mind,” he said as he slapped Atau's shoulder. “Close enough.”