(The Timeless Ocean, Leonardo’s POV)
Just like the other men on board, Leonardo too felt the small ache of disappointment grab him when he failed to see the floating island upon reaching the designated co-ordinates.
Secretly, he had somehow been hoping that he would be the one to uncover the secret of that mysterious island, proving his worth as a reliable nephew to his uncle.
However, those dreams began to get crushed in real time now, when despite arriving at the location, he saw nothing worthwhile.
’Was it really a sailors tale? Nothing more than a ruse?’
He wondered, as he gazed at the horizon in disappointment, ready to retire to his quarters for the night, when suddenly, a flicker of golden light appeared in his peripheral vision.
It was neither bright, nor large, only a faint golden blink at the very edge of his vision, which appeared only for the briefest second before disappearing again.
"The hell?"
He muttered, as he rubbed at his eyes and looked again, only to see the wide gray that had been taunting them since morning.
"Huh?"
He said to nobody in particular, as he talked to himself just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating this stuff.
"Did I see light there?"
He asked himself, as he forced his eyes to scan the rigs and the sea in measured lines, counting heartbeats so that his eyes would not play tricks, and just as he was ready to abandon the notion, the gold appeared again, not quite a spark, more like an ember breathed upon, which went out as quick as it appeared.
"Could I be hallucinating?"
He let the words anchor his doubt, then refused the anchor and cupped his hands to his mouth.
"MANDER! MANDER!"
He called, as within seconds boots tapped the deck behind him.
Anderson and Mickey landed beside him instantly, their faces contorted in confusion.
"Yes, young lord," Anderson said, his eyes already surveying the water for danger.
"What is it?"
"Turn the fleet slightly to the left," Leonardo answered, pointing with the simple certainty of a boy telling a truth he did not have time yet to doubt.
"I think there is something there."
He pointed, as both Monarchs narrowed their eyes into the wind, reading distances and densities, as they surveyed every minor detail in that direction. .
Unfortunately, there was nothing obvious to see, only the same infuriating plainness that had greeted them all day.
However, just because it was Leonardo Skyshard who had pointed this phenomenon out, they could not dismiss him outright either.
"Agh, I think I see something there too,"
Mickey murmured, although he did not see jack shit.
While Anderson raised his eyebrow in confusion, as he toyed with the notion of refusing orders he had not been given, before ultimately deciding against it.
"Port three points west," he said while pulling out a crystal municator.
"Maintain spacing. Scouts hold the line. We sail onwards for another forty miles."
The mand rippled outward. The bows shifted. The fleet swung by a slow sweep to the left, the heavy ship answering first and the smaller boats correcting in tidy arcs until the diamond found its new angle.
The ocean did not change character. The sky did not send a sign.
But time began to perform its small trick of stretching when watched, as thirty minutes became long enough for men to doubt themselves and each other.
"Another dud?"
"Fuck me, I’ll go mental at this rate—"
Someone swore softly, as the collective impatience grew.
However, just as the soldiers felt like they were about to go mental, the island suddenly burst into view from behind a cover of storm clouds, as it floated above the ocean like a huge destroyer ship.
It looked less like an island and more like a continent adrift in its own calm, as cliffs rose through thin clouds while waterfalls fell and vanished midair before curling back upward.
The underside glowed with sunlight, which looked almost like the glow of an actual star, which although wasn’t born from nuclear fusion, was still warm on the skin.
"Distance," Anderson said without raising his voice.
"Approximately one hundred kilometers," the forward scout replied, the words cracking once before finding the right pitch.
Mickey let out a breath that could have been a laugh if anyone had earned laughter yet. "Well, young Lord" he said with pride, "It seems you were right to see something this way—"
He plimented, as Leonardo did not answer immediately.
Instead, he stood very still with his fingers tight on the rail, as he saw the third color of the aura manual unfold before him.
The entire island looked golden in his eyes, which signified the color of fate.
A color so brilliant and mesmerizing, that he almost lost his breath for a second.
*Cheers*
*Whistles*
The men around him broke into tiny celebrations, as they couldn’t believe that this wild goose chase was actually more than a ruse.
However, just as they began getting rowdy, their superiors began to pass down orders like the whip, as with a goal in sight, they demanded everyone to be absolutely focused now and not make any mistakes.
"Hold speed," Anderson said. "No hero work. Scouts extend by one length and watch the air as well as the water. We do not want it to disappear before us now."
"Understood," came the chorus, steady now that the world had given them something to chase.
The fleet slid forward with a quiet made from discipline rather than fear. On the main deck Mickey tipped two fingers against his brow in Leonardo’s direction without ceremony and then returned to his post, while Anderson kept his gaze on the floating mass as if he intended to memorize it before it decided to move again.
Chuck stood at the rail and tried not to smile the way a man smiled when the universe forgave them by accident.
While Leonardo held the island in his sight and allowed himself one last smile before recalling his duty, as he pulled out a crystal municator, and placed a direct call to his uncle, Leo.
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