The Sea Goddess Bard :: Short Story Stories Essays

The Sea Goddess' Bard The sun had just climbed above the rock columns and wave beaten, natural arch that formed the eastern wall of the bay; a sheer rock cliff rimmed the western border. The late summer off-season was finally nearing its end and the raging surf was beginning to tame. The waters were still too rough for fishing, but Kiauch had his skiff out in the center of his father's sheltered bay. "I don't know, Rajath." Kethral shook his head as he watched his willful, eldest son maneuver the skiff across the bay. The young minotaur's dark form showed up clearly against the white of the spritsail even at this distance. "Kiauch worries me." "He's well away from the stacks and arch. As long as he doesn't go beyond the headland, he should be fine," Rajath reassured his brother. "No!" Kethral snapped, "I mean all that bard nonsense." "Oh." Seen separately, one could easily mistake one brother for the other. Both had the same golden brown coat, but where Kethral was square built and powerful, Rajath had a sensitive, slender grace. "Ever since that storm on his initial voyage all he talks about is becoming a bard. A bard of all things! Before then he couldn't wait to be a fisher." "Having a ship snap in two under your feet is enough to unnerve anyone," Rajath pointed out as Sekra, his bride of less than two months joined them on their vigil. "Give Kiauch time. He'll come around." "He'd better," the elder Os'Liath grumbled. Long ago, he had promised his first born to Vestiya, and the Lady of the Sea had no tolerance for oath breakers. Sekra smiled as she watched her nephew. Being new to the family, she saw what the others seemed to overlook. Despite their outward differences, her brother-in-law and his son were practically identical. Once either one of them got an idea in his head there was no dissuading him. Sekra very much doubted that Kiauch ever would 'come around.' Sekra gasped as a great wave buffeted her nephew's skiff. "I don't know," she said as Kiauch nosed into it and, aside from a good dousing, managed to keep his boat afloat. "Look at the way he's sporting on the waves; that doesn't look like fear to me." "Hmm," Kethral rumbled deep in his throat. "Ah, Sekra's right. Kiauch is no more afraid of the sea than he is of breathing.