If you haven't read Clash of the Sky Galleons yet, and don't want the fantastic ending to be spoilt for you, run along now!
Otherwise, please enjoy. It is told in the POV of one debonair wannabe Sky-Pirate Captain… And it isn't really angsty, which- if you know me -is a very wonderful accomplishment. Oh, it's not really feel-good either, though...
You know how they say that there's always that one moment that can change the course your life, and the direction you drift throughout the world? Where everything after that moment is different, new, and with a completely fresh purpose? If you felt you had made a mistake in that one important moment, would you regret your decision, or make the best of it?
I've often wondered about that first meeting, the very first time I met the person who would change the way I lived my life: Without whom I would probably still be scrounging a living in Undertown, trying to survive day by day.
I don't regret meeting Orlis Verginix, or, as he introduced himself, Captain Wind Jackal. Not in the slightest. For it was he that first sparked my interest in the wonders of skysailing. The adventures he'd had, the places he'd seen, and the memories he already held close to him. The pirates. The intricate mechanics of the flight-rocks. The careful bartering held between varying parties. And the Skyships.
I had seen the Skyships many times, flying high over Undertown, departing from the shipyards. But nevertheless, Skyships were a rarity, especially given the frequent purges issued by the Leaguesmen, and were always so much more exciting than rubble barges, or even the League ships themselves. I had often wondered– me, down here in the filthy cobbled streets of Undertown, one of the minority of Forthlings populating the place back then –what it would be like to fly in one of them.
You didn't get to fly a Sky Pirate ship without being a Sky Pirate yourself, of course, unless you happened to be a passenger on a slave ship. Orlis had certainly been a great example of the better half of Sky Pirates. He was both clever in skysailing and navigation, as he was clever with the ways you dealt with Undertowner hospitality. He was friendly to a young Undertowner such as myself, and we got along immediately. Rough, cheerful, and slightly tempered by a haunting bitterness– that was Orlis. How I had admired him. And then, one day, he had invited me to see his ship, the great Galerider.
I had seen Skyships many, many times. But none were as beautiful as the Galerider. From her rigging and the very tip of her mast, to her ornate bridge and intricate keyboard of levers, she was the most amazing Skyship I had ever seen. Orlis was suitably proud of his ship, and he wasted no time showing me every feature of the Galerider in intricate detail. I fell in love with her. I excitedly offered Orlis myself as his right-hand man for the crew, but Orlis refused. He said he had someone else in mind.
Orlis and his crew left for quite some time and I, eager to start a crew of my own and be like Orlis, spent my time hunting around Undertown for a willing crew. But, it seemed, things didn't work that way. You could hardly call yourself a captain, and expect a crew to follow you, when you had no status, no money, and no ship… Every day, I thought of my friend Orlis, and his magnificent ship. It seemed to me that I wouldn't need to go through any of these troubles, if I owned a ship such as his, with a crew as good as his own. If only I had the Galerider, all of my troubles would be naught.
When I met Orlis again, he was still prospering. Son recently apprenticed to the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax, and himself going from strength to strength with his sky-piracy, on board the Galerider. I offered my services again, as although I had failed to even sign up as a crewmember, I had learnt much of skysailing through my endeavours. He refused me again. And I knew then, that I wouldn't be able to prize the ship from him until he was seen as unfit to run the ship, the lovely ship that I so wished to fly.
So I made plans. Orlis had once mentioned to me the tragedy he had suffered at the hands of an old Quartermaster of his, Turbot Smeal. The Quartermaster had torched his home, as well as most of the Western Quays, with his wife and children still inside. Only one child, Quintinius, had survived. Smeal had been said to have died in the fire as well, although Orlis had sworn that he could not believe such a demon could truly die before he himself could give him the favour. The idea was perfect. I would set as many deadly traps as possible, posing as a vengeful and bitter Smeal, back from the dead. Knowing Orlis' obsession with the man, he would fall for it. I would make sure he would. I had thought he was my friend, but he stood in the way of something I wanted, and in the end, he wasn't worth it.
Orlis had been surprisingly easy to dupe. Just one "Message of no return", claiming to be a sighting of Smeal penned by a well-wisher, and the man and his ship were tearing off to every dangerous hellhole on the Edge. Gullible as he was, he wasn't easy to dispose of, either. I had to work hard to remain one step ahead of him, giving him a fleeting taste of vengeance, but never enough to satisfy. Unfortunately, it all seemed to have the same effect on myself, and I became increasingly agitated with the whole charade.
So when I saw Orlis and his crew in the Tarry Vine, I decided that the game of cat-and-mouse would have to draw to a conclusion. I set off to plant a final lure, and then followed the course the ship would take, along with my newly acquired scrawny fool of a Banderbear, Hubble.
I had heard earlier that the crew had a consignment with the Great Shryke Slave Market to uphold, and it hadn't taken long at all for the Galerider to turn up there. The plan that Hubble and I carried out worked perfectly, and with my stroke of luck, Orlis and his crew were kind enough to take both of us on board. I was back with the Galerider again. But it wasn't enough.
So, I took my time, and was careful to remain pleasant. I ingratiated myself with the crew and, of course, my dear Orlis. We spent many days laughing, talking of the joys of skysailing, and spending time like the best of friends. I remained sympathetic to his chase after the wicked Turbot Smeal, and at the same time, fuelled his hatred by planting hints to the creature's whereabouts. If only he had known!
The day where we found the sky shipwreck arrived, and Orlis declared that he would set out into the wreck, to finally avenge the villain that had burnt all but one of those he had held dear. And myself, being his dear, loyal friend, would join him. We would smoke him out, fighting side-by-side, swords drawn and blades flashing. That was how he intended it, at least, as we descended into the heart of the ship. I was terrified, at the thought that I might fail, and at the decision I had finally come to. We searched and searched and searched, but, surprisingly to Orlis, found nothing. I suggested we split up, and he foolishly agreed. I had my chance now; I had no way of backing out of my decision. So I snuck off and hastily put on the mask, hat and overcoat that I had hidden on board, the clothing that had since become my uniform. And then I set out to find Orlis.
It didn't take me long, the man was absolutely paranoid, and those that are fearful leave good tracks for their fears, or so they say. I caught him off guard, virtually leapt upon him, and Orlis fell to the ground, but not before calling out to his son. The luck of it all! That meddlesome son of his had followed us, despite his father's insistence he stay on board. I'm sure it was jealously. After all, father and son had been the given duo for all the previous Smeal hunts, and Quint must have been hurt that his father had chosen me over him. Such is life, Quintinius. It's not always easy. But Quint didn't show up. Not yet.
Of course, Orlis was a Sky pirate captain, and one with a significant number of battles behind him, so he put up a terrible fight. But I had sheer desperation on my side. Orlis was now my enemy. And to obtain the Galerider, I would have to rid her of her captain. I caught Orlis many times with my blade, but he did not tire, for it was the hatred for the object of his obsession that fuelled him on. He managed to get my shoulder, and I faltered- the pain had been unbearable. I don't know why Orlis didn't drive me through right then. After all, he thought I was Turbot Smeal. I was trying to kill him. I'll admit, I had felt a surge of fear at the glimmer of recognition in Orlis' eyes, the chance that he might have…
The moment cost him, either way. I managed to kick his feet out from under him, and he came tumbling along the stained, rotting decking, during which he lost his sword. In a desperate last effort, I brought my own sword down upon his turned back. He had been given no final chance.
I had done it. I had killed Orlis Verginix, the famed Wind Jackal. The sword was wrenched from his back, and I left as quickly as possible from the scene, hands slicked from the warm blood. If Quint were still on board, I would have to find him and feign a sorry story of Turbot Smeal attacking the both of us. It would work, I would make sure of it. Quint found Orlis first, but my plan still worked. I knew it would. And the two of us fought off the wreck creatures side-by-side, just like Orlis and I should have done.
The buoyant funeral filled me with both dread, and immeasurable happiness. It marked the death of a man that I had once thought was my friend, and had become my enemy, but also what I had finally been waiting for. The crew were already treating me as their captain, for that was what I was with Orlis out of the way. Captain of the Galerider.
It didn't last long, as I had been too presumptuous. Undertown always teaches its prisoners that life is never so easy, and I had been a fool to think that I would finally get what I deserved. I had forgotten about Orlis' son, Quint, who claimed that Orlis had always wanted him to captain his ship once he was gone. I should have known that even in death Orlis would still stop me from taking the Galerider. But I remained confident. A Shryke smile is by no means an election where the assumed heir wins, and I made sure to tip the scales in my favour. Hubble was a no-brainer, the goblin that had been an Undertown ferryman had been ridiculously easy to bribe, I had eliminated the Stone Pilot's obvious choice, and Maris had appeared deceptively easy to convince. She was the sort of lovesick woman that I had become used to dealing with, and it had been especially easy to drivel on about how her poor Quint might not really want to be the Galerider's captain (Unlike someone else). It had all seemed so easy.
But I had lost again. It had come to a standstill, two each, with Maris having the deciding vote. I had been so sure! And Maris… She gave her Shryke tooth to Quint, despite my persuasions. There could not have been a single word in the vocabulary of all of the Edge that could have described how utterly crushed I had felt. I had almost had what I wanted, only to have it snatched away again and again. I managed to remain pleasant to Quint, but I had given up. There was only one way I would get the Galerider now.
And now, here I am. The League's fleet is about to depart, and I am to ride with them. Or, at least, Turbot Smeal is. The fool's game is to continue, as it has for the past year. Originally, it was all because of Orlis, but now it doesn't even stand for him anymore. It stands for all that I've sacrificed, how hard I've worked, up until this moment. I can't stop it all now. I care little for what I have done. No matter what I do, I'm damned anyway.
I will have the Galerider. She will be mine, even if I need to rid her of every single crewmember she carries. Even if I myself die in the attempt. I will have the Galerider.