The Osomark Ocean

Sabel sits at the bow of the lead vessel, leaning against the railing while reviewing her calculations. Her journal is her most prized possession. The making of paper is an arduous task, which her family reminds her of anytime they see her with the journal in hand. Each mark she makes is small and deliberate, and the journal itself she cares for tenderly. 

For years Sabel studied with Mathias as he tracked the course of the sun and moon and calculated their passage around the Osomark Ocean. Her family never would have made the journal for her if they didn’t believe that one day she might take on the mantle of navigator herself. 

Any Shauree can navigate the ocean by the time they can walk and talk. To them, using the celestial bodies in the sky to navigate is as simple as breathing. None, however, understand the cycles of Osomark as well as Mathias. 

Mathias devoted his life to measuring the calendar and tracking the positions of the sun and moon. His decisions dictate which regions of Osomark the Shauree will sail to and when. He must monitor the seasons and the weather so that they are always in the right place at the optimal time. 

Their powerful moon pulls at the ocean, creating extreme high and low tides. At low tide the ocean recedes revealing the source of the Shauree’s abundance, vast swaths of semi-aquatic forests. Gnarled trees with twisted roots barely anchoring them to the bits of land that are only visible at low tide. 

The forests rely on the Shauree to cultivate them, and the Shauree need wood and fruit from the trees to survive. Not to mention the countless other resources these ecosystems provide the community. 

Under Mathias’s guidance only the elderly of the Shauree remember anything other than abundance and prosperity. They sail at high tide, moving from forest to forest as they require. During low tide they tether themselves to the forest and work tirelessly. 

It is a delicate balance, and the Shauree can never stay in the same place for too long. 

Though the tide is the cycle that dictates the rhythms of their lives, it is the night that they truly fear. At night the Shauree must never cross the deep ocean. They stay tethered to their forests though high tide hides even the tallest trees from view. 

Mathias tells stories to the younger generations. Tales of twisted creatures from the deepest depths of Osomark that fear the light of the sun and only emerge when the moon is high. He claims that distant ancestors to the Shauree lived on land, and that when they left their land to sail Osomark it was the warmth of the sun that gave them the abilities they needed to survive the ocean. 

Now the Shauree have eyes that can see through dark water and lungs that can hold their breath for ten times as long as their ancestors. The digits of their hands and feet are webbed, and their bones can withstand a pressure that Mathias claims would have killed their land bound ancestors. 

Many young Shauree doubt the truth of Mathias’s words, some even believe that they should sail across the deep ocean at night. Sabel has never doubted him.

Though, with her journal in her hands, a chilling fear creeps into Sabel’s chest. Her eyes drift along the sky, and again and again she confirms it. The path of the moon is set to intersect with the sun, but Mathias has them sailing across the deep ocean. For the first time she begins to wonder if age has finally taken its toll on his mind as well as his sight and hearing. 

Without anytime left to question it, she turns and runs towards the back of the ship. Many questioning eyes follow her, but fear has it’s hand around her heart now and she pays them no attention. 

Sabel finds Mathias in his quarters, resting in his hammock surrounded by a cloud of smoke. 

“Mathias…” She begins urgently, before trailing off at the sight of him. He doesn’t look her way, simply brings to pipe back up to his lips for another breath. 

“Haven’t you seen the course of the moon today? By my calculations, there’s going to be an eclipse while we’re stranded in the middle of the deep ocean. We’re moving to intersect its path directly, we need to change our course.” Her words spill out of her mouth in a breathless jumble, and for a moment the only sound in the cabin is the creaking of his hammock and the pounding of her heart in her ears.

“Don’t be foolish, your calculations are wrong.” Mathias finally replies, not bothering to look at her.

“But..” She begins, but suddenly Mathias erupts.

“I have spent my whole life navigating for our people, don’t think that you know more than me after a few years of study. If I say we are on the right course than we are, and there is no reason for you to run around scaring the others because you made some foolish mistake.” By the end the old man is red faced, sitting up as much as he can in his hammock with his milky eyes fixed on Sabel. 

She doesn’t respond, simply stares at the ground wishing his words would dispel the fear pooling in her gut. With nothing more to do, she gives him a small nod, and departs silently. 

Sabel returns to the bow of the ship, reviewing her notes again and again while watching the moon’s path in the sky. She thinks about simply telling the captain of their vessel directly, but now Mathias’s words have seeded doubt into her mind. If she’s wrong no one will ever listen to her again, her future as navigator for her people will be lost. So she watches and waits. 

It isn’t long before doubt resolves into certainty, but still she stays rooted to the group. Paralyzed now by fear instead of uncertainty. Others begin to take notice, even on the nearby vessels Sabel can make out the forms of people gathering on their decks and pointing into the sky. Mathais stays locked in his room, not answering the door for anyone as every ship continues forward and the moon begins to cover the sun. 

Whispering becomes shouting, then fades completely to silence when darkness finally overtakes them. Every eye roams the ocean, searching the darkness for the monsters that have dictated the passage of their lives for as long as anyone can remember. 

The elderly murmur their prayers, while the young question every story they’ve been told. Just as the eclipse reaches its peak, there is a shift in the currents around them. Light emerges from underneath the water, like a glowing eye beneath the ocean. 

Sabel stands, gripping the railing at the bow of the ship and peering into the water. The beauty of it is enchanting, and she is so preoccupied watching the mysterious glow that she hardly notices as Mathias joins her at the bow. 

“I needed to know.” He says, staring into the water himself. “My whole life we’ve avoided the deep ocean. My teacher taught me to fear it as did his before him. Now, at the end of my life, I simply needed to know.” 

Sabel gapes at him incredulously. “You’d risk us all for that?” She demands. “Every one of us could have died to fulfill your curiosity!”

“We didn’t.” He says, still avoiding her gaze. 

She almost continues, but her anger burns out as quickly as it began. She herself had spent her life questioning those stories. How could she know that she might not have done the same thing during her time as the navigator, as the younger generations begged her for change? 

“So what now?” She asks, feeling more like a helpless child than she had when she’d first begged Mathias to allow her to study with him. 

“We follow it.” He says, directing her attention back to the water. The glowing eye that she had seen before had expanded. Before them now laid a path, one that pointed further into the deep ocean than they had ever sailed before. 

“Where do you think it goes?”

“To land.”