"It's done!" Tuul'kara's happy shout echoed through the shipyard.

His once pristine appearance was gone, replaced with a look rarely attributed to the Gods. He was covered in sawdust and wore a utility belt instead of the usual decorated cutlass on his hip. His green-blue hair was messy and also full of dust and even wooden splinters. He was also wearing a shirt that suggested it was white some time ago instead of his bare chest. However, his face beamed with a wide smile.

"Oh?" Bjorn looked at him with a raised brow.

Tuul'kara was standing proudly in front of the figurehead he, personally, carved. The original figurehead of HMS Victory had been taken down and stored. It was magnificent and awe-inspiring, however, the heraldry it displayed was unknown to anyone. Since the warship was refitted anyway, the Master Crafters decided to change it to something more fitting. Victory, for her part, wasn't opposed the idea but wanted to keep the general shape of the figurehead. Or more precisely, a large Royal Crest. That being said, sculptures of men holding a heraldic shield weren't the best. Bjorn, who made the first figurehead, wasn't sure if he could carve anything better. The Master Sculptors weren't eager to take on the challenge. When Tuul'kara heard about the job, he immediately declared that he would do it.

The God of the Northern Ocean spent three days in the woodwork workshop and while, at first, everyone was a bit nervous, they quickly warmed to his presence. His cheerful attitude and presence alleviated the stress of hard work and allowed people to reach above what they normally would. He joked while he talked with the craftsmen and shared his knowledge with them, but he learnt many of their techniques as well. In like manner, the humble craftsmen did what no one ever dared before - they politely pointed out his mistakes. At first, he was surprised but, as he followed their instructions, he laughed happily, seeing once difficult things become far less complicated. He treated them casually but also respectfully. Tuul'kara soon befriended everyone. His supposedly short visit to Victory's dry dock quickly turned into full-time help. Once Tuul'kara heard that they could use some help with the ship he admired so much, he simply threw himself into work with cheerful laughter.

"What do you think, Master Bjorn?" He smiled widely and took away the curtain he hid his work behind.

"Hmmmm..." The stoic Dwarf rubbed his beard and walked closer. "The coat of arms is perfect, apprentice Tuul'kara. I'm impressed that you managed to use vitreous enamel so quickly... But..." He lightly touched the pristine surface and left no single mark, making Tuul'kara smirk with pride. "Ohhh? You used your divine power to keep the surface pristine? Interesting... But, oh my..."

Bjorn put his hands on his hips and shook his head in disbelief as he stood next to the supporting figures who held the heraldic shield. The magnificent lines and absurd level of detail made them so realistic that one might think that they were alive. A human male with a muscular body was holding a spear in his right hand, slightly behind him, as if he were walking. His left arm was resting on the heraldic shield of Avalon. His calm face and soft smile were reassuring and made anyone looking at him identify him as a protector. He was watching forward, with his gaze fixed on the horizon as if he were looking for any threats. But the details... The Dwarven Master could see the individual hairs on his head or hands and the way the material of his cape trailed as if the wind were blowing in the figure's face. His armour was the perfect copy of a Praetorian captain's armour.

On his left was a magnificent Elven woman. She was so familiar and yet, Bjorn couldn't tell her name. She was wearing an elaborate long dress, similarly flowing in the wind like the cape of the soldier on her right. Because of that, her dress was pressed tightly on her body and Bjorn swallowed. He could visualize her moving, her muscles secure in her imperious pose with her left hand extended as if she was stopping someone. But, it wasn't a desperate or helpless gesture. It was a confident sign of a monarch who silenced the crowd or an envoy signalling their turn to speak. Her right arm lightly rested on the shield with the coat of arms of Avalon, right next to the Dragon that crowned the Royal Crest. But her hair... it defied what should have been possible for a mere sculpture. It shone as if made from long, golden, and slightly waved hair, like gentle waves of an ocean, with fiery red streaks as if the setting sun was reflected in that serene water.

Bjorn wiped his tears and hugged Tuul'kara. "Welcome along those who can call themselves Masters! Oh, Tuul'kara... You should have taken art and artisans under your care! They would flock to you, ready to sell their souls for you to give them a speck of your divine talent! You moved my heart..."

"I... I'll consider what you have said, Master Bjorn." Tuul'kara smiled happily.

Behind them, everyone stopped their work to admire the efforts of the God of the Northern Oceans. They all were moved and each, as they passed by, put their hands on his shoulder and appreciated his accomplishment with awe. But it wasn't an awe of fearful people who only saw a deity. It was an awe of Masters who recognised his skill and silently praised him, proud to work alongside him. Never before had Tuul'kara been so happy and proud.

"So... Who are they?" Bjorn finally asked, looking at the figures.

"They are me!"

"That's right!" Tuul'kara confirmed and lifted a small figure in his hands forming a platform. "Victory and Vishnu."

"Ooohhh!" Everyone compared the standing-tall Elven-like golem who tried to assume the same calm expression as the much larger figurehead, but failed due to happiness overload.

"Well... I can see your posture in the woman... But..." Bjorn rubbed his beard and smirked. "You took a lot of inspiration from Empress Amber and Lady Sparrow in your current look. You tried to hide it, but..."

"Aaaaa! Hush!" The golem covered her head as she blushed. "I... It's... I-... I admire them, ok?!"

"And I'm sure as hell that Vishnu, however he was supposed to look, wasn't a Human according to Balanticans. Especially not resembling Blackbeard, albeit with a much shorter beard..."

"Nghhh..." Victory covered her face, embarrassed, but everyone was already chuckling.

It wasn't a mocking laughter but a friendly chuckle, full of understanding.

"I'm surprised you caught the similarity." Tuul'kara shook his head, ignoring the laughter poked at Victory.

"Oh, I couldn't tell if I hadn't known Victory before. I always could tell this ship was very fond of her first captain and it's easy to guess why she admires Empress Amber. But why Edward Teach?"

"He saved Admiral Sparrow on more than one occasion. He is also a very skilled captain who should have been chosen as the commanding officer of this vessel once I returned to service..." Victory almost managed to say that without blushing. Almost...

"Ohhh?" Bjorn grinned.

"Kyaaa!" Victory covered her head with her hands and ducked, still standing on Tuul'kara's hands as she squealed something unrecognisable, making everyone chuckle in amusement.

"Victory's personal choices and sympathies aside, this is a masterpiece, Tuul'kara..." Bjorn shook his head in disbelief. "What's more, you covered it with a blessing to keep it pristine..."

"It will also repair any damage over time." He grinned and took a dreamy breath. "To be allowed to work with you all, to be able to make something for this ship... It's so wonderful! I told you before, Master Bjorn. HMS Victory is one of the most magnificent ships in the world. I have seen Dauntless and the destroyers and, while I enjoyed them, they lacked something... It's a shame that the sail airships will soon be just a memory..."

"Oh, we know what you mean, God Tuul'kara." One of the older Shipwrights smiled. "But the age of sailships is not over. While the war fleet of Arcadia is going to be modern and deadly, the civilian and commerce fleet will still use sailships. We are more than certain that the Emperor would like for the sailships to sail the endless blue forever."

"That's fantastic!" Tuul'kara smiled. "I think I will get used to it... The metal warships of the Navy are going to be deadly, fast, and sharp. But the civilian vessels are full of grace and calmness..."

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Hey! I'm also a warship!" Victory protested.

"Indeed..." Bjorn smiled proudly. "But you are special, Victory. The private vessel of the Royal Family and the first warship of Arcadia..."

"So... Will you teach me shipbuilding, Master Bjorn?" Tuul'kara grinned as he straightened.

"With pleasure!" Bjorn smiled widely. "I always thought that, as a God of the Ocean, you would be familiar with the process..."

"Well..." Tuul'kara's smile went flat. "Umm... With process? Yes. But with shipbuilding step by step? Not so much... I could probably build a decent boat but something like Victory? Never..."

"All right, Boys! We are done here... BY THE GODS!" Ragnar's amused voice turned into shock as he walked into the workshop. "Who made this?!"

The Arcadian Master of the Forge stopped in front of Victory's new figurehead and admired it in stunned silence. He admired it from all sides and shook his head in disbelief. When he finished, he looked at Bjorn in silent awe. However, his friend simply shook his head in denial and pointed at the blue-haired God.

"That would be me." Tuul'kara grinned while Victory straightened proudly, still standing on his hands.

"Damn, you are skilled... Are you sure you want to waste your time being a God of the Sea? You should have taken art and artisans under your care!"

"I'll consider that, Master Ragnar." He chuckled under the amused stare of Bjorn. "Master Bjorn told me the same."

"Well. One time is an accident, the second time is a coincidence..." Ragnar grinned, making everyone in the shipyard's workshop laugh.

"New query received: how long will it take until the upgrades are finished?" Victory snapped in attention. "My internal data suggest that I'm ready to set off. Master Bjorn? Master Ragnar?"

"All your new systems are ready, Victory." Ragnar nodded. "You are loaded with supplies; water, food, munitions. The filtration system connecting the plumbing and air-conditioning is working. Your shields, weapons, and sensors are fully operational. Both of your reactors and the jump drive are ready to go. You just need a crew to use it. But, if you have to, you can fight on your own!"

"We will need an additional twelve hours to install the figurehead and add the last few touches. But everything else is ready to go." Bjorn reported with an official voice.

"Affirmative." Victory slightly nodded. "I received a new order. Tomorrow, at eight in the morning, I will obtain a new crew and a Captain. Immediately, we will begin training drills and an assessment of the crew. In four weeks, I will be assigned to the joint battle group tasked with the cleansing of the Cursed Land."

She relaxed and lowered her head. Everyone looked at her with concern until she slowly clenched her small fists and started laughing.

"It will be my battle test before assuming my official duty! Yesssss! A real combat!"

"I'm glad you are happy, I guess..." Tuul'kara nodded with uncertainty. "Do you think I could join you on your mission? That really sounds like fun..."

"I can ask..." She nodded and looked up at him after which she shrugged and crossed her arms in front of herself. "My Lady said it's not a problem. You can join us if you want."

"Excellent!" Tuul'kara smiled happily and looked at Bjorn. "I'm not sure if we should start your lessons when we finish work on Victory or after we return..."

"Hmmm... I think we can start right away."

•••

"Can both of you calm down and tell me what's the problem?!" Arletta looked at Islur and Tyklas with a sigh. "You avoided me for three days! Three days! What's going on?!"

"Those maniacs want to go to cleanse the Cursed Land!" The Prince shouted and grabbed a large cup of water, took a generous sip, and spilled the remainder as he tried to put the glass away.

"So?" She asked calmly.

"No one has ever returned from there!" Prince Islur shouted.

"He claims that his spies returned from there... As if we could believe such a blatant lie." Tyklas said and took a deep breath.

"So?" Arletta asked calmly once again.

"My Lady! Its..."

"If he said that his spies returned, they returned, one way or another. If Emperor Theon Avalon claims the Cursed Lands can be purified, they, inevitably, will be purified." She sighed and ruffled the right side of her head with a bored yawn. "He requested your help?"

"Not exactly... But we are expected to commit ships to the joint forces. It looks like Metaka will send their entire Fifth Fleet, Iceleon wants to send a Carrier, whatever that is, and a frigate. But Arcadia is sending just a single ship!"

"Hmmm..." Arletta hummed thoughtfully. "Are they sending anything more?"

"Empress Freya will be commanding the ground forces that are exclusively Arcadian..." Tyklas admitted begrudgingly.

"And we are expected to send how many ships?"

"Ummm... Half of the fleet we gathered to help fight Vestargo?" The Prince looked at his teacher with an uncertain gaze.

"That would be about right..." The old diplomat nodded with concern. "We can't agree on such a suicidal mission..."

"I will go alone then." Arletta looked away from them. "But I don't know how the rest of your allies would react to your cowardice. Wasn't it you who asked to be admitted into the alliance? Wasn't it you who counted merits without consideration for the obligations? I assume that other members of the alliance have no reservations about committing their forces to that mission?"

"No, but Cursed Land-" Tyklas shuddered.

"Cursed Land this! Cursed Land that!" She snapped angrily at him. "For hundreds of years, you asked me to do something about the Cursed Lands and, all that time, I told you that I can't. So now, when someone, finally, not only can but also will do something about the Cursed Land, you panic!" She theatrically raised her hands towards the ceiling. "Oh, no! We cannot do something on our own so we better run! Don't expect me to fix everything on my own because it will end poorly. Like last time!"

They stared at the carpet while their faces burned in embarrassment. She stood up, gathered her pink hair in a ponytail and huffed angrily at them.

"So now, excuse me, I'm going to attend my lesson with Goddess Hera."

She announced and left them in the room where they stared at each other. With expressions full of shame and guilt.

•••

"Victor?" Theresa sighed and looked at her husband during the dinner. "The last three days were a bit busy..."

"Yes, my Dear?" He smiled back.

"You should have told me that you talked with Theon about the conquests of the Cursed Land..." She said with an uncertain and slightly scared voice.

"I... You are right... I'm sorry, Tes." He put away his fork and wiped his lips with a napkin. "I just assumed that you wanted them. They will benefit Iceleon if the Em... If Theon subsumes that Dungeon as well. We would have two Dungeons we could draw resources from!"

"I understand your enthusiasm, but..." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "The people are superstitious... I don't know how they are going to react."

"How will they react?" He shrugged. "The Cursed Land is simply controlled by an evil Dungeon. The Saintess of Eriar will purge any spell or curse that plague the area. Some of them will accept it and, maybe, in a few decades, everyone will forget about the Cursed Land altogether."

"Well... I know you are right." She sighed and took a piece of chocolate cake. "Ahhh... Maybe it's just a bit sudden? I feel like that decision was somehow forced on me."

"Hmmm... No matter how you look at it, doubling the lands of our kingdom, basically for free and without being afraid of retaliation is too great of a deal to simply ignore." He smiled as he rubbed his neck. "I just wanted to secure as much as possible..."

"I know that you want what's best for us, my Dear." She finally smiled warmly at him, took a spoonful of a cake, and moaned in delight. "It's so delicious..."

"Also..." He hummed as he gazed at the ceiling. "There is the possibility we could move our food production to the north while keeping the deal with Metakans. With the water now running again, the temperatures in Metaka are accelerating the growth of grain but it's hard to grow vegetables. So we could split our production locations."

"Oh..." She nodded very slowly. "With most of the country acting as the largest freezer in the world, we could store huge amounts of food, even without Theon's help... It looks like an irrational fear clouded my judgement... Sorry, I was angry with you!"

"You were?" He looked at her in surprise.

"Mhm!" She hummed as she took another bite of the cake. "I was going to sentence you to sleep on the couch today!"

"Oh, no!" Victor snorted, amused as she winked at him. "Anything but the couch!"

"See? I'm a fair and merciful Queen!" She giggled.

"Oh certainly..." He stood up and stifled a yawn. "But your more tactically oriented husband is going to take a shower."

"Hmmm... I'll consider joining you once I finish my cake." She grinned. "Do you mind?"

He shrugged as he took off his shirt. "No man ever won against chocolate cake."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.