Sayed pulled another stock cube from the pantry above him and dropped it into the pot. Outside and above the decks, his brothers enjoyed their time together, and he had volunteered to cook. With a little work, Sayed had found what he needed down below, and he was cooking on a stove hidden in a small alcove near the hammocks.


    His gate was open wide as he burned it to heat the pot and boil the water with just the touch of his hand. He could have figured out how to start the stove, but that would have just been a waste. His blessing would allow him to cook without restrictions.


    Much of the ship''s stock was dried food. Dried vegetables. Dried fruits. Dried meat. The rest were items that would help with cooking: salt, ground pepper, and stock cubes. Sayed would have given his left arm for a batch of spices from Hajh. That would certainly heat up the dish in a different way. However, he had to make do with what he had.


    He took a few pieces of dried meat and smelled each of them. They were bland and lacking the fire that he wanted to impart on the meal, but they would be the centerpiece. Sayed dropped them into the pot unceremoniously. Next, he had a few options for vegetables. He sat to work, piece by piece, building his soup until it shimmered brightly in the cramped room.


    When he was finished, Sayed smiled and made his way up to the deck, large pot in hand.


    "I come from September, back over a decade ago now," Jean said, pointing one hand out into the distant night at a twinkling island. "I can always point back to it, no matter where I am. What about the rest of you?"


    The three of them sat at a table set for four people. Thanks to a quick search of the cabinets, the bowls and spoons were already out, and the folding chairs and table were just one of the many luxuries hidden on the ship.


    "I hail from a land called Hajh," Sayed said as he sat down the pot at the center of the table. "It was a land with a great desert, but with many oases hidden within."


    "Erys," Erin said shortly. "The three of us are offworlders."


    "Earth," Alex said. "Just add an ''a'' between the ''e'' and the ''r.''"


    "So many of you in one place." Jean smiled as he picked up his bowl and spooned in some soup. "I''ve met so very few in my travels. Some integrate onto the islands they come to. Others become famous outlaws, but I''ve only seen a handful."


    "I''ve met about six or seven," Alex said, shrugging as he took his turn with the soup pot. "There are some I''ve seen but never met in person, but you''re right that we''re rare."


    "What''s rarer is that we''ve met so many cursed people," Erin said as she went next. "Ever since I met both of you, I feel like I''m surrounded by curses."


    "How could it be a bad thing?" Sayed asked as he sat at the table and handled his own bowl. "The more blessings in this world, the better, I say."


    "Curses occur more the greater suffering there is," Jean said, sipping his soup. "At least, that is what I believe. If you are encountering more curses in this world, then there is no doubt that you''re around more people who are suffering. If curses are the wishes of the lost, they are also there to try and ease the suffering of the user."


    "I wish I could have told my heart that." Alex snorted. "I could have lived without the stroke."


    "Pain is a part of growth." Jean cut back. "You do not progress without some amount of suffering."


    "No pain, no gain, then?" Alex asked.


    "Precisely."


    "I cannot wait to see how my blessing grows and changes," Sayed said. "If what you say is true, then both Erin and I should see our powers grow as well. What is it like?"


    Rattle.


    "It is like having a conversation with a part of yourself." Jean leaned forward, letting his spoon drop into his bowl. "Your very soul will be bared before you, and you will be given a chance to choose how you should move forward. When you awake, you will have access to your changed curse."


    "How often can it change?"Erin asked.


    "I have no idea." Jean laughed, leaning back in his chair. "I feel my own growing ever stronger every day, so I assume there must be more, but even I haven''t seen the next stage yet."


    "Every time I learn more about this place, there are more mysteries than answers," Alex whispered.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Is not the mystery part of the appeal?" Sayed raised one finger. "If we knew the answers to everything, what use would there be in going out and forging new stories? We live life because of the mystery."


    "Precisely." Jean jumped forward in his seat, throwing his arms out. "Life needs to be exciting, and what better way to make it that way than the unknown? That''s why I keep going. That''s what gets me up every morning. Every day is a new chance to experience the world. Every day is a new place to show Eliza so that we may enjoy the pleasures of this world together."


    "Which would lead to a grander tale." Sayed nodded, also leaning forward. "I feel we will get along well, brother. May your journey with us make the story ever grander!"


    "How do I keep finding you people?" Erin shook her head, leaning back in her chair and away from the two men.


    "Everyone lives life their way." Alex smiled, putting his elbows on the table. "Whatever gives people a good reason to keep moving on is good enough for me."


    "But what about yourself? What motivates you on your journey?" Jean looked down at him, and Sayed stopped in his fun to look as well.


    He had never asked Alex that. He had just always assumed Alex was much the same as Sayed.


    "I wonder about that every day," Alex said, looking away with a sigh. "Yesterday, I would just say I wanted to go home, and I still do. However, I can''t deny that some of what I''ve done has been a little fun. I also can''t say that I haven''t helped people. If I had come here under different circumstances, I might love being here."


    "Family is important," Sayed said, sitting down and letting his head droop as a weight settled in his chest. "Even more so after it is lost. Even with just our short time together, Gramps and Jack were a part of my family. Abed was my brother for even longer. I understand why you would miss your old world, brother, if that is what you left behind."


    Tears came to his eyes, and he looked over to Alex. Alex reached out and put one hand on his shoulder. Alex had been there for that loss. While they hadn''t properly had time to mourn back on Glory Plateau in the last month, Sayed had found the time to cry often enough.


    "What about you, Erin?" Jean turned to her, his voice now quiet. "Why do you continue on in the nightsea instead of settling down?"


    "I..." Erin stopped, and Sayed rubbed tears from his eyes as he looked up at her. "I''d normally just say that it isn''t your business, but part of the reason I keep going is this."


    Tap. Tap.


    She pulled a bag from inside her cloak and sat it on the table. From it, a few seeds spilled out and onto the surface. Sayed didn''t have to look close to know what they were. They were a variety of seeds of many shapes and sizes.


    "I want samples of plants from all over Erth," she said. "Beyond my mission, I want to know about all the different plants that grow out there. I want to know what they can be used for and how they can help people."


    "It''s a beautiful dream," Jean said, smiling and rising from the table. "I can imagine a garden dedicated to growing every kind of plant, each with its own habitat that anyone could walk through."


    Hroon.


    A shadow crossed over the ship, obscuring their table. Sayed looked up above immediately and spotted the cause. A massive form, long and flat, sailed through the nightsea above them, but it was no ship. It flipped one massive tail against the aether behind it and propelled itself forward again as it circled around the ship.


    "A leviathan," Jean whispered. "A very rare sight indeed."


    The creature shot down toward the ship, its long, broad gray form cutting through the nightsea above them. Sayed started to retrieve his sword from where it was stored below decks. If the creature wanted a fight, he would be ready to give it to him.


    "Is it coming this way?" Alex asked.


    "No," Erin said. "It''ll be close, but it isn''t going to hit the ship."


    "They aren''t violent creatures," Jean said. "They eat the smaller creatures that float through the nightsea and feed on the aether from islands. Just one eats millions of tiny fish in a month to satiate itself."


    Hroon.


    The creature continued spiraling toward the ship, but Sayed resisted his urge to run for his weapons. If his brothers were certain it was not a threat, he would consign himself to watch the creature in its majesty.


    Whoosh.


    The creature shot down and past the ship, its fins a gossamer white as it pushed down below the decks. The ship shook from the aetheric wind as it crossed by, and Sayed had to grab hold of the table and the pot to keep them from falling over.


    "Magnificent!" Jean said. "That''s a portent of fate if there ever was one!"


    "You are very focused on this ''fate'' thing," Sayed said, stepping over to stand beside him.


    Jean turned to him, a broad smile on his face. With a twirl, he opened his arms to the sky around them before returning to his original stance. Every move Jean made was like a dance, though there was no music to give a beat to it.


    "Fate is the best word I have ever found for it, though do not mistake me. No one is in control of a person''s destiny except themselves. We are all bound by our interactions, the people we meet, and the decisions we make. We are bound by our obstacles and how we choose to overcome them. I cannot tell you in advance how they will go, but I know they are determined by the will of those who must act them out. We are bound by a fate to strive for our goals, and that is what makes all of this so special."


    Jean raised one hand and pointed to the nearest island.


    "A thousand people may live their lives on that star, dreaming of a better tomorrow, but fate will push them forward to achieve that tomorrow. Fate is the impetus that drives us all forward, whether we recognize it or not. Fate is the desire to do something with our time and make it grand."


    He brought his hands down and held them open wide.


    "The desire to do something grand has brought us all together, my friends. In just the short time I have met you all, I know we will all do something that will change the very structure of the Erth. The bones have told me this, and I will do my part to strive forward with you all as we go into Death''s Yard!"


    Jean bowed, holding one arm out and folding the other beneath his chest. Again, Sayed had to be impressed with the man. He knew how to spin words together into a tale that even Sayed might have trouble matching.


    Hroon.


    In the distance, the leviathan called one final time, and the ship''s shaking ceased. They were left with the empty nightsea around them with their destination still ahead. Sayed could not help but be short of breath. What sort of story would await them all in Death''s Yard?