Revenge.
She’d seek revenge against those who had murdered her brother. Too many times she had sought to employ more peaceful tactics against her father, but this time she would not submit. She knew exactly what to do. What a sister should do.
Captain Seraphine Rose Winter-Felstar carefully pinned the article from the Lantern to the wall of her cabin alongside a cluster of star charts, wanted posters, lists of plunder and letters written in a foreign language. Her mismatched blue eyes flicked to a narrow strip of tiny windows in the stern with glass as thick as a man’s thumb, sourced opaque by wind and salt. In the distance, the glowing lanterns of the port city Kugane reflected off the ocean waves and brightly lit the starless night sky. It was there in the war-torn land of Othard where she had found peace away from her past, Cartius, and the rest of her family. Only three fragile fragments of Eorzea still lay in Sera’s heart and Kylin’s death marked the shattering of the largest of those pieces. She reached up with carefully manicured red fingertips and wiped a single tear from her cheek. The salt spray from her previous visit above deck must have made her eyes gritty and watery. Yes, that was the reason.
The captain’s cabin of a schooner is neither large nor grand, and even Sera with her small stature had to bend her head to duck beneath a beam near the entrance, but the Weatherlight was her home when she was away from her flagship, The Greymist Exile. A chart table and a stool took up most of the room, and her sea chest slid neatly under the single bed. There was a modesty-preserving commode which saved her from hanging her arse off the bowsprit with the rest of the crew. Her one extravagance was an apothecary table which was littered with Yanxian alchemical recipe books, a kit containing acupuncture needles, mortars and weighing scales to compound ingredients, and bottles of varying colors and sizes. Above the desk hung planters containing herbs that could both heal and harm depending on its intended use. Seraphine suddenly felt a strong need for the latter.
Sighing softly, she turned to face the raven-haired kunoichi who knelt respectfully, waiting for her orders. Sera had never been a high-handed captain, but there was something about this particular Raen that oozed formality. Â
“Kasumi,†Seraphine bowed her head a brief moment but addressed her informally to indicate the warm regard she felt for her associate, “Prepare the ship and crew for departure. Load the cargo hold with a few crates of kizami, sake, silks, and those ingots we ‘recovered’. That should be enough to sate the Admiral and keep our status as privateers. Bring along artillery in case we run into problems with the ghost ships, but keep it to a minimum. We travel light and fast for Limsa Lominsa.â€
The girl looked up at her with purple, glowing eyes, and gave a knowing nod as she took in the implications of Seraphine’s statement. The captain always sent her most trusted to trade their goods to Limsa Lominsa, but avoided making the trip herself whenever possible. Since Sera had rescued her from the hands of the Garleans nearly seven years previously, it had been one Kasumi’s duties to keep tabs on the Winter’s, Mavanix's and Felstar’s back in Eorzea and report when anything of any curiosity occurred. Kasumi had no doubt the news of Kylin’s death was going to be met with swift retribution, however, she had not predicted the captain would personally respond with a visit to Eorzea herself. Then again, this was personal.
Kasumi rose to her feet and bowed deeply, “Aye, Captain.â€
Seraphine turned back towards her charts table as Kasumi left her cabin without another word, off to promptly carry out her duties.
This was Cartius’ fault. No matter what differing views she and her brother shared, no matter what pain he had inadvertently caused her, Kylin had always been someone she cared for. Their father, however, acted as if life was some sort of board game and everyone else in existence merely pieces to be used to his advantage. Winning was the only thing that mattered in the end to Cartius and he proved numerous times he had no qualms about using his children to achieve victory. There was no doubt in Sera’s mind that Kylin had been twisted and abused for his father’s gain, a fate she had only managed to avoid herself by turning to a life across the ocean. Cartius was as much to blame as the person who struck the blow that ended Kylin’s life. She would find and kill the both of them.
And then there was the matter of Zacriel Mavanix...
Seraphine never thought she would return to Eorzea, the place she had once called home. The entire continent was filled with memories she had tried to scour from her mind with saltwater and blood. Sera retrieved her starglobe from her side and as a map of the heavens extended before her, anger pulsed through her veins, heating her blood and sharpening her senses. With singular, clear focus, she plotted a course for Limsa Lominsa.
For revenge.