Chapter 3 - The Final Voyage
As the Lord Admiral
watched the fog covered land disappear over the horizon a strange feeling came
over him. He quickly rushed over and began to look at the charts Bresian had
given him and did not take long to realize that the map Bresian gave him was
not of the routes back towards Moonlight Falls but to another land as of yet
undiscovered. A note appeared upon the bottom of the map which read "Lord
admiral your destiny awaits".
Francis hurried to his chart box to find the proper charts
to get him back to Moonlight Falls, back to the answers of why the "Sea
Witch" was destroyed, and most importantly back to his home in
Notchcliff. Francis made the
calculations and was issuing instructions to the first mate and helmsman when
again he was interrupted by a strange feeling, like a presence surrounding him,
drawing him back to "that" map, the map Bresian had handed him.
Francis wondered if the chanting from the villagers of Berwyn actually placed
some form of spell, or curse upon him.
Once again he shook off these feelings and gave the command
to the helmsman to change course for Moonlight Falls. As the wheel of the helm
spun, the venture would not respond, it was as if the ship itself had a mind of
its own and continued on course for the strange lands from "that"
map. The first mate, and Francis himself tried everything they could to get the
Venture to respond but all attempts failed.
Francis had teams check the ship from stem to stern to figure out what
was happening to his ship, all reported back that there were no issues with any
of the mechanical aspects of the ship. So it was as if the "Venture"
was possessed, and the explorer in Francis became much more curious about their
destination.
The crew was informed of what was happening and, as expected
by Francis, became outraged. While Francis was trying to calm the crowd a voice
rang out from the back of the group, " you are all to be a part of
something much greater than you know please have patience it will all be revealed
to you soon". Everyone, including Francis was looking around to find the
one who was speaking but he could not be seen anywhere on the deck. Francis was
sure that the voice belonged to Bresian but did not see him board the ship when
they left Berwyn nor did he see him at this moment.
It was not long after this a cry was heard from the crow's
nest "Land Ho, Land ahead". Francis rushed to the bow of the ship and
looked upon a chain of 5 large islands just appearing over the horizon. The
islands were mountainous and held a beauty Francis had never seen. The ship was
getting closer to the shore and a faint chant could be heard coming from the
lower decks, the same chant that was heard when the ship left Berwyn Heights. As
the ship approached the western edge of the island chain it shook violently as
if it hit a large rock and began to take on water. The crew quickly prepared
the longboats and emptying the ship of all essential supplies, and as the
"Sea Venture" went under the last of the crew made their way to the
longboats the last, of course was the Lord Admiral.
Looking back, Francis watched as the "Venture" was
finally swallowed by the sea and began a search to see exactly what had she hit
to cause her to be ripped open but nothing could be seen. He knew there would
have to be a dive team assigned to recover any salvageable supplies that were
left on board and would make sure they were instructed to check the waters for
the cause of this.
Turning around to the front of the boat Francis saw Bresian
sitting there in front of him, jumping back in shock as Francis knew he was not
there when he initially entered the boat. Bresian, looking much different than
he did on Berwyn, laid a hand on Francis' shoulder and said "all will be
explained once we get ashore and your men are all accounted for". Once
said Bresian turned to the front of the boat and began speaking in a strange
language as if in prayer.
Once on shore, the first mate reported that all crew members
were accounted for, and that enough supplies were gathered to last for a good
while. Before Francis could speak, Bresian began to address the men gathered on
the sands. "On behalf of my village, its people, and myself, we want to
thank you all for rescuing our spirits from Berwyn and the evil of that place.
Yes we are no longer a part of this world and have not been so for many ages.
This place you have brought us to was our ancestral home, a land we were taken from by the wizard
that inhabited Berwyn and used as he performed his evil magic to satisfy the Reaper
himself. Our spirits can now rest, free
of the evil that had once bound us, we can only offer our thanks and offer this
land to you as our gift for what you have done for us." and with his final
words Bresian slowly faded into nothingness. As Francis turned and looked towards
the sea and where the Venture had went under, the spirits of the villagers
began rising from the waters and were lifted to the skies.
Francis took in the
wonder of the moment until the last of the spirits could be seen, then turned
to his first mate and quickly began handing out the assignments for the crew.
Francis and several men began to walk inland to the east to find a suitable
area to set up camp. As they walked into the center of the first island they
stumbled upon an ancient village which had the appearance of being abandoned for
what seemed like centuries. Despite the age of the village it was in very good
repair and would make a perfect spot to establish a base to work from. Francis
sent a messenger to the designated meeting spot on the shore and directed the
men to the village.
Early the next morning Francis and a small team began to
explore the second island, the largest of the 5, and came across what appeared
to be another small village and just like the first although abandoned for many
years was still in good repair. just to the east of this village Francis
discovered what appeared to be a graveyard. Walking through looking at the
carved headstones the likes of which he had never seen, he stumbled upon one that
seemed to call out to him, one that made him immediately fall to his knees in
prayer. As he read the headstone tears began to form in his eyes, "A
leader, a father, and the strength of an entire village". As he swept away
the dirt and leaves that had gathered the final word could be read... Bresian.
The Lord Admiral would spend the rest of his days in this
new land, discovering all he could about the origins of the people who once
inhabited this wondrous place. He discovered ancient writings about the
original settlers and of the first leader of this civilization, Bresian's
father Portharian and his mother Alousia, which led to naming this land
Portaloosa in their honor. Francis died on the eve of the fourth anniversary of
the discovery of Portaloosa and was given a Seaman's burial alongside his
beloved "Sea Venture". Francis or his crew never discovered what
caused his ship to be torn apart but it is fabled that the spirits on board were
to blame and wanted Francis to remain in their lands to ensure their history
would be preserved and recorded for other to hear.
Stories of the islands and its history spread throughout the
world quickly and led to Portaloosa becoming a very prosperous land both in
shipping and agriculture. In later years, it became a destination for
recreational divers, vacationers, and explorers which led to the development of
the Portaloosa Resort Association which played a key role in the establishment
of the "Sea Venture" historic site in order to preserve the remains
of the Venture and the memory of Lord Admiral Francis Notchcliff. Today Portaloosa continues to attract sims
from all walks of life to her shores for rest relaxation and a large dose of
history.
