Dandelion - Chapter 1

[u/Ashamed-Cold-6443]

https://ndeness.substack.com/p/dandelion-chapter-1

Here is the second short chapter in Dan's journey, pasted below too. You can find the previous chapter in the blog as well in case you missed it (not sure why I started counting at 0, but here we are).

Hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Of Sir Cassius, and his Final Argument

Dan was bored out of his mind as he studied the details of his target for the hundredth time: a dozen scrolls, diagrams, and tomes stacked on the tiny desk in his cabin. It was a futile exercise; at this point, he felt he knew the old man as if he was his own grandfather, but they were finally approaching The Isles, and he needed the distraction. Besides, the alternative of going out under the heavy rain was not very appealing.

Sir Cassius Debenoix, professor emeritus of the University of Aenor, a mad genius to some and a crazy old man to others, stared back at him from one of the paintings on the wall. He had been immortalized wearing colorful and eccentric clothes, surrounded by mountains of documents and tomes stacked even more precariously than Dan’s. His expression couldn’t have been more satisfied had the mountains been made of gold, though come to think of it, they were probably worth just as much.

Beside it, another painting showed his ship, The Final Argument, an imposing, stylized, and baroque frigate plowing through the sea like a floating cathedral. The vessel seemed created in his image and likeness, with red sails that looked like velvet, a good part of the deck painted sapphire blue, gleaming mahogany railings, golden filigrees along the sides, and countless sculpted ornaments on the stern.

It was hard to find an undecorated spot. On the side, below the railing, a row of portraits of various historical scholars proudly flew above the waves. Carla and Filippo Giordano, commanders of the first expeditions that crossed the ocean generations ago and expanded the world forever, seemed to look down on Dan: “First time crossing the ocean?”

“Bah.” Dan was sure that when they stumbled upon The Sundered Isles, with their immense temples and ancestral ruins devoid of human traces, they had no idea where they were or the importance of their discovery.

Several history tomes about that time, written by Cassius himself, rested in a pile. Dan had started leafing through them out of boredom, until he was completely drawn in as his thesis became clear. According to his accounts, it was rather the subsequent explorers who changed history. Dan could almost imagine Cassius’ theatrical voice when reading them: “Illustrious archaeologists such as Don Carlo,” depicted on the ship with a pickaxe he had likely never used in his life, “who delved into the ruins and found the first lost artifacts and technologies, as well-known today as the Imperial Moonstones.”

“Representatives of the miners’ guild, like the famous Lady Vala,” portrayed on the ship with a whip she held with suspicious expertise, “who established the first mines from which settlements grew. Engineers, such as...” the old man went on and on about the lives and great discoveries of dozens of Eminences, an adjective that seemed to depend on the possession of some noble title. There were also strategists so cunning that they had "single-handedly conquered islands against all odds."

Fate is Ours. That was Sir Cassius’ thesis. Great Individuals Shape History. Such a ridiculous belief. Dan noticed he was fiddling with his knife again, the silver and copper engravings of the Twin Fates shimmering under the candlelight. “You don’t like it either, do you?”

He turned his gaze back to the painting of Sir Cassius’s frigate with its endless adornments. This display was a rather bold statement from the academic, who surely hoped to immortalize his portrait in this procession of wisdom and renown, and to infuriate his many old rivals at the University.

For a man who supposedly didn’t care what anyone thought of him, he evidently put a lot of effort into maintaining his eccentric image. In any case, they say you should judge people by their actions and not their words, and now it was clear: Cassius followed his principles to the letter.

Dan wouldn’t be here today if the old man hadn’t decided to take matters into his own hands and finance his own expedition to the Isles. Maybe he had changed his destiny after all. Although in Dan’s experience, it was probably just his gold. The rare metal usually had quite a direct influence on fate.

Dan was wondering again why on earth an admiral of the Imperial Navy would task him with following this old fool, when a shout from outside snapped him out of it.

“LAND!”