Category: Lerran

The Kedar Mining Group was based out of a large square stone building on the east side of Kedar City.  It was a long hike through the winding, sweaty streets before Lerran and his comrades reached it.  Their banners, a black banner with a white semicircle—which looked more like a sideways moon than the top of a mining axe—adorned all the street corners near their structure.  Though the Mining Group had a small private army in their employ, they competed for power in Kedar using money and jobs, not brute force and reputation like the Saltwater Army or the Tower of Black and Blue. Continue reading Lerran 8

Storm wound between the scattered isles of Kedar and into Keda Bay.  It was after midnight, but the winds had picked up late the day before and Captain Urro had ordered a double shift.  Lerran stood in the prow and watched moonlit forests rise out of the ocean beside them.  There was little rock visible from here, though it could have been the shadows of trees that obscured the banks. Continue reading Lerran 7

Two ships raised sails in the middle of the Grey Sea, and began to circle one another.  The sun beat down from overhead onto the shirtless backs of the tanned or dark skinned crews, until they were slow enough to drop anchor and drag alongside one another.  On the deck of Storm, Captain Urro and Lerran son of Gharo stood side by side, watching the approaching vessel.  Carved into the wooden boards on its hull were the words “Twelve and Coast,” an odd name for a ship.  The crew were a mangy lot, Lerran saw, as they came into view.  They all had matted black and silver beards, save one or two.  A few wore their tattered mops of hair in knots or tails, and most were missing teeth. Continue reading Lerran 6

The sun was setting on Bellasa, at the end of the 7^th Moon, but Lerran was just getting ready for his day.  He awoke, in one of the spare rooms above the cobbler’s house, and dressed in a loose white shirt.  Over it, he draped his black coat.  He did not intend to fit in with Bellasa style—full of sashes and big brass braces.  In Sheld, metal imports from Starath had supplied them with more than enough copper to get over any obsession to it.  He hooked his scabbard onto his belt, and ran a hand through his brown hair. Continue reading Lerran 5

They reached Bellasa as planned.  Under Lerran’s orders, the ship flagged passing ships and asked those who stopped if they had seen Renado or Vanci, or even any ships in plight.  No one had; a few demanded coin for the inconvenience of being stopped, and a few asked for payment before telling Lerran that they had, in fact, no information for him at all.  A ship of similar size delayed them almost half a day, insisting on dinner before any business speech.  Some ships recognized the Eye of Gharo flag that whipped in the wind above their heads and sailed right by.  They encountered a few sizeable galleys, crewed by white-skinned folk as frequently as dark. Continue reading Lerran 4

Captain Urro ran a tight ship on Storm, and Lerran let him handle his business as he knew how to.  If Lerran had his way, the Gharo Family would run on merit, not just loyalty and blood.  Blood was all-important, of course.  It was in the name.  But a woman, like Gadra, or any other of his sisters—they should not be held back by tradition. Continue reading Lerran 3

Gharo was adamant as ever, and Lerran had to drag the permission out of his father word by word.  When at last Gharo relented, Lerran strode briskly from his father’s office.  He had no interest in delaying.  His brother had been gone for too long, too long for his father’s bitter patience, too long for the winds to carry Lerran south, too long for another restless day.  They were a family.  They had to watch out for one another.  And Gadra, one of Lerran’s sisters, would get her chance to shine in Lerran’s absence. Continue reading Lerran 2

The city of Sheld was a visibly bleak place, shadowed by mountains on either side and built out of a steely grey rock.  Its inhabitants wore dark wool or leather hunted in the mountain valleys.  They navigated the cold stone streets to work in the cold stone buildings until they were little more than gaunt skeletons.  In the centre of Sheld was an enormous dome made out of stone, with hundreds of steps rising up each of the four sides of it to a set of pillars on top.  It was there that the leaders of the Sheld, the Lord Employers, met to discuss matters for their respective businesses. Continue reading Lerran 1