Page 1: "Triton's Heart"

The Triton’s Heart

  She could be evil. She probably was evil. Or rather, dishonorable, which was much, much worse. A dishonorable pirate was absolutely unthinkable.

The sailors at Port Areda tried not to stare at the dragonborn captain as she strode down the creaking docks, the feather of her tricorn hat trimming the sharp edge of her cheek and teasing her fiery eyes. Leathered wings fluttered on the salted breeze, craving to carry her into the morning, yet only her chin kissed the sky.

Ships of every size lined the pier, displaying an array of impressive scars. Crew carpenters barked commands to each other, passing shiny, new planks between them, patching holes between hardly dulled frames.

“Third attack this cycle,” grumbled one pirate. “We didn’t get anywhere close to the seam. Nearly ended up in the Nether-Nine Hole.”

Another sucked air through his teeth, “And no one’s heard from The Star Guide nor Cthulhu’s Coda since the last blue moon.”

The two shook their heads. Another pirate peaked over, opened their mouth like they might say something, when they noticed the dragonborn coming.

They weren’t the only ones to flinch. Others quickened their paces away. One gentleman visually sneered, then drunkenly crawled down the side of the dock like a crustacean, plopping into the water with a burble.

            Not to worry, it’s unlikely he drowned.

She was used to this reaction. She’d seen the faces they made at her father, too. He had faced every misconception with dignity, never once behaving dishonorably. But they still called him a “murderous fire-breather.” She knew she would have to fight those same assumptions the way one fights wind—slowly, at an angle.

Though unlike her father, her patience had limits.