Chapter 902 — Morjin's Voyage
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Gao Song's eyes traveled back and forth over that page several times before he finally managed to suppress the urge to complain that had risen in his mind.
This sixth-century-ago Grand Duke Veld was, incredibly, a devoted fan of Gao Yang Cecil... which gave the present Gao Yang—currently wearing the identity of Gao Yang Cecil—a peculiar and inexplicable sense of embarrassment.
Only then did he continue reading downward, following how that ancient nobleman who made "explorer" his calling recorded the series of preparations he had undertaken for this adventure—
"...Once my resolve was set, I began to build a ship large enough to withstand such perils—no easy task. As everyone knows, ever since those storm worshippers suddenly went mad, stole or scuttled every seagoing vessel and fled to the sea, the human world has not undertaken a proper 'voyage' for nearly a century. There are no navigators capable of challenging the ocean, nor anyone who knows how to build a seagoing ship...
"I appealed to a dwarven friend I had made in earlier years. The dwarven kingdom is said to retain some techniques for sailing in relatively safe waters—at the very least they know how to build a ship, and my friend could help me find shipwrights. Beyond that, I knew two sea elves—they had no interest in matters on land, but they were very interested in my magic gems. For the price of a few gems, they agreed to serve as my navigators...
"While this grand (and likely long-drawn-out) shipbuilding plan was under way, I also took the opportunity to make a trip to the Southern Reach—to visit the Cecil Grand Duke of the present day. I clung to a sliver of hope, wondering whether the Cecil family still kept records of Duke Gao Yang's voyage in those years, but I was prepared to return empty-handed as well, for it was plain that Gao Yang Cecil a century ago had not wished too many people to know of his adventures—otherwise there would have been no need to erase those clues...
"And my guess proved correct—the descendants of the Cecil family knew nothing of their great-grandfather's voyage a century ago. When the Cecil Grand Duke heard of my expedition plans and the intelligence concerning 'Gao Yang Cecil's mysterious voyage,' he even showed a certain worry. Plainly he took it for nothing more than an evidence-free folk tale, and thought I was gambling with my own safety... Yet our exchange remained most pleasant. The Cecil family is a family worthy of respect—of that there is no doubt. Upon finding my determination fixed, they chose to give me their blessing.
"After visiting the tomb chamber of Gao Yang Cecil and offering my respects and spiced wine, I returned to my own adventure preparations..."
Gao Yang quickly skimmed past this section and the long stretches of records that followed concerning shipbuilding and the recruiting of sailors. His eyes swept line by line over those neat handwritten words, and a portion of Morjin Veld's life flew through his mind like a film on fast-forward—only when the text reached the day of Morjin's departure did his reading speed suddenly slow.
This was the part that concerned him most.
On pages that had endured several centuries were recorded all that Morjin Veld experienced after he entered the sea:
"...Day X of Month X. After lengthy preparation and meticulous planning, the 'Adventurer' finally set sail on a clear summer day. We departed from the coast of the Eastern Reach and, on the advice of the sea-elven navigator, first sailed a short distance south along the coastline before turning east. This would minimize the risk of entering the storm region too early—though I had great confidence in the protective magic and magic-sensing system I had designed myself, I could not gamble with the sailors' lives, and so I resolved to follow the navigator's counsel to the greatest extent possible...
"Day X of Month X. A day worth recording!