Wandering the Waves

author: Bart Brimstone

I never styled myself a writer, and never expected to someday write my memoirs. If not for my good friend Ciele, this book would not exist. But she said I had quite a story to tell. A Dwarf living among Elves for one whole year, that's unheard of, she said. A Dwarf living among Sea Elves for one whole year, that's impossible. Well that could be my name. Hilbart "Impossible" Brimstone, Dwarf and Pirate.

A few words about myself. I was born in the subterranean realm of Grimheim, in the Stronghammer clan. I was destined to be a smith, like my father and my father's father. I was working in the forge, thoroughly bored, when I noticed a strange phenomenon occurring when putting a hot piece of metal in a bucket of water: steam. We saw it everyday, and never asked why it happened. Well, I did. And the more I discovered about it, the more fascinated I was by the possibilities. Let me share a secret with you: fire is boring, it just burns. As for water, it's boredom in liquid form. But steam...

Of course my experiments did not please the Rune Priests. They said a Dwarf should not be playing with water, that it was an insult to Arkath. Silly old geezers, trapped in traditions they don't even understand. They told me to abandon my heretical ways and get back into the fold. I chose the other option, and left. I wanted to learn more about water so I went to the nearest port. That was in Irollan, and a Sea Elf house-ship was anchored there. I convinced their Elder - which is how they call their captains - to allow me to travel with them. He warned me that once they left port, they would be at sea for one whole year. And that's how I started my journey among this strange caste of Elves.

Sea Elves, they told me, used to be citizens of the Shantiri Empire. They were fishermen and merchants, worshipping both Sylanna, their Mother, and Shalassa, their Host. Then the Elder Wars occurred, and many Elves returned to Irollan. Some of them, though, loved the sea too much. Their legends say they prayed to both their Dragon Goddesses for guidance. They say the Dragons answered their prayers, and showed them how to sing trees into the shapes of boats. Sylanna and Shalassa both sang, and their shared voice created the very first house-ship.

Later, dissension grew among the Sea Elves, and as to mirror their division, the great house-ship splintered into several smaller ships, giving birth to the Crews, the Sea Elf clans. It's probably just a legend, but a nice one.

I heard that originally, there were seventeen Crews, but now only eleven remain - twelve if you count Ciele's own crew aboard the Shalinar, although there are more Nagas than Elves among its members. The others have been destroyed by storms, pirates or, on at least one occasion, Demons.

By the way, they really do sing trees into boats. It's impossible to properly explain it, you have to see it with your own eyes, trust me. But it's only one of the many wonders I witnessed during this incredible year...

Wandering the Waves

Lore for Might & Magic X: Legacy Video Game

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