The 12 Golden Tears of the Sea

## Prologue

“When both moons are sleeping, the oceans go leaping.”

- Old seaside proverb

Once a century, the two moons of Lyra and Kaperna simultaneously experience their new phase. This occurrence causes the notable “double leap tides” during which the tides reach historical highs and lows in a single day.

But Rose was only interested in the low tides.

With a torch in her hand and a satchel slung over her back, Rose walked to the edge of the cliff face and peered over. The bottom of the cliff was pitch black, invisible in the moonless night. However, the sound of waves breaking against the cliffside and the smell of salt betrayed the ocean’s presence below her. She angled the torch downward and walked along the cliffside a few feet from the edge, looking for something on the ground. She stopped at a metal stake she had placed that morning to mark the point of easiest decent. After tying the torch to the straps on her satchel, Rose kneeled to the ground and flipped over on her stomach, letting her legs hang over the cliffside. Her feet prodded the cliffside until they each found a solid foothold. She slowly lowered her left hand, then her right, left foot, then right, descending the cliffside one limb at a time.

Upon reaching the bottom she lowered herself down and landed in knee deep ocean water. Though waves periodically battered her legs, they were not forceful enough to upset her balance. Any other day, the cliffside would be ruthlessly bombarded by waves, but during the lows of the double leap tide the ocean was sedated. Rose began walking along the cliffside, peering at it intently, and a small cavity in the cliffside caught her eye. The half submerged opening was no more than an arm’s breadth across. Rose extinguished her torch and crawled through. She closed her eyes to the saltwater splashing her face and reached forward with her hands, feeling the slick, algae-covered rocks ahead of her and pulling herself forward. Feeling no rocks ahead of her, she stood up and reached for her backpack. From it she removed another torch and a small steel device with a handle, trigger, and piece of flint. She quickly squeezed the trigger, causing a steel hammer to strike the flint. As the sparks came in contact with the fat-covered torch, the torch flared up immediately revealing that the small hole she had crawled through opened up into a small cave. Planks of wood and shattered boxes floated atop the knee deep water.

Rose smiled and began investigating the debris. Many ships met their end at this coastline. Caught in a sudden storm, a ship would find itself forced by relentless waves onto the jagged rocks of the coastline. The sea would sweep away most of the wreckage, but sometimes the debris would drift into underwater caves carved out beneath the cliffside.

Treasure-hunters had attempted diving to these caves to loot the accumulated wreckage. While a few were successful, most were flung by the waves onto rocks or trapped in the inky blackness of the submerged caves, unable to find the exit. The locals knew that looting the coast of Holden was the pursuit of fools.

Rose waded up to a barrel that had remained intact and pried the waterlogged wood apart. Inside were rare spices, made worthless by the ocean water. Inspection of the surrounding boxes revealed more spices. The inside of one of the spice barrels was still mostly dry, but it would be impossible to carry back up the cliff face.

This cave was a dud. There was no gold.

The low tide revealed the normally submerged caves, but only for about an hour, and she had already used up most of that time climbing down the cliff face and exploring this first cave. However, if she hurried she still had just enough time to check another cave before she risked being caught by the rising ocean level. Looting these caves was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and Rose did not intend to waste it.

As she waded back to the exit, her foot knocked against something underwater. She glanced down. It was a human skeleton. It had a bright red-orange garment wrapped around its waist and a long oval leather shield strapped to its arm. The coin pouch hanging at its waist caught Rose’s eye.

She reached down searched the pouch, but to her dismay her fingers brushed against just a single coin. She held it up to her torch to look at it. It was gold and had the image of clouds on its face, with strange symbols engraved around the edge. She flipped it over. The other side of the coin was identical to the first, except amidst the clouds was engraved a full moon. She shrugged, and twirled the coin through her fingers before pocketing it.

As she continued toward the entrance, she heard a faint crashing coming from outside the cave. At first she paid it no heed, as it was likely the crashing of the waves, but the sound grew louder and louder. She stopped walking forward and hesitated, apprehensive. As the sound swelled into a deafening roar, a cascade of water burst through the cave entrance. It slammed into Rose hurling her off her feet. Water enveloped her in moments. A “crack” echoed through the water as Rose’s head collided with a rock. A high pitched ringing in her ears, her vision obscured by churning air bubbles swirling around her, the waves tossed her head over heels. She hadn’t had time to hold her breath and was already running out of air. She started swimming forward, but had no clue whether she was swimming toward the exit She felt panic, and then terror as she realized that she was going to die.

Then, Rose glimpsed a glimmer of moonlight shining through the cave entrance. She frantically swam toward it, clawing her way up the algae-covered rocks, and then pushed off of them toward the surface above. She surfaced and gasped for air, but her respite was short lived as a large wave crashed down on her and forced her back underwater. The waves tossed her to and fro as she struggled to remain above the surface. Every muscle in her body ached as she fought the tireless sea. Rose felt her stomach church as a large swell plucked her from the sea and raised her into the air, and then threw her forward as it came crashing down. She felt a thump as her body collided with dirt and she blacked out.

\*\*\*

Her face was raw, caked with salt and sunburned by the blazing midday sun now bearing down on her. Ignoring the protests of her aching body, she sat up and looked around. Rose was surprised to find herself back at the top of the cliffside. Had the waves tossed her all the way up here? Whatever caused that sudden rush of water, she congratulated herself for staying alive. She stood up and hiked parallel to the cliffside. After a few minutes' journey, she overlooked a small port town. Rose took the path to descend from the cliff and entered the outskirts of the town. She brushed past crew hands carrying boxes of goods from their ship, but among the usual bustle of the port, something new caught her eye. Three strange looking ships, the likes of which rose had never seen, were docked in the port. On the deck of the nearest ship, a group of dark-skinned Elephanters seemed engaged in discussion. Rose ducked into an alleyway to watch them.

*Foreigners. If they traveled all the way to Holden, perhaps they came to trade furs or spice*, Rose concluded.

The Elephanters descended to the docks and entered the town, receiving some stares from the locals as they went.

She peered at the decks of the Elephanter ships, now left empty. She peered closer. Did they really not leave a single guard? Well if they were inviting her in, how could she refuse?

She glanced around. No Elephanters, no Rogues. She hurried towards the nearest Elephanter ship, and pulled her head up just above deck for confirmation. Not an Elephanter in sight.

*Perfect*, Rose thought, ready to pull herself onto the ship.

“Hey! That your ship you’re skulking around?” Rose spun around instantly to face the two Paradox Rogues looking up at her from the docks.

*Rogues! But I checked that there wasn’t a rogue in sight. Where did they come from?*

She glanced across further down the port and saw a military vessel that had been obscured from her previous location in the alley. More rogues were unboarding from the ship and coming her way across the docs.

“You! Kid! Answer the question!”

“What do you think? Of course it's my ship,” Rose responded confidently.

“Those are some unusual looking ships...you from around here?”

“Of course, I eat at Eddie’s down the street all the time. I’m sure you know the place.”

The two rogues glanced between each other. One shrugged.

“Don’t get into any trouble,” the other said as they walked off.

Rose smirked. The occupation by these Paradox Rogues was the best thing that could have happened for her. So long as you weren’t a threat to the regime, they kept their nose out of your business and indifferently turned a blind eye. What a pleasant working environment compared to the previous military guards so eager to crack down on petty crime.

Hoisting herself aboard, she made her way toward the lower deck hatch.

*Someone could have remained below deck.*

She swung the hatch slowly open and looked down the wooden stairs into the dark hold below. She tiptoed down one stair at a time, freezing when one of them creaked loudly. She held her breath and moved her hand to the dagger beneath her cloak, but after a few seconds of uneventful motionlessness, she continued down the stairs. She reached the bottom and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she confirmed that she was indeed the only one there. Working quickly, she slipped out her dagger and pried the lids off the boxes around her. Dried rations. Waterskins. Nothing worth stealing. She perked up at the next box she opened, upon seeing spears.

*These weapons might not be worth taking, but if these guys are dealing the new firearms, just grabbing as many bullets and powder as I can carry on my person will fetch a tidy sum.*

She opened the next box and immediately deflated. It stored bows and arrows.

*I suppose it’s too much to hope they are in fact firearm traders who brought along some bows as a novelty item.*

Giving a final scan of the hold, her eyes landed upon a small table with maps and star charts laid out on it. A well-inked map could earn a few silvers, so she stuffed them into her cloak.

*Not the haul I was hoping for, but I made good time, even in spite of those rogues questioning me. I’ll be long gone by the time those Elephanters finish their trading.*

Just as she ascended the stairs, she heard the rapid pounding of feet running across the deck above.

Cursing, she recoiled away from the open hatch and retreated behind some crates.

*Why are they back so soon? Damn I left the hatch open!*

However, the Elephanters moving frantically above deck were too preoccupied to notice the hatch that should have been closed. They hurriedly untied ropes and traded shouts in a language foreign to Rose. Rose felt the boat lurch as it pushed away from shore, followed by the distinctive cold stab of panic in her chest as she realized what was happening.

*They’re leaving?!* She paused in panicked confusion. *I’ll have to dash across the deck and leap to the docks before they have time to react.*

Just as she steeled herself to break for it, a thunderous tapping sound echoed outside. Before she had time to question what it was, the wood splintered above her and the Elephanter shouts immediately became louder and more urgent.

Startled, she threw herself to the corner of the hold. She’d never heard firearms before, but the thunderous echoes outside had to be them.

Tiny holes splintered open above her, letting in circles of light from outside. She huddled in the corner, the thought of running long gone.

After a few minutes, the firing stopped, and Rose ventured a hesitant glance through the open hatch. Between the legs of Elephanters running across the deck, she glimpsed a distant group of rogues ashore lowering their firearms, and docked imperial ships in flames.

*The hell are these guys? Just my luck that for the second time I operated on a perfect timetable only to be trapped by some freak anomaly.*

The shore looked far too distant to swim to. Rose concluded her best bet was to remain hidden in the hold, feeding off the rations stored there until the ship next docked, at which point she would exit the scene.

Expecting the Elephanters to descend to the hold sooner or later, she hurriedly placed the maps she’d grabbed back on the table, and found a hiding spot behind the boxes furthest back in the hold. Eventually she heard the creak of footsteps descend the stairs, some shuffling movements and quiet dialogue. Then, the swing of the hatch, and the hold grew dark. Rose waited patiently a full thirty minutes to be sure that the Elephanters weren’t coming back. She pried open the boxes nearby her, but they contained weapons, so she carefully tiptoed her way toward the ration boxes at the front of the hold. She shot a wary glance at the closed hatch above her.

*Best make this quick, she thought, prying open a container and stuffing rations into her cloak to bring back to her hiding spot.*

The creaky swing of the hatch spotlighted her in a square of bright sunlight bearing down above.

*Brick.*