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Alahna had explained to me that Thyre had two suns, and Thyre's rotation took about six months, which meant that right now, we were in the orbit of the weaker Carmac sun until the planet rotated back into the warmer Comden sun. Night and day were brought by two large moons rotating around Thyre, darkening the sky when it was turning evening.
It was different from Earth, alien, and I wasn't sure how much I would appreciate the twilight and cold if I lived here permanently, but then again, I hadn't experienced the effects of the Comden sun yet, which Alahna had assured me brought the most beautiful days.
A low sound made Kendryx stiffen, and he moved to the sails to bring them in and slow our ship down. His eyes scanned the horizon, and his expression lightened, but as much as I tried, I couldn't figure out the reason for his delight.
He moved to the helm and took the large wheel into his hands, indicating for me to stay at the stern, while the sound I became louder, more alarming. I peeled my ears and, after a moment, realized the sound came from underneath the stern. Curiously, I leaned over and made out some kind of fish tank at the bottom of the stern. Inside, several creatures swam back and forth in alarm.
I figured it was some kind of primitive alarm system, but still couldn't figure out what their distress was all about.
"Chrissy!" Kendryx called out, not looking alarmed, so I assumed it was just to get my attention. I followed his outstretched hand and narrowed my eyes at the sea.
It took me a moment to make out large, looming shapes ahead of us. I focused on their dark, rounded shapes which reminded me of hills, each the size of Brogan's stronghold. For a second, I thought they moved, but that couldn't be … I jumped back. They were moving!
Instinctively, I moved to Kendryx's side. "What are they?"
The meaning of my question must have been easy to guess because he answered, "Wharosses."
"Wharosses," I repeated his word, having none in English for him for whatever I was staring at.
The boat now sailed with only one small sail, but it was enough for the wind to take us closer to the hundred or so beasts, and I clearly recognized a large head poking about three-quarters of the way out above the water.
The creatures were black with a silvery sheen to them, not stripes and not patches, just a sheen, as if thousands of scales enveloped their bodies, each thinly outlined in silver.
A large fin poked out at the other end and, fascinated, I watched as it almost lazily moved left and right, propelling the enormous beast forward.
Four red eyes on one side of the head watched our progress toward it, seeming utterly unimpressed by us. Just like it should be, because comparably, we were the size of an old Earth truck approaching a spaceship; one whack of its tail would break our ship into a thousand pieces.
Which reminded me. "Is it wise to sail so close to it?"
Of course he didn't understand my question, but I figured my worried expression and the movements of my hands would clue him in. He smiled encouragingly, nodded and said his version of the word gentle, a word I had learned yesterday.
Gentle, I thought, flabbergasted. They might be as gentle as a newborn, but one little push with their fins…
Kendryx directed our boat straight through the herd, and I realized I was holding my breath. Forcing myself to inhale and exhale, I stared from one creature to another.
Some of the wharosses bodies were filled with deep gashes—some fresh, some scarred over—and I wondered if those gashes had been inflicted by people having tried to hunt them.
I attempted to mime wounds to Kendryx, making motions as if to kill and eat them to bring my question across.
He looked downright horrified and shook his head emphatically. I wasn't sure if the idea of killing the wharosses horrified him or if their meat would have been bad, and I again cursed our damn language barrier.
When we came by another whaross with a large, scarred patch at its side, I pointed at it, looking questioningly at Kendryx.
He tilted his head for a moment, probably trying to figure out how to explain. Finally, he first moved his pointer finger back and forward at one of the wharosses, then he moved his arms from wide to small, and I gathered he meant something like the wharosses but smaller must have attacked them.
A shudder moved through me at the thought of what kind of beast would dare to attack one of these humongous fish. What kind of other beasts lurked underneath the dark water?
For some reason, my mind drifted to sharks who used to roam the oceans on Earth. Had something like that attacked the wharosses? Judging by the number of scars and wounds, that seemed to be something that happened quite frequently, prompting me to question how successful those hunters might be. One of the wharosses would probably feed another animal for quite a while.
I wouldn't have called the wharosses exactly ugly, but they weren't pretty or cute either. Their red eyes, however, held a strange human quality to them that drew me in. For some reason, a phrase I had read once in an old text came to my mind. Spirit animal. An animal that guided or protected a person, and I thought that if I ever had one, I would have liked it to be one of the wharosses, because looking into their eyes, it was as if they wanted to tell me stories, if only they had been able to articulate.
Kendryx slung his arm around me and pulled me closer, and I snuggled into his side as we glided by the wharosses in silence, humbled by their majestic sight.
IlikedthewayChrissy seemed to take to the wharosses we revered in our culture. I had always felt a certain bond with them. Most fishermales turned their boats and headed back for shore when a herd of wharosses appeared, but I had never heard of any of the gentle creatures harming a Thyre and felt comfortable steering our boat through their lines instead of heading around the herd.
Chrissy's question about eating them hit me hard, and I wanted to tell her that we didn't kill and eat them because we preferred other food sources, but the truth of the matter was, as far as I knew, no Thyre had ever attempted to do that. Not only were they too majestic, but there was also something soulful and ancient about them, as if they were the keepers of Thyre's history.
Thyres weren't exactly known for their sensitivity or empathy. We killed and ate plenty of animals; meat and fish were our main food sources. But wharosses had been off limits for all of remembered time.
