Jozef Kanmaher was happy for the last year of his life, and no domestic problems could overshadow this feeling of happiness. He had not forgotten for a moment who he was now, in the Navy, and would not have doubted for a moment if Caesarea had needed his life.
He loved the sea more than the land and rightly believed that it paid him back. Having greedily absorbed the bikes and superstitions of which his grandfather was an inexhaustible treasure trove, Yozev believed that he knew everything about the sea and was looking for a hidden meaning in every breath of wind or waves. Whether the sea is happy or angry, he could have answered this question consciously, except that he resorted to metaphors and poetic comparisons, which he had very little knowledge of.
Most of all, he was occupied by fairy tales of Nairi, and not once the dangerous rock near Methenberg attracted his thoughtful look. Among the sailors of the rock was unanimously revered dangerous - a lot of lives took the sea near her. A strong current bent it from both sides and inevitably carried the light boats on the stones. In a storm of rock darkened among the waves, behind the shadow of rain, like a squatting giant. Its upper part resembled a flattened head, its lower part resembled a thick shapeless body. Looking at her, Yozev thought for a moment that one day the giant would straighten up and spank the sea like a puddle of shallow water. Maybe so it was at a time when the world was still ruled by ancient demons, joking in the absence of the Creator.
Now it was said that the rock had become a haven for monsters who had raised their heads and dared now that the Creator had already left this world. Someone believed that the monsters were invisible and used it to especially drag ships to the cliffs, someone swore that he saw a beautiful naked girl with green hair in the waves, someone claimed that under the rock dwells extraordinary size of the sprite. Frankly speaking, the beautiful sea maidens attracted Yozev much more sprut or invisible monsters. He dreamed that one day he would be able to earn their favor, become their chosen one, the most fortunate among sailors ... And perhaps his name would be included in the legend.
In the drunken haze of harbor kharchevens, sitting amidst the whirlpool of smells, sounds and other people's movements, Yozev half-heartedly marked the words that were spoken inside with a slight trepidation: "rock", "waves", "naive" - it was behind him that enlightened or scared someone of the beginners or someone's land rat, who had been huddled into someone else's company by accident. He hadn't been afraid of the stories about walking waves, sea monsters and eternal evil, which was lurking somewhere in the depths. He accepted them as a constant given and part of his world and was secretly ready to meet with both the Froschers and the shark, and the man-hungry Kraken. At least I thought I was ready.
But before getting caught in the eyes of the mysterious sea maidens, he liked Admiral Caldmeter, who, remembering the merits of his grandfather, took Yozev on the flagship.
And Yozev served faithfully, still drunk with a sense of self-importance. He was brought closer to himself, and even the Count Fok Felsenburg treated him the way he usually treats friends or good friends. With hints, Yozev tried to find out how familiar he was with what every sailor should know, and retreated with embarrassment and embarrassment: no stories, stories or superstitions were known to him. When Yozev thought about it, he discovered that he treated his secret knowledge as a jealous owner. He was not going to be the first to tell Rupert about the beautiful Nayeri. Let him find out for himself, either by accident or intentionally, and he, Yozev, would not reveal the secrets of those he was destined to meet.
Wandering along the deserted shores, he thought about the storm. While others were sitting in the warmth, he wandered in the lightly drizzling rain, looking at the waves and hoping to see what few lucky people had seen before.
Yosef knew that the Froschers had Admiral Waldenses, who was rumored to have unclean power. When Wales is captured, he will find a way to talk to him alone and find out from him what kind of power it is.
The more Yosef thought about it, the clearer it seemed to him that the sea itself was, but find it to be his generation, eternal as foam on scallops of waves. He wondered if he was ready to find himself in their icy embrace, in the hands of beings who belonged neither to the world of the living nor to the world of the dead, and when this thought stood before him in all its terrible majesty, it did not find an answer. Does he have to die in order to stay with those to whom his soul was silently striving, starting to wear out under the weight of the real world? He saw the funeral in the sea as a rite behind which there was more than just a desire to get rid of the dead body. One day Yozeva will be buried in the same way, but it will be a long time before that day.
And soon they will captivate Admiral Waldenses, very soon. And Yozev will find out what the sea maidens charge for their favor.
With his last breath clinging to a piece of Noordkrone and terrified that he couldn't feel his own legs, Yozev begged for help, and only when his hands were open and the icy water closed over his head did he think he was a gullible fool who thought that someone had made up fairy tales.