text: I kept rowing away from the island. I had never rowed before, and it wasn’t long before my arms and back ached from my inefficient form. I put down the oars and stopped. With no more effort to give, and exhaustion setting in, I leaned back inside the hull of the boat and rested. I had planned only to relax, but perhaps inevitably, I fell asleep. I don’t fully know how long I was asleep for, but I was woken by a thud. The boat rocked fiercely. My arms instinctively grabbed the side, and my eyes jolted open, as panic forced me into consciousness. “Are you okay?” a voice came from above. I looked up to see a tall man with a thick beard leaning over the side of a boat some twenty times the size of my own. “Yeah. I think,” I replied, a little hesitantly. I turned my head, trying to get my bearings. Over my left shoulder I could make out a small island I assumed were the Kadear Coalfields, but I was now too far away to make out any details. “You look like you could do with some help. Can we give you a lift?” the man asked. I nodded my thanks. The man reached out a hand, I grabbed it, and with one quick yank of his broad arms he pulled me and my bag aboard his boat. I looked around. There were maybe five or six crewmembers milling around, currently all staring at me with intrigue. “Welcome aboard,” the man said. “The name’s Kedrick.” I thanked him. “Ferdinand,” I replied. “Where are you heading?”. “Kadear Coalfields,” he replied. “No,” I stumbled back. “No. I’ll go back in the rowing boat.” “You’ll die if you go back out in that boat,” Kedrick replied. “I just came from the Kadear Coalfields. That’s where I’m trying to get away from.” “Why? Are you a criminal? Are you wanted there?” I could see Kedrick ready himself for a fight. “No,” I replied quickly. Technically it was a lie. I was a criminal, officially. But not in the sense of right and wrong. However, now wasn't the time for nuance. “You’ll see when you arrive. Things at the Kadear Coalfields have... or are changing, very quickly. And right now, it’s not safe for me to be there.” Kedrick relented. He seemed to either believe me, or just feel sympathetic to the desperation in my voice. “I’m not changing course for you,” he said. “We’ve got a delivery to make. That said, if we see a ship coming away from the island, I’ll wave them down, see what we can do.” I had little choice but to agree and so we continued to sail; the very island I was trying to escape slowly getting bigger in my field of view. About twenty minutes later we saw one boat heading towards us, and I excitedly suggested we get his attention. Kedrick hushed me down. “That’s Robertson’s boat,” he said. “You don’t want that. He either won’t take you, or he’ll rob you and throw you over the side.” It was a sudden moment of realization that I was lucky to have landed upon Kedrick’s boat. Not all merchants would’ve been so kind. I returned to silence, thankful for my sanctuary. Another boat came into view a few minutes later. I looked to him and he simply shook his head dismissively. However, moments later he spotted a small trading vessel leaving the beach. It was a much smaller boat than his own, but still sea-faring. We waited as the boat nimbly tacked up the winds towards us. “Ah, Alessia. She might help you,” the man suddenly announced. He instructed one of his men to grab some flags from the back of the boat. The crewman set off and started enthusiastically waving them in the direction of the other boat. The boat noticed and began changing course towards us. As the boat drew closer, I could see the boat was being guided by one woman. She stood by the wheel calmly steering towards us. Her long black hair came down just past her shoulders and billowed calmly in the breeze, creating waves just like the sea. She wore a thick jacket, with large puffed sleeves, and black denim trousers. Around her waist was a small tool belt that seemed to carry various knives, matches, and a few other useful items. “What have you got for me, Kedrick?” the woman called out from the boat. “Alessia, I’ve got a passenger for you,” he shouted back to her. “I’m not a ferry,” Alessia groaned. “I don’t really care for living passengers. I’ll take him if he’s dead.” Kedrick laughed heartily. I did not. By now the boats were side by side, and one of Kedrick’s men threw a rope across to Alessia. She tied it to her own boat, pulling them together. Kedrick walked to the edge with outstretched arms. Alessia hesitated for a moment, before raising her own arms with a relenting smile Kedrick reached ver the small gap between the two boats and hugged her tightly. “Got a guy looking to get away from Kadear Coalfields, and we’re heading the wrong way for him. Thought you might take him,” Kedrick suggested. “Where does he want to go?” she replied. “Anywhere,” I interrupted. “Just not there.” Alessia looked me up and down, inspecting me like she would any cargo. “What’s in it for me?” she asked. “Some company?” Kedrick replied. Alessia laughed. “You’re going to have to do better than that.” “He’s probably got something of value on him. And if nothing else you can put him to work. You’ll get free labour all the way to your next destination. Just throw him the odd fish that you catch.” Alessia scrunched her face in thought. She studied me intently, before finally making up her mind. “Look, I’m heading to the Bluekira Ministration. You can sail with me to there if you want. I won’t charge, but you work while you are on board. You can have some water, and we can catch fish. But otherwise, you don’t get paid. You work when I tell you too, you rest when and where I tell you too. And most of all,” she paused and took a step towards me, “if you even think about doing something stupid -- robbing me or attacking me -- then know that I will beat you to it and have no problem cutting you open like I clean a fish.” She smiled “And you’ll get to see. I can clean a fish really quickly.” She took out a knife from her tool belt just to drive home the message more clearly; the metal blade glimmering in the sun. As threatening as the contract was, it was safe passage. I walked up to the side of the boat. “Agreed.” I offered out a hand. She looked at it, ignored it, and turned back to Kedrick. “This guy does anything stupid, then you’re in trouble.” Kedrick raised his hands as if to accept the responsibility. And with that, I climbed over the side of one boat and stumbled clumsily into the other. \ It would be a full day-and-night’s sail, and Alessia put me to work immediately, sending me into the hull to rearrange the cargo to make things easier when we arrived. Upon my return, she asked me to try and catch some fish with a small line and hook. I had never fished before, and Alessia seemed to enjoy watching me attempt to figure out the process. I got the distinct impression that she had no intention of me catching anything sometime soon, that this was some kind of lesson in humiliation. After watching me ineptly dangle a hook into the water for around half an hour, she finally wandered off from the helm and came down to the edge of the boat. “You have no idea what you’re doing do you?” “That obvious is it?” I replied, trying to appear more amused than embarrassed. “Take it you didn’t have to catch your own food back at Kadear?” She took the small fishing line from my hands. With such quick ease that I was unable to follow her actions, she unraveled the string and set the hook down into the water. She let out more and more of the string as the line disappeared behind the back of the boat. “You want to make them think the line is a fish. It’s a weak breeze today, so you may need to pull it in really slowly to get the speed right.” “How will I know if I’ve caught anything?” I asked. She let out a small laugh at my expense. “You’ll know.” She placed the string back in my hand. “I don’t have a spare, so if you let go of that, you’ree going in after it.” With my humiliation achieved she sat down, resting on the side of the boat next to me. “So Kedrick,” I began, “he had a crew with him. And you seem to have a big enough boat for one.” “A crew is a hassle. It’s simpler this way.” “A hassle?” She paused for a second. “How many traders you met?” “I used to talk to them a lot actually on Kadear. They’d land on the beaches, and I’d try and chat to them, find out where they’d been...” “Yeah, but have you ever *really* met them? Ever traveled with them?” she asked. I shook my head. Alessia continued. “Things can be pretty rough out here. It’s tough, physical work. You have no real home. And there’s always the risk of some physical violence. So that lifestyle, it tends to attract a certain... type of person.” She stopped. I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. And so I pressed further. “What kind of person?” With a shrug of her shoulder she elaborated,“Big tough men who think strength is what’s most important. Guys with bigger biceps than brains. You get guys like that on your boat, and sooner or later at some point, they get it in their heads that they should be the one running the boat, ‘cause they’re stronger, and they can lift more. Don’t get me wrong, I can handle myself in a scrap. But they’re always going to be taller and bigger than me, and ideally, I’d like to keep my boat for as long as I can.” She looked out to the sea, as if unsure if she had said too much. “I just can’t be bothered with all that macho shit, you know?” I nodded and smiled at her. “You let me on board though.” “Yeah. Don’t think you’ve got the ability to be violent in you though. Plus, I sized you up. I’d win pretty comfortably.” I chuckled, and attempted to hide some small wounded pride. Our conversation was interrupted as I felt a pull on the string. I announced it excitedly, and delicately reeling it in, with the help of Alessia’s guidance I lifted a fish out of the water and dropped it to the floor of the boat. I raised my hands in celebration. Alessia laughed it up, and grabbed a small hammer. “Do you want to do the honors?” she asked. I looked at her confused. “You hit it. To kill it.” she added. I looked down at the fish. It flopped backward and forwards awkwardly on the floor, desperate for some kind of purchase. Alessia took my pause as reluctance. She bent down and with one swift swipe hit the fish across the head, killing it instantly. She picked it up by the tail and handed it to me. “You’ve got a long way to go.” That night Alessia slept in the small quarters tucked within the hull. I remained on the deck. However, she provided me with some blankets, and with some maneuvering of some crates, I was able to create enough of a shelter that I slept relatively soundly. I slept soundly enough in fact that it was Alessia, and not the morning sun, that woke me the next day. “We’re about two hours away,” she said. “I’ll need your help when we get closer. There’s a small washroom in the quarters so you can freshen up. Feel free to use a towel.” I headed down into the hull and proceeded to wash and change. Finding a pair of scissors, I spent much of the next hour painstakingly trimming my beard into a more acceptable shape. It was a difficult task, with only a small mirror and the rocking boat throwing off my attempts at accuracy. Normally I would be clean shaven, be as presentable as possible. But such luxuries weren't possible currently. By the time I rose to the floor of the boat again the island was well and truly within sight, and I could make out people at a small stone harbor. While I had heard of and seen drawings of a harbor, I had never seen one myself. It was the first true sign that I would soon be on an island that was not my own. This island I was about to enter was truly foreign to me. Once we arrived, I begun helping unload the cargo to the harbor steps while Alessia spoke to the islanders. As soon as I placed each crate down, a man or woman dressed in plain blue trousers and shirt picked it up and carried it away in complete silence. While the traders spoke freely with Alessia, I could not help notice that none of the blue-clothed men or women dared to even make eye contact with either of us. It was as if they were incapable of noticing us. With the crates unloaded, I turned to Alessia and thanked her for the safe passage. “How long are you planning on being here?” she asked. "I hadn't given it much thought," I responded. “I’ll do you a deal,” she said. “I’m doing a run to Pearl Docman, but then after that I’ve got to head back this way for the next delivery. It’ll be about five days there and back. You get to the edge of the harbor wall when I come back, at let’s say sunrise, on the fifth day, you can have another lift onto where I’m heading next.” I hesitated for a second. “It’s very nice of you to offer...” “Just say yes or no,” she interrupted. “Yes,” I replied quickly, in case any hesitation be taken as rudeness. “But... I thought you didn’t want a crew?” “You’re not crew. I have to pay crew.” She turned and jumped back onto her boat. “Dawn, fifth day,” she called out as she untied the ropes and the boat gently eased off from the harbor edge. I turned to face the island. The large stone harbor curved around me in a perfect panorama, allowing me to watch the islanders going about their day. While they were the minority, wherever I looked, I could see those same men and women in loose blue clothing. The other islanders seemed relaxed, enjoying a the unexpected warmth of a winter morning, but the blue-clothed workers darted back and forth, carrying boxes and delivering cargo. None of them seemed to ever stop or talk to anyone. I had no idea what to expect from my time on the Bluekira Ministration, but I had chosen to discover the archipelago for myself, and initial ignorance was part of the journey. I began walking along the harbor wall towards the island. The exploring had begun.