<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/3/30/0729ac96ae5c8445f949b33dc7109eea.jpg)</div><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/7d/B8c37200a214e470b8f4201c77081530.jpg)</div><strong>Captain Ramalan Fire-Orchid (Prophet of Human Potential)</strong>(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YCZK28uvV0ugmN-Xfu2OMUoV6TRcCFezKKmL6pbN7K0/edit)<br/><strong>Mists of Evensong</strong>(https://docs.google.com/document/d/12HISzViu1b3S9RNTIyN2SSBjxNmSbHFaIj3x0a1kzyU/edit)<br/><br/>Mists of Evensong gave Umari another bow, then sat gently at the very edge of the seat that Ramalan had drifted away from.  “i shall endeavor to amuse you then, Lord Umari.<br/><br/>“Fire Orchid is the flagship of my master's fleet—as it was of his father before him.  As such, it is their surname.  The Fire-Orchid family reside in the Wavecrest Archipelago, on the isle of Abalone.<br/><br/>“My master's father Davralam was a great and honorable man who defended his nation in war and built a fortune by his own labors and the wisdom of his wife, Lusitania.  Davralam once met a young woman—unmarried but heavy with child.  She had given her heart to a god of the sea—a Baiji—but he left her with the tides.  Though many young virgins through their hearts at his feet, Davralam was moved by compassion for the girl and took her as a contract concubine.  Davralam raised the child as his own.<br/><br/>“I am that child.  For many years, Ramalan did not realize that I was not his sister.  My heart yearned for two things above all others, to race across the waves like my father and to lie in loving rapture in Ramalan's arms.<br/><br/>I knew it was impossible for these dreams to both come true.  No woman save the Chosen of the Five Immaculate Dragons may sail the seas without suffering the jealous wrath of the Storm Mothers save the Tya.  To become a Tya, a girl must sacrifice her fertility, her beauty, and her life as a woman.<br/><br/>In time Ramalan became a man, and the captain of a ship in his father's fleet.  One night that ship was assailed by a pirate vessel like none he'd seen before.  They dropped sails and rowed with tireless might against the wind too assail Ramalan.  When they drew near, by the last light of the moon Ramalan studied the ship with is spyglass.  The ores were manned by the dead—animate corpses who could never tire.  Ghosts, zombies, and grave-born stood ready to plunder the ship and drag it's crew tot the underworld.<br/><br/>Ramalan did not despair, but sailed hard to the west.  At the moment of the Sun's rising, he turned his vessel and lead his men to victory against the undead themselves.<br/><br/>“Please accept along with that particular tale a warning my master carries.  Skullstone has long been a nation where the living and the dead live side by side.  My master now believes that they have begun to incorporate the  bodies of the slain into their privateer fleet.<br/><br/>“After that victory, Ramlan traveled to the South, far inland along the scorching sand tot he city of Gem.  There he won the trust and alliance of the Abarami family.  In an alliance of friendship and mutual profit, Ramalan acquired rights to ship Abarami firewands to Wavecrest, and also acquired as his concubine the daughter of Abarami and a flame duck.<br/><br/>“During this time Davalram succumbed to the weight of years.  Ramalan's three younger brothers vied against each other for control of House Fire-Orchid.   It seemed they were on the verge of tearing the house apart and spilling each others blood when Ramalan returned to claim his rightful place.<br/><br/>“When Ramalan looked upon me then, he did not know who I was, and I saw passion for the first time in his eyes when cast upon me.  I bared my heart to Ramalan, hoping he would take me to wife.<br/><br/>Ramlan new my heart better than I did, and offered me a chance I'd never dreamed was possible.  He offered me—not a wedding ring—but a collar.  As a concubine, I am free to love and be loved by my master.  As Ramalan's property, no Storm Mother can do me harm without risking his wrath.”<br/><br/>Usha gave another bow and took a sip of wine.  “Do my stories please you, gracious host?  I pray your forgiveness if I have rambled on too long.”<br/><br/><div align="center">*  *  * </div><br/>Ramalan's response to Xenovia was a soft, purring sight. He nipped ever so gently on the pulse point just bellow her ear.  “The sweetest entertainment of all, dear Xenovia,” he continued in an intimate whisper, “Is the joy that a man and a woman can find together in each others arms.”<br/><br/>Ramalan reached around Xenovia and took her hand,  Then he turned her gently to take her in his arms, lean down, and kiss her with passion and promise.  “Come away with me tonight.”