Solo Le's Do Some Fissin'

Titus tries to adapt his limited knowledge.

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

Le's Do Some Fissin'

Postby Titus Galesong on May 4th, 2016, 2:48 am

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The young man rested against the railing of The Maelstrom on his forearms. His hands held a fishing pole and Syna’s rays beat down upon his golden-brown skin and dirty blonde hair. The wayward strands and shaggy mop did well to provide some basic shielding from the intense light and equally brutal reflection coming off of the clear water. The bay’s natural boundaries kept the waves small in size and the river that emptied here made the impact of the tides less concerning than in other places Titus had anchored.

It had been a slow morning. The Svefra wasn’t sure if it was due to the cooler weather or just different waters altogether but he was staring to miss the warmth of the Suvan –that much was certain. Hardly an expert, Titus glanced down into his bucket and saw no fish. He frowned with enough wait to sink a ship. Fortunately, Casinors were not susceptible to emotional tidal waves. The young man had been fishing for a long time but he had always been taught to harpoon or net his quarry. The brackish water brought about a different sort of game and the favored technique was of bait and pole. The blue eyes looked to the line dangling into the water. He tipped up the pole until the bait was revealed. The blood had washed clean out of the battered piece of leftover breakfast. The man just shrugged and pulled up completely.

Titus took the rod into his right hand and steadied it. With his left he held it out near the pole and tried to catch the line as the bait swung back and forth. Such things take practice and the Svefra was new to this tactic. Four times he missed the line. With a narrowed gaze and his tongue firmly clamped between his lips, the determined gaze watched the line swing out, hesitate then return. On its way back towards him, Titus lashed out with his left hand and made a fist around the thin strand. Upon his success, he gave a triumphant “Ha ha!” which carried across the waves. It was loud enough that the young man chuckled to himself and hunkered down briefly as if to avoid trouble.

The sailor moved with grace across the deck as the ship rocked gently in the waves. If one were to simply watch the blonde-haired man, she might not be certain that he was on a ship –so fluid were his movements. The young man gave a shiver as a cold breeze ripped up his shirt and across his skin. The tanned cells puckered in response and the tight-all-over feeling of goosebumps gave Titus a reason to stop for a moment. His watery gaze bounced over the relatively calm bay scene and it gave him a sense of appreciation for the strange mountain city. The peaks rose above a level of clouds that shrouded one world from the other. It was strange yet completely appropriate given what little he had been able to glean about Lhavit. Like a gold-rimmed coin, this city had two sides.


Titus Galesong
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Titus Galesong
An Anchorless Soul
 
Posts: 54
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Joined roleplay: April 10th, 2016, 1:41 am
Location: Floating somewhere off Lhavit
Race: Human, Svefra
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Le's Do Some Fissin'

Postby Titus Galesong on March 17th, 2017, 10:27 pm

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A shift in The Maelstrom’s deck started the young Svefra from his thoughts and musings. He turned and shook his head, unruly locks of blonde hair bounded around him for a moment even as he turned and set the pole down on the shelf formed by the roof of the cabin. There were a few small hooks bent around which held the pole nicely. Titus spent the next few minutes tying up the line to the opposite end to keep it from getting tangled then moved to the bow of the ship where he kept his net.

It only took the tall man a few strides of his long legs to reach his destination. Titus squatted down and gathered up the fishing net he’d had for years. In truth, it was one of the few things he had left that really reminded him of his father. Nidal was an excellent fisherman in any port but Titus wasn’t anywhere near that level. Still, the feeling of the thick cords of rope in his hands as he dragged the net to the side was enough to give him a sense of pride. The Svefra looked over the rail and into the dark blue water. This probably wasn’t a great place to drop his net. Instead, the man released the fishy-smelling implement which fell into a pile on top of his bare feet.

Titus made several long strides -almost hops- from his place by the rail to the mast. With a well-timed leap, the sailor went from the deck to the roof of the cabin. He leapt over the jib sheet, deftly tucking his feet up against his rump to clear the line. Titus extended his legs but left his knees bent slightly to absorb the shock of landing. Once he did this, the young man turned and took hold of the jib sheet (the rope that holds the free corner of the jib sail) in his calloused grip. Right now, the jib was slack since Titus had been trying to keep afloat in a sort of stasis. Lhavit’s bay provided some protected little coves that did not have much drift so an anchor was not needed. The Svefra gathered about a foot of slack between his hands and held the left hand tight while the right made use of the lack of tension to unwind the jib’s rope from its cleat. Once the rope was clear, Titus took several calculated steps backwards until he was on the port side, his rear bumping the gunwhale to alert him of his position. The young man turned while keeping tension on the jib sheet and wrapped the rope around a cleat mounted on the inside of the hull.

The sailor took a step back and spread his feet. This caused his knees to bend which allowed him to drop his center of gravity lower; even with the binding point. Slowly and with great control, Titus flexed his arms using his biceps and triceps to keep constant pressure on the line as he crossed hand over hand and pulled the slack on the sheet until the sail went abeam to port. His hands strained under the grip but his arms trembled as he struggled to maintain the even pressure. The Svefra tucked the rope under the first part of the cleat then crossed it over the face while still exerting his strength against the languid nature of the sail wanting to pull itself back to slack. Behind the top cleat, the rope was fed while its tension was kept. After a few passes of an alternately wrapped pattern, Titus eased his arms and coiled the slack on a cleat next to the one he had just used.


Titus Galesong
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Titus Galesong
An Anchorless Soul
 
Posts: 54
Words: 51442
Joined roleplay: April 10th, 2016, 1:41 am
Location: Floating somewhere off Lhavit
Race: Human, Svefra
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Le's Do Some Fissin'

Postby Titus Galesong on March 17th, 2017, 10:29 pm

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The sail ruffled and waved for a moment then caught a stern breeze coming down the river. It was at such a slight angle that the man wondered if it would catch but by Laviku’s beard, it did. The Casinor was pushed to her left which caused a ripple in the main sail. If Titus wanted to fish, he needed to get out of the harbor. With just the jib sail catching full and no main, the ship would just turn in an oblong circle. The man lingered near the stern of the boat with one arm propping him up on the roof of the cabin and the other hand resting against the main sail’s boom. His eyes watched the point of The Maelstrom’s bow come around and eventually point out to open waters between the rocky surround of the bay. Once that happened, he gave the sail a push towards starboard but not too hard and held it there.

The wood creaked from the mast then thunked when the gentle breeze filled the cloth triangle and caused it to blossom into a tight bubble. Together, both sails gave the boat life and the small ship began skimming across the low waves that rolled in towards the docks. Titus hopped down and ran to the tiller. He gave a slight pull and felt it resisting. He wrapped his arm around the wooden post and gave a firm pull with his right arm. Still, it refused to adhere to his design. The young man gave a stern pull, the muscles along his ribs and down his spine protested with a slight twinge but also the heat of blood being forced into them. The sailor managed to curb the rudder into a good offset which allowed the casino to sail straight while he boat listed slightly. While not the fastest way to reach any destination, it made it far easier to drag a fishing net.

Titus went about the set of tasks which would enable him to cast his net. First was securing the lead lines. Like antennae, these two longer strands of rope were braided from adjacent corners for the purpose of creating a way to control the direction of the net as well as prevent a single fisherman from losing his livelihood. The net is comprised of criss-crossed, woven strands of a fibrous rope with a heavier gauge used along the very top row and the very bottom as well. These two lines were made sturdier to accommodate vital functions. The top is laced with pieces of driftwood every arm length which keeps the top close to or on the water’s surface. The bottom line is enhanced with weights at regular intervals to drag the net down as deep as it will go. It’s a delicate balance that creates a moveable wall in the water. It’s this vertical barrier that traps fish. The trick is not so much in the net, itself but in the places it’s deployed.


Titus Galesong
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Titus Galesong
An Anchorless Soul
 
Posts: 54
Words: 51442
Joined roleplay: April 10th, 2016, 1:41 am
Location: Floating somewhere off Lhavit
Race: Human, Svefra
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Le's Do Some Fissin'

Postby Titus Galesong on March 19th, 2017, 2:44 am

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Titus used his digits effectively but was slow at knot-tying. In the absence of a steady teacher for the past set of years, the Svefra has been slow to advance his skills. He carefully paid attention to the way he overlapped and looped the cords around the cleats then made double square knots to finish each one. Satisfied with his work, he gave each rope a firm set of tugs. His calloused hands gripped the ropes, one at a time then he bent his knees and leaned back allowing his weight to balance against the knots. Once his arms were extended straight out before him and his center of gravity was lowered, the young man used his arms and back to pull with all his might in short, harsh bursts of strength. His deltoids and triceps popped with each motion, the biceps rolling into solid masses under the quick strains. Titus felt strong but also accomplished. Now he was ready to start fishing.

Titus gathered up the net at his feet and bounced it against his arm as he chased the weighted line from one end to the other and freed it to be on top. He had always watched Nidal throw the nets with such grace that they arched like sails and drifted down to the waves despite being weighted. The waves reflected in his eyes as the Svefra studied the rope mesh bunched up against his torso. It looked good and straight; no twists or place where it seemed to be intertwined so the young fisherman decided to cast his luck and his net. “Laviku, bless my nets this day.” He whispered to himself and watched as the net floated up and out. It was nearly perfect until one of the pieces of driftwood caught low on the net and created a bunched up jumble. The net balled up on itself from one side then made a loud smack and splash as it hit the water.

“Petch!”

The Svefra leaned over the railing of his ship and wrapped his hands around the lead. He alternated his actions and pulled one arm’s length back in then another and another until he was able to grab the drift line of his net. His triceps popped up and the lines in his shoulders emerged as he hauled the now wet, tangled mess back onto the deck. Titus was shaking his head as sweat started to form on his brow. He quickly worked his way down the drift line with nimble fingers. He was slowing down at every piece to make sure it wasn’t hooked somewhere else on the net. When he found the guilty culprit, the sailor turned his body so he could rest his hip against the side of The Maelstrom. He spent the next ten chimes getting his net squared away. Every so often, he would glance up to make sure that he was still sailing on the proper heading. Lhavit’s bay offered very little in the way of surprises thus far.


Titus Galesong
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Titus Galesong
An Anchorless Soul
 
Posts: 54
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Joined roleplay: April 10th, 2016, 1:41 am
Location: Floating somewhere off Lhavit
Race: Human, Svefra
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Le's Do Some Fissin'

Postby Titus Galesong on March 19th, 2017, 3:12 pm

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Now that the net was straightened out, Titus gathered it back up into his arms. He was being very careful this time to avoid the same mistake he had made previously. The change was that he decided to start with the sinker line and work in reverse. This was much easier since the fisherman didn’t have to pull the weights along but also it gave him the vantage of knowing when to stop so that the chunks of drift wood wouldn’t get tangled into the rest of the net. Titus was pleased with himself and let his warm smile out to compete with the Syna’s light. The young man pivoted around to face the trailing waters once again.

The last time he cast his net, he threw it too hard and the head and tail lines didn’t extend in the way that they were designed. Titus closed his eyes and dug deep into his memories. He recalled watching his father throw nets countless times and how he made it look so easy and effortless. A saturated fishnet is not a light object so the young boy just always assumed the show of ease was due to his father’s strength. The blue eyes popped open and the grin widened. “Father Laviku! Let your child be blessed in your domain this day!”

That short prayer fueled the young man and he rocked back away from the edge of his ship, his arms lifting the net higher. Then he allowed the natural rhythm of the Casinor’s movement to pull his back. As this happened, Titus extended his arms in a way that made it seem like he was trying to spread the net in the air the way one does with a blanket or sheet. The light breeze didn’t do much against the heavy mesh but the technique worked splendidly. The bottom line bloomed out and the net seemed to linger in the air for just a moment before splashing down. The ship dipped from the additional drag but the sailor kept his knees bent almost constantly so his weight shifted forward as a counter. The two leads went taught almost instantly as The Maelstrom continued to sail out to sea.

Titus watched the net intently. He had witnessed the weigh line disappearing under the surface of the water, a gentle wave rolling over and tucking into itself as the downward suction met with the wake of the Casinor. The pieces of drift wood held the top line just below the surface. There was a grin of satisfaction on the young man’s face. He had finally gotten into a rhythm in this new setting and now was time to reap the benefits of a having a good father. Two good fathers, actually. The thought caused Titus to move to the edge and reach down until his hand was covered in the cool feeling of the waves being channeled off of the slight round of his ship. The whalekin smiled and cupped his hand. He leaned down against the gunwhale and scooped some of the refreshing liquid into his mouth. The mark in his shoulder tattoo swirled like the waves. Titus enjoyed his gift and from the god of the sea and moved towards the tiller. He had work to do.


Titus Galesong
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User avatar
Titus Galesong
An Anchorless Soul
 
Posts: 54
Words: 51442
Joined roleplay: April 10th, 2016, 1:41 am
Location: Floating somewhere off Lhavit
Race: Human, Svefra
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets


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