Dalen only paused for a moment when Tynel shouted out that land was in sight. He didn't need to see to know what it was - he had been there many times before. The memories of it stole through his mind, and he smiled slightly, but then shook them out. He needed to concentrate on getting them there, since nobody else seemed to have a clue how to run a ship.

Standing at the wheel, he altered their course slightly to pass through the first ring of shallows, which was only breached in a few places. The entire island was surrounded by three coral reefs, in three different rings, or maybe it was all one reef with three upthrusting parts, but at any rate, it served as an excellent defense, though not many, even among the exiles, knew that it existed. Only the ship captains and higher-ranking sailors, and a few high in the councils of the Exiles land based military.
Dalen shuddered to think of what might have happened if someone besides him was at the wheel at this time, because he had no doubt he was the only one on the ship who knew about the reefs.

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Tynel dissmissed the matter and got up and headed over towards dalen, who was at the wheel.

"Hey Dalen, I want to say thanks. I think I can speak for all of us, we would probably be lost at sea if you wern't here." Ty chuckled, "I don't know what I was thinking when we decided to comendier this ship." He stopped talking and looked at the city, shining white walls on an island. Tynel's brow creased as he looked down at the water. "Dalen, what are those shadows?" Tynel looked back at the man as he spoke.

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Dalen nodded, allowing a small smile to show on his face as Tynel thanked him.
"What are those shadows?" his ship-mate asked him, frowning at the water.
"I'm pretty sure you're referring to the sharks, right?" Dalen said. Sharks were common around this area. "But since you're an elf, you might actually be seeing the reefs. Most of the time the water's actually murky over them, so it's hard - nearly impossible - to see them. Today, the water's abnormally clear, so that's what you might be seeing." Dalen shifted the wheel again, heading for the nearest passage through the second reef, the ship having made it past the first one. If Tynel felt like saying whether he was seeing the sharks or the reefs, he would says so in his own time.

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I wasn't sure if you were referring to the reefs or not, Star_Gazer, so I tried to give you a choice of what you were meaning.

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"I was talking about the reefs." was Tynel's simpul answer. After watching Dalen for a while, Tynel sighed and went back to the railing, where Raven still was.

"Looks like its going to be quite a while before we get past those reefs." Tynel said to Raven, while looking down at the many sharks, and some outlines of ships that had not been so fortunate.

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Glancing down at the water for a moment, Raven nodded in response to Tynel's statement. The sight of the wrecked ships down there had shaken her up a little bit, and now, thoughts were racing wildly through her head, unbidden.

The sight of every wrecked ship is going to do this..you need to get used to it, and suck it up.

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Tynel sighed as he strained his eyes to see through the water. It was very murky, and cloudy, almost like a fog on a humid fall day. After a while he gave up trying and then turned around and went below deck. I hate waiting... Tynel thought to himself as he threw himself on his hammock, slowly swaying back and forth. He wondered why he hadn't gotten sea sick all this time, but dismissed the matter, turning his mind toward more important things, like did he have any relatives? Who were his parents? And also, would the Exiles accept him as one of their own? He had been raised as an Ursurper all of his life, he even dressed like one. A doubt started to cross his mind as he considered the possibility of being rejected by his own people.

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Thyiri, unable to contain her excitement or her anxiousness, paced wildly in the bow, her white-blond hair flying in the wind. She stopped and clutched the railing so tightly her knuckles turned quite white. Stop it. Stop it! she thought frantically, trying to calm herself. No one will know...no one will see. You need not act as though they will.

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Raven and Star_Gazer, keep in mind that the water isn't clear enough for humans to see in it, which means that it's still pretty murky for elves, so seeing that skeleton should have been pretty hard, Star_Gazer.....on a normal day not even Elves can see the reef unless they're practically famous for their eyesight, so...I don't think the water is quite so crystal clear as your posts are making it seem (It's not really the Caribbean).

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Dalen nodded his head as Tynel told him he had been seeing the reefs - not many, even among the elves, would have been able to see anything....himself included. His eyes weren't sharp enough to pick out those things. It was as though there was a 'mist' under water, obscuring the reef, dooming any who did not know about it. Sometimes he wondered if it was all enchanted, as though an ancient mage had desired to protect the Island, though whether that was before or after the Exiles arrived, who could say?

He noticed Thyiri walking around anxiously, but said nothing. He could not leave the wheel now, but she likely had her reasons for being stressed out as they neared the city - those reasons were also probably secret, and she most likely wouldn't want to share them.

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((*slaps forehead* GAH!! sooooo sorry...I'll go and edit that post... I must have been really tired when I wrote that.... anyway, sorry again! ))

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Soon growing tired of trying to see through the murky water to the bottom of the sea, Raven walked away from the railing with a sigh. Just waiting like this was starting to get to her, starting to mess with her mind, making half-formed plans of action pop into her mind. Finally, she irritably pushed all the other ideas out of her head, thinking, Keep firm to what you've already chosen..it's the best plan by far.

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Tynel suddenly appeared beside Raven.

"Raven, you've seen exiles before. Do I look like an Exile?" Tynel promply stood in front of her and looked at her waiting for an answer.

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Startled, Raven jumped slightly. "Don't do that, please.." she breathed. She then shook her head and looked Tynel up and down a couple times, expression slightly thoughtful.

"Hmm..in a way, you do, yes."

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"Sorry..." Tynel said, appolagizing under his breath. He sighed. He was afraid of that

"Ok. I just hope it convinses the exiles... I don't know if they will accept me or not. Unless I look like my mom or dad - whom I've never known. As far as I can see I'll be lucky to get past the railing of this ship, without being made into a pin-cushion of arrows."

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"If they even try to make a pincushion out of anyone on this ship, they'll have me to deal with.." Raven said, folding her arms. And by the look on her face, she really meant that. She felt a sort of..responsibility for everyone on this ship now, though she didn't really know exactly why.

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Thyiri turned her head, and heard a snippet of Tynel's worried voice, obsessing over his looks. She turned back and rolled her violet eyes. She had bigger things to worry about - and since she'd never seen anyone she looked like anyway, what chance was there she'd look like an Exile?

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Tynel smiled.

"Well, its nice to know someone cares about me, and everyone else on this boat, ship -- thing."

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