Chapter 901: Modril’s Voyage
Gawain’s eyes flicked back and forth across the page several times before he finally managed to suppress the urge to scoff.
The fact that this Duke Wilde from six centuries ago was such a die-hard fan of Gawain Cecil himself… well, it left the man currently bearing the name Gawain Cecil feeling inexplicably awkward.
He continued reading, watching as this ancient nobleman, who had taken “explorer” as his life’s mission, detailed the extensive preparations he had made for this daring adventure—
“…Once I made up my mind, I began constructing a ship sturdy enough to face the perils ahead. This was no easy task. As everyone knows, ever since those storm cultists suddenly went mad, stealing or smashing every sea vessel and fleeing into the ocean, the human world has gone nearly a century without any proper ‘seafaring.’ There are no navigators skilled enough to challenge the seas, nor anyone who truly knows how to build a seaworthy ship…
“I reached out to a dwarf friend I had met years ago. The Dwarven Kingdom still retains some shipbuilding techniques suitable for safer waters, at least they know how to build a ship. My friend promised to find the craftsmen. I also know two sea elves—they have little interest in land affairs, but they were intrigued by my magical gems. In exchange for a few stones, they agreed to serve as my navigators…
“While this grand (and likely time-consuming) shipbuilding project was underway, I took a brief trip to the southern territories—to visit the current Duke Cecil. I held onto a faint hope that the Cecil family might still keep records of Duke Gawain Cecil’s voyage, but I was prepared to return empty-handed. It was clear that the Gawain Cecil of a century ago did not want many to know of his adventures; otherwise, he wouldn’t have erased all traces…
“As it turned out, my suspicions were correct—the Cecil descendants knew nothing of their great-grandfather’s voyage a hundred years prior. The Duke himself expressed some concern when I shared my plans and the rumors of ‘Gawain Cecil’s mysterious voyage.’ He clearly thought it was just baseless folklore and that I was risking my life foolishly… Still, our meeting was pleasant. The Cecil family is undoubtedly honorable. Upon seeing my resolve, they chose to bless my endeavor.
“After paying respects and offering spiced wine at Gawain Cecil’s tomb, I returned to my preparations…”
Gawain skimmed quickly through the sections detailing shipbuilding and crew recruitment. His eyes scanned the neat handwriting line by line, Modril Wilde’s life flashing through his mind like a fast-forwarded film—until he reached the day of departure, when his reading slowed.
This was the part he cared about most.
Across centuries-old pages, the record unfolded of everything Modril Wilde experienced after setting sail:
“…Day X of Month X. After long preparation and careful planning, the Adventurer finally set off on a clear summer day. We departed from the eastern coast, following the sea elves’ advice to first sail south along the shoreline, then turn east. This route would minimize the chance of entering the storm zone too early. Though I had great confidence in the protective magic and mana detection systems I designed, I decided not to risk the crew’s lives and to heed the navigators’ counsel as much as possible…
“Day X of Month X—a day worth recording!
“Shortly after adjusting our course eastward, we witnessed a ‘chaotic turbulence’ from afar. A towering wall of storm clouds, seemingly reaching the heavens, rose abruptly, stirring monstrous waves across the sea. Between the storm and the waves crackled a dense web of energy lightning, each flash carrying a power that made even a mage of my strength shudder. The entire cloud wall moved at a deceptively slow yet unavoidable pace. I had never seen anything like it in my life!
“Some sailors were terrified and knelt on deck, praying to their gods. But the first mate, a trustworthy retired officer, quickly restored order—I was glad to have brought him aboard. Soon, the sea elf navigators announced the path ahead was safe; the Adventurer was at a safe distance, and the dreadful storm was moving away from us…
“The crew calmed down, and I had the chance to observe the storm from this perfect vantage point—I had to document its characteristics.
“Chaotic turbulence is neither mere giant waves nor a simple energy storm, but a complex system blending both. From my observations, the towering cloud wall releasing energy lightning is the system’s ‘pillar’ and ‘engine.’ Its energy fluctuations cause resonance in the water-element-rich atmosphere above the sea. I also sensed that the cloud’s base connected directly with the ocean below, as if the sea—this highly concentrated elemental reservoir—acted like a ‘polarity focus’ in a magical array, providing an outlet for the atmospheric energy turbulence and creating such a terrifying cloud wall…
“Perhaps this explains why such chaotic turbulence appears over the ocean but not on land?
“Additionally, the cloud wall’s top showed visible signs of tearing and shimmering light. Above the storm’s strongest areas, I observed glowing phenomena distinct from the lightning within the cloud—like connected ‘curtains’ slowly shifting with the cloud wall’s movement. They seemed to exist at an extremely high altitude, on a scale beyond imagination…
“Ancient magical texts from Gondor describe the atmosphere as layered: a mana static layer, a turbulence layer, a steady-state limit layer, and so on. Seeing the cloud wall’s summit, I couldn’t help but wonder… Could this chaotic turbulence be a leakage from a higher atmospheric layer? Perhaps the turbulence layer’s mana broke through the near-earth magnetic field’s protection, creating this terrifying phenomenon in the static layer… This is a phenomenon worth recording and studying.
“The ocean truly holds countless secrets and dangers.
“Fortunately, my detection device worked well—the beam in the crystal orb accurately pointed toward the distant storm, proving it could sense chaotic turbulence from afar. This will help the Adventurer avoid such tempestuous waters in advance…”
As Gawain absorbed these precious words, he furrowed his brow in thought, nodded slightly from time to time, and even grabbed a scrap of paper to jot down ideas as they came.
There was no doubt that The Modril Chronicles was a treasure trove. Its greatest value lay not in the thrilling tales of adventure, but in the firsthand knowledge and insights Modril Wilde recorded during his journey.
In the chapter titled “Departure,” Modril’s observations and theories about chaotic turbulence were especially significant. Now that the first phase of the North Harbor project had been completed and Byron was preparing for further oceanic exploration, Modril’s knowledge would undoubtedly be a huge boon to the technical teams. But its importance went beyond that—
Modril also shared his hypotheses on the causes of chaotic turbulence and his understanding of atmospheric stratification, accompanied by invaluable original observational data. For Gawain, Kamail, and other researchers, this could even help unlock the mysteries of the entire planet!
Like a diligent student, Gawain studied the chronicle carefully, treating every experience and insight as a source of knowledge. Meanwhile, Modril’s adventure continued to unfold through the written words—just as with nearly every explorer, after an initially smooth voyage, real trouble finally began.
Once he entered the open sea, the mysterious and unpredictable ocean revealed its true dangers to Modril and his crew—
“Day X of Month X. A terrible storm struck us.
“The detection device gave some warning. Before the storm fully formed, it frantically signaled and tried to indicate the danger’s direction. But this time, the storm brewed directly overhead—the atmosphere tore apart above the Adventurer, high-energy reactions rained down, and the entire sea rapidly charged. We were surrounded on all sides by growing ‘cloud walls,’ moving at an astonishing speed.
“By the time I realized what the device’s chaotic signals meant, it was too late—the first mate ordered the crew to speed up, hoping to escape the charging zone before the cloud walls closed in. But massive lightning soon struck our magical shield overhead. For hours, the Adventurer was trapped like a tiny vessel inside a raging magical crucible. The sea boiled and tried to kill the poor souls aboard.
“This time, the sailors didn’t waste time praying—they had no leisure for that. The first mate did his best to organize the crew to stabilize the ship and maintain the magic systems. I fought with all my might to keep the shield from being pierced by lightning. It was a nightmare…
“Of course, since I’m able to write this, at least one thing is certain: I survived.
“Yes, that’s the storm’s end—I lived, alone.
“Now I’m stranded on a vast, empty ocean, accompanied only by a few battered planks and some waterlogged barrels. The Adventurer is gone—I saw it swallowed by the waves at the last moment. My crew, of course, did not survive. The two sea elf navigators might have escaped by diving underwater, but I have no hope of reuniting with them… Who knows how far I’ve drifted in this storm.
“Guilt weighs heavily on me. Though every man signed a death pact before departure, I did not bring them here to die…
“But it’s too late for regrets. I must find a way to survive. Who else will comfort and compensate the families of those lost? Nobility forbids me from shirking this responsibility…
“I used magic to gather the floating wood and barrels, barely fashioning a makeshift raft. No nails, no ropes—this crude shelter holds together solely by magic. Fresh water can be managed with ice spells. Food… I hope the fish in these open seas are edible.
“As a powerful mage, survival itself wouldn’t be difficult if not for the chaotic turbulence. The real challenge is how to get back on course and move quickly and efficiently.
“After all, even legendary heroes can’t simply fly from the open sea back to the mainland. And relying on creating waves or other means to propel this tiny raft… God knows how long it will take before I see land again.”
“Maybe by then, I’ll have already been swallowed by the next chaotic turbulence…
“X Month, X Day… Using my skills in astrology, I finally managed to roughly determine my position and current course. The results were both surprising and unsettling… That storm threw me far off my original path. I’m now north of where I should be, drifting steadily northwest. This means I’m moving further away from my intended destination, and not heading back toward the mainland at all.
“In this direction, I haven’t encountered any of those legendary ‘sea monsters,’ nor the storm cultists who supposedly fled the oceans a century ago and now hide somewhere out there.
“To be honest, I’d almost rather run into those dangerous dark cultists now…
“Getting back on the right course is proving incredibly difficult. I’ve realized that astrology isn’t as reliable out here on the open sea—the magical energies interfere with my observations of the stars, and I lack a precise ‘star chart’ for reference. I’m doing my best to confirm my bearings, recalibrate my direction, and sail toward the mainland, but deep down I know—I’m completely lost.
“This vast, endless ocean is going to swallow me whole.
“But I will keep trying.
“X Month, X Day… Almost no change in sight. The only good news is that I’m still alive and haven’t been consumed by the ‘chaotic turbulence.’ Over this long stretch, I’ve encountered three such storms, each one narrowly passing at a safe distance. From that distance, I can only watch those walls of clouds and energy storms, wondering if this is luck or a curse…
“Either way, I’ll keep detailed records of everything I observe—there’s nothing else to do now.
“…X Month, X Day. Still lost at sea, no land or islands in sight. But I suspect I’m drifting further north, because… I’m starting to feel the cold creeping in.
“X Month, X Day. Icebergs have appeared in my view. Am I near the northern coast of the mainland? Near the Holy Dragon Principality? That’s the most hopeful possibility I can think of. I’ve been sailing west, maybe northwest, and the only place I can count on in that direction is the cold northern coastline… I hope some of my luck still holds out.
“X Month, X Day. I don’t even know how to write today’s entry. I… as an adventurer—well, even a lousy one—I never imagined I would…
“Alright, anyway, I saw a dragon.
“A blue dragon, soaring across the distant sky, real and unmistakable…”
(End of chapter)