The Sailors' Ten Commandments

After dinner, Lia and Milta passed around a thick, leather-bound book. It contained the rules Ian had drafted to govern the Leviathan.

Ian had based them on the famous Pirate Code. Why not use the rules for warships, privateers, or merchant vessels? Because the common sailors on those ships had no rights at all, let alone anything resembling fairness or democracy.

The Leviathan's Ten Commandments:

One: The captain's authority is absolute.

Two: Everyone has an equal vote on all routine matters. The captain has veto power.

Three: Gambling, drunkenness, and theft are strictly forbidden aboard the ship. First-time offenders will be flogged; repeat offenders will be abandoned on a deserted island.

Four: Lights out at eight o'clock sharp.

Five: No one may carry a dirty weapon. Everyone must regularly clean their own guns and knives.

Six: No children, women, or other non-crew members may come aboard without permission.

Seven: Fleeing in battle means death. Revealing secrets means death. Betrayal means death.

Eight: Fights among the crew are strictly forbidden. Anyone who kills a crewmate will be tied to the deceased and thrown into the sea. Duels are permitted, however, if a witness is present.

Nine: Anyone crippled in battle may remain aboard and do whatever work they're capable of. Each year, they will receive ten gold coins from the "public fund."

Ten: No one may keep any spoils for themselves. The Leviathan gets thirty percent, the captain gets ten percent, and twenty percent goes into the public fund. The remaining spoils are divided into equal shares: each senior crew member gets ten shares; each gunner, marine, cook, doctor, and carpenter gets two; and each ordinary sailor gets one. Additional shares may also be awarded based on contribution.

In the original Pirate Code, the captain didn't have this much authority. There were almost no special privileges; he wasn't even allowed to take more than his share of food or drink. The code's fairness and democracy were almost unbelievable, which was why few pirates followed it—especially its rules about spoils and the captain's authority.

Of course, Ian wasn't going to treat ordinary sailors as expendable, the way the navy did.

Ian had to be an autocrat, maintaining absolute control over everything aboard the ship to keep anyone from getting the wrong ideas.

The Leviathan was also part of the crew. It played the leading role in naval battles, so Ian didn't think its thirty-percent share was too much.

When Lia read the first two rules, she couldn't help smiling. She didn't want a captain who was too "democratic." Those in power needed the authority to make decisions. She didn't pay much attention to the tenth rule; with the first two rules in place, the rest could be "revised" as needed.

Milta, on the other hand, didn't quite understand how the shares were divided.

Ian used the spoils from their latest sea battle as an example. If they sold the plunder for around ten thousand gold coins, the Leviathan would get three thousand, Ian would get one thousand, and two thousand would go into the public fund. Lia and Milta would split the remaining four thousand.

Milta stared at him in astonishment. "That's not fair! How can I get more than the captain?"

Ian smiled. "This time is an exception. Once we have more crew, your shares won't be so large."

Milta looked troubled, unable to think of a rebuttal.

Lia chuckled. "The Leviathan did most of the work in this battle: the pursuit, the interception, the bombardment, and the boarding. We only assisted, so it clearly contributed more. Its share should be increased by at least thirty percent, and Milta and I can split what's left."

Milta nodded repeatedly, clearly in agreement. Ian shook his head with a smile and didn't argue further. They'd leave it at that for now.

Once they'd reached an agreement, everyone signed the parchment.

On the vast ocean, a small Galleon with only a few sails raised plowed through the waves, towing a merchant ship whose mast had snapped.

Both ships' masts and rigging were crowded with countless seabirds. There were no seagulls, but plenty of other birds, large and small.

"Boom!" A deafening cannon blast suddenly rang out from the ship ahead. The birds startled and took flight, but didn't go far. A huge, dark flock circled above the two ships.

At that moment, three crows perched conspicuously on the ships' masts. They didn't join the flock as it took off, but calmly preened their feathers instead.

"Boom!" Several thousand meters away, the cannonball that had just been fired hit the water, then exploded a second time, sending up a huge splash.

Milta was beaming with excitement. "Captain, the explosive shells worked!"

Ian smiled calmly. "This is only the beginning. This method of detonation isn't very accurate, either. But it'll do for now."

At long last, Ian had succeeded in developing explosive shells. They were simply cannonballs loaded with more gunpowder inside. After striking a target, they exploded again, causing a second area-of-effect blast—a devastating weapon against wooden warships.

Ian used a stable-burning Alchemy Gunpowder that was hard to extinguish for the fuse. It coiled inside the cannonball, with only the ignition point exposed, and its length could be adjusted. When the cannonball was fired, the propellant ignited the fuse at the same time. Once the fuse had burned through, the shell exploded.

Ian had spent a long time developing impact-detonated shells, but eventually realized they were too dangerous. Until he found a safe way to store them, he'd stick with old-fashioned fuse shells.

Making these alchemical shells was very easy for someone with Ian's abilities. Milta also knew gunpowder well and could make the shells and cut the fuses herself.

As the sound of the cannon faded, the seabirds above the ships settled back down.

Beatrice had "coerced" all these seabirds into coming. That was what it looked like to Ian; Beatrice could even order them to make suicidal attacks.

At a rate of one every two days, Ian had created two more Evil Crows. After transferring a great deal of spiritual energy, he was once again experiencing rapid progress.

Of course, this was a bit too frequent. He planned to lengthen the interval from now on, creating another Evil Crow only when he was nearing a bottleneck.

Ian hadn't known before that Evil Crows could control birds. They also clearly didn't consider seabirds their own kind; they would casually peck them to death and "eat" them. "Eating" these birds barely improved the Evil Crows, so they were obviously just "playing."

It was simply in their nature. As a human, Ian didn't feel right about labeling Beatrice "cruel."

Still, he'd made Beatrice promise not to peck birds to death without reason or "coerce" seagulls, lest she upset people.

At sea, seagulls might be ordinary birds, but they held extraordinary significance.

A tale passed among sailors said that every seagull was the soul of a dead sailor.

Many others believed seagulls were spirits of the sea, and that killing one would bring bad luck.

Whether or not anyone believed these stories, no one should casually torture or eat seagulls. Conflicts of belief were the greatest source of instability aboard a ship.