Sea Circle Calendar 1522, October.
Calm Belt.
Time here seemed to have lost all meaning of movement, frozen into a deathly silent blue. The sky was a pure azure without a trace of any other color, with only the blazing sun hanging overhead, mercilessly scorching everything beneath it.
The clouds hung motionless high in the sky like forgotten tufts of cotton, and Herman's Revenge floated among them.
"The location is right. This is the place."
Dawn lowered his telescope at the bow and turned to look at the female companions scattered across the deck, some sitting and some standing.
"I'll go down and wait."
The women nodded in understanding, their eyes full of trust.
Dawn stepped forward, and his figure vanished from the edge of the deck in an instant, drifting downward as lightly as a feather. He manipulated the gravity around him, turning his rapid descent into an elegant glide. Passing through layer upon layer of clouds, he finally landed soundlessly on the island's beach.
Fine white sand lay beneath his feet. The island was not large, with sparse vegetation and several bare rocky hills at its center.
Dawn searched the entire island. After confirming that there were no signs of life apart from a few small animals, he concluded that the people he was waiting for had not arrived yet.
He walked to the shore, found a rock that blocked the sunlight, sat down against it, and closed his eyes as though dozing.
At noon, the sun hung almost directly overhead, pouring down its light and heat without restraint.
At the far end of the horizon, a black speck accompanied by a low rumble shattered the absolute silence.
It was a two-masted sailing ship, but unlike traditional wind-powered vessels, conspicuous steam engines had been installed along its sides.