Blue waves stretched to the horizon, and the sails billowed in the wind.
The vast fleet cut through the deep-blue sea like a pod of steel whales, winding its way toward the elves' realm.
On the quarterdeck of the flagship Iron Justice, two figures could often be seen standing side by side... the human captain Shanghai Pirate King and his elven advisor, Eliunor.
After just two days at sea, their initial wariness and tentative probing had strangely given way to an easy rapport.
Like certain friendships between men that formed swiftly and without any apparent reason, these two men of different races and opposing factions had found a rare affinity during the voyage.
"So, you elves really can live for a thousand years?"
Shanghai Pirate King leaned against the railing, studying Eliunor's handsome profile with interest. It bore almost no trace of age.
"Doesn't that mean you've witnessed several human nations rise and fall?"
Eliunor smiled faintly, the sea breeze stirring his silver hair.
"Not all elves enjoy such long lives... Well, Lord Pirate King, living too long sometimes means having more regrets to remember."
A faint weariness born of age colored his voice, but then he changed tack with his own distinctive humor.
"Still, there are advantages. We have certainly accumulated quite a bit of... well, for example, how to predict a storm three days in advance from the shape of the clouds and the color of the sea. That experience cost us countless sunken ships and soaked elven robes."
Shanghai Pirate King laughed heartily and clapped the elf's somewhat slender shoulder hard enough to make Eliunor stagger slightly, a look of resignation crossing his face.
"Now that's useful! That experience is worth far more than the compasses and barometers aboard our ships. Next time you spot any warning