Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 494 - 493 Sea God and the Ocean’s Edge

Chapter 494: Chapter 493 Sea God and the Ocean’s Edge

Richard listened to the sailor’s words, but as he was wondering, he saw the captain of the "Bernicla" rush out of the Captain’s Room, saying repeatedly, "I know, I know."

Richard couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the captain.

He knew the man was called Feijis, about fifty years old, with a face full of bushy beards.

The man’s sailing skills couldn’t be said to be poor, but they were quite average, nothing compared to the excellence of Captain Morgan of the "Naru Glory Fisherman."

However, Feijis didn’t feel ashamed, and had repeatedly stated quite seriously that good sailing skills were useless, that sailing was not about skill but luck and the blessing of the Sea God. Thus, he always wore brightly colored clothing, hoping to catch the eye of the Sea God, and adorned himself with many decorations—shells, rings, and blue stones, all offered in devotion to the Sea God.

Under his influence, the entire crew had become quite superstitious, mentioning the Sea God at least once every three sentences as if failing to do so would be disrespectful. And when something important happened, such as setting sail or returning to port, they would conduct grand rituals, casting numerous sacrifices into the sea.

Although Richard didn’t exactly dislike these practices, he certainly didn’t feel attached to them and thus kept his distance from Feijis, watching as an observer how he led his sailors in various activities. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to convert the faithless Richard, Feijis had given up on proselytizing, letting him be "unconventionally independent," as long as he paid enough fare for his passage.

Standing on the deck, Richard watched Captain Feijis, who had just run out. Initially, he did not wish to inquire about the sudden event, but Feijis’s behavior piqued his curiosity.

He saw Captain Feijis running while swiftly stripping off his everyday colorful clothing, replacing it with a deep yellow garment, and removing the many ornaments from around his neck in favor of a different deep red pendant.

After completing these preparations, Feijis loudly called the sailors to gather on the deck, all the while shouting to hurry them, "Musi, Pike, bring out the sacrifices quickly. If you’re late, the Sea God Aya will surely punish you both."

"Yes, Captain, coming right now," responded two sailors as they rushed out carrying a table laden with sacrifices: roasted chicken, roasted duck, roasted seabirds, slices of raw fish, not-so-fresh fruit, and strong liquor—foods the sailors couldn’t usually enjoy.

Salivating at the sight, the sailors were reprimanded by Feijis’s sharp gaze and roar, "What are you doing?! These are offerings for the Sea God Aya. Are you trying to compete with the Sea God for food?"

"Of course not, of course not," the sailors hastily denied, bowing low on the deck.

The two sailors carrying the table placed it to one side of the deck and likewise bowed down.

Captain Feijis, satisfied with the reaction, nodded and was about to bow himself when Richard called out to him, "Captain Feijis, just a moment, please."

"Hm? Mr. Richard, what’s the matter?" Feijis turned around and asked.

Richard raised his eyebrows and frankly said, "Captain Feijis, I recall you telling me before that you worship the Sea God Lu Laox, right? How come you’ve suddenly changed faiths to some Sea God Aya now?"

"It’s nothing like that!" exclaimed Feijis quickly, "I haven’t changed my faith. I’ve always worshipped the Sea God Lu Laox! But while I do worship Lu Laox, I also believe in the Sea God Aya. In addition, I also worship the Sea Gods Nuruk, Bade Treasury, Hughes, Alice, Akya..."

Feijis rattled off a list of Sea God names.

Richard listened and blinked in surprise, "Are there so many Sea Gods?"

"Of course, there are that many," Feijis said, looking like Richard was the one who didn’t understand, and then listed them like precious possessions, "I know it’s probably your first time hearing so many names of Sea Gods, but let me tell you, the world has just that many Sea Gods."

I’m not like those half-baked pseudo-believers! I am a true believer brimming with Wisdom! I worship all of the Sea Gods in this world and clearly know every Sea God’s name, preferences, and their domain of the sea.

I wear different Sea Gods’ attire and adorn myself with their ornaments within each Sea God’s domain, offering food that pleases them. That’s why I always receive the Sea Gods’ blessings in any sea, and my ship has never met with misfortune—never!

Those foolish pseudo-believers just don’t cut it. They barely know one or two Sea Gods’ names and always worship and pray in the wrong domains. Naturally, they don’t receive the blessings of the local Sea Gods. They might even anger some petty Sea Gods and cause storms, leading to the destruction of ships and loss of life."

"Uh, is that so... It seems you really are filled with wisdom," Richard said slowly after listening to Feijis.

Feijis looked over and gave Richard a serious look. Perhaps thinking that Richard was a bit "moved," he took a deep breath to persuade him, "Of course I’m filled with wisdom, and that’s how I can lead my ship to navigate smoothly time after time. Mr. Richard, believe me, the Sea Gods really exist and are constantly watching over everyone. If you’re now ready to worship the Sea Gods like I do, I can guide you. How about that?

As long as you pray with me for the blessings of the Sea Gods of the new domains we enter, good fortune will surely come to you, even when you’re on land."

Richard blinked and did not immediately respond to Feijis. Instead, he asked, "Captain Feijis, let’s not rush the faith matter. But I am rather curious about one thing—since there are so many Sea Gods, how do you manage to precisely distinguish each Sea God’s domain without making any mistakes?"

"Isn’t that simple?" Feijis retorted. "Didn’t you hear the sailor calling out that the sea had changed? I tell you, Mr. Richard, the different colors of the sea water represent different domains. Of course, there are simpler methods elsewhere, but around here, the color of the water determines the boundaries of the domains." As he spoke, Feijis pointed toward the front of the deck.

Richard followed where he pointed and indeed, he could see a clear division in the colors of the water ahead.

In the vast sea, there appeared a distinct line of demarcation—on this side of the line the water was deep blue while on the other side it was light blue with hints of turbid yellow.

This phenomenon held steady, whether the sea wind blew or the waves surged, without much change; it appeared miraculous, as if the Sea Gods had intentionally demarcated their domain.

"See," Feijis said loudly. "Mr. Richard, that line is the boundary. Once we pass that line, we are close to Mo’er Port, and it also means we have entered the Sea God Allen’s domain. We must prepare the Sacrifices in advance and pray as soon as we cross it to receive the maximum blessing of the Sea God Aya."

"So that’s how it is... It really does make sense..." Richard watched the sea ahead for a long while and then said slowly, not sure what else to say.

To him, the phenomenon in the sea ahead, if not misjudged, was not any boundary of a Sea God’s domain but rather... an ocean front.

Yes, an ocean front.

An ocean front is a narrow transition zone between two or more bodies of water with distinctly different characteristics, ranging in width from a few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers. They can form due to multiple reasons: underwater terrain, the intersection of cold and warm currents, river estuaries, and more.

Such phenomena are common across the Earth, for example near Zhoushan in the East Sea of China, near Alaska in the United States, and around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.

Generally, the different bodies of water separated by an ocean front have clear differences in temperature, salinity, density, and flow rates, so naturally, their colors are not the same.

That is to say, while ocean fronts may appear awe-inspiring and seem like miraculous works of deities, they are quite ordinary natural phenomena which can be explained by science.

Of course, in this world, in Feijis’s belief, science does not exist, and the delimitation of a Sea God’s domain is the only truth. About this, he did not want to say much, as everyone’s worldviews are different.

Besides, he could not be bothered to educate him—since he wasn’t one of his crew or his son, he had no reason to insist on enlightening him or revealing the truth, as it would be an unrewarding effort.

These were Richard’s thoughts, but Feijis had started speaking again.