A Secret Tale

         “What's that friend?  The story of my life?”  Vasco smiled warmly and scooted over, allowing the childling to sit next to him.  “You should really be asking the grumps.  They have better stories, but I'm not one to turn down a request and you seem trustworthy.  Would you like to hear a secret story?”
         The little girl's eyes grew wide in amazement.
         Vasco laughed cheerfully,“I'll take that as a yes.
         “It was a beautiful day outside when my father set sail for India.  He was moving over there to start a fishing business with his friend and took my mother with him.  Now, the doctors warned him not to take my mother on a long passage because she was so close to giving birth—yes kiddo, to me—but my father insisted that she come along.
         “Eighteen days into the trip the seas were swaying strongly, as if making a music only they understood.
         “Whoosh. Whoosh.
         “That night, I was born.  The seas called to me, and who was I to ignore such a good friend?  Born in international waters, I was a citizen of the world.  A true Elegbara, with no home but the open sea.”
         Vasco looked towards the Balefire and you could see the ocean in his eyes.  The dark blue pools of liquid had no pupils, just a sea of water reflecting the moon and stars, held inside by his will alone.  He looked back to the young girl sitting next to him and continued his tale.
         “Life was easy for me as a child.  I spent most of my time on my father's boat, having grand adventures with the crew.  They were all dreadfully kind to me, and thought nothing of joining in with my games of piracy and buccaneering.  It was around your age when I started to notice certain things.
         “Like, when I looked out of the corner of my eye, my father appeared to be dressed in the finest of silks.  Or Bigsby, the first mate, he was good seven feet tall and blue.
         “Yep.  A Troll, good catch.  He always ducked when going into the belly of the ship too.  Makes sense now, really.  Anyway, these things seemed rather odd to me, but I didn't want to bring it up to anyone, out of fear of being kicked off the ship for being a loony, or worse yet, having scurvy!”
         With this Vasco tickled the child and they shared a laugh.  Vasco loved children, and still considered himself one, even though he just passed his twentieth birthday.
         “I finally gathered up the courage to speak to one of the fishermen I felt closest to about it.  His name was Joe, but I called him Smee because he looked like Hook's first mate from Peter Pan.  Smee told me, in a round about fashion, for Smee never told the straight truth, that it was nothing to worry about and that he would bring it up to my father in conversation next time he got a chance.
         “Later that same night my father called me into his quarters.  I knew something was up when several others from the crew were there.  Bigsby was there, Smee, and two others.  This time, I didn't need to catch things out of the corner of my eye, everything was in full view.  Bigsby was sitting down, but was still a massive chunk of blue, horns growing back from his brow ridges.  Smee stood next to my father's chair and had an odd sheen to his skin, like a whale or porpoise.  The others were equally strange, one wore the garb of some remote African tribe, and the other—a female might I add—wore nothing save the fur around her waist and cloven hooves.
         “My father smiled and rose as I entered into the room, and all the dreams I had of a life of piracy were realized in that moment.  See, my father wore an outfit straight out of the movies!  A Corsair through and through, he was the spitting image of the Portuguese explorers after which my line has always been named.
         “He told me that I was amongst friends and bid me to sit down.  I naturally obliged.  He went on to tell me of things called faeries, changelings, and I heard him mention the words Eshu and Elegbara.”
         Vasco paused and stared into the captive eyes of his one person audience, “Are you ready for the secret part now?”
         The little girl nodded quickly.
         Vasco smiled a crooked grin and continued, “My father also told me that night that I alone was unique within a group of unique creatures.  He pulled out an ancient compass that sat on his desk and turned it toward me.
         “This compass,” Vasco said as he reached into his well-worn traveling clothes and retrieved a compass of quite some age and use.
         “I was a faerie, indeed, my father told me.  But then he bid me look outside and tell him which direction was north based on the position of the moon.  The moon was full and clear that night so I had no problem giving him an answer with perfect certainty.  He then bid me to look at the compass and note which direction it pointed.
         “The compass was pointing directly at my young body.  As I was standing west of the compass I found this a bit odd and picked up the strange thing.  I turned in circles yet the thing still had its needle pointed directly at me the entire time.
         “It's broke, I told him as I set it back down on the desk.  My father just smiled warmly and said no, it worked fine.  He then told me an amazing story, one you've no doubt learned tonight.  He told me the story of Eshu Elegba, the Orisha of whimsy, chance, and travel.  Good, you've heard it, but do you yet know what whimsy is?”
         The little girl shook her head.
         “Well, then.  Think of it as chaos or randomness for now, it will mean something different and deeply personal later, but that'll do for now.  Anyway, my father told me that I, like he, was blessed by Eshu, and that by chance I would have an amazing life filled with adventure.  He told me—and this is the secret part—that the compass I held in my hand, held his faerie essence, and furthermore, that it called to me.
         “I was confused, yes, but excited.  My father told me that if I willingly accepted, he would transfer the compass and all that it entailed to me, and it would me mine.  I would be an Elegbara, a chosen of Eshu, free to wander the earth having grand adventures and telling great tales.  The others in the room would take me as their ward and teach me the ways of the Fae.
         “I asked why my father couldn't teach me himself, and he responded that after I took the compass he would soon forget his place in the Faerie world, making room for me.  I tried to refuse after learning this fact, but my father just sat me down and explained that the old must make way for the new, and he would not regret anything he had done with his life.”
         Vasco sighed heavily and his eyes were lost in a reverie, “I accepted.  And the rest is, as they say, history.  I travel the world learning all I can and imparting said knowledge onto little twerps like you.”  Vasco mussed up the little tyke's hair and concluded the story.
         “My life is an adventure, and so too will yours be.
         “So! You've now learned my tale and my secret.  Are you happy now childling?”
         The little girl smiled as she nodded and leaned into Vasco's ear, whispering, “your secret is safe with me for now.  But one day I will tell your tale with such vigor that everyone will know your glory.”
         With that, she rose and skipped away gleefully.  Vasco looked down at his compass and for just an instant, it flickered away from true north towards some unknown person before residing again at its home of magnetic north.