The seas grew large, waves tumultuous and higher than all imaginings. It has been so long since the Malphas has seen shore, I fear at times that we are lost, lost upon an unimaginably large expanse of ocean, an infinitesimal spark burning in the desolation of salt and wave. Yet Captain Juvenus assures us that we are nearing Kithai and the great port city of Jiang. How he knows this, I have no idea, though when the skies are clear and he can sight the stars, he spends an inordinate amount of time looking at the sky with a collection of strange devices whose functions have not been explained to me. Life on board is strange – much like on the Valdrossos – it seems as if we’re stilled and only the waters flow around us. But Juvenus tells us we travel near four or five hundred miles a day, which I have trouble believing though I have to assume he would not lie to us in jest. We should arrive within the next few days, or so I am told. We have established our rhythms now.
