“But we stay true to his other passion. The sea. We may not ever get to sail the great sunless sea the way that he did back on his grand adventure, but the ocean is ours by inheritance from Bran. When we sail, we sail with him watching over us, knowing that he is still in the world, continuing his great work of keeping interesting things happening for Olidamara," Aldrich finished as he stretched as the children sitting before him were completely rapt. He was used to the little ones chattering away after he finished the tale. It filled him with happiness to see the joy in their faces when they first heard the family legend.

And the children before him did not disappoint him. It was an annual family tradition to share the story, the day chosen based on Bran's funeral... or as the family referred to it, the day of Bran's Rebirth. Those who had heard the story before were also sitting around the room, and hearing Bran's tale over again filled them with a sense of pride... a sense of purpose as a family. Even the older generations enjoyed listening to the story told. It was a story shared among themselves, one that they all knew would never be believed by anyone outside of the family.

What caught Aldrich by surprise this time was that one of the children... his great granddaughter, Kestrel, if he wasn't mistaken, came up to him, resting her hands on his leg as she looked up into his eyes with a look of reverent awe in them. “Are there more stories about Bran and Janelle, great grandpa?" Her voice was filled with excitement.

It was rare for a child so young to take such an intense interest in the story. For most her age, it was little more than a story of high adventure... a swashbuckling tale to be enjoyed every year. But Kestrel here... there was clearly more to her interest in the tale. He gave her a warm smile and nodded his head, reaching down to stroke her bright red hair, “Of course, darling. There is more to Bran's story... Janelle's as well," he added when he didn't mention Janelle right away. Interest in his wife as well. That was even rarer.

Her eyes glittered with excitement at this confirmation, and she couldn't help but bounce a little, though she was, at least, being careful with her older family member. She was a very respectful child like that... which was a big part of why he liked her so much. “So... when do I get to hear the rest of them?"

He smiled at her, chuckling softly, “Some of them, I can start teaching you soon. Others, you will need to be older for."

She gave him the biggest pout ever, looking up at him with big, watery eyes, “Awwww... great-grandpaaaaaa..." she said, trying to beg him prettily.

He laughed and tousled her bright red hair, shaking his head and sighing, “Next weekend, I will start teaching you what I can. Thankfully, the stories will keep, even if I don't."

She glared up at him when he said that, wagging her finger at him, “You're going to live for a long time, great grandpa, and don't you forget it."

He raised his eyebrows, grinning at her. “Yes, ma'am."

“Great graaaaandpaaaa," Kestrel called out as she came into his house, making her way back to the library, where she had been working with him for years now. Hell... today would mark a decade. She was quickly becoming a scholar of sorts on their shared ancestor. In time, she would probably be the next keeper of the family story.

When she got into the library, she found Aldrich sleeping in his armchair. She could see his chest rising and falling, so she knew that he was still with them. So far, he'd done pretty well at keeping his promise that he would live for a long time, and she was very glad of that. She might have learned most of Bran and Janelle's story by now, but she still had so much left to learn, and no one in their family knew the tales the way Aldrich did.

“Come on, old man," she said, gently touching his shoulder with a warm smile. He sat up as she touched him, yawning and stretching.

“Mmh... Sorry, kiddo. I dozed off. Happens a lot easier these days," he said with a little laugh, smiling at her as she held out the coffee she'd brought for him. His smile broadened as he took the paper cup, breathing out softly, “Ahh... you know me too well, girl. But thank you," he said, taking a sip from it. “Too well indeed... black as night... sweet as sin..."

She laughed at his little quip, grinning and shaking her head as she pulled her own chair up to sit with him, “Well, we've been doing this for a while now, haven't we, old man?" She grinned and shook her head, getting out her notebook, sitting back in her chair.

“Longer than I thought I'd be around. Still, your eagerness seems to have brought me a new life," he said, smirking and looking out of the window. It really was a lovely day out. “And so dedicated... usually girls your age would be out enjoying the sun on a day like this. If your parents don't have you helping out on one of the boats... even the girls in this family get dragged into that work," he added with a chuckle.

Kestrel groaned deeply, shaking her head, “Don't remind me... they have me out there as often as not, rain or shine." She sighed and looked out the window, smiling as she just took it all in, “Not that I mind being out on the water... like everyone in our family, we're all just kind of born for it."

Aldrich grinned, nodding his head, “I do miss being out on the water. But I simply can't do what I once did," he said with a sigh, “But I'm able to still serve the family with my good memory."

“And you're still able to indulge your great granddaughter's curiosity. So, what are we learning about today?"

“Well, you've been quite curious about the great battle," he said, reaching over to the bookshelf that she had never been allowed to take books from, herself. It was the shelf of first editions. Hundreds of years old, and precious beyond belief for the family history they contained.

Of course, they had copies of everything that was in these books, but these were effectively sacred family artifacts. What's more, the book that Aldrich pulled down was a very special one. It was Bran's journal from his trip. He set it on the table between the two of them, opening it up and turning through it to find what he had written about the battle on the ship as it returned to the surface.

More amazing than the book that he chose was the fact that he turned it toward her, sliding it across the table. He'd never allowed her to touch these books before, and this was a great gesture of trust on his part. “Thank you, great grandfather," she said, bowing her head to him as she started to read the entry aloud.

The battle had been... far more gripping than the annual story communicated. There had been far more than just the giant, telepathic... no psionic fish in the city. They had gathered quite the little army of mercenaries and flunkies, who were every bit the champions that Bran's band had been. However, they had been overconfident... merely pushing aside a rogue group of attackers.

Bran recounted his nearly single combat with one of the mercenaries. This one was a true hulking beast, almost more of an animal than a true fighter, but as she read the story, Bran made it clear that this one was still quite intelligent, as monstrous as he was. She read of how Bran had been forced to play the role more of a bull fighter than a simple warrior. He had to pick his blows carefully, dodging to make sure that he didn't take too many hits, himself.

In the end, he had the brute well worn out, bleeding from several wounds, while Janelle had added quite a few arrows in his body to help with the harrying of this one. At last, Bran was able to rush forward, driving his blade up to the hilt in the beast's chest, the point only just managing to emerge from its back. Kestrel almost cheered at that, feeling the thrill of the battle just as he had.

She then read on to their rush up the central spire, where they faced off against the great Aboleth. That fight had been even more trying than the annual story, as Bran described the effects that the Aboleth's attacks had, and they were truly gruesome, turning the skin where they struck translucent, much like the Aboleth's own skin.

The band simply could not close the gap and really strike at it. Not until Bran hacked the amplification device in half, releasing all of the stored up energy and throwing him across the room. The blast knocked back the great beast as well, allowing the pirates to lay into it with their guns while Janelle's arrow found the abomination's central eye.

Though she'd heard the family story nearly a dozen times before that, and she knew the outcome, her heart still raced as Bran described the escape from the tower, crying out when a piece of debris landed on Janelle, forcing Bran to rush back to free her from it before they finally made it out of the tower.

She now understood how essential the boats had been, as the city was not simply sinking, but the flow of water rushing in over it was threatening to pull the whole group of them down with the city, and she didn't properly breathe until Bran and Janelle were both laying on the floor of the boat that saved them, panting heavily while they reached out to each other and held hands.

When she was done reading that entry, she looked up at her great grandfather, her eyes filled with joy as she softly said, “Thank you."

Aldrich smiled and bowed his head to her, looking invigorated by the joy that she had taken in it. “I knew that you were ready. We will now start working from the source material directly... not just my recounting of it to you. You are ready to hear the full tales, my dear."

Kestrel's heart nearly exploded at that, filled with pride at her great grandfather's words.

A few days later, the family gathered once more to hear the annual telling of the family legend. Everyone took their seats, knowing just where they were supposed to sit, with the youngest members of the family the furthest toward the front. None of the older members of the family had any sense that this year's telling would be any different from years past, and they were all sitting contentedly with their drinks, ready for Aldrich to share the old family tale.

They were... all rather surprised, though, when Aldrich came into the room and settled into an armchair that had been set up toward the back of the room. Before they could really ask and find out what was going on, Kestrel came into the room, walking straight to the head of the room. She was dressed the way that Janelle would have, in fine adventuring garb.

She looked out across the room, meeting the questioning eyes of the adults with pride and excitement. They'd all been aware that she'd rather become Aldrich's apprentice as the next expert on their ancestors, but none of them had ever really paid too much attention to that fact. Some of them looked uncomfortable at the way things were unfolding, but when they looked at Aldrich, he was as calm and confident, and so they decided to trust their elder.

Kestrel beamed at the children, remembering her first time hearing this story. She took a deep breath and began, “Now, children, this is an old family legend. It is a tale of our heritage, and one that none beyond our line would believe as anything more than a flight of fancy... a yarn spun by the older generations to entertain the children of the family. But I promise you that it is quite true and that we have the blood of heroes running in our veins."