[ WP ] You 're part of a community that lives on an island , no other land mass is in sight . When a crime is committed , the person responsible has to 'go find more land ' to redeem their honour . No one has yet to return . You 've just been caught stealing .

I froze as the barked command to stop silenced the hubbub of the market, my feet crunched in the sand of the beach as I tensed. The hand I kept hidden in my pocket held a small fruit, a bitter and unpleasant thing but supposedly it contained ‘ vital nutrients ’ or whatever that is supposed to mean, but nonetheless it was a fruit that I had not paid for. You can ’ t grow up here on Valahawn Isle without knowing the punishment for any crime. Since time immemorial, since the days of the first king it has been this way. 
 
 Heads began to turn to look at the man who had shouted and I felt mine do the same regardless of my instinct screaming to run. Standing head and shoulders above the crowd assembled for the market and framed by the endless blue of the ocean meeting the horizon was a man. He was imposing, bearing the dark skin of all us island folk but standing there in the sun, his naked torso revealed a mottled pale birthmark spreading out from his heart like a splash, the barbs of a slickfish artfully pierced his ears. His burning dark eyes locked with mine and I knew then and there that I should ’ ve run, that I should ’ ve done anything to avoid looking at those smouldering pits that seemed to radiate hate. Numbly I tried to push through the throng but my pursuer was larger than I and the market-goers parted easily for him either in fear of being trampled or respect. It didn ’ t take more than a few moments for him to catch up to me and yank my hand out of my pocket. There were a few quiet, confused murmurs until the owner of the fruit stand called out in dismay, realising that I had taken one of his produce. Then gasps began, the gravity of the moment sinking in. 
 
 I had committed a crime. To redeem my honour, I would be sentenced to ‘ go seek new lands ’. Banished from the island to the endless ocean. During my life only four crimes have been committed, and it ’ s always a big deal. The whole island gathers to send off the offender, it ’ s really quite an emotional time, as ever since the days of the first king none have ever returned. The law, or the king, didn ’ t care about the scale of the crime, the punishment was always uniform. 
 
 The next few hours and then days of my life became a blur of shame, regret and something that might have been a preparation for finality. I was hauled before the king by the big man who was witness to my crime, who I managed to pick up through the shock was a guard stationed at the market by the king named Dhuren, word was sent out to the various small villages across the island to prepare for a Sending. For a pair of days I was kept under the lock and key, the single cell that existed on Valahawn Isle until I was released and a pair of women stripped me of my clothes with no shred of hesitancy and began to redress me in the ceremonial Sending garb. The complex twists of cloth and knots of string were archaic and as they were rarely required only a few still maintained the art, unaided I would ’ ve been unable to properly dress myself. They were swiftly done and the witness to my crime, Dhuren, collected me. 
 
 Together we walked in silence, his looming presence behind me, the bone spikes through his ears give his shadow ’ s head a menacing look, as if I was being followed by one of the gulrua shades of the stories my mother used to tell me. It only took a few hours to reach the edge of the island although I already knew what to expect. Sombre faces, judgemental disapproval, pity. 
 
 I hardly listened to the king as he droned out the typical speech of how peace is sacred and the law is here only to serve us and any who undermine it also undermine us and on and on. Instead I looked out on the sea, the light of the afternoon sun only obscured by a few listless clouds. I gazed upon the horizon, at that distant point where the sky and the sea kiss. All too quickly I was snapped from my reverie as the populace of the island bid me farewell, with waves and hugs and tears. It was all surreal, distant. What can you say to the people you will never see again? Have a great life? Remember me? It all seems kind of hollow. 
 
 Dhuren pushed me towards the bottom of the beach where the water gently lapped back and forth, resting atop the bobbing surface was a small vessel, a boat with a sail hardly long enough to lie down in. Within the craft were a spear, a net, some skins of water and a double headed oar. It was all the supplies given to one who commits a crime and is sent on the search, enough to survive with, if you ’ re smart. Dhuren shoved me and I stumbled into the ocean and an involuntary shiver took me as the warm water touch my bare feet. I climbed into my boat and without looking back took up the oar and began to paddle. I was shaky at first but my confidence grew and I began to carve my paddles through the water sending myself onwards. Unprompted a smile spread across my face. I may have been sentenced to what may as well be death, but at least I am free, at least I am risking my life to find something new rather than just enjoy what I already had. 
 
 I refused to look behind me, to confirm that the celebration had indeed begun. Following a Sending ceremony there is always a big celebration, songs are sung and stories told, liquor drunk and fires leapt. I don ’ t want to see that, I keep my eyes forward on the horizon. I risked glancing over the edge of my boat and find that I can ’ t take my eyes away from the deepness of that blue-black abyss. Having grown up on an island, this is the deepest water I have ever seen and the thought of all the life existing beneath me stills my relentless paddling and for a little while I simple appreciate how little my theft matters in comparison to the scale of life existing around me. 
 
 I paddled my little ship until long after the sun descended, consumed by its own reflection before winking out. I paddled until my arms ached from the exertion and I was forced to curl up on the floor of my miniature island. I slept fitfully, plagued by nightmarish visions of beasts rising from the deep wearing Dhuren ’ s face, the barbs through his ears grown to unrealistic portions to frame his face like a horrifying mane. I am confronted by myself in this dream, standing asking wondering why I would take such a meaningless piece of fruit, my tears and screams meet nothing but echoes and laughter. 
 
 I start awake and the boat rocked dangerously, the sound of water all around me reminded me of yesterday ’ s events. Slowly I eased myself up after allowing the boat time to calm its rocking, I stretched as I look around me, taking in the horizon. I stopped as my eyes pass over what was clearly land. I looked behind me instinctively to check if I could see Valahawn Isle but the dusty yellow glow of the sand and the low green shrubs were nowhere to be seen. I turned back to the land and absorbed it, I could sense my mind going blank at the size of it. Stone and grass and huge trees and smoke and more of anything than I ’ d ever seen in one place stretch out in front of me. 
 
 I gripped my oar and began to paddle my ship forwards, each stroke bringing me closer to the land ahead. The closer I got the more details I could see, specks of light from fires and maybe homes. As I drew even nearer sounds drifted over to me, the songs of work and love, the sounds of companionship and camaraderie. Soon, the land was so close that I could practically touch it and on the shore I could see a gathering forming, people in beautiful clothes and welcoming smiles. When my ship finally bumped against the land those waiting for me gracefully stepped down and gently lifted me out and up onto the solid ground. They brought me to their town, a place that in of itself was probably larger than all of the settlements on Valahawn put together and there they fed and bathed and cared for me. They explained that all those who had come from across the ocean were wise leaders capable of mighty deeds. They told me that this town existed to await the arrival of these gurus and that I must be the next one. They warned me that if the words of my forebear gurus are true then I will become assailed by visions of some variety and it is in pondering these visions I shall unravel enlightenment. 
 
 I didn ’ t even look over my shoulder at the ocean when we set off on my pilgrimage, there was no doubt in my mind why no-one ever returned to Valahawn Isle to redeem their honour. 

