The murmur of the crowd softened into silence as all eyes turned toward the water.
Atop the slightly elevated viewing platform, Emperor Ares and Empress Adamantia sat with quiet anticipation, their gazes fixed forward, gleaming with curiosity. Luke stood behind them with his arms folded, watching it all unfold as if he were trying to will everything into perfection.
Now was the moment.
Elric stood tall on the main deck of Hope, his hand raised above his head for all to see. The man who once stumbled across these docks with a bottle in his grip and nothing but doubt in his lungs now stood proudly as the appointed captain of Virencia's first functional naval vessel. He turned back briefly to glance at his assembled crew—an odd mix of hesitant volunteers and reluctant returnees—but they stood ready, even if their nerves betrayed them.
"Cast off!" Elric barked, and the crew moved.
The ropes securing Hope to the dock were undone in fluid sequence, and the ship was free.
