Scout’s Rest

Final Resting Place on the Sea

Oh hear ye weary sailors,
Washed in the salt of the sea,
Keep close a healthy fear,
Of the sharp and ragged Teeth.
Keep eye on the horizon,
And prow above the waves,
Else find your place with others,
In the water's damned graves

.

— Scout's Rest, Writer Unknown

Above the ragged waves rises a ghostly visage through the fog that blankets the waters late in the night. At first, it's just a lone spire, reaching toward the waning moon, a sentinel upon the water where nothing else can be found. As the tide moves out, more of the pearlescent figure is revealed, a crow's nest, a prow, a raging Dragon's snarl leading the ship into the moonlight. The light-colored wood, originating in the Little Greenwood, glows ethereally beneath the high moon. In the raging waves near the Teeth of the North, this visage of pale white is not uncommon. A once-great ship rests as wreckage, bringing forth stories of undead pirates and ghostly figures dancing along the shores of Vóreios.
Even those that claim to be veterans of the sea fear the Teeth and give reverence and a wide berth to the skeletons of once beautiful and mighty ships. Wooden Dragon heads rear above the rabid waves, their use stripped away, the luck they were meant to bring washed away like sand beneath the sea. No man wishes to join the fleet of Scout's Rest, but the thought is ever-present as they sail near the Teeth, watching the Dragon heads on their own prows awash in the salty spray.

History

No one is quite sure when the term Scout's Rest first came into use, but as long as the people of Isekai have sailed along the northern shores of Vóreios, so have ships and their crews come to lay in the cold waters until the end of days. The Teeth of the North is one of the most dangerous areas of the world, claiming more lives than succeed, but it is a necessary place of travel for many trade routes as the Veins of the North are rarely wide enough for sea-faring vessels.
The reality of Scout's Rest and the deaths that occur in these waters have brought superstitions and traditions that keep safety at the forefront of sailors' minds. Vertixico is one such story and tradition that keeps reality close at hand while also giving these men and women a moment of reprieve from their dark thoughts. The skeletal remains of ships and the shanties they sing are all reminders that for as long as there have been sailors in the world, so too have there been deaths upon the sea.

Scout's Rest

Scout's Rest by Image via Midjourney, created by Riverfang

The name Scout's Rest is given to ships of any kingdom or empire that have met their end near the cliffs of the Teeth of the North. The jagged cliffs are incredibly dangerous for ships and giving those that have perished along these cliffs this designation is seen as giving the ships a sea-worthy burial.

Status

On Final Patrol (Wrecked)

Location

Near the Teeth of the North

Nickname

Graveyard of Ships, Fleet of the Damned