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Over the next few months, you end up sailing with a ship called the <span class="mu-s">Sweaty</span>, and for good reason. It's a compact medium sized ship, specifically crewed by many expert fisherman. The ship sails the ocean in great circuits, docking and resupplying when it can, while catching its own fish- though their main goal is hunting <span class="mu-s">whales</span> and other rare sea creatures- who are incredibly valuable.
For a time, you are the smallest and least skilled sailor on the ship, so you try to keep out of the way. You're intrigued by the diet of these sailors, much heavier then your own with their fish meat and boiled fish skins, though you realize soon how boney the black skinned, translucent deep-sea fish that make up the black seas really are and how little you can get from them. Plus, the danger involved in tangling with any sea creature makes the voyage exciting, though a bit intimidating.
You felt as though you were utterly alone on the ship, and failing in your duties, until a crewmate named <span class="mu-s">Bones</span> becomes your close friend, and helps you learn some of the ropes. You learn all about tying sailor knots, catching fish, moving the sails with the wind, and all kinds of new inventive language. You were so taken aback you actually blushed to it, much to the amusement of Bones and the other crewmembers.
<span class="mu-r">"...Hey Bones, you're from Good Teeth island, right? Why does everyone from there have such good teeth anyway?"</span>
"Oh, it's because our momma's put a lot of fuckin' water in the Saltcakes. Keeps your teeth nice and hydrated and no-chippies."
<span class="mu-g">"Hmm. I heard it was all the fish they eat."</span>
<span class="mu-r">"Oh the fishing is good too-"</span> He quickly adds, <span class="mu-r">"But that's more on the northern side."</span>
More interestingly, you didn't realize people on boats were so <span class="mu-i">weirdly religious</span>. The Sailors on the Black Ocean take the Deaths, the new Gods of the world, very seriously. The most common faith in the ocean is the <span class="mu-i">faith of the holy wrath</span>, which teaches that mankind's existence in this world is a just punishment. And that this life is hardship for the next one. You gather in the hold for a ceremony every week- preceded over by your venerable <span class="mu-i">Captain Ahab</span>.