Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 629 - 629 628 The Displaceds Curse

?Chapter 629: Chapter 628: The Displaced’s “Curse Chapter 629: Chapter 628: The Displaced’s “Curse In the age of sailing warships a century ago, the shipbuilding craftsmen of each City-State followed one rule when working on the keel—they had to cut a piece of timber from the raw wood material.

They would treat this piece of wood in the same way as the keel, through carbonization, steeping in medicine, and oiling, and they would place it together with the unfinished ship on the shipyard. However, once the ship was completed, this piece of “Keel Timber” would be left in the shipyard and permanently preserved on land—usually, the ship owners would also pay extra money to have the priests of the City-State regularly bless the timber, or they would simply send it to the church for safekeeping and supervision.

At first, the practice of preserving the “keel sample” was part of a quality standard for ship owners to verify the selection and initial processing of the keel to meet the technical requirements of a ship. But later, it became a symbol of praying for safety—
People believed that ships had souls, and the keel left on land would bring good luck to ships out at sea. It would act as a lighthouse, helping lost ships find their way back to the coast. The blessings that the clergy applied to the Keel Timber could also come upon the ships out at sea. And, if a misfortune really occurred—the keel left ashore would transform into a small ferry in the world of the dead, carrying the sailors’ souls back home.

In the past, when a ship was confirmed lost, the Death Priests would even take out its Keel Timber left on shore and hold a “funeral.” The families of the crew treated this piece of wood in the same way they would have treated the bodies of their loved ones, and watched as it was sent into the crematorium.

Agatha, once out of interest, had described in detail to Duncan the scene of the Death Priests “sending off” the keel sample a hundred years ago.

In fact, this custom is still preserved to this day, albeit not always in choosing to keep the ship’s keel sample. Nowadays, many young captains prefer to keep parts of the pipelines cut during the installation of steam cores, preserved in shipyards or churches.

Duncan quietly stared at the piece of timber in the box.

The Homeloss was a ship built a hundred years ago—no matter how unique it had become today, it was constructed in the shipyard according to the same standards and practices as other ships.

A hundred years ago, the craftsmen had preserved its keel sample.

It wasn’t the ancient god’s spine that it is today, but the original one that Duncan Ebnomal had found in the mists near the border… the “little twig.”

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