The Water Nomads called it Ishana, it was one of the nine islands that their High Chief had claimed for them several days ago, to those onboard the floatilla the macinations of various governments around the world was a mystery all that Renten Chajon and his group of four boats knew was that Ishana was a place where you could stock up on fruit without having to venture far inland. Inland was were the evil was, it was a home to the spirits who wished to drag the harsh unforgiving rock from the life giving water. The boats stayed together as they headed through the calm crystal blue waters of the Alucard, no maps or charts just an ancient age old knowledge passed on from father to son, mother to daughter just as it had been for as long as anyone can remember.
As the floatilla rounded the headland it was there waiting for them a giant grey monster just sat there. Renten made the children get below deck as they sought to sail to the closest part of the bay. He and his brother Notsersh dropped the anchor and then untied the small kayak that was towed along by the boat similar work was being done on the other boats in the floatilla and soon the four kayaks were heading towards the shoreline, it was only when they were almost to shore that Renton produced a knife and pricking his thumb allowed some blood to drip into the Alucard an offering asking the spirits of the sea to protect them from those on land. As the men nervously began to splash onto the beach the buzz of a motor boat filled the air and a group of two inflatable assault ships zoomed in and up the beach. Six men jumped out of each one and hurried over to the group of Water Nomads who looked at the men as though they were the evil spirits they expected to find on land.
Over the next thirty minutes the men who were now surrounded by Bakkermayan Marines the women and children left behind on the boats were screaming and crying as the soldiers tried to communicate with the Water Nomad men on land in broken Morelandish, using a radio they even tried Paracambian but it was a hard process that went extremely slow. Eventually they understood that they were under arrest, the island belonged to Bakkermaya and without being citizens or having the right paperwork they would not be permitted to set foot on it. The men protested naturally, they had been coming here for hundreds, if not over a thousand years without problem. The men explained that they were aiming on collecting food and instead of being allowed to proceed the inflatable motor boats ferried them to the Frigate moored in the bay before returning to the floatilla and using ropes towing the boats over to the Frigate, with much crying, screaming and yelling the women and children along with the remaining men were escorted off and taken below deck. There they were given a meal while a man wearing a shirt and tie called Suoyei Ashaz, a 25 year old who had left the Water Nomads with his family when he was 13 years old. He was now a Bakkermayan citizen and had been recruited specially for this task. He was able to speak a dialect that these people understood so set about explaining what would happen as the Frigate began moving. As he spoke with the Water Nomads each of them were photographed and their finger prints taken.
"These island here" he showed the family a map while they didn't use them it still made sense to them, "they belong to tribes called Paracambi and Bakkermaya. That means you need their permission to enter them. If you try without permission then you will be stopped like you have been today. You can get permission by filling in these forms. I can help you if you like." he produced applications to become citizens of Bakkermaya and understood these people would be illiterate. For twenty minutes or so Souyei explained what all that meant, education for their children, health care, protection of law, a whole host of benefits.
"We can not tie ourselves to the land, the evil will find us" Renten explained on behalf of his little group. His followers nodded their agreement.
"I've lived on land for 12 years and the evil hasn't got me." He hoped to act as an example.
"But you are the evil" Renten said matter of factly. "A spirit of the deep that has betrayed the ocean instead turning to the evil of land. You are sent to try and turn us from the path of the seas and for that you can not be trusted." For another ten minutes Souyei tried to convince them but to no avail. Soon after Renten and his group were demanding to be allowed to leave and so were taken up onto deck. The island was now a tiny speck in the distance and the families boats had been towed along with them the Frigates crew helped everyone back onto their boats and Renten noticed a series of boxes on his deck.
"Those" Souyei began to explain, "are boxes of dried fruit and other things. You open the top" he picked one up and began to demonstrate by removing a dehydrated apricot from the packet. "You then just add some water" he placed it in the palm of his hand and poured some water on some of which was absorbed by the dried fruit. "Or you can just eat" he picked a new piece out of the foil pack and began eating it before offering Renten a piece, cautiously he tried it and the nod he gave his wife seemed to indicate that it was good.
"Thank you" Renten said before ignoring the Bakkermayans and checking the rest of his boat.
Souyei had one last thing to tell the Water Nomads, "The marks of your finger" he said gesturing to the ink on his own finger where he had shown them what to do. "We can use them to tell we have meet you before. Every Bakkermayan boat will know we have meet you. If we find you entering a Bakkermayan island without permission next time you will be taken to prison on the mainland." The Water Nomads looked around at each other nervously but nodded that they agreed and soon the Water Nomads and the Bakkermayan Frigate parted company.
