A Series of Books for the Queen of the Sea

The sun was already well up in the east, telling the beginnings of a hot day to come. A faint breeze blew from the palm trees toward the water, a slight movement of air, cooled by palm leaves and still-evaporating water from the soggy sand, seducing the unwary into a belief that a cool breeze might persist, it wouldn't. By ten o'clock, the air would be as calm as the water in the lagoon, a glassy mirror, reflecting the sky.

Twelve well rested souls gathered on the beach, some yawning, others stopping at the water's edge to splash a little on a sleepy face. They had worked hard the day before and all had slept well. And now, to start a new day.