A headline broke in the newly created Ten Seas Weekly, all thanks to the freshly introduced printing machine engineered by the co-owned organization led by Cauron Thorn and sponsored by the two Kings, Floyd Brymyn and Kauri Belvedere.
The greatest inventor of the era, Lord Cauron Thorn, had located a Ghostship after three years of research, and his title as Sea King was gifted to him only a few months later, on January 1st, 3004.
Krouneã, the same island that would later be renamed to Blackport Ridge, was granted to the man on the day of his coronation.
Soon after, the former monarch of the lands relinquished total control to the orange-haired King, who thus began to govern a territory of his own.
Yet, even after becoming a Sea King, he did not return to Nautilus immediately; instead, he continued his research into the Ghostships even further than before.
Some called him insane, even addicted to his work; however, he believed that some mysteries were worth the price they took to solve.
From the day after his coronation until November 40th, 3008, he hardly left Chrone Castle, only occasionally meeting with his fellow Kings to expand his research.
That all changed after Floyd Brymyn's sudden and horrific death caused by an accident during his mana core studies.
His body fried itself from the inside out, erasing him from the world before he could even understand what was happening.
As a King and a dear friend of Brymyn, Cauron attended his funeral wearing a dark orange suit and a black capelet.
Once again, he stood silently staring over a coffin; this time, however, there was no body, only the broken and charred remains of his sword.
Brymyn, you old fool…
The orange-haired man held his hand over his eyes to cover their puffiness, forced to consider his public image even under such tragic circumstances.
Taking slow and shallow breaths, he tossed a bouquet of chrysanthemums into the pit, watching the remainder of the dirt being shoveled onto their delicate petals.
The deceased King of Curses had no descendants or a direct heir, similar to Lord Drynch, whose place was filled by his cabin boy, Javier Flock.
Therefore, a new man by the name Smith Trensten was set to take up the mantle, the same man who now gazed over his predecessor's tomb with sparkling eyes.
Cauron walked up to his side, but did not pat him on the shoulder, his strange, almost joyous emotion sending warning signals all throughout his mind.
Walking alone with an eerie feeling within his heart, he headed towards Marcus Twynam, who watched from afar.
His hair had deepened slightly, a gray strip streaking the very right side of his long brown locks.
"You don't look a day over 18, my friend!"
They shook hands firmly, the King of Mystery quickly responding to the man's jest.
"And you don't look a day over 40."
Both men continued the banter as they moved on towards the edge of the funeral ceremony, their talk about the future long and serious.
Only after the sun had set and the guests had retreated to their lodgings did they meet up with others.
"Cauron, I'd like to introduce you to my wife Anna."
Marcus stretched out his hand towards a black-haired woman who bowed her head respectfully, a small child in her arms, and an 8-year-old hiding behind her skirt.
Slowly, the King kneeled to the grassy floor and lifted the normal glasses that he wore instead of his artifacted ones just for this occasion.
"You don't seem to remember me, Julius. How could anyone forget their grand uncle Thorn?"
Tossing the glasses towards the child with a smile, he watched as the young one scanned them with studious eyes, his smarts obviously not inherited from Marcus.
Anna looked down at the man in surprise, then to her husband, who laughed while taking their second son into his own arms.
Cauron soon stood, gazing over the 2-year-old son of his oldest friend.
"That must be Rand."
Moving his finger in front of the baby's face, he watched as the boy followed its movement with great concentration, another sign of high intelligence.
The brown-haired father seemed delighted as he showed off his children, a beaming expression on his face.
"Just you wait, Cauron! One day they'll study under your father in the Library of Nautilus!"
There was a pause and a sudden drop in air temperature, the orange-haired man's face paling significantly.
Marcus, seemingly aware of the slip-up, covered his mouth, his brow furrowing downward, clearly annoyed at himself.
He had brought up a topic he knew was a sore spot for Cauron, the words he had spoken only weeks after officially becoming one of the five Sea Kings still resounding in his head.
"I don't know what to do, Marcus… He sent me a letter telling me to never return to his library after making a contract with Life, yet he won't tell me what I've done wrong!"
Grinding his teeth, Marcus passed Rand back to his wife, picking up Julius from the ground and taking the glasses from his hand.
Placing them down on the grass, he whispered something to his wife, who soon walked away.
"We'll talk again soon. I promise."
While his friend followed the black-haired woman into the distance, Cauron Thorn was left alone with his thoughts as he remembered his patron's words.
Taking a steadying breath, he bent down, picking up the glasses and placing them back into his pocket.
Deciding to remain without a pair on his face for the remainder of the day, he prepared to depart, the flaming sails of the Ghostship in the distance calling his name.
"W-wait!"
A voice broke his train of thought, causing him to swivel his head faster than he thought possible.
"P-please Lord Thorn! You must help me!"
Clinging to the back of his cape, an unknown woman in a very late stage of pregnancy sobbed while speaking in the language of the old Sea of Mystery, Kroãnãn.
"M-my child is dying, my lord! H-he needs your powers to save him!"
The sheer rawness of her emotion startled the King, who, when observing her with the Emblem of Sphinx, immediately noticed the abnormality.
That child is long since past the point of no return... I cannot do anything to help it.
Exhaling hard and preparing to let the woman down and leave, he heard a serene voice echo through his mind.
"『Help her, my child.』"
It was the goddess, her chiding making the man grimace as he looked down at the begging woman.
What do you wish for me to do? The child needed assistance months ago, and there is nothing that I can do to help it now…
Biting his lip and waiting for a response, he felt a stream of warmth spread through his index finger, which flared up with a sudden burst of Divine Interference.
"『Don't give up without even trying, my child. While Death may claim the souls that I cannot keep, if there is a lingering spirit clinging to the world, then he is powerless to take them.』"
Cauron's eyebrows raised slowly as he hurried to place his artifacted glasses over his eyes, the sight before him shocking him.
I-It's…
Sure enough, while the nearly dead fetus rested inside the womb, a spirit similarly clung to the form, begging to be let back in.
Then if what she says is true…
He stretched his finger out, touching the woman's abdomen gently while covering her with the Divine Interference.
Instantly, a flash of orange light shot out, soaking everywhere within one hundred meters in its overwhelming radiance.
When it subsided, the woman looked up at him with pure joy, her eyes watering profusely.
"T-thank you, Lord Thorn! Y-you are a saint!"
She stumbled over her broken Nordic, the tinges of Kroãnãn coming through even as she exuded glee.
Patting her on the shoulders, the orange-haired Sea King smiled, hearing her voice come out one last time.
"I-I'll name my firstborn after you, my lord! It is only right!"
Cauron paled like a ghost, his stress skyrocketing faster than he could control.
Eh… Isn't that too much?
Unsure of what to do, he recalled all the history books he had read as a child, digging for any way to get himself out of the situation.
"How about you name him…"
Remembering a certain King from the tenth century who had fascinated him when he was but a teen, he spoke proudly.
"Don. That's a good name."
The woman smiled happily as if she was truly honored by Cauron bestowing the name.
"If that is what the lord wishes, then it shall be done!"
…
Another 19 years went by in a flash, the death of Kauri Belvedere ending the age of the original Sea Kings, and a new generation emerging to carry on their duties.
After the King of Wishes' death in 3015, Cauron Thorn, the last remnant of the bygone era, stayed cooped up in his castle, and nobody had heard from him until July 1st, 3027.
However, to usher in this new age, Javier Flock, Smith Trensten, and Alder Belvedere agreed to create an organization known as the Oceanic Association.
As the founders, they created a committee solely for the Sea Kings, dubbed the Council of Kings, one that would conduct meetings in an alternating major city every year.
Year after year, they begged the lone immortal to attend, an offer that he continuously declined out of irritation.
A day away from his research could cause unparalled damages to the world, a reason that would keep him from attending for nearly a decade after the first meeting in 3016.
In 3027, the Magician, a figure without a clear motive, appeared in Sea Fallen, finishing the Great Sea Wall, leaving knowledge about emblems, and then vanishing without another word.
That same year, the orange-haired man finally accepted the proposed entry into the Association, and thus all four active Kings finally came together in unison.
With the eleventh Conference of Kings being held mid 3027 in the now finished super-capital of Sea Fallen, Cauron Thorn, for the first time since his friend's deaths, left the Sea of Mystery to attend.