Gladiverserac Presapornaweev was a magnificent creature. She was on the verge of young adulthood and proudly dedicated to the mission of her family.

She was an albatross, with soft white and brown plumage and a wingspan of nearly twelve feet. This day, she was soaring high among the clouds above Xenoth as she had done almost every day since she was old enough to fly.

She lived with her parents on a rocky lump of an island, called Pisis, located about ten miles north of Xenoth in the turbulent Northern Ocean. Her father, Protasgosarac and mother, Femeldenarus had raised her as their parents had raised them, dedicated to the task of saving seafarers. This charge had been passed to them by the wizards of old, who had first created the mystical shield surrounding Xenoth.

The wizards knew that turning Xenoth into an island prison was a questionable choice and that the innocent would suffer, but they had no answer to containing the Deev, whom they feared more than the guilt they suffered at knowing the pain they created for innocent residents and castaways.

To minimize the injustice of the shield, they enlisted the aid of Gladiverserac's ancestors to patrol the seas around Xenoth and warn those sailors who were unwittingly drifting towards the invisible wall. They were given the ability to see the shield. What was invisible to most, appeared to the albatrosses to be a translucent lime green surface.

For over five hundred years, the Presapornaweevs saved mariners from accidental imprisonment on the forbidden island. Tens of thousands had been warned and thousands saved. The albatrosses were beloved by the sailors of the north. Fisherbeasts always reserved a portion of their catch for the albatrosses in gratitude and payment for their vigilance.

This day, there were few boats in the vicinity of Xenoth and Gladiverserac glided lazily along the eastern shore, riding the thermal currents and enjoying the feeling of the wind caressing her feathers. At about the same time that the sun reached its zenith, the albatross spotted her first ship close enough to the forbidden island to warrant special attention. It was a difficult vessel not to notice as it was painted a painfully bright shade of orange. The albatross circled high overhead determining whether the boat was continuing in the direction of Xenoth. It was. Gladiverserac slowly spiraled downward to give her warning.

Onboard the Vengeance, Thoris laid on his back on the verge of sleep, enjoying the mixture of noontime sun and sea spray. He noticed a bird circling high above. At first he thought it was a gull, but as it came closer it became apparent that it was too large. He revised his guess to an osprey or pelican, but again , the closer it got, the larger. He became nervous now, having never seen an albatross, or any bird that large. He called out to Orange Willum.
"There theemth to be a giant theagull headed our way!" the weasel called out.

Willum looked up and smiled.
"No need to fear me 'earty, that'll be me pal Gladis, comin' to warn us off," He laughed heartily, "I wouldn't be callin'  'er no seagull though."

Gladiverserac was now in a low spiral above the boat and making what appeared to be a final approach to land. Thoris was standing next to Willum now and noted the birds large size.

Willum chuckled again. "Aye, she's an albatross, great fliers, but now would be a good time to warn ye....dreadful landers they be. If'n I were you, I'd get ot of the way."

Thoris stood to one side and glanced to the rear of the ship, where he saw Chumley snoozing peacefully amidships.
"Chumley!" he shouted, "Get up!"

Chumley woke with a start and let out a long yawn while stretching his arms above his head. He rubbed his eyes and looked up just in time to see a massive feathered body hurling in his direction.

Albatrosses are not embarrassed by their landings on hard surfaces, they aren't designed for them. They land quite satisfactorily on water, and that is what they do most. Their hard ground landings are often quite acrobatic, involving tumbles, flips and rolls, and like snowflakes, no two are quite the same.

Gladiverserac made her final approach just as Chumley saw her. His eyes widened in surprise. She touched down on the foremost portion of the deck and, for a brief moment, it appeared that it would be an uneventful landing. She ran forward and tried to slow, at which point her weight and momentum caused her to fall forward and begin to roll like a massive feathered marble. Unfortunately for Chumley Bilgespike, he was directly in her path. She bowled into him and sent the rat sprawling. He became entwined in her wings and the two creatures rolled down the deck until coming to rest near the rear of the boat.

Thoris rushed over to see if everyone was all right. As he reached the pair, Gladiverserac began laughing loudly and merrily.

"A fine landing have I performed. Fun was it to me!" she cackled.

A muffled voice called out from under the albatross.
"Not that much fun to me, was it? Could ya be good enough to get your bum off me poor head, if it ain't too much trouble?"

Gladiverserac turned her head and pivoted it to where Chumley's snout was visible under her body. She rose gently.
"Thank thee for slowing me, sir. An apology to you is owed, therefore, sorry I am for any injury to you I have caused," she said sincerely.

Chumley rose, smiling despite himself. Thoris and Willum were, by this time, laughing uncontrollably. Chumley glared at them.
"Fine pair of pals you are, ain't ya. Villains! Takin' joy in the pain of a fellow beast," he smiled, "don't think I'm gonna forget this, no, not I, I ain't." Collecting himself and brushing himself off, the rat turned toward the albatross and bowed, "Chumley Bilgespike, at your service. Don't fret about knockin' me down, been done before, 'asn't it?"

"Gladiverserac of the Presapornaweev nest am I, Sir Bilgespike."

"Quite a few letters in that name, darlin'."

Willum cut in.
"We calls her Gladis for short, my poor old brain can't do no better. How are you Gladis?"

"Fine am I, Sir Willum, and thou?"

"Older, but ain't we all?"

"Stands to reason, that would," she turned to Thoris, "and thou art?"

"Thorith, just Thorith, mith Gladith."

"A fine name, Sir Thoris the Just."

Chumley laughed.
"Ah guess we've all been knighted, ain't we? Come on Lady Gladis join us for some lunch."

"An excellent suggestion, peckish indeed I am."

Thoris had  never  seen any creature consume as much food in one  sitting as  Gladiverserac. A  dozen fair sized fish, heads and all, a gallon or so  of a variety of  seaweeds, and to top it off about a  pound of hardtack, which the  albatross used to sop up the seaweed  juices. When the meal was finished, the three beasts sat on the  bulwark and Gladiverserac faced them, having made herself comfortable  on top of the capstan. She  craned her neck from side to side.
"Sir Willum, the dangers of  these waters  you well know and need not the warnings of this humble  bird to inform you. Yet here you sail?"

Willum smiled.
"Well, Gladis, me darlin', me pals here...," he pointed towards Thoris and Chumley, "has lost their mates at sea, we reckon they was    washed up or run aground somewhere along the Xenoth coast. We're just tryin' ta see if'n they're still breathin'. Me pals figger they are, so I'm runnin' 'em up to Farewell Ridge."

The albatross nodded slowly.
"A sad place that is. Many tears there have been shed, Sir Willum."

"Aye Gladis, sad indeed," Willum looked over towards Thoris and Chumley and could see the curiosity on their faces, "Farewell Ridge is a    thin strip of land, probably the top of a reef. She runs from Xenoth out inta da sea, right through da shield. Ya can stand on one side and talk to somebody on da inside. Long as ya don't cross through, yer safe.  

"When Fisherbeasts  or sailors get lost at sea near Xenoth, dere families, hopin' dey ain't  dead, make for da ridge so dey can say goodbye.

"It's a long  trip in treacherous waters,  but  they does it anyway, hopin' to see dere loved ones. Most don't, the sea  don't give up her prizes easy, but some, what made it to shore  can  find out about the ridge. Dey wait and  sometimes dey get da  chance to  say farewell."

"So thath where we're headed?" Thoris asked.

"Aye," Willum answered, "it's our best hope, deres always beasts there, waitin', someone mighta seen your pals."

"Yeah, makes good sense, don't it?" Chumley interjected, " 'Ow long is gonna take, Willy?"

The orange cat looked up at his sail to check the wind.
"If'n dis breeze keeps, I reckon we should make the ridge afore dark."

Gladis preened her feathers and then turned toward Willum.
"May I impose myself upon thee and accompany you? Too full am I from my repast and sleepiness intrudes itself upon me."

Orange Willum chortled.
"Catch yerself twenty winks, me dearie, yer always welcome on any ship of mine."

Gladis would probably have answered with a polite 'thank you' were it not for the fact that she had fallen asleep and was already  snoring peaceably.