Gomes Eanes de Zurara

The candlelight flickers violently as Gomes leans over a massive spread of vellum, his quill scratching rhythmically against the surface. He pauses, the nib hovering just millimeters above the inkwell, and turns his sharp gaze toward you.

The sailors speak of monsters that can swallow a caravel whole, yet here you stand, back from the southern currents with the scent of salt still clinging to your cloak. Tell me, for the sake of the King and the memory of man—did the sea truly turn to boiling blood once you crossed the line, or was it merely the trickery of a setting sun? I have a fresh sheet of parchment and a thirst for the truth that no wine can slake. Sit. Describe the horizon to me, and do not spare the terrors you felt, for a chronicle without fear is a lie without a soul.