Prophet Lebioda (ship)

Prophet Lebioda (ship)

"Do you really wish to know?" — Spoilers from the books and/or adaptations to follow!

Prophet Lebioda was a modern cutter of Koviran type, having been built in Novigrad and launched in 1244, originally under the name Melusine. It was purchased by Kevenard van Vliet and remaned in order to curry favor of Novigrad's clergy.

Appearance

The ship was sixty-four feet long, the total sail area was 3300 feet. It was single masted, with a gaff mainsail at the back, a headsail and two jibs on the forestays.

The original figurehead depicted a melusine and was later changed to one depicting Prophet Lebioda. Flag on the flagstaff depicted a glove, van Vliet's tanning company's emblem.

History

On 10 July 1245, it was stationed in Wiaterna, where Kevenard and several men, including the ship's captain, Pudlorak, were getting ready to sail to Novigrad to get rid of an aguara's child, as it was the wrong one they'd tried to rescue. By happy chance, Geralt was passing through in need of a ride to Novigrad, along with his companion Addarion Bach. The ship's crew withheld crucial information though from the witcher, only telling him they needed his help and in return would sail him and Addario to Redania and would explain more once they set sail.

Geralt soon learned of the aguara's child on board and tried several times to tell them to stop and free the child, as no doubt its "mother" was following them. They originally tried to stop him but eventually decided to listen to the witcher, but it was too late and one of the crew members, out of drunkenness, had killed her. To make matters worse, the aguara had indeed caught up with the ship but couldn't get to them as she was on land. Just as the crew thought they were relatively safe, a sudden storm hit out of nowhere, causing them to lose sight of land from the downpour and get turned around. When it finally let up, they found themselves in a nightmarish swamp, with snakes hanging from trees, the aguara following on the other bank, and many other monstrosities lurking in the waters being supplemented with powerful illusions by the aguara to further confuse and scare the crew.

After escaping one route, the aguara then bewitched a vodyanoy to attack the ship and tear off a chunk of the rudder, effectively making steering more difficult. Just as the men could see the actual main river and out of the swamps, the ship passed close to the aguara's side and she jumped on board. However, Geralt stated he'd fight her if she attacked the remaining crew so she took her dead child, but not before telling the witcher she'd one day re-appear to deal with him for standing in her way. The ship though couldn't be steered well and the remaining crew, wanting out of the hellish swamp, jumped off, believing to see a nice settlement further ahead. However, this was an illusion that hid a monster's nest. Geralt, Addario, and Kevenard then got into the ship's only boat to disembark the ill-fated ship, but Pudlorak refused to abandon the ship and decided he'd either see her to port or go down with her before disappearing down a smaller river, the last time anyone saw the ship for over a hundred years.

It's likely the captain didn't survive, either from the shipwreck or the nightmares of the marsh, as nobody for over a hundred years knew what became of the ship to the point it fell into legend. Many surmised it was a ghost ship, prowling the waters with a ghost crew as a sign of misfortune, while others believed it had treasure aboard. It wasn't until around 1372 that the ship was finally discovered, having shipwrecked in Rivermouth, a dried out riverbed overgrown with weeds. However, due to its name, it was confiscated by priests who considered it a holy relic.

Notes

• It's also featured in the The Witcher: Fox Children. However, unlike the books, it isn't a sloop.

Gallery

Ship's figurehead representing Lebioda