Pavel closes his eyes, and remembers.
Pavel: My dad was a ferryman. He transported people and supplies around Salabay.
A memory of his father - the same man in the photograph in Vanna's laboratory. He walks away from the shoreline, Pavel's paddle resting on his shoulder, a bag at his hip. He smiles down at a very young Pavel, still with dark hair. His son holds a big fish they've just caught.
Pavel: When he married my mom, he became a deliveryman for the Lodestars. He didn't know anything about science, but he loved her and wanted to help.
Phaedra (offscreen): ...Loved? You mean...
Another memory. The bright blue water fades into a dark blue sky, with a crescent moon and stars.
Pavel: We were crossing the Ghostwater on a normal day trip, and a lighthouse flickered. The seaghosts got spooked, and they rushed the boat... I got thrown out.
Pavel, Vanna, and his father are in a small wooden boat, under the protection of a series of lanterns. The boat gets tossed upward by a swarm of seaghosts below, and one has leapt above the family, ready to strike. Pavel's parents watch in horror as a large shark seaghost clamps its teeth right around the neck, obscuring his whole head.
Pavel: My dad jumped out after me... grabbed me before I hit the water. And tossed me back. But he...
Vanna looks over the edge of the boat, screaming. She holds Pavel tightly in her arms, his hair already bright white. His body is limp. In the water, Pavel's father has already begun to disintegrate under his clothing - disappearing in a flash of white.
