[b]Two weeks earlier:[/b]

The rumble of cannon fire, the sharp sound of splintering wood, These sounds awoke Kai from a deep slumber, he toppled out of his bed and immediately leaped to his feet. However, the second he righted himself, all the sounds seemed to vanish without a trace. Kai let out a sigh of relief and frustration, it had only been a nightmare… No a memory, but the same one he’d had on many occasions previously. His mighty Leviathan, torn to shreds and bombarded with cannons after she and her crew had sailed through a hurricane.

He dressed himself and proceeded out of the room into a dark hallway. He’d spent the night in the tavern he’d visited last, a small little pub known as the Crimson Dragon. Kai walked lazily down the hallway and down the stairs into the main attraction of the building, the bar. After seating himself at his usual spot at the end and looked up at the barmaid. This particular bar was where Kai inevitably returned to after some time, the maid here known as Roxanne knew precisely what he wanted without him needing to say a single word. “Drinking already? You must have had the dream again.” She said to the pirate as she began to fill a mug with his favorite ale. All Kai did was nod as he was handed the glass and downed in mere seconds and handed it back for a refill. “Aye” he responded after several moments of silence.

Before too long the pub had once again filled with it’s usual crowd. The shouts of “He’s a bloody cheater!” and “Who’ll buy a sailor a drink?” soon filled the tavern, generally nothing Kai hadn’t seen before. That is, until his would be captain Runali happened to wander in. The young pirate was talking about how she was getting together a crew to travel with her. Somewhere during the conversation she managed to offend one of the more aggressive patrons. The man had walked up to her and started to threaten her, she made some sort of smart remark. A moment later the man drew his sword and swung it down upon the girl.

A clash of steel, and a shower of sparks ensued. Kai had moved faster than he remembered he could, in an instant he had crossed the room, drawn his swords and blocked the man’s attack. He quickly dispatched the attacker and checked to make sure the girl was unwounded. Why had he protected this young woman? What was it about her that had made him leap across the room to come to her aid… Then it hit him, she had to be about the same age he’d been when he started his crew. Yes, she was exactly as “The Leviathan” Kai Keelson had been before his rise to power. Then and there he asked to join her crew in the hopes that he could prevent the same tragedy that happened to him from reoccurring with this girl.

[b]Present day:[/b]

Kai was stationed just outside the tavern, his foot against the stone wall behind him and his hat tiled in such a way that it cast a shadow over his eyes. He’d been traveling with this new crew The StarDusk Pirates for a good two weeks now. For the most part, things had been good, not really all that interesting to be honest, they’d visited some towns, made some money stealing, but other than that not much stood out.

All was not fun and games however, as a good number of the crew didn’t seem to trust him, apparently thinking he desired the position of captain even though he’d sworn his swords to Runali, that his blades might cut down her foes. This didn’t bother Kai very much though, he didn’t care much what the rest of the crew thought. As long as Runali knew that she could depend on him to be at her back, that was all that mattered to the salty old pirate.

He was snapped out of his daze when the sound of fighting erupted from behind him in the bar. He turned about swiftly, gazing through the window, his eyes scanned the room for a moment but settled on Runali sitting at the bar. He relaxed against the wall once again, if she called for him he would be in the bar in a matter of seconds. Until then he would remain here until either his captain decided it was time to leave, or she called him inside to “Tidy up”

He rested his hand upon the hilt of his ruby encrusted sword, not in a threatening manner, but simply because having them in his hands gave him something to hold onto, which put his mind at ease for the most part. He continued to listen intently for any signs that Runali wanted his assistance. He continued to wait patiently for his captain.