[hider=Pirates of the Summer Sea] Arianna’s Catamaran sailed gracefully over the sea, flanked on either side by two other Catamarans. Arriana stood atop the quarterdeck, guiding the ship towards its destination. The wind was on their side today, and they were making good progress towards the capital. Her hair was tangled and messy while her clothes were damn from seawater, and she loved it. This was her true self and here amongst the waves, she felt both free and totally in control. Her crew was setting about their tasks below, several of them were mages, though she knew in their hearts they were sailors before all else. Dyril reflected on the last week they spent at the Summer Isles. Arianna kept true to her word, showing Dyril the sights on the small island cradled in the sea. She couldn't push away the sights introduced to her. Her lips curled into a smile upon remembering student mages doing daily practices. She favored the teacher's more advanced displays of magic, accepting in a bitter way she could never obtain such a gift. One had to be born with it. Except for the absence of slavery, the Summer Isles could've been part of Beilokias’ adjoined lands to her. At least, those she had read in her books. The mages bent magic and nature to their whims. Shortly into the tour, Dyril found herself feeling strange. None of the taboos of her culture existed there. No one shot her a judgmental expression or frowned when their paths crossed. The sense of being an equal held a surreal sensation embedded in her core even after they started to departing once again. Realizing she had become distracted, Dyril snapped herself from her memories and finished her current task. She scratched out the last sentence. Placing the quill to the side, she took one last glance onto her written notes. Blood magic. The very words brought a sour taste to the back of her throat. Her mind recalled the historic body count and recorded effects over their victims. While powerful, it required a dangerously high price. So high, even her birth land had forbidden use of it. Even for academic purposes. With careful hands, Dyril rolled the parchment up and sealed it into a cylinder container. She placed within Arianna's things before she stood upright. Her feet carried her to the upper deck where Arianna continued to man the crew. It wouldn't take long for the Captain to sense her presence. Dyril still struggled with her sea legs as she navigated the tilting deck. Her arm reached out and seized the guardrail, steadying her upright. The half-elf inhaled then came to rest beside the woman. She leaned against the wood railing separating her from falling into the endless sea. "Someone is enjoying herself." Dyril tried to hide her surprise at seeing Arianna, the woman’s tidy and professional air lost. Arianna smiled at Dyril’s loss of composure. It was sweet to watch the half-elf let her guard down, as rare as it was to see. “This is where I feel most comfortable. Though it seems you still need to take some time to get used to it” Arianna teased. “You forgot, I was born only next to it and only sailed a few times in my life. Most of them fairly recently.” Dyril didn’t touch on the fact she shared with Arianna. An individual, nearly completely sheltered from the world, learned quickly or faded into oblivion. She turned to Arianna’s direction, the smile lessening only slightly. “I have finished the notes you asked for. They are sealed and put away.” As Dyril spoke, she glanced at her ink-stained and calloused fingers. A faint reminder of her excitement. She continued, her eyes lifted to the sea. “It includes everything from the effect the magic has on humans to the best ways to counter it. Through the latter might not even be needed if you simply find a way to barricade the borders and let the magic consume them. It won’t take long before they start to turn on each other.” Arianna grimly looked away “Something tells me that won’t be an option. I doubt either the High King of Alenius or our Emperor will just sit idly by for long. They covet the other lands and if they don’t press their claims soon their supporters will grow complacent. Besides I doubt either monarch understands the true threat blood magic poses, non-mages often underestimate the dangers of magic. To them, it’s just another tool to be used in their path to power”. Arianna’s face saddened “You were fortunate that you arrived in Formaroth after the war for the throne. I fear you won’t be as lucky this time”. “I’m a non-mage and I can recount all the reading fairly well. There’s a reason it’s banned in Beilokias. I just hope the High King and the Emperor are smart enough to realize this. A mad kingdom has no ruler. Just dead bodies,” Dyril pointed out, her sober and sorrowful voice spoke the truth. “Perhaps, but things are different here in Formaroth. Most people don’t even-” Arianna’s sentence was cut short as her eyes glanced at an unusual ship on the horizon. It’s sails bore no recognizable colours and even from this distance she could tell it was unlike any other ship she had seen in her life. It almost seemed as if the sunlight was reflected off of it. “What’s that?” Dyril’s question escaped her lips, her eyes narrowed and focused on the faint figure in the distance. Arianna squinted trying to get a better view of the ship. But after the wreckage she found on her route here she feared she already knew what it was. "Trouble," She whispered to Dyril before immediately yelling orders to her crew. "Mages take your positions, everyone else prepares for battle. Vasco, signal the other ships to take formation!” Without hesitation mages took their places either side of the ship, weaving spells and using the seawater to propel the ship forward. Now they were approaching their target at almost three times the speed, soon it would be upon them. Arianna turned to Dyril. "Keep yourself safe below deck. If these are the pirates who I suspect have been raiding the summer sea we will make short work of them.” Arianna wasn't wrong in her assessment, three isle catamarans against a single pirate ship would be an easy victory for even a novice. Still, something made her feel uneasy. Dyril nodded then began to move across the deck. She stopped occasionally in her haste as the crew scrambled to their positions. With some luck and patience, she finally made it to the door leading down into the ship’s depths. The thoughts that entered her head filled with her dread. If Arianna lost, they would all sink to the seafloor and never be heard from again. “Vasco, Turn us to flank the ship on the starboard side” Arianna wanted to avoid facing the mysterious ship head-on, the catamarans might have been quick and nimble, but they were also fragile. Both herself and another catamaran proceeded to flank the ship from the starboard side while the third catamaran sailed to flank the ship on its port. As they approached their target her view of the ship was a lot clearer, the black pirate sails confirming her suspicions. It seemed to be an oversized war galley, a most formidable opponent and impressive vessel for mere pirates. Though what caught her eye most was the ram at its front. While not unusual for a war galley to have a ram, it was made from an impossibly rare metal, dwarven steel. Arianna could hardly believe her eyes. In all her life she had only ever laid eyes on one object made from the ever rare metal; the tiny rounded ornament that high magister Joseph hung around his neck, his prized possession that had taken him a lifetime of work to achieve. Yet here these pirates had somehow found enough to make a ram that covered the front of their ship. Not even the pirate king Morian could manage such a feat. Whoever she was dealing with she knew they were extremely dangerous. “Mages, prepare for a barrage of flame, crewmen arm the ballistae”. Arianna ordered, her voice being heard clearly even over the noise of the waves. Vasco signaled the other ships to do the same. Once they came into range Arianna gave the order. “NOW”! She shouted, a stream of fire shooting off the port side, followed shortly by ballistae bolts. To Arianna’s horror while the bolts hit their target, the flames dissipated before they even got close to the ship, evaporating into nothing. They had mage’s on board. No doubt it was only around five at most, but still enough to make them all the more dangerous. The pirate ship wasted no time in retaliating, within moments it’s crew started produced oars and started to row, pushing the ship towards the catamaran that had attacked it on its port side. The catamaran tried to move out of the way almost succeeding, but at such a close distance it couldn’t escape. The war galley tore straight through the catamaran deck, the dwarven steel splintering the wood apart with great ease. “Arianna”! A voice cried. Arianna turned to see the horrified face of Vasco “Do we retreat” Arianna paused for a moment as she considered her options. Before responding with a resounding “No”! “But we do not stand a chance against a such a vessel, not if they have mages” Vasco protested “We cannot allow this ship to continue to terrorise the summer sea. I am a tidemaster and it is my duty to protect these waters” “Be that as it may we are at a disadvantage” Vasco said as he pointed at the war galley, the vessel twice the size of their catamaran. “Not as much as you might think” She replied with a smile “Judging by the number of oars it seems there ship is undermanned and the lack of synchronized rowing indicated poor discipline. We can easily out manveer it. So long as if we keep behind it we will avoid it’s ram”. “And then what”? Vasco questioned “Once we get close enough we use our mages to freeze it in place. Then we board”. “Are you mad? Two catamarans boarding a war galley. Even if it’s crew is undermanned and underskilled that is a risky tactic.” “It’s a risk we have to take. So long as if there are mages on board our spells are useless and we don’t have enough ballistae bolts”. Vasco gave Arianna a quizzical look, before nodding his head in agreement. “As you command captain” He said as he started to signal his orders to the other catamaran. With the use of their mages both ships made sharp turns impossible for any ordinary ships. They started to close on the pirate ship, the war galley desperate to turn themselves around for another ramming but failing miserably. Arianna skillfully kept her ship behind the war galley. As her ship passed the wreckage of the shattered catamaran they slowed so her crew could help aboard the survivors who were stranded in the water, holding onto whatever flotsam they could grab. The extra hands would be helpful for the battle to come. The additional mages they saved started to help the other mages propel the ship forward and soon they were bearing down on the pirate’s ship. As they neared the ship a dozen enemy archers rallied to the stern of the ship, shooting and throwing a mix of arrows and spears. While their aim was poor a number of Arianna’s crew were felled. “This is it” Ariana yelled “Get ready”. They got closer and closer to the galley as a few more of her crew were hit with arrows. Soon the front of her ship was almost touching the galley's stern. With a tremendous roar Arianna yelled “NOW”! In response the mages onboard casted a spell simultaneously, freezing the water between her catamaran and the pirates effectively fusing the two ships together and creating a rudimentary ice bridge between them. Arianna’s crew drew up boarding planks while others drew daggers and hatchets. The pirate archers drew their bows, ready for another volley. Arianna lifted her hands and conjured four condensed balls of pure force. The balls hit four of the archers, shattering their bones and sending them flying. The archers on either side of them collapsed on the deck giving her crew a chance to lay down the boarding platforms. The boarding party wasted no time and took full advantage of the opening Arianna had made. Within seconds the boarding platforms were down and the crew were across, yelling wild war cries. Soon all who were left aboard was Arianna, the mages, a handful of the younger crew to man the ship and the injured. The cries of fighting could be heard from the other ship, the hull of the galley just too high to see what was happening from the catamaran. Arianna and the mages started to make their way on board. Though she loathed the feeling of hiding behind her crew she knew both she and her mages were too important to lose in the initial boarding. As she and her fellow mages made their way up the boarding plank a bolt of lighting shot over head, sending one of her crew members flying into the sea. A most disconcerting sight. Once she was aboard she was glad to see her crew, though outnumbered, were doing well against the inexperienced pirates. All they had to do was hold off until the second catamaran boarded to give them support. It was her job to find the mages and stop them. To her surprise only one of the enemy crew members seemed to be a magic wielder, the captain. He was foreign, likely hailing from the lands of Draivim, with black hair and tanned skin. He was armed with a hiltless sword and wore a shabby black knee length coat lined with small hardened steel plates stitched strategically around the inner lining covering vital organs. Most disconcerting was the green glow radiating from his eyes and the wild maddening look upon his face. Was he the only mage on board? Surely he couldn’t have been powerful enough to nullify the spells of twelve battle mages on his own? His next action soon answered her question. Three of her crew members charged the captain, hatchets in hand. In a single movement the captain conjured three balls of fire which engulfed them, causing them to briefly cry out in pain before they were reduced to nothing but ash. The captain lay his eyes upon Arianna, a sadistic smile spread across his face. He raised his sword and through it he channeled lightning through his arm and out through his swords tip. The lightning chained into three streams, the most powerful aimed at her. The two other streams hit two mages either side of her killing them instantly, but Arianna had trained in lighting magic for years, she knew what to do. At the lighting hit her she tried to channel it into herself to redirect it back at the captain. But the sheer power of the spell was to much for Arianna to endure through the pain, instead she choose to allow the spell to bypass through her. Causing it to flow past her, through the back of the ship and hit her Catamaran. Never had she seen a lighting spell so powerful, who was this man? [hr] Below deck, Dyril's fear consumed her heart. Her feet touched the sea-soaked steps as the crew rushed for the deck above. The ship churned then rocked side to side. Her foot stumbled across the slippery surface. She fell onto the floorboards before she pushed herself upright immediately. Chaos swirled about her. Men shouting, weapons clashed, and magic echoed down to her. Her eyes widened in terror at the unseen battle above. With a deep breath, she began to climb to her feet. She wobbly made her way toward the only safe place she knew: the Captain's quarters. When her figure entered, Dyril shoved the door shut. Her figure twisted about then she felt her knees crumble bring her down to the floor. It took several minutes before another realization hit her. The ship was sinking. The water started at her heels then began to reach for her calves. "No, no." Dyril's voice cracked. She shoved herself onto her legs. Her eyes spotted the canister. The water-proof leather protected the document from water but losing... Dyril didn't think. Instead, she rushed for it. Her hand stretched out and reached out as it fell from the wall. It landed in her palm causing her fingers to wrap about it. Water splashed across her dress, drowning her from head to toe. She coughed while she began to haul herself up. A small smirk crossed her lips at her success. She secured the canister on her hip then began to trudge back to the door. With a little struggle, she managed to pull the door open. The cloth weighed her down as she moved toward the higher levels. Her hand combed her damp hair from her eyes. Somehow she managed to make her way to the decks above. When she stepped onto the scene, her eyes caught Arianna locked in combat with another mage. Dread filled Dyril when she recognized her friend's opponent. Jain Surya. [hr] Jain’s glowing eyes were fixated on Arianna “Surrender now Magister and I will allow you and your crew to live '' One of Arianna’s crew members tried to attack Jain but was quickly quelled by a stream of fire. Jain turned back to Arianna as if nothing had happened. “I seek an item of particular importance. A gem red as blood. I’m sure you know of it’s abilities”? “I will give you nothing pirate” Arianna yelled back, preparing a spell of her own to direct back at Jain “Your attempt to intercept up has been wasted, for we do not have what you seek. Your raids on the isles end here Drai”. Jain’s face flared with anger but as he looked over his shoulder his fury was replaced with an evil smile. “If we will not give me what I desire, perhaps she will”. Arianna looked behind her and to her horror stood Dyril. Jain’s gaze now focused on her. When the man’s eyes fixed on Dyril, her skin paled more. She took a step back as if her instinct told her to move or die. In her pointed ears, the water rumbled and smacked against the sink ship’s hull. Already the ocean began to drag the Catamaran to a salt filled grave. The water rushed onto the deck and lapped at her dress edge. Her time gradually was running out. Dyril inhaled. She forced herself to move, her head twisted about and looked for a rope. A frayed, damaged one caught her eye. She moved for it. Her fingers wrapped about the tight knot as she tried to work it loose. More water rushed onto the deck, the wave caught her foot and pushed her toward the broken railing. Her arm snapped out and caught the rope end. It creaked with protest as it went taut. With heavy effort, she began to pull herself upright once again. [hr] While Jain had been monologuing Arianna had been building magical force within herself and she wasted no time using. She raised her hand sending out a pure burst of force towards Jain. Jain not expecting such strength was caught off guard by the tidemaster. While he was able to shield himself from the direct blow of the attack (preventing him from being completely crushed) he was still flung back over the stern and directly onto the galleys deck. The fighting on the deck was in Arianna’s favour and her men were starting to push the pirates back onto the main deck. The second catamaran had pulled up alongside the galley by now and was starting to use grapple hooks and boarding planks to jump aboard. Arianna took this opportunity to help Dyril. “I told you to stay below deck” She shouted at her as she tried to help her up. “I’m sorry to say, I don’t breathe water and the lower decks are filling up pretty fast.” Dyril countered as she frowned, her hands fastened tightly to her life line. Her arm reached out to take Arianna’s offered assistance, finally righting herself once more. Arianna scowled as she saw what Dyril was saying was true. The lighting that Jain had shot at her had made a sizeable hole in her ship. There was no saving it now. How could this man do this much damage and still have magical energy left? Arianna waved over two of her mages. “Quickly break the ice before the catamaran takes this ship down with us,” Together they weaved their magic and cut the ice cleanly apart. The waves had already started to erode the ice away and breaking it wasn’t difficult. “Now quickly to the deck. No doubt if that captain of theirs can do this he survived that attack,” Her mages obeyed and hurried down to the deck to assist their crew. Arianna turned back to Dyril, unsure what to do with her. Still struggling with her balance upon the shifting deck, the hybrid gripped Arianna’s arms tightly and fought to keep upright. Dyril noted she needed to eventually find her sea legs when she had more time. At the statement her friend made, she added in her two coins. “I’m certain he did. The mage is high off of Blood Grass. Until that wears off, he’ll keep popping off spells until he collapses or dies. From the green in his eyes, I say he’s had a high dose before the battle.” "Blood grass? I have heard of such a herb though I know little about it. How are we supposed to fight against a man this powerful when he has no care for his own self preservation. But the time he kills himself from exhaustion we'll all be dead". Arianna said desperately trying to think of a plan. Dyril bit her lip and thought, trying to glean her brain of any information over Blood Grass. In a few moments something sprang to mind. “I don’t know much about the substance, but I did recall it affected the blood. I think it hurts the body’s ability to heal wounds so try making him bleed.” Before Arianna could reply a burst of fire from the deck made evident that Jain had indeed survived his fall from the stern. Arianna turned to Dyril “Stay hidden and keep away from the fighting. Find a weapon if you can”. She said before quickly spinning round and running down the stairs to the deck. The fighting had grown fierce atop the deck. While the reinforcements gave her men much needed relief, pirates were emerging from below deck bolstering their own forces. Furthermore Jain was fighting again and inflicting serious damage. But now that he was distracted this was Arianna’s best opportunity to attack. She prepared a spell, but instead of focusing it into a single point she let it flow through body as she summoned blades of wind as sharp as knives and hurled them at Jain. Jain sensed the incoming attack and turned to block but the blades were far too numerous and widespread for him block effectively causing numerous cuts across his body and limbs. The cuts themselves were not very deep but they were big, as was Arianna’s intention. Jain gave out a cruel laugh. “You’ll have to try better than that” He said as he started to cast another spell before his attack was interrupted by a crewman, swinging his axe widely at Jain’s head. Jain debtly dodged the attack and incapacitated the man with his sword. Before he had a chance to finish him however Arianna had sent forth another volley of wind blades. This time the blades also caught Jain in the face, with one particularly deep one running across his forehead. The crew member suffered a number of cuts himself but was able to scramble away to safety. Jain snarled as he once again prepared his attack against Ariana but once again was interrupted. This time by another flurry of frozen ice shards that cut into his skin. The remaining mages of Arianna’s crew had taken note of her tactic and were following her lead. Jain desperately cast a stream of fire and Arianna who simply blocked it. With the help of her other mages Jain did not have the time needed to cast a spell of any significant power. When Jain tried to cast a spell the mages blocked it. Whenever his guard was let down they cast spells at him, all with the aim of delivering as many cuts as they could. It was working. Soon Jain’s body was covered in blood to the point that his skin could no longer be seen. His clothes were drenched red and the cut above his forehead was blinding his vision, had it not been for the green glow it would be impossible to tell where his eyes were. His remaining men upon seeing the state of their captain and their dead comrades were starting to surrender, throwing their weapons down in an attempt to save their lives. Jain was starting to panic, he had realised what it was Arianna was doing, his blood loss was making him slow and faint and her crew members were looking for an opening to finish him off.. In a final desperate attempt Jain struck his sword into the deck from which a spiral of fire emerged and quickly grew. He then cast the fire outwards in attempt to kill his opponents in one fell swoop. The flames delivered serious burns to those closest to him including Arianna herself, but ultimately there was not enough power behind it to be fatal. Jain collapsed to the floor on all fours barely able to keep himself up. Before he could even open his mouth to surrender one of Arianna’s crew members had sunk their hatchet deep into his head. Dyril’s stomach turned when her eyes caught the image of Surya. His form collapsed on the deck’s surface, his eyes glazed over and lifeless. The hatchet’s owner set his foot onto the corpse’s face as he tugged his weapon free. She averted her eyes, her ears caught a cracking sound when the blade released followed by a heavy thump. Her imagination filled in the gaps much to her cringe. Without wasting much time, her feet stepped toward Arianna and crouched down. Her eyes looked over the charred clothing and minor burns. “I’m no healer, but you need to get this tended to. Else it will become living rot.” Dyril commented, referring to the Elvish slang for gangrene. “I don’t suppose you grabbed any potions before the ship when down did you? My crew aren’t exactly skilled at restoration magic.” “I am sorry to say, I was more concern about drowning. We could possibly send someone down to retrieve them, if someone had a spell for gills.” Dyril suggested. Arianna gave a laugh "Even with such a spell I doubt we would ever reach the bottom of the ocean. No worries, we will make do until we reach Nyhem. These pirates will have something in their hold to help heal our wounds and at knife point I have no doubt they will be more than compliant in handing it over to us”. Arianna’s face turned to concern as she looked at the now deceased body of Jain Surya. [/hider] By [@TheDuncanMorgan] and [@FallenReaper]