The storm raged on relentlessly, bolts of otherworldly lightning crashing down all around the crumbling ship and its hapless passengers with ever-increasing intensity. The oceans tumbled in chaos, threatening to engulf the vessel with each clawing wave. Realizing the ship was likely done for, the captain growled and abandoned his command post, hurrying to direct a full on evacuation via lifeboats. As the first boat was pushed into the encroaching tides, its crew hurriedly preparing to paddle towards safety, one of the crewmates noticed something in the distance that made him halt to a stop. A gigantic tidal wave of dark ominous water was rolling its way towards everyone and everything, swallowing all in its path. The captain soon noticed as well, his brows furrowing gravely in disbelief.

"Well sh--"

As the colossal wall of water laid its incontestable claim to the ship, all turned to darkness for the voyagers. They could only feel themselves being flung through the tides by forces far beyond their control. And then, nothingness.

...

...

An indeterminate amount of time passed before the sense of hearing began returning to the unconscious voyagers--the sound of gentler waves, as they drifted in the calm aftermath of the storm, the darkness of midnight replaced by the cautious glow of light.

Eventually the survivors found themselves being washed ashore on an unknown beach along with pieces of wreckage from the ship. Tropical vegetation grew all around the beach, becoming denser the further in one looked. The beach itself stretched in both directions along the unknown coast, the hint of distant cliffs in one direction, and a bend that was obscured by the forest in the other. Peculiar wildlife could occasionally be spotted--large seabirds resembling storks flying at a distance, their calls subtly alien; smaller birds with rainbow patterns on their wings, chirping atop trees further in the forest; hermit crabs inhabiting a number of curious looking shells, waddling about in the sand. All in all, a wild, tropical paradise, with no sign of civilization anywhere in sight.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/L9rDrqK.png[/IMG]

Some of the crew members and passengers that were washed ashore were beginning to wake up, coughing up seawater as they groaned and weakly crawled to their knees, reorienting themselves the best they could. They were a long way from anywhere they could remotely call home--and as they looked around, they knew it.