The rest of it rose, moonlight glinting off blue-green feathers that covered it from end to end. Its face resembled a human, with a mouth instead of a beak although it had slits for a nose. The monster’s twin talons grappled onto the edge of the ship, cracking into the wooden boards.

One brave man fired his musket at the creature. Fire bloomed out of the tube, hurtling toward its cheek. The fiery lance disappeared in a puff of smoke, but when it cleared the being looked unharmed.

In fact, it looked furious. The madness within him squealed with joy at the sight of an overwhelming opponent to kill.

The aberration’s eyes zeroed in on the origin of the blast, its chest rising as it breathed in. Green and blue light, water and air aether, gathered in a crystalized orb in front of its mouth. The group of men realized what was about to happen and scrambled in all directions. A blue-green beam bloomed from the orb, erupting shards of ice across the deck of the clipper. Barrels and crates burst in its wake, their contents freezing mid-air. A few unlucky men unable to escape the onslaught were also fixed in solid ice.

Other groups fired more shots, doing little but garner squawks of rage from the aberration.

Panic set in to the men, at their futile attacks. Some cut loose from their formations and ran. The aberration drew its breath, readying another attack.

It flinched as a fiery ball tied to a burning chain smacked the side of its head and exploded. The gathering aether dissipated.

“Nobody wrecks my ship!” Eric had vanished from Nick’s boat, appearing at the deck of the clipper. His flail had wheeled back and was spinning for another strike.

The massive harpy shook its head, sending out another bloodcurdling scream that sent half the men to drop and cover their ears. Eric looked unimpressed, sending his flail through the air, slapping the aberration against the chest with an explosion that sent it reeling. He swung again and again, pushing the harpy back until it tumbled off the edge of the clipper.

A few of the men cheered, but Eric cut them off.

“It isn’t over yet!” yelled Eric, spinning his flail. “Gunners get topaz pellets from storage! This thing right there is of water and air. Fire won’t do anything but piss it off!”

As if on cue, the aberration flew up from the side of the clipper. Its wings sending a gust of wind and droplets of water with each beat. There were a few charred spots along its cheek and its chest.

“Come here you overgrown chicken!” said Eric. “I’m going to use that core of yours to mop the shitters after you cracked up my deck!”

It roared at Eric’s challenge, lashing a talon at Eric. He dodged out of its way but the claws crashed into the board, sending splinters flying everywhere.

“Ignis Sphera!”

A fireball launched itself from Eric’s hand, sending the aberration reeling but dealing no real damage. The harpy retaliated by firing a bolt of green air aether which Eric dodged.

A few of the men ran down the deck, probably to grab the topaz pellets their boss was talking about. However, with the collateral damage from the battle, Nick wasn’t sure whether they would make it in time. At least before the harpy would accidentally hit one of the wind engines and knock the clipper out of the air.

Nick looked at the steering lever of his ship. There were no other harpies in the air, and the aberration had its focus completely on the clipper. He had the goods stowed. He could leave Eric and his men to their fate. Should leave, or at least that was the prudent choice.

He wasn’t an Innatum like his father or a Nephilim like his siblings or a bracer like Eric. He could do nothing.

His father’s words hung in the air. “What sort of man are you going to be?”

Nick clenched his sword, resolve settling in. Sure, Eric and the rest of his crew was a tad unsavory on many fronts, but they were among the few people who knew Nick for who he was. They’ve run favors for each other as comrades-in-arms in the shadowy profession of smuggling.

They were the closest thing he had to friends, and Nick wasn’t going to abandon them, even for the sake of his obligation. Not when he could still do something.

His eyes shifted to the glowing emeralds strewn across the deck. Uncut but charged. Enough energy to pull this off.

Nick moved to collect the emeralds under the roaring sounds of battle. Gems in hand, he ran to the front of the boat, cutting free one of his conducting cords and unraveling the spellweave cloth. He looked down at the shimmering gems.

What he was about to try was insane, but it had worked in the past. Once. An accidental discovery from youthful curiosity.

He tore the bindings off the hilt of the sword, revealing a diamond rested at the center of the guard along with a set of golden letters etched above. OPTIVUS V.

A sentient artifact weapon, one of the most prized and powerful pieces of reclaimed equipment from the old continent.

It was inactive and did not answer to him, for they only answered to the blood of their original binders.

According to books and general knowledge, but not from Nick’s personal experience.

He tied one cord to the hilt, laying it on the floor and keeping his distance as he dumped the emeralds onto the cloth. Nick took a deep breath, bracing himself for what awaited and grabbed the hilt with both hands.

The instant his flesh touched the handle, the cloth glowed with rainbow colors as aether drained out of the emeralds, flowing through the rope towards him. The moment it struck the blade, the energy arced around the blade. His entire body felt like it was ablaze and freezing at the same time, yet he held on.

Channeling aetheral energy with conducting rope like this would have killed a normal person and left a Bracer or Innatum with severe burns. However, after the initial pain, he felt somewhat relaxed, energized almost.

Strands of rainbow light arced off the rope through the handle of the weapon. A few struck the diamond along the way. Nick thought he could hear a girl shrieking in pain. He had no idea if it was real or in his head or whether the inactive weapon could feel pain at all. However, real human lives were at stake.

“Sorry,” he thought, no idea if the thoughts transferred that way.

The stream of light vanished as the emeralds were exhausted. The sword was enveloped in strands of pure yellow lightning, crackling and raging with thunder.

His eyes shifted to the battle. Eric was still fighting the aberration, neither side gaining in the battle for supremacy. Ice spikes littered about a quarter of the clipper. Entire chunks of the deck were torn out. No sight of any of Eric’s men.

The blade would only stay this way for so long. It was now or never.

Nick took the sword in both hands and leapt across the planks connecting the two vessels, running around ice formations and holes. He ducked behind a crate as the aberration’s wing sent a gale across the deck. Eric hid behind a barrel across from him, sweat glimmering from his head.

“Eric!” Nick waved his electrified sword to catch the man’s attention.

“Get it down!” Nick tipped the blade’s point at the aberration.

He said nothing, but his eyes bulged a bit at the sight of Nick’s sword. He nodded, swerving as a beam of ice destroyed the barrel, he was behind, sending frozen grain everywhere.

Eric and the aberration exchanged more blows, as Nick strode closer. By the time he reached the aberration’s shadow however, he had caught its attention. A single talon launched down.

Nick leapt away, right as it crashed into the deck, sending splinters of wood everywhere.

“I told you!” said Eric. “Nobody, gets away with wrecking my ship!”

Nick looked up to see Eric hurtling through the air. His flail spun, the chains wrapping themselves around his opponent in a burning embrace. The harpy shrieked and struggled as the bindings snared its wings, causing it to fall. Steam sizzled off the fiery chains as they seemed to slowly melt away.

Not quick enough however, as Eric pulled down with both his hands, lurching the aberration faster to the ground.

Nick leapt up, bringing the electrified blade to meet the enemy’s chest. There was a snap as one of the chains broke, freeing one of the harpy’s legs. The harpy’s eyes went wide at its impending doom, and lurched its talon up in an attempt to take Nick with it to oblivion.

There was no way he could dodge the blow, not mid-air. Pain ruptured from his chest, but not before the tip of the sword ripped through feathers and flesh. Lightning split out from the blade, and he couldn’t tell apart the shrieking of the aberration from the shearing bolts that rippled through its body. Thunder deafened his hearing.

The last thing he felt before the world went white was satisfaction from the madness with him, for now.

***

When Nick came to, everything was dark. He could hear fine though.

“Is he dead?”

“No, he’s still breathing.”

“Good Gods. Is he Innatum? Or a Nephilim?”

“Can’t be. Too plain-looking.”

“Yep. Also, his hair is black. Innatum and Nephilim do not have black hair.”

Those last few words irked him. He tried moving an arm.

“I think he is moving.”

“Back off from you lousy cowards! Hey kid wake-up!”

Nick’s eyes lurched open. Everything was hazy. His hands reached up to clasp his face. The air was cold. Every muscle, every bone groaned with pain.

“I’m alive,” he said.

“Damn right you are.” A warm hand clapped over his shoulder. “You’re downright crazy you know that.”

“Did we-Did we win?” Nick blinked a few times, and the world sharpened back into focus. He was laying on the deck of the clipper, surrounded by the gaunt figures of men. Their faces painted with concern and two others he hadn’t inspired from others. Awe and fear.

“If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be talking right now.”

He turned behind him to see Eric standing over him, shaking his head. Eric offered his hand and Nick grabbed it, hefting himself up.

“You know the number of people who’d take on an aberration like that, without being a Bracer or Innatum, exists on one hand. You’re the only one I know who not only lived, but actually did the deed.”

Nick laughed. He tried to take a step forward, but stumbled. Eric leaned over to catch him.

“Whoa,” he said. “Slow down there.”

Ice, splinters, and ruined cargo littered the deck. However, Nick’s eyes were drawn to a rigid gemstone the size of his torso. Green and blue swirls simmered under its etched surfaces.

“An aquamarine,” said Eric. “Big one too.”

Not just any regular gemstone but a mixed one. That would bring quite a tidy sum in any market in the world. If only he had the time.

Nick suddenly remembered.

“Time,” said Nick. “What is the time? How long was I out?”

“I don’t keep a watch on me kid,” said Eric. “Although I think one of the boys might have one on them…”

Nick reached into his pocket, pulling out his watch. The glass was cracked and the hands were busted and charred. He realized he had it in his pocket when he pulled the stunt with the emeralds and the conducting rope. Damn it.

“Just half past eight,” one of the men said.

That put a spring in Nick’s foot.

“I have to get going.” He turned around to where the deck of his boat strode along the clipper, still connected by a few planks that didn’t fall away from the windstorm. Nick pulled free from Eric’s grasp, taking an uneasy step forward.

“Hold up there kid.” Eric held him back by the shoulder. “What about the aquamarine? You deserve some of that. That thing is worth nearly as much as- “

“Keep it,” said Nick. “I can’t do much with that thing, not without drawing unwanted attention.”

If he lugged a rare gemstone like that in his town, let alone all of Vislanda, he’d draw the unwanted attention of every single constable in the country.

“Very well then.” Eric let go of him, raising an eyebrow. “Not that I would ever say no to a prize like that. Going to need it to fix up the deck that aberration smashed up.”

“Consider it a gift.” Nick stepped across the planks, and hopped back onto the deck of his boat. He turned around to face Eric and his men. “Probably will pay for a few favors that I owe.”

“Eh, fair enough.” Eric rolled his eyes, then turned toward his men. “What are all of you looking at? We got work to do. Smith, go check the stern. I don’t want any more harpies sneaking up on us. Bell…”

Eric’s voice drowned out as Nick went to inspect his own boat. The cargo strapped to the center of the room looked relatively undamaged, save for a few splinters chipped off the barrels. He fastened the ones that were almost loose from the windstorm back in place.

Men drew back up the planks that connected their ships as Nick kicked away the brakes that kept his vessel in place. The deck rumbled, and the boat slowly drifted away from the clipper.

“Also, kid!”

Nick turned his head to see Eric toss a sheathed blade towards him from the clipper. Nick caught it, and swore. He couldn’t believe he almost forgot it.

“Keep that thing safe!” said Eric. “Only twelve of those exist in the world.”

There was a pause before he added.

“If I knew you were Valdric Thunderfury’s son, I would have treated you a little different.”

“That’s because I am not,” Nick thought, but he only nodded.

“Why you want to go be a reclaimer makes a bit more sense now,” said Eric. “Also, one last note of advice. You’re going to need friends out there. Remember, even the Paragons and the Eight Companions had each other.”

Nick just smiled back. “I work better alone.”

“That is precisely the problem,” said Eric, blowing out another plume of smoke. He raised his right arm, the one with the bracer on it, crossing it over his chest in the old greeting among reclaimers. “Take care of yourself out there.”

Nick replied in kind. “Will do.”

The boat had drifted far enough for him to turn without colliding into the clipper. Nick, raised the steering lever down, causing it to swerve down and gain speed.

Hopefully, he wasn’t too late for dinner.