Kain suddenly moved. Iliana almost tumbled over in surprise, but caught herself last minute.

"Where are you going?" she asked, frowning.

He didn't reply. Alarm bells went off in her mind. She didn't know why, but something about this situation was wrong. The feeling prompted Iliana to scramble to her feet and catch Kain's arm before he could climb out of the nest.

"Where are you going?" she asked again.

"I..." Kain muttered. "It's really pretty, isn't it?"

Was he talking about the voice? She could still barely make it out. Where was it even coming from?

While tightening her grip on Kain-- as some part of her knew letting him go was a bad idea-- Iliana looked to the ocean for the answer. Uneasiness pricked her spine at the sight of thick, endless fog beyond the bow of the ship. They'd yet to fully sail into the nothing, but with their current course it was only a matter of time.

Instinct told her that nothing good laid in those waters.

Something about the situation stirred a memory in the back of her mind. Before she could fully rerecall, however, Kain tore his arm away and swung his legs over the railing.

"Wait!"

Iliana hurried after him. The moment he dropped onto the deck, Kain headed for the edge of the ship. She seized the back of his shirt, stopping him mid-stride.

"Let go of me," he muttered.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Get a hold of yourself!"

"I just... I want to..."

As Kain spoke, he tried to pull away. She realized the ship had become further encased in the fog. It magnified the voice, which she now knew to be singing. The words were still indistinguishable.

"C'mon," she urged uneasily. "Let's... let's go inside."

She turned, intending to drag him into the hold. At that moment, the hatch swung open and the others piled out onto the deck.

"What are you--"

She cut off as Kain tore away from her grip. Before she could get ahold of him, he darted to the railing.

Then, without warning, Kain launched himself over the side.

Iliana flung herself to the edge of the ship. The thick fog which hung in the midnight air made finding him impossible. Still, she leaned over the railing, desperate to catch a glimpse. Her hands clung to the damp wood as the waters beneath them rocked the ship.

"Kain!" she shouted.

No response. Of course not. He'd barely responded when she'd been standing right next to him. Why would he bother now?

The singing grew louder. They must have been drawing closer to the source.

Iliana's crew-mates gathered around where she stood. Like her, each of them stared out into the fog as if searching for the source of the voice. She realized then that if she didn't do something they might all jump in.

But what could she do? There was no way for someone Iliana's size to stop all of them. She could try and turn the ship around, but that would mean leaving Kain behind. She couldn't do that. Panic froze her in place as her thoughts spun about. She needed a solution, and she needed it then.

Saul climbed up onto the railing. She reacted instinctively, reaching out to grab him. Her fingers closed around his nightshirt just as someone else tried to pull themselves up. She didn't look to see who, instead just grabbed at them with her other hand.

"Such a wonderful voice..." Saul whispered.

Then, he jumped.

Iliana refused to let go and the force of his weight nearly dragged her over the side of the ship. She released her grip on the other sailor so she could hold on with both hands. Pain shot up her arms as her muscles screamed their protest. Ignoring this, she braced her feet against the railing and reared back, attempting to drag him upwards.

"C'mon," she urged. "Stop moving. Let... me..."

Someone shoved into Iliana from behind and suddenly both her and Saul were sent plunging down. She hit the ocean belly first, the impact stealing her breath away. It took everything she had not to breathe in the water. She forced herself to focus--to try and find which way was up, and then, to reach it.

The waves were harsher than she'd seen from above. They came in a constant, disorienting rhythm that made it nearly impossible for her to fill her burning lungs without taking in seawater. Despite this, she managed to spot the ship and begin kicking away from it. Even as confusing as the situation was, she knew better than to stay still and be caught by the current.

It was strange. Some part of her knew that she should be panicking even more than she had been on deck. Yet, her mind was scary calm, as if the world had slowed to give her a moment to think.

They were in the warmest part of the world. So, while the water was considerably colder than the air, exposure wouldn't kill her. That left her with three major problems: exhaustion, the crew, and whatever the fuck was in that fog.

The first problem was the most dangerous. If the rest of the crew jumped--and she was rather certain they already had--there was no one left to fish them out. Which meant they were stranded in the middle of the ocean.

No... not quite, she realized.

The voices had to be coming from some form of land. The singing seemed to echo from everywhere, however, leaving her no clue of which direction to swim in. Iliana had a slight suspicion the fog was magicked to magnify the sound, therefore hiding the location.

The sound of someone splashing around in the waves ahead of her broke into her thoughts. Was one of the crew members still nearby? They seemed to know what direction to go in. Perhaps there was something in the song that lured them the right way.

It was the only shot she had.

So, Iliana drew in a deep breath and focused on the splashing sound. It was hard to locate through the voices and the constant crashing of the waves, but she managed it. The moment she had it pinned she began swimming after whomever it was.

Please, she prayed. Whoever cares and can hear me. Please don't let me be wrong about this.

Perhaps someone was listening, because a short time later she could make out the sight of large, dark structures stretching above the ocean. The fog made it impossible to identify what they were, but they were there. The closer she drew, she realized that there was also what appeared to be the shape of a ship hidden in the distance. For a single second, she felt hopeful.

Then, she reached the current.

Iliana knew something was wrong the moment she no longer needed to kick to move forward. Instead, the water itself carried her towards the dark structures. Around her, the sound of waves crashing into rocks grew even louder than the singing. She panicked, twisting back and forth as she attempted to kick away from the pull.

That stopped when she hit her first rock with full force. It left her dazed and gasping for air as she was tossed into the second. Pain lanced her body. By the fifth rock, she could barely see through the dark spots in her vision.

Soon after that, everything went black.