A story devoted to those who look for an escape from the world we live in.

Dedicated to my friends with a special thanks to Joe Barnes for helping with this story.

*Somewhere off the Tattered Coast*

***

CAPTAIN KORTER’S POV

“-CAPTAIN”

“-THEY’RE NEARING”

I turned to see the towering Battleship following behind us.

“Nori give me the spyglass.” I held out my hand and it was met by a cool metallic feel. Through the scope, I saw them. I could make out their movements. They were readying themselves for battle.

“ALL HANDS ON DECK! READY THE CANNONS, HOIST THE SAILS. PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR BATTLE!

Nori, check on the stowaway, I don’t want him disappearing after causing this mess.” I said before turning to face where my right-hand man stood.

“AYE CAPTAIN!” Nori responded. Before darting across the deck towards a door that would lead him to one of the lower floors of the ship.

I couldn’t help but notice the worry in his eyes when our gazes met.

“Aurora help us all,” I muttered.

 ***

STOWAWAY’S POV

I looked up above me as a stampede of feet rocked the wooden planks between the lower and upper deck. Dust seeped through the floorboards and filled the air with a musty odour.

I guess they’re here.

I glanced over at my sword relic on the floor next to me and remembered all the atrocities I had committed with it. Memories I had pushed away were brought forward and my head shrieked from the voices of those who had begged for mercy.

Then, nothing.

My pained expression became muted and calm. It had a sense of eeriness to it.

Survival Mode.

Grabbing hold of my weapon I stood up and turned to the ship's inner hull I had been resting on. Taking a knee, I scanned the wood for a small hole or crack. A ray of yellow sunlight pierced through an opening, and I lined my eye up to it. A sudden shadow cast over the hole and my vision.

I looked up.

“Shit”

A galleon ship the size of a mountain cast a blanket of shade over our vessel. Screams of battle cry rung through the air as I looked up at the enemies. They were lined up, relics brandished and suited in attire worn for bloodthirsty attrition.

Suddenly, a pressure filled the air. A thick cloud seemed to consume the battleships.

My hairs stood on end and my blood seemed to stop pumping as my body went into a sense of shock. Others must have felt the same pressure as me as the cries of war from either ship ceased. What seemed like a stalemate frozen in time ended almost as quickly as it had manifested. The exerted pressure withdrew, and I let out a gasp of air. 

He was here. 

Before I could realign my thoughts, I felt the latent aurora shift. Nothing but the sound of the wisp of the water hitting against the ships filled the surroundings. 

“FIRE!” a booming voice echoed from the enemy ship.

“FIRE!” another voice reciprocated from above me.

A myriad of colours blended together, and a large shockwave threw me back. I crashed into a crate of trinkets and metal behind me, which clanged and vibrated as they tumbled out. I lay splayed out on top of the junk; head spinning and eyes fuzzy. Instinctively, I propped myself up using my sword as a crutch. My ears rang with a high-pitched monotonous note; backgrounded by a muffle of voices and loud crashes. I opened my eyes to be met with blurred surroundings.

Due to the pressure distracting me I didn’t protect myself with aurora, which would’ve minimised the blow to a pain equivalent to a flick on the back of my head.  

A blurred image of a face appeared before me. I scrambled back, surprised by the sudden entrance of the person. How far had my senses and power fallen since then? The kick of adrenaline from being taken aback by this figure had sobered my vision and I made out a malnourished boyish face with messy brown hair. His deep hazel eyes were glaring intensely into mine with a hint of desperation.

 ***

NORI’S POV

“S..i…r, Sir you n..eed to help us.” I repeated stuttering with panic. 

I knew we needed him. 

When he boarded our ship for the first time, I could sense a sort of density of aurora around him thicker than an average person. It made me scared, scared of the fact that someone so mysteriously powerful was running away.

The answer had come to me moments ago though. The pressure. No. The person that exerted it.

If the man in front of me was a monster, then the other must be…

I shook my head and focused back on the dishevelled figure in front of me. The stowaway looked at me, I could tell he was slowly regaining his senses from the impact of the shockwave. Thank Aurora I had created a fire wall to deflect most of the blow.

Due to my unusually precise control over fire magic at my age, the captain had taken me under her wing, appointing me to be her right-hand man quite soon after I was conscripted to the war and had to join a fleet. The crew hadn't taken a liking to this: having some sort of special treatment because I could do something they couldn’t at their age. Must've been jealousy.

Suddenly, I felt something on my shoulder and soon after, that something felt like a boulder weighing down on it. The fragile man I had seen a moment ago now stood next to me with his hand on my body.

He smiled. A shimmer of contagious hope shone from his eye, making his expression seem somewhat believable.

“If I’m going to go down might as well go down swinging. Son, you better try to stay away from me. Getting too close could cause some collateral damage.” He warned.

I nodded spontaneously.

Another thunderous boom sounded from above deck and we both looked up. The man slung his sword around his shoulder onto his back and began to run to the stairs I had just used. I was left there alone, standing rigid like a mast; unable to move.