Kirin was pulled from unconsciousness by a shock of pain. His eyes shot open. He found himself lying on a root so deep in the darkness, that even the eternal twilight could not reach him. Here, the air was thick and heavy with shadow magic. 

He struggled to breathe. 

Kirin’s mana was affiliated to Light and Fire—but here in the damp dark under-roots, his oppositional elements were strong. It felt like his chest was being crushed.

The wind whipped around him as another wave of pain surged through his nerves, this one more intense than the others.

It wouldn’t be long now. The power blockage would only last so long before his entire mana pool discharged like the breaking of a great dam.

His right hand moved to his left breast where, upon his caplet, he pinned Celestine’s royal emblem. He had to wait for just the right moment, otherwise, wherever he went, destruction would follow.

Kirin leaned back against the root, gasping for air. If he had been any other Light Affiliate from the convoy, he would already be dead down here. He wasn’t aware of how long he had been lying still, but when his auto-shield enchantment activated, he opened his eyes once more. The ground shook as a massive insectoid leg set down not far from him. Then another on the other side.

A creature the size of a house loomed out of the darkness, nine of ten eyes focused greedily upon the mage. Its mandibles clacked together in anticipation, smaller forelegs poking and prodding towards Kirin, testing his deteriorating shield.

Kirin gave a sardonic laugh, “Boy, you’re one ugly bastard,” he scoffed, his hand tightening around the crest.

As if it understood him somehow, the beast huffed and head-butted the shield as hard as it could. With a pop and screech, the magic let out a small blast that pushed the massive spider backwards while a white glass bead on Kirin’s belt tassel crumbled to pieces.

The monster shook itself as if to shrug off the lingering light before it bore down on Kirin, forelegs scrabbling to grab at him. It only paused when it heard him laughing.

“You’ve gone and done it now, haven’t you, void walker?” the mage chuckled. A wave of electricity washed through his nerves and he grunted in pain. “That… That was the only thing keeping you safe,” he added, a dangerous smile curving his mouth. A faint glow had begun to outline him in the suffocating darkness—a glow growing brighter and hotter by the second.

The spider screeched, using all the power in its eight massive legs to launch itself backwards off the root and into the black void. Around Kirin, more such screeches and howls erupted and echoed as they fled from a light now brighter than the noon sun.

“Heh… Instincts won’t save you now.”

The air around him boiled, molecules screeching. 

All sound ceased—consumed by the sheer magnitude of the explosion. 

The great roots—saplings the size of skyscrapers—even the dead wood the size of a large city, upon which the former grew, were vaporized.

Shrieks and howls of monsters and the suffocating dark air of the deep void were abruptly replaced the cries of seagulls and shouts of surprise, the splintering of wood, and bright salty air—the emblem had activated, transporting Kirin to who-knows-where in an instant.

“Man overboard! Port side!”

“We’ve lost the main mast!”

“Look out! It’s comin’ down!”

Kirin found himself suddenly engulfed in red sail-cloth, tangled in rigging and hanging up-side-down a little less than two meters from a wooden deck. He sighed softly, slowly turning in place, hanging like a drying bundle of herbs. Relief and warmth eased through his veins as the turbulence in his mana pool returned to normal, a calm he hadn’t felt in over a century. This had been the worst mana storm since his awakening as a mage, and it had taken quite a toll.

“Damage report!” barked a woman’s commanding voice.

Things around him had finally calmed it seemed, at least for him.

“One man overboard cap’in! We’ve lost the main mast!”

“Recover our man!” boots stomped across the deck passing Kirin, but paused shortly.

“Already on it cap’in!”

Kirin slowly spun around, coming to face a woman with olive-toned, sun-tanned skin and flyaway espresso-coloured hair. “Ahh-ahaha… Good day, Ma’am…”

A series of emotions crossed her face, the most prominent being confusion followed by fury then a cold but irritable calm. She reached out, grabbing one of the spikes of his couturier’s hat to keep him from lazily spinning away from her. “And just who the hell are you?” she demanded. “I’d hazard yer a stowaway, but they’re usually found below deck, not hangin’ in the riggin’.”

Kirin gave her an apprehensive smile, “That’s somewhat difficult to explain, Miss—.”

“Sir,” she growled in correction.

“Err… Captain, Sir,” Kirin complied.

“Better start explainin’ fast or you’ll be makin’ friendly with the fishes, mate,” the woman warned.

“Ahh! Please don’t, I mean you no harm!” Kirin said quickly. 

“So ya are the one responsible,” she nodded as if that closed the matter, reaching for the cruel looking knife on her belt next to her saber. 

“It was purely an accident, Captain, Sir. I am more than happy to work out some form of reimbursement,” Kirin said, watching her movements carefully. There was little he could do if she decided he wasn’t worth the trouble of keeping around.

“Ohoo? You talk awful pretty, but I ain’t one to turn away a chance at a profit,” she grinned, her one coffee-coloured eye not covered by a patch sparkled at the idea.

Kirin let loose a soft, nervous chuckle. Of course, profit. “Well, normally His Majesty would cover the issue, but as I have no way of contacting him until I’ve fully recovered, perhaps we can work out a trade, hmm? My magic won’t be suitable for much for some time, otherwise I would simply repair your ship now—but I have plenty of other skills and some trinkets you might deem valuable enough to cover some of the cost.”

“Ya work fer a king? Blimey. You are a fancy one. Maybe we should just ransom ya instead?” she barked a laugh.

“Well, that might be difficult. He’s in another universe.”

The captain paused and gave him a weird look. She stared at him for some time, studying him, tilting her head from side to side. After a moment her expression turned perturbed, “Hell, I can’t tell if yer a real good liar, or just plain nuts,” she puffed, resting her hands on her hips.

“Ahh…” Kirin sighed. He had never been in a predicament quite like this before. “I travel the great multiversal forest at the behest of my emperor, Celestine, creator of Magi Nation, Keeper of Yggdrasil, our divine tree, in search of new universes that may need our help or with whom we can trade. However, at present I have lost my powers as a mage due to a catastrophic discharge of mana. It could take months to recover. At best, in a few days, I could manage to make a small light or fire.”

“Huh,” the captain studied him a bit longer, rubbing her chin in thought.

“Captain Kingsley,” a crewman scurried up to her, spared Kirin a curious look, but otherwise ignored him, “We’ve recovered Alberet and a few things that didn’t sink when they went overboard.”

“Good, good,” Captain Kingsley nodded. “Do we still have that thing from our last stop?”

The young man paused to think, “The beast cage, sir?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes sir!”

“Good, bring it up. We need some place to hold this guy. I don’t want ‘im puttin’ a hole in me boat, so brig’s outta the question.”

“Ahh?” Kirin had begun to spin away again, and he wiggled, attempting to turn himself.

As the crewman saluted and trotted off, she called after him, “And bring some shackles!”

“Aye aye, sir!”

“Captaiiinnn…” Kirin whined softly.

She grabbed his spike again and turned him back to face her. “Quit yer bellyachin’ there’s no ears for it on a Crimson Company ship.”

“I just wanted to warn you, I’m about to pass out,” Kirin told her, offering a weak smile. He wasn't lying. He was out of the water, but the lack of mana left his head spinning, and the actual spinning was only making it worse. “Might I have your name, Captain?”

“Nell Kingsley.”

Kirin’s eyes glazed a bit, “Very good name. Kirin Rosewind, special envoy to Magi Nation in service of His Majesty, Emperor Celestine, at your mercy, Captain…”

“Ya don’t look too good there, Rosy,” Nell grunted.

“Mana drain…” he blinked slowly. “Do we have an agreement, Cap?”

She tilted her head at him again, her sharp eye studying him. “Yeh, get some sleep. We’ll reach port in a little over a fortnight. Crimson Company welcomes you to Mythodea, Kirin Rosewind.”

“Mythodea, ah?” he slowly closed his vermilion eyes, “His Majesty said… you… were trustworthy…”

Nell scoffed, “Trustworthy? Rosy, I’m the biggest scoundrel around,” she reached out, gently patting his unconscious cheek, “Ye’ll see, when we get ta port, I’ll work ya like a mule.”