Chapter 1: A New Seaside

Gulls cried out from the sky. Just off the cliff, the ocean continued to roar. Wind whipped across her face. Ivy stepped toward the cliff, although not to the point where she risked falling off. As the cold winds continued to blow, she grew to wish she had brought something to aide against the chilled winds.

She should have been more worried about food, or getting the scepter to somewhere else. She had shifted into various realms twice now; this was the first time she had felt exhausted like this after arriving into the new world. Then again, she, as a citizen native to the sixth world, had practiced shifting before. She had only shifted to either the fifth and the seventh realm. The plan had been to shift into the fifth realm.

But her exhaustion was that of someone who had shifted across multiple realms instead.  From a brief energy reading, she had shifted into the second realm.

Which was fine, in theory. It wasn’t the plan, but Ivy had only cared about the revolution because it brought her money. She told herself she wanted to remain here for the time being, so as to keep the scepter for herself.  But as she looked over at the endless cliffs, there was a loneliness and a longing for shelter which she couldn’t ignore.

When she began movement, Ivy walked alongside the cliff. From the way the clouds look, she had wound her way south. Not that she had a particular way she would want to go. Despite how remote everything was, there was a relative peace about this place.

The gulls continued to cry out into the wind, their voices lonelier than ever. Ivy grumbled. She could have found herself closer to one of the other places here in this world. But from her studies, and from her glance at the stars at night, she had found herself in the one place she shouldn’t have gone to.

The kingdom of Rathos had undergone a revolution five years ago, after they beheaded a boy from another realm, simply for stealing bread ten years ago. Ivy knew that much. But since the revolution, from what she knew about the kingdom it had descended into anarchy.

She finally found a spot where the cliffs met the shore. Ivy slipped down to the beach, her stomach still lurching. Would it be considered dirty if she used a corrupt king’s scepter to hunt for a fish? She pointed the scepter at the sea, targeting a larger fish. The fish squirmed. But as she picked it up, she glanced around. If only she had enough firewood.

Thankfully, before long, she found a small dry brush against the cliff. In taking it for herself, Ivy put it on display. She ignited the bush into a small fire and cooked the fish.

The plain fish, paired with the travel bread, made for a paltry meal. Ivy grumbled to herself, wishing one of her fellow revolutionaries had followed her. The thing was, they were still in the other world, and they were likely looking for her. If they had gone to the fifth realm as they initially planned, she had missed the opportunity.

She wanted to go back home, but in using her scepter, she had reset her magic. The knives of darkness had done wonders in bringing a fish back to her, but it had used up her abilities. Her powers were something she hadn’t anticipated to be so finicky. But she was here, overlooking the new seas. Somehow, she still wanted to make the best out of her situation.

It wasn’t as if she had missed anything in taking the scepter for herself. Ivy’s companions had planned to sell it for money. But what would that do? A new power would take hold, and the cycle would continue.

She knew that answer, on a technical basis. But her selfishness took over, perhaps.

Or perhaps she had simply made a decision which would lose her friends, all because she wanted to be selfish. Ivy looked out at the surrounding area once more, pleading for something different. If she hadn’t shifted into the new realm, then the arrow would have killed her.

A small boat appeared on the horizon. She held out her scepter in one hand, and her sword in the other hand.

Narrowing her eyes, a woman appeared, dressed in a fine, maroon outfit. Ivy gave a brief nod at the woman. “Ahoy?”

Ivy, as a child, had spent time learning Rathorian; her parents discovered her ability to shapeshift and enrolled her in classes. She complained about such arrangements on many occasions, but her parents told her it was for her own good.

In her own rebellion, Ivy stole from them. Their necklaces would become hers before she sold them. She closed her eyes, as if to pray to invisible gods. If the woman were to understand her, then maybe, just maybe, they would be able to get on.

“And who are you?” The woman asked. “Some invader? From your outfit, it doesn’t look like you’re from here.”

“No,” Ivy said. “I am not here to invade anything. I come in peace.”

“Do you though?” she asked. “Are you with the wrong crew? Are you a rebel of some sort? Where did you get that scepter from? Did you steal it? Because from the looks of your clothes, you could not afford that yourself.”

“Well, my name is Ivy, and I didn’t steal anything,” Ivy said. She pulled her scepter in, before withdrawing her sword. “Come. If you have a problem with me, you can fight me.”

Lavender stood closer to Ivy. “There’s no need to be this aggressive. Personally, with this much violence in your voice, I fear it seems you did steal the scepter. Would you mind giving it to me?”

“No,” Ivy said. “I was instructed to maintain safekeeping. Do you think I was meant to give it to the first person I met, just because they address themselves as a Pirate Queen? And could you even wield it, if it were given to you? Or by taking my treasure, do you mean to put it to such a waste? It’s mine now.”

Lavender withdrew her sword. “And I have at least ten others at my command at this moment, and I have influence which you do not have. You do not want to go this route.”

“I really don’t,” Ivy said. She held the scepter out. “But I can use the king’s scepter.”

Ivy drew out the magic, pointing it at the ground as she let the darkness spread between herself and Lavendar. Lavender’s crewmates stepped forward. Ivy held out her sword, commanding the black abyss to spread. Lavender held a small lightstone in her hand in an attempt to counter. Ivy held her hand out, shooting her scepter at Lavender’s stone.

The stone burst into flames, before dropping onto the ground. Lavender stepped back, anger in her voice. “You fool. I have hundreds of fleets at my command. And what do you have?”

“Well, I have a lot of nerve,” Ivy said. “And I just formally took out a king, and a monarchy which stood steady for centuries. Don’t think I won’t do the same to you if given the chance. Because if we ever cross paths again, and if you ever look at me funny, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”