Lightning crackles through the night sky while rough waves swell over the sea’s dark abyss. Heavy rain pounds two large triple masted ships rocking violently against the intense waves. Aboard the Night’s Tempest. a medium size crew dressed in blue and white uniforms race to their battle positions as its feathered dragon flag whips in the wind. Behind the ship’s wheel, Julius Lyberg, in his captain’s overcoat and scar above his left eye keeps his sight fixated on the enemy’s ship.  From the main deck a soldier glances up and salutes him.

“Captain sir! We are approaching the enemy from the back bow side.! We are almost within firing range! Your orders!?” The soldier shouts.

A flickering lit lantern illuminates Julius’s hazel eyes, they scan the Night’s Tempest deck then dart towards the enemy’s ship several meters away. The heavy bands of rain don’t hinder the calculations playing out in front of Julius’s eyes. His strategy determined by weather, position, and differences between offensive strength led him to a frontal assault to quickly finish off his opponent.

“No, wait for my signal!” Julius orders.

On the opposite ship, the Pyrus Dragon, another crew scrambles over the deck to prep their cannons for a counterattack. Next to the ship’s wheel, Ryo Astrals, a tall man, wearing a tricorn hat and red overcoat watches his opponent’s movement through a silver spyglass. His light brown hair sits just behind his shoulders and his bangs cover the top of his keen silverish eyes. Through his gaze, the enemy’s ship easily has double the fire power, putting them at a big disadvantage.

“They are almost in range. Remember to aim for their mast, and points A and B on the stern and bow. Avoid the main deck!” Ryo orders.

“Yes sir.” The crew responds.

The Pyrus Dragon shifts its course to line up with the approaching Night’s Tempest. Ten large cannons emerge from the side, ready to open fire. Observing the opponents move, Julius raises his left hand up in the air. Tension rises between both sides, each one waiting for the other to make the first move. From above, almost like to break the stalemate, a huge lightning strike illuminates the clouds and crackles downwards in between both ships.

“Attack!” Julius brings his arm down.

“Fire!” Ryo shouts.

Cannon fire releases from both ships simultaneously searching for the other’s weak points. A fury of metal successfully splinters several wooden planks from both foundations. On the Night’s Tempest side, they aim to destroy the Pyrus Dragons frame with relentless attacks every few seconds but consist of erratic movements. Over half of them miss their intended targets. The ship buckles and thrashes with each hit. Ryo plants his feet against the rail and swings his upper body around to steady himself. The Pyrus Dragon’s hit their intended targets, however the power behind them isn’t enough to cause lasting damage in one or two hits.

“Now! Disable them!” Ryo shouts.

His crew retaliates, three cannons fire in unison, aimed at the bow of their enemy. A heavy fire ignites and grows in tremendous speed, engulfing a section of the ship. Smoldering wood creaks and threatens to collapse. Above, the mast tilts to the left, only being held up by one of the other masts left unscratched. Panic rises from the crew with their numbers thinning out to keep the ship from sinking. Julius sneers, his anger rising from the damaged sustain by one attack. Thunderclaps from above, matching the moment when Julius jumps down onto the lower deck. His earlier scenarios change in front of his eyes, and his mind refocuses on one final effort to destroy his enemy. Deep heated anger boils through his body.

“Fine. We can end this fast.” He growls.

He approaches a large tarp and throws it to the side. Underneath a huge cannon extends over the side rails. With three fuses and two muzzles in the front, it boasts enough fire power to obliterate anything. Many of the soldiers back away intimidated by its rumors.

“Sir, isn’t that just the prototype of the newest weapon? We don’t have permission to fire it! It hasn’t been tested!” A crew member shouts out.

“Well, I can’t think of a better target to test it on.” Julius’s confidence carries his words through the air. He grips the handle, cranking it to improve the accuracy of the first shot. The floorboards below creak and bend from the cannon’s weight.

Three soldiers’ approach from behind, each taking their places behind one of the fuses, ready to light them at once.  

From the Pyrus Dragon, a crew member sees the unveiling through their binoculars, leaving him  speechless. “S-s-sir! They have an unknown weapon. It looks massive!”

Ryo sees the same thing through his eyeglass. “Damn it! Be prepared for impact! Keep firing, we need to knock their ship off course!” His words hiding the small panic stiffening his body.

The battle rages on, each side trying to gain the upper hand. “So, their trying to make it impossible to aim.” Unable to focus on a proper target, a decisive opportunity enters Julius’s thoughts. Hit the whole thing. He grips the side rail and throws his left hand over the weapon.

“On my mark!” He commands.

“But sir! We don’t have a steady sh-“

“I don’t care! Aim for their center! We will fire in 3….2….1!” He brings his arm forward to signal the soldiers behind the cannon. In unison they all light their fuses. Behind the crew ducks down to prepare for the potential blowback of the attack.

BOOM!

The Night’s Tempest rocks violently during the aftershock, the sound being drowned out by a large thunderclap. Under the cannon, the wooden planks break from the backlash, causing it to sink downward. The mast above shutters, snaps completely,  and collapses sideways into another mast. A huge wave pushes across the deck, sending soldiers off their feet.  

“They launched the attack!”  A shout rings out from the Pyrus Dragon’s deck.

Ryo’s eyes widen at the sheer size of twin heated sphere metals coming towards them. “Brace for impact!” Each member crouches down, bracing for the attack.  

Down below the ship’s deck, inside the captain’s cabin, an oval cut silver jewel glistens on a wooden pedestal. Through all the attacks it remains unharmed upon Ryo’s table. A shadow shifts along the wall with quiet creaking footsteps. Its looming figure overshadows the gem. A faint glow emanates from the gem’s surface, reflecting off the cabin windows. A hand cautiously reaches out. Mere inches away from it, a huge explosion rings out and sends the ship violently thrashing back and forth. The intruder stumbles backwards with water rushing in from the broken wooden walls of the cabin. They flee.

Back outside, a panicked man rushes across the deck, glancing up at Ryo’s position. John Alestin, a close friend and first mate wipes away the water from his eyes. “We took a direct hit! The bow and center section have been ripped open from the attack! Ryo, the ship is going to sink!” He shouts at him.

Ryo regains his footing and leans over the side of the ship. A huge hole from the bow and center sends water rushing into their ship, threatening to sink them within minutes. From the corner of his eyes, he catches the Night’s Tempest sustaining damage too.

Through his moment of internal conflict between staying and going, Ryo shuts his eyes trying to find the right answer. Overcome with the fear of losing his crew, he glances at them. “We need to abandon ship, while they are recovering!” He shouts. “Prep the boats! Keep firing until the last possible moment!”

John directs the crew over to the few lifeboats they have. He looks back to get orders from Ryo but notices he’s no longer by the ship’s wheel. Below deck, Ryo pushes through waist high water to reach his cabin room. Under great pressure, the door busts from his forward push releasing waves of water into the cabin. In the far corner the Silver gem gleams, however it’s illuminating light fades away. His attention falls on his desk. With a careful hand, he reaches out, securing a flame shaped pendent in his palm. The back windows cracks from the water pressure, ready to give out any moment. The ship rocks from each wave that slams up against it. Ryo struggles to exit the cabin, from behind the jewel falls off the pedestal and sinks into the dark water.

Back on the Night’s Tempest, a few soldiers regain their footing and prep any available cannons for another round of attacks. A smaller group tries to assess the damage sustained. Julius watches a fire consume his enemy’s ship and work its way from the water up to the masts. He rests his left hand on the damaged cannon, straightening his posture in triumph.

“We can finally end this.” Julius says. He pulls out a lighter from his breast pocket and holds the flame to one of the cannon fuses. It fires one single shot towards the center of his opponent’s main deck.

Ryo stumbles onto the slanting top deck and slips down against the side rails. Below his position, a few feet away in the water, some of his crew waits.

“Come on Captain!” John shouts up at him.

Ryo puts his foot up on the rail but stops. His head pulses with a sharp pain, and he falls backwards. From behind, a loud whistling turns into a earth shattering roar. An explosion engulfs the deck with a wave of flames ravaging everything in their path. The floor underneath Ryo gives away, and he disappears into the darkness of the ship. John and the crew stare in shock at the flames eating away what’s left of their ship. Huge waves crash into their small boat pushing it further away from the wreckage and into the night.

Julius grins ear to ear at the destruction with arrogance. The soldiers redouble their efforts to put out the remaining fires trying to keep their own ship afloat. “Time to report back to the higher ups.” He laughs. “The target is dead. Let’s clean up the mess and arrest any survivors.”

As the last of the Pyrus Dragon sinks into the dark abyss, the Night’s Tempest plows through the splinter wood. From above the storm breaks and the full moon peeks out from behind clouds, illuminating the dark, restless sea below.