BETWEEN CANNON AND BLOOD, LET THE DEAD SINK
Varnok stood inside the captain's cabin, towering over his son. "Stay here. Lock the door!" he commanded.
He slammed the door shut, Akio pressed his ear against it, his heart pounding.
"Load the cannons!" the captain shouted.
"Ready all sides!" the general echoed.
"On my mark… hold! One... two... three...."Fire!!" all the warriors yelled as they duck.
The cannons roared as fire burst through the smoke, The enemy ship drew closer with terrifying speed.
"Hooks incoming!" the watchman yelled.
Heavy metal grappling hooks flew through the air, cutting through the mist with sharp whistles before clanking hard onto the ship's wooden railings. Ropes snapped tight. The enemy began to pull themselves in, boarding ropes tightening like veins across the gap between ships.
"They're reelin' in!" Aurex Vellor shouted.
"Brace for impact!" the captain roared.
"Brace!!" the pirates shouted.
The enemy ship crashed into them with a violent thud. The impact itself rocked the deck, the Men staggered, some fell, the barrels rolled across the floor, Screams rang out.
But Varnok remained standing.
His boots planted with axe in hand Unmoved.
Dozens of pirates climbed aboard, yelling, snarling they swung over the railings with swords drawn.
"For blood!! kill them all!!" the enemy commander shouted, his voice cutting like steel.
"For honor!!" the captain responded.
Steel met steel as the battle began.
Their Swords clashed, Arrows hissed through the air, Men roared, some cried out, and some fell.
Varnok was in the center of it all, He moved through enemies like a storm made of blades, Blood sprayed in arcs, With his axe on his hand he struck with fury, but not rage—his movements were deliberate and controlled, Every step forward was final and every enemy that stood before him fell
Akio peeked through a crack in the door. His heart pounded heavily that he couldn't breathe properly, this was his first seeing a fight, He saw flames licking the sails, blood across the floor, bodies lying around, his eyes were wide with fear.
Minutes later the enemy forces began to break. One by one, they fell to the sea or to the sword.
Varnok drove his Axe deep into the last attacker's chest and pulled it free.
The captain lifted his sword high and shouted "Victory is ours!!!" Cheers exploded from every corner of the deck.
"Yeahhhh!!!"
"Hehehehe!!!"
"Victory!!"
The pirates celebrated, "How many did we lose?" Varnok asked, breath heavy, "Just three, sire. We lost only three," the general replied, Varnok's eyes darkened. He whispered to himself, "Three already."
He looked toward the cabin.
"Bring my son to me."
Moments later they opened the cabin door, Akio stepped out slowly, eyes wide, you could see him shaking.
"Dad… I'm sorry…" he choked up.
Varnok grabbed him gently. As Akio cried.
"Dad… I'm sorry…" he sobbed again.
Varnok sighed, his voice gentler now, "We can't possibly go back now..."
He knelt before Akio.
"So I guess... I'm gonna need your help," he said with a faint smile.
Akio wiped his tears, and was able to put up a smile.
"I love you, Dad."
"I love you too," Varnok said softly.
"Don't worry. I got you," Akio said with a grin.
Sharkbait Leon stepped forward.
"Come, lad. Let's prepare you," said Jake.
Akio beamed and followed him excitedly.
Varnok turned toward the sea, the wind brushing his face.
"Don't worry, my love… I'll protect him."
THE COURAGE OF SMALL HANDS
The pirate quarters swayed with the slow groan of the sea. Hammocks creaked, blades scraped along whetstones, and tankards clinked as pirates swapped lies and laughed in the flickering light of swinging lanterns. The scent of salt, sweat, and stale grog hung in the air like a second sail.
The door creaked open and Akio stepped inside, he was small, uncertain, but his jaw was set, and his eyes were firm. Thirty-five hardened pirates paused, their laughter fading into curiosity as all eyes turned to him.
From a cracked wooden throne built out of barrels and bone, a massive man with huge beard stood, His voice boomed like thunder.
"Well well well," said Captain Roghar the Red. "What 'ave we got 'ere, lads? A barnacle-sized stowaway?"
Laughter erupted like cannon fire.
Borrik Nosebite, snorting through a nose like a smashed turnip, squinted. "What made ye climb onboard, lad?"
Akio stepped forward without hesitation and said. "To protect my father."
Tanka Twin-Axe—bald, wide as a barrel, and constantly chewing something—spat bone chips onto the floor.
"Protect yer father?! Ha! That's a new one."
"Yeah, what's yer story, boy? This ain't no playground!" Gargro Flinch-Eye screeched, blinking one eye faster than the other.
"I'm not a child," Akio snapped back, clenching his fist.
Loopin the Limp shuffled forward, dragging one twisted foot and flashing a toothless grin. "Protect your father... a Viking?! With them twiggy twigs ye call arms?"
Zarko Bellybump jiggled with every chuckle. "Aye, lad, ye gonna scare 'em with bedtime stories?"
The laughter hit like waves slapping all together.
Akio reached into his belt and yanked free his mother's kitchen knife and he held it up.
"With this," he said defiantly raising the knife in his hand above his head. "And my hands ain't tiny."
Fizzetooth leaned forward, his yellow teeth like jagged rocks. "Ye gonna use that butter blade to clean me molars?"
The pirates laughed even louder, Tankards slammed against wood. A pirate dropped his spoon.
Akio dropped into a stance, "You wanna go?" Borrik raised both hands. "Whoa whoa, easy there, thunderbug!"
Then all kept quiet for a while then.
Boots thudded slowly against the deck, A figure stepped from the shadows, his presence cutting through the tension like ice through fog his name was Black Murdoch.
His face was a map of old scars, A patch covered one eye. His dreadlocks hung like rope. He stepped into the circle, his voice a gravel grind.
"The sea, boy," he said, "ain't no nursery. It eats lads like ye... whole. One bite, gulp, gone."
He stomped once and Hard, The other pirates followed as well.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Then he began to chant:
"There once was a beast in the ocean blue,
Kraken with arms like an army crew,
Its eyes glowed red, its breath like flame,
It swallowed a fleet and took no name!"
The pirates joined in:
"Yo-ho, beware the tide,
Where legends live and sailors died!
Blades drawn in moonless night,
We sail with ghosts in pale moonlight!"
Murdoch's voice surged:
"The Kraken sleeps, but still we steer!
With rum in hand and death beside,
With clash of sword in a no man's grave,
We laugh where lesser men have cried!"
Another pirate leapt up, raising a mug:
"Yo-ho, let cannon roar,
We'll send 'em sinking to the ocean floor!
Yo-ho, our curse, our song,
With blood and thunder, we sail along!"
Murdoch ended:
"We danced with death, our sails all torn,
One eye lost, one soul reborn!"
Zarko chuckled. "Didn't exactly happen like that..."
"Aye," said Loopin. "I once beat a hammerhead with a harmonica!"
"And I stabbed a shark... with me fingers! Swear on me mug!" Fizzetooth howled.
The room shook with laughter.
Then Murdoch turned back.
"So tell us, boy... can you fight?"
Akio's voice was quiet, but firm. "Yes." Looking even more determined.
Borrik grinned. "If there's a hundred men, and just yer crew—what then?"
"I'll stand and fight," Akio said.
Tanka leaned in. "And how do ye know you'll win?"
Akio replied, "I don't. But I know we'll be victorious."
Murdoch's eye narrowed. "What if there's a sea monster... ten thousand feet tall?"
"With teeth longer than sabertooth tigers," Loopin added.
"Arms bigger than an elephant's nightmares," Zarko chimed in, "and it grabs yer father?"
"I'll rescue him," Akio said. "Together, we'll defeat it."
"How are you sure you'll win?" Gargro asked.
"You're just a child," Murdoch said.
The laughter returned, but this time... it didn't shake him Akio was even more determined than he ever was before climbing aboard.
Akio's fists clenched.
"I know I'll rescue him. I believe, I'll defeat the sea monster. I have faith. The sea monster's head will be delivered... to my hands!"
He struck a proud pose demonstrating he's fighting skills, he then slipped, A few pirates lunged forward and caught him before he hit the deck.
Zarko bellowed laughter. "Faith?! You're gonna need more than that, lad."
"Why not just give up?" Fizzetooth teased.
Akio stood tall.
"Give up? Ha! That's not in my father's teachings. I will never give up."
Silence followed.
The pirates glanced around, everywhere looking tensed as they all dropped a serious face. Murdoch nodded slowly, The room shook with laughter.
"I like this kid," Borrik said with a half-toothed grin.
Tankards slammed. Cheers exploded.
"Welcome aboard, lad!" Roghar the Red roared. "Fetch him some grog! Or... milk, maybe!"
The pirates broke into another chant:
"He fought the beast, he won the day,
With tiny hands and a butter blade!
His heart was big, his courage loud,
He made the pirate fathers proud!"
Akio sang with them as they danced through the night.
"Yo-ho, let cannon roar,
We'll send 'em sinking to the ocean floor!
Yo-ho, our curse, our song,
With blood and thunder, we sail along!"
They danced. They roared. They drank with Joy, celebrating their victory and new recruit, the son of a Viking.
In the middle of it all stood Akio, a small boy in a monstrous world But yet already... a legend in the making.