Dawn crept in softly, turning the edge of the sea from iron-gray to a bruised gold.
The deck was still alive, as boots thudded against the planks still cool with night mist while crewmen hauled heavy crates towards the open mouths of the lower holds. Above them, canvas snapped and whispered as others worked the rigging, closing the ships masts and letting the sails down.
Arron stood high on the masts platform as he always did, keeping a firm grip on his crossbow. With one hand braced against the rail, his eyes remained fixed on the endless roll of the ocean. From there, the sea looked calm and deceptive, sunlight breaking across it in long, blinding paths. He watched for patterns, for changes—anything that didn't belong.
From the quarterdeck, Drewey overlooked them all, gaze moving from deck to horizon, measuring progress with quiet authority.
High above everything, the flag of the war empires red dragon blew proud and unmistakable, strung tight and snapping in the breeze. It's colours burned bright in the newborn light, a bold claim against the open sky as the ship drifted gently in the day.
Today seemed to be just another, ordinary day, and so would tomorrow.
A loud boom suddenly echoed, followed by a scream and the blur of something flying straight towards him.
Barely having time to register it, Drewey ducked hard, his legs weakening as a door blasted right over him, close enough that the rush of air tugged at his shirt. It smashed across the deck in a spray of splinters and ringing metal, skidding until it slammed into a rail.
'???'
Drew straightened quickly, heart pounding and the echo of the impact still rattling him. He looked down on the ships deck, only to see a blur of chaos, along with several of his men already downed.
**
Azdin broke through the crowd of still confused sailors, quickly acting before they could even understand what was happening. One heart beat he was standing in the broken door way to the lower holds, the next he was nothing but a blur, a streak of motion cutting through the fog of their confusion.
Shouts rose too late, boots scraped uselessly against the deck as he slipped past them like a gust of wind, delivering a single but quick blow to whomever he could reach.
'Faster!'
Each strike was clean and decisive, all aimed at the strange blue light that everyone emitted. A sharp blow to the neck, a quick jab to the stomach, and a precise punch that stole breath and balance in the same instant. Several sailors crumpled where they stood, and as the rest tried to draw their weapons, they quickly clatterd from suddenly limp hands.
But it wasn't enough.
'Faster, and even faster, I need to take down as many as I can before..'
And then, an impact came like thunder. Drewey dropped from the upper deck in a straight brutal plunge, boots smashing into the planks with a bone-jarring crash that sent a shudder through the ship.
Steel sang as his cutlass cleared it's sheath mid stride, the blade catching the light in a sharp, hungry flash.
Pointing his weapon at him, Azdin froze in place,
"Who.. you? You're the Awakened we caught...how did you get free?"
Completely ignoring him however, he shouted,
"Now!"
From the darkness of the broken doorway, a sea of people suddenly came flooding through, spilling onto the deck like a living tide. Their eyes already falling upon the legion of fallen sailors, they rushed as they claimed their weapons, arming themselves.
Witnessing the strange sight, disbelief flickered across his face.
'Shit, he freed the captives!'
"Arron!! Start firing! It's a rebellion! We'll worry about the consequences later!"
Quickly getting a gist of the situation, he aimed his crossbow down towards the populous, before it loosened in one single motion. The arrow it released tore through the air, ripping the wind apart rather than cutting through it as a sharp crack followed it's passage.
It easily tore through one unfortunate body, but it didn't stop. The arrow seemed to strangely curve at an impossible angle, as it punched through flesh and bone in a straight single merciless line.
All within the same second, 7 people were killed before the arrow finally ran it's course, lodging itself in the middle of the last persons corpse. A large pool of blood spread across the deck in dark uneven stains. The rebelling captives saw it and slowed. Until they stopped completely.
In those same few seconds, all the previously surprised sailors regained their bearings, all unsheathing their weapons as they surrounded the rebellious crowd.
Eyes that had held fire and certainty moments before flickered as the truth settled in. This wasn't chaos anymore, it was loss made visible, written across the deck in crimson red.
Azdin could see it in their eyes, the hope he gave them was quickly fading. Just as easy as it had been for them to get fired up for their freedom, it was just as easy to put it back out.
But while many of them did lose hope, one did not.
Azdin called out her name,
"LOTTE!?"
Sighing, the golden haired woman emerged out of the crowd, her hands folded behind her back as she strode ahead, not bothering to arm herself.
Tilting her head up, her silver eyes glinted in the light as she spotted the Awakened archer already nocking another arrow from his quiver, preparing to fire down the army of rebellious captives once more.
An eerily warm smile spreading on her lips, she shouted,
"Hey! You up there!"
Arron noticed. Responding, he aimed his crossbow at her first, his finger already wrapped around it's trigger.
Lotte's lips barely moved as she spoke softly, the words slipping out like a secret meant only for the air itself.
"Die."
The single word never reached Aaron's ears, or even anyone else's, but he saw it anyway. He caught the shape of the words as they formed, precise and deliberate.
For a fleeting moment his expression didn't change. No fury, no strain, just a clam almost reverent stillness as he was just about to fire.
About to fire..
His finger wouldn't move. It refused to move.
His hand betrayed him, locking tight and numb as if it no longer belonged to him at all. At the same time a sudden pressure bloomed behind his eyes, the world tilting sideways as insidious mad whispers stalked his ears, inspiring strange and horrible thoughts that he usually wouldn't dare to even imagine.
The dizziness hit him hard. His stomach lurched. The mast platform swayed beneath his boots, or perhaps it was him, he couldn't tell anymore.
Panicking now, he reached out to grab the wooden railing, desperately seeking support.
He almost fell.. but then what could only be described as someone's palm pushing him from behind, sent him flying forwards, tipping him over the mast.
The sky rolled around him, deck spinning far below.
Confused, he opened his mouth to scream, but not even a single sound came out.
He struck the deck head first, letting out a disgusting, sickening crack that didn't belong to the wood alone. His body folded like paper, momentum driving it past whatever bone and muscle were ever meant to allow.
For a moment, everyone watched the brutal scene with wide eyes, but by far the one that was the most mortified, was Drewey.
Strangely cheerful, Lotte yelled,
"Oh, wow, it worked!!"
The tremor in his hand stilled, his eyes hardening as dread twisted into furry,
"YOU WITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Aiming his cutlass at her instead, he thrusted forwards with everything he had, boots biting into the deck as his weight and fury were put into motion.
Before his blade could even get anywhere near her flesh, it was stopped dead in its tracks.
In a storm of sliver sparks and white strings, two guardless short sabers flashed into existence, their blades burning with a brilliant azure blue as they crossed against his steel. The clash rang sharp and violent, a scream of metal echoing that ripped his momentum away.
Standing to oppose him, was Azdin.
"Move aside!"
"I'll have to refuse!"
And thus, Azdins first clash against another Awakened begins.