Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Come one, come all. Let's meet at the witches ball
The Isles of Secrets is a set of small islands sheltered in the bermuda triangle. That is where Magic was born, back when the earth had been started. All magic in the known world is due to the Isles, as when the veil opens, a flurry of power bleeds into the ocean, which births creatures of legends and gives the world the ability to use it.
Many have attempted to find the islands, but few have come back alive and succeed. Legend says that those who find their way to the isles are given a chance to meet fate, and receive treasures that one could only dream upon.
Every 60 years, the veil weakens and the waterway to the Isles of Secrets opens. But danger follows wanderers of the sea, and it will do everything in its path to prevent those unworthy to pass. The key? The blessing of the witch.
A crowd gathers around an old man standing at the podium in the town square, telling stories of aeons passed.
The old man is dressed in a long off-white robe, his belt made of rope that shines golden in the sun. His name is Kun, coming up to his 146th birthday, and he dons a full white beard and head of long white hair, a wooden staff perched at his side. It wouldn't do if the troublemakers on the island knew of his identity just yet.
The recent weeks at Incantare Bay have been stressful, the Royal Navy setting their eyes on another seemingly insignificant island to colonise, or so it had seemed in the beginning. The Kingdom had sent them to this island twice before, all times bringing trouble. The first time they had come, it was merely for them to plot the surrounding waters, and to stock up on items they needed. The damages to the island and the insults made to the islanders had led to retaliation, and if the ship had gone back with only ⅔ of her crew, no one could proudly answer why. The second time they had come, that was when the Royal Navy tried to colonise the island, death and destruction soon followed, however, and the crew were never to be seen again.
This time, their visit was different from a year prior. In the few weeks they were on the island, the Navy didn't try to set up laws or try to take political power over the islanders. Instead, they slammed tax upon tax on the docks and pubs, pulling out fines for every little issue. Kun knew better, as he told the people to follow along with the new taxes and fines for a bit. They needed to be patient and wait. When the perfect opportunity arose they would be able to find out just why the Royal Navy were giving so much trouble to their island.
"Shut it ya old man," a burly voice rings out across those gathered in the town square, what little excitement there was dying down in order for the crowd to find the owner of the voice. "th' podium be only fer th' passin' o' information, nah fer yer old legends."
Kun, like all the islanders at the square, tracks the voice back to a tall, large man dressed in a blue frock coat with gold navy buttons, obviously a warrant officer from the docked Navy ship. A small hint of a smile flashes across Kun's lips, sharp eyes glinting in amusement. Finally .
"Legends spring from the truth. Besides, it has been 50 years since the Veil last weakened, why not wait for another 10 years and then try to find out yourself if I'm lying?" Kun, in his old man disguise, replies, gripping his staff to help him stand, actions slow and exaggerated.
The warrant officer laughs, showing his yellow stained teeth, "Aye, that's where yer legends be wrong old man." The crowd dies down completely, all watching the two men conversing. Anticipating.
"And where is it wrong boy?" The old man returns a pristine smile of his own as he leans against his wooden cane, his posture relaxed as he shifts his weight.
The warrant officer walks towards the podium, making his way through the crowd, ignoring the angry looks from those he pushed or have fallen to the ground. "Ye were wrong about th' treasure if ye needs a witch in yer ship. Witches sink, th' sea be especially unkind. They would ne'er volunteer t' sail, 'n thats even if ye can get them alive."
He draws his sword, the tip pressing against the old man's throat, grin on his face. "This means that ya were usin' th' podium t' spread false information– That be a 100 shillin' fine."
The old man follows the sword back to its wielder and looks him straight in the eyes, a burst of hearty laughter rises from the crowd, all their attention focused on the Warrant officer. Kun holds back his desire to roll his eyes, yet another fine put in place for the Navy to wring money out of them. Could they be any more unimaginative?
"Aye, I'm afraid I won't be doing that," the old man lifts his cane, and with great speed and strength, swipes the sword away and mirrors the action of the sword with his cane, surprisingly sharp tip of the staff now digging into the Navy man's chest. "Taxing our ports, we can take as a… temporary issue that can be dealt with. Like rats, or an infestation of malicious spirits. We get rid of issues easily here, see. The first time rats appeared, they were just looking to swim so we got rid of some of them but left most alone. The second time, they proved to be much more annoying, so we just got rid of them all. Tell me, which group of rats would you like to be today?"
The Navy man swings his sword at the old man, face red and ears steaming, but pausing momentarily as the crowd reveals their own weapons, from daggers to guns, all aimed at the navy man. He looks around in anger and reaches for the flare signal on his hip. The old man swings at his arm, trying to knock the gun out of his hand but the navy man manages to stop the swing and fires his gun to the sky. A single line of blue smoke rises and pops.
Donghyuk personally believes that he isn't a troublemaker, as he never aims to bring trouble to anyone. Instead, he likes to think he attracts chaos, simply because it's more fun . He likes to start conflict, but not participate in the aftermath, his so-called 'get the fuck out' skills already reaching unimaginable levels. He also finds it quite intriguing really, that a boy dressed as unnecessary witch-like, with his gigantic ass hat, his thigh-length red overcoat, and three fucking potion bottles hanging by his hip is never the one people suspect to have hexed their pub. I think it’s because I don't fly around on a broomstick or use a wand .
And yes, here he is in the middle of said chaos, on his way to put himself right into a fight just to make sure that wretched old man doesn't die and bring down the whole island with him. If I have to regrow another bed of herbs I will literally dive to the bottom of the ocean myself and drown.
"Kun! I swear to the isles and all that is magic if you get hurt and mess up the island, I'm blowing up your shop!"
Donghyuk hurries over to the old man, jumping over debris and skillfully dodging the other fights around him. It's interesting how much destruction can occur between a single flare and an explosion. He unsheathes his sword, borrowed from the blacksmith, and blocks the swing the Navy man aimed at Kun.
"Ah, Haechan! Fancy seeing you in the middle of a fight," Kun takes a step back, allowing Donghyuk to take his place, who promptly rolls his eyes. "Buy me a few minutes would you love." Donghyuk nods, striking high at the warrant officer who blocks with his own sword, eyebrows raised in intrigue.
"What’s a pretty thin' like ye doin' on an island like this?" The Navy man comments, parrying every attack Donghyuk sent to him, dodging a low kick.
"Nothing of your concern." Donghyuk bites back, attempting to get the upper hand in the duel to no avail. His attacks keep getting blocked, and his stamina really isn't cut out for close combat situations. He eyes the gold buttons on the man's vest, a warrant officer. He increases his attacks, aiming his sword at the most vital parts of the blue-coats body, heart rate spiking as he feels his arms quickly aching from the strong vibrations sent through the swords. He won't be able to beat him with skill, so dragging on the fight for as long as he can would be the next best alternative.
"How about I brin' ye back t' me ship, our next destination be about two months away, plenty o' time t' 'ave some fun, maybe even train yer sword skills when thar be time." The Blue-coat winks at Donghyuk, who stops attacking for a quick second, repulsed by the suggestion and trying to catch a proper breath, sweat sticking his sheer shirt closer to his body.
Unfortunately, blue-coat capitalises on his hesitation and manages to cut through Donghyuk's overcoat to reveal his top, the blade pressed right in the middle of his chest. The sudden loss of his coat making him more uncomfortable, never before has he appreciated so much in his ability to put on a poker face than now.
"I'm going to have to decline your offer," Donghyuk sheaths his sword, knowing that his body wouldn't properly last another match against the Navy man. "Besides, it's bad manners to destroy someone's clothes. I think a 100 shillings should cover the cost." He lets his minced overcoat fall to the ground.
"Aye pretty, still, even without th' fine, ye all will be taken t' th' dungeons fer attackin' hands o' th' Royal Navy." Blue-coat arrogantly laughs, moving his sword away from Donghyuks chest and slowly reaching out for his wrist. "Ye could be useful on our vessel pretty, someone on th' ship t' keep our beds warm." Donghyuk doesn't move, his jack rabbit heart the only thing revealing his true emotions. He just hopes that he had bought enough time for Kun.
Suddenly, a song sung in elders tongue and a strong smell of pumpkins permeated throughout the square. The smell stuns the blue-coat, its unique smell being a telltale sign of a potion being used, just long enough for Donghyuk to pull his wrist away from the warrant officers' outreached hand and jump to a safe distance. He turns to the podium and looks at Kun, wrinkles and beard gone to reveal a white haired youth, strumming a guitar and singing.
"Thank the sun." Donghyuk sighs as he quickly runs away from the navy man to join Kun on the podium, throwing his sword at the warrant officer in a final retaliation. His teeth sinking into his bottom lip. I should gouge his eyes out for the sake of humanity.
As he reaches Kun, Donghyuk uses his magic and imagines a thread coming from Kun to tie the spell together with his voice as he starts singing, strengthening the spell and broadcasting it further across the square. Simultaneously, all the attacking Navy men freeze and drop their weapons, slowly realising that they are unable to move their bodies.
"Why can't I move me body?" The warrant officer anxiously screamed, struggling to move his arms and legs. Donghyuk doesn't even humour him with an answer, instead, he looks at Kun.
"For the record, I thought we all agreed that we would let the Navy do their thing until we found out what they were looking for." Donghyuk reaches up to his hat, just to make sure it was still properly resting on his head.
"Eh, in my defence, he attacked first. Besides, we've left them long enough to sufficiently make a plan."
Donghyuk looks at Kun unamused, watches as the guitar morphs back into his staff. A simple curved piece of wood with Kuns family insignia, a musical note, carved into it, a dangling blue orb at the top especially eye-catching.
Kun looks over the crowd, the islanders ignoring the two men on the stage, gathering up the discarded weapons and tying up the Navy men, and orders before walking back to his store.
"Check them all and then leave them in the dungeons. Make sure there aren't more than 2 in a cell and keep watch at all times. Either me or Haechan will go down in a few hours to interrogate them, everyone gets free reign over their weapons. Thank you all for your hard work these few weeks."
Donghyuk watches as the crowd efficiently acts on Kuns instructions, before turning away and following Kun, looking back at his dirty overcoat on the ground. "Hey Kun, think you'd be able to prepare a new coat for me?"
Kun chuckles, patting Donghyuk on his shoulder. "I own a magic shop love, I have literally almost everything anyone would ever need."
Donghyuk laughs slightly, expression quickly falling into something more serious. "I- I'm going to burn everything I'm wearing later," a shop with a sign Red Bean slowly comes into view, Donghyuk exhaled quickly, the thought of changing into a pair of non-sweaty clothes enticing him to pick up his pace. "The residual energy of that navy man is too disgusting to leave on this planet. That being said, I would like to do the interrogation later."
"Aye, no problem. Besides, the Royal Navy have been patrolling these waters for a while. Each docking leads to more and more trouble. A hex on the seabed at the ports will do us some good."
"I can help with that," Donghyuk looks at Kun, slowing his pace once they reach the door. "But I'm picking out some new clothes before I go."
Kun holds out his staff, the wood changing its form into the shape of a key. "You can get a full magic re-tailor if you like. My store has always been free for you little sea gremlins. And besides… you won't need to burn anything if you do."
Donghyuk grins widely, his face lighting up. The door opens, welcoming them back as the energy stirs and latches onto them, blending their magic into one soothing wave. "Thank you. And don't lie, you love us."
He looks around the store, admiring its peacefulness. Red Bean wasn't big in any form, the storefront being pretty small, especially considering that all the people living on the island come to visit and shop at least a few times weekly. The different sections all stocked with anything a magic wilder would need. The people who lived on the island, Incantare Bay , were very proficient in low level magic. However, their human bodies are generally unable to withstand the drawbacks of higher grade magic. That's where Kun comes in, selling his high level trinkets to the islanders to help in their day to day life.
Donghyuk walks into a light cherry wood dresser at the corner of the room. The dresser was a failed experiment from Kun turned unusual magic item, a stutter in a self cleaning charm transforming the dresser into a treasure. A simple in and out, and your whole wardrobe gets changed. It's unknown where the clothes come from, the quality always being top notch, and they are always suited to the lifestyle of the user. The clothes can be duplicated for extra pairs also.
"Haechan dear, the wardrobe has actually done a marvellous job at making you not look like a witch!" Kun laughs, pulling out a chair from the back living quarters. Donghyuk rolls his eyes and turns around, summoning a mirror in front of himself.
His hair was now a very dark purple, a simple spell changing his eyes to match. His shirt now a long-sleeved white, tucked into a dark burgundy high waisted calf-length skirt, a matching burgundy hooded cloak, clasped at the front with a metal sun insignia, that let his arms through replaced his old coat. His black hat was now transformed into a leather belt bag, his leather boots were kept the same and long golden earrings with the sun insignia finished his look.
It looks good, but the style reminded him of adventurers, and not of an island dweller. Hoods are commonly used by travellers and adventurers to hide their identity, especially those who find themselves actually needing to disappear. And skirts have been coming into obscure popularity amongst the smaller sized adventurers, the space underneath providing a good hiding spot for small trinkets and items. He glances at Kun through the mirror, a thin smile appearing as he further inspects the hood. "This isn't half bad, maybe you should try and change your look up as well."
Kun taps his cane on the floor, a pulse of magic ripples across the wooden panels as a small tree sprout through the floor and forms into a small chest. "Excuse you, I have a brand I need to stick to you know." He transforms his cane yet again into a small wooden key, unlocking the chest and taking out a small sachet. "Come here love, time for you to pull your weight."
Donghyuk rolls his eyes as he unclasps the bag and lets Kun drop the sachet into it. "I literally just helped you in a sword duel," he pulses his own magic into the floor, allowing the chest to return. "Besides, I'm better at hexes than at sword duelling anyway."
Kun looks at him unamused, key transforming back into his cane. "Yes that may be so, but it isn't my fault our luck is so shitty that those Navy dogs show up so often."
"Well, it was just my inborn luck I wasn't here during their last attempted colonisation," A single snap summoning a chair while ridding the space of the mirror. "The mess was so bad that Renjun hopped onto the next pirate ship that touched our ports."
Donghyuk huffs, the day he received an aura from Kun detailing the destruction the Royal Navy had set on their island he had rushed back as fast as he could but Renjun had already left on his adventure by the time he had come back.
"Quite a memorial day if I dare say. Instead of the pirates taking our things, they ended up giving us supplies instead. Renjun even joined their crew as thanks."
"I wouldn't put it past him to have joined them just so he wouldn't need to help fix the destruction." Donghyuk shifts in his seat, trying to get the skirt to bunch up more comfortably on his chair. He thinks of Renjun, his best friend and practically a brother, and a thought crosses his mind. "Speaking of which, his last aura was three months ago. When do you think he'll return?"
Kun stares at him. With so much going on in and around the island, he almost forgot that Renjun had been out at sea for close to a year. "No idea, let me make some tea and I'll do a divination." Kun stands up and goes over to the cauldron to get some boiling water, and brings the jar of stinging nettles with him to the table as well as two empty teacups.
Donghyuk looks at the jar, his face frowning in disgust. "I know you have your methods and whatnot, but couldn't you have learned tasseomancy with a better tasting tea?"
Kun ignores him and continues to steep the leaves in water, putting significantly more stinging nettle into one of the cups. "At least I'm not a literal witch who puts witch hazel into their drinks."
Donghyuk laughs, reaching to his head and confusingly touching his hair. Oh yeah, no more hat. He unclasps his new bag and was up to his elbow inside the bag before feeling the smooth curvature of the glass bottle containing a clear liquid.
"Well, you start small. And slowly, if you live through a bottle, no amount can kill you afterwards. Besides… you never know when this skill might come in handy."
Kun looks on in slight wonderment as Donghyuk proceeds to pour the whole bottle of witch hazel into his tea, an amount that would definitely kill an ordinary witch, then re-cork the bottle and drop it back into his bag.
Witch hazel is a rare and dangerous ingredient for witches, it being the only way for one to incapacitate a witch that is strong enough to cast higher level magic. It's made from a very rare species of the witch hazel plant that feeds on magic to grow, thus it can only be found on magic rich islands, like Incantare Bay, or cultivated using a high grade magic source.
"You know," Donghyuk stirring his tea with his finger, the witch hazel turning the greenish tea purple, "the blessing I put on him should have worn off by now."
Kun chugs the contents of his tea and places it on the floor, raising his staff and piercing the teacup as a brown smoke rises from the leaves. "Well then, let us hope our boy hasn't fallen into the ocean." The smoke swirls in place before an image reveals itself through the magic.
Donghyuk sips his tea, the stinging from the witch hazel bringing a form of comfort as he watches the image slowly materialise into a scene where Renjun and two blond boys are looking at a map. "Well then… that is bloody convenient for us isn't it."
Kun nods, eyes glued to the scene. "Those two were part of the crew who helped us, glad to see that he's still sailing with them. The taller one is named Jisung and the other Chenle. If Jisungs finger is any hint, the map shows us that within the last two weeks, Renjun was sailing in the waters of the Carmone archipelago."
Donghyuk stops mid-sip, putting his cup down and walks closer to the image. "Carmone archipelago? If he was there two weeks ago, he would be crashing into our port by the end of the night, and that's if they've met with some issues along the way." Donghyuk walks back, takes his teacup and drops it into his belt bag as he looks back at Kun.
Kun looks down at the mess of tea, leaves and glass on his floor, "Go and give him a big welcome for me. I'll get some extra supplies and food ready for when they arrive." Donghyuk takes one final look at the staff embedded into the floorboards, before running out of the store.
The shophouses that lined the side of the streets all flew by in a blur as Donghyuk ran. The islanders all jumped out of his way, greeting him as he passed. A few of the shop owners tossed small bags of trinkets at him which promptly began to float behind him in a single file. He bowed his head in thanks before picking up speed, the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the port encouraging him to run faster.
The edge of the blue sea quickly came into view, various boats of different sizes lined the port. From tiny rowboats to larger fishing boats, a portion of the port had been taken up.
Outsiders rarely visited Incantare Bay, the most recent non-violent sailors was a merchant ship exchanging some supplies for a few potions and enchantments. That damned tax from the Navy causing them to look forward to a shortage of supplies for the next few weeks.
Donghyuk slows his pace, catching his breath as he lets his hood fall, looking back and letting the trinkets float into his bag. He takes out a potion bottle, corked and wax sealed, and greets the workers at the port, walking straight up to the figure sitting at the end of the pier.
"Hey." Donghyuk smiles, dropping the potion bottle into what would be a lap of the merman. "Fancy seeing you just chilling on the pier Yangyang."
The merman rolls his eyes as he breaks the wax seal and uncorks the bottle, chugging the whole thing before tying it to the seaweed belt on his hip. They watch as his iridescent green tail transforms into a pair of legs, scales peeling off and falling into the ocean as bones reshape into legs in a mess of flesh and blood.
"You do know," Yangyang grabs a pair of pants at his side and puts them on, ignoring the feeling of blood sticking, "I live right below where we are sitting. I can be literally nowhere else."
Donghyuk laughs, a single ship sailing in from the horizon. The sea breeze ruffles his hair as he slips Yangyang's hand in his. "You do know that Renjun is literally on that ship on the way here, right?"
His hand clenches slightly. "Yeah. The puffers told me. Didn't even cross that asshole's mind that he should have sent his brother an aura bubble to tell him. A simple ‘Hey! OTW home! Get stuff ready!’ would have been nice."
"Ah yes, that's the Renjun we know and love. Never telling us what he's doing but expects us to be ready at attention when he arrives."
Yangyang releases a deep sigh, the ship no more than a black spot against the clear blue sky. "You know how hard it was to watch him go? Thinking that he could just fall into the sea and never surface?"
Donghyuk tightens his grip, the waves kissing the bottom of their feet. He thinks back to when he gave Renjun his blessing, a magic filled kiss to his forehead to let him walk on water. It started off as a joke, a ' Since your brother can swim, and you can’t, what if you float?' that slowly delved into a serious conversation at the fact that most witches sink in water, and Renjun has had far more drowning scares than necessary. But the blessings Donghyuk can cast only lasts two to three months max, and the auras Renjun sends back acting more so as a sign that he hasn't died yet than an update of his travels.
Minutes pass in silence as black sails slowly come into sight, the sign of an active pirate ship.
It bore at Donghyuk's mind, excitement boiling under his skin. He hasn't seen Renjun in a year, having left two months before his journey, to a neighbouring island to gather and study rare herbs. "Did you manage to see the pirates?"
Yangyang flicks Donghyuk on his arm, looking at him in astonishment. "My brother has been out at sea on a pirate ship just shy of a year, he is going to literally jump out of said ship in about 5 minutes, and here you are, inquiring about the pirates and not on how we can send a giant octopus over to punish him for a whole year of death scares?"
Donghyuk groans, rubbing the sore spot as he rolls his eyes. "No, do that! But I've literally never gotten a description of said pirates except 'Good, sweet boys'."
"Sorry to break it to you, but they are 'Good, sweet boys'." The merman reaches his free hand into the waves, calling out to his pet giant octopus, Spencer, to swim over to the incoming ship. "Honestly, the only reason Renjun probably even went with them was because two of them pirates charmed the literal pants off him."
"That's a given, all the pirates I've ever met were hot. I think crime gives them this flavour." They both stand as the ship comes closer to the pier, a blue figure jumping off right into the sea, only to be caught in the clutches of Spencer, who promptly begins tossing him around his tentacles. A shrill scream coming from the blob of blue and echoing voices from the above ship.
Yangyang laughs himself out of breath, hands on his knees. Donghyuk jumps into the water, balancing perfectly still on the water as he runs over to Renjun, a similar smile on his face. "Hey asshole, maybe give me a warning the next time you decide to run away with pirates alright!"
Spencer wraps Renjun steady in a tentacle, sticking himself to the side of the ship to allow Renjun to be totally above water. He hasn’t changed much as compared to their last meeting. He has a blue bandana tied around his hat, covering silver hair, and a full outfit of different shades of blue. His wand clipped to the side of his hip. Another tentacle reaches out to Donghyuk, who shakes it in greeting.
"Not my fault! If they weren't so hot, I wouldn't have left so suddenly." A cheeky grin on Renjuns face slowly morphing into a bright grin. He wriggles his arms out of the wrap and reaches out to Donghyuk who returns the hug tightly. "I've missed you."
"Me too."
Donghyuk pulls away, kissing Renjuns forehead to re-imprint his blessing. Spencer slowly relaxes his grip, making sure Renjun has a secure footing on the water before letting go.
They look up at the ship, noticing a quartet spying on them as Renjuns smile gets wider.
"Dock and meet me at the pier. Don't worry, the waters are deeper than you think."
The quartet nods, shocked at being found eavesdropping as they rush back to their stations. Donghyuk grabs Renjuns hand and they run to the pier, Yangyang tearing up at the sight of the blue boy. He helps them up, before giving Renjun a hug of his own.
"Never. Ever. Ever do that again. I couldn't go a day without thinking you could have drowned, and I would have needed to scower the whole fucking ocean to find your body and drag it back here."
"I'm sorry. But I can promise that my crew will make sure nothing happens to me."
They release their hug and watch as the huge ship docks at their pier. Donghyuk reaches into his bag and grabs at a cloth bag, tossing it to the oncoming tax collector before winking him off. While the exorbitant taxes from the Navy were no longer in place, those working on the docs still deserved a good tip. A large and heavy wooden plank was dropped onto the dock, two good looking boys came waddling down.
Renjun reaches out his hands and they intertwine their fingers through his, walking forward a few steps. One had peach pink hair, almost blond, and was wearing a baggy white shirt tucked into baggy black pants with a blue sash, acting as a belt and holder for a pistol and sword. His leather boots were cut low. The other was similarly dressed, except his hair was black and there were no weapons in his blue sash. Instead, he wore a pair of lightly padded gloves with metal along the knuckles.
"Haechan, I would like to introduce my boyfriends, Jeno and Jaemin, first mate and main attacker of the Somnium . Boys, meet Donghyuk, my platonic soulmate and brother by magic. He responds to either but we usually call him Haechan."
Renjun lifted their hands and kissed their fingers, smiling at the slightly dumbfounded look on Donghyuk. "I would have liked to introduce you to the others, but they needed to stay to work on some stuff and the captain is sleepy."
Donghyuk blinks slowly, smile slowly growing. "So when Yangyang told me that a pair of pirates charmed your pants off, he meant it literally."
The black haired one, Jeno, laughed loudly. "Yep, and we wouldn't have it any other way." Jaemin wraps his arm around Renjuns shoulders, leaning slightly as he gives a dazzling smile.
"Well, It’s nice to finally meet the guys who stole my best friend for close to a year."
"Come, follow me." Renjun walks up to Donghyuk, not hesitating to put his arms through Donghyuk and Yangyangs, and they lead the two to Red Bean.
"Kun is going to curse you when we arrive," a slow chorus of ‘ Welcome back Renjun’ greets them as they walk down the street past the shophouses. More trinkets and sachets of things get tossed at them, all falling into line behind the group. The two pirates watch mystified at the floating objects before Renjun turns them forward to look at where they are walking. "Yeah, he might literally unbless me and then kick me into the sea."
Yangyang sighs, flicking the both of them on their forehead. "You know that won’t work. Spencer is ordered to keep gremlin #2 above water when I’m not around to make sure that royal small lungs doesn't drown. Also, the fact that Kun can't unbless anything." He takes the potion bottle off his hip and shakes it.
Donghyuk notices and goes to snap his fingers, knowing how uncomfortable it must be for the merman to be above water, but Renjun holds it down, puppy eyes in full attack. "Can I do it, please? I haven’t done it in so long!"
Donghyuk rolls his eyes but releases Renjuns left arm to let him grab his wand. Those puppy eyes stopped working on me soooo many years ago, but watches as Renjun points at the bottle and chants “🜄🜔🜞🝮”. The potion bottle slowly begins to fill up with a shimmering liquid. Yangyang uncorks the bottle and takes a whiff before downing the whole thing.
“See! I still have my skills!” Renjun huffs, swinging around his wand excitedly and sending out shimmering beams of light. Donghyuk shakes his head as he snaps his fingers to clip Renjuns wand back at his hip, Yangyang laughing as they continue to make their way down the street.
After walking for a bit more, he notices that the other two boys aren’t following them anymore. Renjun makes a show to tilt his head before calling out to them, which snaps them out of their daze. They hurriedly catch up to the three supernaturals, mildly shocked expressions on their faces.
“What?”
Jeno looks at Renjun and his wand, gulping. “We knew you were like… a witch? But- not a witch like a witch?"
"...What?"
“I mean…when you left with us, you said you could be our healer- so we just thought that your powers were specialised to that only?”
Renjun laughs, realisation crossing his features. “Oh, that's for low level witches.”
Jaemin and Jeno continue to stare at him, confusion evidently still there. Donghyuk decides to spare them the confusion. While magic knowledge is restricted in other places, on this island it’s pretty much everyday life, so telling the two about some secrets wouldn’t hurt.
“I’m only going to tell you guys this because It’s common knowledge on this island, so listen up.” He looks from Jeno to Jaemin, waiting for them to signal him to continue. “There are many classifications for Witches, but to put it simply, if you have less power you can train to specialise your magic. So a ‘low level witch’, if they choose to specialise in healing, will only be able to use their powers for healing.”
Jaemin takes a moment to process, before looking at Donghyuk. “So this means that, because Injunnie is a higher level witch, he can perform more magic than others?”
“Yeah, pretty much. But doing magic you aren't comfortable with by yourself could be deadly.”
“Does this mean that even on the ship, Injunnie was still training to become a ‘high level witch’ and that’s why he didn’t use his powers more often?” Jeno questions.
“No,” Donghyuk replies. “Magic is a fickle thing honestly. I won’t get into Magic genealogy too much, but all witches will be born with their ‘levels’. Most witches are born as a ‘low level witch’, thus what little knowledge of witches you have are those who have trained to do one thing with their magic.”
“However, Renjun was born as a ‘High level witch’, meaning that he can do most types of magic, as long as he uses his wand and has had sufficient practice. Magic theory is way more complicated, we could even go in-depth about how the strength of his spells could differ, but I’ll stop here for now.”
“Wait,” Jeno snorts at Renjun, “So does this mean that you’ve been hiding your powers from us this whole time?”
Renjun blinks innocently at Jeno. "I've never really hidden my magic though?"
"But you've never done anything except make salves and fix sword wounds!"
"Yeah! You're my boyfriend and I never knew you could do things like, spells and shit? I thought your powers only went from talking to spirits and being a healer!"
They go back and forth a few times, Renjun telling them that they should have paid more attention and the others arguing that he never actually did any other magic on the ship.
Before they knew it, they had reached the entrance of Red Bean. Renjun takes the break to let the trinkets and sachets float into his hat.
At the door, Donghyuk reaches out as he winks at Yangyang, pulling the door open and jumping out of the way. A red sachet flies straight at Renjun, hitting him right in the face and poofs into a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the whole front of his body was dyed a bright red.
"KUN YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Renjun screamed as he stomped in, Donghyuk and Yangyang laughing so hard behind him they couldn't walk through the door without leaning against each other.
"Holy shit," Yangyang pulled himself to the chair, slumping over trying to catch his breath. "That was almost better than Spencer."
Kun looks up from his hug with Renjun. "Spencer? Maybe I should have left Haechan here to clean up after all…Ow! Okay, okay, sorry for slapping you in the face with a dye bomb."
"Well damn, missed you too old man."
Kun just pushes Renjun towards the wardrobe before looking at the others. The pirate duo was awkwardly looking around the shop, keeping their hands at the side and trying not to knock anything over. Kun smiles at them, nodding his head in greeting. "It's good to see you all again. Thanks for taking care of our little gremlin."
They startle to attention. "No, we should be thanking him. He's saved us more times than we could ever repay him for."
Renjun walks out from the wardrobe, red dye now gone and his clothes transformed. His hair now a blueish-grey and his hat changed to a smaller size, bandana still tied around the base. A long light blue lace-up top tucked into his pants, a silver rope acting as a belt, the rope twisted in a way to create a bag and rings to hold potion bottles. His wand now camouflaged together with the silver holder made from the same rope. His pants were a dark blue, striped with slight traces of silver and a round silver earring with his family's insignia on his left ear, waves with eight tentacles. His leather boots now reached higher on his calf. A snap from Donghyuk changes his eyes to match his hair and summons a mirror, the other boys too distracted by Renjuns new appearance to notice the summoning.
Renjun looks himself in the mirror pleased with his new look, his boyfriends coming up to ogle at him. Jaemin squishes his cheeks, light blush dusting his ears. "I actually have the best boyfriend in the world."
Donghyuk turns away, snapping his fingers to get rid of the mirror and summon more chairs. "Let's leave the lovebirds to flirt in peace."
Kun laughs, tapping his cane onto the table, a selection of food and drinks blooming up from the wood. Donghyuk takes the opportunity to sit next to Yangyang, and reaches into his bag to take out his half-drunk cup of tea, still warm. He reaches over to grab a herb ball while waiting for the others, Yangyang at his side doing the same.
A minute passes, Donghyuk silently sipping his tea as he watches Renjun and the two pirates interact. He’s happy. He realises, Happier than when he was alone. He smiles as they settle down. He notices that Jaemin puts in 6 whole spoonfuls of sugar into his tea, while Jeno adds milk. Renjun drinking his without anything added.
“So,” Kun starts, “Know that we love you, and so very happy you came back, but why did you return so soon and so suddenly?”
Yangyang nods in agreement. “Yeah, sea travels are usually 2 years at the least. I was even planning on swimming out to you for a visit in the next few weeks.”
Renjun stops midway from taking a bite out of the grass bread, hand tightly gripping onto Jenos as a grim look crosses over his face. “We…Well…okay.” Renjun takes a deep breath, staring straight at Donghyuk. “I think it’s important for you to hear this from the beginning.”
It was the early afternoon when they docked at Gandows Holm , a small island out in the middle of the sea that welcomed pirates and sailors alike. The island was treated as equal ground, where you could see pirates and navy all drinking together in a pub. But you see, that was because of its special function. Gandows Holm , while small, is a very powerful island as it stood as the world's best information dealer. From information you seek, to information forbidden, if one has the means, any question can be answered.
“We docked at Gandows Holm in the early afternoon. Around 4 months after sailing with my crew, we got into a scuffle with another pirate gang. Putting it simply, we found out that a major announcement was going to be broadcasted at Gandows Holm.”
The 6 pirates disembark from the ship. These waters prided themself on the safety it provided, so they didn't need to worry about their belongings. It had been a month since their scuffle with Pentagon, and with much haste, they arrived on the island a week before the scheduled announcement. Unbeknownst to the others, they would be in possession of the news faster than anyone else here.
"We got there as fast as we could, within the next month, to try and find out what the announcement could be. You know how we have many connections. Plus, I had a bad feeling about that announcement."
The streets of Gandows Holm were bustling with more activity than usual, sea folk from all walks of life making their way through the island. Renjun led the rest, through shadows and alleys, to a seemingly insignificant bookstore.
"I brought them to Green bean. Partly because I missed Ten, and partly because I know he's the best information dealer on the island."
They made their way in, a gentle breeze flowing out from the door. Renjun turned to the others, signalling them to not move or talk. Seconds later, the inside of the store looked like it rippled, before transforming into the scene of a huge living room. There, at the dining table, reading a book, was Ten. He looked up and smiled at them, waving them over.
“He quickly let us in and I knew he was expecting us. He prepared snacks for us, and you know it’s near impossible to meet him for anything unless it’s you, or he has something to tell you.”
Renjun quickly walks over and sits in the chair directly across from Ten. He smiles in greeting. The others follow behind him, not saying a word as Renjun converses with Ten, catching up on anything Ten wants to know and some prods into his personal life from Renjun.
“I had already told the rest of my crew on the etiquette when meeting Ten, and to not question anything he tells us, not even when we are back on the ship. We sat down and I talked to Ten for a bit.”
After an hour of talking and catching up, Ten goes to refill Renjuns empty cup with juice, a few of the crew members visibly restless. When Ten returns, Renjun quickly asks about the announcement, scared that the others would break etiquette before they got their information.
“When Ten went to refill my juice, I could see that Jaemin, Jisung and Chenle were starting to get restless, so I asked straight up about what the announcement was. He didn’t even play around to see who would break etiquette first. And you know he only does that if it’s information that would be important to us… to you.”
Ten sits down, expression turning serious as he opens his discarded book and flips through it. His fingers suddenly stop flipping the pages, and he passes the book over to Renjun. All that the pirates could see was an open blank page, but for Renjun, it was lines and lines of information. His face visibly darkened as he looked back up at Ten, expression mirroring.
“His book. He gave me his book to read from. And not him reading out select parts. It was strange, but I quickly realised why he did as whatever it was that was in there, I could only read a few sentences myself. He told me it was a language he had never seen or heard about before, and that he could only deduce as much as I could. But that one sentence was enough for me to realise why he was so… worried.”
They spoke a few more words to each other before bidding their goodbyes. It was a silent walk back to the ship. When they got back Renjun secluded himself in his room, the others following their captain's orders to get supplies and they sailed off soon after. A week later, the news broke out to the other sea folk on the island but by then, the Somnium was already on her way to Incantare Bay.
“We had left as soon as we could, and sailed straight back. We met a few hiccups along the way, and if not, I would have been here sooner.” Renjun continues to look into Donghyuks eyes, fear and worry ever-present. Donghyuk swallows a mouth of dry saliva, anticipating.
“The book… the book… it said that…” Renjun takes a deep breath, breaking eye contact to lean into Jenos shoulder, who (alongside Jaemin) is confused at his sudden display of fear. His voice comes out in barely a whisper. “It said that the Veil would weaken this year, and that it would be the weakest it has ever been in the past 9000 years.”
Donghyuk stills, shock running through his veins as Yangyang and Kun snap their heads in his direction. What the fuck? No! The veil… It’s a whole 10 years early!
He tries to calm himself down, knowing that he has to be strong for Renjun, but a feeling of fear continues to grip at his heart. Okay. Calm down. Calm the fuck down. You need to be strong. Let’s continue to listen first.
“Are you sure,” Kun is the first to break the silence, his smile now replaced with a look of shock. “that it’s THAT Veil? Could it be some other veil or literally anything except That?”
Renjun shakes his head, “No. It’s that veil.”
“He isn’t lying.” Yangyang says. “Around 4 months ago, the sharks had been urging me not to swim too far out, to stay within the boundaries of our island. I listened for the most part, because when a sea animal as ferocious as my dear megalodon warns you about the ocean, you listen. But whenever I had to leave the boundaries, they surrounded me like they were trying to protect me from something. Spencer hasn’t been going nearly as far as he normally would either for the past 2 months. It links.”
Donghyuk rubs at his temples, worry bleeding into frustration. Fuck, i f that’s true, then it could mean that a terrifying monster has escaped from the Isles. We’re all going to need to prepare for the long haul.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Yangyang, do not leave the boundaries, but you will need to make a safe spot within the boundaries where animals can come to rest. If you need to leave to get anything, get as much supplies you can get on one final trip, and ask the megalodons to keep an eye out. They’re smart, they can keep themselves safe. Warn the others in Atlantis and tell them to prepare. ” Donghyuk says. Yangyang replies with a nod, standing up to carry out Donghyuks instructions.
“I’m sorry our time was short, but I’ll find you later.” He gives a hug to Renjun before leaving.
“Kun, you’ll need to stock up on stuff also, be prepared for at least 7 months without a merchant ship. I’ll need your help with relaying this to the islanders. Also, within the next week, no one will be allowed to leave the island past the boundaries. Tell them everything you’ve heard today. They'll understand.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll relay everything they need to know. I’ll meet you down at the dungeons when I’m done.” Kun hurriedly rushes out from the shop.
Donghyuk releases a deep sigh, crumpling down into his chair. Why is it 10 years early. He thinks. This means that the ocean won't be the only thing we will need to worry about. He feels a tapping on his foot, so he raises his head to an equally worried, but now less stressed Renjun.
“Thank you for coming back as fast as you did. Knowing how information from Gandows Holm spreads, we would be one of the first islands this side of the ocean to know about this.”
“It’s the least I could do for the place you and Kun hold so dear. Besides, the veil weakening means that it's easier for creatures to escape, and the last thing I would ever want would be for Atlantis or this Island falling to an unknown threat.”
“Um,” Jeno speaks up, his curiosity reaching its boiling point. “What's this veil? Like why is it causing all of you to worry so much? Also, did you just say Atlantis ?”
“Ah. Right. Normies. Junnie, you’ve never taught them anything about magic theory?” He asks, rapping his fingers against the table.
“In my defence, no one on the ship has ever asked me about magic, excluding our captain.”
Jaemin puffs out a breath of disbelief, full offence openly expressed on his face. “Uh, bitch what ? I love you and I cherish your opinions, but I’ve been bugging you for the past 6 months to teach me more about magic.”
Renjun gives Jaemin a resounding wack to the back of his arm, smiling straight at Donghyuk as he continues on. “In my defence, no one on the ship has ever asked me about magic, excluding our captain and Jaemin, who asks me about magic during the worst possible moments of the day, like when Jeno has managed to cut his leg open, or when Jisung has fallen into the sea and can’t reach the rope we’ve thrown down.”
Donghyuk snorts, the atmosphere changing to something less tense. He shoots Jeno a look of pity, who promptly shoots back a look of thanks.
“Okay,” he snaps his fingers, a humongous book titled ‘The quick guide to Magic Theory for normies and dummies’ plops down onto the table and he flips open the book to the first page.
Jeno and Jaemin look down in awe at the sheer thickness of it, That’s the fucking quick guide?
“What I’m about to tell you is the very simplest, most understandable, the utmost bare basics way to learn Magic Theory.”
The two pirates tense up, the sheer size of that fucking book making them regret not researching about this themselves. Renjun looks at the book, processing just for a second before quickly standing up and walking away.
“Alright, so, Magic is as old as the earth. It was born on the Isles of Secrets, a hidden set of islands in the bermuda triangle. Any and all magic you know and will ever know has come from the Isles. Now, the Isles of Secrets is hidden behind a ‘veil’, so no one knows where exactly it is. Following so far?”
“Yes.” They reply simultaneously.
“Good. Now, this ‘Veil’ weakens every 60 years, meaning that that is the only time anyone is able to even attempt sailing to the Isles. Given how there are no reports of anyone having even located the Isles over the past thousands of years, It’s pretty goddamn hard to find.”
“60 Years?” Jaemin questions. “If this ‘Veil’ thing weakening every 60 years is normal, what's so worrying?”
“This.” Donhyuk flips the book over to its last page, a list of dates running down the yellowish page. He points to the last date recorded, 4th November 1680. “This was the last date the weakening of the veil had been announced.”
Jenos eyes widen. “That… that was only 50 years ago.”
“Yes, the Veil is opening a whole 10 years early. Putting it simply about what this could mean, every 60 years when the veil weakens, magic is released into the world. But that isn’t all that's released.”
Donghyuk snaps, the paper flipping open to a page filled with horrifying illustrations of monsters. The pirates take in the images, momentarily speechless. Jeno points to the biggest illustration in the middle of the page, a name right below it. “The Kraken.”
“Amongst others. That’s why I had to send Kun and Yangyang out to warn the others. For the islanders, it’s slightly less worrying, they just need to stock up on supplies and not sail out too far.” He takes a pause, again flipping the pages of the book, stopping at an illustration of an underwater city . “But right below, in the waters directly underneath Incantare Bay, lies the city of Atlantis. Think about it, they are going to have to protect themselves against monsters , and they are already 10 years behind in preparations.”
“This is really bad. The seas are deadly enough, adding on how we are pirates, but now there are literal sea monsters to look out for.” The first mate states.
Donghyuk frowns, eyes darting from pirate to pirate. “Those won't be the only things you'll need to worry about. There is one more issue at hand, and it will directly affect your crew.”
“Keep in mind everything you know about witches and magic. If I were to take a quote directly from the book, it would be ‘But danger follows wanderers of the sea, and it will do everything in its path to prevent those unworthy to pass. The key? The blessing of the witch.’ .”
The two pirates snap their heads in the direction of where Renjun is at, worry and fear in their eyes as they keep their eyes on him. Renjun ignores their stares, back tensing.
“This means that a lot of witches are going to be forced to sea, to sail- for some fucking adventure most of them have been told, from witches who have lived centuries past, to a newborn’s first words, would be a journey to their death . How many will lose their lives to the sea? To the monsters. To the pirates and sailors alike who don’t know a single thing about how magic works.”
The room suddenly feels like a tundra, the air changing into something even more tense than it was previously. Donghyuk snaps his fingers a final time, the book disappearing into thin air. His chair falls with a bang as he stands, Renjun rushing over to engulf him in a hug.
“There’s a witch hunt. And when they realise that they’ll need a higher level witch before even
thinking
about finding the Isles of Secrets- Renjun is going to be at the top of that list.”