Chapter Text
The Ocean Harvest rocked back and forth on the waves as it sailed across sea. The waters were calm and the wind was favorable. The smell of sea salt misted into the air as The Harvest cut through the dark blue waters. Her cargo, not including her crew, were hauls of fish that had been dragged in by nets and crustaceans unlucky enough to wander into the dozens of traps laid out by the fishermen. Enough to feed a small army.
She was a sizable craft. Two masts stood on her deck, propelling her forwards and her hull was deep. Not too deep to cause a noticeable drag in the water though. The planks that made her were all relatively new, as the captain of the ship had ordered. The wood was never rotting, always freshly tarred and replaced at the slightest show of decay. She had never broken under any weight. She had been swallowed by tidal waves a small handful of times and always resurfaced in one piece. Her sails were made of the strongest canvas, capable of withstanding the harshest of winds from any hurricane, as she had proven many times over. The captain took care of his ship. And as such, she took care of the crew.
The Harvest had never lost a crewman. Not once. Sure a few had been lost overboard, but they always found their way back to the ship or shore. Because of that, The Harvest was considered lucky, and over the years that rumor had been expanded upon. Bordering on mythical intervention. But those lucky enough to serve knew the truth.
It was pure luck.
And while it was true the captain only hired able bodied seamen who had experience at the mast and could swim, the sea was still unpredictable. The greatest sailors could be consumed by the waters on one fateful day, one bad night. That was all it took. And the captain made sure that his crew knew that before signing up. Still though, the rumor had a tendency to dig into the subconscious of everyone who learned of the ship, and remain embedded as a small glimmer. The crew believed themselves invincible, and thus they were.
The Ocean Harvest was making her return voyage to the port of Dragontail in the kingdom of Katolis. Captain Anders and his oldest serving crew knew the route well, and he expected to be home with ample time to spare. At port, they’d sell their haul and all live comfortably through the coming winter, when the weather would be too dangerous for sailing. His beautiful ship The Harvest would rest in the docks at port until the weather warmed her timbers once again. When the sea began beckoning and calling once more. A routine he had fallen in love with.
But he had been away from his family for long enough. And solid land sounded nice to his wobbling knees. He was getting old, and the rocking of The Harvest was starting to take its toll on his body. The years were finally catching up to him. Just one more year , he had always told himself year after aching year. But now, he felt this might be his last. Retirement sounded good, and amongst his fellow sailors, when you started to think like that, it was too late. But Anders had faith in his ship, and by extension faith in his crew. He would make it home alive.
“Captain,” he heard. A call from the deck outside his cabin, which meant it could be serious. His crew were self-sufficient at this point, so if they called him, he had cause to see what was happening. He closed his journal and stood from his desk. He took his tricorn hat from the hook on the door and placed it on his head before stepping out into the noon sun. He breathed deeply and scanned the horizon, that was when his eyes fell on directly ahead of them. He turned to the stairs leading to the helm, joining his first mate and the helmsman.
“The sky was red last night,” the helmsman said.
“The ocean had a change of heart,” his first mate said. The Tidebound Elf stood in front of the helm with his arms crossed as he stared ahead, resolute in his posturing.
“Storm?” Anders asked.
“Yes,” the elf answered, eyes locked out front. “Only question is whether we go through or around.”
“What direction is it headed?”
“We’re pointed north,” his first mate answered. “The storm is moving east.”
The captain looked ahead at the circling thunderhead. Black clouds rolled and roiled around in a circle. Lightning flashed down to the sea, with distant thunder faintly heard on his ear. He laid a hand on the railing of Harvest’s deck and felt the water was begging to churn and broil underneath. The power of the storm was affecting them all the way out here. It was going to be one hell of a fight getting through. Going around seemed the safer option. He turned to his first mate, who seemed to read his mind, waiting for the answer.
“Take us around first mate,” he said.
The elf nodded and uncrossed his arms. He held them out in front of him and dropped to his knees, drawing a sigil with his finger on the deck of the ship. It glowed a faint white, like ocean froth.
“Release the helm,” the captain warned.
The helmsman did as he was told.
“Aqua Dis,” the mage said. He pressed his hands onto the wood of the ship. The sigil faded into the wood and the ship began to faintly glow before the ocean lurched the ship suddenly to her port side. With his eyes closed the ocean mage bent the waters underneath them and directed The Harvest on a new course. The force of the ocean under them shook the ship with its might, but she held strong. The helm spun out of control and the masts juddered as the sails strained to stay with the ship, but continued to hold the wind. The wood creaked like the captain’s knees as sailors fell to the deck from the sudden move.
This was The Harvest’s true secret. How she always rebounded, and never lost a sailor. Captain Anders never sailed without an ocean mage as second in command. Was it cheating? Yes. But he had never lost a man, and he had a reputation to uphold. In his younger days, they would have sailed headfirst into the storm and battled her through to the other side. But the captain would not let his last voyage be the one where he lost crew members. He had to be careful. They would all get home alive.
The Ocean Harvest surged ahead at full speed as everyone held on tightly. The ship was moving west, away from the direction the storm was moving. The wave that pushed The Harvest through the water picked up speed, rushing them along their detour at break neck speed. Looking over the side of the ship, the captain saw dolphins riding the wake they were making, oblivious to the raging cyclone a league or so away. Underwater, storms were dismissed. All life dove deep enough to avoid any impending issues, only surfacing when those that needed air lost all rational thought in order to take one breath.
“We're clear,” the mage said, opening his eyes and rising from his kneeling position. “Aside from a bit of choppy water and billowing breezes, we should continue as normal.
“Adjust course when able,” the captain said.
“Aye sir,” the first mate affirmed. “All hands, back to your station! it may be darker and cloudy, but the day goes on and the ship continues sailing.”
Anders left the deck, returning to his cabin. He hung his tricorn hat back on the hook and sat back at his desk. He opened his journal, rereading where he left off before continuing his daily entry:
…and the haul remains fresh, thanks to our ocean mage. Fresh frozen in our stores below deck. The crew continues to work and run as smoothly as a well oiled mechanism. Despite this, the ache in my knees continues to steadily grow worse with each passing year. Perhaps it is time for me to hang up the old hat for good and hand the helm to someone else. I am The Harvest’s second captain, and I shan't be her last. Whomever I pass her on to, I will take the utmost care to select a new captain who was as diligent as all previous captains. She deserves that much at least. We should make port in the next day or so, despite a slight detour due to a storm-
He paused in his writing. Something felt off. As he sat there in the cabin. The light from outside began to fade as the clouds began to fall to darker hues. The ship groaned as it began to steadily rock more and more in the waves underneath. And the wind began to whistle past the windows. One of his ears popped from a sudden change in air pressure, but the other one ached in deafness as it bowed under the strain. Anders looked out his window to see the storm cell approaching them, raging in a thunderous turmoil. The Harvest then became suddenly still as the waters around the ship calmed, but only around her hull.
The bell on deck rang, commanding all hands to the mast. Captain Anders grabbed his hat and rushed as best he could out to the deck. The storm was closing in at unnatural speeds. He turned to his first mate, but he was focused on a spell he had worked to keep the waters around them calm. He climbed the stairs to the helm and the sailor at the wheel was frozen in terror looking up at the overbearing storm.
“What’s happened?” he demanded.
“The storm shifted course,” the helmsman said plainly. “It just, suddenly started to track after us.”
This was no normal storm, but the winds were still in their favour. They hadn’t been caught in the cyclone of air and were continuing north.
“First mate-”
“Can’t,” he said with heavy strain. “Unless you wish to face the wrath of the waves. I can only work one spell at a time.”
“ The Harvest can handle a few waves,” he said. “We need to stay away from those clouds.”
His concentration ceased and the boat immediately started to violently rock in the choppy waves. The mist became a rain as the waters broke against her hull. The crew was soaked in less than a minute.
“Aqua Dis,” the elf shouted.
A wave formed behind them and pushed them at breakneck speed. The storm spun and was ready to overtake them.
“Full sail!” the captain shouted. “Get as much speed behind us!”
Men clambered up the rigging to unfurl the sails to full and catch all the wind they could. The wind whipped up and blew the captain’s hat off his head. He could find another. Suddenly his other ear popped and his knees began to roar in agony. He looked, hoping his body was wrong, but he saw the unbelievable truth. The storm was picking up speed and barreling down on them. The waters began to heave with the storm and The Harvest was tossed about like a toy in a child’s bath.
“Captain!”
Multiple sailors had shouted this in fear over the encroaching storm. A rogue wave swept up over the deck, washing the men across the wooden boards, tossing a dozen or so to the water.
“Mage!” Anders shouted. “The men.”
“We’ll lose momentum,” he said.
“We have the wind. Get them back on deck.”
A moment of hesitation was all the mage had before breaking his hold on the water. The ship suddenly lurched with the loss of its water propulsion.
“Mons Aqueous!”
A large wave formed over the side of the ship, picking up the sailors from the water and depositing them back on deck. The men coughed and sputtered from near death by drowning, but they were glad to be back on The Ocean Harvest , and within her protection. But the loss of propulsion cost them. The air bent and caught them, within moments they were being pulled into the storm by the wind. He was a fool to try and avoid the storm, and now he was going to suffer the price. The more you fought the ocean, the harder she retaliated. Now they had to face the wrath of the storm head on. The wind roared through the masts and the waves picked up more and more.
“Captain?” the mage asked.
“We ride her out,” he said. “The more we fight, the more likely we are to lose.”
The elf nodded in agreement.
“Protect the men,” he said. “I’ll command the ship.”
Lightning arched across the sky in a flash of superheated exploding air. The clouds bent to the will of the wind speeds, which broke the waves before they were even able to reach breaking height. The rigging pulled taught and the ship was dragged across the waves, circling towards the center of the cyclone.
“Aqua Tenere,” the mage held a rogue wave at bay as it slowly decreased in size.
The waters smashed against the other side of the ship, sending it buckling to one side.
“Aqua Tranquillitas,” the mage shouted, calming the waters just enough for everyone to regain their footing.
The wind screamed and wrenched the ship forward.
“Unfurl the sails!” the captain shouted. “We need to lose the wind. Let it blow clean through us.”
Men scurried to the masts and began loosening the sails, doing their best to roll them up before the wind ripped them away. A rumble of thunder came from the port side, roaring towards them at speeds faster than the wind and an electric bolt zapped from the sky.
It struck the highest mast.
The bolt arched down through the wood, burning the beam from the inside out so suddenly that it exploded in a rain of splintered timber. Men went flying in all directions and the deck caught fire for a few moments before the rain pelted down to extinguish the flames. The strike caught everyone off guard and the men working the other sail hesitated an extra moment too much. The wind ripped sail from the rigging and was sent flying off into the storm, dragging a few men with it. The elf had saved the men that had fallen into the water and watched helplessly as the men were pulled into the skies, lost to the clouds a moment before plummeting to the dark waves. Focusing on the spot they fell he shouted his spell, but nothing happened.
“They’re too far,” he shouted. “I need to bring us closer.”
Before he could start his spell there was a sudden quiet over them. The wind died down and the ocean waves calmed so much that it was suspicious. The sound of rushing water picked up behind them and they all turned. A massive tidal wave had formed behind them, growing in size and power. It was now crashing down on them, the rush causing the air to bend around it.
“AQUA PROTEGENS!” the mage screamed.
Around The Harvest a pillar of water erupted in a protective wall. The wave crashed against it with such force that the pillar broke. Water crashed down on the ship, crushing them all down into the depth of the ocean. Water filled the captain's ears and the screams of his men were lost to the silence of the water. Head over heels over shoulders he tumbled through the turrets of water until he was pushed back up to the surface and landed with a thud back on the deck. He coughed out lungfuls of water as his men were retrieved from the water.
“Hold strong,” he wheezed to the ship under him before picking himself up.
Looking around he saw his mage was doing his best to save all he could, but his crew of a hundred had been whittled down significantly. This storm was unlike any he had seen before. It was unnaturally relentless and uncannily precise in its actions. He didn’t like it.
He was knocked off balance as the ship lurched under them again, pushing them in a direction seemingly towards the center of the storm, deeper into the beastly weather. Anders looked back at his first mate who was just as surprised as he was. He had nothing to do with it. Something was pushing them.
Looking around, the captain saw he only had twenty-three men on deck.
The oceans and sky grew suddenly calmer, until the waves simply lapped on The Harvest and the lightning and rain died down. Looking up, he saw they approached the eye of the storm. Which explained the sky calming, but the water should have been raging as well.
“This is unnatural,” the mage said. “It feels wrong.”
The Harvest came to a slow stop. So steady, it felt like they hadn’t stopped at all.
The surface of the ocean in the eye of the storm became very still. The waves flattened and the ocean ceased where they were. The water became so still, that it became a mirror of water, so flat it looked like one could walk upon it, though the captain and crew could see that under this pristine liquid glass, the water underneath continued to churn and broil.
“Captain,” a sailor called from the bow. “Someone approaches.”
Captain Anders gave a quizzical look to his first mate before heading to the front of the ship. He pushed through the crew to the head of the ship and looked out in bewilderment. Across the water, a tidebound elf walked across the glassy surface barefooted on the water. They wore a simple, elegant robe of various blue shades with the hint of a pinkish hue that shimmered across the various fish scales sewed into the fabric. She stopped a few feet from the ship and looked up to him.
“Captain!” she called out. “May I be so bold as to ask for you to step down from your ship so that we may converse?”
Captain Anders remained silent.
“That is quite alright,” she shouted. “I’ll come to you.”
A simple wave of her hand and the water lifted underneath her, never losing its glossy surface, the crew all backed up in awe as the beautiful elf stepped off the water onto the ship with such grace she seemed to be made of water herself. Her robes were adorned with shells, corals, and bones that matched the jewels that adorned her body.
“Are you the archmage that caused this storm?” Anders asked.
“I am one half,” she answered, voice as soft as a lake, yet capable of rage like the ocean storm the small handful of them had survived.
“And I am the other,” a voice sounded from the sky, booming like thunder.
From the eye of the storm, the air bent as a skywing descended upon them. He fell with the fury of the clouds, but alighted with his white wings like the softest breath. He landed clad in armor a stormy grey and wielding a spear as a professional soldier would, yet his demeanor was like that of a childs. He seemed ready to break out in a smile at any moment.
“I am Captain Anders of The Ocean Harvest ,” he answered. “And I assume you are the two who destroyed my ship and killed my crew.”
At the accusation, the elf woman's mouth twitched and the skywing let a small chuckle out before swallowing it back down.
“If you’re worried about a few men,” she said.
With a flowing arm she summoned a bubble from the ocean underneath. Within were suspended the crewmen that had been lost. From the looks of it, all of them; frozen as they floated in their captivity.
“They are quite alive I assure you,” she continued. “I can release them if you’d like?”
“I would appreciate it,” the captain said, standing as tall and strong as he could.
“And what will you give us in return?” the skywing asked.
The captain looked at the two archmages, obviously very powerful to perform multiple spells while also concentrating on keeping a storm raging. But that much magic required concentration. He looked to his crew, giving a small cue to his own mage before turning back to the two elves.
“I don’t make a habit of dealing with pirates,” he said.
The skywing cackled with laughter like lighting.
“Pirates?” he asked incredulously. “Hardly common ocean fodder.”
He would have said more, but a look from the tidebound snapped his mouth shut.
“We are a fishing vessel,” Anders continued. “We have little of value aboard that would interest you.”
“Humor us,” she said.
The captain looked in the greenish blue eyes of the tidebound elf, where the controlled rage of the ocean churned. She was being serious, but there was something she wasn’t saying.
“We have fish and crustaceans,” he said. “I hardly think they qualify as the loot you were hoping for.”
“It shall suffice,” she said. “Toss them all back in the ocean and I shall release your men.”
“All?” one of the crew men asked.
A spark flew through the air, striking the sailor in the head. His body jolted before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backwards onto the deck unconscious. The skywing smirked, proud of his little display of power.
“That’s what we said,” he chuckled.
“How do I know you will keep your word?”
“I COULD RIP YOUR SHIP APART AND CHURN YOUR BODIES TO FISH FOOD IF I SO DESIRED!” the woman boomed, her voice seemingly amplified and supported by the entire ocean. “But I have decided to show mercy to a ship as famous as yours. You were permitted to look upon us. Now you are invited to kneel.”
The captain and the first mate were the only ones that didn’t bow to their whims.
“You speak as though you believe your gods,” the captain said. “We both know that’s not true.”
“Care to test your theory?” the skywing cooed, as soft as a whisper.
It was a challenge. A welcoming threat. He didn’t have time to call off his first mate.
“Venus Frigoris,” the mage shouted.
Surprisingly it worked. The two elves shuddered from the spell, collapsing as the ice coursed through their veins. The bubble of men popped and they fell to the waters as the ocean became turbulent again, though it was calming down. The clouds cleared and the storm dissipated.
“Foolish is what you are,” the captain said. “Simple pirates, simple people. As such incapacitated by simple means.”
The skywing began to chuckle through the pain.
“Foolish?” he asked. “It is you who has made the foolish mistake.”
The first mate twisted his arm and the skywing collapsed in more pain.
“You could have kept your lives,” he continued through gritting teeth. “A simple offering was all we asked for, but now you are forfeit.”
“You claim us false gods,” the woman ground through growing rage. “Prepare to drown in your sorrow and fear.”
A sudden burst shuddered the ship, throwing them all off balance, thus breaking the spell. The skywing burst back to the sky with an explosion of air, and the woman clamored to the edge of the boat, tossing herself back to the waters.
“Duratus,” was all she shouted before hitting the waves.
The captain ran to the edge of the ship and looked down. The water was bubbling and the ocean began to churn.
“First mate,” he called. “With all the power you have get us-”
He stopped in his orders. His ocean mage was frozen solid. Encased in ice and stuck to the surface of the ship, unable to move.
“All hands to the oars!” he shouted. “We have to make way! Fast as you can!”
The seas began to boil and churn. An explosion as a crack of lightning flashed across the sky and the clouds descended upon them once more. Captain Anders could make out the figure of the skywing as he flew in circles, conducting the storm with his spear. A deep, guttural moan bellowed from under the ship that rocked them to their cores. Wet slapping sounds were heard off the side of the ship as massive tentacles writhed up the sides of The Harvest . The shout of multiple men screaming “Kraken!” erupted in the air. They ran instead for harpoons and any fishing spears they could as panic set in.
“Choke on your blood and your tears,” echoed from the waters around them in the voice of the elf woman.
The Ocean Harvest began to buckle under the weight of the massive cephalopod now wrapping around her. Timbers began to crack and splinter as the tentacles began ripping her apart. Piece by piece the ship was torn asunder until her contents spilled out into the ocean. Tons of sea life lost to the appetites of the giant squid. The deck remained intact, but she was sinking from the gaping holes in her hull. The squid detached and the crew was left in the pouring rain and rolling waves. A lighting bolt crackled across the sky, circling them as the skywing built up power. With a swift downward dive, he drove his spear into the deck, the surge of electricity followed after, sparking what was left of the ship to explode in the force of impact. The captain was flung into the sea with such force he felt his legs give up, exploding in pain.
A sudden wave rose out of the water. Massive as a mountain it rose over them like a wrathful curtain of death. At the crest, the tidebound elf stood, her arms spread out as she held up the water. No spell, little concentration. The captain had been wrong. He was indeed bearing witness to a god. She relaxed her arms and released the water, causing it to flow over them all. Any men that had been holding to debris were dragged under the surface. The only ones left were stranded alone, separated by water, with nothing to help support them. The captain struggled to stay treading water. His legs screamed.
Then the water started to sink. All remaining men began swirling in a circle as the ocean began to be sucked down. Usually the sign of a leviathan, but he saw no such fish. The water was simply forming a maelstrom. One by one, the sailors were sucked down the swirling water and dragged under the surface. The captain did his best to keep his head above water, but the power of the ocean pulled him down. Under the water, he saw his men all struggling to claw their way back to the surface, but they were held under by some unseen force. The need for air became unbearable.
“By my grace you may choose,” the woman said.
She floated through the water as if gliding on air. She approached him.
“You or your crew,” she whispered next to his ear.
His throat burned and the pressure of the water built around his head. You must do what it takes to survive , he heard play in his head. He couldn’t open his mouth, from fear of losing what air he had left in his collapsing lungs,
“The choice is made,” she said.
He felt himself rising again as she pushed him to the surface with her magic. He gasped in air, breathing as deeply as he could before coughing out all he had in his lungs and catching his breath. A piece of ship rose to the surface and painted on was The Ocean Harvest. He clung to the wreckage with all his life, grateful to be alive as the oceans calmed and the sky cleared. He breathed and breathed and breathed. A gentle breeze pushed him along and the currents aided in this effort.
“You live by the grace of Iteyar and Detuna,” the sky wing whispered down to him, his voice carried by the breeze on the back of Ander’s neck. “Consider yourself lucky, captain.”
“Spread word of our existence so that others wont be as foolish as you,” the tide bound said from the water.
The skywing flew off, and he felt no other presence under him in the ocean. There was only him and The Harvest as they drifted aimlessly upon the ocean, towards what he only prayed would be land.