“I’m ready for another, sir,” Lance said, leaning on his shield to stand up and gripping his scythe, but his trembling legs gave him away. Fatigue built up and weighed all of them down.
Rekindle!
Ewan cast the spell on them just in case his hunch came true and gulped a vigor potion himself. The Rainwarden also needed a recharge of coins, and his runes ran empty. Thus, he sat down to recover and guzzled the Anima. Iris too got to work and healed their wounds, major and minor, wrapping a blood-element coin with her roots. And Frost kept guard.
The roars of the thrusters and the howling waves against Stormfalcon were all that remained; they rested in the loud silence. The thick fog hindered their way, they traveled blind, and before Ewan’s Ryvia could touch the enemy’s tail, silhouettes of five ships emerged ahead. The distance closed, Ewan and the others prepared again, and the image cleared up.
The ships bore the mirrored insignia of the Verns’ swordfish, this curved the other way, and a Step-1 Staron hovered in the air, smiling at them.
“Welcome to my side, it’s my turn now,” the man said.
A large blade of wind welcomed the Stormfalcon with his words, and the battle reignited. Ewan hurled a few fireballs at the incoming windblade, and the two spells killed each other, while the ships surrounded them, readying the ladders.
Elemental Rain: Ice!
He aimed and cast the spell of the staff, loaded with ice-element coins, and rained a torrent of icicles on the ships to halt their movements. The temperature plunged; the mist thickened. And the shimmering cloud above poured a barrage of frosted icicles on the target, shattering the protective shield, maiming the men, and ripping the sails.
“Nightingale, open the defense shield and increase the thrust by a level,” Ewan commanded from the top deck, recharging the staff with coins again. “We’re going through.” Even though he could contain the man floating in the air, five ships were too much for his men for now—Orange and Frost alone could level the field, but the battle against the numbers would risk damage to the Warship. They had to run.
“Affirmative, sir,” her voice came from below.
An amber-tinted protective shield shrouded the Warship, flickering and pulsating with Fire-Anima dancing around. The vision distorted with the shield’s weak and strong pulses. But it soon stabilized and held strong, and the blurred view sharpened. The thrusters also howled louder, and with a jerk, Stormfalcon cleaved the wind towards the enemy ships.
A tornado brewed in their path, hauling water from the ocean, and a squad of windblades surrounded the twister when the man finished his cast. Ewan clicked his tongue and gripped his staff with a deep breath.
Coldwave!
The circuit finalized with his last stroke and glimmered a snowy halo as he cast. The spell blasted a frigid shockwave in the direction he aimed at, and everything in its path froze and cracked. The ocean turned into ice, shattering against Stormfalcon; the twister seized up with ice shards, creaking, and imploded within a second; and a ship’s stern that caught the spell’s touch splintered into snow.
“Turn right ten degrees,” Ewan said. “Get ready for the collision.”
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“Affirmative, sir,” Nightingale said. And the others on the Warship held on to whatever they could.
Before the ship without a stern could regain its bearing or sink, the Stormfalcon rammed its hull. The wood exploded, the mast fractured, and the ship split into two, barely hanging by a few connecting ropes and the sails. And amidst the deathly screams, it dragged the shattered ship for a few breaths then left it behind for the fish.
“Chase!” The Step-1 Staron yelled from behind as he cast a salvo of exploding wind balls.
“Maintain the speed,” Ewan said, and used
The ships’ sails caught wind and pursued them as the men hooted and yelled, but Stormfalcon left them in its settling frothy trail. Soon, not even the raging man’s threats reached them anymore. And some quiet and peace dawned on the Warship.
“Did it finally end?” Stefan peeked out from the gap in the door and asked. “They won't come back, right?”
“Don’t speak!” Kidd screamed from where he sprawled. “You have a black tongue, don’t speak!”
….
Their nerves kept taut for hours before the mist cleared up and the open Morinfair of the night lay before them. Swaying waters filled the end of their sight, not even a shadow of a ship smeared that image. So, the others relaxed, and Ewan too let go and collapsed on the top deck, a wave of drowsiness hitting him.
“Nightingale, reduce the thrust level to the lowest and maintain the defense shield,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Affirmative, sir.”
“Ewan, where are we heading to?” Stefan came out and asked, bringing them glasses of iced water.
“If there’s another Rigen station on our way, we can make a stop and refill,” Ewan said and downed the chilled water. “Let’s check the map in the bridge.”
“Boss, what if they attack us again?” Kidd asked and drank his share.
“I’m ready to fight again, sir!” Lance hollered, spread on the ground.
“Say that when you can lift your arms,” Kidd quipped.
“I’m just not used to this weapon style, it took more out of me than I thought,” Lance said. “I’ll increase my practice time; I’ll master it in days.”
“Stormfalcon is not defenseless anymore,” Ewan said. “As long as we don’t mention its damages or Rigen level, they won't know. And they won't risk attacking an active Warship…I think…maybe…I hope…”
“Boss…”
“It’s my first time owning a Warship too! How would I know?”
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Status: Healthy
Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
Subtype: Step-0 Elementalist
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 7.0
Spirit: 25.3
Anima: [Fire – 25.3 | Ice – 25.3 | Blood – 25.3 | Mystic: 25.3]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 1]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-1 Severynth [Spirit-Nebula: Zeroth Surge]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-B]
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Bloodthorn-Lotus [Iris]: Step-1 [Level-10] [Grade-D]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter]; Moonkeeper [Crystal-Ball]; Rainwarden [Staff]; Blackfeather [Overcoat].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Unknown Book [Radon’s Legacy]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 25,145
Crelith: 1,014