Avira

The ship was chaos. Lightning struck constantly, but elementals were stationed in the crow's nest to redirect them. Avira noticed several water elementals breaking incoming waves and funneling water out of the ship. The rest of the crew were either caught in more mundane tasks to keep the ship together or quickly gearing up for a fight and hurling rocks, arrows, fireballs, spikes of ice, and anything else they could conjure at the opposing ship.

The ship in question was similar in size. It was approaching them at full sail, an eerie green glow emanating from it. Its figurehead was a mass of skeletons haphazardly bound to the front of the ship. They seemed motionless, but she couldn't be sure.

There were figures on the ship itself, but the glow was too bright to make out any features. One of the Lorelai's men would occasionally hit one with a rock, fireball, or another of the aforementioned ammunition they were slinging. The figure would fall when hit, a magical blast streaking out in response and striking the ship hard. The incantation wasn't missing a beat, though. She really wanted to kill whoever was doing it, but Reeves told her not to fight.

A bolt hit one of the crew square in the shoulder, blasting him back and leaving his shoulder smoldering. He cried out in pain and writhed on the ground. Her signal.

She hurried over and grabbed him by his good shoulder. Human, a young islander.“C'mon, you're out,” she told him, dragging him off roughly.

“I can still fight!” he insisted, trying to pull away but Avira wasn't letting him go.

Avira looked at his shoulder as they walked. A smoldering crater in his flesh, his arm was barely moving. “Sure you can.”

“We haven't even started yet!” he complained, clearly annoyed and trying to hide how much pain he was in.

Avira reached the captain's quarters and opened the door. Godart ran over and looked at him. “Magic burns... damage to the joints... we'll do what we can.”

She left him and met Hawke on her way back, who carried another victim. She noticed Kalani in the air, ready to catch anyone who fell from the rigging and masts.

The Lorelai was maneuvering next to the enemy ship with some difficulty, Vek shouting orders in a stern voice as he worked the wheel. The crew wasn't waiting any longer, though. several elementals leapt across the gap between ships, each using a different method to extend their jump. She held her breath as she watched. Damned fools could have plummeted into the waves from a single mistake.

It wasn't just them, though. The figures darted out from the veil of their ship, leaping onto the Lorelai and landing with a thud. It was then that Avira could fully make them out.

Most looked human. Their flesh was grey and shrunken, emaciated frames showing a clear outline of the ribs through stretched skin. Their faces were contorted in a horrified expression, as if some terrifying image was still in their vision. Their bodies jittered forth with surprising speed, each holding weapons from swords, axes, spears, and some had tools like hammers and saws.

Behind them landed golems, hulking monstrosities created with coral, rock, and bone. A skull was planted at the top of their frames, glowing green with energy. They were much slower, but moved with a heavy weight that cracked the floorboards underneath.

Avira took a step back as they began to clash with the crew. The dexterity of the husks and the golem's brute strength sent chills down her spine. She saw them crush a man flat, one man was stabbed by two husks, one was thrown overboard by a golem.

Kalani was fast to catch him before he touched the waves, dropping him next to Avira. Avira knelt to examine him. He grunted as he tried to sit up, but yelled and gripped his midsection, unable to vocalize anything. He was having trouble breathing too.

Avira grabbed him by the leg and dragged him to the makeshift infirmary, passing Hawke on the way. “Ribs crushed, I think,” she told Godart.

“Here.” Bram directed her to a spot to leave him. He was whimpering in pain the whole time, but didn't struggle much as Bram started to inspect him.

“Thanks.” Godart didn't look over, treating the burn victims. “Keep it up.”

“Mm.” Avira hurried back out. She was almost glad to not be fighting right now.

#

Hawke

“They have golems,” Hawke told Mareth as he deposited another victim, his arm having been crushed.

“I noticed. Living parts as well, very impressive. Shen and Reeves seem to have a handle on it though,” he spoke while inspecting the newly injured, “Godart, this one's going to need a potion or amputation. His bones are powder.”

“Frick, I think we're on our last one,” Godart dug through the supplies, pulling out their last tincture.

“Give me the potion!” The injured man yelled.

“If Shen or Reeves or someone gets hurt you'll want it on hand,” Hawke suggested.

“Agreed.” Bram stepped forward, a rusty hacksaw in his hands.

“No!” Godart yelled, some anger seeping into her voice, “We're here to heal people, we're going to use what we have on hand to the fullest of our abilities.”

“Alright, just a suggestion.” Hawke shrugged.

Avira walked through the door with a sailor who'd been stabbed in the gut leaning on her. “Not the time to gossip, ladies.”

Hawke took the advice and took his leave. He took a moment to appreciate how Reeves and Shen were commanding the crew. While Reeves had his men taking care of the invaders onboard one by one, Shen had already led a division to board the boat across from them. He took the elementals that weren't currently fighting the storm to the enemy ship, so all he could see was the constant clashes of fire, ice, electricity, and whatnot on the battlefield. A lot of cracking came from that ship, but the incantation was continuing and there was no sign of the captain.

He didn't see any wounded on the Lorelai. Shen's group likely had some, though. A board was set up, making a bridge across ships. He could simply leap, but the board was the safer option despite creaking under his weight.

The deck was chaotic, but Shen and his men had established a foothold and were holding their ground. Shards and bits of golem remains were scattered, a few skulls catching his eye. It certainly captured the pirate aesthetic.

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“Fire, starboard!” Shen yelled out, his crew responding by covering the deck to their right in fire, “Ice and water, punch through! Mage is below deck!” His men fought the husks while he speared a golem through, weapon glowing as it cut through rock like butter. He glanced back towards Hawke and nodded towards the daemon girl who was standing over three injured crew members with an axe.

“Keeping guard?” Hawke asked Anne as he approached. A bolt and a piece of shrapnel flew by them both harmlessly.

“Yeah. Shen doesn't let me fight,” Anne tapped her axe, the metal smooth and only lightly worn, “take them over one at a time.”

Another bolt of purple energy shot out, and this time Hawke could make out that they were coming from the golem's skulls, their heads swelling with violet aura and then shooting that energy off. They weren't able to do it quickly, but each blast was strong. He paused to think on that for a moment, “enchanted skulls....” he muttered. He looked back to the ones that had been scattered from the golems earlier.

They were glowing with purple energy, barely visible through the miasma surrounding the ship. Their empty eye sockets faced towards the crew's backs. The same purple glow was coming from the Lorelai as well. He could feel the energy building up in them, too.

“Shit.”

#

Kalani

The sky was getting harder to control, even with the team of wind elementals on the masts. Their Spirit Master was commanding them to the best of his abilities, but the spell coming from the ship was growing in intensity. The wind ripped against her, taking great effort to dispel and slowing her down.

Kalani scanned the boat for injured and to make sure Hawke was alright, but he wasn't visible on the Lorelai. He was standing on the other ship, looking panicked while he faced the debris of the defeated golems.

She narrowed her eyes, beginning to descend towards him. She was fast to dive, but before she made it down a large chain of magical explosions rocked the deck of both ships, emanating from the corpse of each golem. It was like a water bomb in all directions, splash of the energy burning all it touched.

Her already racing heart leaped in her throat, and she nearly fell from the sky right there, but the moment the magical energy dissipated she was able to see him. The daemon woman had stepped in front of him, blocking the hit. She was singed but fine. Something that couldn't be said for the crew and the Lorelai.

The Lorelai had large holes gouged into it, the waves starting to flood the ship. Much of the crew was down, a few prominent figures standing to fight. The Captain and quartermaster were still going unphased, rallying the crew that remained on their feet to combat the dwindling numbers of golems. The Lorelai crew caught on to the skulls immediately and began to crush them after, though the few husks that survived the explosions tried to defend them.

Curiously, the enemy ship remained untouched by the explosions. She flew down and landed next to Hawke and the daemon, muscles sore. “Are you alright!?” she yelled, looking him over.

“I should ask the same of you. You look tired, you okay?” Hawke looked concerned for her.

“Don't give me that, it's my job to look after you. Uh, thank you for protecting him,” Kalani addressed the daemon.

“No problem. Magic attacks are pinpricks to us,” Anne looked at her scorched clothes, still thankfully holding together, “I liked this shirt though. Uh, Anne, by the way.”

“Kalani.”

“Hawke. Wait, dammit!” Hawke realized he just gave his real name again, and looked annoyed at himself.

“Sentinels sake, Hawke...” Kalani hid her face with her wing, but couldn't help but smile to herself. He was really not good at the alter ego thing.

“Uh, well, we need to move everyone back to the Lorelai now,” Anne spoke, “before the other captain appears.”

“I guess he wouldn't be one of these golems,” Hawke hoisted a man up on his shoulders.

“He's a daemon like me. I'm guessing he saw Shen's spear and decided to let the golems deal with it,” Anne picked two people up but stopped when she looked back to the ship. The board connecting the two was gone, and the ship was noticeably lower with the new holes. “Fuck, the ship's going down.”

“Aren't Reeves and the others still fighting for it?” Hawke watched Reeves, wielding a warhammer, smash the front of a golem in, the soul fragments spilling from it. He still had a few men around him, and they were working on the last two golems now.

“Doing a good job, but damage that extensive is going to sink us. It's flooding multiple decks, our water elementals are overloaded as well.”

“Shit,” Hawke set the unconscious crewmate he was carrying down.

“Shen!” Anne yelled at the quartermaster who was embroiled in single combat with multiple golems, “permission to claim the ship!”

“Granted!” Shen grunted, sliding back from a blocked hit, “clear the decks and stop that fucking spell!”

Anne gripped her axe and glanced nervously at the two. “Watch the injured. I've got an appointment with a mage. Probably the captain too...” she muttered, going to the hatch. It was locked, so a quick chop of her axe and a strain of her arm ripped it off the hinges. She slid it back over as she vanished into the dark underbelly of the ship.

Hawke looked to Kalani, “Get to Godart, ask her how to treat magic burns and get some supplies. We'll treat them here.”

“Alright, princeling. I'll be right back, so stay safe.”

#

Hawke

He could tell that most of the injured weren't breathing. Not only could he detect the lack of air coming from them, a number had been burned completely through and were missing torsos, limbs, even heads. The ones on the front lines were the most unscathed, and they were up and fighting.

“Destroy the skulls unless you want a repeat!” he called to a fighter who was staying back.

“Skulls?” he was dazed, glancing back. He was keeping his distance from the fighting, which had scaled down with the destruction of most of the golems.

“The skulls that the golems drop! They blow up.”

“Oh,” he said, taking a moment to comprehend it, “oh! I'll get on that,” he scanned the ground, limping over and stomping a skull into dust.

The battle went on for another minute before the spell ceased. The storm around them cut out, and a calm settled as the last of the golems and husks were slain.

Then the deck exploded, the floor under them splintering as something broke through from below deck. A vaguely humanoid creature flew out, flapping ragged wings and tossing a bloodied Anne to the side. It was green, two dark voids on its face marking eyes and a mouth full of jagged spikes. It had long limbs that ended in sharp claws, and scanned the deck with a grin.

Hawke was barely able to stick the landing, feeling something jab into his side hard. He didn't have time to look as long and sharp fingers dug into him and pulled him into the air.

He met face to face with the daemon, color draining from his face as his gaze was drawn into those dark sockets. In them he saw something. A ruined nation, his loved ones condemned to torture, his head on a pike—

Kalani struck the daemon hard from the side, jostling him enough to break Hawke out of the trance. “Wake up Hawke!” she yelled, clawing and kicking at the monster.

Hawke struggled in the grip, but was helpless as it's other hand gripped Kalani hard by the wing, a cracking sound of her hollow bones sounding out before she was flung away.

“Kalani!” Hawke yelled, heart dropping as he saw his friend go into the ocean. He grunted with effort, freeing an arm and landing a punch on this daemon's face. It served to do nothing but anger it, though he'd bought enough time for Shen.

A spear burst through the daemon's chest, held by Shen who was able to reach the flying daemon thanks to the help of the remaining elementals he commanded. “Got you!” Shen yelled out.

Hawke dropped, landing on his side with a grunt. He ignored the fight that was ensuing behind him to run to the side of the ship. Seeing some blue feathers, he dove. A bright light behind him illuminated the churning ocean in the split second he spent in the air before hitting the wall of water.