At first their was silence but from that silence came a joyous laughter. At that moment though there were no words conveyed between the two like an infection that laughter spread to Nathaniel. The two laughed as though they both shared a joke that no one else got.
In the cell over the initial source of it all sat a man on the floor with his back against the wall bound by thick iron chains. The chains were just an extra precaution what really held the man in place were three things the first was a set of large iron railroad spikes that impaled his body. The spikes ripped into his flesh spilling his blood and were imbedded deep into the stone floor. Over a dozen of these spikes impaled Flintwood's body all over one even punctured his lung yet he somehow laughed like it wasn't even there.
The second thing leashing him in place were a special set of wrist and leg cuffs made of a special metal called meteor ore. Meteor ore is named such because it is actual fallen debris that originated from the moon Enroth. The meteor ore shackles were capable of restraining Flintwood because each cuff though small were also incredibly dense and weighed 5 tons each. These ludicrously heavy shackles were the bare minimum and standard equipment used to restrain people like Flintwood. Lastly but most importantly was a thick steel collar that kept special people like flintwood from using any of their gifts.
Flintwood's energetic laughter rattled his chains that seemed to agitate his skin beneath. Skin that continued to burn with each passing second the iron shackling him touched his flesh. Smoke rose from his body filling the room in a thick smog birthed from his searing flesh.
Though the smoke consealed a bit of his features Flintwood's long brown hair still stood out. Flintwood looked like he was a man in his mid 40s but was most definitely older then that. A long scare ran from his chin to his neck splitting his beard in two. While dirt smudged his face it didn't hamper his charm.With a good laugh out of the way Flintwood replied, "its Captain Flintwood, haven't called Mr. anything in years".
"My apologies Captain".
"So, your the lad that stabbed his nation in the back. Must have been quite the offer for you to turn against your king".
"What you heard is a lot less accurate from the truth. I'm just a curious man that got too greedy for something he had no business knowing".
"Curiosity and greed I know those demons well. So, consider me intrigued and do tell what did you find?".
Flintwood asked with a hint of intrigue in his voice. A hard trait to suppress from his life at sea.
"Something that makes all this more than worth it. Something that I didn't know existed, shouldn't exist, but found".
Flintwood hung on every word as he replied, "There's no need to tease a dying man, but then again ain't much worth in me knowing either". Flintwood said with sorrow in his voice.
"It wouldn't do much of anyone any good knowing what I do. This knowledge comes with more problems then just being executed for it".
"Sounds like you carry quite a burden".
"Indeed its what landed me here and its what i'll carry out of here with me as well. Now you see i'm quite curious as to what convinced you to do this for me. When I made the plan and asked my brother to bring me a legacy holder I honestly didn't expect him to follow through. I thought I was being selfish and impractical when I basically asked him to find someone willing to die for me.".
Flintwood's gruff tone of voice shifted and became stern. The seriousness in his voice couldn't be mistaken for anything else but the truth as he laid his feelings bare. "Lets get a few things straightened out before we conclude this arrangement. I was a dead man living on barrowed time long before your brother offered this deal to me. He found someone I lost and that's why I'm here".
"So, even great pirates like yourself have people they care for I'm shocked to hear this. This isn't what I expected to hear from a cutthroat like yourself, but then again were all the same men underneath whatever disguise we wear. This person is lucky to not have them forgotten by you after all the time you spent apart. How was your reunion if I my ask?".
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Flintwood went silent for a movement this silence hung heavy in the air and made it feel stagnant with each breath. Nathaniel never saw Flintwood's face but he had a gut feeling that he miss spoke. "I don't know how our reunion would have went because I never even made it to her front door. I had spent so long at sea looking for some kind of cure I got lost somewhere in between. I don't even recognize myself there's no way she would. Me just being a distant memory is what's best for everyone I use to know.
When the time comes you'd be smart to do the same thing because what you want ain't no gift its nothing but a curse just as they all say plain and simple. That's why giving this to you isn't a big deal not is it much to celebrating about. This is just me dumping trash on someone else doorstep. It would have been claimed by the sea and gone who knows were had I not done this. This simply ensures I keep it away from anyone I care about".
"I'm aware of what this entails". Nathaniel said assuredly.
"No, you aren't. What you are aware of are only the stories. Watered down versions of the truth a fairy-tale compared to what its really like. Yes, the gifts are amazing the sea she don't hold back on those. You'll feel like a god, near invincible in the eyes of ordinary men. But the deep blue has horrifying depths. Do you know what its like to have your skin burn from the coldest of metals? To have your mind slowly drift from shore till you know not friend from foe? To be plagued by a hunger that only grows? To become one of those beast that lurk in the sea because that's it there is no happy ending for people like me. There's only one way out and I'm almost on the other side so what say you".
Unwavering from his resolve Nathaniel replied, "I've had time to think and I've decided that I'm already of cursed blood this is nothing more than making it official. Words alone won't sway me".
Flintwood smiled in delight as he replied, "I wasn't really trying to sway you I was just giving you an explanation I had to experience first hand to get. So, as a parting gift I'll tell you now so you won't have to waist your time searching the world for a cure like I did because there isn't one. It doesn't matter if you use a cursed relic only once or wield a legacy of the sea like I do. There both a slow poison that will fester corrupt and spread through your body till you turn into a monster. THE END!.
People think ones a lesser evil then the other but there not there both equally terrible. Relics are treasures of the sea they all bless the user with incredible strength each carry a wide array of abilities and utility unique to the item in question. While legacies augment the body and provide unbelievable power enough to level an entire nation if you see fit.
In my opinion legacies are the worst because the more you use any of the gifts provide the quicker your decent into madness will be. Since this is true legacies are worse because there always active, so most of the time our decent into madness is quicker than relic users who can go long periods without ever using there relic".
Flintwood leaned his head against the wall and slumped down as he tiredly continued to speak, "This world is big yet small, this world is cruel but beautiful, and its driving everyone insane". After a long period of silence Flintwood spoke again. "Your name was Nathaniel Hawk correct".
"Hawkins, Nathaniel Hawkins".
"Well then Hawkins, tell me why do you want this power of all things so bad. I'm sure you could have thought up of a different way to escape, so way this".
Nathaniel stopped to think for a moment before he replied, "It's because this isn't the life I'm suppose to live. I was trained when I was a child to live a harder more solitary life then the one I lived till today. But fate through a wrench in that and after all that time I wondered what was I doing with my life, what have I left behind to be remembered by? Though I achieved much was it really all for me did it really make me happy?
After questioning myself the answer I arrived to was no. No, it wasn't for me, no it didn't make me happy and that's when I found it my future magnum opus the answer to my despair. My ticket to grab fate by the hair and maker her my bitch. I did this because I knew there was no going back, I did this to force myself forward, because I'm destined for a life of adventure and this shall be only a small chapter of my biography".
Nathaniel's words soothed Flintwood's spirit a bit which carried in his voice. "You sound like a pirate seeking to unshackle himself from the burdens of this world, to live a life untethered as ye' sail into the horizon in order to follow his dreams".
In an unbridled burst of rage Nathaniel shouted, "I AM NO FILTHY PIRATE, HEAR ME NOW I AM AN ADVENTURE. Most pirates just abandoned the world to die. It ain't a dream you lot search for what you do is ignore responsibility to indulge and fatten yourselves up to the fullest before the lanshi consume us whole. Yes, I am greedy and I do this for my own selfish needs, but by the end whatever I accomplish will at least serve more than just myself".Blood trickled down Nathaniel's mouth after his loud outburst. His dry throat cracked as blood trickled in and his body was set aflame as his muscles tensed.
Flintwood took Nathaniel's words with a grain of salt and replied back, "there's little difference the two are portrayed differently, titled different, even hung in different lights, but the songs the same whether you like it or not". Breathing heavily Flintwood started heating up more then usual. His skin flushed red as more steam rose from his body.
"Looks like I'm at the end of my rope boy. Time to get this deal on the way don't you agree".