Chapter 3
Overwhelmed
Don't be fooled by the vast, silent emptiness of space, as its secrets are many and varied.
- from the journal 'The Second Life of Captain T. Mane' by Capt. T. Mane
Bathed in the moonlight of the silver moon, Tiona looked up at the supposedly right-hand attendant of the Absolute Ruler. Her grand entrance left a damn impression on the group, including Tiona. She felt the hair on her nape stand up as the unknown girl started her descent. The magical descent alone increased her heart rate from excitement, knowing this world has magic in it.
So this is what real magic is like. I wonder if we could perform similar feats. . .Her mind wandered from admiration.
Tiona was about to respond to her curtsy when an identical storm-cloud formed above them, painting everything in a green hue. The temperature dropped even colder than the first guest’s heroic arrival. She noticed the unknown girl have stopped her descent, looking up, and seemed lost in thought.
Nesshara stopped her descent as she remembered what the Absolute Ruler had told her.
“If you ever encounter a warrior with fire affinity with a white mask, call off the mission and return to me immediately.”
A bolt of lightning, thicker than the first lightning, struck the forward part of the vessel, causing MV Feadheus to sway heavily. The crew instinctively grabbed anything in their reach to maintain balance.
Nesshara noticed the four gentlemen in the corner of her eyes running towards the port side of the ship and saw the woman staring at her with brave eyes. Finally, she ignored them and flew above the ship. She landed on the monkey island and observed the newly arrived guest.
Tiona arrived where the boys were standing and divided the group with her hand to open a path so she could get a view of the forecastle. She noticed the lightning charred the forecastle black. Soot and dancing red flames occupied the forward part of the ship.
Tiona saw a silhouette of a woman with short hair behind the curtain of thick smoke and ash. The lady strut nonchalantly forward and out of the smoke, observing her surroundings. Green lightnings on the metal surface parted as if scared of the woman, who was wearing a white oval mask. She stopped walking once she was outside the damaged forecastle, and looked up - to the woman standing on the monkey island.
The stand off continued for another minute, either of them not moving from their position. Everyone seemed to stop breathing as the tension rises. The green lightnings on the metal surface were gone; replaced with the silver moon’s brilliant illumination. The smell of burnt paint lingered in the air and the ocean was eagerly spectating the stand-off because of its absence of waves and wind. Tiona's heartbeat raced as she anticipated the events unfolding before her very eyes.
***
“By the order of the Grygel Empire’s Absolute Ruler, these 5 honored guests are to be escorted to Shar Castle, Grygel Imperium’s Capital. I believe you know the consequences of impeding the Absolute Ruler’s Order, White Bone.” Nesshara announced. Looking at White Bone, unmoving and not responding to her, she internally sighed and prepared for battle.
White Bone rose to fame because of her achievement in the last attempted invasion of the Grygel Empire. When the invading Empire successfully conquered the Kingdom of Nesshau in the year 949 of South Era, they sent two elite navy battalions four years later. The two elite navy battalions comprised two members of the Circle of Shadow Assassins and an army of 2,000 magically equipped army. They were supposed to hold the City of T’anil for a few weeks until the main army arrives, but they were welcomed with a single person instead and met their demise.
If it wasn’t for Ulva and Eda's official report, I wouldn’t believe someone could decimate a full battalion from the Haranium Kingdom, let alone two battalions. Let’s hope the stories were exaggerated. Nesshara thought to herself.
Tiona caught on some clues from their first guest's announcement towards the second visitor.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
It looks like the first lady knows the second. She thought.
And clearly, magic exists in this world, just like Harry Potter. But there’s a difference though, I can’t see any wands or hear incantations. She observed.
Tiona saw the so-called ‘White Bone’ and studied her. She noticed she has two unique features to her. First, was the white oval mask, which has no describable features in it. It was just a plain white oval mask covering her face. Second, a smooth white armor that looked like a bone covered her whole right arm, from shoulder to fingers. She also wore a half plate armor made of dark red scale, and it looked damn bad ass to Tiona.
Nesshara did not hear any answer from White Bone, thinking she didn’t like dull conversations before a battle. Observing the owner of the white mask, the bone covering her right shoulder melted and absorbed into her skin. At the same time, a dagger made of white bone sprouted in her palm. Nesshara saw her knees bent slightly, so she quickly activated her full body barrier, covering her whole body with a thin green membrane. An enormous crater was created and White Bone disappeared from where she was standing.
White Bone appeared behind Nesshara, stabbing her bone dagger in her left neck. Reacting swiftly, Nesshara blocked the bone dagger with her left elbow with a grunt. The barrier held, creating green sparks. Nesshara reinforced her green barrier on her left elbow, the barrier flickered.
She weakened my barrier in just one blow. She gritted her teeth. Nesshara squinted and materialized a black dagger in her right hand, sending a quick diagonal slash into White Bone’s right wrist.
White Bone reacts quickly. Using his left arm covered with bones, she blocked the black dagger and sent a kick into Nessha’s stomach.
They continued to exchange powerful blows. These are certainly two warriors in battle. Brutal hits and skillful counteractions.
Beautiful fireworks of green and blue colored the night sky. Clashing sounds of metals permeated the still ocean. The crew all stared above with mouths wide open with disbelief. Without warning, the second guest crashed through the thick hatch cover of the ship.
A moment later, five transparent green orbs enclosed each crew. Tiona touched the transparent orb that seemed like cellophane; It felt like a bubble that if someone touches it, it would pop. Tiona looked up and saw Nesshara holding a short cylindrical wand, glowing with green color, pointing towards them.
Oh, there's the wand. Tiona noticed.
Nesshara appeared in front of them kneeling in one knee and with rugged breathing, disheveled hair, and burnt clothes. She was facing the hole in the hatch cover the whole time. Compared to her arrival, Tiona noticed Nesshara was out of breath and seemed anxious.
Nesshara furrowed her brows and activated her Circlet of Travel. The enchanted item activated, and it glowed with tiny green lightning sparks that didn’t seem to harm the user. She looked up and a storm cloud formed with green lightnings in them. Feeling the familiar cold sensation in the atmosphere, she knew the countdown began. Following the drop in temperature, the blue motes in the air turned green. Nesshara glanced in the cargo hold's direction and gritted her teeth.
Nesshara heard a booming roar from inside the cargo holds, causing the crew to cover their ears with their free hands. The crew turned towards the source of the roar. Without warning, a huge red dragon pried the thick covers open from inside. It roared again, this time it sent a fireball towards the sky. It flew towards the group and stretched its massive wings. Its teeth glowing in red and immediately swoop down into the group with its enormous jaw open.
Nesshara stood straight and her daggers vanished.
So that explains how she did it. Nesshara thought.
“Pity, but you’re just too slow.” She grinned in contempt.
Nesshara held the glowing short cylindrical staff in her chest and it enveloped all six of them with a green glow. They shot towards the sky in an instant. The Red Dragon landed with its four legs in the location the group was in seconds ago. It looked up and growled, stretched its wings and flew towards the green storm-clouds.
The fireball reached the green storm-clouds and exploded. The lightning that held the group flickered and disappeared. From their previous momentum, they were still moving towards the clouds, but so much slower. Nesshara looked down, seeing the red dragon closing in fast with its glowing teeth. Reacting quickly, she closed her eyes to focus. Charging the Circlet with all of her own Necrossin energy. The already active enchanted item received more external energy and glowed brighter. The energy transfer created several cracks in its surface. Occupied with the enormous flying lizard ready to swallow them whole, Nesshara wasn’t aware of the cracks in her Tiara.
The red dragon’s perfect timing reached the group and caught all of them in its maw with a snap! Nesshara opened her eyes and bright green light flooded the mouth of the red dragon. It stopped flapping its wings for a moment and bright green energy seeped out of its maw. A massive lightning connected the storm-cloud and the green energy from its mouth, causing the red dragon to close its eyes from the pain.
Its left cheek burst open from the contained energy. Quickly reacting, the red dragon covered its left cheek with its front leg, but four bright orbs slipped out, shooting into the clouds at terrible speed. The four bright orbs made it into the storm-clouds, then a blinding green flash separated the three orbs into three random directions.
The red dragon saw the three green streaks of energy in the sky and plummeted with its maw wide open, revealing two unconscious bodies falling out of its mouth at great speed. White Bone quickly shape shifted into an injured and bloodied woman with a white mask. She immediately grabbed the two falling bodies and activated her Bracelet of Travel. A storm-cloud formed above the falling group, which were enveloped with green energy.
Before hitting the still ocean, the green energy reached its peak and soared upward at breakneck speed. Transformed into green lightning, the group reached the storm clouds and caused a dazzling flash. A green lightning bolt shoots out into the distance, coloring the night sky with a green line of energy that dispersed after a few seconds.
Silence returned after MV Feadheus sank alone in the middle of several moving islands in an unknown ocean.
***