Chapter 427: Prologue - The Calm Before…
900 years ago… the Azure Realm…
Rain had fallen over the ocean for five straight days before accumulating into a raging thunderstorm that shook Yara’s small ship. Waves thirty paces high crashed into the ship, threatening to capsize it. Yara stood at the tip of the bow, hanging with one hand from a rope attached to the sail. Freezing rain pelted her face and roaring waves crashed over her, yet still, she held on. Aqila and the other children worried that the ship would break in two. Yara just laughed.
As the storm raged on, Caligo conjured grey leathery wings from his back and wrapped the other children underneath them. The small white fox, Lin Lu, burrowed underneath his shirt for shelter.
Caligo stayed awake through the night and the crashing waves. The storm didn't seem to bother the shapeshifting-child. His green eyes occasionally stared out at the water, but mostly he stared at Yara clinging to the sail line.
Somehow, despite the horrid night, the small ship made it through the storm. As the clear dawn skies rose above them the sun bore down on the ship with petty vengeance. Gone were the howling winds, not even a whisper of breeze graced the sails, leaving them drifting through the sea.
“I’m thirstyyyy,” Emma groaned.
Duncan patted his little sister’s back and smiled reassuringly, “I’ll get some water from the hold.”
“We’re out of clean water. I checked,” Aqila muttered.
Emma stared at her for a moment, blinked, and proceeded to throw herself on the deck, arms flailing about. “We’re going to die! Waaagghh!”
“Calm down, we’re not going to die,” Aqila said and tried to put on a brave smile. At 15, she was the eldest of the children from their village and she tried her best to be a reliable leader for Duncan and Emma, but she felt anxiety crawling over her at the thought of death. To have come so far, only to die of dehydration in the middle of the sea.
“It can’t end like this,” Aqila muttered.
“Emma’s right. We are going to die,” Duncan said as his eyes began to water. “What are we even doing out here? We could have joined a crew in one of their larger ships at the docks, but no, we had to get on this tiny ship without any sailors at all!”
Yara watched them lose their minds while she cut an apple into slices and ate it with her knife.
“Miss Yara,” Caligo finally spoke up. “Are we going to die?”
“No,” Yara said between mouthfuls. “Like I told Duncan, I bought this ship because we’re not trying to draw attention. If I brought an entire crew to a hidden island it wouldn’t be very hidden anymore, now would it?”
“Hidden island? How are we supposed to find anything when we’re lost?” Duncan threw his hands up in frustration.
“We’re not lost,” Yara said matter-of-factly.
“We don’t even have a map!” Duncan yelled.
“We’ll have to wait until nightfall before we can read the stars to tell where we are,” Aqila said. “We won’t be able to set sail to any location until then.”
“That’s if the wind ever comes back,” Duncan said.
“There’s no need for any of that boring stuff,” Yara said calmly. “Trust me, alright? I got you all through the realm bridge, didn’t I? And that was without a map.”
The children hesitated as they recalled the memory. The tunnel had been dark, full of creeping vines over the walls. At one point the tunnel seemed as if it had broken apart into nothingness. Yara had told them all to hold hands and she led Caligo from the front and guided them all out from the darkness. The next thing they had known they were standing on a sandy beach in the Azure Realm.
“I miss home,” Emma cried softly.
“There is no home to go back to, kid. There is nothing left for any of you in the Violet Realm,” Yara said, taking the final bite of her apple. “That’s why we’re here, remember?”
“You mean the middle of the damn ocean?” Duncan frowned.
“This is why I never had any kids,” Yara shook her head. With a heavy groan, she stood up and stretched her back. She walked over to the bow, placed her hand on the wooden rails, closed her eyes, and focused her will.
“Hold on, I don’t want to be fishing any of you out of the sea,” Yara said.
The hull of the ship creaked and the water underneath bubbled underneath. A powerful gale crashed into the sails and launched them forward with a heavy snap. Aqila and Duncan fell back with a shout of surprise. Caligo caught them with both hands.
Emma, still on the ground, rolled backwards and smacked into the stern. Her painful cries were drowned out by the sounds of the roaring winds in their ears. The waters themselves were splitting before the ship’s path and pushing it onwards from behind, sending the ship almost skipping across the sea.
“How are you doing this!?” Aqila asked excitedly.
Yara winked. “Trust.”
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“Trust?”
“Trust that I’m the best goddamn sailor in the Azure Sea!” Yara howled in playful delight.
The ship sailed on throughout the morning and afternoon, and as evening fell the ragtag crew spotted a small island in the distance.
“Is that it?” Emma pointed excitedly.
“Yeah,” Yara grinned. “The Sea Guardian’s home.”
“I hope he doesn’t mind us intruding,” Aqila muttered anxiously.
Yara glanced at the orphans and felt a sudden pang of empathy. They had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. With stiff movements, she wrapped her arm around Aqila’s small shoulders. “Relax, kiddo, the Sea Guardian and I are friends, plus he owes me a favor. You’ll be welcome in his village.”
“Do you really think the Sea Guardian can help me?” Caligo whispered.
“If anyone can help you figure out who you are or where you came from, it’s him,” Yara assured him. “The Guardian is old. Older than the Sundering, when titans still freely roamed the world.”
Lin Lu squeaked and poked her out of Caligo’s shirt.
Caligo smiled warmly. “Yes, I think it would be nice to know who I am too.”
“Is there a particular way we should announce ourselves?” Duncan asked curiously.
“Oh, now you want my advice?” Yara asked.
The 13-year-old boy blushed, his white irises looking everywhere but at her. “I-I mean! I don’t know this guy!”
“Don’t worry, the Sea Guardian already knows we’re here,” Yara said.
As the ship neared the shoreline Caligo spotted a figure in the distance waiting on the beach.
“Everyone, hold hands,” Yara instructed.
The children did as instructed and Yara placed her hand on Caligo’s shoulder.
“Deep breaths,” she whispered.
The world burned in a bright flash of orange sparks. Suddenly, the ground was no longer swaying from side-to-side. Their feet were in the sand and water splashed at their ankles. As their vision returned the children found themselves on the beach.
Emma and Duncan grabbed their stomachs and fell to their knees in a daze.
Aqila managed to stay standing though she was struggling not to vomit. “I hate when you do that.”
“Flicker magic is not for everyone,” Yara chuckled.
Caligo shrugged with a childish grin, “I like it.”
“Welcome back, Lady Nereida,” a woman called out from up the shore. She bowed to Yara as she neared.
Yara smiled wide, “Sorry for the sudden intrusion, chieftess Sarina.”
“Nonsense! Your presence is an honor to all of us, Lady Nereida,” Sarina bowed even deeper.
“Nereida?” Aqila glanced at Yara questioningly.
Yara shrugged. “Different Realms, different names.”
“So what’s your real name?” Aqila asked.
“That’s a secret,” Yara said in a serious tone.
“Are you here to study the local fauna again, my lady?” Sarina asked politely.
“Quite the opposite,” Yara gestured to the children. “Their home was taken from them. I’d like them to be taken care of and treated as part of the village.”
Sarina slowly looked the ragged children up and down. She had never seen yellow skin or silver horns before. The children smiled weakly, save Caligo who was busy whispering to the white fox on his shoulder.
Sarina smiled, “Rest assured, my lady. I’m sure I can find them a home on our island.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Yara said.
“In the meantime shall I prepare your usual rooms, my lady?”
“No, I don’t plan on staying long,” Yara said.
“Wait, what!? You’re leaving us?” Emma exclaimed.
“After everything?” Duncan mumbled.
“I have duties beyond looking after a bunch of kids,” Yara said.
“…Of course, you do. Sorry, we were such a bother,” Aqila mumbled with red eyes. She bowed low, her hands at her side. “Thank you for everything, Lady Nereida.”
Yara scratched her cheek and looked away sheepishly. “Right…”
“Will you be leaving right away, my lady?” Sarina asked. “I’m certain our cooks would love to prepare a feast for you and our lord would certainly wish to see you at least once before leaving.”
Yara nodded, “Actually, I was hoping to speak with him too—”
The shore exploded in a mist of seafoam and mist. A massive sapphire figure emerged from the shoreline. The dragon’s body was sleek for its enormous size. His long tail swished from side-to-side and his narrow wings were spread wide, dripping with water. Dark blue eyes stared down at Yara. Blue lips pulled back in a smile, revealing sharp fangs. “Nereida, what are you doing here?”
“And here I was wondering where you had flown off to,” Yara grinned. “Everyone, let me introduce you to the island’s Sea Guardian, Meldor the—”
“—The Tempest’s Bastion,” Caligo finished in a stock-still voice. He stared up at the dragon with wide green eyes, his small face pale.
Yara spun towards him in shock. “How did you—?”
“Do you know of me, little one?” Meldor leaned closer, his tone full of curiosity.
“I–I…” Caligo grimaced and held his head between his hands. “They—! They’re all going to die!” He fell to his knees and groaned in pain. His eyes shifted between colors, trying to center back to green but failing. “I have to save them!” he cried out.
“Caligo, what’s wrong!?” Yara ran up to him worriedly.
Sensing something amiss, Lin Lu jumped off his shoulder and ran to the trees in the distance. Caligo’s body began to shake as if something was crawling underneath his flesh. Different parts of his body began to shapeshift, tails, wings, claws, arms, and legs, all came out in strange shapes.
Yara stepped back, uncertain of what to do. She had never seen anything like this. The children cried in fear and shouted Caligo’s name worriedly.
“M-My lord?” Sarina shuddered in fear and hid behind the dragon.
“What is he, Nereida?” Meldor asked warily.
Yara swallowed. “I was hoping you could help me figure that out.”
The writhing mass of limbs abruptly stopped moving and melted away, revealing the young boy once more. He seemed the same as his usual self, save for his eyes. Caligo blinked incessantly as if trying to get sand out of his eyes. His irises shifted in a constant unstable myriad of colors.
Yara drew closer to him and hesitantly touched his shoulder. “Caligo…? Are you alright?”
Caligo groaned quietly and closed his eyes tight.
“What are you, boy?” the dragon asked distrustfully.
The young boy’s expression stilled. Caligo slowly looked up at the dragon and smiled. “Do you not recognize me, old friend?” he asked, but the voice that came out of his lips was foreign; a quiet voice that echoed clearly in all their ears, a voice of a woman that sent chills down their spines.
Meldor’s serpentine eyes widened in panic. “It’s not possible…!”
Yara looked between them, confused. “Do you two know each other?”
Meldor trembled in disbelief. “You— How!? How are you alive, An—!?”
Caligo’s hand blurred and he backhanded Yara across the side of her head in an instant. The world grew dark and Yara fell on the wet sand with a hard thud.