He sat on a wooden chair on the quarterdeck looking down at his new 'crew,' evidently they knew more about sailing old fashioned sailing ships than himself, though the ship was no man O war, it was nice, the ship which he'd yet to come up with a name for was a decent sized frigate, no cannons unfortunately, that'd be too good, he was trying to figure out if this world had black powder yet, it might not, if he could make something like that, he could easily take over the world, or at the very least get a good chunk of it, he knew damn well that nothing got people inventing faster than an enemy with better weapons, Unless you're the romans, then you just throw enemies into the death traps of Archimedes like an army of lemmings, hell for all he knew there was an overzealous religious organization that killed anyone with two god given braincells to rub together, honestly it was hard to tell what kind of world he was in when he couldn't leave the sea without feeling like he had a beefed up version of the flu.

The crew were doing crew things, scrubbing the deck boards getting the blood off, he wasn't about to have a deck that crusted with blood though he doubted the stains would come out, and he could vaguely smell the iron. he had searched the place and found a needle and thread, apparently his more human parts didn't heal as quickly as his octo arm, he put the needle through a candle and stitched up his wounds, reburning after he finished each wound. He proceeded to hold the candle over the wounds and dripped the wax over the wound, and breathed and gritted his teeth from the immense pain.

he looked over to the white creature that he had made his first mate considering it was really the only one that had actually wounded him, he didn't count the attacks to his soft and squishy octo arm, the others couldn't speak, at least not in English it was that weird clicking language that he couldn't make sense of, but this one could speak if not with a weird raspy accent. "So, what's your name?" Josiah asked.

"Reirshi" the fish man said, his sharp needle like teeth bore as it grinned.

Josiah nodded. "hm, Reirshi, almost sounds japanese..."

"Japawhat?" Reirshi asked.

He groaned. "Nothing, nothing. So, have you heard of Black powder?"

The creature's jaw worked before it's gills fluttered in frustration. "The last time I inhabited a body was two hundred years ago master."

He sighed. "Call me captain for now."

The creature grinned again. "Yes master."

Josiah rolled his eyes. "This is going to be fun, anyways this world, explain as best you can."

"What do you wish to know master?" Reirshi asked.

"What were the most prominent countries two hundred years ago?" He asked.

Reirshi blinked. "Well, there was the Hadrian empire, which was a country that prided it's self on it's massive walls and use of tower shields. there was also the republic of Shaal Mahar who were mostly nomads who fought on horseback in the deserts using scimitars and shortbows to overwhelm their enemies, and of course the one who might've been the best ally to you, the kingdom of Maniwar, a mostly naval country who had entire cities made up of ships and was a country who specialized in international trade and most there worshipped Neshi, but I believe they were destroyed near the end of my last life, I heard that it was destroyed."

Josiah stroked his chin in thought. "So, they're gone."

Reirshi nodded. "most lost likely, but remnants might have recollected to and rebuilt."

Josiah rested his head on his fist. "So, Maniwar, how did they get destroyed?"

Reirshi frowned. "That..." He tilted his head. "I believe an attack by followers of Grelorious, the entire capital burned, if I'm not mistaken, the body you offered me was one of his followers, this either means that Neshi's followers like yourself Master Paragon may be being hunted."

Josiah blinked straightening up a little. "Hunted? that... explains a lot."

Reirshi nodded. "They always hated your kind, but they needed the trade, apparently somebody's zeal outmatched their common sense."

Josiah frowned, then got up and motioned for him to follow. They moved down to the captains quarters. He opened a drawer on the desk and set a map of an island called Grelous and some of the surrounding sea. "Found this last time I was in here, we're going to raid this village." He pointed to a village called Kharne. He looked to the up at Reirshi who was looking at the map. "This island, when I lived, I left a stash here, gold, silver, weapons and armor." He picked up a charcoal pencil and put a small X on a hill drawn just north of Kharne.

Josiah looked at him. "What did you do when you were alive again?"

Reirshi grinned with his razor teeth, an odd look from a creature that looked like a piranha. "I was a warlord."

Josiah sat back in his chair, tenting his fingers. "Were you human?"

The fish creature gave a deep hiss and shuddered, he took it that was The creatures version of a laugh. "I was as you see me now. A Neshili pure and true."

"Neshili is that what your kind is called?" Josiah asked.

Reirshi nodded. "Yes, there are many variants of Neshili."

Josiah waved him off. "You can tell me them later, for now, tell the crew to set sail and head to the village."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Josiah walked outside nearly half an hour later, his white hair shining with a swirl of colors, he saw the village in the distance, he raised his tentacle arm and all six rings glowed a brilliant cerulean and the sea pulled back from the shore and then he shoved the sea back into the land with added force that most tsunamis wouldn't be able to achieve it was like throwing a giant water balloon at an ant hill, at this the Neshili leapt into the sea and swam toward the village.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reirshi swam forward his dual harpoons tied to his forearms with rope, he swam forward seeing the shadows of people swimming to the surface, he darted after one with a big leather apron as he tried to surface, he craned his arm back and threw it with immense force making it sail through the water with the swiftness of an arrow, it plunged into the blacksmiths gut and he pulled him down. And then plunged the second harpoon into his chest, the hooked barb tore through the thick leather apron with inhuman strength and then pulled it out from the other side, threading the man with it like a thick needle and thread, he looked around seeing what looked like a naval officer floating in the officer his cheeks puffed out from holding his breath, he was Fighting off a couple of the creatures with a saber identical to the masters. He was holding his own, but Reirshi swam up at him from below like a shark, he slammed his harpoon into the man's leg and then the second one into his lower back, then he tore the leg harpoon and stabbed it into the man's upper back, his spear pierced through the man's chest and he grabbed it below the head, and ripped the spear out threading the man as well. He floated in the sea and watched his brother's killing the remaining humans and clicked out an order. "Don't mutilate them too badly! The captain wants the bodies."

One of the creatures with about to close his mouth on the body of a bar maid closed it and clicked in disappointment. "Just one?"

The glare he gave the creature would give a great white shark a case of envy and made the creature flinch. "Is fine, I eat shiny fish."

After a while they had killed all of the survivors and swam back to the ship, Reirshi climbed onto the deck, the pair of bodies dragging from the ropes and set them onto the deck with a thunk and clatter he then ripped his spears out of the men's chests and offered them with a bow.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Josiah crouched over the bodies of the smith and soldier, he had been a callus man on earth, killed a homeless man who vomited on his shoe, but he had just perpetuated an entire towns mass murder with no survivors, sure, he hadn't participated, but Hitler wasn't exactly been fighting shoulder to shoulder with his soldiers either, but either way he was definitely not the good guy in this world, what would this worlds history say about him? A pirate who could cause a tsunami that can wipe a town off the map and raise the corpses of the dead to fight on his behalf. He shook his head, it was a pointless train of thought and he should focus on the mission. He blinked, pointless... mission? What fucking mission? taking lives is not something that should be done with a wave of the hand and the roll of the eyes, but... that's strangely how he felt, this was probably Neshi's mind fuckery, she'd done something to him when he was unconscious and he shuddered to think of what that could be. He got up and grabbed the smith by the head with his tentacle and put energy into his body, causing the usual shuddering and thrashing, he then saw him, break free of Josiah's not arm and land on the floor, was... was he growing? Sure Reirshi had grown a full foot when he was resurrected but this was... different, the man's muscles were rippling and growing far bigger than his skin could hold and soon enough it had torn in several places, then it's skin started to knit back together and scales grew in patterns similar to that of magma with orange stripes spiderwebbing and connecting and black splotches where there wasn't orange, it grew atleast eight feet tall and at least four wide, the creature was the definition of a hulk, actually it kind of looked like abomination, though it's head looked like a hammerhead shark. it didn't look around, he suspected that the wide range of his eyesight didn't leave much in the way for blind spots. the creature got to it's feet and focused it's eyes on him, even Reirshi was looking between them with a modicum of doubt. Josiah had no doubt that this creature could, and would crush his skull if it got it's hand around his head. it's mouth opened revealing thick yet pointed teeth. "What do you want." It said in a similar accent to Reirshi though deeper, gruffer, like a lumberjack who had been smoking a pack a day for three years straight.

Josiah raised an eyebrow. "That's a new one, a Neshili who would rather talk than fight."

The creature looked down at him. "I'm a smith not a warrior."

"Shame, you'd make a good one..." Josiah muttered.

"I was, it was a long time ago. now what do you want?" The creature asked again, it's voice registering annoyance.

Josiah stroked his chin. "I want a good smith."

The creature made a deep hissing sound, it's gills flaring up, the Neshili version of a laugh. "Then look somewhere else, because I'm not a good smith, I'm the best damn smith of the Neshili people."

Reirshi took a step forward. "Voku?"

Voku apparently, turned and looked at Reirshi, and then opened his mouth. "Reirshi? it's been a while, what are you doing out here?" He asked, sitting down next to the other body.

"I've been serving Neshi's paragon to the best of my abilities." Reirshi said.

Voku turned his eye to Josiah. "You're the new Paragon, I see, that's why we're in the corporeal world."

Josiah raised a glistening eyebrow. "Pardon, did I miss something? am I the only one who can raise Neshili?"

Voku ran his hand across the top of his flat smooth head. "Yes, but that's not all, each paragon has a specific spirit who it can raise, and each spirit requires a humanoid body to inhabit, when a spirit inhabits a body it becomes immortal though not invulnerable, they can die and when they do their bodies are forced from their mortal shell and back into the spirit realm."

Josiah stood his jaw hanging a bit, that was probably some of the best information he'd been given thus far. "So, there are other paragons here? and they can all create their own troops via the death of people?"

Voku chuffed a Neshili laugh his gills flaring up. "Yes, though they usually have a temple and people are offered up as ritual sacrifice to their respective god and take the form of the spirit, sometimes voluntary, sometimes not."

Josiah stroked his chin, this was decent information, but that also means- a loud hiss came from above. Josiah looked up at the ships crows nest where one of the Neshili was freaking out, clicking and hissing. Reirshi translated. "There's sails on the horizon."