The manor of House Gosana, or the one in Emberglow anyway, was massive compared to the quarters she'd held for months. It had been their seasonal home when she was young, but it had often served just as frequently now as her personal vacation spot while in service. Admiralty had made some deal generations back to secure port, harbor, and dry-dock space for any Imperial ship that should sail in. That had its perks alone, but Emberglow was a wonder onto itself.

The city of lights that never seemed to dim, the chalice of life that would never empty nor overflow, it was a haven of wealth and peace throughout Niruk. Abin loved it here, it had become something of a habit for her to depart from the ship on these lengthy nights, where the seamen had all gone ashore to spend their earnings, and slip away to her old home. Staff was still employed and with little to do otherwise, they happily saw to the few needs she'd request.

Coffee, mainly. Coffee was king, its was her driving force. She couldn't understand the people around her not being as obsessed with the drink as she was. Beer and wine were wonderful, but they made one far too incoherent without moderation. She'd lost handfuls of men to the whims of drink while at sea, or worse yet while ashore. Arcanists rarely seemed to drink, they seemed to understand the need for their minds to be ready and primed.

It was from an Arcanist in the city that she had discovered the drink, during her travels through the streets searching for something to eat, Abin had stumbled upon a small coffee shop set into a larger tavern. The owner of the tavern had partitioned the room and sold off the section to the small shop, which was bursting with customers holding small cups of dark steaming liquid.

That seemed like so long ago now, back when she had a ship that she actually liked and preferred. It came back to preference again. She'd preferred her ship, her crew. Now that wasn't the case, and it likely wouldn't be the case again until she could either capture or guarantee the killing of those bastard pirates. The pirates that didn't give a damn about her, or that they'd ruined her life with their stunt. But why would they? They're pirates, wastes of life.

Abin sipped her drink and looked out over the city, the upper balcony of the family manor had a lovely view of the lights each night. She used to sit up there and watch the change from day to night, how the lights never seemed to move as the world shifted around them. They never wavered or flickered. They were always constant.

That's what she wanted now, something constant. Something that wouldn't be so quickly swiped from underneath her at a moment's notice. She'd earned her place as Captain, she'd earned her rank and the respect it demanded. Nepotism be damned, she was going to regain her position and eventually handle that disgusting Read Admiral Lower Half. Eventually.

"Is there anything else, ma'am?" Sebura, the head butler, was an older man who reveled in his wrinkles the way warriors did of their scars.

"No, thank you Sebu, that should be all for tonight. I'll be sailing out again in the next few days, so you'll have free rein again soon."

She'd given her staff permission to use the houses as if they were their own while the family was away for service, it had made sense to let them enjoy the homes they spent so much of their lives in. Her family had protested slightly at first, but father had made her the head after her promotion, and that was his burden to deal with now.

"Very good ma'am. May you have a safe journey."

"Thank you, Sebu, Good night." She politely dipped her head in dismissal as the man crossed the threshold of the door. He would wait until she actually left before taking on any sense of relaxation, Sebu had been her guardian for too long to not watch over her, regardless of age. She didn't mind it all too much, the house was empty otherwise, and the silence often drove her into a state of heavy emotions.

The Pasongunan was her target. She could focus on that fact and that reality and work her way onward from there. She could find them, they were just one ship in a myriad sea of islands, coves, and magical monsters. Surely that couldn't be too difficult to search, right?

With a frown Abin made a mental note to contact the head scout of the area and instruct them on the situation. She had access to them finally, Hosan was starting to grow too annoyed to hold a grudge properly. They'd do the heavy lifting of finding the crazed demons, she'd just have to hope that she could get them before doing something even crazier.

Seko watched the bobbing prows of generations old vessels crest and sink as they passed. A low fog hung over the largely still seas as they passed through what He could only describe as a graveyard. They had advanced into the more shallow waters between islands, and the clearness of the liquid revealed the depths some ships had eventually sunk to. As well as the creatures now calling those vessels home.

"Well," Vel said, "That's not foreboding."

Seko enjoyed the sharp and quick accent that Vel had, one of the reasons he was so often content with allowing her commentary on the events unfolding. She had become something of a staple in his experiences now, anything would happen and Vel would have a comment.

"Thank you as always." Yan said. He leaned over the Quarterdecks railing and whistled, "Though she may have a point."

"This is where the journal says he fought, right?" Seko asked.

"Aye," Yan said. He fished the folded leather out of his jacket and passed it to Vel, who inspected the page he'd folded with the scrutiny of someone trying to find a flaw. When she passed the journal on with nothing more than a defeated look, Seko knew the answer.

"So," Seko said, "Its one of these ships below us?"

"It would seem so," Yan peered through the waters, trying to find something of a mark, "It bears a sigil of an Eagle."

"An Eagle?" Cria asked, joining the group on the helms deck and mimicking their motions.

"Aye,"

"Well that should be simple enough to spot." Seko said. "Aithur, keep us running for now, but I think we'll be using the longboats."

"Aye sir," Aithur called to a group of crewman to ready a longboat and ordered the sails pulled.

They were to drift in the waters until they found their mark. An act that Seko was none too fond of, but was unwilling to abandon, as it seemed to be the only available option. The waters, clear as they were, did nothing to change the fact that both time and sea life had done their work to the sunken ships for generations.

Seko heard the scraping of metal beneath them as they traveled over an old capital ship, something that seemed so strange to see sunken. The Capital Class was massive, and the ships rarely ever received enough damage to even warrant a return to harbor for repairs. Often it had a crew aboard that could perform them at sea without the materials. Magic surely is a gift, but one with strange rules... He didn't understand them all yet, and he wasn't sure anyone had either, but he was going to learn as many as he could.

"There!" Cria shouted, she pointed to a massive ship with a flat deck and the symbol of an eagle etched into its metal prow. "Aha! See, easy."

"Yes, well, now we need to get down there." Yan said.

"Shall we go then?" Seko asked. Yan smiled and raced down the stairs. Seko following behind.

"I'm coming too," Cria said

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"I'd prefer if you didn't," Seko said, trying to be as kind as he could. He didn't need to worry about having to save an Arcanist from the dangers of the sea.

"Seconded." Yan grunted, lifting two of the Gewel Belts up and handing one to Seko.

"Well thats unfortunate because I'm coming along." She ripped the belt from Yans hands and strapped it around herself. Yan gave a muffled curse in frustration and pulled another of the black leather belts out.

"Fine then," Seko said. He strapped his own belt on and climbed over the railing into the longboat. It jostled under his weight and the crew holding the ropes groaned in effort. "On your head be it."

The pair loaded into the boat beside him and they were slowly let down onto the waves, Yan took the oars and assumed his stance for rowing. Seko took to the bow and tried to spot the ship again, from the lower angle things seemed even more distorted and altered than above, but he found the ship again with some ease. He called the direction and they began to move.

"Are we all going down?" Seko asked as they approached their stop

"Had you planned for you both to go beneath?" Cria asked. She fiddled with the Gewels in their housings and caused them each to glow one after the other. Seko figured she was testing the capabilities and spells contained within.

"I had." Yan said between rows, "Still do."

"Then it's decided, it isn't so hard."

"You don't really understand how this whole 'listening' things works, do you?" Seko asked. Cria gave him a curt smile and looked away.

"Well, we should be above it now." Yan said. He stood to glance over the side and nodded with personal satisfaction. "Shall we?"

Yan dropped a small black stone onto the floor of the longboat and pressed his pointer finger into it. It glowed for a moment then stopped, Yan was clearly pleased, so he let the item sit.

"What was that?" Cria asked

"Anchor Gewel, Yedria said to test them."

"Yedria is working on new tech now?" Seko asked. “And she asked you?”

"So it would seem."

Cria, Seko, and Yan each picked a corner of the boat and sat, performing their final checks of the belts and clothing. Seko and yan stripped of their coat and breeches, going down to undergarments and undershirts, while Cria merely waited for them to finish. Seko placed a hand onto his brothers shield gewel as well as his own and pulled on the well of magic within. He pieced the lines he wanted together and focused on the thought of breathing water.

"Kia Yun Nunpun." He whispered the phrase and felt the energy surge out into the Gewels. He could feel the spell swirl into the mixture within each and felt it merge and grow. Cria had already done so to her own and was waiting for the pair to finish their prep. "The Benefit of being a Mentalist I suppose."

"Not so much mentalist, just practice." Cria tapped his chest and smiled, "You might get there eventually."

"Right, well then." Yan sat on the edge of the boat and let himself fall back into the water. Seko following suite with Cria shortly behind him.

The water was warmer than Seko would have thought, he was used to the oceans and seas being a chilling cold that sapped your strength and slowly drained you of life. Yet the waters around the island were warm and pleasant as they descended further into the clear depths of the ocean. Fish and other aquatic life swam violently away, hoping to avoid the invaders to their home.

Even with the spell to breathe underwater, speaking was impossible, and so hand gestures were all the trio had to rely on for communication. Yan had taken the lead and was well on his way towards a crack in the sunken hull when he stopped and raised a fist. The action meant to hold, but it felt so strange to see it done in the relative lack of gravity that the underwater seemed to have.

Seko halted instantly, surely if Yan was holding then it was something serious, but Cria swam on as if unaware of the gesture. He noticed moments later that she had, in fact, not been paying attention and was instead locked on a scrap of ruin some distance below. Something dark caught the corner of his eye and he tried to track it, but the figure moved too quickly for Seko to follow.

Yan waved for them to continue and then pushed his way through a hole in the cracked hull, disappearing into the lower decks of the wreck. Seko tapped Cria on the shoulder to grab her attention and pulled her towards the hole, then climbed in himself. The fit was snug, but he was able to work his legs through and then eventually his torso, Cria following shortly behind once more.

Barnacles and other sea life clung to the walls inside, confused at the presence of creatures so impossible to eat, and added an element of unease to the surroundings. They were flanked on all sides by silent living beings, both sides concerned at the movements of the other. Yan waved again and drew their attention to stairs leading further into the rear lower decks of the ship.

They followed behind and pushed past floating barrels and crates of eaten linen, even with so much time having passed the ship's contents still seemed to speak for the former occupants. They clearly hadn't been expecting to sink, as the number of items strewn around were countless. Light reflected off the shards of lanterns from holes bore into the hull, either by man or beast.

In the lower decks they found a room similarly spaced and strewn about with items, however here there was a door that still remained on its hinges and well locked. Yan yanked the door handle but found it solid in its position, he then motioned for Seko to try. Seko took the offer and pulled the slimy metal with all he could, but found it wouldn't budge. Cria pushed the pair aside and waved a hand before it, bubbles started to form on her palm as if boiling over, then a wave of force blasted out and pushed her back, sending the door flying inward at the same time.

Cria recovered herself quickly, but managed to see the pair giggling silently at the event. She motioned for them to enter, and Seko nodded. Before he even approached, Seko could feel a strange tingling spill over him as the door now hung open. He pulled himself into the room and found a strange surprise. The room was only half filled with water. A far corner tilted upwards towards the surface was void of any liquid and Seko pulled himself into the air with a gasp.

"Up here." He waved beneath the waters and two additional heads popped up from the still surface. Both looking just as perplexed by the respite.

Tied to the rear wall was a chest, partially cracked and some of the contents spilling into the water. Strange Gems without housings flickered a lime green and occasionally popped on the surface, hopping up an inch as if lightly flicked. As he drew his hand closer to pick one up, the tingling Seko had felt grew stronger.

"Think this is it?" He asked, holding one of the gems up. He felt the energy within it spill out of the uncontained housing and fill his body with the warmth of overflowing magic. He dropped the gem and scooted back, "Try not to touch them."

"Why?" Cria asked. She picked up the one Seko had dropped and inspected the strange rock. Nothing happened. She wasn't bothered by it.

Is it just me then? Seko picked up another gem, but dropped it the moment he felt the surging of energy begin again. It retained its color and glow as it fell back into the shallow section. This time, Yan picked it up, tossing it moments later across the room in shock.

"Gods!" Yan shouted. He pulled up his hand as if to see if there were burns. "What in the world are these?"

"Arc Gewels?" Seko asked

"Or something older," Cria said "Did the journal say how many we needed?"

"A few, maybe five?" Yan looked over the chest and clicked his tongue. "Seems we may just have enough here.

"But we can't touch them," Cria dropped the Gem she'd originally grabbed and looked over their surroundings. "I can feel the energy spilling into the water. I wonder how many there were in here originally, they must have fallen out during the crash and been destroyed or something."

"Maybe the sharks ate them," Yan said pointing to holes in the wood. "Large enough for some to get through."

"Perhaps," Cria said

Seko picked a knife from his belt and started for the chest, cutting the ropes with ease and closing the box tight.

"We have what we needed to get, we should leave before an Imperial Vessel spots our ship above."

"Relax," Yan said, taking the other side of the chest "They likely think we're dead, right?"

"Even still..." Seko trailed off in thought, the Empire had never been very forgiving before, and strangely he didn't perceive them changing into saints anytime soon.

"Let's head back then," Cria said "Unless we want to look around the ship a bit. Dotan sank this very vessels some few hundred years ago! Isn't that exciting to see. We're swimming through history right now!"

"With a chest," Seko added, "it isn't exactly time for sight seeing."

"Aye, we should just be thankful we can head to the island now. Journal only mentions needing a few of these to give wherever enough magic or something."

"Isn't that insightful," Cria groaned, "Glad we have the scholar here."

"I didn't see you reading the journal before," Yan snapped, "You had chances."

"I was being beaten!" Cria cried, "Doesn't that have some relevance to the-"

A crash against the hull sent shards of wood and drops of water down onto them in the air. Seko, Yan, and Cria shared a look of noted concern and turned to the door. A long grey form swam by, skidding against the door.

"Shark?" Yan asked

"Bit bigger than that," Seko said

"We should go," Cria dipped back down into the water with Seko close behind.