The Golden Armada.

Their name meant death to pirates. Simple as that. The hunter killers of the Navy took no prisoners and left no survivors. If you did something bad enough to get even a single ship of the Golden Armada chasing you, it was better to say goodbyes than to try and run.

The fleet was led by the infamous half-drake, Archcaptain Rodgers, who stood at the helm of Empress Solara, a magnificent five-masted galleon that was currently pointing its extravagant golden cannon directly at Heartspear Cove.

Adrian’s breaths came fast and shallow. His vision was turning blurry as he tried to come to terms with the vast expanse in front of him, completely filled with ships as far as he could see, all there to kill each and every pirate in town.

Before he knew what was happening, he was already flying out of the Captain’s quarters, past the crew’s hammocks and up the stairs to the deck of the Maiden’s Fangs. Out in the open air, Adrian had a perfect view as Empress Solara sailed into the harbor at full speed and reduced every raft, barge, and ship in her path to flotsam with her invulnerable steel hull.

The sounds of carnage only intensified as the seconds passed like hours to Adrian. Cannons were being fired from all sides, drowning out the rest of the world until the only thing that existed in the area around Garza’s Island was death and mayhem. Crew members, tourists, raiders, hunters, adventurers, innocent men, women and children; all were blown away and tossed into the sea by the unceasing torrent of destruction. None were spared the wrath of the Golden Armada.

Flashing multicolored explosions lit the sky as the magic empowered cannon shots tore apart anything they hit. Empress Solara’s main gun shot balls of fire that swallowed ships in the harbor whole, leaving only ash in their wake. Chain nets were launched that grew as they flew through the air until they were wide enough to cover a dozen smaller boats at once, dragging them down under the waves. Some shots were fired straight in the air, where at the apex of their flight they hovered in place and started glowing in a bright golden light before blasting off towards escaping ships in an instant.

Adrian was on the far northern side of the cove at the very edge of what could be considered part of the harbor. Thanks to that, the main force was ignoring his location completely while the remainder of the fleet had no way to approach the already cluttered space to fire on him.

Then, a flare was sent out from one of the galleons trailing Empress Solara. The area lit up like a star had fallen from the sky at the Navy’s behest and arced through the air directly towards Adrian’s position before blinking out.

Before he could react, the steel behemoth of a flagship stopped moving and countless floating motes of light appeared where her hull met the water.

Gradually, Empress Solara rose out of the shallow harbor until she was completely airborne. Once there, the entire ship started rotating in place where she hovered in the center of the harbor, turning her main cannon away from town until Adrian was staring directly down the barrel.

‘That whole blessing, superstition thing was just a load of rat shit, wasn’t it, Dorsey?’

Remembering Dorsey, and still hearing all the magical cannon fire going on, Adrian’s mind went blank. He turned his head away from the menacing gun in a panic, focusing on the besieged town.

It was actually doing pretty well. Most of the fire had been focused on the ships in the harbor, rather than the cliffs or buildings, so the sides were completely untouched and his own house was fine—actually, knowing his mum, she was probably still sleeping.

In the center of town, some of the less stable structures high up on the cliffs had collapsed from the force of all the explosions in the area below, taking others down in their wake. The stronger buildings near shore, however, were barely even on fire.

Adrian was just glad that Dorsey was likely fine for now.

Before he could even consider running off to find the old man, a deep, resounding call came from Empress Solara and echoed off the cliffs surrounding Heartspear Cove.

“Garza! Get out here, return what you stole, and I’ll make this quick. Come now and I’ll even let some rats from your little nest scurry away to safety. What say you, pirate?”

With help from his Constellation, Archcaptain Rodgers’ words were heard by all in the vicinity, cutting through the ongoing sounds of battle.

Adrian turned back towards the threatening sight of the floating steel galleon. The distance made it difficult to see the man perfectly, but Adrian’s eyes were practically made for situations like this—which is why half-elves were so prized as scouts and navigators for any crew that sailed the Oversea.

Archcaptain Rodgers cut a powerful figure there, standing on the forecastle deck above the ship’s golden figurehead, almost looking like he was riding the dragon beneath him like a hero of old. It was hard to make out any half-drake features at this distance, but reflections sparkling around the collar of his uniform marked where his distinguishing golden scales would be growing up his neck and cheeks.

The Archcaptain’s standard dark blue Navy uniform was adorned with an excess of gold buttons and embroidery that Adrian could swear was actually glowing with energy. His wide-brimmed cavalier hat was decorated with long, expensive-looking metallic feathers that must have come from a rare variant of straika, the dragon-birds that gave the Razorsky Sea its name. The few on Rodgers’ hat were almost enough to make Adrian drool with envy, even in the current situation. That hat was worth more than a dozen gems of the size Adrian had just stolen.

While he examined the Navy officer, cannon fire continued ceaselessly from both sides until the smoke started to blind his view of the invading fleet. Fortunately, since Rodgers was waiting for an answer, none of the fire was headed in Adrian’s direction where he seemed to think Garza was. Which was strange, considering the Heartspear still sat in its place of honor near the heart of the cove—and Archcaptain Garza never left his flagship.

In the moment when Empress Solara first turned toward him, Adrian was worried that his little sapphire had somehow called down this hell upon them, but if Rodgers was looking for something Garza took…

Before he could think further, Archcaptain Garza’s reply came.

“Hahahaha!” A boisterous laugh silenced the ambient din of cannon fire in the same way Rodgers had.

Adrian jumped in surprise, realizing the source of the voice did actually come from the deck of Captain Walker’s ship beside him. He struggled to understand how that could be possible. Everyone in the crew knew Garza couldn’t leave the Heartspear.

“Rodgers, ye pretentious lizard! Ye think threatening my men will be enough to take what rightfully belongs to us? If ye think ye can take it, come on then! Garza’s raiders never retreat and never surrender!”

Roaring cheers filled the harbor, echoing the final statement. Garza’s crew loved their Archcaptain, and letting him down was not something they could accept. Even in the face of death.

Gunners moved into their positions in towers along the cliff side or on any ship that remained floating, shooting off any cannon that could still fire. Everyone else set about the tasks of putting out fires, providing emergency first aid, carrying ammunition across the beach, praying for the deceased. Anything they could do to help their crew mates and live up to Garza’s belief in them.

“You’ve made your decision then, Garza, and you will all die for it. We need simply search the wreckage and pry the Diadem from the grip of your bloated corpse.” Rodgers’ voice was cold and stern, brooking no argument. He stepped forward off the deck of his ship and stood directly on the back of the golden dragon figurehead in front of him.

When his foot touched the metal, the figure trembled. One wing shook and warped until finally it started expanding, like it was stretching itself after a long rest. The other wing freed itself in turn, followed by its mighty claws held out in front, and finally its terrifying head full of fangs like golden swords. If the back half weren’t missing where it connected to the bow of the ship, Adrian would believe it could up and fly away at any second.

The golden dragon looked around, investigating its surroundings while Rodgers leaned forward to speak into its ear. After an acknowledging huff of smoke, the dragon opened its jaws wide and marked its presence with a bone-chilling roar so powerful it blew away all the cannon smoke filling the cove off into the sky and silenced all the explosions still ongoing in the background.

Adrian’s sensitive pointed ears were already aching from the endless sounds of battle, but the call of the dragon sent a dagger straight through his skull. He dropped to his knees in agony, clutching the sides of his head, clawing and tearing at the long appendages. Anything to make the noise stop.

A few seconds or years later, the figurehead mercifully cut off its thunderous cry of awakening, leaving Adrian curled up on the floor in a disgusting mess. Blood flowed from his ears and covered his hands while tears and snot dirtied his face, but he was starting to come back to his senses. With a hard-fought struggle, his eyelids fluttered open and he flipped over onto his back to look at the clear sky above.

From what he could tell, the battle was still ongoing, though the resounding barrage was barely a dull drum beat to his battered ears. Whatever magic was put into that blast of sound, it was unlikely that the roar had the same effect on the Navy Archcaptain’s allies as it had on him. The normal effect on the other pirates—very few of whom shared his rare elven heritage or powerful senses—was likely just a deafening effect to throw them off.

It was just Adrian’s luck that he was sent into that state of madness and reduced to a pile on the deck of this disgusting ship right now. The Sunken Scow beside him had become a giant target after Archcaptain Garza’s taunt and he was missing the very short period of time he would have to run away from the line of fire.

‘I think I’d like to have a nice, long talk with whoever is giving out the luck around here. Sure, getting the sapphire or whatever it is was easy. I used up some luck when I overheard the idiot pirates talking about a relatively priceless treasure and for them to just leave it here unguarded,’ Adrian thought to himself, ‘but wasn’t just summoning the entire Golden Armada enough for you? Now I’ve gotta die because you decided to be fickle with my luck? Did I really get blessed by the stars-damned Harbinger of Misfortune?’

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Adrian fought his body’s desire to rest and crawled through scattered bottles over to the gunwale of the Maiden’s Fangs. With what little energy he could gather, he gripped the edge and dragged his body up to see off the ship’s port side.

Archcaptain Rodgers kept his poise, solid as stone on his golden perch between the figurehead’s wings, staring coldly at the Sunken Scow. Adrian could barely make out that his lips were moving, so the two Archcaptains must be talking again. Or Rodgers was just gloating; he did seem the type.

Suddenly, the dragon moved again. This time, it reached its powerful claws up, gripping onto the bowsprit above it which visibly cracked under the pressure. Like climbing a rope, it brought one clawed foot over the other, dragging the rear half of its body out of the bow of the ship to reveal a life size statue of a dragon made of solid gold.

Rodgers remained in his spot at the base of the wings while they slowly started flapping, bringing the pair out into the open sky. The dragon let out another, less powerful roar—not that Adrian could hear it, but there was at least no magic put into it—and casually flew through the battlefield, avoiding any incoming cannon balls, chain shot, and balls of fire from all directions with ease.

As they flew, Adrian fell back to the ground and dragged himself over to the stairs leading below deck. It might not help much, but he couldn’t do anything more to escape whatever happened next. Once there, he sat on the top step, ready to dive down if he needed to, but still able to watch the approaching beast.

Dragon and rider weaved closer and closer without any real opposition until they found a spot to hover two mast lengths above the Sunken Scow.

“Hiding below deck, Garza? Not just a thief but a coward. Fine then, knave, stay there. Solara is very proud of her skill in removing pests,” the man threatened.

Adrian was happy to realize his hearing was slowly coming back—so long as he ignored the impending doom.

“Solara… Burn.”

Solara opened her powerful jaws, and a ball of golden fire formed inside them. Adrian watched the blaze slowly grow in size and intensity, rolling around itself and expanding with barely controlled fury.

“Hahahahaha! Oi, lizards, luck is on your side today! In 20 years I’ve never had a chance to let my little lass live up to her name. Ye’ll be the very first! Good luck in the Undersea, ye arrogant prick.”

Garza’s joyful words came from inside the Sunken Scow, but Adrian’s eyes were drawn to a bright pinkish-purple beam of light rising into the sky in the distance. In the direction of the Heartspear.

Before anyone could blink, the beam turned directly toward Solara’s chest.

One breath later, all the air was sucked out of Adrian’s lungs and the space around him, pulling everything towards the beam. He gripped onto the step below him instinctively, refusing to be moved by the winds. The effect ended as fast as it came, and the world grew calm and silent.

During that brief moment of peace, Solara went on the run. In a split second, she rose out of the way, avoiding the beam and flying toward the Heartspear itself. The golden fireball stayed in her mouth and had reached an intensity where it was hard to look at without Adrian hurting his eyes. Her wide golden wings moved with haste that shouldn’t have been possible for such a heavy creature in her last-ditch effort to escape.

Unfortunately for the gold dragon, she didn’t get far until the beam followed and found its target once more, locking onto her heart.

A sound like the crack of a thousand whips cracked through the sky, and Solara’s entire torso was blown apart into shrapnel that blasted around the Cove, crashing through ships, homes, pirates, and Navy sailors alike.

Adrian threw himself down the stairs when he saw the danger coming, but still felt the sharp sting of impact in his shoulder and a leg just before he fell. Under the deck, in the crew’s sleeping area, he curled up tight, making himself as small as possible, and endured the sound and splinters of wood exploding all around him. He hadn’t chosen a Constellation to follow yet, so he prayed to any stars that would listen for a reprieve from the ceaseless torrent of destruction.

The hail of golden scrap did end quickly, but before he could celebrate surviving the maelstrom, a blinding bright light shone down from the hatch above.

The light of a golden sun exploding.

An instant later, a wave of heat and pressure smashed into the hull of the Maiden’s Fangs and cast it into the sky.

Adrian was sent tumbling around the cabin, smashing his already weak body against the walls. Forcing himself to focus past the pain and nausea, he managed to spot a hammock nearby, flapping wildly in place. He threw his arms out and gripped the fabric with all his remaining strength, climbing into it as fast as he could.

Just as Adrian got his body inside the canvas bed, the ship was dashed against the rocks, and the world went black.

----------------------------------------

Dorsey watched the world end from the balcony above his bar.

There was no other way he could describe the sight of the largest stars-damned fleet the Razorsky Sea had seen in two hundred years bearing down on Heartspear Cove.

Each and every boat in the Golden Armada was equipped with top of the line guns and defensive capabilities. The twenty Galleons alone could sink Garza’s Island in an hour. The hundreds of smaller ships filling the sea behind them were just to ensure nobody escaped.

What could that be but the end of the world?

Dorsey watched in horror by his wife’s side as the massive vessels tore through the harbor, the golden figureheads on their bows tearing apart any obstacle in their path. Pirates were diving from their sinking ships for any semblance of safety, only to be pulled under the briny sea in the Armada’s wake.

He turned to Despa, reaching up to grab her shoulders tight and staring into her distressed emerald eyes.

“Stay here. I know ye want to go runnin’ out there puttin’ out every fire ye see, but not now. I need to go find the lad and then I’ll be back, got it? If we’re not here in ten minutes, go into me office and break the keystone on the shelf. Adrian and I’ll find another.”

The tall human woman with long, glistening silver hair looked down with concern at her husband.

“Why don’t you take the keystone, Dodo? I’m sure I can find someone running alone who’s willing to share a spot.” She lay her soft hands on Dorsey’s wrinkled cheeks and held them there, sharing their warmth.

Dorsey’s cheek’s were starting to blush from the heat, so he huffed out some air and shook away Despa’s embrace. Then he looked back to her with love in his eyes and an uncompromising expression.

“That’s not a chance we’ll be takin’, Dessie. Ye know that already.”

One side of her lips curled up into a sad grin while she took in her obstinate husband’s face.

“Aye, I know.” She leaned down and placed her lips on his, filling his body with warmth for a brief moment before pulling away. “Be careful, Dodo. I love you.”

…

Dorsey walked out of his bar into the chaotic rush of people in town and heard the latch lock on the door behind him.

Seeing the ramshackle group of huts that he and the crew had called home—had built up with their own blood and sweat over the last two decades—reduced to a wild panicked mob sent a deeply melancholic feeling through him.

The mates, friends, annoyances, and enemies—both pirate and civilian—he’d gotten to know while retired in the cove over the sunset of his long life wouldn’t be surviving the day. Very few citizens of the Razorsky Sea were rich or lucky enough to have a keystone or any similar means to teleport somewhere safe, especially in a run down pirate den like Heartspear Cove.

But he couldn’t help them. The situation was as it was and an eleven year old boy was out in the blasted harbor stealing a sapphire in the middle of the biggest Navy attack he’d ever heard of. Everyone else would have to fend for themselves. The only good luck to be found was that Adrian was out of the main line of fire. So long as Dorsey could get out of town to the northern docks, the boy would likely already be running back this way.

Dorsey was shoving and forcing his way through the crowd when the bright white light of a stellar flare blinded everyone in the area, outshining the countless explosions on it’s path toward the Sunken Scow. Following the light, the clamor of combat dimmed as Empress Solara rose into the sky, aiming her main cannon toward the Admiral’s brigantine.

‘Ah, Depths damn ye, Walker, ye fool!’ Dorsey raged in his mind and broke his focus on the floating ship, doubling his speed off toward the docks.

“Garza! Get out here, return what you stole, and I’ll…”

Archcaptain Rodgers’ announcement sounded off from the deck of his ship, but Dorsey mostly ignored it. It was more important to focus on getting to Adrian at the moment, and it was already clear to him why they were here. There was only one reason such a huge fleet of the Golden Armada would be sent after a single Captain, even an Archcaptain like Garza.

Garza was the most deranged pirate Dorsey ever had the honor of calling his mate. And apparently, he was one just insane enough to steal a damned Artifact right from under the nose of the Navy. It’s not something a boot licker like Admiral Walker would do on his own, and clearly Rodgers knew that as well.

A few minutes later, and finally past the larger crowds of people, Dorsey let loose, running at a full sprint through the less crowded northern edge of town. His short, half-dwarven legs flew underneath him in a blur faster than he’d gone since he was Quartermaster of the Heartspear. But it had been too long since he was a working crew member that could use Constellation magic, and his body had grown weak from his long retirement on the island. Fire was burning in his chest as he heaved one deep breath of smokey sea air after another to keep himself from collapsing.

As he reached the docks, A bellowing roar erupted from the direction of Empress Solara and deafened him, but Dorsey didn’t flinch. He’d fought against enough unique Captain abilities in his day to be ready for something as simple as a magic-infused shout.

The loss of his hearing just made it easier to focus on running. It didn’t matter what else was happening right now. He’d already caught sight of the Sunken Scow’s flag straight ahead and he hadn’t seen Adrian yet which meant he was likely just past it. Only a minute more.

A golden fireball lit up the sky above, drawing Dorsey’s attention to Rodgers and his pet hovering above Walker’s ship. His eyes widened to the size of pint glasses at the sight of the blaze growing in the creature’s mouth. Rodgers was a blasted idiot.

“Ye Depths-born, piss drinkin’ bastard! Go to the Heartspear! How could ye fall for a simple voice throwin’ magic, ye blasted fool?!” Dorsey raged until his throat grew sore, but thanks to the deafening effect, he couldn’t hear his own words, and there was no reaction from Rodgers.

Dorsey redoubled his efforts down the last section of the dock, passing by the Sunken Scow and spotting a pathetic little ship with her name painted on the side in blood; the Maiden’s Fangs.

Finally, he came to a rest on the dock beside it, gasping for air while he searched the deck. And there, sitting at the entrance to the crew’s quarters, was Adrian.

A wide smile rose involuntarily on Dorsey’s face at the sight. The boy was hurt and bleeding from an attack, but he was still alive. There was a chance to get out of here before the fireball was launched.

A pinkish-purple beam of light lit up the far side of the harbor. The air was sucked from Dorsey’s lungs and he was almost sent flying into the water, but he managed to stabilize his stocky form and crouch to the ground first, enduring the gust of wind until the world was silent.

Dorsey turned his head up to watch the purple beam take aim directly at the deftly maneuvering dragon’s heart.

‘Garza ye psychotic bastard, ye finally found someone worthy, did ye?’ Dorsey only had a split second to laugh grimly to himself. ‘Ye picked a right shit time for it, mate.’

The Heartspear launched her attack, obliterating dragon and rider in an instant and swallowing Dorsey’s world in a sea of golden flames.