Kehai looked around the docks, and once he ascertained that the coast was clear, he jumped off the boat. He had never been in a city that was half-swallowed by vegetation. Before coming to the Water Rider Academy, he had quite a few adventures on his own, which was why he had put most of his Talent Tree points into the agility-based Talent Tree, Carmine Thunder.
The fourth Skill he had unlocked, [Life Cloak], could completely erase his presence, and he was very glad to have spent eight Talent Points for it. He got endless use of the Skill, and it had definitely saved his life countless times while he was out at sea, trying to figure out how he could reclaim the life he knew he should have had.
Kehai's family, the Kahala family, was in a great state of disrepair. Not only had it lost most of its resources, but it had also lost most of its connections with the rest of the Great Families. After what some called Aleki's betrayal, everything had fallen apart. His uncle had been too greedy. When the Kraken had disappeared at the hand of the Last Slayer, Yalena Solara, he had lost his mind. He had wanted to completely take over the family since he now couldn't be the martyr he was supposed to be.
Drunk on the power of his position, Aleki had tried to take over his brother, who had not become his shield but instead been chosen to lead the Kahala family and raise their next chosen. However, by the time the blood feud was finally put to rest, his family had nothing left.
Kehai had gone to sea on his own, trying to gain levels, trying to become stronger. But he had soon hit a wall and had to resign himself to the fact that he needed to go to the Water Rider Academy for more opportunities. His family kept getting in touch with him, but he couldn't stand how they had handled the whole ordeal.
He had been barely a child. But when he had finally discovered that it wasn't just his uncle who had been a power-grabbing, arrogant bastard, but also his own father and mother who had completely refused to find any compromise that would guarantee the survival of the family—instead drawing a hard line that benefited no one—he just felt robbed. He felt robbed of all the opportunities he would have had, all the resources, all the guidance, the artifacts.
So he had nothing but his Skills. And while he was strong, he was probably barely bottom of the barrel when it came to chosen fighters. His family had last contacted him, trying to tell him that they were making arrangements to receive more resources and that he should come back—that he shouldn't actually go to the Water Academy. But he considered them a bunch of fools, and he had decided to strike out on his own.
Still, whenever he was alone, hidden away from the eyes of others through [Life Cloak], he couldn't help but feel better. He couldn't help but envision the kind of life he would have had if things had not gone the way they did.
Now he looked around Aneanui. He had been on a few strange islands, but this—this was big. Aneanui, the flying city. And with the history that Talia and Keanu had been talking about, Kehai figured that there could be some big opportunities here for him.
* * *
Talia stared at her grandmother as she moved her hand to dispel a rivulet of incense fumes that had wandered her way. The strong smell of incense and burning spices in the temple was nauseating. Or maybe it was just the fact that Talia’s world had been turned upside down. She had just found out that this woman in front of her was her grandmother, that she, Talia, was apparently of three different races, two of which she hadn’t even known about.
Her mother had been Honua, which in Talia’s mind just meant human, and Ao, the people of the sky, while her father was full Kaimoro. That meant that Talia possessed not one, not two, but three heritages.
“So,” Talia said, trying to get it right, “after the Kraken was created, a crew copied the same technique that the Kraken was using to absorb monsters and used it to battle the Kraken, and they’re called the Cursed Crew?”
Mo’ira nodded. “The Cursed Crew, which was formed of half-breeds, was capable of wielding Dark Water like the Kraken because of their Blood Water, and it was only their Honua heritage which allowed them to do that.”
“What happened to them?” Talia asked.
“They were already old when the Kraken was created,” Mo’ira said with a tinge of regret in her tone. “My people had cast them out of our cities. We were at peace with the Honua, but we didn’t tolerate unions between our people and their people. So whenever some Kaimoro would inevitably have a relationship with a Honua or an Ao, they would be cast out. There were many cases, and so most joined a self-governing crew that completed missions and tasks but never really settled anywhere, which earned them the name, the Cursed Crew.”
“When the Kraken appeared and went completely out of control, most of the members were old. However, when they managed to create the same technique that let them absorb monsters like the Kraken, they found out they could live forever. A gift they soon realized made their name a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“With the oceans brimming with corrupt Mana and monsters emerging left and right, they were in battle for the better part of a century. Soon, many of them decided to give up, that this was too much for them, that the burden they were bearing was consuming them the same way they consumed monsters. And so most of them left themselves to waste until all the vitality they had absorbed ran out.”
Talia could easily picture how spending a hundred years fighting and protecting people—never being able to take a break to live a life outside the carnage—could easily drive lesser men mad in a matter of months, much less years.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“When the war erupted, they tried keeping the peace, and one by one, they were killed by one of the three races. They had sheltered them from threats so great they couldn’t even realize. And then when their time came, there was no gratitude, just iron and blood.”
Talia took a deep breath, not knowing how to comment at all.
“The Cursed Crew,” Mo’ira said, “is perhaps the greatest example of heroes. No one before and after them saved so many lives without one sliver of recognition.”
“Why didn’t the Honua use their blood magic to do what the Kraken could?” Talia asked. “Why could only people with mixed blood absorb powers? I thought it was mostly related to my Blood Magic, not my Dark Water.”
“How many people do you know with Blood Water who have your powers?” Mo’ira asked.
Talia had to agree with her. “Okay. But what is it in Dark Water that makes this possible?”
“The answers you seek, my granddaughter, are in the Forbidden Vessel. I cannot tell you anything more, and not because I don’t want to. The secrets in the dungeon only open to those with the right blood. I know that your mother managed to cheat the restrictions on the Forbidden Vessel and get to the answers herself. But you think I wouldn’t have tried the same? Yalena was the greatest sorcerer I’ve ever met. Perhaps only Vo’ra himself would have been greater.”
“In fact,” the old woman continued, “I don’t believe it was the Kraken killing your mother.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Kraken is powerful, but far from unkillable. Its true power resides in the capability to regenerate and to absorb its enemies. It was made, however, to combat Abyssal Creatures. A strong sorcerer or fighter can kill it—not permanently, but can definitely kill the Kraken more than a few times before meeting their end. Your mother was facing the Kraken for the first time, and so the Kraken couldn’t have had the time to get accustomed to her magic.”
“My dad,” Talia said, “told me that it was an elder who killed my mother.”
“I have not spoken to my son in many, many years,” the woman said. “But he was never one to lie, not even after the Dark Water covered his mind.”
“I... I don’t understand what that means,” Talia said. “Is Dad not thinking straight because of his affinity?”
Mo’ira shook her head.
“It’s not that simple. Dark Water fundamentally changes what a person is. As it has long been speculated that Vo’ra might have injected too much of his powers into the Kraken, and that’s what caused the beast to lose his mind—some say he did it on purpose to punish the Honuas and the Aos but couldn’t control the beast. I want to believe that it was a strong imbalance in the Cursed Form. But it is one thing to restore the balance in a small, puny body like ours, and a completely different matter to create balance in the body of the Guardian of the Seas.”
Mo'ira's silver hair caught the blue light from the luminescent water as she leaned forward. "You descend from a long line of sorcerers, Talia. Your blood can be traced back to Vo'ra himself."
Talia finally realized what that meant and felt her stomach drop. The same man who had created the Kraken, the most terrifying being in the Great Archipelago's history, was her ancestor. She thought of all the death and destruction the beast had caused, how it had torn families apart, destroyed cities, and reshaped the entire world. And now she knew that its creator's blood ran through her veins.
"Your potential far exceeds even your mother's. Once you fully unlock the Cursed Form, you will eclipse her power. The combination of your three bloodlines is unprecedented."
Talia looked at her hands, remembering how the Dark Water had felt coursing through her veins when she had fought Maleko. Even then, she had been holding back, afraid of losing control. If what Mo'ira said was true, how much power was she truly capable of wielding?
But Mo'ira's voice trailed off, and her eyes grew distant. The incense smoke curled between them like ghostly fingers as silence filled the ancient chamber. Through the high windows of the temple, Talia could see the endless sky stretching out around them, clouds drifting past at eye level. This city in the sky, hidden from the world below, felt like something out of a dream—or perhaps a nightmare, given the turn this conversation was taking.
"There's a price, isn't there?" Talia asked.
Mo'ira's eyes refocused, sharp as steel. "A world where the Kaimoro can live freely is not one where the Great Families still hold power. Their very existence depends on our subjugation, on hoarding the resources that should belong to all. They must fall."
A chill ran down Talia's spine despite the temple's warmth. "You want me to kill them all?"
"I require a blood oath," Mo'ira said. "Sworn in ancient magic, binding you to wage war against the nobles until none remain to threaten our people."
She stood, moving to a small altar where various ceremonial knives lay arranged with precise care.
"The oath would give you access to the Forbidden Vessel, to the knowledge that has been kept hidden for centuries. To the knowledge your mother used."
Talia thought of Nami and Lilo, but also Professor Iakopo, who was a noble himself. She remembered how they had fought together in Placid City, how they had trusted each other with their lives. And now her own grandmother wanted her to swear to kill them and their entire family?
True, Maleko had been a foolish idiot out for blood, but that wouldn’t justify completeling slaughtering all Great Families wantonly.
"You're naive," Mo'ira said, turning back to face her. The luminescent water cast strange shadows across her face, making her look almost inhuman. "You've seen only what they want you to see. You will understand their true nature only after you face them in battle, after you see how far they'll go to maintain their power."
She gestured to an ornate door at the far end of the temple, its surface covered in ancient runes that seemed to pulse with a faint light. "The Forbidden Vessel lies beyond, but you will not step foot inside without the oath. The knowledge within could change everything, Talia. It could give our people back their dignity, their freedom."
"I won't swear to murder entire families based on their bloodline," Talia said firmly.
Mo'ira's face hardened with disappointment. The runes on the ornate door seemed to dim, as if responding to the tension in the room. "Then you leave me no choice." She nodded to the guards. "Take her to the holding cells. Perhaps some time in isolation will help her understand the weight of her heritage and the duty she owes to her people."
As the guards approached, Talia felt the reassuring presence of Professor Iakopo's seashell in her pocket. She remembered his warning about blind hatred, about how it had nearly destroyed him in Placid City. But she kept her hands at her sides, allowing the guards to take her arms. She needed to understand this place better before making any moves.