“Is he… all right? This isn’t a hallucination he’s talking of,” Karl commented. “And what did you guys do to him? Break his back? I thought that fireball would have cooked him. Man’s got more willpower than most if he made it this far without succumbing to those burns.”
He winced slightly as he glimpsed the cooked flesh of the Marine’s shoulder. It had a nasty resemblance to… he shut off the thought immediately, as it threatened to ruin his desire for any meals to come.
“Oh, and allow me to introduce myself,” he said to Ari. “I’m Karl, mercenary and member of the crew of the Caelin’s Hand, the ship currently aground on the beach. Hopefully it can be repaired before too long.”
Mako leaned to the left, his breaths becoming long and deep. His hands felt numb.
He felt cold. Another cough erupted. Idiot.Fool.Couldn’t even cure your own spell-sickness. Mako spat out some blood. I don’t think…I’m getting away with this one. “Heh.” He chuckled. Came all this way…just to die here. How pathetic of me. I wish I could’ve done better. I wish I could’ve seen more. But here we are.
Mako shifted his weight. And what of the others? What will they become? Will I live to see it? I wonder…
What of Dolphus?
Him? He will live. Sour? Definitely. But he will live. And maybe, he will see a happy ending. How strange. He loathes me. And yet. I cannot help but think nothing harsh towards him. Perhaps he is right. And what of the others? They will surely enjoy each other’s company.
Possibly go on more adventures. And…what of Mariner? That… I am not sure of.
Mako coughs again. He felt feeble, his body shivering. And of me? Nothing. Empty. A tool. A waste. Hollow and gone. A shell.
“But perhaps. One last thing.” Mako turns his head to the ship, and shouts:
"MARINER!"@Winterstorm345
Dolphus breathed at least a partial sigh of relief. He was alive, if barely… But that produced an even more complex dilemna. What could be done to save him? His back, his arm? Was he doomed to never walk again? To relieve himself only with assistance? To remain a cripple, all the rest of his life?
…What have I done?
This man was horribly wounded in several ways. Unless they had some kind of miracle magic on board the Caelin’s Hand, which could undo spinal cord damage, this young man might have been better off dead. Perhaps his failure to kill him was a mistake after all…
Before that self-destructive train of thought could get very far, however, the wounded marine decided it would be an excellent idea to knock all the color out of Dolphus’ face. He knew - somehow, this young marine KNEW.
Had his friend known? Could he have been reasoned with? Why did he allow Ari to kill him? Oh, why did he allow him to die like that, with barely a whimper for mercy?!
Karl’s introduction forced his consciousness back into the scene. The horribly bruised back of the marine was obscured from Dolphus’ vision just enough by his height, but the only thing truly keeping him from viscerally reenacting the spinal damage in his own mind was the reassurance of Ari that somehow, this was the right thing to do.
As Ari started slowly moving back towards the ship, trying to be careful not to shake the marine too much, he began moving around and weakly mumbling something.
She threw an irritated glance at him.
“Now, you! Cut it out! I’m trying to make sure you live and all of that moving around and talking isn’t helping.”
Ari turned towards the newly arrived man
“How come? Man’s clearly delirious. People start saying all sorts of crazy things when their brains get rattled around.” She chuckled. “The king? Don’t make me laugh! Even kids know that the royal lineage ended… Armada can’t go back to how it used to be.” As she said the last sentence, small, almost unnoticeable notes of sadness appeared in her voice.
“Ah, right,” visibly Ari seemed to have returned to her usual state, with the smile beaming across her face. At least from the outside, she seemed to have completely recovered from the recent events. “I’m Ari, a shipwright. I’ll repair the keel of your ship and make it float again in exchange for passage away from these waters. Nice to meet ya! I woulda shaken your hand, but, well… you see.”
A thoughtful expression appeared on her face.
“A mercenary? Do you, like, kill people for money or something?”
Throughout the entire conversation she didn’t stop walking.
Ari heard the sound of someone moving through the foliage coming from the direction of the ship and turned her head towards it. Someone else from the crew?
It was hard for Dolphus not to react poorly to that statement as he sheathed his blade. More than the words of Tharwin or Mariner, Devan had reaffirmed the existence of the king coming to age. Depending on the perspective, he supposed, that could be as early as 12, or perhaps as late as 30. Literally anyone on the crew - except perhaps Rook, thank not magic - could be the next King.
Yes, the royal lineage was dead in the water. Perhaps. But lineages were contested all the time, and whoever the next king was had quite the battle ahead of him, regardless of blood relation or if he was starting a new dynasty in the southern isles.
Wait. Dolphus looked around, then jolted violently.
Dolphus quickly jogged back up to the pair- well, he tried to, but after slapping his hand over his mouth to silence a yelp, he limped forward as well as he could, having lagged behind to retrieve Devan’s notebook and quill he launched out of his wing at high speed when he struck the marine. I have to remember that’s in my wing… I can’t afford to be so cavalier with these things.
There was a flash over Dolphus’ face for a moment.
The next second he was adjusting his hair, running his sleeve over his eyes and nose, stretching his eyelids down to clear them, adjusting his collar, doing everything he could to make himself appear presentable and definitely not having just cried his eyes out… hopefully.
He knew that hurried step well enough to identify who it belonged to.
Mariner could not hear, as he was confined to the stern of the ship. However, Caeseus walked over, “Is something the matter? I doubt Mariner will hear you from here. Perhaps I could assist?”
“I wanted to ask him a question.” Mako replied.
His face held little to no expression, as he gazed towards Caeseus.
" Not that it’s really worth anything." Mako coughed.
" It probably won’t matter to you." He hung his head.
" Look. I know it won’t change anything for you, but, I don’t think I’m going to make it out of this alive. If I don’t… just send my regards to Mariner."
“Used to,” Karl replied. “I haven’t had much of a chance lately, due to joining the gang here. We did get to fight a giant squid during the storm last night. Those things are just nasty! Once we get more info on our destination and who we’re fighting, though, I should be a bit more helpful.”
He continued walking, lost in thought for a minute. Then he too heard the sound of someone approaching through the forest, mainly the crackling as the person made their way through the underbrush. He dropped a hand to his sword hilt, preparing to draw it if the newcomer was an enemy.
Caeseus walked closer and crouched down next to him. “Tell me, what’s your name? Where do you come from that has taught you to give up so easily?”
He looked down at the injured man. He’d seen people like this before. Isolationists who believed only they could understand misfortune. Recruits who came from troubled homes mostly. Caeseus had never given up on any of them. Right up till the end.
He had to suppress a shudder as he remembered that terrible day, the flames, the screams, the horrifying creatures, and Ghalwyn. Where had Ghalwyn been? Caeseus could have sworn he was laughing in the background.
“Mako.” He said quietly. “ My name is Mako. I don’t come from a place with a name.”
He remarked sadly.
“But they don’t want me there anymore. They haven’t for a long time.”
He gazed at Caeseus, his face more visible than ever. No longer seen by lantern, or by the moon, it was obvious why he masked himself. At points in his face, there were marks, as if something had been torn from out of his head. His skin looked ashen and pale, and more like a water-logged corpse. His lips were missing, most likely removed due to something going wrong.
He hasn’t felt his face in years; and right now he can barely feel anything but numbness in his hands. @Winterstorm345
“Well Mako, tell me. Is this how you meet your end? Sitting in the sand feeling sorry for yourself?”
He paused to let that sink in, thinking back on the young man he’d once been. He’d not been so different from the man in front of him now, he’d run away from his home and joined the Navy. His father had followed, always lurking in the back of his mind. Caeseus knew what his father would have done, he’d have used his knife to get Mako up and moving, but Caeseus was not his father. Instead he continued.
“You’re not at the end of your candle yet lad, you’re merely surrounded by molten wax. The way I see it that gives you two choices. Let the wax snuff out your flame, or burn brighter, and boil it all away.”
He met Mako’s eyes. “Are you a fighter? Or will you let yourself be taken with ease.”
Mako did not answer. He hesitated. Is there any other end? What will be? Who will you be? A faithful son? A loyal brother? Or will you be forgotten, like so many of the corpses you’ve put into the ground? Are you not the Man Of The Mists? WHO ARE YOU?!
…
There still was no answer.
You are pathetic. Wasted. Hollow empty. NOTHING. Answer me. For god’s sake, answer me, Mako. WHO ARE YOU? Remembrance flashed like a light house in the sea that was his mind.
He remembered that moment, within the Sea Gods temple.
He remembered his father, stoic as he was, and his mother, frail, yet she shone with confidence. He remembered each of their deaths, each as token of remembrance of his burden. He remembered his sister, fast and brave, and the look of horror when she understood the awful truth of Mako’s actions. He remembered the start of the expedition, and when Dolphus showed a part of his true self.
He remembered when the spirits called, and he answered. There is nothing truly stopping one who has nothing to lose.
You will lose everything. But then, what will happen?
They will tremble at the terror they have unleashed.
I am Mako Nerodia. I have fought and slain those who lied and deceived. I have slaughtered those who persecuted me, and I have had my cold bloody revenge. I who have been baptized thrice: Once by sea, Once by venom, and Once by blood and fire. I sacrificed my life for those who needed it more than I. I who was once a coward. I have been called upon, and I will answer, until my lungs are filled once more with water, and there is no longer blood flowing through my veins. I will find my god, and only then will I allow myself to die, only then will my rivers quell, and my tides cease. Until then, I will not stop. I have cheated death, I have walked the waves, and no one has stopped me yet. So I will not stop now.
Mako rose to his feet, his breath scattered, yet he stood. He wore the face of a corpse, the body of a wraith, and the hands the sea, yet there was a heart that lay within. He met Caeseus’s eyes once more, and his were filled with a fiery determination, his emerald irises now shining once more.
“I am.” Mako answered.
“I should have understood better. The path and road ahead is a difficult one, but it is always there to follow. I have forgotten that. I have forgotten my right and duty. And that will change. I must be better than this.”
She was beginning to hear voices, in a good way. Evidently Alexis’ following of the very impromptu path through the forest so graciously cleared away for her by ms.i-don’t-wanna-give-you-my-last-name Ari had been quite fruitful. Although looking upon the scene that laid before her she was starting to regret that. The sight the young having had of an entire side of his body being burnt to a crisp by her magic was almost sickening, but something in her screamed that she had seen much worse in her past.
“What’re we thinking we do with him?” She asked aloud to no one in particular as she scanned the group for Dolphus.
Dolphus had done his darnedest not to look like he had been profusely crying, but even with the mask rematerialized over his features, Alexis could probably identify the redness hiding under his lids as coming from only one thing. As he approached, the situation reared its ugly head once more, and Dolphus could not act fast enough to stop his tongue.
…But given what he intended to say, did he even have any motivation to?
“He’s still alive.” There was a determination hiding under his voice that had not presented itself during the voyage, seemingly choosing now of all times to become apparent. “We have to take him to Mariner.”
Ari laughed out:
“RA-HA-HA-HA! so the kid wasn’t lying about the giant squid! What a strange crew you are!”
It felt extremely refreshing finally talking to someone who didn’t seem to try to hide anything, who wasn’t secretive or reserved. This Karl fellow seemed to be completely upfront and friendly, almost to a suspicious degree. But she was happy to talk to someone who at least wasn’t suspicious of her.
“Speaking of your destination, where are you heading?”
The mysterious person heading in their direction turned out to be the ship’s Not-Quite-Captain Alexis. Ari’s mood that had just started getting better, dropped once again once her eyes met with Alexis’s.
She didn’t want to admit it, but she felt unsettled by someone with the power to cook people alive at will. All types of magic Ari was familiar with were nasty, but this one was particularly disturbing.
The fact that the woman seemed to be visibly upset did not make things better.
“That’s what I wanted to ask you. You seem to be the one in charge of things here, after all, Captain,” Ari narrowed her eyes, “looks like your magic fried the guy’s brains. He was spewing some nonsense about restoring the king or something just now.”
Alexis winced internally at the title of captain; she had yet to win the vote, and being referred to as such might cause resentment among the crew if she was not sworn in as such. She didn’t move to stop the notion from spreading, however.
Alexis produced a quick hummed tune as she contemplated what to do next. “We should take them aboard for now; we’ll decide as a crew what to do with him.” After a short moment she spoke again, her expression a tad more anxious. “I will say that the faster we get off this rock, the better. His people will be sure to look for him once they see he hasn’t returned.”
Ari didn’t respond with anything but a slight nod, and continued moving towards the ship. Walking past Alexis, she threw an unfriendly glance at her. She felt extremely cautious and distrusting about this magic user, now that she knew what the woman was capable of. Once again, she looked at the marine’s horribly burned side and frowned at the sight.
“Magic is such a nasty thing…”
It didn’t occur to Ari that she voiced her thought out loud. The words just escaped her mouth without her realising it. The marine’s disfigured arm fully occupied her attention.
Ari stopped in her tracks and responded, without turning back to face Alexis: “I doubt anyone would be looking for him. He seems like dead weight that they wouldn’t care much about losing, but I’d rather leave this place as soon as possible.”
She was still afraid that somebody might have been sent after her when they found out about her escape. And now that the sky cleared up and the seas calmed down, reaching her became much easier. It’s not like she couldn’t deal with whoever was sent after her, but explaining that encounter to this crew would have been a pain in the back, so she needed to be quicker about it.
“I’ll get to repairing your keel as soon as I can. After that, when the water rises, we will be off.”
In response to that statement, her stomach growled again. It would sure be nice if I get to eat something before that though…
She waited for the kid to catch up to her and addressed him with a smile, which was frankly quite weak compared to her usual ones:
“So we’re off to see this Mariner guy once again, huh? Is he the doctor here? Maybe we’ll finally be able to reach him, for once…”
(@Ghid)
Alexis didn’t respond to the remark, only looking at the man’s melted off arm with the same horrified reverence. There was a reason she was so vigilant with keeping this aspect of her in check, so fast could a power like this go awry. But by far the worst part of her using her magic was the instinct with which she wielded it. For so long she had not known her past the sensation that followed with the use of her magic was all too comforting. She shuddered at the echo of the feeling. she had always felt so close to her past, just within reach of it when she let the fire magic flow through her. It felt as if she pushed herself just far enough into the fire she could touch it, learn who she truly was before waking up on that beach.
“One of the many reasons I’m not a Caelin.” She said as she shook the recollection from her head.
“Much appreciated, you’re welcome to any supplies we can spare.” Alexis responded almost absently as she kneeled next to Dolphus. “Cmon kid, let’s get going. When we get back to the ship you can tell me all about our new friend.” Alexis stressed that last word of course. she didn’t want to trust the newcomer just yet, but with the state their ship was in she didn’t have much of a choice.
The conflict in Dolphus’ face as he finally caught up with Ari was readily apparent. The sharp expression from Ari darkened his brow for a moment, but the disgust with magic immediately cleared it. Alexis’ affiliation with the cursed thing was a revelation he was still processing how to cope with, and the emotional closeness that had once been projected onto her was loosening its grip a touch.
Of course, it would take a lot to divorce him entirely. But more than anything else, Dolphus felt despair at the sensation, as the goal of finally being able to connect entirely with her seemed to slip further out of reach, with the impenetrable bulwark of magic rearing its ugly head between him and the only remnant of his mother that remained.
But what else can I do? Who else…
Dolphus opened his mouth.
“DEAD?!” Alexis bellowed, smashing past Ari as she set her fangs on the crumpling Dolphus in fury. “You let him DIE?! That’s just as bad as committing murder!! How many other wretched souls have you put below the soil, you horrible child?!”
“I-I-I-I-” Dolphus stammered, but to no avail.
“I think we’re going to hold a trial here and now!” Alexis pulled out a gavil and handed it to Mariner, who stood behind the bench with a threatening air. “Do you have anything to say in your defense before we find you guilty and have you keelhauled? WELL??”
He slowly closed his mouth again.
Dolphus’ lips parted yet again as Alexis knelt down; in spite of everything that had happened he was still perfectly malleable in her hands. And yet there as an impossibility in what she was asking - to tell all about Ari would be to throw himself to the mercy of whatever Mariner had in store for murderers. He would undoubtedly be tried for the same gruesome act that Ari had committed.
What if she talks? What if she mentions my wing, or explains how the marine broke his back? Or what if-
No. He swallowed. Hard. There’s no way. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t. It’s not in her nature. I know her well enough; she wouldn’t.
He would have to play the game, the same one he’d been playing almost since he was born. Alexis could be told later, after he had grown close to her, overcome any obstacles - yes, even the acursed magic - but Ari had to get to safety first. Had to be ingrained within the crew - had to become vital.
“Yes,” Dolphus blinked out something resembling a nod, “right,” and with an adjustment of his collar he swiftly marched along towards the ship, not quite processing that Ari had deliberately slowed her pace to allow him to approach.
It was more important that he restrained the water which had suddenly built up behind his eyelids.
Dolphus looked up as Ari spoke with parted lips and wondering eyes, then looked back down without answering, his brow crinkling with distress. He had heard her perfectly fine; he wanted to answer, but the feeling of his heart being slowly sliced in two held his tongue and dared him to try speaking without something horrible happening.
Alexis was her, after all; no question about that. But Ari’s hand was still on his shoulder.
Ari didn’t notice the emphasis that Alexis had put on the word “friend”, nor did she realise what that emphasis entailed. She simply took her words at face value, as always.
She simply nodded in response. If the kid was going to be the one telling their story, maybe everything would work out.
Ari let out a sigh of relief. So the kid was going to talk to Alexis. Her wellbeing would be in his hands once again. He’d already saved her by talking his way out of the situation in the forest, so what prevented him from doing it again?
Most importantly, she didn’t have to tell her version of what had transpired in the forest. Of course, she wouldn’t reveal the kid’s secret. She gave him a promise. But she couldn’t lie either. It was simply not in her nature. She was always extremely upfront with the way she spoke, and she wouldn’t be able to change it even if she wanted.
So, lying wasn’t an option, but neither was telling the truth. Were she questioned about the events of her meeting with Dolphus, she’d just seep her mouth shut. She wouldn’t say a single thing no matter what happened. And, if things escalated, she’d simply resort to using her fists.
It was a good thing that the boy was going to be the one to tell that story. She had no choice but to put her trust in him once again. He could certainly come up with something clever and believable, after all talking seemed to be his specialty…
But what if he ratted her out? What if he blamed everything that had happened on her and painted her in the worst light possible in order to save his back? Well, she’d have to resort to the one thing she knew how to do really well: punch her way out of the situation like she always did. That method didn’t have the highest rate of success, but it didn’t particularly concern her. It was all she knew.
Ari scoffed at that thought and forcefully pushed it out of her head. She really wasn’t herself today, she was thinking way too much. It wasn’t healthy. Ultimately, she was going to rely on whatever her heart told her. And right now it told her to trust the kid.
ultimately, one part of her didn’t change after all these years. She was way too quick to trust and get attached to others…
Ari’s eyebrows lowered at Dolphus’s lack of response. Were she in her usual mood, she’d flick him on the forehead or poke him in the cheek for ignoring her, but there was too much on her hands at that moment. That included a half-dead marine. Too much had happened today, Ari wasn’t in the best mood, and neither was the kid, so striking up a conversation wouldn’t be possible. She had no choice but continue walking towards the ship in awkward silence.
As they returned to the beach, gradually approaching the vessel, Ari noticed the bandaged man standing at the shore. Next to him, stood the ghost sailor from earlier. Ari couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit of relief at the notion that Mako didn’t die after everything that had happened to him.
Passing by in the distance, she yelled out, addressing him:
“HEY, BANDAGES, YOU STILL ALIVE!?”
She remembered that she’d dropped off her weapon not far from Mako when she went chasing after the soldier. She’d need to retrieve it after she puts the marine down somewhere… and potentially after she gets to eat something…
