The Empire By Moon and Stars

[Ashuanar]

Ashuanar's advance was slowed when the stranger turned to leave, but he still came to Medja's side and waited until she moved to board the ship before he followed. It wasn't until they were on deck that he was content she was safe, or rather, distant from any conflict. Safe was a relative term, for even in heated combat Medja was likely quite safe given her strengths. But aboard the ship and now setting off, their only concern now was the sea.

And Noelani seemed to have even that well in check.

---

This was unlike any voyage he had ever been on. The sea surrendered to the ship it seemed, even aided it, and the expected uneasiness under his feet was practically nonexistent. It was there, but of such small degree as to me unnoticeable if you weren't searching for it.

After a time of quiet standing near the decks edge looking out onto the sea, Ashuanar unwrapped his head covering, and took in a deep breath. He ran his hand through his hair several times, and then turned and came near where the others had gathered.

"So, will you tell us now what exactly it is we are hunting for?"
​

Ashuanar was of course also curious. He helped himself to a drink as Medja began to explain. He came near and examined the map as she spoke, and looked with intrigue when she pointed to... nothing. But, being of humble beginnings, Ashuanar had never heard of anything called a coral reef. In truth, he could not begin to even imagine what such a thing was. What dwelt beneath the sea, beyond fish, had never really crossed his mind. He was of the sand, and that was all he truly knew. Still, his interest was great. If he was to be a formidable Vizier it was best if he knew all that he could, and now that the Empire's reach extended out into the vastness of the sea, he would be at a disadvantage to not understand it.

He cast a look between the two of them. Each of them, to him, were quite worthy of their places. They were quite knowledgeable and accomplished in their arts, and beyond. In their company, he could not help but feel a bit foolish in revealing such a lack of understanding, but for all he knew what Medja spoke of was some kind of sea monster they would have to fight, or some other danger.

He looked down, somewhat plainly at the map, "what is a... coral reef?"

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​

 

[Noelani]

Lani stopped lounging and sipping at her wine when the map was unfurled. Scooting to the edge with her eyes following Medja's fingers like a hawk she rested her chin in her hands and made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. Her people had crossed these waters many a time but had never seen a sign of anything like a coral reef living below. Usually they attracted greater swarms of fish and with it more predators. If there was a reef below then for some reason the oceans wildlife wasn't reflecting it. She was so deep in thought that when Ashu's question came it didn't register for a few seconds. Then she blinked twice in rapid succession as though someone had just asked her what colour was the sea.

Land dwellers... Still, her tone was the furthest thing from condescending as she explained.

"It's like an underwater... forest," though how helpful that description was to a man of the desert she wasn't sure. "Or a garden. It has its own unique wildlife and usually the coral - the oceans answer to trees and shrubs - are beautiful, colourful things. They're very fragile though. If we dive to explore them we will need to be careful - dark things can live near these reefs because of what they attract," or maybe because of what the sought to protect.

"Why would an earth sorcerer leave something of his in the depths of the ocean?"

 

[Medja]

Ashuanar's unfamiliarity with the sea and its contents wasn't wholly unexpected; after all, many of the desert dwelling Amol-Kaliti's experience with the sea was limited to what fishing they'd done near the shore. Others still might go their whole lives without ever even seeing the ocean. Not to mention that Ashuanar himself was no sailor; he was the Vizier of Sun, grand general of the Imperial army and, before that, a landlocked warrior with strong ties to the desert.

Even still, the question was amusing, and Noelani's explanation was entertaining. Medja herself had not personally seen a coral reef, and was only familiar with coral in the form of dead chunks that she'd been gifted or bought over the course of the years. She recalled that some was present among her display hall, locked behind some glass case like a trophy.

The Vizier of the Moon posed a good question. To many it might've seemed odd, but for one as well-studied on the master she'd never met, the answer was fairly clear.
"Quite simple," The regent elucidated, instinctively holding a hand to the scar on her chest. "To keep such things hidden from those that would be most likely to misuse them."

The First Great Sage was powerful, godly so, but his greatest strength had always been his wisdom.
"If Aramekh had left things like this for just any geomancer to find, Arethil likely would've been torn asunder long ago. He wanted to make sure that they didn't fall into the wrong hands."

Medja looked to the sea in front of the ship and pondered what challenges would await them before long. The Great Sage was a godlike being, and she imagined that his trials would suitably match that reputation.
"Tangentially, since you've mentioned 'dark things' yourself already...I should expect that Aramekh did not leave Mazar-Juma unguarded."

 

[Ashuanar]

Ashuanar nodded along, but his curiosity remained. He was intrigued by what the oceans might offer in reply to the land's wonders, and was looking forward to experiencing it for himself.

---

"Why would an earth sorcerer leave something of his in the depths of the ocean?"

"Quite simple..."​

---

Ashuanar studied her and her response, catching her idle grasp, immediately rekindling memories which were of great discomfort to him, but only memories nonetheless. Tools now, to be used with wisdom. He knew of who she spoke, and perceived disdain hidden in her tone. Truly though, in his mind, if there was one worthy of the power Medja spoke of, then it would be her.

"...I should expect that Aramekh did not leave Mazar-Juma unguarded."
​

"Then whatever it was he left there for us, will simply have to be done away with."

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​

 

[Noelani]

Lani listened thoughtfully to Medja's explanation, frowning a touch at certain points and sucking her bottom lip between her teeth at others. There was a quiet determination to her gaze despite the ticks suggesting they didn't betray nerves but rather were just signs of her mind working out the next three steps. Because of her age many people got the two confused. Once Medja was done the Vizier of the Moon did not lean back and relax in a cocky manner one might think a young sea witch would take on when told their battle lay at sea.

"That would explain why we have not noticed the reef before," but what did that mean for the ecosystem below? If it could not thrive as it should? Or did the magic perhaps keep it healthy in the absence of its natural caregivers. It was rather fascinating to her. Too often people put their magics in a box and refused to blend them with another but this might just prove the benefits.

"We will have to be careful - not just because of the magic and traps that may be there - but if we disturb or destroy the reef it could have horrific consequences. Tsunami's, a plight on the fish. We will not be able to do much to save the people if we disturb it too much."

 

[Tulio]

From its perch on the mainmast, the bearded vulture flapped its wings and circled the table twice.

It landed on the empty seat at the table, Tulio's, and cracked open its beak.

The elf's voice rolled out: "Fieravene was right to send me."

In his experience, she'd rarely been wrong. At least to him, and certainly not on purpose.

"Disarming traps of a magical nature is one of my specialties."

Tulio always said: See one killer magic trap, you've seen 'em all. Though, he guessed they wouldn't be happening across rudimentary things like fireball or lightning bolt runes.

Just as well.

The bird closed its beak, blinked, and canted its head to the Empress.

 

[Ashuanar]

It was not that Noelani's warning fell upon deaf ears when they came to Ashuanar, it was just that his eye had been curiously ensnared by the arrival and a peculiar fowl. He only noticed it when it flapped itself down and perched itself on an empty seat, but it caught his attention immediately. His back straightened some when a voice came from the creature. He recognized it as the one who had been invited aboard by Medja earlier at the dock, but that elf had hardly looked anything like a bird. He blinked, and then canted his own head in an almost hypnotic mimic of the vulture's movements, marveling at the previously unknown ability.

He cast a look first to Noelani who he had sat nearest, and then over to Medja while he said, "well that was unexpected."

He drank.

"I did not realize the scope of Fieravene's..." he eyed the bird with a persisting curiosity, "...influence."

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​

 

[Medja]

Medja smiled at the three of her companions, quirking an eyebrow at the now speaking, dark vulture. Of course this would not be easy. It wouldn't even be relatively challenging. This was likely to be incredibly difficult. Which was exactly why Medja had gathered who she had.

"I have before me a master tactician, the manifestation of the ocean's might, and an infiltrator extraordinaire. I am confident we will succeed in this endeavor. That said, there is one more warning I should offer," She leaned forward and beckoned to a servant, who began to rummage through a crate. In a few moments the servant would deliver its contents.
"My powers are likely to be highly limited once we've breached the innards of Mazar-Juma. I will have only what materials I've brought with me to manipulate, as well as my Fists. On top of that, there are these:"

At last the servant presented a slab of stone with a faintly glowing rune carved into its surface. Medja cast a minor geomancy spell to try and lift the slab, and the rune promptly flared to life, sending an arc of bright green energy into Medja's fingers. The slab stubbornly refused to move at her command.
"I used them in my Tower of Tribulations to prevent other geomancers from breezily walking through what I'd built. These, too, are something I learned to create from Aramekh. I imagine that Mazar-Juma will contain many."

The Vizier awaited any further questions patiently.

In the meantime, the crew diligently prepared for what might come next. They'd be sailing for some time, but inevitably they'd soon enter difficult waters, and worse - they'd likely soon meet Mazar-Juma's first guardian.

 

[Spectral Omens]

A small sheet of paper fluttered on the deck of the ship. A crewman snatched it up before it could blow away. It was a cartoon, magically duplicated: this was just one of some number of identical cartoon leaflets. It depicted Vizier Medja trying and failing to lift Gerra's big firey mace. Her tears sizzled in the flames.

Quite sexist, really. Also probably treasonous depending on whom you ask. The crewman hastily crumpled it and tossed it off the side of the boat, hoping nobody had seen the anti-Medjite propaganda.

 

[Tulio]

"I did not realize the scope of Fieravene's... influence."

The vulture set its beady red eyes on the sand elf. Beak parted, only slightly.

"We go back."

The vulture blinked.

 

[Noelani]

Lani blinked back.

There had been many strange things she had seen on her travels from shore to shore, both on land and out at sea, and a talking vulture did not make the top 10. She was more curious as to whether the elf was the bird or the bird was a familiar of a sort, similar to what the Elder Witches from her isles had. A part of the soul they were an integral part of the witch but could fly miles away from them to deliver messages and impart wisdom should the need arise. She shook her head faintly and turned her attention back to Medja and the problem at hand.

"Can you tell us more about this... Aramekh. His personality? In my experience a magic user connected to elements such as ourselves... more of our soul goes into our creations." Elemental magic in particular was an instinctive thing born of the heart. A conjurers likes, favourites, even their fears all went into what appeared. If this geomancer had left things behind to guard his last treasure she had no doubts some of his personal quirks would have been left behind.

The seas did indeed begin to writhe the further out they went and soon a woman came to whisper in Lani's ear, her many earrings catching the light with the tilt of her head. The Mchawi listened impassively and then a small frown marred her brow and she rose.

"It seems your friend senses your presence, Medja," for none of the crew had ever seen such a thing in this part of the ocean before.

 

[Ashuanar]

"We go back."​

A wry smile crept across his lips. It seemed that the dark one's friends were just as enigmatic as she was, which of course he found fitting, he imagined she could tolerate only a particular sort for very long.

Ashuanar had assumed that Medja's powers might be limited so far from land, but it never occurred to him that might not be the case for Aramekh. Clearly though, she had, and he thought to develop a means to disable even your own most powerful arsenal was both dangerous, and ingenious. Especially with one such as Noelani by her side, it seemed she had covered as many avenues as one could hope. As for Ashuanar himself - his skill in combat was likely to be his best asset here. Though summoning Akrep, or its lesser incarnations, was likely impossible out at sea, the armband still granted him other, subtle benefits. He would make due with those.

"It seems your friend senses your presence, Medja,"
​

Ashuanar gave Medja an almost amused look, one eyebrow slowly turning up.

Here we go.

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​

 

[Medja]

"Can you tell us more about this... Aramekh. His personality? In my experience a magic user connected to elements such as ourselves... more of our soul goes into our creations."

Medja rolled her fingers pensively across the table as she allowed a servant to begin rolling the map back up.
"It is...difficult to gauge his personality. He died long before any of us walked this world. All I know is that he was stoic, wise, and extremely cautious. Ah, and quite creative, if my prior experiences with his machinations are to be trusted."
As if on cue, the waters did indeed begin to get rougher as their journey progressed. The Vizier may not have been well versed in sailing, but she was still a powerful geomancer and a schemer beyond comparison. With only a few gestures, Rhix and a few Hands were set into motion, bringing vessels of earth to the deck of the ship for Medja to make use of. Whatever was coming would be met with prodigious magical might.

There is, however, only so much preparation one can do in the face of an ancient Sage...and the Sage was indeed resourceful. Cries could be heard throughout the ship as the water began to churn ever more. Unnatural swells pushed their way up around the Dawn Treader, the vessel groaning as it was rolled from side to side by an unseen force. At last, a sailor called out as their assailant made its presence known:
"A beast! Breaching the water! Brace yourselves!"

A pair of dark tendrils whipped up past the side of the Dawn Treader and into sight, heralding the vision of a smooth, black, serpentine head. Beady eyes, barely visible, and curious, huffing nostrils probed the deck as the wickedly fanged serpent came to stride aside the ship. Sea water rushed down its bladelike fins and past its gills, and several of the warriors and sailors aboard the ship began to prep spears, harpoons, and arrows to battle the creature even as it pondered them.

Then, a second breaching of the sea could be heard, this time to port. Another, near identical neck and head rose from the ocean. Then a third, again to starboard. A fourth, to stern. A fifth, to port. Five heads writhed about, deep growling and hissing ushering forth from their slavering maws.

Tension held for the moment, neither the creature nor the sailors committing to an attack. Medja, for her part, was already drawing earth and sand from her vessels to orbit around her.
"Unfortunately..." She answered Noelani. "That seems to be true."

Spoiler

 

[Tulio]

The ship rocked to and fro with every head that burst from the sea. During the uproar, the vulture perched atop Tulio's absent chair squawked and frantically flapped its wings before taking off and out of sight. Left on the table was a dark feather oozing a dark vapor, which soon dissolved into nothingness.

Having been jolted from his comfortable spot from the turbulent sea, Tulio was flushed with aggrieved indignation as he struggled to keep his balance. He wasn't the seafaring type, and the times he had been on open waters were all uneventful. So as he shuffled his way to those more suited in fending off the mighty creature, his countenance soured so much that one might think he'd been given a lemon wedge.

"I'm sorry to say," he said as he came within earshot of the esteemed group, "That I'm ill-suited to deal with this thing."

 

[Noelani]

Brace yourselves!
​

Lani vanished from her companions circle. One moment she had been stood in their midst looking calm and now she was half way up the deck shouting orders to this crewman or that shipswoman. They leapt to obey sprinting on light feet to grab ropes, climb the masts to draw in the sails lest the canvas tear, and preparing the harpoons that stood sleek and deadly on the ships deck. The Seawitch left her people to do what they did best whilst she focused on her own task; the sea. The heads had turned it into a churning mess that threatened to throw her people over the vessels sides and so she leapt undaunted onto the figurehead at the prow and clapped her hands together with a violent

BOOOOM
​

The sea flattened outwards in a sudden rush as though pressed down upon by some unseen force, though the sweat on her brow proved exactly where that force was coming from. The ship righted and peopled breathed out so they stopped fighting the force of gravity itself. The serpents heads turned, casting wary eyes about the sea which now felt... alien.

"FIRE!"

Harpoons loosed in five directions at once.

 

[Ashuanar]

The turbulence turned into crashing waves as each head revealed itself. Like the water was angry from having her surface broken, and her rage pounded mercilessly against the hull. Ashuanar was quick to his feet, but for his part, was rather at a loss. For the moment, he could only assess what was at hand.

Five heads. One ship.
Two sorcerers. The deckhands. Himself. Tulio.
What lies beneath? ​

---

BOOOOM​

---

It was almost unsettling how quickly the seas turned down. His eyes looked out and saw the waters flatten, and there was an eerie quiet that he perceived. The rocking ceased. The beasts seemed uneasy.

The order was given.

As harpoons were hurled toward the slithering giants, Ashuanar sprang forth also. He moved quickly, his hands finding purchase on a weapon. The harpoon was heavy, and while his own natural strength was nothing of great mention, that which his magic item granted him was. Anger flashed across his face, leaking out as it always did it combat, and he loosed his weapon with malice.

Biting and gnawing as it was, his target was too distracted with the activity of some of the others to anticipate his attack. The harpoon sank deeply into its eye, with ushered forth a horrid and shrill cry.

Knowing that to stand still was to invite death, he moved again closer to the ship's starboard beam, intent on finding another harpoon to inflict more pain.

---

Medja | Tulio | Noelani ​

 

[Medja]

With Noelani using her prodigious magics to steady the ship and Ashuanar and M'chawi warriors loosing harpoons (Ashuanar in particular with remarkable aim and might), that left Medja to do what she did best. Raw earth was pulled from nearby vessels at the sorceress' bidding and danced through the air as if weightless. A shrieking, fanged maw bore down on the ship, the hydra intent on rending it to pieces, but instead of wood and crew its maw met a sheet of hardened stone.

The head's impact elicited a dull and echoing *BOOM* as chunks of earth were sent flying by sheer force. Medja was a wondrous mage in her own right, but faced with such a massive foe and placed far out of her element, this would not be a victory earned simply. Luckily, she came prepared...

...Below deck...
​

Orders began to be called out with urgency as sailors and Hands rushed about. The ship was being rocked violently as the marine beast that assailed them raised itself from the depths. Many stumbled and fell, any insecure objects sent tumbling along with crew. And then, all was absolutely still. Many crew stared up at the deck above them as if to glean what information they could from this sudden stillness. The barking of orders and affirmations fell to a hush.

Rhix would have none of this.
"MOVE YOUR ASSES! GET THE AVELYN ON DECK, NOW!" He bellowed, and in an instant the crew around him burst back into motion. A large, covered object was wheeled into place, then pulled off its wheels and locked onto a hand-cranked turret. The cargo hatch of the deck slid open, letting daylight spill into the hold, and crew began to haul chains to raise the object's platform into place. Rhix stood on the platform and waited for its payload to be brought to bear.

...Above...
​

Medja smirked as a tarp-covered object the size of a chariot ascended from below deck, Rhix and a few other crew members surrounding the thing. No sooner had it emerged from the ship's belly that the Emerald Hand yanked the cover off to unveil what lay beneath: a huge, triple layered ballista. Ammunition was quickly loaded, and artillerists and Rhix alike began to rotate the thing on its turret. One such artillerist manned a sighting apparatus, while Rhix pulled back a heavy looking lever.
"Twelve degrees starboard. Six degrees up. Steady...release!"

With a roar, Rhix slammed the lever forward, and three sharp *CRACKS* filled the air in rapid succession as the Avelyn launched a trio of enormous bolts at one of the heads. The first two struck home, one plunging into the creature's neck and the second into its head, while the third went too high and flew whistling off into the distance.

Four heads let simultaneous shrieks fill the air in concert as blood spewed from the fifth, now silent head.

 

[Noelani]

Beads of sweat ran down Noelani's forehead as she concentrated on the waves. Turning them calm saved the ship but it also limited the creatures movement in a way. To the beast it was like moving through thick mud instead of the waves it was used to. The more it thrashed the more Lani called for the sea to tighten its hold. To ask an element to go against its very nature, however, was taxing. Her legs begun to quiver.

"FORWARD!"

It was the M'chawi, those native to Lani's homeland, who darted forward without question and left the harpoon management to those who were not born and bred of the sea. Over the sides her men plunged but instead of disappearing into the water their feet hit the waves with thuds one would associate with the earth. There had been no doubt on their faces as to what they would find and so rushed forward with their own hand weapons, and chains with large iron balls windmilling. A few aboard gaped and then one brave soul took off after them. His feet, too, hit something solid and he rushed forward with a battle cry.

Lani glanced over her shoulder and caught the leader of the army's eye and smiled faintly.

"I told you... it was not too different."

 

[Ashuanar]

Ashuanar looked on as first his harpoon stilled one of the heads, and then watched in the midst of the fray as Medja's artillery was brought to arms and loosed upon their foe. The air seemed to shake beneath the desperate pain the monster's cry sang of, and satisfaction filled him. Then, he watched with great interest as Noelani's M'chawi brethren stormed headlong overboard into the waters below. Ashuanar rushed to the rail, grabbing hold as he starting looking down and to his amazement, bore witness to her people treading atop the stilled sea. His eyes were on Noelani then, his shock certainly displayed, shock which eased into a similar smile with hers.

Then, like the unknown soldier before, he too launched himself over the edge and out onto the water, where he moved with haste toward the nearest protruding head. His speed was augmented by the armband's magic even here, and he was quickly upon his chosen foe. It still writhed from the experience of losing one of its numerous heads, and if Ashuanar were to have his way, it was about to experience it again. As he came close to it, he reached for a sword that should have been at his side, but in the bustle of the monster's pre-emptive strike, it must have been knocked loose.

A great misfortune. So instead, he improvised.

As he moved past his first target now, he sprang toward the other one in a meager attempt to keep moving, and did something he was unsure would have any effect.

He summoned Akrep. And after only a moment, to Ashuanar's astonishment, the armband pulsed in reply.

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​

 

[Medja]

How wonderful it was to be surrounded by competent and capable individuals in one's time of need. Medja quickly found her magic and materials being stretched thin. Regularly one of the beast's heads would make a lunge for the ship or its crew, and Medja would once again block or stifle its attempts as best she could. Each strike was costing her precious earth, however, and this far from solid land there was no recovering what was lost.

Noelani also seemed to be predisposed with asserting her dominance over her own aspect of nature. By the Hundreds, the very sea had grown still and...solid? Solid at her will! And her M'chawi warriors, skilled and courageous, charged out unbidden to engage their monstrous foe. What then caught Medja's eye, however, was Ashuanar's choice to run in alongside them. He was a warrior true, no mere 'general' who was content to lead his men from the back. His charge was no less than his essence, and Medja would see him supported.

The sorceress' fingers danced, and her sand did in concert. She noted the pulsing of his armband and understood what he was about to do. A monster was necessary to fight a monster, it would seem, and so her magic would keep him safe until his war beast arrived.

One of the titanic heads dove down upon the general, slavering maw ravenous and angry, only for a gout of sand to slam into the side of its face and force it aside. Its teeth met ocean instead of flesh, sending a column of water spewing upwards, even through the solid platform that Noelani had crafted.
"I can't keep this up forever! Let's finish this!" She cried out above the din of battle to whoever could hear. If victory was to come, it would need to be decisive.

Meanwhile, Rhix and the crew manning the Avelyn were working frantically to reload the massive, triple ballista. It was clearly effective at damaging the creature...but with Medja focusing on keeping Ashuanar safe, how long would it be before the hydra took advantage of that opening and crushed the weapon under its destructive might?

 

[Noelani]

A shrill scream cut through the din of battle cries and the sounds of weapons as one of the giant heads managed to grab a hold of one of the M'chawi warriors. The man was dragged upwards and shaken. The leg which had been in the creatures mouth was torn completely from the rest of his body with the sheer force of it, sending an arc of blood and lumps of flesh flying in every direction. The man plummeted back towards the sea only for another of the heads to devour his screaming form whole.

Noelani's lips curled into a silent snarl at the loss of one of her own.

For a second the sea beneath the soldiers feet would feel not quite as solid as before but more like running over a tightly pulled bit of canvas. Concentrating less on flattening the sea allowed her the few seconds she needed to send a weave of water smashing straight into the side of one of the serpents heads which left behind a nasty strip of red flesh.

 

[Ashuanar]

There was a vastness between...

…past roiling waters...

…

...so far above...

…but He called...
​

---

The surface beneath him grew lax, like a slick of water settled atop a sheet of solid ice. Ashuanar turned to see as Noelani lashed out in fury of her fallen brethren, and he surmised her momentary distraction caused this happening, and he retained his confidence in her. But just then in that moment when the water shimmered gently around them, not yet stilled, there was a pulse that rang out across the face of the water. It came from a single point, some ways away from the ship. Then another, in yet another place. Several times this occurred as the battle raged on.

And then, a sensation washed over Ashuanar with such clarity he may as well have heard the spoken word: run.

---

Akrep, though he took on a form resembling flesh and blood, was far from such a thing. Rather he be spirit and bone, something not alive but neither dead. It needed nothing to survive, only the binds of a living master. As so here, beneath the weight of these dark waters, the colossal creature was made manifest and tore itself from the ocean's floor. And into where it had come its great tail plunged deep, and from it a great blast came forth...

...then with unnatural speed, it moved to another location, and again, unleashed another seismic assault...

...and again...

...until after several devastating blasts, all that was around the great scorpion began to crumble...and quake.
​

---

Beneath them, there was a great rumbling. Ashuanar's eyes shot downward, and then as though he'd realized through some miraculous message what it was that was happening. And in a kind of way, he had.

"Get back to the ship! Hurry!"

​

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio​

 

[Medja]

Even distantly, through so much interference caused by untold volumes of water, Medja could feel the disturbance coming from the ocean's floor. Sure, the sea and ship themselves might have shook, and others may have taken notice, but Medja knew. Akrep. That titanic siege monster.

There was a moment of shock, even for her. Not just that the beast had done what it did, but that Medja could feel it. She wasn't even touching the boat, let alone the earth. How much had she grown just in the last few years?

"Get back to the ship! Hurry!"

The sorceress' eyes snapped up. The beast did not seem to know what was coming. It was, after all, only a beast, even if it was in some way bound to the sea in the vicinity of Mazar-Juma. As such, it did not care to flee, only to lash out at that which had angered it. The ship. The Avelyn. The centermost head was already lunging, seawater spraying across the deck. Medja could react only with what felt most natural.

In an instant her hands thrust upward and then clapped together, and the Fists of Aramekh responded in kind. The heavy, clay hands jumped to life, swept up, and clapped down on either side of the hydra's face with a crack that rivalled the Avelyn firing. The sorceress screamed with exertion, every ounce of her focus now being spent on halting the beast's advance.

"RHIX!" She cried out, sweat and seawater dripping from her in spades. The hydra's center head gnashed and roared as it tried to worm ever forward. Crew members threw javelins and loosed arrows, but the thick, rubbery flesh of the creature absorbed them like mere splinters. The creature was slipping free. "Fire that fucking thing, NOW!"

With a final *click* the Avelyn locked its next payload into place. The crocodilian Hand roared once more and slammed the firing mechanism forward. Again, the topmost shot went high; the middle shot grazed the creature's skull, taking flesh and fin alike along with it before whistling by; the bottom shot went straight down the monster's throat and exploded out the back of its neck, sending ichor spraying out where the M'chawi and Ashuanar had been engaging the creature.

Immediately the head reeled back, screaming hoarsely. Perhaps the ballista bolt had taken part of its vocal chords along with it? No sooner had the head been forced back that Medja collapsed to her knees on the deck of their vessel, chest heaving. The Fists returned to her side, and much of the earth she had been wielding began to tumble downwards. For the moment, Medja was exhausted.

 

[Noelani]

The sea managed to maintain its solid effect until the last soldier was hoisted over the ships rail. Noelani teetered on the figurehead where she had perched in order to see the war going on beyond the helm. Her eyes fluttered as she struggled to maintain consciousness, her body swaying like the sails behind her in the breeze. Just as it looked as though she might pitch forward the three-headed serpent who had reared up to protect its masters home crashed down into the sea with such force it created a wave that nearly lifted the ship clean off the sea altogether. The force changed Lani's falling path backwards, where her First Mate had been about to tug her from her perilous edge.

"Yer pushed ya self teh far, gurl," he kissed his teeth as he turned and carried her back down the ship which thankfully had not moved far off course thanks to one clever oarsman taking the initiative to lower the anchor when the fighting started.

"I'll be fine," she promised faintly and craned her neck to see over his shoulder at the way the sea was turning a bright ruby red. "Just need some rum, I'll be right as rain," her comment earnt a hearty laugh at the least. Slowly the sense of tension eased across the ship. They'd survived this part but they knew more was to come.

 

[Ashuanar]

Of those who'd left the ship and returned, Ashuanar was among one of the last. He climbed quickly up the side of the ship, and his feet fell again onto the deck with a hard thud. Others scurried past him this way and that as they climbed aboard and quickly made way to their stations. It seemed their collective efforts had stayed the beast long enough for them to begin their escape, and whatever it was that his summoned beast had done below the seas had apparently attracted the attention of the sea monster. Either that, or its wounds were enough to deter it from pressing further.

And so the ship had begun to move off.

Below the waters, however, Ashuanar still felt the presence of his mighty beast, treading along the ocean's floor. He marveled at the creature, surprised by its persisting in even such an environment.

He approached near to Medja where he would kneel by her side, "it seems we've been granted a reprieve, rest for a moment."

He looked to Noelani, who was well in the care of one of her shipmates. He nodded slightly to himself, and then his eyes searched the deck for the last of their companions. He stood, and stopped one of the ship hands saying, "we must find Tulio."

He was loathed to imagine Fieravene's reaction, should Tulio be... misplaced.

---

Medja | Noelani | Tulio ​