Private Tales Mind the Swells

[Gavin Blackfyre]

The waves became more unruly as they plowed forward, the land mass in the distance growing but not fast enough. The storm was moving at an unprecedented pace tossing Gavin's first estimates out completely. An hour would be a blessing truth be told as it seemed the storm would be upon them in minutes. The dark clouds stretched out as if chasing them and for the first time in a long time, Gavin felt a chill rise up his spine.

"Fine... Have it your way." the Captain muttered to himself as if he were being challenged.

He moved along with the ship, his knees bending and he swayed back and forth but his grasp never left the wheel. The wind behind them picked up and the sails were taunt, filled to the brim and causing the mast to creak with the stress. "We ride her as long as we can!" He called over the sudden howling of wind that rushed past him. It took all he had to shout over the gust, hoping his words were not lost.

"We may have to cut it." He cautioned as he felt the ship rise and they were no longer tackling the waves but now riding them as they pushed forward. He'd know when they were going to reach the breaking point and would have Kes handle the sails if they reached it. Now their ship was moving faster then perhaps the vessel was ever intended to and all the while Gavin held a look between fear and amusement... A wild sort of look for a wild sort of situation.

 

[Falerumasa]

The hand placed on her shoulder and the words Kes spoke went a little ways toward easing the tension in her back. The last time she had faced that terrifying natural force, she woke being hauled up on a boat with a wound that likely should have ended her. She would put her faith in Gavin for this though, as she wasn't ready just yet to jump off the side and find safety in the water below.

"Your words a kind." Faleru told her, offering a hand as Kes stood. She stayed well out of the way of the two who actually knew what they should be doing on a boat. Her eyes closing tight at the flashes and cracks overhead, opening seconds later to watch the clouds overhead before looking to the waves. She would be enjoying herself a lot more if she were the one making those waves.

 

[Kestrel]

Once faced with the snapping winds and the sheer force of the gale behind them, it became very easy for Kes to forget about her concerns about being washed overboard with everything else that she had to focus on. Knots that needed to be tightened, sails that needed to be tugged and adjusted, and the ship groaning underneath them as they raced over the waves -- luckily she was well used to keeping her footing even in the most tricky of circumstances ,though the slick deck underneath her was certainly making it a challenge for her.

Gavin called to her about potentially needing to cut the sails and she nodded sharply to indicate her understanding; she’d never done it before, obviously, but Gavin had explained it in full in their previous sailing lessons. And as much as she spent those lessons sort of checking Gavin out or making smart ass comments she did also pay attention.

As she paused, one hand on the main mast, she squinted towards the on-coming gale, flicking her hand up to smooth her hair back out of her eyes again. She felt like she’d seen… something, out there, in the storm, but couldn’t be sure. A second later, one of the ropes began to slide again and she moved quickly to pull on it and cinch it tightly again, casting up a glance at the sail. It was strained nearly to the breaking point -- and, in fact, she could pick out an area in which the fabric itself was starting to give way. The whole thing was going to rip soon.

“Gavin!” she called in warning, pointing up at the area of concern.

Faleru, from her perch near the mast, would have perhaps the most uninterrupted view of the oncoming storm… and strangely enough, the head that kept breaking the water, grey and finned, before ducking back underneath the next wave… only to reappear a moment later, even closer. Riding the force of the storm, and heading directly towards them…

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

"I know!" He said in response, gaze shifting between the horizon and the sail. They were fast approaching their limit but Gavin would push as hard as possible, despite the tremble of the wheel as he fought the currents that battered the rudder below. His arms strained to keep them as straight as possible and he gritted his teeth, growling in effort.

As his attention was strained forward, that chill that rose up his spine continued to make it's self known ans Gavin was strangely away that it had little to do with him being cold and more so about something from behind them. Since sharing in Faleru's mana, he had been subject to all manner of odd occurrences concerning his own abilities and was keenly aware that this moment was no different. "Kes... What do you see!?" He asked, gaze flicking to her and knowing she had a better view then himself.

 

[Falerumasa]

Eyes narrowed when Kes called out something ahead, but her own gaze fell to something else. Something that swam with the water and popped in and out of sight. Fins, something different than the daughters of the water. It appeared closer the next time she spotted it, it's path clearly headed for them as Faleru whistled to Kes.

"Something is in the water coming toward us. I do not know what it is." Faleru called to her. The rage of the storm around them made her look about, eyes falling back to where that, thing, was likely to be. She didn't like how this felt. Arrows one day, surprise visitors in a storm the next so soon after.

She kept a hand on the mast for a moment as she looked back and forth between the pair and decided what she would do. A step toward the side of the boat had her gracefully leaping in a dive to the water below.

Haratsu had told her she could shift, her form rocketing into deep water, calmer water that swirled violently and hid her changing form. The dark of the deep water hid her from view as she swam along the trench, finally spotting the thing swimming towards the boat.

Something that called the water home surely given it's body. But it was in her waters, invading her home. And it likely wasn't here to give her new companions a warm welcome as she watched in her half form. Something about it seemed terribly off though, a taste in the water that was nothing like she had ever encountered before.

The colors of the body were off as well, and made her hesitate to move against it.

 

[Kestrel]

Kes’s attention had been on the sail, but Gavin called out for her to look -- but before she could, Faleru had gracefully dove from the boat into the water. The incredibly choppy water, that was only getting darker and more intense with the oncoming storm. The wind was whipping, now, sharp and cold snaps across their faces, and the first sleeting sheets of ice-cold rain were splattering across the deck.

“Fal!” she called, concern coloring her tone. Faleru had seemed concerned about the storm, and now she was diving in. The half elf ran a hand over her hair to slick it back, her eyes narrowing as she stared out over the roiling waters in the direction that the dragon had dove, searching for whatever it was that Fal had seen coming towards them. Sure enough, barely a moment went by before she spotted a head breaking the surface, reorienting itself to them, before dipping back underneath the wave.

“I can’t see what it is,” she yelled to Gavin, pointing in the direction of the oncoming creature. There was too much spray kicked off the tops of the waves, now, not to mention the rain splattering across the surface and obscuring it. She could only hope that whatever it was, Faleru could handle it…

The creature didn’t seem to notice Faleru at first, its path not deviating at all. It was a kivren -- or, rather, what looked like a bleached or drained version of one -- now its skin a mixture of greys and whites. Colorless.. Except for right in the middle of its chest, where its heart should have been, there was what looked like a cavity carved in and covered with glass. There, underneath the translucent pane, was a red, beating heart… one that was certainly not the kivren’s. It was a Fae heart, one of wind and sky, not of sea, the faintest crackle of electricity with every pulse.

It seemed to sense her, then, because its head turned back and forth, its eyes devoid of any sort of intelligence, but rather this sharp cunning. Flaring its fins, it hesitated, casting another glance in the direction of the boat before turning back to seek her.

Back on the boat, Kes had made it to the railing of the ship, gripping it as she looked for either Faleru or the source of the head they’d seen…

Gavin, perhaps, was the only one in the position to see the ship off to one side of them, revealed by the rolling waves. It was a small ship, clearly built for speed, much like their own, but with double the sails. Sails, that right now, were hanging slack and useless in the wind, cut loose just like he’d been contemplating doing. A wave rolled the ship away again, but not before Gavin would see that there was simply no one aboard the ship. A fully stocked, manned looking ship, and it was just… empty of people.

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

Did Faleru jump or fall over board? The moment rushed by, leaving the captain little time to determine which outcome to have been true. He nearly tore himself free of the wheel but at that moment it shook, the rudder battling against the nasty current that crept upon them. The sea had grown more turbulent in the sparse moments that passed, the eerie feeling that the storm itself was not natural all but confirmed, at least in Gavin's mind. He prayed that the dragon woman knew what she was doing and that against the faint whisper of doubt that echoed in his mind, she intended dive in and had not slipped.

His worry was snatched away from her however as his gaze fell upon the ship that cruised along the waves to their left, not by the power of wind in it's sails, as they were slack from being cut and billowed strangely against the gusts that assaulted them but by the sheer force of the waves. He watched as it vanished from view for a moment as it rode the wave up and then plummeted downward the next. What disturbed him was not the promise that the ship might very well capsize soon enough, but that there was no crew above deck. No one at the helm from what he could see. Had they been forced to abandon? He licked his lips, tasting the salt from the straight brackish water upon his mouth and then frowned, trying to figure their next move. The mast continued to strain against the gusts but held, a blessing from the sea gods Gavin would have to make an offering too at some point for the luck they were blessed with.

"Half sails!" He cried out a moment later, giving Kes to raise the sails halfway. This would lessen the strain on both the mast and rudder and afford him a but more maneuverability if need be, but more importantly he would feel much more comfortable with one hand on the wheel while his other unsheathe one blade from his hip. If something wanted to give chance and think about boarding them, he'd give them a reason to think twice.

 

[Falerumasa]

Her teeth gnashed a moment, sensing that familiar power in the body that it didn't belong to. Power similar to what she had brought into the world and that cared for her. Encased in glass, granting life to something that did not need to exist. Scales shimmered along her body, her body contorting slightly more at it's approach.

Her mouth opened too wide in a roar that echoed through the water. A warning to the creature that approached. She pushed through the water, like a spear thrown with all ones heart as she broke the surface and hung in the air before she splashed back onto the deck.

Once more in her halfway form, her mouth was too wide. A second set of teeth had formed and her clawed hands were much more threatening this time. Her whole body covered in scales while her spine had a solid ridge of plates covering it save for the jagged line of a scar that had cut open a weak spot.

"That thing has a stolen heart. And the water is its home, but it is not alive and comes this way." Faleru spat, watching the side of the boat before looking to where they were.

"A boat with no people?" She hissed, the claws flexing as she returned to watching the water. She did not like this.

 

[Kestrel]

Kes couldn’t see Faleru, but then Gavin was calling to her -- half-sails. It wasn’t like Faleru could drown, right? She had gills, at least, did in one of the forms that Kes had seen her in… With a soft exhale, she pushed away from the railing, deciding to trust that the dragon would be fine for the time it took her to drop the sails.

Moving to the mast, she set about doing as Gavin instructed… though she knew she wasn’t nearly as speedy or efficient as she normally was. She’d never done it under such pressure, only practice… not to mention never having done it on a boat that was roiling with wind and water whipping around her, the deck slick with the rain pelting them. Keeping her balance was half the problem, as she fought with sails that didn’t really want to drop, but stay full and straining at their moorings. With more than a few curses, however, she got it done, just as Faleru rejoined them on the deck… in her much more ferocious form.

Kes flicked her hand back over her forehead, smoothing the rain and some stray strands of black out of her face as she squinted to focus on the words the dragon was saying.

A … stolen heart? She didn’t need the rest of Faleru’s statement to know exactly who -- what -- the dragon was talking about. Surprise and confusion chased themselves across her face -- but she’d told him, warned Father... Maybe Faleru was mistaken? Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Maybe Father hadn’t been able to call it off before it’d found them… but how had it found them? It wasn’t like the strait was small, it was a massively large body of water and they’d been hidden for a time…

Faleru noted the empty boat, something that barely registered to Kes, because even as the ship shifted to roll down into the next wave trough, the Kivren-creature’s head broke the water just off the side of their ship. Milky white eyes swept the boat, taking in the three of them.

Kes inhaled sharply, fear etching across her face. “Leviathan.”

The creature would give them little chance for discourse before one scaled, clawed hand extended -- in response a dozen spears of water shot from beneath the surface, coursing through the air. The water-spears didn’t head towards any of the three on the deck, but rather, straight towards the sails, slicing through the support ropes and structures so that the sails crashed onto the deck on top of them.

Without the sails, they had only the rudder to guide the ship, lightning and thunder cracking through the clouds overhead...

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

The next few moments transpired quickly in near rapid succession. Kes had managed to carry out his orders and then Fal was back on the ship but looking more so like a dragon then a lady... And they their sails were torn leaving them at the mercy of the waves and the momentum they built. Worse yet, as he fought against the wheel to hold their course steady, he could feel the heat in his body rising. It was as if the mana with in his body was responding to the threat. An odd familiarity passed between himself and Fal, least from his end, like a distant echo being heard after a shout that happen long ago.

Gavin fought through the haze of nostalgia that reared it's head upon him and instead took a calm breath. His attention was back on Kes who looked to their sails, face stained with fear. "Deary if you know something please share!" He yelled out to, his gaze torn between watching her and looking about for the approaching threat that was sure to pounce upon them. Worse yet, the storm had arrived, the rain coming down in vicious torrents as waves splashed upon their small deck.

Fal spoke of something unnatural, something with out's it's own heart and Kes seemed to have an idea but then in this commotion perhaps he was reading to far into it.

Trust your instincts... The familiar voice of the Blackfyre's previous user echoed out in his mind.

And let me take over...

Gavin froze upon hearing the voice. Not because unseen voice was telling him to relinquish control of his body if need be... But because the voice that now spoke was not at all familiar... It was then Gavin realized the startling truth. The echo of the one who passed the Blackfyre onto him wasn't the only one who resided in his body, leaving the Captain wondering just what else lurked beneath the surface of the power he inherited.

 

[Falerumasa]

Kes spoke a word, leviathan, which made the woman snort. She would have to see just how much of a leviathan the thing was compared to her. Her focus though was on the creature that popped its head up and used water spears to tear the sails apart. Isolate and keep them from moving. Not unlike a tactic she would use, as she glanced to Gavin.

Her eyes narrowed, something familiar nagging at her as she looked at him before he froze. Her arms touched the deck without her having to crouch or even bend over as she moved closer to him. The water creature was likely to strike at them next, and he was an appealing target with his stillness.

 

[Kestrel]

Kes hardly heard Gavin as he shouted at her, her eyes locked on the bleached-Kivren creature in front of them. It had shredded their sails, leaving them effectively at the mercy of the water and whatever abilities it decided to use… because it was Leviathan. Its powers were as legendary as the creature itself, the ability to call down storms, to channel whirlpools, to destroy ships, to kill … and Father had sent it after them. Because of some amulet.

The amulet. If that’s what the Leviathan was here for…

The deck heaved underneath her feet as she scrambled across it, sliding the last few feet to the hold where she’d tucked her damaged armor and its hidden pocket away. She jerked the hatch up and open -- just in time for three small metal darts to dig hard into the wood, instead of her upper arm like they’d originally intended. Her amethyst eyes snapped up to the far side of the deck, where, dripping water and carrying their blades in their mouths, four black-clad figures were hoisting themselves up. Each of them wore a necklace with a rapidly fading rune that Kes didn’t recognize. She didn’t know how a bunch of assassins got way out here in the middle of the strait in a storm, but it didn’t much matter.

“Gavin! Fal!” Kes hollered in warning, snatching up one of her daggers and whipping it up just in time to ward off three more darts with sharp little pings.

Lightning crashed across the sky above, throwing them in sharp relief, but Gavin and Fal wouldn’t have much time to respond, because the sea around the Kivren-creature bubbled and frothed, two large pillars of water forming as it raised its arms, then cast them forward in two torrents, aimed at both Gavin and Faleru. Strangely enough, even had they done absolutely nothing, the geysers weren’t strong enough to be lethal, only knock unconscious. It wasn’t going for the kill… yet.

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

While the creatures appeared upon their ships, each with intent to wreck havoc unless stopped, Gavin fought his own battle inside. His hands gripped the wheel of the ship, steering with little more then the rudder as their sails had been shredded. A look of determination knitted his forehead, a mixture of nervous swear and sea spray dosing his faze completely. However upon closer inspect, his good eye looked no better then his glass eye and it seemed his mind was else where.

I will not.. I will not give control. He spoke to the entity inside, the one that was not the former host.

You will.. You must... Because you wish to live but more importantly, you wish to keep her safe. Your body reeks of it.. The putrid scent of love? Is that what this is... Ha.... You barely know her yet you've grown so attached. Still, if you wish to save her, then allow me to help... You've little other choice. The voice in his head growled back.

I do have a choice... And it's the one where I don't rely on some strange shadow lurking with in. Gavin fired back, his thoughts counting through the inky blackness that consumed him.

Stranger? Hardly... You still have yet to figure it out.. I am no mere former host... A memory which refuses to fade... I am this... I am all that gifts you fire.. All that gifts you warmth... All that gifts you power... I am the Blackfyre....

The startling realization of what he had been talking to stunned him. To him the Blackfyre had been nothing more then a name and a curse. The magic gifted to the small noble family only manifested in one host, leaving one person to champion it's power at a time. When the host died, the small family held a ritual, dubbed the Calling, that much like it's name sake, called back the power. He had never been clear on all how all this worked, on how anyone could tell when a Blackfyre carrying the magic died and the power needed to be called back. The only thing he had been sure of was that a host didn't have to be a Blackfyre to wield this power.

Now it seemed this strange magical essence which gifted them the ability to wield fire was sentient, capable of talking? Thinking... Demanding to take control even! Gavin was still trapped in his thoughts when the Leviathan launched it's attack, leaving Gavin the smallest of moments to look up towards the water spout that threaten to crash into him. His face grew pale, finally snapping out of the daze and realizing his folly. He had been focused on giving the ship leveled and the voice inside his head, he pretty much offered himself.

Make a decision, taker of names... The voice growled in his head though there was a slight smugness to it... As if it already knew what the ship captain would do.

 

[Falerumasa]

Falerumasa bristled as water began to form torrents and shaped itself to attack them. Her maw opened in a roar as water formed behind her and snapped in a sharp line across both geysers, effectively shielding her and Gavin. She would be damned if another would use her element against her. The ping of steel against her arm drew no attention from her save for the flex of clawed hands.

Water rose behind her still as it flowed over the top of the boat and pummeled the kivren deep into the water. It did nothing more than that and satsified with that for the moment, Faleru snapped towards Gavin.

"Move captain, or fall." her teeth snapped at him as she turned and faced the assassins that came on deck. She half crouched, her form coiling as she propelled herself forward and ripped one of them from the deck, claws protruding from the assailants back through the stomach as they splashed into the water.

She ripped her claws apart and turned back, propelling herself with water and magic. She popped back on deck between Kes and Gavin once more, mouth open with a small growl as she coiled again and prepared.

 

[Kestrel]

The geyser summoned by Faleru slammed into the kivren-creature, sending it tumbling deep into the water with an inhuman screech that grated at their nerves and scraped at their senses. The shove of the water, however, seemed to be effective in pushing it deep into the water -- at least for the moment, leaving Faleru open to dispatch one of the assassins as rain pelted across the deck and wrenched at the flapping sails.

The ship heaved mightily again, the deck pitching nearly vertical as the ship crested another massive storm-surge and plummeted down the wave’s side into the trough. Kes had to grab on to the mast to keep her footing, her damaged chest armor clenched under her upper arm as she gripped her dagger with her good hand. The ship hit the trough and the half-elf seized the opportunity, sliding across the slickened deck to take out the legs of the first black-clad assassin, concealing a sharp strike with one of her throwing daggers towards his kidney --

-- but it was as if the man had already expected it, because her dagger found nothing but fabric, and he vaulted over her and landed nimbly, his sword biting down into the deck next to the side of her head, so close it sheared off a lock of hair.

“Stay down, Kestrel!” he hollered, and Kes’s eyes narrowed. She knew that voice, and knew why he’d known exactly how to avoid her attack; he’d trained her, after all.

But that meant she knew instantly what he wanted, and even as he grabbed at the leather breastplate in her grasp she rolled away, aided by the pitch of the ship as it rose on the next wave… though it over rotated her and she had to make a mad grab for the hatch as she went past it so she wouldn’t tumble right off the deck into the water. The weight of her wrenched her bad arm, making her grit her teeth. She didn’t have time to be in pain, though, because Tarvash was hard on her heels, several hard, disabling blows from his elbows and knees flying at her; all of which she just barely avoided, catching one blow on the flat of her dagger which sent it flying from her grasp, burying itself in the hatch door.

The final two assassins seemed to know to leave Kestrel to the main dark-clad figure, instead advancing on Gavin. A flick of one’s wrist sent another flurry of the small poison-tipped pins at him, even as the other skirted around him to come at him from behind.

Ignoring Faleru even as she crouched on the deck, though the reason for it was obvious a second later as the water behind her began to bubble once more. This time, however, it was a gale of wind that shot up through it, the creature surging back to the surface borne on a pillar of air that had pushed through the waves shoving down on it. Another wordless, blood-curdling screech came from its mouth, the heart behind the glass panel glowing now as the Fae magick it carried came alive -- and the wind whipped forward in snapping gusts, small but potent whirlwinds barraging Faleru with buffering, beating winds to knock her back off the ship or simply disorient her…

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

"Move captain, or fall." Falerumasa's word echoed in his head and it served to bring him back, though not without the annoyance of the Blackfyre.

Meddling, as always. The voice growled, leaving Gavin with idea that perhaps the being with in him knew the dragon. More questions for a later time. Now he needed to be sharp.

The dragon had deflected the blast of water intended for them but the captain was keenly aware that was not the last of their troubles. Tearing his gaze from the spectacle he found their small deck would have been crowded with black-clad assassins and Gavin had little time to take in any further details as the ship credit another large waved and pitched downwards. Hand gripping the wheel he braced himself and left a trail of obscenities in his wake.

The ship would eventually level out and Gavin having little other choice would step behind the wheel, sword in hand. His eye would dart to see Kes engaged, the man she fought with having shouted her name, or so he thought he heard over the roar of the storm. This left little to the imagination as to who they were. Wanting nothing more then to help her, Gavin saw that the assassins had other plans. Looking to the pair, the captain unsheathe his other blade and leveled each at one of his opponents.

You have to deal with them first before helping her... Hardly worth a fraction of my power.. But... I'll help you. The voice held a humorous tone as if the foes he faced now were below him. Don't worry, you don't have to give up any control.. Just relax and accept this gift... No tricks.

His brow furrowed, not wanting to rely on the power of something he now knew he did not understand and despite the situation, he knew better then to be tempted. "I'll pass for now..." He spoke the words and felt the Blackfyre scoff at his bravado. If the assassins thought the captain talking to himself to be strange, they didn't show as much as they attacked. Working around to his blind side, Gavin saw the men were will informed, given that darts were through at him and one of the assassins worked his way around his left, the same side he seemed to be missing an eye for. As the darts were thrown, the assassin who made his way behind him charged forward, blade in hand.

The tempting use of the power the Blackfyre offered could have ended the fight quickly but truthfully, Gavin was more then someone able to conjure forth flames. Years before that power found itself in his possession he was a called a monster for a whole other reason. The sword in his left hand danced, the blade parting the rain to intercept the darts with a metallic clank and sending then downward to the deck of the ship. His other sword moved as well, deflecting the attack of the assassin who attempted to move against him, batting the blade away so the pommel of the short scimitar could cuff the attackers chin. Gone was any hesitation on his part and drifting off into his thoughts. Now, they had the honor of facing off against Captain Blackfrye.

 

[Falerumasa]

Faleru had almost snapped a claw around a leg when the winds battered her. She turned her face down, claws sinking into the deck as she withstood the barrage. An idea formed as she let loose suddenly and allowed herself to be swept off the deck. A roar came from her before she slipper into the water and dove, turning over, she slipped beneath the ship and formed a great clawed hand of water.

The hand snapped up around the kivren and took hold, ancient magick twining with stolen as she used her fury to rip it down into the water with her.

 

[Kestrel]

Another crack of lightning rent through the sky overhead as the ship slid down the surface of a wave, sliding sideways without someone at the wheel so that when they crashed into the trough a large slosh of water washed over the deck -- washing overboard into the storm surge anything that wasn’t battened down or was light enough to go. It made keeping one’s footing rather difficult…

… though the black-clad assailants seemed far more steady on their feet than might have been expected, even when Gavin’s blow landed and sent one stumbling back away from him. They pressed the attack, though, moving in wordlessly synchronous movements… and, interestingly, the blows they were attempting to land were all disabling or disarming moves. Not killing moves. It seemed that taking them alive was the order of the day -- at least for now.

Kes somehow kept her feet under her even as the ship’s deck rolled once more, the rain-pelting wind whipping her hair across her face. She didn’t have time to deal with it, though, because two sharp glints of metal from Tarvash’s hands heralded the knives that flew past her, catching the flowing sleeves of the shirt she wore and pinning it to the barrel behind her. The ripping sound as she jerked her sleeve away was snatched by the gale, barely dodging away from the elbow that would have knocked her out instantly.

Instead, she let him hit the barrel, shoving herself up and driving her knee into his jaw. He reeled backwards, but recovered quickly. She saw the intention in his eyes even as the thought occurred to him, one of his throwing daggers glinting in his hand as he turned and aimed toward Gavin -- on the other end of the ship. He wouldn’t see it coming, not through the rain and the darkness, not with the other two assassins taking his attention… but the knife never left his grasp, Kes having lunged forward to grab his hand and prevent him from releasing the blade.

The ploy, however, had been effective, and he swept his other hand up, grabbing her neck, lifting her off her feet and slamming her down on her back on the deck, knocking the wind out of her. Stunned and struggling to breathe, she didn’t resist as he pulled the breastplate out of her hands, turning it over and dumping out the contents of the hidden pocket underneath. A ruby pendant on a golden chain and a small, unpolished blue stone fell out, glistening on the deck in the brilliance of another crack of lightning.

Lightning that, this time, seemed dangerously close to the ship. Even as Faleru’s magic worked, the hand of water wrapping around the Leviathan, it pulled the gale of water into a protective bubble around itself -- only to push it out like a geyser behind it even as Faleru’s magic pulled at it.

Using both the momentum she granted as well as the push of its own air to drive itself at her, its clawed fingers reached out and grasped at her neck as if seeking to rip right through her -- and judging from how those claws glinted, it was perfectly capable of doing so if it just got close enough, despite her thickened skin. Only the buffer of the water directly around her kept it from doing so, but it pushed them both out the other side of the ship, even as the crest of the wave passed overhead and they crashed to the surface once more.

Ignoring the blue pebble, Tarvash’s hand closed around the pendant, lifting it high above his head as he spoke a single word, a slithering, slimy word that oozed into the air around them.

The ruby writhed, as if there was something alive in there, something searching, something hungry -- and it found Faleru. A thin beam of red like a tendril of blood shot out from it, shooting through the air and the storm before connecting with the middle of her chest. It was as if the pendant was alive, was hungry, and it rapidly began to devour Faleru’s magic, drawing it from her and back to the stone with a voracity that seemed bottomless. It seemed impossible, but even the depths of her magic didn’t seem to sate it, and it wouldn’t stop until it had drained every last bit of power from her…

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

It was a dance he knew the steps to despite his partners being new to him. Gavin matched their movements, reeling back as the attacker he clocked rebounded with a a harsh swipe of his own blade that if blocked might have wretched his own sword from his hand. Gavin simply evaded however, his steps surprisingly light and sure as the moving deck did little to hinder his own speed. The trio continued their ballet, blades clashing as they traded blows.

The Captain did well to avoid harm but it became apparent soon enough that the assassins were holding back, choosing to try and subdue rather then kill. A wide smile worked it's way upon his face as he pressed on, though soon enough Gavin went from side stepping the majority of their attacks to deflecting. The pair who didn't seem to tire and where as his stamina seemed to be quickly giving way with each passing moment . The assassins picked up on this and pressed harder, forcing Gavin to hold his ground as he deflected blow after blow until a rather vicious swipe broke his guard. Gavin was left wide open and both Assassins took advantage, rushing him with the hopes of tackling him down.

Oddly enough, the smile on his face did not waiver as the pair looked to pounce upon him and drag him to the deck. They closed in and Gavin attacked. He moved much quicker then he had before and it seemed the Captain had laid out a trap. By allowing himself to be overwhelmed and his defense broken, the Assassins lowered their own guard to capture him. He was quick to take advantage, twin blades flashing out in a way that betrayed his last performance. The momentum of the the Assassins carried them forward and the pair would just miss Gavin as the passed by and crumbled to the deck behind him in a lifeless heap.

The Captain looked towards Kes in time to see Tarvash raise the pendant upward and a moment later he stared in horror as the red tendril snaked out and rushed towards Fal.

Well that doesn't look good. The voice in his head rang. Gavin couldn't agree more.

 

[Falerumasa]

She was pushed back into the water and she thanked herself for the water around her as the claws tried to rend her neck. She wasn't expecting the tendril that attatched itself to her however and she roared. It burned as it began consuming her magick, and her mind raced. Anger filled her, rage and resentment burning through her better senses as she took hold of the leviathan and tore the arm away from her face, she whipped it away with all of her force she had left and dove.

The tendril kept hold of her even as she dove beneath the boat and shifted into her true form. The water that swirled unable to rip it from her as it dissipated and she returned to the surface. Her head and neck broke the surface on the other side of the boat, staring at the one that held the amulet. They had likely come here on the other boat, though they certainly wouldn't be leaving on it.

She dove her head below water, spotting the dark shape of the other hull and sucked in water. Between the draining tendril and her own infusion of magick into the attack, she was nearly tapped as she formed another jet of water.

The other boat rocked suddenly, a spray breaking the surface as a hole appeared in the hull, quickly growing and taking in water all the while. A pleased growl came from the water as she drew in more water and rounded, her attention on the medallion now as she broke the surface and locked onto the man. She spat a glob of water at him, keeping enough in her gullet to repeat the attack as many times as she could.

 

[Kestrel]

The Kivren-construct screeched in pain and fury as the dragon thrashed at it, the water around them muddying with a dull brown ichor as her attack ripped its arm from its socket… It flailed away from her, into the storm-clouded depths, and out of sight.

The tendril stayed attached to Faleru's chest, pulling at her magic with a voracious appetite, but the further she went the thinner it got until it broke and disappeared… up on the rain-soaked ship, the tendril snapped back into the amulet in Tarvash’s grip, leaving the ruby glowing and thrumming with power. Gavin was in the best position to see it, as a red glow seemed to emanate from underneath the robes of the fallen assassins rumpled on either side of him, seemingly concentrated on their upper chest.

And then, they both twitched… Lightning cracked overhead once again, the ship slipping down another wave front, even as the two black-clad assassins, who’d definitely been dead only a moment before, climbed to their feet. Their movements were stodgy, at first, magic still coursing through them… but that same basic intelligence seen in the Leviathan's eyes was showing itself, as ashen hands reached out and picked up weapons once more, the symbol of the Crimson Dawn glowing from underneath their robes as the amulet reanimated them.

Quite suddenly, Gavin’s fight wasn’t over, as two sets of unblinking eyes turned back towards him.

Of all the things Tarvash expected, a dragon breaking through the surface and thrashing through their escape ship was not one of them, certainly. His eyes widened as he took in the sight, but that meant he was looking towards her as she spat water at him. He barely managed to shift out of the way, the battering force of her geyser barely missing him and leaving him slightly off balance.

The man began to regain his footing, even as another wave crashed over the deck of the ship, white and frothing. He wouldn’t get all the way up before there was the flash of silver along the forearm holding the amulet, slicing through his inner arm where his gauntlet and armor didn’t protect, red blossoming along the cut. He cried out, his grip easing on the amulet in his hand, and Kes wrenched it from his grasp and rolled back away from him.

Gripping his arm, he growled at the half-elf. “Amulet, Kestrel. Now!”

Kestrel’s amethyst eyes flicked to the reanimated assassins, her stomach twisting in her with worry for Gavin. How did one fight something that had already died? Her hand tightened around the amulet, feeling the unnaturally cold bite of it against her palm. Mutely, she shook her head, taking another step away from him, dagger held out in front of her.

“Kestrel,” Tarvash barked, voice brooking no disobedience, as he pushed himself to his feet, towering even as a crack of lightning rent the sky behind them.

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

Gavin watched in horror as Fal took to the water only to emerge in a spray of sea water in her true form. The captain stood on the deck of the ship staring in pure awe as his body was jostled back and forth in part because of the storm and the dragons disturbance of the water itself. Hearing her say who she was and seeing it first hand were two different things and the Captain certainly saw why providing a offering to the fabled dragon was so important. She was beautiful and frightening all at once.

Gavin watched the scene unfold as the attackers ship was brought down far quicker then he had ever managed using traditional means during his days of piracy. She was truly a marvel to behold. It was this amazing sigh he nearly missed what has happening just at his feet however the Blackfyre flared to life.

Pay attention you fool! The voice growled drawing Gavin's gaze downward to the assassins he felled moments before... Only they weren't dead. A red glow bled through the fabric of their dark clothing each assassin wore and the Captain there was more to these foes then what he first believed. Their movement was odd, as if a unseen puppeteer tugged at strings attached to them and forcing them back upon their feet before they lashed out and once more he was fighting them.

Dark magic is in use.. No time for arguments, use my power. The Blackfyre growled and Gavin felt the familiar rush of tapping the mana as it flooded into his body. He had only similar thought yes and the power was there. As he fended off the relentless attacks of the two assassins, the scimitars blazed to life, a coating of inky black fire springing forth and now Gavin was pressing the pair. He attacked with heavy strikes, know they would be met with the assassins blades and that's what he wanted. Each jarring strike ended with a sudden burst of flames and though the assassins blocked the blades, they were exposed to the fire that flashed out, bathing them in flames.

Couldn't reanimate something that was burnt to a crisp right?

 

[Falerumasa]

Faleru watched the man be attacked and his attention was now focused on Kes as she bent over and sprayed the deck where he was with what she had left of her water. It was meant to undo his footing, as they seemed unnaturally balanced for being on the sea. Her concern for Gavin was shortlived as she watched dark fire light the two that assailed him.

 

[Kestrel]

Thunder rumbled through, vibrating through Kestrel’s very bones as the rain continued to slant against her, stinging and blinding cold. Her eyes darted past Tarvash, to the boat at a distance that she could only barely see through the tops of the cresting waves, and the dragon that coiled upon its remains like a waiting gargoyle. Faleru, she realized, feeling a shiver that worked through her -- fear, awe, disbelief, she didn’t know, and she didn’t have time to assess, because Tarvash took another step towards her, only halted by the glint of her dagger threatening room.

“Family above all else, Kestrel! Your Family!” he yelled, pulling a long dagger from the small of his back in a gesture that spoke volumes. He and the others had been pursuing non-lethal actions initially, but that wasn’t going to stay the case.

Before he could lunge at her, however, a rogue wave of water swept up from behind him, a slight tingle of magic the only indication that the sure-foot charm his boots were enchanted with had been disrupted by Faleru’s attack, taking him down onto his back. Instantly, Kes was lunging forward, her knee slamming down on Tarvash’s hand to knock the dagger out of it and pin him to the deck. Her other hand held the dagger to the assassin’s neck, keeping her hand bearing the amulet back away from any attempts to grab it.

Lightning cracked overhead as she pressed the dagger forward against his neck just enough so a single drop of red welled up on its blade, Tarvash gritting his teeth against the slight pain.

“Leave,” she said, simply. “Swear it and go.”

“Without Ancer, Vor, or Gallen,” he spat.

Kes’s hand tightened on the dagger in one hand, amulet in the other, white knuckled as grief and horror chased themselves across her face. She knew them, of course. Had trained with them. Worked with them. And now their blood splashed across the deck of the ship she’d grown to love. Still, she refused to be baited into an emotional fight, which she knew was what he was trying to do.

“Swear it!” she ground out, between clenched teeth.

Tarvash studied her for a moment. “No, sister,” he said, almost sadly, and snapped one hand up towards hers holding the amulet, touching it with his fingers for just the briefest of seconds before she jerked it back out of his reach. In that second, he spoke a single word -- one of those slimy, unsettling words -- and a bright red ball of light shot out of the amulet, disappearing into the depths of the rolling sea.

Almost immediately, the entire ship lurched, with enough force that it knocked Kes off-balance, Tarvash tossing her off of him with a practiced throw. She clenched the amulet to her chest, coming up hard against the railing and very nearly toppling over it, grabbing at it desperately as the ship wrenched to the side once again.

It was apparent why very rapidly after that -- the sea was twisting in on itself, the storm-tossed waves drawn into a growing spiral as a whirlpool far bigger than their ship formed off the side of the schooner. In the very middle of the growing maw, glowing red with the magic that had been siphoned off of Faleru, was the Leviathan, the bleached Kivren creature one-armed and leaking ichor from its stump but seeming to matter very little as it twisted the water around itself. Their ship was swept into the circling current, drawn towards the center… where the crashing, pounding water would make very, very short work of the schooner very, very quickly.

“Amulet, or you all perish!” Tarvash hollered, loud enough for even the dragon to hear.

 

[Gavin Blackfyre]

The assassin's were no more though it was debatable if they were ever alive to begin with. Despite the rain that pelted the deck and the waves that washed over, Gavin's fire proved the better, the eerie black fire burning his foes and ensuring that only they burned and not the ship. Not that there was more comfort in that. The moment he turned to look towards Kes, the man she fought used the amulet once more and this time the ship began to feel the full wraith of the artificial storm they were in.

Feeling the threat of being thrown over board, Gavin sheath one blade and plunged the other into the wooden deck, a move which sounded easier then it was. Immediately sinking to one knee to better balance himself, Gavin gripped the handle of his blade, white knuckled as he watched Kes make her decision. Amulet or they die. A decision which sounded easier then perhaps it was.