Rise Together

The great beast reared over the helpless ship, drinking in the scents of fear and despair as it lorded over its prey. Aboard, not a soul moved or spoke, so great and terrible was its presence that it drowned out any coherent thought. Primal fear choked the unfortunate living, mixing with the pain of loss at their fallen comrades. The titanic head swiveled skyward and unleashed a roar so mighty that it seemed to shake heaven and earth, forcing all to swiftly cover their ears in a futile attempt to block it out. A cry of pain cut through the fog in Lucius’ mind, knowing that voice he turned swiftly to Hana and watched as she pulled her hands from her ears, soaked in brilliant crimson.

A pitiful ember of drive tried to catch within his heart, but the smothering terror quickly snuffed it out, driving him back towards despair. It was hopeless, of this he was absolutely certain. The crew had expended all of their effort fighting back the wyverns, and had nearly lost their captain in the process. Even Blacktern, as capable as she was, simply stared with empty eyes at their oncoming destruction. They had nothing; no weapons, no resources and no way out. It was as though death itself had descended upon them like divine providence, damning each and every soul aboard to a hellish, watery grave.

A voice called out from the crow’s nest, high-pitched and taut with panic, “Niphra’s tits! WHAT the FUCK is THAT!?!?” Calla’s shrill exclamation rang through the air, shattering the stillness wrought by the monster’s presence. All at once, the sea exploded with churning foam revealing more grasping tendrils that swarmed over the rails and onto the deck of the Wavecutter, snapping towards the stupefied crew. Astora shot to her feet and drew her heavy cutlass, crying out to those who could still hear,

“What do ya think yer doin’ ya lagabouts! Kill that fucker!”

Newfound energy surged through the remaining crew, galvanized at last by their captain’s final order. The men and women aboard cried out in a great voice, unified by the singular hope of survival, drawing what weapons they had on hand as they rushed to defend their beloved ship. Astora stood as she was, her blade raised high for a moment longer before it dropped to her side, her face pale and sweaty,

“Ha…that’ll keep ‘em goin’ fer a bit…” Lucius moved to try and catch her as she began to sway on the spot, but was beaten out by Blacktern, who guided her captain back towards the deck. She waved him back with a faint smile, “Don’t worry ‘bout me, kid. That was it fer me though, won’t be doin’ anythin’ against that beast myself. An’ we won’t win either, but its better ta die fightin’ than just layin’ around. Anyways’ I appreciate yer concern, but ya should look to yer girl right now.”

Lucius spun around, ashamed of his prioritization, which only grew as he realized that Hana was still crouched in place, her shoulders shaking profusely. He ran to her and dropped down beside her, grabbing onto her upper arms,

“Hana? Hana! Are you alright? Are you badly hurt?” Beneath her robes he could feel her muscles violently contracting, much like what happens when someone has a seizure. Hearing his voice, her head slowly lifted to meet his, her emerald eyes now burning pools of golden wrath with pupils slit vertically. An old jolt of terror coursed up Lucius’ spine as the memory of his meeting with Hana flashed in his mind. Another pulse rocked her slender frame so strongly that he nearly lost his grip on her, an animalistic snarl escaping her lips when he refused to let go.

“Hey, hey! It’s me! Lucius! Don’t you recognize me?” Hana glared at him through those yellow eyes ablaze with primal fury, not responding to his overtures. Racing to find a way to prevent a new disaster from befalling the ship, an idea came to him,

“It’s me, Lucius! Here, smell! You said you’d recognize my scent, that it was good! Here!” Removing one hand from her shoulders, he thrust his wrist close to her nose and hoped this odd plan of his would work out. To his surprise, the growl that rumbled from within her throat momentarily stopped as she considered the offered hand. Lucius could only define the moment as utterly surreal, as Hana sniffed his wrist against a background filled with the sounds of combat, shouting and the roaring of the greatwrym. A particularly loud roar from the monster drew Lucius’ attention away for a moment, in which Hana opened her mouth to bare sharp fangs, and then bit him squarely on the wrist.

It took him seven seconds to even realize what had just happened. The sensation of her teeth sinking into his flesh was felt immediately, but the image simply would not register in his brain. He just stared, dumbfounded, as his blood flowed from his veins and into her mouth. Once he reconciled that this was actually happening and not a hallucination, the pain finally appeared,

“Owowowowowow!! Hana! What the hells are you doing!?” He very much wanted to tear his hand away, but doing so would cause serious and likely unrepairable damage to his wrist and Hana did not seem to be in a mood to listen. When at last she withdrew her teeth from his skin, her fangs glinting in the sunlight as his blood trickled down the side of her mouth. Gasping quietly in relief, he began to pull his arm back into himself but was caught partway by her hand, which he noticed her fingernails had morphed into semblances of claws. Try as he might, her grip was far too strong as she once more brought his bleeding flesh close to her face. He closed his eyes and braced for another round of pain, only to be surprised by the touch of something moist running up the length of his wrist.

Opening his eyes just enough to see, he was shocked to see Hana running her tongue over the wound, licking up the excess blood in a similar way to how he had seen plenty of animals clean themselves and others of their kind in the wild. There was no aggression towards him in the gesture, rather her posture indicated a more apologetic and caring tone. She continued to pass her long tongue carefully over the teeth marks three, then four times. Only when she was satisfied with his condition did she release him, staring at him with such intensity that he shuddered at simply meeting her eyes.

Below them the battle raged against the abyssal greatwyrm, but the sailors were fighting a losing battle. Though they found that the tendrils could be cut and wounded, more would simply take their place. High above, some of the sailors had climbed into the rigging in order to shoot arrows at the creature’s eyes, and had drawn the attention of the main body in doing so. Blood streaked the deck as more sailors fell victim to the brutal onslaught, and cries of pain and fear began to outweigh those of defiance.

Hana’s ears flicked to the sides, taking in all they could before she rose to her feet and unclasped the heavy cloak that hid her features. The cloth fell to the deck in a heap of blue, though she did lean down and picked it up, throwing it over the nearby wheel. Unburdened by the weight, Hana seemed to stand taller than she usually did. Her large tail, now set free, was puffed up to nearly twice its normal size, its tip twitching dangerously as her eyes slid to take in the monster destroying the Wavecutter.

Lucius scrambled to his feet, knowing very well what that look in her eyes meant, “You’re going to try something incredibly stupid, aren’t you?” She shot him an annoyed glance, but did not contend him,

“Can you get me to it?”

A simple request, but one that carried with it a near guaranteed death sentence. Normally, Lucius would have pushed her to reconsider or questioned her sanity. To run towards the gigantic sea monster was not something a sane person would do, after all. But it seemed to him that she had some kind of plan in mind, or at the very least wanted to go down swinging. As far as he was concerned, either of those options was good enough.

“I’m with you. I’ll do what I can to keep those things off of you, but I doubt I can promise much.” She rolled her shoulders and flattened her ears against another ear-splitting screech, “Fine, just don’t die. Got it?”

Another tall order. It seemed that this side of her was incredibly demanding and likely didn’t take kindly to refusals, so he agreed, “Alright, I’ll do my best there.” Astora lurched her way over to them and thrust her scimitar into one of his hands,

“Here, you’ll need it. That little poker of yers ain’t gonna cut it against that thing. Right tool for the right job, eh?” She winked at him as if trying to suggest something, but he passed it off as more nonsense. He did, however, accept the blade, admiring its balance despite its extreme curve. He could immediately tell that Astora took exceptional care of her weapons, and that they were as deadly and remarkable as their owner.

She then gestured onto the deck, “Go on then, we’ll hold things down on this end. Good luck.” Behind her rose several tendrils, climbing onto the quarterdeck from all sides, snaking their way towards them as they spoke. Blacktern drew her weapons, placing her back squarely against Astora’s to prevent her from being taken by surprise. Though he loathed to leave the pair, Hana was already descending the stairs, showing no sign of waiting around for things to worsen. He turned around about halfway down the steps and raised the captain’s sword in salute, “I’ll give this back once we’re done, so stay alive until then!”

Astora laughed, “Ya think yer in any position ta be givin’ me orders, boy? I’ll do as I please, when I please and how I please! Now go on, and give that stinkin’ sea slug a taste of its own medicine!”

Joining Hana at the bottom of the steps, Lucius quickly tried to gauge the situation but found it far too chaotic to effectively plan anything. Hana pointed towards the bowsprit, the long arm that protruded from the ship’s front, “There! I need to get there!” That was good enough for him, though that did mean that the two of them would need to run a two-hundred plus foot gauntlet of chaos and death in order to reach their destination.

“Well, no sense waiting around. As they say, no time like the present!” “Stay behind me, and whatever you do, don’t stop moving. Let’s go!” As one, they plunged forward into the chaos and began their run down the length of the Wavcutter. Eight seconds into their mad dash, a tendril swept aside two sailors and wrapped about a third, nearly crushing him in its grip. Lucius hefted the scimitar in both hands and swept upwards in a wide arc, turning into the strike with his hips for additional power. The sword carved through the fleshy appendage as if it were parchment, carving it in two and dropping the sailor back to the deck as the rest wiggled back into the sea, leaving a trail of violet in its wake.

With this first obstacle removed, Lucius continued on without slowing or even checking on the sailor’s condition. The sensation of cutting through those tendrils fresh in his limbs, an ember of fury kindled successfully in his heart as he drew upon the heightened emotions of the battle to drive him forward. Hana dashed up on his left to pull beside him, vaulting over fallen debris with unnatural grace. Though largely inaudible behind the din of battle, Lucius could occasionally catch fleeting notes that thrummed from within her while she accumulated some kind of magic, the kind of which he could not hope to ascertain. What was clear to him was that she was building up to something, and it was his job to make it happen.

A clear and concise goal, it was something he could handle. Pouring more energy into his legs, Lucius pushed on through the hectic and crowded deck. Another tendril lashed out from beyond the deck’s rail, aiming straight for him. Catching its motion from the corner of his eye, Lucius dropped low and slid beneath the foul-smelling appendage, passing mere inches above his head. The momentum of his slide carried him several feet and he paused only briefly to pull himself back to standing, but it was enough to give another tendril the time necessary to descend on him from on high, aiming to crush him into the deck. Frustrated at the repeated obstructions, the spark flared brighter within as the danger heightened around him. Hefting the scimitar in both hands Lucius swung in a half-moon pattern at just the right time to split the tendril apart at its tip. Transferring the motion through his body, he rotated out of its strike range and then slashed out horizontally as it hit the deck, breaking it into four quivering pieces.

An annoyed roar from the monster told him that he had done at least enough damage to get its attention, which was exactly what he wanted. As the pair made it to midship, the monster seemed to finally have enough of being peppered with arrows and saw an opportunity to get rid of those pests and Lucius in one go. Rearing back with its heavy jaws, the greatwyrm struck with tremendous force, tearing into the main sail and mast. The sheer force of the blow rocked the entire ship, sending all on board crashing towards the portside rail. Cries of panic and terror cut through the air as the main mast splintered, tossing those who were not immediately torn to pieces sailing through the air along with pieces of the ruined mast. Some were lucky enough to dodge the falling beams, but only those at the extreme ends could get away without a scratch.

Lucius managed to avoid the largest pieces, but one clipped his shoulder causing it to dislocate painfully. More bodies splashed into the water, their cries cut short by their sickening impacts with the foaming waves. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he forcefully snapped the join back into alignment, briefly incapacitated by a wave of intense pain from the impromptu procedure. The pain was dulled by the rising heat building from deep within his chest as fury began to mix with raw determination. Forcing himself to rise, he swiveled around to find Hana, who he had lost sight of in the debris.

A shout of rage signaled her location; she was rising from the deck while pushing back a large section of the mast’s crossbeam that was several times what someone her size should have been able to lift. He ran over and pushed his shoulders underneath the beam and helped her throw it off to the side. He was about to question her as to why she didn’t dodge the beam, though the question died on his lips upon seeing a still body just beneath where the beam had landed. Calla’s body lay unmoving, limbs bent at odd angles from the fall. Lucius wasn’t sure if she was breathing or not, and felt a wave of nausea roll over him at the thought of checking.

Hana’s clawed hands closed into fists so tight they drew her own blood, “No more…not one more!” Though spoken through gritted teeth and little more than a snarl, her words were thick with emotion. It was a simple wish, one that resonated deep within his core: a desire to not lose those who are close. As his eyes met hers, a burning sensation erupted from deep within his core and spread to engulf every fiber of his being. What burned deep in her eyes was pain, and seeing her in such a state enflamed his heart.

With little choice, he forcibly tore his eyes away from Calla’s body and continued his suicidal charge with Hana in tow. The greatwyrm noticed the pair exiting the debris field, and perhaps because it recognized Lucius as the one who had hurt it before, or maybe simply because of their movement, it lashed out with all the fury it could muster. Another tendril struck out to grasp him, but he cut it down with an expert flick of his wrist. The world bent and slowed as he ran, the noises that sounded throughout the ship dulled significantly to the extent that the loudest sounds were his own heart and lungs.

As they began to progress towards the bow, they had gained the full attention of the greatwyrm and the pressure began to mount. Angry frustration seemed to well within the monster as it began to throw more and more tendrils at them, but each time Lucius cut them down. With each stroke of his blade, the higher the flame rose within and the deadlier he became in consequence. It was a transcendent experience, to be so focused as he was despite the desperate circumstances. Each step across the damaged deck, the rushing sounds of the tendrils hurtling through the air, the pleasant sensation of the blade slicing through flesh, every sensation came through as clear as crystal. Nothing escaped his notice and nothing could get in his way as he cut down every obstacle placed in front of them.

With a razor’s focus, they advanced farther and farther until the bowsprit was clearly in sight. The greatwyrm, now fully invested in killing them, moved its massive body around to be directly in front of the Wavecutter’s bow. Three tendrils exploded from the sea and hurtled towards him as one combined force. Realizing that he couldn’t cut them, he maneuvered to avoid the slimy fist, only to recognize that if he did then Hana would be left wide open. And there was no way in all the hells that he was going to allow that to happen.

The solid wall of monstrous rage crashed into him the moment after he braced, throwing him back against the fore mast, only a few dozen feet from their destination. The terrible impact drove the wind from his lungs and he felt his ribs crack under the strain as he kept the tendrils at bay with the flat of the borrowed sword. The weight of the beast pressed down on him without mercy as he struggled to keep from being crushed to death; the muscles in his arms groaning and creaking under the insane might of this apocalyptic nightmare. The flame roared higher, drowning out the beast’s cries.

Fight. Fight for this purpose. Don’t let her down.

The blade trembled under the pressure and began to descend backwards towards his chest, and he knew once it did that it would be game over. He strained to arrest its momentum, but it was a fight against a mountain, and mountains always win.

Not another step backward. Don’t you dare disappoint someone else again! Burn yourself up if you need to! Just don’t let her down!

Never. He would never. This person, whoever she was, had given him a new opportunity to make a life for himself. A slim, impossible chance to matter to someone, to be important. If keeping her safe, if helping meant he had to break his very body, then he would do so without hesitation. Purpose. This purpose that was truly his, the one thing he could claim as his own. He would not relinquish it, not for anything.

Fully ensconced in righteous purpose, Lucius roared with all his heart and threw back the heavy tendrils with a mighty push, throwing back the weight of the mountain. Lucius screamed with as much voice he could muster,

“HANA! GO!!”

With the last of the tendrils firmly occupied, Hana dashed past in a blur of blue and red, her entire body shimmering in a coating of gold and emerald magic. Dashing up the length of the bowsprit, she balanced upon its tip and hung out over the ocean. The greatwyrm paused its motions upon seeing her appear so close and opened its jaws to swallow her whole. Her body glowed brighter and brighter as magic coalesced into her, forming a nimbus of swirling power that raged against the monster of the deep. Raising her hand, Lucius briefly saw, or thought he saw, not one tail on Hana’s back, but two.

She opened her mouth and the sound of thunder erupted from within, silencing the creature’s cries. Her body aflame with magic, Hana rose into the air and pulsed with such brilliant light that she seemed to eclipse the very sun itself. Thunder rolled from her body in waves, slamming into the creature as it tried to oppose the star that had come to earth, but it could not overcome the light. she continued to shine brighter and brighter until she became the only light, all that mattered in the world. Lucius was enraptured, unable to look away from the raw beauty that was that star.

When at last the light faded, the monster slipped silently beneath the waves and the last of its tendrils went with it. Hana collapsed back onto the deck, an unmoving heap of cloth and fur. Lucius stumbled forward, the monstrous energy he was able to summon fleeing from him as he made his way to her. Relieved to find that she was still breathing, though still glowing slightly, he gave himself up to the exhaustion and passed out.

Above, the wind began to blow once again through the tattered sails, pushing the Windcutter onwards at long last.