For Our Motherland

The Islander ships lay in shambles, reduced to shattered wood and shredded sails. I stood on Tarhívé's battered, yet working ship. She lay by the door to the captain's quarters with her son, Kashén, bleeding besides her.

"Tarhívé," I said, tapping her on her shoulder, "stay awake." She nods.

"Kashén," I said, scanning him for his wound, "you hear me?" I shake him, but get no response. "Hey! Wake up!" I slapped him across the face to a mild groan. "Wake up! Twelve is too young to die!"

"Huh?" he said groggily. "I'm just tired, let me sleep."

"You sleep; you die," I said. "Stay awake until we can get you healed up." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a line of captains and an admiral, in a sky blue cape, with their hands bound in linen, torn clothes, and whatever else available. At the head of this line, was a tall, skinny, woman with short hair and mahogany.

"We have the leaders, love," she said in Rastí'jara with a strong Jahnan accent.

"Good," Tarhívé said. She slowly rose herself up, wincing at each move. I steadied her gait as she walked, so that she could meet with her enemy in a dignified manner. I noticed Itrust and Guangmei lead Nobukeita on his white horned horse behind them.

The admiral looked at Tarhívé, her storm grey eyes looking at her opponent. She then looked behind her. Her eyes narrowed.

"Come here you," she said to the person behind us.

"Yes aunty?" Falemneil said.

"Aunty!" Oh this is going to be good!" This is awkward. Who would have thought we would run into her aunt?

"She's from here you idiot. Don't be so surprised. Only so many people live here anyways."

"When you said you found someone to hire you, I didn't think it would be a foreign invader on pirate ships. Do you have no pride or faith in your family?"

"Aunty, I-"

"No! I don't want to hear it. My sister clearly never beat enough sense into you when you were little and there's no point in it now." Falemneil's aunt looked at Tarhívé, "forgive my outburst. Sometimes family can do the unthinkable."

"That's more true than you realize," Tarhívé replied.

"If I may, your name, admiral?" Falemneil's aunt asked.

"Tarhívé."

"I, Nkomne Walenta," she stopped mid-sentence. "No, nevermind. I still have some dignity left. I'm not surrendering to pirates and elves." The captains looked at each other.

"Yea," one of the captains said. "Since when did we surrender to elves? It's always been elves who surrendered to us. Now is no different."

"Well, Guangmei said, spooking the man, "you'll be surrendering to those two lovely humans in front of you, not to elves."

"No," Nkomne said, "these two here disgust me. They can't even fight without elves. It's pathetic."

"Should I just kill them?" the short-haired lady said.

"No Sýsmalú," Tarhívé said.

Sýsmalú glanced at Itrust and then to Nkomne. "By the way, where are all the raptors? There should be some, but I don't see any."

"Overboard," the man said. "We would rather just toss them than let you all have them. Granted, with how you all just let them run loose, I doubt we had anything to be scared of, but can't be too careful."

"You what?!" Itrust shouted. His toe claw began tapping on the ship's deck.

The man laughed. "This one got trained to speak like a parrot! That's a first!"

"You threw them overboard?!" Itrust bellowed. He began pacing around the enemy captains, snarling, and struggling to retain some composure.

"Nkomne," Tarhívé asked, "you refuse to surrender to us, so how about a duel?"

"Against who?" she asked.

Tarhívé smirked. "Itrust. The rules are simple, no armor, no spitting, and no biting."

"Aunty," Falemneil called out, "don't do this, just surrender."

"I accept," Nkomne said, glaring at Falemneil. "And after I beat Itrust, I will refamiliarize my niece with the concept of family loyalty." Sýsmalú untied Nkomne and gave her a sword.

"Tarhívé," I said anxiously, "I would prefer to do this instead."

"Oh, too bad," she said. "He'll survive."

"You might need this," Guagmei said as she tossed him her spear. "Don't break it now."

"I accept," Itrust said, catching Guangmei's spear. "And afterwards, I'm throwing that man overboard."

"These Rastis have no respect making me fight an animal," she spat She threw off her breastplate and cape.

"You have no respect treating my people like random beasts," Itrust snarled.

He circled around her, his eyes red. A yellow light surrounded the ship and I began to burst out in sweat while Nobukeita began shivering. Nkomne rushed towards Itrust, ducking under his spear. She grabbed the shaft and swung over it, avoiding a kick before stabbing Itrust in the shoulder. He shook her off and threw his spear at her, but Nkomne sidestepped out of the way. Itrust rushed at her and jumped clear over her head before whacking her with his tail. She fell to the ground with a thud as he pounced on her, his sickle claws digging themselves into her flesh. She drove her sword into Itrust's leg as blood flowed out of her open wounds. Itrust roared in pain as he clawed at her face, ripping out chunks of flesh. Nkomne's grip slowly loosened as she twisted her blade into Itrust's leg, before finally falling off.

"Not going to lie, I was nervous," I said. Itrust continued to to slash at Nkomne's face.

"Itrust, she's dead." He ignored me and kept going, sending pieces of brain everywhere. "Itrust! She's dead!"

He snarled and looked up at me. His eyes reverted back to their natural yellow color. He stepped back and blinked. He looked at his hands and then back at Nkomne's near headless corpse. "I went too far, sorry," he limped below deck, shaken at what he just did. Behind me I heard crying, muffled, but crying nonetheless.

"Make sure she doesn't kill you in your sleep." I doubt it, but I might curl up by Itrust tonight.

"Alright Sýsmalú," Tarhívé said, "throw the talkative one overboard and lock up the rest."

"Nobukeita, do you want to take the prisoners?" I asked. "It would be a humbling experience for them."

"Sure, but I must ask, was Itrust talking?"

"Yes," I said.

He smiled, "I had a feeling he could."

The Republic

The afternoon sun roasted us as Nobukeita and I's fleet sailed towards the island of Voznel. Kashén, as sturdy as basilisk, was up and walking in three days. Itrust, on the other hand, continued to limp around and had a bandaged shoulder. The healers work nearly day and night getting to as many people as possible, but healers are few and far between. In the three days in took for the ships to be repaired, although 150 were damaged beyond repair or sunk. Several Gurruzk refugees from the former Venkí Kingdom and their sympathisers joined our fleet as well, adding another 40 ships, and sent us the location of where others were located.

On the fifth day of sailing, we reached the island of Voznel, where a large group of Gurruzk refugees waited for us. I got off the ship with Tarhívé, one of her wives, Sýsmalú, and Josheire. Nobukeita remained on his ship as he knew none of the languages involved and had no good translator. We were met by a middle aged woman, her emerald eyes, hooded eyes, and ochre skin instantly marked her as Gurruzk. She kept her hair in intricate braids that wrapped around her head. "Sagoze! I you to our refuge welcome," she said in her heavily accented and dialectal Rastí'jara. "I Tsigoskr am called."

"Does she realize that Nekel and Nekelrasti don't work the same way as Rastí'jara?" Apparently not, but it's no big deal. "If they all speak like this, no wonder people wanted to overthrow the monarchy." Hush up, you.

"Barrékél," I say.

"You is nice to meet," Tsigoskr heartily said."We you wish to help. The rebels the king and prince killed have. The world so strange now is, and we that you it fix want." She paused for a second. "You possibly Nekel speak can?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," I replied in Nekel.

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I can't stand to speak," she caught herself quickly, but painfully noticeable, "in such an interesting language. It's so different. You understand, right?"

"Right," I reply in Nekel. "You think you can just insult how I speak?! This language sounds like you just gave up halfway, and you DARE insult mine? Fuck off!" Relax man, me. Relax.

"We have several willing volunteers of fighting age, ready to join you." Tsigoskr said as she pointed to the decently organized camp behind her. I watched as my soldiers unload supplies from the ships and clean their spears.

"How many?" I ask.

"Only fifty," she replied.

"Well, fifty more is still more. Tell them to prepare for battle as we are in enemy territory, and thank you for the support."

"Of course, Barrékél. A return to normalcy is all we need. Sagoze."

"Sagoze." If a return to normalcy was all that was needed, the normal would have been good enough. There wouldn't have been a rebellion to begin with. Not like there's a king left anyways.

****************************

The hot, jungle steam wafted up from the ground in the early morning. The sky, awaiting the full arrival of the sun, is only lit by the Great Band, casting a grey-blue tint across the land. Down below me, at the base of a ridge, there were thirty, no fourty Islander soldiers on patrol surrounding an army garrison. The garrison was lightly fortified, with aging ballistas and empty raptor pens. "I will fight for freedom, but I shall return; please keep your promise." Itrust's words, whatever he said to the raptors must have swayed them to his cause, a cause I should support whole-heartedly. The main square in the center of the garrison was empty, and only the kitchens stirred in these last few pre-dawn hours. I looked over at Laowo standing besides me, mud stripes on his face. The other freed slaves did the same. Apparently many of them fought in the last years of the Great War, only to realize that humans preferred freeing slaves over killing them. I nodded at Laowo. He smirked.

"Eh wahn tuh heer yuh screem!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. A loud, piercing scream came from all three hundred members of Suzékrha 1as they barrelled down from the utop the ridge. The Islander's faces became flushed with fear as over a hundred elves came down upon them. From the right side of the garrison the Ka'odreng Company, lead by Josheire, swarmed through the barracks, catching anyone who was inside off-guard and completely unprepared. A flaming arrow arced through the sky. My heart dropped as I began scanning the jungle for movement. In the distance, I hear the thundering of Nobukeita's dosaokatsiren. In the corner of my eye, I saw a maroon, black, and gold banner come out of the forest. Shit! I turned to the elf behind me.

"Send the signal!" I covered my ears, and she screamed a bone-rattling cry that must've woken up the whole damn island. Suzékrha 2 charged from the rear of the garrison, overrunning the stragglers as the enemy approached. Who are you? You can't be the Islanders.

I watched as a raptor cavalry unit swept through the ranks, cutting down troops. The soldiers, being former slaves, had little experience in using their magic, let alone weaponizing it. The Ka'odreng Company, covered in the blood of their enemies, loosed a volley of magical attacks, whether it be fire, ice, light, or any non-projectile magic that can be used in combat. One member tripled his size and charged ahead, swatting the foe like they were ants. I looked back to Suzékrha 3 and pointed towards the enemy's flank. The men and women, though unfortunately mainly men, of the Suzékrha nodded and followed me as I weaved through the trees and underbrush, sword in hand. The giant screamed in agony as the raptors clawed their way up his thighs. A panicked expression rushed across his face and he frantically tried to brush the raptors down from his upper thigh. He shrank back down was promptly torn to shreds. I would do the same honestly. Last thing I want is a raptor biting my balls as they get stabbed.

As we approached the enemy, I began picking up on familiar words and saw a familiar face. His dreads were, as always, tied in a ponytail that reached the small of his back.

"Now!" I barked as I jumped down from the ridge, taking Rhoskeil by surprise. I kicked him in the face, sending him off of his gigantic raptor. He landed with a thud, nose bent at an unnatural angle, with crimson blood running down his face. The rest of the Suzékrha followed me and pounced on their foe. I rushed over to Rhoskeil, ready to thrust through him and into the ground, but I was slashed in the cheek by his raptor. A large chunk of flesh came flying off as the raptor's claws reached to the bone. Blood poured from my face as Rhoskeil charged at me. The pain shot throughout my entire body and reverberated in my skull. Rhoskeil slashed at my neck, but I ducked under his blade, only to get my breastplate ripped off by his raptor's talons. I froze the beast's foot, but a stream of blue fire flowed past me, singeing my hair and wound. I shot shards of ice at Rhoskeil, with one of them piercing his knee. He collapsed to the ground as his raptor bit my face. I quickly stabbed it in the neck and face as bone cracked. It yanked its head away, one of its serrated teeth lodging itself in my right eye. My face screamed out in agony as part of my nose was ripped off. Following the advice of my face, I let out a blood curdling scream and ripped out the tooth that was stuck in my eye.

"Sir!" a Venkí man yelled at Rhoskeil, "the ships are under attack and we're about to be overrun! We should retreat!"

Rhoskeil cursed under his breath. "Withdraw to the ships! NOW!" The man grabbed Rhoskeil and dragged him away as Laowo ran up to me. He picked me up and fled towards the garrison, its buildings stained red with blood.

"Heelman! Wee need i heelman hair!" Laowo shouted frantically. I looked up at him as my vision began to dull, stained red by the blood flowing onto my one good eye.

*****************

I drowsily opened my eyes to a blurry figure standing above me. It slowly came into focus as Guangmei as my eyes strained to work. I took a shaky hand and gently brushed it over my right cheek, not fully healed, but not reduced to just bone. I closed my left eye, expecting to only see darkness, but I was still able to see, albeit not as good as with just the right or with both.

"Damn Bar," a very round Guangmei said, "your brother really did a number on you."

"How do you know it was my brother?" I asked. I looked around me, to see that I was in a wooden building with palm-leaf roofs.

"Laowo told me and the others who you were fighting, and Tarhívé said it sounded like your brother."

"Well, unfortunately this was more of his raptor's doing. The thing was damn close to being 15 feet tall!" I replied.

"A giant beast to go with your giant brother," Nobukeita said, leaning against the wall besides me. He had a large gash on his chest and a few burns. He blushed when he noticed I was looking at him. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, but you could've died. Even your skull wasn't in too good shape."

"I would hope my skull is fine now."

"It's back to normal alright," Guangmei said.

"Oh," Josheire said as he walked in, "I thought I heard talking."

"Yea," I said. "I'm alive and well."

"I wouldn't say well," Josheire said, "but you're a tough bastard. Did you realize that over the course of our time together that you could've died thrice over?"

"I'm aware, but here I am."

Josheire chuckled, "But here you are. It's good to see you still breathing."

"And with two functional eyes," I added.

Nobukeita laughed, "Just saying that eye cost you your cheek and a few back teeth."

"I lost teeth?" I ran my tongue throughout my mouth to notice a missing molar and a few absent wisdom teeth. "Well shit. Is my nose good?"

"The nose cost you some of your vision, apparently," Guangmei said.

"I see," replied, getting a few eyerolls from Guangmei and Josheire. I yawned as my energy evaporated into the air.

"Josheire, quick stats on what happened before I pass out."

"We lost roughly 800 out of 900 in Suzékrhas 1, 2, and 3 combined. I lost 20 men. We killed about 500 enemies, not counting raptors, captured the island, and gained roughly 300 new raptors thanks to Itrust. The enemy abandoned the island and lost 11 ships thanks to now King Nobukeita. Unfortunately, we lost 5 ships due to desertion."

"Thank you," I said between yawns. "And get me books on the old nobility. I need info." I yawned once more before the world went black.

The Kneiznekov

The yellow pages of the book were brittle and delicate, despite the work's surprising heft. Between the red elf leather covers lay over a three years of dynastical conflict, intrigue, and most certainly a few myths.

"Vozka Grrentvez, right?" I asked. "How did you get this?"

"I picked it up off of a shelf," she said tersely.

"Where?" I asked. She simply shrugged and walked out. I opened up the book, and flipped through until I could find writing I could recognize. The words here were still rough and archaic, written in the Island's dead tongue, but understandable.

"Nkoles Clan, founded in the 1776th year of the War, was created by Lord Manehom Nkoles. He had ten children with his three wives, but only three lived to have children. The line died out in the 1810th year of the War, following unnatural cold and sky ice magic."

Sky ice magic? The sky can't use magic. "They must've died pathetically then." Agreed. I flipped through a few more pages to more recent years.

"The Falrhen Clan, founded in the 1819th year of the War, was established by Lady Satem Falrhen. She had five children; however, she died birthing the last. While she was alive she trained her children to be ferocious warriors. While two, along with their children, died to noxious gas, weaponized by the dragons, in the 1836th year of the War, Wakesh Falrhen, the eldest daughter, carried on the family name. Her two brothers failed to sire children. The line, however, is currently alive and shall be noted otherwise by later scholars." I noticed a small circle by the end of the sentence. I looked at the bottom of the page, and saw nothing, so I looked towards the last few pages.

"Note: The last of the Falrhen lineage died in the Siege of Tsukanei'o, in 1950 G.W, fighting Prince Taolokeita of the Selem." Oh, where have I heard Selem before? Hopefully no one takes offense to Nobukeita being here. I hear a small commotion outside. I should check that out soon, but first, one more clan. I flip forward in the book a bit further.

"The Walentah Clan, founded in 1912 G.W, began as an offshoot of the royal family as Lady Ntazerhel "Walentah" Sherhagel went off to make a name for herself as a crafty diplomat, taking her nickname as her new clan's name. She adopted a son, Mazemneil, with her first wife and had five others with her first husband. The second husband failed to sire children and was expelled. Her adopted son, Mazemneil, and her second daughter Nkahet, in an unsavory arrangement, married and had five children. The clan still persists as of writing, and will be noted otherwise by later scholars." Wait? So, she has a claim to the throne. That would complicate things, but nothing kids and marriage can't fix. Granted, I let Itust kill her aunt. Shit, if I had known this, I would've spared the aunt. But then the raptors would be outraged. I heard the commotion get louder. Shit. I stumbled onto my feet and felt my heart drop as I looked outside to see several large, green and red parrots flying around, tearing open tents and wounded soldiers.

"Kirhád!" I shout out. "Qýath!" I hobbled over to one raptor getting swarmed by them, swatting the scavengers off. The birds' sharp talons scraped at my face while others pecked at my wounds. "Get everyone on the boats!" I shouted. "Now! Before the things kill us!"

*******************

Salty air filled my lungs as the world rocked below me. I lifted a leaden arm up and wiped my face of sweat. When did I fall asleep? I looked around me to see a room filled with half-burnt candles and the same elf leather book. Funny, I can't remember reading on a boat. I forced myself onto my feet, stumbling as the waves crashed into the ship. I walked out onto the sun scorched deck. Healers of all kinds worked their magic on the wounded and dying; some fulfilling their duty without batting an eye while others unfortunate enough to suffer the pain of their patients. All the while, soldiers run from below deck, carrying wounded companions out of the sun's scornful wrath. I walked to each of the healers, thanking them for their work as we sailed past thick mangrove swamps, just out of the reach of the kirhád.

"I see you're doing better!" Tarhívé exclaimed. She wrapped her arms around me, "can't have you dying on me." Her lips became a gentle smile, like whenever she and dad talked. "And good job giving that dumbass of a brother of your's a good beating. Wish I could've seen it."

"No you do not," I replied, chuckling. "It wasn't pretty."

"I can tell, you-" she glanced into the swamps for a brief moment, then sighed. "I'm going to kill that brother of yours." Her mood quickly soured, "I'm going to fucking kill him!"

I turned around to see the black, red, and purple of the Kneiznekov Company as dozens of northern longships rush from the swamps. "Spears, swords, and shields!" I shout as the longships fly over the water. "Where did the Islanders even get the money for these guys?" I thought aloud. "They've been in a recession for ten damn years."

"Your brother," Tarhívé spat, "Gosalen and the rest got all their banking money confiscated, and those were the 'cleaner' family members." The soldiers still in fighting condition all collected onto the deck, ready for battle as the healers dragged the remaining wounded to relative safety.

"We should get further away from the swamps," I said, suddenly feeling all of the bruised bones and sore muscles in my body. Tarhívé nodded.

"Move to the open ocean!" She commanded, "And man those harpoons!" War drums started reverberating in my skull and the fleet began its retreat out to sea. "And you, Barrékél, go below deck."

"No," I said, "I fight with my troops, as usual." The longships continued their approach, though having slowed as we moved further from shore.

"Then tell me what happened between shore and now," Tarhívé said. The look on my face must've given away my answer, or lack thereof. "Exactly. You don't have the energy for a fight. Don't do this."

The ship's rocking changed ever-so subtly as we went out into the open ocean. From the other side of the island, a combined Islander-Venkí fleet came charging through the waves. Its war drums pounded out a steady note. One-two-three. One-two-three. One-two-three. Further out to sea, I could spy Nobukeita's fleet approaching us. Tarhívé sighed, "Your stuff is in the room you were in."

I bolted back inside and scanned the room, finding my armor and sword in the back-left corner. The ship jerked violently to the right with a loud thump. I stumbled to the ground and scrambled to each of the candles, quickly putting them out before a fire could start. The air filled with screams of horror and vitriolic hissing. I fumbled in the dark for a few precious moments as I heard the crackle of lightning and boom of thunder. My hand found the comfortable grip of my sword. I rushed back into the oppressive sun to find myself face to face with a tamed sea serpent bleeding out on deck, its rider with an arrow in her right eye. The ship threatened to capsize yet, it managed to stay afloat. Several other sea serpents weaved under and around the fleet, dodging harpoons and spitting lightning. Can elves even fight them or would they get eternally damned or something like that?

I glanced over to the longships as they floated in place, watching, waiting. They flushed us out, like fucking rats. The Islander-Venkí fleet, similarly, stayed out of range from any kind of ranged attack, watching, waiting. A horrid screech sounded through the air as hot blood poured from one serpent's neck. Another's angry head lashed out although being disconnected from its body. A snap, a crash, a splash, and hundreds of sinking souls doomed to die from what should've protected them. Smoke billows from other ships, the lightning taking effect. I looked over to Nobukeita's fleet, unscathed for the most part, yet the enemy fleet remained motionless. Why? Why wait? Do they think the sea serpents are enough? I glanced back to Nobukeita's fleet. His ships rock as they begin their assault on the combined Islander-Venkí fleet. Their ships shatter beneath his assault, yet they don't move.

War drums sounded across the sea. One-two-three. One-two-three. One-two. One-two. One-two. Under Nobukeita's fleet burst a swarm of sea serpents in what must have been the Island Confederation's full force. They wrapped around ships, muscular coils crushing masts and dragging vessels beneath the waves. The remaining serpents attacking my fleet swam in a burst of speed to Nobukeita's fleet, and were on top of him in mere moments. For a brief second, I turned to face the longships. They were in grappling range. The Islander-Venkí fleet began to encircle our own as the Kneiznekov began to board. I rushed over to the edge of my ship to cut at boarding lines and grappling hooks, dodging arrow fire. I cut down one of the violet-eyed mercenaries and thrust his corpse back into the sea as members of the Ka'odreng Company leapt into the longships, despite the vessels weaving through our fleet with astounding speed.

"Kill them all!" I heard Josheire shout. A loud cheer rose up from the ranks as a frenzy overran them.

"Remember the Battle of the Blood Moon?" I heard the Kneiznekov mock in Etzuken and, surprisingly, Shaoleim, "Remember the King of the Stars?" The vast mob of violet and indigo eyes shifted to red, as they chanted their taunt. The Ka'odreng Company, responded in kind, eyes a furious, burning red.

A bright light flashed before my eyes. I squinted and backed away from the edge, waiting for my eyes to readjust. When my vision returned, the sea turned into a bloodbath. Ships and bodies were crushed under some unknown force as the Kneiznekov boarded en masse. I froze the first enemy I found and flung her frozen body into another. A small mosquito buzzed by my ear and shifted into a giant of a man, over seven feet tall and covered head to toe in leather armor. I ducked between his legs and stabbed him in the groin before shoving my blade through his spine, sliding smoothly between bone and coming out through his stomach. I yanked my sword out and parried a blow from another before my shadow grabbed my right leg and twisted it. I screamed out in pain as my leg below the knee suddenly found itself facing the opposite direction. I stabbed the shadow to no avail, and parried two other mercenaries, before a member of the Ka'odreng Company pounced out of my shadow, blade dripping with blood. The grip on my leg relaxed as the elf stabbed my assaulters before dissipating back into the nothingness.

I attempted to stand back up, but the adrenaline only went so far, and I collapsed in pain. I rolled to the left, dodging a spear thrust, only to get kicked in the face by another Kneiznekov mercenary. In the background, I heard ships sinking, dosaokatsiren thundering in the distance, sea serpents hissing, lightning crackling, and taunts from both the Kneiznekov and Ka'odreng Company. Mothers were insulted, gods disgraced, dead loved ones mentioned, and old grudges revived. I looked up at my assaulter and stabbed her in the knee before driving my sword through her. I then grabbed the spearman who tried to skewer me and attempted to freeze him, but he teleported away, only to be replaced with another mercenary. This mercenary, however, quickly was speared by one of the elves from behind. Warm blood drips down my ear where I've been kicked. On a nearby ship a large plume of flame engulfed everyone aboard, friend and foe alike. The heat from the flames felt like an oven, despite being several yards away.

For a moment, it felt as if the battling stopped. On the burning ship stood only one man, his hooded cloak burning away. His light brown hair fell across his face and down to his shoulders. Despite never seeing his thick beard and moustache his hooked nose, or the long scar running from his ear to his chin, I knew who he was. His blood-red eyed glared upwards above the flames at his foe, floating in the skies. Her honey toned skin as bruised as his pride, blood dripping from more than one cut. Flames crept up her cornrow braids, which once fell to her waist, slowly burning it away. She looked down at her bloodied and battered opponent and smirked. A ball of flames erupted around the woman and she briefly looked shocked and terrified before regaining her composure. The flames slowly started to contract away from her, only to be met with another stream of vibrant scarlett flames from her foe. He was suddenly brought to his knees by the same unknown force that crushed our ships earlier. He propped himself up with his sword before being forced back down. Another ball of fire burst into existence, this time engulfing both him and his opponent. The heat from the battle caused nearby ships, including mine to ignite. The ball of fire expanded and contracted and expanded and contracted once more. In the corner of my eye, I saw Gaoreng rush over to the flames, panicked, eyes watery, but from either the smoke or the events occurring, I couldn't tell. The ball of fire continued to contract and the woman appeared first, covered in burns and bruises, yet alive. Her face contorted in her fury and the once oppressively hot flames snapped out of existence and the man's body crushed and shattered. In his hand, his sword was crumpled as if it were paper.

The woman fell onto a longship. Gaoreng ran to the man's side, weeping. Her soldiers rushed to soothe her wounds with sea water. Gaoreng screamed a beastly cry. His eyes so red they appear to glow. The Ka'odreng Company lashed out with an animalistic fury at the Kneiznekov. Gaoreng rushed towards the longship, grey gas pouring from his nostrils and mouth, heavy and thick. The longship retreated as fast as it once arrived, but in vain, chains wrap around the vessel, wielded by one member of the Company. He was slain, but not before three others jumped in to kill the oarsmen.

"Retreat!" a woman shouts, "retreat!"

The longships turn and head for the mangroves. The woman is grabbed by another woman in the longship and she runs across the water dodging arrows and ranged magic. Gaoreng jumped into the longship she was in and the remaining crew began to choke and convulse. Their eyes were bloodshot and began to bleed. They coughed and gasped for breath as Gaoreng swam over to another longship, his eyes glistening rubies born of fire.

The last of the sea serpents died from a harpoon to the head. As a portion of my fleet went to relieve Nobukeita's earlier in the battle, as they had the necessary combat experience that Nobukeita did not. Once freed, his fleet bombarded the Islander-Venkí fleet, prompting a retreat. I laid down, sword still in hand, on top of the shadow-walker who ever so kindly twisted my right leg backwards. The adrenaline, once at an all-time high, dropped. I listened to the sound of retreating ships and the ocean breeze as my leg cried for murder. I hope your gods have a damn good feast for you Josheire. You deserve it.