>Standing alone on the bridge of a singular airship, a young woman mused on the vast landscape that stretched on before her.
>Freedom is the sharpest double-edged sword that mankind ever forged. Determined by politicians and limited by the accepting masses, freedom in its entirety is like a burning sun that stands high above humanity. To most, merely being able to see the sun and point at it was more than enough for them to live calm, happy lives. But for others taken by the sight, nothing less than touching the sun would ever satisfy their stricken minds. And so, these brave deluded souls soared on high into the sky, taking more freedom for themselves in that singular action than most people would ever experience. Higher and higher they soared, on mighty airships that would take them wherever their whims fancied.
>But therein lied Freedom's double edge. Enthralled by a beauty like no other, these brave men and women soared on high to meet with their lover only to find themselves shot down by those already higher than they. The more you want Freedom, the more others like you will stand in your way and try to take yours away. After all, nobody said that Freedom was a free commodity.
>Turning from the scenery, the captain of a small airship addressed a crew of no more than five men. Each of them where strong men, proud men, and each of them had entrusted their captain with their lives when they had signed on under the fledgling pirate queen's banner. Beneath her boots, Jessica "The Lucky One" Gage could feel the heart of her small ship thrum and beat with the excitement of what was to come. She knew her crew could feel it too, the anticipation of the moment, the weight of the decision their captain was about to make.
>Over the horizon, three great black ships sailed slowly in their direction, each ship flying the same hateful banner of a one eye'd skull grinning bloody murder at its intended victims. Their engines being many times stronger than Gage's, the pirate queen knew that there would be no running away from this battle. Yet, she knew too well what would happen to them if she allowed them to capture her crew - at best, they would never fly again, and at worst, they would lose their will to look up at the Sun.
>In response to her men's unspoken question, Jessica "The Lucky One" Gage let her voice ring out as true and clear as the howling winds of the Western Peaks, her tone cutting through the veils of the heart to reach her men's very souls.
IMPARTIAL IS OUR BATTLECRY!
FOR HERE WE'LL STAND OR HERE WE'LL DIE!
A FIREFIGHT TO LIGHT THE SKY!
THE TIME TO RECKON IT IS NYE!
THEIR SHIPS OUTMAN US ONE TO THREE!
YOUR CHOICES NOW COULD SET YOU FREE, BUT I ASK YOU ALL TO FIGHT WITH ME!
AN CREATE A TRIUMPH FOR THE WORLD TO SEE!
>Yet, even as she spoke the words, Jessica felt a tinge of guilt strike at what she was doing. Was it fair for her to bring them all to a fight they couldn't win? To ask for a proof of loyalty that they gave her on a whim? When fear and loathsome doubt crawl out of her skin, was she fit to lead these brave men in their final hours? Had she ever been the leader they needed - an avenging pirate queen? Or had she always been nothing more than a girl who'd lose her way; a cog in the machine? With these thoughts whirling around her mind, the fledgling pirate almost faltered in her speech, yet, when she saw that none of the men had faltered or showed any kind of fear, or remorse. Jessica's own doubts took flight and her resolve redoubled in earnestness. If ever she thought she could regret her choices, that notion perished when her heart pounded so hard with pride and love for her crew's bravery that she thought she might cry.
PRIME YOUR GUNS AND WHET YOUR BLADES!
OUR FURY NOW WILL BE DEALT IN SPADES!
WE'LL STRIKE 'EM FAST BEFORE LIGHT FADES!
AND BRING DOWN THEIR CURSED BRIGADE!
>At that, the five men burst into motion, each knowing which station to man and what preparations to make before the battle. One readied the cannons and made sure they were primed to blow, another checked the compass and aligned the ship for its best trajectory. All of them readied their weapons and each of them took more than a few swings from their flasks. All the while, their captain championed them on, filling them with the desire to become legends or die trying.
>When all the preparations had been made dusk began to fade into night, light ripped from pirate queen's vessel and cannon barrages sailed off to meet of the enemy airship's gas tanks. A lucky hit, a deadly one too. With a tremendous boom, and a new explosion of light, the enemy ship consumed itself and went down in flaming wreckage. Crying out joyfully over the immediate victory, the men threw their hands up and cheered loudly. Yet, even they cheered, a second ship came into weapon's range and fired its cannon barrage at the smaller vessel, ripping massive holes in her flanks and disabling one of the two rotors that enabled her to move. Stuck in position, the little vessel wouldn't survive for much longer, yet she nonetheless answered the barrage in kind and fired all weapons in the enemy's direction. Somehow, impossibly, a stray bullet caught one of the crystal barrels in vessel's brig and ignited with a tremendous amount of volatile fire magic.
>But whilst the two vessel's engaged in a firefight, the last and largest vessel had maneuvered behind them and harpooned massive cords into Jessica's airship. Occupied as the crew was trying to control the damage that had been done to the vessel, they weren't able to cut the ropes before scoundrels boarded. Then panic broke out on the ship, blades flashed and bullets ripped. As the pirates raged their war, Jessica Gage tried to counter their attacks, but even as she fired her weapon, she saw a scoundrel shoot her first mate in the back. With a scream tearing through her throat, she fired her weapon again and again but the fiends had them outnumbered and bullet ripped through her shoulder. Damn it, then this was how it ended then. Not even a few feet off the ground and already a vulture wanted to rip her wings off.
>That was when she felt her vessel shudder with pain, its magitek circuits exploding from a stray shot. Loosing altitude rapidly, Jessica peered over the edge to see that they would meet the ground before the enemy could retreat back to their vessel. Good. At least then she would be taking the bastards to die with her. That was when the firm grip of her engineer grabbed her arm and hauled the wounded pirate queen over the side of her ship, smiling as he did so and saluting her for everything she had done for them.
>Falling away with a hand outstretched in protest over what he had done, Jessica landed in a thicket of trees whose branches broke her fall before depositing her in a large puddle of mud that further cushioned her descent. Writhing in pain on the ground, the pirate looked on as her vessel sailed off a couple hundred feet away before meeting its ultimate end in a violent explosion of fire when it crashed into the ground.
>Having fallen further away from her sun than she ever had before, she wondered quietly if her men, at least, could now see the light they had lived to find.
>>41211543 >If it weren't for the blue sky above them, one might think they'd have fallen into hell. Surrounding you is a vast wilderness of verdant green, beautiful by any standard and a bountiful example of life, yet within such a place were sounds you've never heard and smells you wish you'd never get a whiff of again. Worse still was the almost unbearable heat and humidity, sweat pouring off your back like there was no tomorrow.
>Welcome to the Ruby Isles, specifically Ardent Island, somewhere high up, close to the edge of a cliff and a running stream of water, hence your muddy awakening and the thankful shade of the overhanging trees. From here the view is resplendant; the terrain is erratic, dropping and rising while never losing the bright contrast of colours, and you can even follow the river with your eyes down into much larger, bright blue pools spread all over the place, surrounded by creatures you can barely make out, both large and small.
>But with such an open view of beauty comes the terror waiting close by. With a light rumble the ground shudders beneath you, not enough to cause any serious alarm but definitely enough to concern anyone who had a fair sense of balance. Not too far in the other direction stands a figure so tall that you can see it through the trees no matter where you were - Mount Ardor itself, billowing out disproportionately gentle clouds of smoke from the tip of its giant form, aglow with a bright orange coming from beneath.
>Between it and you, the land is alight with pain. The closer one got to the rocky heights, green became charred black and brown, acknowledged only by the flames that consume them and, of course, the giant spires of red crystal that jutted from the ground.
>For now, be thankful that you didn't land in a pit of bubbling tar or ended up boiling yourself in a pool so hot it's a wonder there's still water in there. After all, judging from where you feel your ship went down, you might not be able to say the same for your old comrades...
>>41213943 >Watching the sum of everything she had worked for crash into the nearby jungle blasted a crater in her heart just as well as it did the landscape. Her men where dead, the crew she had come to know and value had disappeared in a torrent of flames and she was now stranded in hostile lands. Yet, even as she stood up from the ground that had received her fall, she felt no particular wound or damage done to her. A miracle then, that she alone, the captain of her ship, would survive the death of her her people without so much as a scar to show for it. Hah, the idea that the gods where made the young pirate smile with derision, thinking that this would have been just the kind of dramatic irony she would have been singing about in a banquet halls in a time not so very long ago.
>Watching the acrid smoke of her ship waft over the treetops, captain Gage's smile faded to a thin line. The Blue Turtle had been a fine ship, small as it where, it could have been manned with a small or large crew depending on the needs of a mission without affecting her capacitor's in any major way. And now that she was dead, Gage felt her resentment for the job she had taken and her employer mount up in her chest. It should have been an easy mission, straight forward as could be, to harass supply lines and pick off straggler ships for their bounty. Yet, her side hadn't told her that the enemy had hired their own pirate crews to do just the same. Had she known that there where other sharks in the air then she would have taken more precautions, she would have charged her side a lot more coin then what she had settled on. She might not have lost everything!
Tsk!!
>Smashing her hand into a nearby palm tree, the captain resented the circumstances that had forced her to walk alone through this damned jungle. The captain winced at the sudden pain shooting through her hand and focused on what she had set in front of her. It wasn't all lost and this wasn't the first time that she'd tasted defeat either. Testing to see if her prized magitek rifle had been damaged in her fall, and finding that it hadn't, Gage grit her spirits and walked forward in the direction of the vessel's smouldering wreckage. If anything there might yet be salvage to be found in the wreckage of her crew.
>>41228261 >If only life were so simple, but fate wasn't so kind as to spare the life of only one. From the nearby wreckage of the largest of the three ships to fall, a magitek fist blasted through one side of the hull with a mighty boom, creating a hole so big it may as well have been a cannon shot breach. Climbing out from the fiery slice of hell was a man known to many as a Demon of the skies, so the glow that gave contrast to his large frame suited him just fine.
>What didn't suit him was the fact that three of his fleet had just been blown ashore like toys in bottles, by a lone, lousy little frigate no less!
Anybody who ain't burnt or shot ta death already, git yer asses out here an' form a line!
>Coughing, spluttering cries of 'Yes Cap'n!' at various pitches rang out from the nearby area, a motley group of figures slowly approaching the largest flaming tomb. Some of them were still on fire, some with terrible magical burns and even a few with limbs missing; anyone who was worse off was probably dead, or soon would be, and they were of no use.
Does anyone wanna explain to me what the fuck that was, just now?
We got fucked, sir!
Damn right we did! Now, I'm gonna give you all the benefit o' the doubt and just assume that the incompetent bags of meat who caused this mess are the ones still screamin' and burnin' behind me. SO! -
. ==KABOOOOM!== . >One of the shot salvos on the top of the larger ship exploded in a mighty roar of flame, right behind the Captain, with a large, cannon-sized hunk of metal falling straight down towards him.
PZZEW!
>To which he fired a shot from his magitek heavy pistol equipped with special-issue Plasma Crystals, melting a man-sized hole in the metal which slammed directly around him, crushing one of his poor men who'd lost a leg, and couldn't get out of the way in time, leaving a splatter of red in the dust.
Well, he weren't goin' anywhere anyway. THE REST O' YE! FIND SOME WEAPONS 'FORE THEY EXPLODE! Anyone who ain't got one by the time I finish countin' to a hundred is gonna be turned ta leather to fix my hat!
YES CAP'N! YES CAP'N! YES CAP'N!
>With the crew meeting over, Captain Yeager stepped a metallic foot over the smoldering wreck of a cannon, following up with a solid flesh leg and looking across the battlefield towards the ship that had crashed into his not so long ago.
Blue Turtle, huh? Never heard of it. Here's t' the dead, go ahead an' rot.
>And with that, he shot another plasma charge into the middle of the flag that had still been flapping in the breeze, erasing any sign of victory from the efforts of Jessica's crew.
>>41228361 >>41228261 >Cassie awoke to the smell of burning wood.
>The last thing he remembered was a crash that shuddered the entire cargo hold. It tipped the ship itself, making him lose his balance and slam his head against a wooden crate. So much for the natural agility of the elves.
>And now he was... where, exactly? The slight elf pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He was on some sort of jungle floor, surrounded by wood debris. A plank there, broken piece of luggage here... with the ship nowhere to be found, and the wind carrying the overwhelming scent of smoke. It had to be somewhere upwind.
>Then how did he get here? Did something blow a hole in the hull, and he rolled out? That would explain the aching pain in his head. He sat up on his knees and pressed a hand to his wet forehead. Yeah, that was blood. That also explained the aching pain.
--! The journal!
>Where was it?! He hopped up to his feet and patted himself down. Boots, shirt, overcoat, shorts, earrings, rucksack--he slid the bag off his shoulder and pulled it open. The thick spellbook bound in fine hides and embellished in finer metals was still there, all nine hundred and seventy-two of its vellum pages secure.
Ahh... I'm so lucky...
>He really was. His first trip out of the monastery and he managed to live. Now, if only he could figure out where he was.
>Jungle surroundings, humidity that made his smallclothes stick to the insides of his thighs, heat that was sure to drain him if he didn't find a cool place soon... judging by their direction, and how long they had been traveling, he must be somewhere in the Ruby Isles.
>Which was great! Sorta. It had a decent enough population, which meant he was in only slight danger of death from overexposure before his journey even started. Nice! He would be better off letting that population find him than vice versa, though, so he had throw out some kind of signal.
>Cassie held a finely-manicured hand out in front of him. The humid air of the isle swirled between his fingers and caressed his palm. They curled into a fist, and the air dropped, settling back into its natural path.
Right, well, at least that still works.
>He looked through the broken canopy and towards the blue skies. The hunters would send out flares if they encountered troubles while high in the mountains, and the guard would be dispatched after them. That sorta thing was bound to be common here, as well, right?
...
>It wasn't like he had much of a choice.
>The snow-haired elf spread his arms straight out to his sides. He bent his knees, just as he was instructed, swung his arms around and brought them up like a conductor raising the orchestra for a crescendo. The wind responded in turn, whipping itself into a tall vortex that rose off the jungle floor and high into the sky. It ripped leaves off trees and even cracked a branch in its path and threw them high over the treetops. It was a spiraling column of debris that lasted for thirty seconds before Cassie fell back, unable to hold it any longer. The debris flew out in all directions as the wind dissipated.
O-oh, um...
>He looked around. The trees immediately nearby were missing half their leaves.
>The breeze blew through the area, rippling the flames from the various wreckages though not quite enough to put them out, while the Captain felt his beard get caught up in the wind. He'd flown these lands for a little while before and he'd come to know the environment a little bit, and there sure as hell weren't any geysers to be seen nearby. If there'd been a magma pool eruption they wouldn't be alive to check, so for the breeze to come out of no-where...
Jimmy, what the fuck is over there!?
Can't see it, Cap'n!
Then grow a pair of eyes, yer no good ta me blind!
Yes Cap'n!
>As the spindly little man hobbled up the rafters that weren't on fire, Captain Yeager tapped the housing of his large pistol impatiently. The hope was that those scum had died in the crash, but if not, well, there'd be hell to pay for dragging his flagship down. No-one leaves a black mark on his record and lives to tell the tale.
Oi see somethin', Cap'n!
'Bout bloody time, what's out there?
Pointy-eared lil' shit! Jus' o'er the starboard wreck!
POINTY-EARED!? >The captain exclaimed loudly, as if to show a distinct hatred of someone or something despite likely never having cared before. Until the expression quickly softened changed to one of curious confusion, the captain nervously scratching his head as he turned to the nearest pirate.
... Ferret, did we have anyone wi' pointy ears on board?
N-no... not from whut I 'member, Cap'n.
Ah, thought not. Best ta check these things. OI, JIMMY!
Yes, Cap'n!?
WHERE THE FUCK IS STRYKE!?
Behind ya, Cap'n!
He is? Oh.
>Turning around, the Captain tipped his hat up to clear his vision as he searched for his first mate, handily spotting the grizzled shot-gun toting man without much effort, despite not having noticed him at all for the last 10 minutes.
Thought you'd kicked the bucket fer a second, there. Can you go handle this point-eared problem? Turns out we didn't have anyone like that aboard. Unless Ferret's memory ain't what it should be. Tell ya what, go an' shoot the elf, an' if they've actually got the Mark on 'em, you can come back an' shoot Ferret fer bein' a useless sack o' codswallop.
>The gigantic, barrel chested man eyes his captain with the most unimpressed look he could muster, the cigar he was chomping on hanging loosely out of his mouth. He hefts the shotgun over his shoulder and looks over in the direction that the poor elfin bastard had been spotted
Ferret bein' useless or not, shooting our crew after a huge wreck like that seems like a dumb idea, or maybe you lost some brains along with that hat of yours.
>Still, despite the lip, the man wanders lazily in the direction of the spotted figure.
But whatever, I'll go and see what's up with this lost little tree hugger, then I'll see if I have to come back and shoot anyone. Don't go anywhere, will ya?
>With a deep chuckle at his own joke, 'Stryke' makes his way off of the wreckage and starts his slow, unerring path towards his target. He was good at that sort of thing.
>>41235958 >>41236538 >>41236693 >Seeing as much as hearing the large spiral of wind rise up from the wreckage of the enemy ships, Jessica grit her teeth and let her hands wander to her trusted magitek rifle. If any of the enemy where still alive then her life was in a lot more danger than she'd thought. Still, even if the twister came from the enemy's direction, there was still a chance that a few of her own men might have survived and if that was the case then surely they would follow suit to investigate whatever it was that had caused for the wind to rise.
>Making her way forward through the dense humid jungles of the hellhole she had crashed into, Jessica kept to the shadows and held her rifle close to her chest, her heart beating in time to the risk she was taking. It was immensely dangerous for her to investigate the enemy's situation all on her own but if even one of her men had managed to survive then she owed it to them to find out and bring them to safety.
>Upon arriving at the scene, Jessica surveyed the scene whilst keeping to the shadows of the trees and foliage, whatever was going on, she wouldn't make a move until she was sure she knew exactly what was going on.
Amonharoth “Cassie” Cassius-Illexus 28 Jan 2016 7:01:43 PM No.41238829>>41240797>>41241538
>>41236538 >>41236693 >>41238455 >The jungle silence was deafening.
>Really. It wasn't the quiet howl of the wind as it blew waves into plains of snow. It was the barely-there ambiance of rustling foliage and far-off mating calls. Even the monastery at supper time wasn't that noisy.
>Cassie eventually pushed himself to his feet, slipping the bag on as he did so. There didn't seem to be anyone--or anything--around, despite the noise. It was strange. Disturbing, even, to the point that he wasn't sure if he actually heard a twig crack or if it was his imagination.
H-huh?
>The elf turned. Pale blue eyes darted from shadow to ominous shadow. He never got any kind of scout training, he was "too smart" for that kind of thing, and he was beginning to regret it. He swallowed thickly. A soft breeze visibly twirled between the fingertips of his delicate hand, made intimidating by the hardened expression on his face.
Who's there? >he demanded in his best "I know what I'm doing" tone.
>Stryke ambles through the thicket, coming into very obvious view of the elf, a nonplussed expression on his face and the shotgun aimed squarely at his head. Stryke stops, taking his time to look down the barrel and properly line up his shot.
I'd be more concerned with what you're going to do instead of who I am...Now, you're gonna answer some questions, boyo. Depending on the answers, I might give you a head start before I fill you full of buckshot.
>The gigantic gun is pulled up, and Stryke's eyes narrow as he concentrates on having a good shot at his unfortunate target.
So...After a big fight between our ships and that other pile of junk, we all wreck and a flare goes up for aid...Now, I don't recall seeing you on our ship. So, what does that make you, huh?
>>41240797 >>41238829 >From the shadows of the underbrush, Jessica had seen the massive newcomer walk into the grove and listened intently to the conversation that unfolded between the pirate and the elf. From what she gathered of the pirate's speech, this elf was no member of the enemy's crew and was, at best, some bystander that managed to get caught up in these latest events. Though the fact that he was standing alone in a war-torn land in the middle of the jungle was more than a little curious in of itself.
. . .
>Aiming her own Magitek rifle in the large enemy pirate's direction, Jessica breathed slowly and looked down her weapon's sights, preparing herself for the moment when she'd have to pull the trigger. For now she would listen to what the elf had to say, find out his disposition, his priorities, and his story. If they lined up to something she understood and could sympathize with then she might come to his aid, and if not, she might just slip out the back before anyone knew she was there. Anyone with even a smidgen of thought in their skulls would know better than to get themselves wrapped up in a firefight they had nothing to do with. Vengeance, although sweet to the taste, wasn't something you could savor with the threat of imminent death bearing down on your back. How many more of his men where still alive? How far away where they? How much firepower where they packing? With these questions remaining an unknown blank, Gage weighted her options and considered leaving the lad to his death. Her men didn't save her life for her to throw it away on a kindness given to the first stranger she met.
>>41240797 >>41241538 >Cassie's breath catches in his throat. This guy was massive! He easily had a foot and a half on him in height and over a hundred pounds in weight. Not all humans were that huge, but as his experience thusfar with them consisted of a bunch of sailors, he was beginning to think they all had some kind of dwarf in them.
>He held up his hands innocently, palms out, in full view of the man.
I-I stowed away on a ship, I don't remember which one, when it sailed out of the city to the south of the Glae'Sharan Cwm... th-the big ice monastery with the elves? Yeah, I'm kinda from there, or, I was, and now I'm not really from anywhere? If that's the right word for it.
So, I don't want to do anything, um, bad, to you? I just want to get off this island a-and find some scholars, okay? I just need help translating a book, that's it!
>There was an almost unnoticeable tremble in his knees.
>A stowaway, huh? Well, that was interesting. Definitely something to needle Yaegar about later. Keep more of an eye on your stock, ya idiot.
Well, ain't that convenient? You just happened to be on a ship, but not involved at all in the fight. What a story.
>He even thought that the poor kid had any chance of doing something 'bad' to him. He was almost cute enough to keep. Of course, that was unlikely. Such a small ship they faced off against, no matter the damage it'd already done. There was no way he'd just 'happen' to be one of the stowaways. Which meant.
>Stryke puffs on the cigar, before grinning at the elf.
All right then, y'answered my question, like I asked. Now, I'll keep my end of the bargain too.
>He kept his aim at the young man, his face without remorse and his gun very, very large.
So, you get a head start. Better start running, I'm not the type to miss.