The Fifth Empire of Man

by Rob J. Hayes

  “Tanner, I’ve got a child on the way with…”

  “Aye, that little squinty bitch you let swab ya deck. I know. What of it? You really think to pick her over my daughter? Over the chance to be king?”

  Keelin sighed. He really had no idea what to do. Aimi was pregnant, it was true, but they hadn’t been getting along for a long time. There was friction there that went deeper than a simple misunderstanding, and it went deeper than Keelin cheating on Aimi. He also had to admit that Elaina was Elaina, and he’d loved her for as long as he’d been a pirate.

  “Don’t mistake me, Stillwater,” Tanner continued. “I ain’t promising you to my daughter. Elaina will choose herself who she wants beside her. I’m saying you should ask, and I think she’ll take ya. Reckon you’ll both be better off with each other than without.”

  Keelin stared out at the setting sun and wished he had a bottle of rum to help him drown his thoughts.

  “Just remember, lad,” Tanner said. “I damn near raised you. Don’t ever expect me to bend a knee.”

  Chapter 72 - Starry Dawn

  The dead were given a sea burial en masse. Every ship still floating collected the bodies, both pirate and navy, and they were identified as best was possible. Names were noted, and the families of those that had them would be informed and paid for the sacrifice. Normally the bodies would have been wrapped in canvas and weighted, the best way to ensure they reached Rin’s court, but there were just too many. So many that Elaina was certain the dead outnumbered the living.

  Starry Dawn’s ceremony was brief. The bodies were lined up on the deck and she spoke a few words about what their sacrifice meant to the isles and how Rin was sure to take them. Then they were thrown overboard. No one stopped to watch the denizens of the deep come up to feed on the dead. Everyone heard it though.

  Once the ceremony was done, they broke out the rum and everyone drank more than a few measures. Elaina left her crew singing mournful shanties as she rowed Blu over to The Black Death. He was sullen and spiteful and might have tried to kill Elaina, but his hands were tied and the new captain of Ocean Deep accompanied them. Elaina left her brother with their father, and she wagered it was the last time she would ever see Tanner’s eldest son.

  When the sun rose on the next morning, the real work began. The sea had gone from calm to choppy, which made the job at hand that much harder. Sailors and soldiers alike were given a choice. They could join the Pirate Isles, join the crews of those they’d fought against, or they could return to their kingdoms.

  Many chose to join the pirates. They had before them a real opportunity for a new life, unfettered by their low status. In the Pirate Isles there was plenty of land and plenty of jobs, and Elaina felt her spirits soar as their ranks swelled.

  Officers were taken as prisoners, to be returned to their own people upon agreement to the cessation of hostilities. Everyone else returning to their own homes was packed aboard the worst and most rickety of the vessels still floating and told to be on their way.

  Elaina counted forty-four ships in her fleet by the time those wanting to return had been sent off. It was now official – the Pirate Isles had the largest and best-armed fleet of ships in the known world. There was simply nobody left to challenge them. But it wasn’t over, she knew that. Her people might crown her as queen, but there would be peace talks and negotiations before Sarth and the Five Kingdoms accepted the pirates as a nation of their own. They would, though, Elaina knew. She held all the cards now. She could form blockades around ports, lock down the shipping lanes. Her enemies had no option but to agree to her demands.

  Word had got around about the Fortune burning before the battle, and only a few of her crew had turned up. Elaina dared to hope that Drake was dead.

  The trip back to New Sev’relain was long and tedious despite the fair weather. Sharks and serpents and worse trailed them for a few days, hoping they would throw some more bodies overboard. Eventually even the most persistent of scavengers lost interest. Elaina took to imagining herself on a throne, maybe even with a crown.

  When their home port rose up from the horizon, it was clear they weren’t the first to arrive. Some of the ships crowding the bay were new, while others were pirates who had fled the battle or left before the main force. Starry Dawn had kept pace with both The Phoenix and The Black Death, but the other two slowed as they approached to let Elaina make land first. It was a small sign of respect, one that put a smile on her face as her ship docked in the seat of her new empire.

  Folk crowded the docks, from the piers to the sand and all the way back to the town proper. They came out in droves to see their new king and queen and hear of the battle that had finally secured their safety and freedom.

  Elaina dressed for the occasion, wearing her best and smartest breeches and blouse and a long, grand coat over the top, all black. Her hair was getting long, almost down to her shoulders, so she tied it back with a bandana and applied just a touch of dark powder to make her blue eyes stand out. Feeling she looked every bit the conquering pirate queen, she strolled down the gangplank to the waiting masses.

  Elaina had experienced notoriety before. This was different. The folk here didn’t just know her – they cheered for her, they celebrated her return. The noise was near deafening, and some folk even tried to touch her, almost as though by the mere act some of her good fortune might rub off on them. Through it all Elaina grinned and nodded and desperately tried not to reach for a weapon.

  “Where’s Drake?” an older lady, plump and red-faced, said in a booming voice.

  The crowd quietened to hear Elaina’s answer. “We don’t know,” she shouted. “The Fortune went down in the fight. He might have drowned.”

  The noise started up again; this time it seemed far less happy. Folk were muttering to each other, some sending furtive glances Elaina’s way. The atmosphere was changing, and she wasn’t the only one to feel it. Some of her crew followed her down the gangplank and stood at her back.

  Elaina took a deep breath and shouted over the crowd’s rumblings. “You all have likely heard that I married Drake. Queen of you and the isles. Well, that agreement went further than just looking pretty by Morrass’ side. I agreed to take on his dream should he fall in battle.”

  It was a bold-faced lie. Elaina had never made such an agreement with Drake, and the marriage had clearly been under some duress on both sides, but she’d see his dream through all the same, because it was the right thing to do. Besides, the good folk of the Pirate Isles wanted to hear it. They needed to hear it.

  “Drake might be gone, but I remain. We’ve won the battle, aye, and the rest of the war needs fighting with words, not swords. As queen, I’ll be visiting Sarth and the Five Kingdoms. I’ll make certain they realise they’re beaten and that if they ever bother us again, we’ll destroy them. I’ll make peace. A peace we can all prosper from.”

  Some of the crowd turned and walked away, looking anything but happy, but more stayed; some even began cheering again. The plump older lady stepped forward, a sceptical look on her face.

  “Do you really think you can do this in his stead?”

  Elaina smiled. “I’ve already made an alliance with the free cities, and it was my fleet, more than his, that won us our freedom. Aye, I can do it. I’ll do a better damned job than he ever could.”

  The woman chewed her lip for a moment before nodding and holding out her hand. “Name’s Breta. I sit on the council here. Brought folks’ problems to Drake when it was needed. I’d happily do the same for you.”

  Elaina took Breta’s hand and shook it. It seemed to be all the confirmation many of the crowd needed, although a few more people still slunk away. It didn’t matter – it was the support of the many Elaina needed, and she’d convince the others through her actions.

  Chapter 73 - The Phoenix

  Keelin watched Elaina stroll up the beach towards the town, surrounded by people wanting her opinion or her orders. It wasn’t too long ago that he’d been in that po
sition, with all the folk of New Sev’relain looking to him to solve their problems. He’d hated it then. It had seemed a real imposition when all he really wanted to do was sail the seas and find a way to exact his vengeance.

  It all seemed a bit foolish now. Keelin had devoted so much of his life to hunting down the Arbiter only to find he’d been dead for Rin knew how long. So much of his life wasted. Now he needed to decide what he wanted to do with however much remained. On the one hand he could pursue Elaina and the throne she now came with; on the other he could try to make things right with Aimi.

  Keelin sighed and leaned on the railing. “What do you think I should do?” he asked the figurehead. She was a glorious bird with wings of flame, hatching from naught but ashes. Rebirth from fire. Seemed a fitting name when he took the ship; after all, he’d set fire to his family home and then run away to become a pirate. It had seemed a romantic notion back then. The boy he’d been would never have expected to see so much blood, so much death.

  A man departing one of the nearby ships caught his eye. A man with long, lanky hair and a milky white eye. Keelin turned and ran for the gangplank.

  “I’m going ashore, Smithe,” he said as he ran past his new first mate, not waiting to hear a response.

  Keelin launched himself down the gangplank and hit the pier running, holding onto his cutlasses so they wouldn’t swing around too much and injure anyone nearby. He spotted his quarry making his way up to the town proper.

  Keelin caught up to the man under the shade of a lonely palm tree that dared to call the beach its home. “Prin…” he started, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath. “Princess.”

  “Aye?” Princess said mournfully. He turned to Keelin with a heavy sigh. “Thought that were you, Stillwater. Nice jog?”

  “Drake?” Keelin said, still breathing heavily in the close air.

  Princess’ shoulders slumped. He looked old and worn through. “Dead,” he said.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Bitch of an Arbiter put two shots in his chest then set fire to the ship. Most of the crew burned up. Me and Anders got a boat lowered before that damned Everfire… No idea what happened to her. Everything got a bit hectic.” Princess let out a loud sigh. “I hope she drowned. Or burned. I think I’d prefer burned, actually.”

  “Dead,” Keelin mused.

  “Aye,” Princess said. “Now if ya don’t mind, I’m gonna go drink myself unconscious in the tavern. Got picked up by the Freedom, and Captain Zhou don’t let a drop of booze onto his ship. Bastard.”

  Princess trudged away towards the town, leaving Keelin beneath the palm tree. After a few moments he realised someone was watching him, and he turned to find Aimi nearby. The bump of their child was starting to show beneath her blouse.

  “Hi,” Keelin said, and cursed himself for how foolish he sounded.

  “I wondered if you were gonna come see me,” Aimi said. “After a while I just thought, ‘Fuck it, I’ll take the first step.’”

  “How are you?” Keelin smiled weakly. “How’s the, um…”

  “I’m fine. Our child is fine. At least, as far as I can tell. It wriggles and kicks occasionally, makes it uncomfortable to do anything – and nothing.”

  Keelin nodded. “Good. I mean, not about the discomfort, but… good.”

  Aimi sighed. “So I hear we have a queen now. She doesn’t like me.”

  “It’s not you she doesn’t like.”

  “Yes, it is.” Aimi shook her head. She joined Keelin underneath the palm tree and sat down on the sand.

  She smelled of wood smoke and hard work. It was strange. Before, Aimi had always smelled of the sea.

  “Feel free to join me,” she said, a hard edge to her voice.

  Keelin laughed and did as he was bid. He struggled to think of something to say. Only a few months ago they’d spent hours at a time sitting in his cabin and talking of everything and nothing, and now he couldn’t think of a damned thing to say to her. He looked down at her midsection, at the bump. At his child. It was strange to think there was something living in there. Even stranger that he’d never even thought of it until now.

  “Oh, for the love of Rin,” Aimi said with a sigh. She reached over, grabbed hold of Keelin’s hand, and placed it on her belly.

  Keelin went rigid, and he wasn’t even sure why. He felt nothing. Only tight skin stretched over a rounded bump where once her stomach had been flat.

  “Um…”

  “It’s not moving at the moment,” Aimi said. She took her hand away and Keelin quickly withdrew his own. “I’ll let you know if it starts again.”

  “Good,” Keelin said, and they both fell silent. “You said her name over land.”

  Aimi sighed and sent him a withering stare over her shoulder. “I’m carrying a child conceived at sea, Keelin. She’s not about to smite me down for saying her name.”

  “That’s true, I suppose.” He was still trying to decide what to do, which course to take. Sometimes it was best to jump in with both feet, set your course and stick to it.

  “I think you should move back onto the ship,” he said, finally making a decision.

  “I think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Huh?”

  “I was born at sea, Keelin, you know that. I want our child to be born at sea as well. Just not aboard The Phoenix. I…” Aimi paused, frowning. “I don’t think we work together. If we did you wouldn’t have run off and fucked Queen Bitch. I wouldn’t have spent the last few months hating you.”

  Keelin stared towards the port, desperately trying to think of something to say. The problem was that Aimi was right, and he knew it. Both of them knew it.

  “You hate me?” he said.

  “No. Yes. Not any more. Maybe a bit, still. I certainly don’t love you, though.” She gave him a tired smile. “I like you well enough, Keelin – most of the time. I just think we should have left it at that.”

  Aimi laughed bitterly. “You know what I realised recently? When you fucked the queen, I wasn’t angry at her for trying to steal you. I was just angry at her for trying to steal something that was mine.”

  “So you were angry at her?” Keelin felt lost and confused.

  “I was angry at you too, Keelin.”

  He let out a quick laugh and decided to change the subject. “Where will you go?”

  “Point is, I was never really in it for you,” Aimi continued. “Was just using you, I guess. Looks like we’re both getting something out of it, at least.” She placed a hand on her belly.

  “I ain’t leaving the isles,” she said after a few moments. “Got something like a home here. Friends, at least. There’s plenty of ships that take on women. Might even start seeing a few more of us as captains now, eh?”

  Keelin nodded, and they were both silent for a while. “I’m sorry, Aimi,” he said eventually.

  “What for? If it’s for fucking the queen back in HwoyonDo, then apology accepted. Anything else… Well, we both knew what we were doing, Cap’n. Nothing else to apologise for.”

  Keelin laughed, and a moment later Aimi joined in. For a while it was just like things were the way they used to be. Only they weren’t.

  “Just don’t think this lets you off the hook,” she said, glaring at him. “Just ’cos you and me aren’t together don’t mean you don’t have some responsibility here. You put this child inside of me, and you’re fucking well gonna help raise it.”

  Chapter 74 - New Sev’relain

  “Drink to the fallen,” Princess shouted, and not for the first time that night.

  “We’ll be joining them soon.” A number of others took up the toast.

  Daimen didn’t join in the toast. It wasn’t that he thought that the folk who had died didn’t deserve remembering, didn’t deserve being toasted. It was that he knew Princess and Zothus and all the others over on that side of the tavern were toasting to one man in particular.

  “Someone should tell them bastards just why the fucker don’t need toasting,�
� he said sullenly.

  He was angry, and he had every right to be. Drake was being touted as a hero, a martyr to the pirates and their cause. Morrass would forever be known as the first king of the Pirate Isles despite never having sat a throne or worn a crown. To make matters worse, those same folk who thought Drake so mighty also looked at Daimen as though he were a traitor. As though he hadn’t saved them all by getting Admiral Wulfden to surrender.

  “Leave it be, Poole,” Tanner Black rumbled from his side of the table.

  Tanner had eschewed his normal court of sycophants and not-so-subtle guards, and Daimen had chosen to sit with him. They were far from friends, but Tanner was one of the few people who knew the secrets Daimen knew. They’d all agreed to keep the truth about Drake to themselves.

  “Folk deserve to know,” Daimen grumbled.

  “No, mate, they don’t,” Tanner said around a tankard of weak ale. “Bastard is dead. Something good came out of him, at least. Telling all of them now only serves to weaken the unity. Might even be enough to break us all apart again.”

  “When did you get so damned fucking reasonable?”

  Tanner turned a dark gaze on Daimen. “The moment my daughter claimed her rightful place. She’ll be queen, and I’d bet me ship that Stillwater’ll be king.” Tanner chuckled, and Daimen had the feeling the man was a little drunk. “I raised both of ’em myself. Taught ’em all they know.”

  Tanner gripped his mug of ale hard. “Drake is dead, and the kingdom he helped to build will be ruled by my descendants. Reckon that means I won, mate. And all I have to do is hold my peace. Reckon I can do that.”

  “Ah… fair enough.” Daimen knew better than to argue with Tanner Black over his family. No one knew what had happened to Blu. Elaina had delivered her brother to their father and named him a traitor. Since then the fate of Tanner’s eldest son was uncertain. Somehow Daimen doubted the man was dead. Tanner was a cruel bastard and no mistake, but even he might quibble at the act of killing his own children.