by Jeremy Dwyer
“It’s her power! She hates us! And she wants us to hear it and know it!” Akylas said.
Claudia also felt the powers of hatred descending upon them, and exercised her own powers, by the Elanatin Ocean waters she drank, to create a defensive emotional shield around herself and others.
“Better?” Claudia asked, knowing that those around her should have felt a noticeable improvement.
Before anyone could answer, however, the wheel of the ship was taken suddenly and the Everlasting Pain was plunged down to sea level.
Everyone on board was knocked off their feet.
“Ghosts!” Akantha screamed. She reached into the spirit world and saw the spirits of those who had died on these waters all around them. One had taken the wheel of the ship and brought it out of the air and down to the water.
Another sea serpent leaped out of the waters, although this one missed striking anyone.
“Can you get rid of them? Please tell me you can do more than see the ghosts!” Akylas said, looking at his sister, who was also his closest friend.
“No, dear brother! I’m about as useless as you right now!” Akantha said.
“The suns are aligning!” Torin said, sensing the irregular star movements.
“The inferno? Again?” Akylas asked, sensing the movements of the stars, as they aligned to intensify their heat.
“Yes. She’s bringing it! But how?” Farovaxen said, also sensing it.
“It’s that tiara. It still gives her power,” Akantha said.
“These are the Dead Waters. They don’t give any power,” Akylas said.
“We should have realized this! The Dead Waters don’t give any power…because they give every power!” Pradrock said, realizing that Victoria had the advantage, rather than a disadvantage.
“What are you talking about?” Claudia asked.
“The tiara takes the powers of whatever ocean she’s near and magnifies it. The Dead Waters Ocean can be anything she wants. And everything she wants. There’s emotion. There’s power over the animals. There’s the movement in the spirit world. There’s the star alignments. There’s darkness and cold,” Pradrock said.
“If she’s got every power, we’re dead!” Claudia said.
Pradrock drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean. He was energized, and his mind became calm, clear and more logical.
“We’re going to be cut to death by these hailstones!” Caroline said, referring to the frozen water crystals pelting all of them.
“No! They might just be the answer. We have to turn the lights on – around every corner. Bend the light, reflecting it off the crystals, until it fills the air, and send it back at her. Make it hot!” Pradrock said, looking to Va’Qileren.
Va’Qileren focused his light bending powers, orienting the light that he generated at different angles until he found a path for it to reflect through the falling ice crystals and circulate back at Victoria and the guards on board her ship. Redfire Sentinels were protectors of those who were lost at sea, not warriors…until now.
~~~
On board the Tidal Sovereign, Victoria felt the light shine back at her eyes, and she was burned and distracted. Her guards felt it too – both the dark scouts and the light scouts and the archers and swordfighters.
Victoria screamed “My eyes! They burn!” but she continued to hold her hands out to use the powers of the tiara. She was determined to bring its full powers against them all. More than once she had already endured the burning of her eyes that the amethyst had caused when Tanith Orenda demanded that she stare into it, so Victoria considered this latest pain to be within her ability to tolerate. The powers within her – and the demon watching over her – protected her from being harmed by the burning light, but considerable extra effort had to be made to act while enduring the pain.
The bright light that reflected through the ice crystals persisted longer, however. The pain and burning brightness made it very difficult to focus her mind or her eyes. The powers of darkness were within the tiara and, thereby, under her command. Yet, she did not gather the dark powers to be immediately around her so as to obscure the burning light, for then she would have counteracted the powers of light by which she could see her enemies.
Her dark scouts had their own powers of darkness, directly given by drinking the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean, and they tried to use the cloak of darkness to protect Victoria.
“No! I must not be covered in the darkness! I must have a clear view of the enemy to strike at them!” Victoria yelled at her own guards. Thus, they were unable to cloak her in a protective darkness, as they were bound to follow her orders.
~~~
On board the Persistent, the crew was likewise pelted with the ice crystals and shrouded in darkness and subjected to the sounds of the horrific screams which were unnerving.
Zoe used her powers given by the Lujladia Ocean waters to generate light. By this, she saw three (3) sea serpents – one being thirty-two (32) feet in length, the second thirty-five (35) feet in length and the third forty-three (43) feet in length – leap onto the deck of the ship. She shone her light on them and screamed: “Sea serpents!”
Joshua and Brant both readied swords in hand and struck fiercely, cutting the two (2) shorter sea serpents as quickly as they could, striking their eyes and necks and killing them.
Romana reached out and touched the largest of the sea serpents and commanded it – by the powers given to her by the Gradaken Ocean waters that she drank – to leap off of the ship.
Daven felt a wave of hatred descend over him, and fell to the ground.
Zoe noticed this and screamed: “Daven!”
“The hate! She hates us intensely!” Daven yelled.
By the power of the light that Zoe was generating, Judith was able to see what was happening, but could do nothing to stop it. She could only record it into her book, and Ovid did the same.
All the while, Judith remained holding hands in prayer with Lady Onora and Guillermo.
“The stars are moving into alignment! The inferno is returning!” Rayner yelled. He continued to sense their motions by his powers, but could not influence them.
Zoe waited for a perfect sighting on Victoria, and thought she had one, but the ice storm that pelted her made her miss. It was her first miss – ever.
Xal’Kativok/Xavier waited for an opportunity to escape this horrid battle, as he could not get a sighting on Victoria, and had no intention of placing himself in harm’s way when the others were so generously doing that for him. The danger far exceeded his own expectations, and he was not overly optimistic regarding the risks of warfare, so this was quite concerning.
Rayner stood back with Ovid and watched by the light that Zoe had generated.
Emerond had an idea, however. He exercised the powers that the Kazofen Ocean waters gave to him and began to orient the ice crystals that were pelting them. He could see well enough by the light that Zoe generated so that he knew which way to shape the crystals.
Emerond then molded the falling ice crystals into more rigid crystal formations as they touched his hands. As one ice crystal connected to another in a chain reaction, a canopy of ice quickly spread out and formed over the ship, and the pelting by the ice storm against their skin then ended. All new ice crystals that fell merely added to the thickness of the canopy, which stood at forty (40) feet in height and covered the deck of the Persistent. There were numerous gaps in the ice crystal canopy, however.
“She trapped us!” Brant yelled.
“No. The ice storm can’t hit us now! I formed that barrier from the ice crystals! Fire at her between the gaps!” Emerond said.
“Nice!” Zoe said, and she was able to focus on something even more important and not repeat her earlier miss. She readied her bow and waited for a perfect sighting on Victoria, unobstructed by the pelting of the ice storm.
Lady Onora then walked over to Daven and reached out her hand: “She hates you with immense power. That is why you fell. Nothi
ng within you is powerful enough to resist. The One True God loves you. Stand up and know that His Strength and His Love are what uplift.”
Daven felt a sudden relief from the hatred as he took Lady Onora’s hand, and he stood up and joined hands with her.
Lady Onora brought him back to Judith and Guillermo and the group of them joined hands in prayer, this time with Daven included, although he did not know what to believe. Romana rejoined them in prayer, as well, after sending the sea serpents away.
~~~
From the spirit world, Lavakara could see grand action that the others could not. Powerful spiritual beings moved about.
Ghosts – lesser spiritual beings which were the spirits of mortals who had once sailed these seas, and were now awakened by the powers of the tiara channeling the Dead Waters Ocean – came and approached the wheel of the Persistent. Lavakara engaged them in combat, and fended them off.
The Guardian Angels Nalvorel and Ultrael and Trinakorel had also gathered together nearby in the spirit world.
The Guardian Angel of the Chroniclers of the Oath, Ondothel, watched over the Chronicler, Ovid. He also protected the Chronicler, Judith, as well as Lady Onora, Romana, Guillermo and Daven, who were holding hands in prayer with her. An aura surrounded them and Lavakara could see that they were safe from many dangers.
Lavakara knew some of these beings from his considerable experience – spanning millennia – in the spirit world.
The trio of Nalvorel and Ultrael and Trinakorel moved too fast for Lavakara to watch their movements and they descended upon the demon, Matatirot. The demon was struck many blows in the spirit world, and screamed in such a way as only a demon could.
It was immensely painful to clearly hear, as Lavakara could do from his vantage point within the spirit world. He was forced to leave, and he reappeared in the material world on board the deck of the Persistent.
~~~
By the powers of the trio of Guardian Angels – who themselves served the Power of the One True God – the demon was banished from the world. Matatirot was sent far away, along with the spirits of all those – such as Captain Keallach – who were foolish enough to trade their souls to him in exchange for favors. They each shared in the demon’s exile and his dreadful suffering.
~~~
“You!” Zoe screamed as Lavakara appeared on the deck of the Persistent.
“The thief has arrived to steal once more!” Lady Onora said, looking upon Lavakara with extreme disapproval.
Joshua drew the Spirit Sword and pointed it toward Lavakara.
“I’m not here as your enemy!” Lavakara said.
“Nor are you here as an ally!” Joshua said.
“Break her neck and maybe I won’t break yours!” Brant said.
“We all will! Hit her now! The demon is gone!” Lavakara said. He could still sense the spirit world activities, even from the material world. Before he evaded the spiritual battlefield, he saw the magnitude of the powers assembled against the demon, and knew that the banishment was a foregone conclusion.
Immediately after he said that, Zoe got a perfect sighting on Victoria’s heart and released an arrow, followed by another into her neck and another into her forehead. All this happened before anyone could so much as swing a sword. None on board Victoria’s ship could stand in the way to guard her, as their own eyes were still burned and bothered by the light reflected around the haze of crystals.
~~~
On board the Tidal Sovereign, Victoria – who was now unprotected by the demonic powers of Matatirot – fell dead instantly from the three (3) arrows piercing her vitals. The powers of all waters that the tiara gave to her – by channeling the dead waters in all ways of her choosing – were still not enough to avoid this. Not even the robust health that these conferred on her could prevent her death, especially given the many wounds she had already sustained.
Her crew – their eyes still burning from the reflected light off of the ice crystals – were just barely able to see this and they fell down in tears, and were filled with dread fear.
The blue diamonds in the tiara, no longer connected to a living body, went dark.
The tempestuous waters calmed and the storm winds gave way to still air.
The sea serpents ended their attacks and the sky lit up and the air was warm again. As a result, the pellets of ice no longer fell.
The sounds of screams no longer filled the air and the aura of hatred ended.
The suns moved back onto their normal course and out of the deadly alignment.
The ghosts that had been stirred by the tiara’s powers returned to their spiritual repose.
~~~
On board the Persistent, Brant said: “All yours! Three (3) times over!”
“A win is a win. Commendable, archer,” Lavakara said, quite disappointed that a woman dealt three (3) blows before he could even deal one. Yet, he grudgingly accepted her utility. Still, he would only take the body of a warrior male, when the time came to replace the current one.
“The storm has ended!” Guillermo said, looking out to see the skies clearing and the waters and wind having calmed down.
Emerond exercised his powers once again, manipulating the trace ice crystals in the air and orienting them, and those that they touched, all the way out to the ice canopy that he had formed earlier. It quickly dissolved around them.
“No need for that anymore,” Emerond said.
“Best shot I’ve ever seen, even if it was too fast to see!” Rayner said, looking at Zoe.
“I saw it,” Judith said, writing the detailed battle events down in her book.
“As did I,” Ovid said, recording the events in his own book. Like Judith, he could see the fast moving actions easily.
“Your arrows are faster than any of my songs!” Daven said.
“Faster than the eye is the hand of the One True God, when He so wishes to act with swift justice,” Lady Onora said.
“Still, that’s the craziest battle I’ve ever seen. With all the power she had, and everything she survived before, I thought we’d have more of a fight to take her down at the end – not just some arrows,” Brant said.
“There was more of a fight. It just didn’t happen in this world,” Lavakara said.
“Guardian Angels are also warriors,” Lady Onora said, knowing what he meant.
“Call them what you will, holy woman. I watched as a trio of them gathered together and they fought and banished the demon. Without his protection, Victoria then succumbed to her mortal wounds. The arrows quickened it, ending the storm sooner,” Lavakara said.
“You were hiding yourself in the spirit world all this time. Why did you reveal yourself at this moment?” Lady Onora asked.
“Some battles are best left to others,” Lavakara said, not wishing to share too many details, and reveal any sort of vulnerability that he had.
“We still have a score to settle,” Brant said, and he approached Lavakara.
Joshua, still regarding Lavakara as a danger, held the Spirit Sword up and walked toward the warrior, who leaped away – physically, rather than through the spirit world – not wishing to be struck and marked by the unusual weapon.
“Know this: It was I who steered your ship during the song of enchantment. It was I who prevented you from sailing into the tempest by the call of that ballad of false love. Be not so quick to make an enemy unnecessarily,” Lavakara said.
Judith approached Lavakara and said: “Tell me everything you saw and know of this other battle you mentioned. Under the authority of the Oath, I insist.”
“Very well, Chronicler. It is time we had a long talk,” Lavakara said, preferring to spend time recounting his experiences rather than having a confrontation with anyone holding the Spirit Sword.
Joshua lowered the Spirit Sword, satisfied that he didn’t need to hasten the attack, and wouldn’t be allowed to do so at this moment. The Chronicler’s Oath was binding, even to Lavakara and Joshua, and they were obliged to conform. Whereas
the Oath forbade interference by a Chronicler, it also forbade interference against a Chronicler who was actively recording. Lavakara would be around for a while to tell his tales, and the battle could wait.
Lavakara began to recount his many experiences in the previous battles from his unique vantage point in the spirit world, and did so in excruciating detail and as slowly as he could, and Judith and Ovid both recorded the tales in their books.
“She’s dead. We won! That’s all I really care about,” Zoe said, turning to Brant.
“I believe we all owe you big time,” Brant said back to her, kissing her on the forehead and giving her a hug that was almost too tight, but she was used to his crushing strength, and enjoyed the warmth of the hug.
“We did win! I believe in us,” Daven said, not entirely convinced of the power of prayer.
“And I believe in far greater, as should you,” Lady Onora said, turning toward Daven.
~~~
From the darkness, a hidden power struck, suddenly and swiftly, killing all the former crew of the Tidal Sovereign. The Vague Blade of the Hidden Paladins dispatched several with each blow.
The tiara was struck by the Hidden Paladins. The particles of the tiara’s blue diamonds shattered with the strength of the blows of their Vague Blades, scattering the dust to the winds. The silver metallic band that held them together met the same fate. This was in contrast to the failure of the Hidden Paladins of long ago when they attempted to destroy it – newer, stronger blades had been forged…somehow.
The Hidden Paladins then left as suddenly and mysteriously as they came, under the cover of darkness, having remained unseen by anyone who did not possess the powers of light.
The Tidal Sovereign was left to float on the Dead Waters Ocean, with the bodies of the crew rotting on its deck for a short while.
Moments later, three (3) blue flames – the Torches of Majesty – descended from the sky onto the deck of the ship.
Blazer Luken looked at the bodies and said: “There is no one left to kill. Yet, the corpses of the filth offend me.”
Blazer Endrit then said: “The servants of the water demon have greatly offended the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings, who shall suffer them no more. Even their rotting remains should feel justice. They are not worthy of the light of the majestic suns shining down upon them.”
