Chapter 1: The High Seas

The moon was a sliver in the sky, barely giving off any light, and the clouds covered most of the stars, an advantage to the ship, Shadow. It glided across the sea barely able to be seen by the mermaids that popped up occasionally. Without much light in the sky and no lamps lit aboard the ship, The Shadow was true to its name. It was the Pirate ship that all other pirate ships feared, and its captain was the most feared man in any kingdom.

Captain Xavier, The Rogue Of The High Seas, stood at the helm of the Shadow, his captains hat covered his black hair, stopping it from blowing in the wind. His current quarry's lights shone on the horizon. Easy to spot. The captains usual scowl lightened a bit, knowing their nights adventure would begin soon. He adjusted his long jacket as the cold wind blew across his neck.

There were many rumours about Captain Xavier, but they were only told around a campfire. Some of the stories said he consorts with demons, others say he is a hell god, who feasts on the souls of the lost. And still there are others who say he is but a man, dangerous, definitely, but still just a man.

They were all wrong. He considered himself to be evil, after all, a man with his kind of power couldn't be otherwise, right? And although there were stories of him killing and pillaging, he tried to do good, those stories were just that. Stories told around a campfire to scare the listeners. They were spread by the kingdom’s leaders, most of the Kings and Queens were afraid of him. Not because he'd kill without mercy but because he knew the truth. Knowledge is true power.

“The merchant ship is just ahead cap'n” Ethyn said, breaking the captain out of his thoughts.

“Tell the lads not to overdo it with the canons this time, we wouldn't want to lose precious cargo again, would we?” Xavier’s voice was gravelly but soft as he spoke to his first mate. Ethyn smirked as he remembered the attack from a few nights ago, the ship was mostly intact, except for the hole in the cargo area. While the treasures were able to be saved, the food was all wasted. And food was the thing they always needed more of. They drew closer to the ship, using the brisk winds and resetting the sails to move them faster.

“Fire the warning shot!” The Captain yelled. The crew responded immediately, and the blast of cannon fire ripped through the night.

“Lower your sails and prepare to be boarded!” Captain Xavier bellowed to the other ship. The crew threw ropes to secure the two ships together, put their sabres between their teeth and boarded the other ship. As expected, the warning shots worked and most of the crew had jumped into the lifeboats and were rowing as fast as they could to get away, the crew that were left were not so lucky. They were bound and gagged and tied to the mast. The pirate crew quickly ransacked the place, taking everything off value and all of the food. As they all left the other ship Xavier looked over it, he closed his eyes and drew power from the world around him and, with a mumbled word, made sure that the ship would return to a safe harbour within two days.

“Will they be okay?” Ethyn asked quietly, the men thought that they were heartless, just abandoned people to drift and starve to death but Ethyn and Xavier couldn't do that.

“They'll be fine” Xavier replied, just as quiet.

Xavier headed into his quarters, as he sat down at his desk a message appeared in front of him.

I need a favour

⛰️⚓

5 pm 2 days

It would take them a day and a half to get to Skull Rock. He left the message on his deck and went to tell the crew.

Most of the crew were in the galley joking boisterously as they consumed their dinner.

“Good evening.” the captain spoke, loudly enough to be heard and with enough force to quieten down the men.

“Hello Captain” Roland said. He was the in charge of supplies and often spoke for the other men.

“We will be making Port at skull Rock in two days. We will only be docking a night, but you can all stay on land that night. Just remember not to get into too many fights.” The captain left the crew to their dinner and went to get a good night sleep.

~meanwhile ~

Dante struggled to keep warm. The rocking of the boat made his stomach roll, but that might have also been from fear. He was in a cell without a window, so he had no concept of time passing. The only light was at the opposite end of the hallway and it flickered a lot. He could occasionally hear voices from the other captives and was both thankful he was alone and incredibly lonely. He had no one around to reassure him or offer meagre comfort. Tears rolled down his face as he wished his big sister was there to give him a hug. He hated that he wished for that, because he wouldn’t want her to be subjected to whatever these people had planned. He only had his thin sleepwear on, and the only blanket was thin and scratchy. He heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him, so he sat in the darkest corner and wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to hide from whoever was coming. The man that came around the corner had dirty blond hair and cruel brown eyes. His clothes that hung from him were almost rags and his jacket had many holes. He glanced around the room, squinting in the poor light.

“Argh, there ya are laddie” the man said when he spotted Dante in the corner. Dante whimpered in fear.

“Didya think we forgot about ya? No such luck” the pirate cackled.

“We'll be changing ya location soon, so I'll send ya down some bathing water. Be sure to wash thoroughly.” Pirate cackled again as he walked away.

Dante curled up even more. He was frightened and cold and hungry and all he wanted was to go home.