Prologue: Opposing Currents (II)

Arthur could have sworn that he was sent to Davy Jones' locker. Yet, here he was, very much alive and breathing. He could still remember the vivid images of what had happened just not too long ago...

A pleasant tropical breeze sailed amongst the clear blue sky. Making their way towards the current, a flock of seagulls took the opportunity to spread their wings wide to accommodate the gentle wind. Feeling the cool breeze and basking in the sun's warmth, the flock seemed rather pleased as they happily chirped amongst each other.

As they continued their flight, Arthur could be seen smiling as he gazed at the chirpy gulls. It was a sunny day today, and the man was at peace at the sight of the world around him. Small islands of marvelous forest green could be seen from a distance amongst the myriad shades of the ocean waters ranging from crystal green to dark ocean blue.

As for the sky, creatures such as the gulls and the pelicans roamed freely presenting their dominance of the skies above the ocean waters. Occasionally, a bird would leave the flock, dove towards the waters' below and flew back up with a prize in its mouth. It was a very relaxing sight, that was, until he saw a dark shadow looming on the horizon.

Normally, it wouldn't have been a cause of concern as such shadows were made by the shade of passing clouds. But there were no such clouds present and the only possible answer would be some sort of creature capable of covering such a huge area.

Placing his thumb and finger to his lips, he drew a long breath and whistled. Even with the hustle and bustle on the two masted ship's deck, a man wearing a red and white gambeson, which had a symbol of a lion etched into it, heard the loud whistle and looked up.

"What seemeth to be the problem, Sir Schauman? Has't thee witnessed any particulars?"

His voice was strong and commanding, yet a soft and gentle timbre accompanied his words. The man atop the mast kept focusing on the dark shadow. If one were to look closer, they would see that the shadow was slightly moving.

"Nay' General. Forsooth, nary a ship about. Avast, it seems a storm be brewing instead."

The general had a confused look on his face. It was understandable as the clear blue sky was devoid of any clouds. Including the chirping gulls and the soft calm wind, it was very hard for him to believe that a storm was heading straight for them. He couldn't help but retort,

"Ye speak of mother nature's wrath? Nay' a dark cloud in sight for this clear of a day, what nonsense doth thou speak of?"

"Witness yond dark spot there, General?" pointed out Sir Schauman.

The general then made his way through the busy deck. Making it to the bow of the ship, he peered out towards the ocean water. There, he spotted the dark mass that the ship was slowly approaching.

"Dark spots like yond be a warning, either a nefarious sea creature say a Kraken or omens of storm or both for so mine grandfather hath told."

The general did a double take when he heard this from him. He couldn't believe that Sir Schauman had alerted him purely out of superstition, and yet, something did seem odd. Just like Sir Schauman, he could see that the dark mass was slowly moving. Furthermore, it was gradually getting bigger.

"Well, so thou say not then. A lore like that shall best be followed."

Turning around, the General shouted,

"Men! Avoid the dark spot over yonder, we shan't be trapped amongst danger!"

The crew, who stayed true to their years of training and experience, immediately complied to the commands of the general. Each had a separate task of fixing and re-fixing the sails of the ship. Only an experienced crew was capable of accomplishing this task in such a small amount of time and they all proved their worth today.

But, a problem soon occurred. The helmsman had been trying to turn the wheel of the ship. No matter what he did though, the wheel wouldn't budge which forced the ship to head continuously towards the dark silhouette. Not only that, they were moving at a faster rate as the sails of the ship had been fully opened. The helmsman couldn't help but panic as he quickly shouted towards the general.

"General, I am afraid that shan't be possible. Control of the lady hath been lost. We are hither straight for the course!"

The general, who had slightly doubted Arthur's words, now had a foreboding feeling that spread throughout his entire being.

"Alas, we be damned! Gather as many wind users to push us off course!"

As ordered, any wind magic users were called upon in the attempts to redirect the ship away from the dark shadow in the ocean. While Sir Schauman wasn't as adept in wind magic as his fellow knights and mages, his participation could still be crucial in moving the ship. As wind magic was poured upon the sails, he felt the ship move slightly away from the spot.

Tirelessly, they all increased the output in hopes of fully clearing away from the silhouette, but their endeavors were for naught. With all their effort, the ship still found itself in the dead center of the aforementioned dangerous phenomenon. Their world was instantly filled with silence. Gone were the happy cries of the gulls nor could the sound of crashing waves be heard. It was as if they had entered a world devoid of sound.

The ship then shuddered to a halt which threw everyone off their feet. Luckily no one was thrown off board, though the situation was looking more bleak.

"Blast it, man thy stations! Every ballista shall be manned! Mages support the engineers, and knights defend the side!"

The crew instantly got into their positions. Each engineer carefully looked out into the blackened waters, their hands ready to push the lever. As for the knights, they held a spear in their hands, hopeful that the range could help them fend off any would-be attackers. Arthur stayed upon the crows nest. As a scout, his job was to detect any signs of danger to the crew and support them as best as he could.

Soon, his magic detected something. At first, it was just a slight pressure. In an instant that pressure went from light to monstrous.

"Starboard! Shoot it!"

He took one of the javelins perched on the side of the mast and threw it at the ocean. A hard dull sound rang out followed by a roar of unimaginable proportion. Soon, the ship was hit from the side as if the ship was struck by a huge boulder fired from a catapult. When the ship finally stopped shaking, Arthur stared back down into the ocean only to find two glaring eyes twice the size of the ship disappearing into the deep.

Away from that, he also noticed that the ship was taking in water as a gash could be seen at the starboard side of the ship.

Damned sea dwelling monstrosity.

Sir Schauman shouted for the men to escape,

"Abandon the lady, the monster be after us!"

Post haste, the knight recklessly dove into the water, forgetting to take off his heavy armor. In doing so, the knight only guaranteed his inevitable death. Like an anchor, he sank into the depths of the bottomless ocean.

To his shock, he caught sight of a monster that bore no resemblance to the Kraken, Leviathan, nor of the dreaded Scylla. Whatever it was, the monster had already captured the ship in its thrall and one of its own appendages was trying to grab him as well. Only for it to miss as he called forth some wind to slice the approaching appendage. Thereby allowing his armor to carry him further into the depths of the black ocean.

The creature seemed to have let out an angry roar, as if upset that it had lost another one of its prey. The last thing the knight saw was the creature swimming away with its latest catch as the darkness of the ocean covered his entire vision…

For a while, his mind was plagued with monstrosities of the ocean. It all ended once he felt himself slowly awaken from his dreams. He couldn't help but groan as it felt as if he'd been run over by a wagon. He began to look around him until his gaze landed on the beautiful girl in front of him.