Mark of the one who reaves and kills

For over a month, the golden hind sailed across the universe, the grand river of souls they had passed by weeks ago still looming in the distance. They flew past floating rocks near a sun, the star burning bright red with immense power. They had to steer clear of it.

The world of the Djinns was getting closer. In a few days, they would reach it.

"Shouldn't we try to avoid those rocks? One of those hits us, we're goners," Amala said.

"It would take us probably an entire week if we tried to sail around them," Suomi explained.

"No worries, this vessel is small enough and easy enough to steer. We'll manage through those rocks with ease," Yosef reassured.

"Don't be too cocky," Joan warned.

"I'm not cocky. I'm cocksure," Yosef retorted with a grin.

They decided to fly through the rocks. As they were inside the asteroid field, they saw how large some of the stones were that were floating around. Many of them were the size of small villages, and if one hit them, they would certainly be destroyed.

"Steady now," Joan kept muttering.

"You afraid?" Yosef teased.

"Of hitting rocks? No. Of your steering? Extremely," Joan shot back.

They kept avoiding the large rocks, but as one floated out of the way, they saw wreckage floating in space. Bits of pieces of wreckage floated around, along with some dead beings.

"They didn't seem to have as much luck as we do? Not as capable a helmsman as me," Yosef said.

They flew close to it. The ship was of Phoenician design, a trireme used for trade. As they passed it, they saw a Phoenician, nailed by a spear onto the mast.

"They were not hit by a rock. They were attacked," Edward noted.

"By who?" Liana asked.

"Araknes....." Yosef said as they saw a symbol on the hull of the vessel.

A symbol depicting a ship with eight spider-like legs was drawn from blood onto the destroyed vessel.

"Who are the Araknes?" Joan asked.

"Araknes are a foul race of beings hailing from the Araknes heaven. Their society is cruel and borders the demons in terms of cruelty. They sail through the universe in an attempt to steal anything that isn't nailed down. They sail the universe with capable ships known as iron widows.

"If someone comes in between them and their desired fortune, they will kill any resistance without remorse. They also are the number one supplier of slaves to the dokkaebi. They were the ones who sold me to the dokkaebi Kilir. I hate them with all my being," Yosef said with great rage.

Yosef squeezed the steering wheel tightly. He clearly held a great hatred towards the Araknes, even more than towards the dokkaebi. No one asked what they did to him, as it wasn't their place, but it was clear that the experience was so painful that even he couldn't laugh it off.

"What is that symbol?" Amala asked.

"It's a way for them to honor their god. Strifa, the one who kills and reaves. God of all the corsairs and pirates. The most worshipped god of the Araknes," Yosef explained.

Strifa, the youngest and most revered god of the Araknes, was a force to be reckoned with throughout the universe. Her reputation as a merciless pirate goddess was well-known and many Araknes corsair captains would pray to her for her favor on their raids. If a captain had made a name for themselves and the promise of riches and loot was grand enough, Strifa would lend her power and lead thousands of iron widow ships to victory.

But those who dared to disappoint her, would face her wrath. Strifa's punishment was swift and merciless, she would tie the captain to her own flying fortress, the Stealer of Blood, and ram their ship while the crew was still aboard. This flying fortress was no ordinary ship, it was the first iron widow, a vessel that had a living being's soul bound to it.

Strifa had infused her own brother's soul into the flying fortress, making it the terror of the universe. With it, she had achieved the impossible, destroying a Phoenician pilgrimage of gold and killing one of their gods. This sent ripples of fear throughout the universe, as many feared Strifa would target their gods next.

"We need to be careful, the Araknes are not to be underestimated," Doreen warned.

"Agreed, we need to keep our guard up and be ready for anything," Edward added.

As they sailed through the asteroid field, they saw more and more signs of Araknes activity. They came across more wreckage and dead bodies, all bearing the mark of the Araknes.

"This is a way to get their god's attention?" Liana said in a terrified tone.

"No, that is not even all. That blood on the marks has been boiled with iron sand among it to make it smell even fowler," Gwon noticed because of his strong sense of smell.

"Let's be quiet. We don't know if they are still here," Doreen instructed.

The golden hind kept flying through the asteroid field. They were not that far from the edge of the floating rocks, many times you could almost touch one. As they were flying, they didn't notice a ship stalking them from a safe distance, behind the asteroids.