Thunder crashed.
Lightning laced through the skies, eerily illuminating the deck of a small but persistent merchant ship. On its rain-soaked decks scattered several members of a very small crew, each of which desperately tried to keep the ship afloat. It was, however, to no avail. The ship would sink, as only destiny would have it.
"Hoist the sails!" A female voice cried through the howling wind. "Lose all we can spare ta' lose! We can make it out 'a this if we try!"
Her words had been lost in the wind. Not a single member of her father's scantly assembled crew had heard her commands, or taken heart to them if they had. It was, after all, in the nature of a male to simply ignore any command given by a female. Forget that her entire life had been centered on her father's dingy merchant life, and forget that she knew more about the seas then most of them combined; because she was female her words meant nothing.
With an irritable huff, the woman leaned from the crow's nest in which she was perched, took firm hold of a conveniently placed rope, and jumped, landing safely on both feet with a small 'thud'. She'd be damned if she would let a crew of cutthroat pirates ruin her fathers trade. This trade, after all, meant his freedom. Soon his debt would be paid, and he would be freed. She was not going to let that be taken from him. Not now. Not after all the further they had come.
"HOIST THE SAILS!" She bellowed a second time, but yet again to no avail. This time, the woman's voice had been cut off by a sharp clap of thunder. There was a brilliant flash of lightning, and then all went black.
Thunder crashed.