"Captain Kyle Mordok, you are charged with the murder of Mariel Mordok, your wife, and this council finds you guilty. Your sentence is banishment from our island, never to return unless honor is restored."

Kyle looked down at his hands, bound in chains as they were. He knew what was coming, and part of him welcomed it. He would be given some ridiculous task, like slaying a dragon or something, that he would have to complete so that he could return. He didn't plan on wasting his time with it.

His wife had been murdered, yes, but he knew it was not his own doing. No one knew who was responsible, and that included himself, so he was the one charged with the crime. He wished he had time to find out who the real murderer was, but that opportunity was long gone.

Kyle felt the hands of a strong guard haul him out of the court building and down toward the shore. Near the docks, a small raft had been prepared for him with a few supplies. None of the workers or sailors paid him any mind, most turning their heads away from him.

As he stepped onto the raft and seated himself, a strong figure stood over him. It was one of the generals, one who he had served with for many years. The taller man leaned over him and spoke quietly.

"There's nothing I can do to help you, Kyle. You will be accepted back onto our island only if you can restore your honor, and the council has decided that this can only be done by ending the war between the Humans and the Keidran."

Kyle nodded. "I understand, sir." The general glanced behind him, indicating for Kyle to look that direction. What Kyle saw was a soldier, wearing the armor of a captain, standing amongst the crowd and watching them. He recognized the soldier as Tiberius Alaric, and he recognized the look of triumph on his face.

"He has been watching you from a distance since you were arrested. Are you thinking what I have been thinking?"

Kyle had known Alaric for a long time and was well aware that the other captain had hated him since they met. He nodded again. "I get your meaning, sir."

The general shrugged. "I can only promise you that I will try to find whoever is truly responsible for Mariel's death..."

Someone across the docks called out. "General Keiser! The king wishes to speak with you!" He sighed in irritation and stood, leaving without even glancing back.

Kyle looked back to where Alaric had been, only to see that he had moved. Before he could locate him again, a number of guards and workers shoved his raft off from the shore. He shook his head, giving up any hope he had that he could avenge his wife's death.

He slowly raised the small sail on his raft, then crossed his legs and watched as his home got farther and farther away. The wind picked up and pulled the raft North-East, so he figured he would end up somewhere near Tiger territory. After some hours passed, the Basitin islands where no longer visible. He decided at that point that he did not want to return. It was not worth it.

Then the wind changed, whipping the sail eastward. Kyle looked up at the sky, seeing dark storm clouds rolling in above him. He felt rain starting, which quickly turned into a heavy downpour. He tried to pull the sail down, but the wind blew his hair into his face so he couldn't see. A wave hit him and knocked him over, landing on his back. He became aware that his ear was in the water and pulled himself back. He reached toward the center of the raft for the mast. His hand touched his sword, so he grabbed it and clung to it, waving his other hand frantically trying to find the mast. When he finally found it, he wrapped his arm around it and held on for dear life just as another wave washed over him.

He reached up and pulled his now drenched hair out of his eyes and looked around him. The ocean was swelling up all around the raft, and the sky had transformed into a dark canopy of storm clouds. He knew it was just after midday, but it had become as dark as night. He tried to see if he could spot land, but the rain only got heavier and prevented him from seeing more than a few meters. Bright flashes that he could only guess were lightning struck all around, causing claps of thunder that nearly deafened him.

Due to the thunder, he never even heard the snapping and cracking from the mast as it broke. He fell onto his back, gasping for air, when another wave washed over him and slammed his head onto the wooden raft. He coughed and sputtered, trying to breathe. Then the raft hit something, knocking him over the side. His head connected with something hard and he blacked out.

Sea spray hit Kyle's face, waking him. He hauled himself up and coughed out some water, only to be hit in the face with another wave. This wave, thankfully, was a tiny benign one. He looked up to the clear blue sky above him, smiling as the sun shone down on him. He was lying on a stone shelf, just barely big enough to fit him, with the surface of the water only a foot down from the edge.

The raft was gone, but he still had his sword. It was looped through his belt, though he didn't particularly remember putting it there. His helmet was gone, as were the supplies he had been given. None of that mattered at the moment however, because he was still alive. He glanced up to see he was on the side of a large rock jutting straight out of the water and wondered how far down the ocean went, or if there was anything else connected to the rock.

The sound of splintering wood caught his attention. How he had missed it before, he would never know, but only a few meters away was the wooden hull of a ship. It had run into the rock, tearing a gaping hole in it's bow. He guessed the tide had then gone out, as the front half of the ship was rested on a larger rock ledge hidden just below the surface. It was stuck on a nearly forty-five degree angle, with it's nose sticking into the air.

The back half was a different story. The ship had cracked in half, though something held it together, leaving the back half almost completely submerged. When he looked closer, he could see that the back half was actually wedged between a smaller rocky outcropping and what the front half was on.

He was about to jump in the water and swim over when he noticed a fin in the water. Not wanting to become a shark's next meal, he began climbing over to the ship. He spotted a lower shelf that led almost directly to the hole in the ship's hull. He stepped down to the shelf, becoming aware that it was below sea level as salt water sloshed into his boots. He doubled his pace and quickly made it to the ship, climbing in through the hole.

Inside, the ship was dark and smelled foul. He made his way along the angled deck towards the stern, where sunlight flooded in through the crack. He saw a large spike of rock sticking straight through the floorboards where the ship had broken, guessing it had simultaneously broken the ship and held it together. His suspicion was confirmed when he noticed the tip of the spike had pierced the ceiling, which was now the back.

The spike itself formed a sort of walkway or bridge, being just above the water level. He walked out onto the rock and looked down into the back of the ship, which was now little more than a deep pool. What he saw below, however, shook him. He had expected a few things, like a giant hole perhaps, maybe a body or two floating or trapped under something.

There were bodies, but not one or two. There had to be at least a dozen of them, all Fox Keidran, chained to benches. Struggling to get over the horrible sight, he decided he needed to get the exact number. He placed his sword at the end of the spike and climbed into the water. Holding his breath, he pushed himself down. He counted, then recounted, coming up with a total of nineteen Keidran. He came to the conclusion that they were slaves, probably recently captured, and that this was a Human ship. He headed back to the surface, wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible.

He resurfaced, climbing up onto the rock and grabbing his sword, when his ears perked up at the sound of shouting from outside. He turned around, his eyes scanning for a place to hide. What he saw instead was two more benches. They were just ahead of the break in the hull, and there where chains hanging from them. Right in between the two benches stood another Fox Keidran, a low growl in his throat.

Kyle knew very little about Keidran, as he had never considered it something important to learn about, but he knew the yellow gleam in the eyes was a bad sign. He readied his sword as the Keidran advanced on him.

He held out his hand, cautioning the Keidran. "I'm trained to defend myself. If you attack me, you will die." He mentally chided himself, remembering that the Keidran had their own language and that he didn't know it.

He was about to change to speaking Human when the Keidran jumped at him. He angled his sword up, simply following instinct. There was the sound of flesh tearing and the Keidran stopped it's motion, impaled on the sword. The Keidran let out a low whimper before slumping forward.

Kyle grimaced and shoved the body off the sword. "I guess that makes twenty..."

He looked up and saw another Fox Keidran, this time a female, staring wide-eyed from the front of the ship. She backed away from him, tripping over something and falling down. She slid down the angled deck, landing on top of what he grimly realized was probably the corpse of one of her friends. She panicked and squealed, turning and trying to climb back up. He could hear her tearing up behind her begging for mercy in a language he didn't understand.

He tucked his sword into his belt and spoke softly in Human. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She seemed to understand Human, as she stopped trying to climb and turned around to face him. She was still obviously terrified. Her eyes darted from his sword to the dead Keidran, then back to the sword. He knew it didn't look like it, but he hoped she would realize he meant her no harm.

Still frightened, she choked back her tears and spoke. "It... it wasn't his fault. He was just scared and hurt. That's why he went feral."

Kyle nodded, knowing what trauma could do to someone. "I'm sorry. I really am." She covered her face with her hands, still sobbing. He held his hand out to her. "Come on. We can't stay here."

She looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face. She seemed to suddenly notice his hand, taking it cautiously but gratefully. She turned and pointed to a spot halfway up to the nose of the ship. "There's a ladder... but there's some dead Humans up there... the people who caught us."

He still didn't know why the Humans used Keidran as slaves, but his kind seemed perfectly content to sit back and watch from their island. He shook his head. "That's alright. They're dead, so they can't hurt you." A thought struck him. "Is there... land outside? Like an island?"

The look she gave him was filled with hopelessness. "It's not like any island I've ever heard of. It's just... like... a circle." She made a circular motion with her hand. "Like a ring of sand."

A ring of sand? This was something he had to see. "Alright... how many of you are there?"

"Five... four. We managed to get out of our chains after the ship crashed. Daniel... was trapped underwater with the others. He was the only one that managed to escape, but by then he had already gone feral."

He nodded, starting the climb towards the ladder. He helped her up onto the benches as he questioned her further. "So, what's your name?"

She nearly fell off the bench at his question, but he held her up. She stuttered at first, but eventually got it out. "I... I'm, uh, my... my name is Dawn."

He smiled at her. "Well Dawn, you and your friends have me to help you now. I'll make sure you're all safe." He turned back to the ladder on the wall and jumped to it, grabbing it and hanging on. He fell face first on the ground with a thud, but kept his hand clamped onto the wooden rung.

Below him, Dawn whimpered. "That looked painful. Are you okay?"

He laughed a bit. "Yeah, I'm fine. Climb up before I lose my grip."

"Climb up your back?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Well, uh..."

He sighed. "I can't hold on forever."

She finally complied, climbing up his back and up the ladder. He grunted and pulled himself up, climbing the ladder right behind her. He stopped and waited until she was at the top when her tail kept hitting him in the face.

She climbed out onto the deck and peered back down at him. "Charlie is up here with me. I'm going to try and explain what happened..." She trailed off a bit, then ducked out of sight.

Kyle grunted in response, though she was already gone. He finished the climb, noting that scaling a ladder that was on a forty-five degree angle was much harder than it looked. He pulled himself through the hatch at the top and grabbed onto the side of the ship to keep from sliding off and into the water. He was on the opposite side from where he had entered the ship, but was unable to remember what that side was actually called... he settled on calling it the left side.

On the sand below him, two Fox Keidran stared up at him. There was one boy and one girl, so he figured it was Dawn and her friend Charlie. After he determined that they where just going to stare at him, he began to climb up towards the nose of the ship. He glanced up and noticed two more Fox Keidran, realizing that these two were Dawn and Charlie instead.

He shook his head and muttered to himself in Basitin. "They really do look all the same."

Dawn blinked at him, aware that he had spoken, but obviously hadn't heard it well enough to know he wasn't speaking Human. She held up a rolled up piece of paper for him to see. When she spoke, she did so in Human. She had caught on right away that that was the only language they all knew. "We, uh, we found a map... if you think that can help us."

He climbed up beside her and took the map. "Thanks. I'll at least be able to guess where we are." He looked to the other Fox. "I take it you're Charlie then."

Charlie nodded, but Dawn was the one who spoke. She pointed out towards the ship's aft, or more towards where the ship's aft should have been. "There's something in the water..."

Kyle followed her finger, nearly dropping the map when he saw the entire island for the first time. It looked for all intents and purposes exactly like Dawn had described it. It was a sandbar that stuck just over a meter out of the water on average. Some spots were underwater while others where rather large mounds, but all the sand was a rusty reddish color. The whole thing looked around a kilometer in diameter, with rocky outcroppings every hundred or so meters along the ring. The rocks ranged from a few short stubby boulders that he would easily be able to scale to near monoliths that towered straight up hundreds of meters like pillars or spikes. One even looked like it had the claw of a scorpion on the top.

The center of the island wasn't anything more than a hole that had filled with water. He wondered how deep it actually was. All he could see was darkness, and various water creatures swimming around near the surface. He squinted his eyes and began to notice a few other things. The sand stood straight up so that the walls on the inside, and the outside from what he could see, where nearly vertical. Various corrals stuck out from the walls of sand, poking out of the water in some places almost like they were trying to catch ships that got washed into the ring.

Then there was something else. Far below everything else he could see, something massive was embedded in the wall of sand. It look like a ship, but he couldn't tell through so much water and what appeared to be dust and sediment from ages of submergence. It's silhouette was very defined, and very large, but it was too far down. The water pressure at that depth would kill anyone who tried to swim to it.

Charlie spoke then, catching Kyle off guard. "There's a storm coming."

Kyle looked up at the sky and groaned. Dark clouds were rolling in and would soon be over them. "Not another storm..." He had a job to do. "Dawn. Charlie. Get yourselves and the other two to the next bunch of rocks. We should be able to take shelter there, but we gotta get moving."

Before either Keidran could argue, Kyle vaulted over the side of the ship and onto the sand below. They were in for a rough night, and he wasn't about to let it get the better of him.