Sinax stood at the docks, the soft slap of water against wood made the dark night seem almost tranquil. He stared out at the ships in the harbour, a shiver of dread running up his spine. A towering Black Ark, one of the ancient cities taken from their homeland, floated in the center of the bay. Most of the ships were not ships, so much as castles set upon the backs of gigantic serpents and other sea-going monstrosities. Finally, his eyes fell upon a black shape, gold lettering on its wooden side. A boat made of wood and steel. His ship, the Bane Breaker.

Swiftly, he set off down the dock, coming to where his boat rested, lazily shrugging against the pier. His left hand tightened around the hilt of his blood-soaked dagger as he stared up at it, spotting several watchmen upon the deck.

"Only have one option I guess," he said softly, his sharp Elven eyes raking the gunwales, counting the guards.

"Two I can see… I'm pretty sure they've got repeater crossbows," He thought, pulling the Iron Writ from his pocket. Slowly, doing his best to show his importance compared to the guards, he walked up the boarding ramp.

"Halt, civilian! State your business!" One of the soldiers shouted. Sinax could here metal clank across the deck of the ship as two more soldiers, armed with crossbows, moved into view. Sinax raised the Iron Writ above him, and spoke coldly, "I am Sinax Fardirge, Dreadlord under order of Lord Malekith. Take me to your captain. Now."

"Y-y-yes Sir!" the leader of the four shouted, stepping forwards, "Right this way, Lord Fardirge."

Sinax followed the man, nodding at the three left to continue their vigil on the deck. The man opened a door, and led Sinax into the belly of the ship. The halls were well lit, metal wall sconces shaped like serpents held glass orbs of magical fire. They went down two levels, the soldier announcing who was following him to anyone in the halls, and telling them to remove themselves from "Lord Fardirges'" presence. After several minutes they stopped outside a gold gilded, iron door. "Please, wait here, Sir. I'll announce your arrival to Lord Underdark," the soldier said, bowing respectfully before opening the door and stepping inside.

Sinax leaned against the wall, staring down at the magical Dagger of Hotek. A thin smile crossed his face as he realized he hadn't cleaned it of blood yet. The dagger itself looked like nothing more than an everyday dagger, but it was so much more. It gave him the ability to perceive the way things were going to happen moments before they did, and accelerated his movement so he could strike down anything nearby before they could touch him.

The door opened, and Sinax looked up to see the soldier stepping out of the room beyond, "The captain will see you now, Lord Fardirge."

Sinax merely nodded, not wasting any more time on the soldier as he stepped into the room, and was met with one of the most amazing examples of opulence he had ever seen. Gold and silver studded the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Pieces of furniture taken from across the world filled the room. A huge table made of a single slave of blue marble sat in the center of the room. Around the table a large group of what were obviously higher ranking soldier sat around it. Sinax counted at least three crossbowmen, two Corsairs, a group of Cold One knights, a Black Guard, a Black Rider, several Bolt thrower crewmen, and a Sorceress. At the far end of the table stood a thin Druchii in a magnificent suit of black, gold lined armour, a serpent skin cape draped around his shoulders, short cut black hair barely visible beneath his horned helmet.

"Lord Fardirge? I expected someone older and better dressed," the older Elf sneered, his crew laughing viciously for a second before he held up a hand to stop them. His eyes turned to steel as he asked, "Now tell me, Fardirge. Why are you here?"

Sinax dropped the Iron writ upon the marble table, sending a spider web of cracks across its surface. Softly, he said," Lord Malekith sent me here to take command of this ship and it's crew."

"I'll never hand it over to an upstart like you," Underdark said coldly, his right hand resting against the blade on his hip.

Sinax smiled sadly, "You never had that option."

Before anyone in the room could react, he moved, leaping onto the table, blade coming up. Before him Underdark began to draw his blade, but before he could strike the dagger slid through his throat, and Sinax landed on the opposite side of the table, standing directly behind Underdark.

"To bad really. I'm sure you'd have made a magnificent second in command. But orders are orders," Sinax said, turning back as the older elf's head rolled across the floor, "All of you… Get every soldier on this ship on the deck. I'll be up there in a moment, then I'll give more orders. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir," Several of the warriors said, filing out of the room. The sorceress was the last to leave, a cold smile on her lips as she closed the door.

Sinax stood alone in the room. He didn't move for a moment, and when he did it was to kneel down next to the dead elf. "I hope you can forgive me when we meet beyond," he said quietly, before standing once again, and walking to the back of the room where, and opening the closet there. Inside was a second suit of armour. It was very similar to the normal corsair attire of a sea-serpent skin cloak, metal breastplate and helm piece. However, this one had three rows of spikes out the front of it; the leather boots had plates of flexible metal across them, and huge bladed shoulder plates. The helmet was simple compared to other helmets. Within moments he had removed the suit from its rack and dressed himself in it. He glanced in a mirror on the wall and decided that his current look would do for commanding his soldiers. He grinned, and said quietly, "Lets do this."

He grabbed the sword which had been on Underdark's belt, and tied the scabbard to his own, holding his dagger in hand, and tying the Iron Writ to his belt next to the his new sword. He opened the door, glancing into the hall, seeing no one there. He walked out, not bothering to close the door behind him, and walking up the two flights to the door to the deck. He saw no one on the way, which was exactly as planned. He stared at the door for a second, before pushing it open and stepping out to look upon his troops. Over three hundred men and women stood upon the deck just below where he had exited. He stared out at them for a second, before shouting, "I am Sinax Fardirge, your new lord, by order of Lord Malekith. He has ordered that we set out immediately. At dawn, five hours from now, we set sail for far-off lands. Unit leaders and free warriors stay here. Everyone else, head below decks and get some rest."

He moved out of the way of the doorway, and watched as slowly but surely the deck cleared of people, as they filed below, preparing themselves for the journey ahead. He nodded and smiled at each one as they filed past.