Festum Gladius Chapter 28
A stiff sea breeze scoured his bare flesh, carrying with it the tang of salt spray and brine. A hot sun burned his back, the tingle of peeling skin itching over his shoulders. Waves rocked his canoe as he paddled towards the horizon, bobbing the small wooden vessel as the swells passed. Far above a lone seabird coasted on widespread wings, soaring on air currents, flapping its wings less than once a minute. All in all it was a perfect day for sailing.
Novak kept his eyes on the bird as he paddled his dugout canoe after it. Here on the open ocean there were few navigational markers and ocean currents could easily send him leagues off course. All he had to steer by was the rhythm of his strokes and the angle of the sun in the sky. It had been a blessing to spy the bird, one of those drifting breeds who thought nothing of soaring a thousand leagues between islands to nest.
Novak's arms burned in a state that would have left a mortal quivering with exhaustion,but his Transhuman endurance would let him continue for hours more before he would even notice the pain. Far behind the lonely island he had been dropped upon sank below the horizon, as he raced ahead of his competitors. This had been the latest trial, to be dropped naked and alone on one island and devise a way to sail to another. A test of ingenuity and resourcefulness, to see how Astartes could cope without weapons or tools.
As he paddled Novak had time to consider this trial must have been dreamed up by Phalros. For most champions it would be vexing, many of them hailing from worlds without oceans or open water. Those born to worlds with high technology would also struggle and Novak amused himself with mental images of how Janus would be coping without tools. Doubtless the Steel Confessor would find it hard to construct a vessel but far harder to navigate the open ocean without any means of navigation.
Novak had found the task elementary. An island lad he had learned the basics of canoe building and sailing long before he had touched a bolter. A quick search of the island had granted him a collection of flint rocks. Sharpening them had left his hands bleeding but he had ignored the pain as he crafted a small chisel and an axe. A fallen bough had proved perfect for hollowing out into a canoe and thanks to some branches and tanglevine he had added an outrigger to provide stability. Twenty-four hours on the island had seen him construct a seaworthy vessel and as soon as the tide was right he had propelled himself out onto the open water. A swift start that he was certain placed him well ahead of his competitors. Now he just had to sail the open ocean and reach his goal.
As the hours crept by Novak had time to think upon recent events. The attack in the tomb had sown suspicion and outrage in great measure. Everybody had blamed everybody else, accusations flying thick and fast. Unfortunately despite the exchange of threats nobody had uncovered any proof of the attacker's identity. Careful sifting of the debris had revealed nothing incriminating, whoever the conspirators were they had proved supremely skilled at hiding their tracks.
The revelation of the serf's involvement had been disturbing and the implications dark. If the killers had subverted the Storm Herald's serfs then there was no telling how deep the rot had gone. Phalros, Nimodes and Jemiel had been outraged and vowed to uncover the extent of the plot. Unfortunately they hadn't seen fit to include Novak in their investigation. The Champion had been left to prepare for the next trial, fuming in ignorance and frustration. He'd begged to be included in the hunt but they had been adamant. Despite everything Cato Sicarius had demanded the Feast continue, it seemed no amount of bloodshed could sway him from his course. Admirable zeal, wilful blindness or malicious duplicity, Novak could not say.
Novak's parched mouth was starting to ache. He hadn't considered taking the time to locate water and store it for the journey. He had not drunk anything for twenty-four hours and had been exerting himself constantly throughout. Even a Space Marine needed water and his body's reserves were nearing their limits. Thankfully the horizon ahead was changing, a speck peaking over the line of blue. The destination was in sight and Novak had almost won.
He smiled smugly as he glanced behind, only to be shocked when he saw another boat closing on his rear. Under a triangular sail soared a lean boat, carried forward at great pace by the stiff breeze. Novak was shocked to see someone had constructed a faster vessel than his and his genhanced eyesight picked out an icon painted on the sail with blood: a lightning bolt. It was Chogai, the White Scar had surpassed Novak's efforts and was about to overtake him.
"Oh no you don't," Novak snarled as he doubled his rate of paddling. No matter that reaching the island first gave no rewards, only the last to arrive would be eliminated, Novak hadn't gone to all this trouble only to finish second. He furiously paddled, propelling his boat across the ocean as fast as he was able. The island grew from a speck into a blob but was sure Chogai would reach it first. Faster he paddled, seeking more speed but then his canoe hit something under the water.
Novak lurched as he was thrown to the side and he cried, "Frak!" He threw himself to the side, peering into the water in fear he had struck a reef, yet he saw something far more surprising. Coasting just under the water was a red back, topped with a fin. It was a fish, twice as long as his boat and with many fins lining its back. A wide mouth and black eyes fronted its face and its maw was filled with fronds that sifted the ocean for plankton.
"A Reddra, here?" Novak mused, "But' they're artic fish… they don't come into warm waters…" He froze mid-sentence as he saw more of them, surrounding his boat in all directions. Far more than one stray fish out of its environment, an entire shoal of them in totally the wrong part of the planet. Yet that wasn't the root of his worry, for he knew something about this species, something every native of Lujan knew to fear. The Reddra was the chief prey of Lujan II's apex predator, a sea-serpent feared by all sailors, the dreaded Morgawr.
Barely had Novak finished the thought when something rose from the depths. A wide circle arose vertically from the deeps, a maw large enough to swallow a boat whole lined with razor-sharp teeth. The shoal of Reddra scattered but not fast enough as the maw curved after them, snatching a trio of the large fish in its jaws and snapping shut. Blood stained the sea as the Morgawr devoured its prey, the large head breaking the surface for a moment.
Novak's jaw fell as he beheld a triangular head thrice the size of his canoe break into the light, its jaws stained with blood and bones. Six eyes lined its brow, wide and black to drink light from the deepest part of the ocean. The head was fixed to a long sinuous neck, that reached far back to a smooth body propelled by a dozen fins and a whipcord tail: a sea-serpent straight out of the ancient tales.
Novak watched in horror as the head ploughed back into the water, spraying water high as his boat rocked violently. The Morgawr crashed back into the waves and swam deep but Novak wasn't assured. The Morgawr was feared by the people of Lujan II for its size and strength, but mostly for its fiercely territorial nature. It would hunt a ship across hundreds of leagues for no other reason other than to sink the intruder. Even metal hulls and roaring engines did not deter them once they sighted a rival. The only consolation being that it confined its breeding to the cold arctic waters of the poles.
Novak started furiously paddling, desperately trying to get away before it noticed him. His arms blurred as he pulled for all he was worth, eyes scouring the waters for the return of the creature. Yet even as he did so he knew its presence here was no coincidence. The Morgawr did not come into these warm climes by choice. Someone had lured it here; someone had transported it and provided prey to keep it in the area. The shadowy killers were striking again.
Suddenly Novak spied a wake coming right at him, the water bulging high as something huge passed right underneath the surface. Novak saw the Morgawr closing and knew it was too late to avoid contact, the sea-serpent had him in its sights. Something at the back of Novak's mind brayed for attention but he had no time to think as he snatched up his flint axe and threw it straight at the centre of the oncoming bow-wave. The shot was well-aimed and driven by Transhuman muscles but the mass of water deflected his shot and the axe merely clanged off a thick forehead as it barrelled towards him.
"Crap!" Novak yelled as he grabbed his paddle and furiously back-peddled. Under his urgings the canoe spun, swinging the bow about just as the Morgawr passed. The sea heaved under him, turning into a hillside and he slid helplessly down it. The waves spilled into his canoe, threatening to sink him and Novak had to furiously paddle to keep from capsizing as he yelled, "Crap, crap crap!"
The Morgawr barrelled past him, its swinging tail catching him a contemptuous blow as it tore on. The sea-serpent raced ahead and began to curve, its enormous bulk requiring a long turning circle. Novak had a second to reorient himself and begin paddling, desperately trying to outpace the beast. He knew it was pointless, the creature was born in the ocean and could outrun a ship with a proper engine, a paddle was no use compared to that. Yet he was out of options, he couldn't fight this thing and he couldn't hide. If he didn't get away he was going to be eaten.
The thought made his mind itch was with a faint recollection but before he could crystallise it the Morgawr came back. The rear of his canoe lifted as that bestial head broke the surface, teeth as long as his leg looming over him. Novak had split second to throw his weight left, tilting his boat sharply as the sea-serpent bit down. A crash of thunder, a spray of hot breath in his eyes and the sound of wood splintering was all he knew as the Morgawr bit off the outrigger and cleaved it from his vessel.
"Argh!" Novak yelled as he was sent spinning like a leaf and the beast tore on, roaring in frustration. The sea sloshed into the bottom and Novak was forced to stoop and cup his broad hands like a shovel as he bailed water. He had no time to look but knew the Morgawr would be running out for a final pass, coming back to finish him off. He bailed for all he was worth as he snarled, "Emperor Wept, I haven't sailed the stars and fought the filth of the warp only to die in the jaws of a damned fish!"
He looked up and saw the Morgawr bearing down, its eyes visible under the bow wave of its coming. It was determined to end this chase once and for all. It would shatter the boat to kindling and eat the crewman as a last act of spite… Novak suddenly froze as the thought at the back of his mind crystallised. A tale told to him when he was still mortal, passed down from a grandfather whose face was a blur in his memory. Memories before ascension were hazy things but after a hundred years this tale arose in his mind, as clear as the day his grandfather told him. The Morgawr were fiercely territorial and would smash a ship for intruding in its domain but their typical prey was three times the size of man. They would sink any ship but would not eat the crew: humans were too small to eat and so were left in the endless ocean to drown.
Instantly Novak was moving, jumping over the side of his boat to crash headfirst into the water. The sea closed in and his nostrils strung with brine but with strong strokes he pulled away from his boat. One, two, three strokes he managed then the Morgawr swept past, its bulk tossing water aside as it slammed into his boat and destroyed it. Novak was swept away, sent tumbling head over heels in the water. The surface was lost to him as he sank deep, the pressure in his ears throbbing painfully. He sank far before his tumble ended, but he was not disorientated and righted himself and pulled for the air.
He broke the surface, drawing blessed air into his lungs with a gasp. All around him were bits of shattered wood, the remains of his boat but the Morgawr was not to be seen, it had moved off. Novak blessed his long-dead grandfather for his tales as he grabbed a shard of wood and clung to it like a life-ring. He had survived and could swim the rest of the way to the island. Relief filled him but then his blood ran cold. Not so far away the bulge of water that was the Morgawr was veering off, heading towards the swelling sail heading their way. Chogai, the sea-serpent was heading for the White Scar and he did not see the danger.
"Chogai! Get out of the boat!" Novak screamed as he waved an arm in the air, "Get out of your boat!" But he was too far away and his voice could not carry over the waves. The bump disappeared as the Morgawr dove deep then a minute later the sea exploded. Huge jaws broke the surface either side of the sailing boat, catching it in jaws that engulfed it whole. Novak saw the maw slam shut and heard wood shattering as rich, red blood ran down the jaws of the Morgawr. The White Scar hadn't known to jump from his boat, he had been killed along with its destruction.
Novak witnessed Chogai's death from afar and his hearts hardened. The unseen killers had claimed another victim. Chogai, whose spirit had been fair and his laughter quick, was no more. This crime would not go unavenged, Novak swore, for Chogai and all the others slain by this treachery he would root out the conspirators and rip them limb from limb. With the vow sealed in his hearts Novak began swimming for the distant island, heading towards the reckoning.