Chapter 1 – Some New Faces
Ryne lifted his head from the sand, his tear streaked face shimmering from the tiny rocks clinging to his sticky face. There was nothing he could do for his mother now. She was gone, and he had let that… thing… take her from him. Slowly, deliberately, he lifted himself out of the sand. If he was going to save his mother, he was going to have to save himself first, and that meant getting off this island.
Ryne tousled his hair to try and get the sand out of it. His usually platinum hair was now a light brown, and now that his hair was dry, all of it that stuck was now dropping into his eyes. He thought about putting his goggles on to keep the stuff out of his eyes, but once he got them out of his tangled hair, they were as dirty as him. With a heavy sigh, he squeezed them back onto his head, finding them of use at keeping his unruly hair out of his eyes.
His father had told him once before of how he'd been ship wreaked and stranded once before when he was seventeen, but that had been ages ago, before he had saved the world and become a living legend. Besides, Ryne was only sixteen, barely old enough to go on raids with his father, let alone survive alone in the wilderness.
He picked up a smooth stone and tossed it over the edge of the small island, watching fall into deep sky until it disappeared from view. Looking down, he could see the vortex that swirled above the remains of Soltis, and knew he hadn't been thrown all that far from shrine isle, although it was out of sight.
"Dad'll look for me…" He said reassuringly to himself, just to be able to hear a voice. "Then we'll find Mom, and kick the tails of whoever took her…"
That is if she's still alive…
Ryne tried to push that thought from his head, but it kept popping to the surface of his mind, haunting him until he fell into a fitful sleep…
"Jay! On deck now! Trouble on the port bow!" A gruff voice called from above deck.
Jaycera sighed and rolled over in her cot, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Why can't trouble ever wait for a decent hour of day…" She mumbled trying her best to slip something decent on before joining her brother Leos on deck.
Quickly, she ran up the stairs and opened the hatch to reveal her brother, swiping away at half a dozen loopers, who seemed to be enjoying their little game which seemed to consist of smacking him in the face, dodging the inevitable slice of a cutlass, and then ramming the back of his exposed head. Jay tried her best to hold back a laugh, though was hideously unsuccessful.
"This is your trouble?!" She said between fits of laughter.
"Yeah, funny for you, painful for me. Now would you help me out here?"
Jay strode calmly on deck, brushing her wavy raven hair out of her face. Standing about ten feet away from the playing loopers, she spread her feet apart and held her out in front of her, pointing toward her brothers "attackers". After a minute of deep concentration, she opened her eyes and with a loud commanding voice yelled the word "Pyri" And the area around Leos erupted into flame. The loopers, though not harmed, were sufficiently uneased and decided that their game was no longer fun. With a childish laughs and tongues stuck out, the retreated into the sky.
Jay laughed and walked over to her brother who was wincing and rubbing his head woefully. Teasingly, she reached up and tousled his dark hair, drawing a cry a pain from him and look that spoke of a quick death. Jay only rolled her eyes, and followed him into the cabin of the small ship, lovingly christened the Seventh Gigas.
"Want some help with those battle wounds?" Jay asked in mock innocence.
"No thanks Sis… I think this cut on my cheek'll make me look like Vyse." He said with a grin.
"Yeah, maybe… If looks, brains, and personality come with it then defiantly. By all means keep it."
Leos clutched his heart, pulling an imaginary arrow out of it, and holding onto the wall for support.
"I think I'll need that nursely touch now…" He said collapsing to the floor and letting his tongue flop out of his mouth.
"Dream on, loser."
Jaycera jumped briskly over the body of her "dead" older brother and made her way to the bridge, checking over the various gauges and trying to figure out where they were, without having to ask her brother. He probably wouldn't have giver her a straight answer anyhow…
"Windmill Isle." She heard him call from the floor.
"What?"
"We're going to Windmill Isle." He stated again. "We're dropping off some food spices to Dyne's group of gentlemen."
"Dyne? As in Vyse's father? The leader of the Blue Rouges of Pirate Isle? That Dyne?"
"Yeah, sure Sis. He needs spice too. He pays pretty well too…"
Jay snorted ruefully through her nose.
"Yeah, I'm sure the father of the Savior of Arcadia would be pretty well off. Aside from all the treasure he steals from other ships…"
Leos rolled his eyes
"Jay, Blue Rouges only steal from armed ships looking for trouble, and Black Pirates."
"Yeah, but where do you think the Black Pirates got it from…" Jay said, falling into silence.
It was an old argument of theirs. Jay felt that piracy in any manner or form was wrong, no matter whom you were stealing it from. Leos agreed with the Blue Rogue way of thinking. This division had plagued them ever since their parents had died. Sometimes she wondered if she's think the same as her brother if they hadn't died. They had been Blue Rogues themselves once. Before Leos came around and things just got too risky with children along. After that, they'd started a small shipping company that exported Yafutoman spices around Arcadia. That is, until their ship was attacked by Black Pirates…
"Sis, you gotta stop that…" She heard her brother say softly, who was now at the wheel.
"Stop what?" She said, trying to sound oblivious.
"Zoning out. Crawling into that dark corner of your mind, and wondering "what if". It's not going to do anything but depress you, and distract you from your work."
"Jeez, sorry Captain." Jay said sarcastically as she could, trying to lighten her mood. "I'll ask permission next time."
"You better. Next time I'll throw you off for insubordination."
Dyne bit his lip uncomfortably. I'm getting too old for this, he thought to himself. He could see his son's scarred face inches from his, his view obstructed by the silver gleam of their swords, but he could tell his son was grinning by the gleam in his eye.
"Tied yet, old man?" Vyse's voice mocked.
"I'm as stubborn as you are Kid, and you know it."
Vyse smiled and pushed harder on his cutlass, trying to increase the distance between them, but his smile quickly vanished as his father actually pulled his blade away from the embrace and stepped back from the stumbling pirate. One swift kick to the rear brought the younger man's face to the dirt. Dyne let out a hearty laugh as he tried to help his son up, but instead only got a grunt and a shove backward.
"I can do it…" Vyse grumbled, his pride wounded.
"Well at least that pretty wife of yours didn't see it." Dyne said still laughing. "It'd ruin her Savior of Arcadia image of you."
"Naw, I'd ruin Ry's image of me more…" Vyse said softly, thinking of his young son, "Hey, I just realized something… You two have the same hair color!"
"Yeah, but I'm about 50 years older. Makes all the difference in the world." Dyne said, taking the "old man" crack better than Vyse had hoped. "Where is the boy anyhow?"
"With Fina at Shine Isle." Vyse said without hesitation.
"I thought they left last night."
"They did. Sometimes it takes her a long time…" Vyse said, his voice trailing off into the distance. "Anyway, they should be getting back soon. It's no time to worry yet."
A loud, piercing sound filled the underground cavern of Pirates Isle, and Father and Son ran to the surface in unison, both wondering what was going on.
"Sir, ship approaching!" Dyne's new first mate Halden from the lookout point. "Small sail boat sir, are we expecting company?"
Dyne rubbed the small amount of white hair he'd allowed to grow on his chin.
"Well, yeah, we are expecting Ryne and Fina home any time now."
"Sorry, sir, It's not the Sorrow. It seems to be a cargo ship sir."
Ryne lifted his head from the sand, his tear streaked face shimmering from the tiny rocks clinging to his sticky face. There was nothing he could do for his mother now. She was gone, and he had let that… thing… take her from him. Slowly, deliberately, he lifted himself out of the sand. If he was going to save his mother, he was going to have to save himself first, and that meant getting off this island.
Ryne tousled his hair to try and get the sand out of it. His usually platinum hair was now a light brown, and now that his hair was dry, all of it that stuck was now dropping into his eyes. He thought about putting his goggles on to keep the stuff out of his eyes, but once he got them out of his tangled hair, they were as dirty as him. With a heavy sigh, he squeezed them back onto his head, finding them of use at keeping his unruly hair out of his eyes.
His father had told him once before of how he'd been ship wreaked and stranded once before when he was seventeen, but that had been ages ago, before he had saved the world and become a living legend. Besides, Ryne was only sixteen, barely old enough to go on raids with his father, let alone survive alone in the wilderness.
He picked up a smooth stone and tossed it over the edge of the small island, watching fall into deep sky until it disappeared from view. Looking down, he could see the vortex that swirled above the remains of Soltis, and knew he hadn't been thrown all that far from shrine isle, although it was out of sight.
"Dad'll look for me…" He said reassuringly to himself, just to be able to hear a voice. "Then we'll find Mom, and kick the tails of whoever took her…"
That is if she's still alive…
Ryne tried to push that thought from his head, but it kept popping to the surface of his mind, haunting him until he fell into a fitful sleep…
"Jay! On deck now! Trouble on the port bow!" A gruff voice called from above deck.
Jaycera sighed and rolled over in her cot, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Why can't trouble ever wait for a decent hour of day…" She mumbled trying her best to slip something decent on before joining her brother Leos on deck.
Quickly, she ran up the stairs and opened the hatch to reveal her brother, swiping away at half a dozen loopers, who seemed to be enjoying their little game which seemed to consist of smacking him in the face, dodging the inevitable slice of a cutlass, and then ramming the back of his exposed head. Jay tried her best to hold back a laugh, though was hideously unsuccessful.
"This is your trouble?!" She said between fits of laughter.
"Yeah, funny for you, painful for me. Now would you help me out here?"
Jay strode calmly on deck, brushing her wavy raven hair out of her face. Standing about ten feet away from the playing loopers, she spread her feet apart and held her out in front of her, pointing toward her brothers "attackers". After a minute of deep concentration, she opened her eyes and with a loud commanding voice yelled the word "Pyri" And the area around Leos erupted into flame. The loopers, though not harmed, were sufficiently uneased and decided that their game was no longer fun. With a childish laughs and tongues stuck out, the retreated into the sky.
Jay laughed and walked over to her brother who was wincing and rubbing his head woefully. Teasingly, she reached up and tousled his dark hair, drawing a cry a pain from him and look that spoke of a quick death. Jay only rolled her eyes, and followed him into the cabin of the small ship, lovingly christened the Seventh Gigas.
"Want some help with those battle wounds?" Jay asked in mock innocence.
"No thanks Sis… I think this cut on my cheek'll make me look like Vyse." He said with a grin.
"Yeah, maybe… If looks, brains, and personality come with it then defiantly. By all means keep it."
Leos clutched his heart, pulling an imaginary arrow out of it, and holding onto the wall for support.
"I think I'll need that nursely touch now…" He said collapsing to the floor and letting his tongue flop out of his mouth.
"Dream on, loser."
Jaycera jumped briskly over the body of her "dead" older brother and made her way to the bridge, checking over the various gauges and trying to figure out where they were, without having to ask her brother. He probably wouldn't have giver her a straight answer anyhow…
"Windmill Isle." She heard him call from the floor.
"What?"
"We're going to Windmill Isle." He stated again. "We're dropping off some food spices to Dyne's group of gentlemen."
"Dyne? As in Vyse's father? The leader of the Blue Rouges of Pirate Isle? That Dyne?"
"Yeah, sure Sis. He needs spice too. He pays pretty well too…"
Jay snorted ruefully through her nose.
"Yeah, I'm sure the father of the Savior of Arcadia would be pretty well off. Aside from all the treasure he steals from other ships…"
Leos rolled his eyes
"Jay, Blue Rouges only steal from armed ships looking for trouble, and Black Pirates."
"Yeah, but where do you think the Black Pirates got it from…" Jay said, falling into silence.
It was an old argument of theirs. Jay felt that piracy in any manner or form was wrong, no matter whom you were stealing it from. Leos agreed with the Blue Rogue way of thinking. This division had plagued them ever since their parents had died. Sometimes she wondered if she's think the same as her brother if they hadn't died. They had been Blue Rogues themselves once. Before Leos came around and things just got too risky with children along. After that, they'd started a small shipping company that exported Yafutoman spices around Arcadia. That is, until their ship was attacked by Black Pirates…
"Sis, you gotta stop that…" She heard her brother say softly, who was now at the wheel.
"Stop what?" She said, trying to sound oblivious.
"Zoning out. Crawling into that dark corner of your mind, and wondering "what if". It's not going to do anything but depress you, and distract you from your work."
"Jeez, sorry Captain." Jay said sarcastically as she could, trying to lighten her mood. "I'll ask permission next time."
"You better. Next time I'll throw you off for insubordination."
Dyne bit his lip uncomfortably. I'm getting too old for this, he thought to himself. He could see his son's scarred face inches from his, his view obstructed by the silver gleam of their swords, but he could tell his son was grinning by the gleam in his eye.
"Tied yet, old man?" Vyse's voice mocked.
"I'm as stubborn as you are Kid, and you know it."
Vyse smiled and pushed harder on his cutlass, trying to increase the distance between them, but his smile quickly vanished as his father actually pulled his blade away from the embrace and stepped back from the stumbling pirate. One swift kick to the rear brought the younger man's face to the dirt. Dyne let out a hearty laugh as he tried to help his son up, but instead only got a grunt and a shove backward.
"I can do it…" Vyse grumbled, his pride wounded.
"Well at least that pretty wife of yours didn't see it." Dyne said still laughing. "It'd ruin her Savior of Arcadia image of you."
"Naw, I'd ruin Ry's image of me more…" Vyse said softly, thinking of his young son, "Hey, I just realized something… You two have the same hair color!"
"Yeah, but I'm about 50 years older. Makes all the difference in the world." Dyne said, taking the "old man" crack better than Vyse had hoped. "Where is the boy anyhow?"
"With Fina at Shine Isle." Vyse said without hesitation.
"I thought they left last night."
"They did. Sometimes it takes her a long time…" Vyse said, his voice trailing off into the distance. "Anyway, they should be getting back soon. It's no time to worry yet."
A loud, piercing sound filled the underground cavern of Pirates Isle, and Father and Son ran to the surface in unison, both wondering what was going on.
"Sir, ship approaching!" Dyne's new first mate Halden from the lookout point. "Small sail boat sir, are we expecting company?"
Dyne rubbed the small amount of white hair he'd allowed to grow on his chin.
"Well, yeah, we are expecting Ryne and Fina home any time now."
"Sorry, sir, It's not the Sorrow. It seems to be a cargo ship sir."