"We have all wondered about the origin of that mysterious underwater city,
Atlantis," began the storyteller. "It was founded centuries ago, then lost
and forgotten by even the gods- except for the Sea Goddess, for it became
her own when it sank beneath the waves into her kingdom. It can be found
west of Lacar, for Naroai drove them far from their destination while
herding them to her place of power. Listen, then, to the sad story of a
noblewoman of Cranan and those nearly doomed by her pride and arrogance."
~~~ Blood stained the decks of the two warring fleets. The pirates were motivated and skilled, but they had only three mages in their whole fleet, while the fleet of colonists had more than one hundred Chosen. Ragachi's children ran busily across the decks, grabbing at the bewildered souls of newly dead colonists and sailors to keep them from harm before they could be transported to the underworld. The colonists were children of Cranan, who were to settle on Oak Island. They had very few valuables on them. They had not stumbled upon some secret treasure cache of the pirates. They had not killed any of the pirates kin, had not forgotten to sacrifice to their goddess. There was one reason why the pirates were attacking, and one reason only: their goddess had ordered them to. For on one of the ships was Brianna of Amarath, leader of the fleet and daughter of a Duchess of Cranan. Brianna had always diligently prayed to Vashka and been properly humble. But she had been marked from birth by Vashka, for she was the great-great granddaughter of the God of Dark, Vashka's husband. While in her homeland of Cranan, her remaining godly blood protected her from any interference, even that of a goddess. But when she left Cranan, she was fair game for the jealous Vashka. The pirates had killed more than a hundred colonists, while only fifty of their number lay wounded. But for every colonist that fell, three more rose to take their place. The pirates were greatly outnumbered, and they knew that their mission was suicide. Had their goddess Vashka not given them an ultimatum, they would not even have attempted it. "Kill Brianna, daughter of Amarath, Chosen of War, or die trying." And they would, for when the Pirate Goddess issued an ultimatum through the Pirate Queen, no one dared disobey. Just as it was beginning to look as though the pointless slaughter would continue, with the pirates stubbornly trying to find and kill one noblewoman while battling triple their number of untrained but determined colonists, when Naroai, goddess of the sea, stepped in. She sent one of her great sea serpents, Thranath her own pet, to end the carnage. The serpent, finally unleashed from his orders not to kill humans, went to his work with a will. He chomped the pirates by the dozen, broke ships easily in twain with single swipes of his huge tail, dove beneath the water and capsized the boats. Between the colonists and the great snake, not a single pirate survived the battle. And in her godly paradise, Vashka howled in fury. Thranath was well pleased with himself. He turned to make sure that the fleet of colonists was safe, for this was what his mistress had instructed him to do: keep the children of Cranan safe. The colonists, fearing the great serpent and suspicious of anything they could not understand, attacked. One woman, in gleaming armor and with hair of gold, stood at the bow of the foremost ship, bow strung and arrow ready on the string. As the confused snake watched, she began to chant. When he saw her sword begin to glow blood red, the serpent understood and tried to flee, but it was too late. The enchanted arrow pierced the loyal creature's heart, killing him instantly. The foolish Crananians, frightened, began to celebrate. Brianna, for it was she who had killed Naroai's serpent, basked in their adoration. Only five people were not cheering. Two men, two women, and a young girl stood crying for the serpent's death. All wore the badge of the Chosen of Naroai. "Children of Naroai, why do you mourn?" cried the exuberant Brianna. The colonists grew tense, frightened, for while they admired their leader, she was not respected for her brains. Lornath was, and he was one of the five weepers. If he wept, doubtless he had good reason. "You have, Brianna, acted as rashly and as foolishly as ever has a human. Had you stopped for a mere instant, simply used your brains instead of your brawn, you would have realized that the serpent protected us from the pirate fleet. He should have been praised, not murdered! My mistress, the sea goddess Naroai, sent him to help us, for she saw our plight and was sympathetic. Her sympathy is gone now, and hatred has replaced it. You have replaced the wrath of one goddess for the blind hatred of a much more powerful one. Never anger the goddess of sea and sorrow when traveling on ships." Lornath paused, and it seemed he was listening. The presence of a goddess was felt, ever so slightly, by those near him, and all knew that she was speaking to her child. "What must we do?" inquired Brianna timidly. Her courage, though inexhaustible when it came to battles and wars, was expended quite quickly when dealing with the goddess of the sea. Lornath looked at her with an odd look of compassion in his eyes, then turned from her to Taka, her second-in-command. "You must sacrifice Brianna to Naroai and throw her body into the sea, for only then will the goddess be appeased. Fail to do this and she shall sink your entire fleet of ships." Taka looked at Brianna, who cried, "Never! I respect your patron goddess, but I shall not give her my life, and the others would not dare to contest the will of the daughter of the duchess of Amarath." And it was true, so no one spoke up to plead for their lives. "Then we five shall leave you now, for we shall be spared the wrath of our Lady." Lornath's voice softened. "I am sorry for you, for Naroai is also the goddess of sorrow and her sorrow is as deep and as wide as the sea." And with that Lornath and the other four of Naroai's children jumped off the boat. When people shouted and looked for their bodies in the water, they saw that the hand of their goddess had caught them before they hit the sea and was rapidly whisking them away to Cranan and safety. Barely were they out of sight when the skies began to darken and the seas grew wild. Shaking with fear, the colonists began the race to land, trying to outrun the goddess's boundless anger.
~~~ Blood stained the decks of the two warring fleets. The pirates were motivated and skilled, but they had only three mages in their whole fleet, while the fleet of colonists had more than one hundred Chosen. Ragachi's children ran busily across the decks, grabbing at the bewildered souls of newly dead colonists and sailors to keep them from harm before they could be transported to the underworld. The colonists were children of Cranan, who were to settle on Oak Island. They had very few valuables on them. They had not stumbled upon some secret treasure cache of the pirates. They had not killed any of the pirates kin, had not forgotten to sacrifice to their goddess. There was one reason why the pirates were attacking, and one reason only: their goddess had ordered them to. For on one of the ships was Brianna of Amarath, leader of the fleet and daughter of a Duchess of Cranan. Brianna had always diligently prayed to Vashka and been properly humble. But she had been marked from birth by Vashka, for she was the great-great granddaughter of the God of Dark, Vashka's husband. While in her homeland of Cranan, her remaining godly blood protected her from any interference, even that of a goddess. But when she left Cranan, she was fair game for the jealous Vashka. The pirates had killed more than a hundred colonists, while only fifty of their number lay wounded. But for every colonist that fell, three more rose to take their place. The pirates were greatly outnumbered, and they knew that their mission was suicide. Had their goddess Vashka not given them an ultimatum, they would not even have attempted it. "Kill Brianna, daughter of Amarath, Chosen of War, or die trying." And they would, for when the Pirate Goddess issued an ultimatum through the Pirate Queen, no one dared disobey. Just as it was beginning to look as though the pointless slaughter would continue, with the pirates stubbornly trying to find and kill one noblewoman while battling triple their number of untrained but determined colonists, when Naroai, goddess of the sea, stepped in. She sent one of her great sea serpents, Thranath her own pet, to end the carnage. The serpent, finally unleashed from his orders not to kill humans, went to his work with a will. He chomped the pirates by the dozen, broke ships easily in twain with single swipes of his huge tail, dove beneath the water and capsized the boats. Between the colonists and the great snake, not a single pirate survived the battle. And in her godly paradise, Vashka howled in fury. Thranath was well pleased with himself. He turned to make sure that the fleet of colonists was safe, for this was what his mistress had instructed him to do: keep the children of Cranan safe. The colonists, fearing the great serpent and suspicious of anything they could not understand, attacked. One woman, in gleaming armor and with hair of gold, stood at the bow of the foremost ship, bow strung and arrow ready on the string. As the confused snake watched, she began to chant. When he saw her sword begin to glow blood red, the serpent understood and tried to flee, but it was too late. The enchanted arrow pierced the loyal creature's heart, killing him instantly. The foolish Crananians, frightened, began to celebrate. Brianna, for it was she who had killed Naroai's serpent, basked in their adoration. Only five people were not cheering. Two men, two women, and a young girl stood crying for the serpent's death. All wore the badge of the Chosen of Naroai. "Children of Naroai, why do you mourn?" cried the exuberant Brianna. The colonists grew tense, frightened, for while they admired their leader, she was not respected for her brains. Lornath was, and he was one of the five weepers. If he wept, doubtless he had good reason. "You have, Brianna, acted as rashly and as foolishly as ever has a human. Had you stopped for a mere instant, simply used your brains instead of your brawn, you would have realized that the serpent protected us from the pirate fleet. He should have been praised, not murdered! My mistress, the sea goddess Naroai, sent him to help us, for she saw our plight and was sympathetic. Her sympathy is gone now, and hatred has replaced it. You have replaced the wrath of one goddess for the blind hatred of a much more powerful one. Never anger the goddess of sea and sorrow when traveling on ships." Lornath paused, and it seemed he was listening. The presence of a goddess was felt, ever so slightly, by those near him, and all knew that she was speaking to her child. "What must we do?" inquired Brianna timidly. Her courage, though inexhaustible when it came to battles and wars, was expended quite quickly when dealing with the goddess of the sea. Lornath looked at her with an odd look of compassion in his eyes, then turned from her to Taka, her second-in-command. "You must sacrifice Brianna to Naroai and throw her body into the sea, for only then will the goddess be appeased. Fail to do this and she shall sink your entire fleet of ships." Taka looked at Brianna, who cried, "Never! I respect your patron goddess, but I shall not give her my life, and the others would not dare to contest the will of the daughter of the duchess of Amarath." And it was true, so no one spoke up to plead for their lives. "Then we five shall leave you now, for we shall be spared the wrath of our Lady." Lornath's voice softened. "I am sorry for you, for Naroai is also the goddess of sorrow and her sorrow is as deep and as wide as the sea." And with that Lornath and the other four of Naroai's children jumped off the boat. When people shouted and looked for their bodies in the water, they saw that the hand of their goddess had caught them before they hit the sea and was rapidly whisking them away to Cranan and safety. Barely were they out of sight when the skies began to darken and the seas grew wild. Shaking with fear, the colonists began the race to land, trying to outrun the goddess's boundless anger.