Legends of the Waker: Remnants of Old
Chapter XXXIII: Claustrophobia
-Link
I had to be out, -now-!
The walls of my coffin were tightening, pushing in on me. With every exhale that puffed into the cold air, a little of my life breathed out with it. I fought down the surging panic that struggled upward, making me want to kick, scream, whatever it took to be free or die. But those feelings were useless. I pushed the dread away and forced myself to think calmly.
I decided to break the lid. I'd worry about the six feet of dirt when I got to it. And claw my way if I had to. There was too much riding on my life for me to give in an inch.
But how to tear free? I wasn't sure I could control the power level of the Triforce. Remembering what I'd done to the face of the Helmacron King, I knew I could just as easily kill myself.
Then I had it.
I pulled out the boomerang and launched it at the closer of the coffin lid's two hinges. Pressing myself as deep into the soft satin that was impossible to find comforting, I sent it at the hinge over and over again until finally the metal folds snapped.
"Huzzah-OW!" My joy was cut short when I lost control of the weapon and it flew into my nose with a horrible crunch. Dead tired, out of air, and with blood gushing everywhere, now seemed as good a time as any for some of the strange soup I'd been given.
As I sipped at the soup, I began to laugh. I was trapped miles underground in a coffin, probably about to die, and I'd stopped for a lunch break.
Out of air. . .
My laughter grew strained, then finally choked and died, but despite it all, thanks to the soup, I felt GREAT. Dried blood was on my clothes, but my nose felt peachy again.
What had I been doing? Something about the boomerang? I was going to dip it in soup and eat it? No, no. I was going to. . .free myself! I had to be free! My addled mind felt the closing in, the narrowing, worse than ever now. I felt further exposed, further weakened. I pulled out the boomerang with the last of my strength and snapped the final hinge.
Naturally, it did no real good. I had to risk the Triforce. Before I got the chance, the ground swung away from under me.
As the bottom of the broken casket fell out from under, I flew between the top and bottom and sucked in grand, precious, wonderful, marvelous, beautiful, lovely air (Go strangle yourself for awhile and you'll get the idea). As my muddled brain revived, I saw that I was floating in large, bare dirt chamber, filled with dozens of odd, shuffling zombies, all of whom were armed with shovels and strange wooden contraptions.
-ReDeads-
"Hey! You're still alive!" A girl of about eleven was standing before me. She looked the same as all the other Hylians down here, but she was covered with dirt and skeletally thin. She wiped a hand absently on her ragged dress.
"Thanks for letting me know," I muttered, wondering what to do.
"You should be dead! Dampe didn't prepare me for this! Do me a favor and do yourself in, would you?"
"Er. . .maybe some other time. Could you take me to the exit?"
"Exit! I have deliveries to make! ReDead, attack!"
"With the crossbows!" she added when they pointed their shovels at me and shuffled a finger as if pulling a nonexistent trigger.
"So you wanna fight?" I said, adrenaline pumping, a grin playing at my face.
"You can't fight! You're unarmed! It's not fair!" she stamped her foot down, sending dust into the air.
"Yeah, to me. You've obviously never fought a Hero before," I added, still smiling. Starring at the 'crossbows' I pulled out my bow.
In battle, the ReDead weren't as pathetic as they looked. I flipped into the air as crossbow bolts filled the air, and leapt against a wall, the world tilting with me as I left gravity behind. I swooped up a few of the bolts that stuck in the wall around me and began firing them, pushing a hand into the dirt then pressing in on the string of my bow and pulling back.
Success! The arrow thudded into the chest of a ReDead. . . and had no effect at all. The girl laughed and more wooden rain fell from that side of the room. I stumbled over the coffin and lifted the lid as a shield.
Eventually, the storm ceased and I peaked over the edge. It was a solid mass of arrows, the pale wood no longer visible on the side.
"With the shovels! Go, my creatures! Let's see some brain matter ooze!"
I dodged around a shovel swing in midair and drove my sword deep into the chest of the nearest ReDead. Or tried to, which was as far as I got with no sword. I pulled out my bow and began firing point blank until the string snapped. Arrows grew from its face, but it stumbled on. Soon I was surrounded and dragged to the floor. A sea of brownish red tightened to suffocate. . .
-In the darkness, bring the light.-
I had only one trick left. As ReDead began to pile on top of me, always reaching, screaming, moaning, pulling at me. I pushed my right arm forward. The girl gasped as light shone from my arm. A blast of pure energy sent ReDead flying through the air. As burnt bodies fell about us, she took off running down a tiny side passage. I took to the air and gave chase.
Deeper into the darkness.
Chapter XXXIV: Shattered Joy
-Fado
I wasn't sure whether to be happy or disappointed. I was back! The one thing I'd never thought I'd have again. Home. But I'd failed. Mako and Holly still stood by my side, holding me up. I didn't feel like I'd slept so long. With a nod and a smile to my two friends, I stood on my own. We stood for a moment, unsure what to do. When I looked back at the two, they were Koroks again.
"The Great Deku Tree wishes to see you." A small Korok named Deya walked up and glared hatefully at me. Her red leaf almost shook with the prim Korok's disgust. Vaguely I remembered one night a long, long time ago, helping her gather her things as we crossed over to this island.
--"What makes you so cheerful?" she asked, looking up from her knees, belongings scattered everywhere.
"What's the alternative?" I returned with a grin. It's no use going through life letting everything upset you. Relax, and let things come as they will. Worry'll only get you gray hair."
"Kokiri don't age," she said, laughing.
"Sure they do! I could swear I've grown an inch in the last ten years."--
I smiled at the memory, but that Deya was gone. Her next words proved that. "What are smiling at, you Deku Nut? Are you going to say something, you moron?
"Great," I finally responded. "I need to see him too. Let's go."
"You will see the Great Deku Tree when he deigns to admit you. For now, you will wait."
Mako and Holly led me to a corner of the forest and we sat in silence. I lay back and grinned at the feel of the grass on my arms and neck, staring at a tiny sliver of starry sky through the trees, a sight I'd seen many times. But it was all with the faint tinge of the worry I usually managed to keep far off.
What could ever make the Deku Tree make me wait for an audience?
"He must be angrier than he's ever been." It wasn't until Mako responded that I realized I'd spoken aloud. I sat up and looked around. There were Koroks everywhere, watching us. Glaring. I could feel the hatred, the way I'd felt it from Ganondorf.
"I never expected this. I don't know what to do," I said, glad I had these two, who would never abandon me. Or hate me.
"Try to apologize," Holly said. Eager at the chance to break something down. And to tell someone what to do. "Be humble, but make sure you get us a boat. We have to carry on."
Before I could respond, Deya came back. "The Great Deku Tree will see you now."
I smiled cheerfully and followed. She swerved on me. "What wrong with you, you grinning lout? Don't you understand what you've done? You'll find out soon." Her curt mannerism faltered as she walked on. "I-I've never seen him like this," she whispered.
Nothing could have prepared me. Nothing. No strength of will, or cheery disposition, it was beyond me to resist.
"YOU UTTER FAILURE. YOU PATHETIC, DISGUSTING, WORTHLESS FOOL!" The Great Deku Tree wailed and roared out at me, a storm of words sending me crashing to my knees. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART, YOU MINDLESS FILTH!" Suddenly he spoke in a whisper. "The grinning idiot has returned, all now laugh at his stupidity."
And that's just what they did. A low, horrible chuckle overtook the forest as Koroks began to laugh and mock me. All but two. The Great Deku Tree began the hurricane again, spewing out everything he knew about me, in a torn twisted way. Every shame, every mistake, every failure. Nothing good. All that was good in my life was shoved in the corner. And the Koroks laughed, howling with it, shaking, falling out of trees.
On and on it went. Finally I managed to croak out a single word.
". . .Why?"
"YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW? How like you. Now to make sure you understand just what you did. Ganondorf has succeeded in breaking the Master Sword. In just a few short years, all the world will be blanketed by his darkness!"
I refused to be crushed so easily. I felt broken open by this outpouring of pure hatred, but I couldn't give in. "Please. Just give me another chance. I will defeat him."
"Defeat him? You? You sickening scum. You keese, you moblin. You friend of evil. Of Ganondorf. Go hand him your sword why don't you? We know he already owns it."
"I would never betray my frie-"
"YOU ALREADY HAVE!" I fell backward as the Great Deku Tree began to turn black with anger. Dark patches stretched across his bark, and his body began to swell strangely. "YOU'VE KILLED US ALL, YOU'VE ENDED FREEDOM. ENJOY YOUR SLAVERY." Then as a parting shot, "WELCOME HOME."
With that, The Great Deku Tree exploded. Massive chunks of wood went soaring into the air and fell as dust. Koroks became piles of ash. Even my friends. They were gone. Even they, my last reserve, my last place to turn. There was nothing left. I was shattered joy.
I looked up at the sky, the trees, listened to the distant sound of waves. "Take good care of it, Ganondorf," I whispred, drawing my sword and driving it into my heart.
Chapter XXXV: Into the Sky
-Medli
I crouched low and glanced around the corner. The fading sun set everything in strange colors. The canon fire had finally stopped. Every charge and maneuver had failed. The ship seemed to never run out of ammunitions. Shiek, two Scrubs, and a friend of Shiek's named Sasuke awaited my word. We were on orders now to get as close as possible and look for a means of bringing the pirates' ship down. Already, after just a day and half of fighting, much of the city was a smoldering ruin.
"Quickly, quietly," I whispered, choking down on my fear and gave the signal to move around the corner, down the cobblestone street to the next safe point. As we moved a voice cried out.
"Villagers, HO!" A burst of thunder sent the nearest house into a shower of massive splinters. We were sideswiped by the debris and pushed into a dank alley.
"Oh, no. No, no, no." A massive shard of wood seemed to be growing from Troll, one of the Deku. Her brother Mel was leaning over her side, whispering over and over again. He reached out and pressed hand to her face, and suddenly a glow came out of his palm.
I wiped grimy sweat off my forehead and leaned forward. A faint shadow of a strange terror hung over him. "What are you doing to her?" I asked.
"I'm absorbing her consc-" Another blast rocked the area cutting off his words. They knew where we were. My breathing quickened. We could die at any moment. It was some time before I could think, but I had to do something fast.
"I have a plan. I'm sorry, Mel, but we need your sister's body. Is it okay-"
"She won't mind. In fact, if it will save us, she expects us to."
I nodded. "Shiek. Sent her out into the street with a blast of wind. When they begin focusing on her, everyone slip down to the beach, to close for them to hit.
A breeze brushed my feathers and before I knew it we were scrambling for the sand, more explosions rushing around us. I stopped, grasping for air, right near the edge of the ship. They were docked right on the sand. Strange, but definitely good for us. Shiek and Mel were soon standing at my side, but Sasuke was nowhere to be found. I looked up at the ship and was surprised to see him sneaking up the side on a rope ladder.
"Is he insane?" I whispered, fear knotting and quieting my voice.
"No," Shiek responded, "If that female pirate bossing them around is killed, the rest might give in. Let's follow him."
I took a glance up at the mountain where Laruto was planning her next move. I gasped when I saw the remnant of the villagers massing together. "What's she planning?" I whispered.
"Medli! Make a decision!" Shiek whispered fiercely. "Sasuke needs our help."
"You're right. After him."
After climbing the ladder, I cast around uneasily, expecting a pirate to call out and for us to be captured and executed. The boy was nowhere to be found. Shiek and Mel were glancing about to. I guessed all the pirates save the lookout were down in the canon chambers. I nodded to the two and we dashed for the doorway to the lower decks.
Suddenly the door swung open and we found ourselves face to face with the girl pirate.
But. . .
She was a little girl! Just a bit younger than Laruto and I. Certainly not the woman we'd seen raging and prowling about. Not the woman who's terrible voice could spread over much of the island when she wished it.
"W-who are you?" a soft voice spoke fully, but quietly, almost a murmur. She flicked a strand of brilliant blond hair out of her face. Hair the same color as Shiek's.
Frozen, I failed to respond. Shiek looked at me then spoke up. "We're here to end this fighting."
Oddly enough, the girl sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. Let me know what I can do to help. My mother, she's. . . be careful. So careful. -She's not like the others-. I. . ."
"What's going on up there! A clawing voice that sent a quaking tremble up my spine emerged from somewhere below. I was casting about for a place to hide when a hoarse battlecry echoed upward. Sasuke and the horrible woman flew onto the deck, swords flashing.
The ship began to shake, and the woman laughed. "You've done it now! Activated the defensive magic I shielded myself with!"
A massive spray of water washed the deck as the vessel flew straight into the air, and up into the stars, pressing us into the deck as we left Outset far, far below.
Chapter XXXIII: Claustrophobia
-Link
I had to be out, -now-!
The walls of my coffin were tightening, pushing in on me. With every exhale that puffed into the cold air, a little of my life breathed out with it. I fought down the surging panic that struggled upward, making me want to kick, scream, whatever it took to be free or die. But those feelings were useless. I pushed the dread away and forced myself to think calmly.
I decided to break the lid. I'd worry about the six feet of dirt when I got to it. And claw my way if I had to. There was too much riding on my life for me to give in an inch.
But how to tear free? I wasn't sure I could control the power level of the Triforce. Remembering what I'd done to the face of the Helmacron King, I knew I could just as easily kill myself.
Then I had it.
I pulled out the boomerang and launched it at the closer of the coffin lid's two hinges. Pressing myself as deep into the soft satin that was impossible to find comforting, I sent it at the hinge over and over again until finally the metal folds snapped.
"Huzzah-OW!" My joy was cut short when I lost control of the weapon and it flew into my nose with a horrible crunch. Dead tired, out of air, and with blood gushing everywhere, now seemed as good a time as any for some of the strange soup I'd been given.
As I sipped at the soup, I began to laugh. I was trapped miles underground in a coffin, probably about to die, and I'd stopped for a lunch break.
Out of air. . .
My laughter grew strained, then finally choked and died, but despite it all, thanks to the soup, I felt GREAT. Dried blood was on my clothes, but my nose felt peachy again.
What had I been doing? Something about the boomerang? I was going to dip it in soup and eat it? No, no. I was going to. . .free myself! I had to be free! My addled mind felt the closing in, the narrowing, worse than ever now. I felt further exposed, further weakened. I pulled out the boomerang with the last of my strength and snapped the final hinge.
Naturally, it did no real good. I had to risk the Triforce. Before I got the chance, the ground swung away from under me.
As the bottom of the broken casket fell out from under, I flew between the top and bottom and sucked in grand, precious, wonderful, marvelous, beautiful, lovely air (Go strangle yourself for awhile and you'll get the idea). As my muddled brain revived, I saw that I was floating in large, bare dirt chamber, filled with dozens of odd, shuffling zombies, all of whom were armed with shovels and strange wooden contraptions.
-ReDeads-
"Hey! You're still alive!" A girl of about eleven was standing before me. She looked the same as all the other Hylians down here, but she was covered with dirt and skeletally thin. She wiped a hand absently on her ragged dress.
"Thanks for letting me know," I muttered, wondering what to do.
"You should be dead! Dampe didn't prepare me for this! Do me a favor and do yourself in, would you?"
"Er. . .maybe some other time. Could you take me to the exit?"
"Exit! I have deliveries to make! ReDead, attack!"
"With the crossbows!" she added when they pointed their shovels at me and shuffled a finger as if pulling a nonexistent trigger.
"So you wanna fight?" I said, adrenaline pumping, a grin playing at my face.
"You can't fight! You're unarmed! It's not fair!" she stamped her foot down, sending dust into the air.
"Yeah, to me. You've obviously never fought a Hero before," I added, still smiling. Starring at the 'crossbows' I pulled out my bow.
In battle, the ReDead weren't as pathetic as they looked. I flipped into the air as crossbow bolts filled the air, and leapt against a wall, the world tilting with me as I left gravity behind. I swooped up a few of the bolts that stuck in the wall around me and began firing them, pushing a hand into the dirt then pressing in on the string of my bow and pulling back.
Success! The arrow thudded into the chest of a ReDead. . . and had no effect at all. The girl laughed and more wooden rain fell from that side of the room. I stumbled over the coffin and lifted the lid as a shield.
Eventually, the storm ceased and I peaked over the edge. It was a solid mass of arrows, the pale wood no longer visible on the side.
"With the shovels! Go, my creatures! Let's see some brain matter ooze!"
I dodged around a shovel swing in midair and drove my sword deep into the chest of the nearest ReDead. Or tried to, which was as far as I got with no sword. I pulled out my bow and began firing point blank until the string snapped. Arrows grew from its face, but it stumbled on. Soon I was surrounded and dragged to the floor. A sea of brownish red tightened to suffocate. . .
-In the darkness, bring the light.-
I had only one trick left. As ReDead began to pile on top of me, always reaching, screaming, moaning, pulling at me. I pushed my right arm forward. The girl gasped as light shone from my arm. A blast of pure energy sent ReDead flying through the air. As burnt bodies fell about us, she took off running down a tiny side passage. I took to the air and gave chase.
Deeper into the darkness.
Chapter XXXIV: Shattered Joy
-Fado
I wasn't sure whether to be happy or disappointed. I was back! The one thing I'd never thought I'd have again. Home. But I'd failed. Mako and Holly still stood by my side, holding me up. I didn't feel like I'd slept so long. With a nod and a smile to my two friends, I stood on my own. We stood for a moment, unsure what to do. When I looked back at the two, they were Koroks again.
"The Great Deku Tree wishes to see you." A small Korok named Deya walked up and glared hatefully at me. Her red leaf almost shook with the prim Korok's disgust. Vaguely I remembered one night a long, long time ago, helping her gather her things as we crossed over to this island.
--"What makes you so cheerful?" she asked, looking up from her knees, belongings scattered everywhere.
"What's the alternative?" I returned with a grin. It's no use going through life letting everything upset you. Relax, and let things come as they will. Worry'll only get you gray hair."
"Kokiri don't age," she said, laughing.
"Sure they do! I could swear I've grown an inch in the last ten years."--
I smiled at the memory, but that Deya was gone. Her next words proved that. "What are smiling at, you Deku Nut? Are you going to say something, you moron?
"Great," I finally responded. "I need to see him too. Let's go."
"You will see the Great Deku Tree when he deigns to admit you. For now, you will wait."
Mako and Holly led me to a corner of the forest and we sat in silence. I lay back and grinned at the feel of the grass on my arms and neck, staring at a tiny sliver of starry sky through the trees, a sight I'd seen many times. But it was all with the faint tinge of the worry I usually managed to keep far off.
What could ever make the Deku Tree make me wait for an audience?
"He must be angrier than he's ever been." It wasn't until Mako responded that I realized I'd spoken aloud. I sat up and looked around. There were Koroks everywhere, watching us. Glaring. I could feel the hatred, the way I'd felt it from Ganondorf.
"I never expected this. I don't know what to do," I said, glad I had these two, who would never abandon me. Or hate me.
"Try to apologize," Holly said. Eager at the chance to break something down. And to tell someone what to do. "Be humble, but make sure you get us a boat. We have to carry on."
Before I could respond, Deya came back. "The Great Deku Tree will see you now."
I smiled cheerfully and followed. She swerved on me. "What wrong with you, you grinning lout? Don't you understand what you've done? You'll find out soon." Her curt mannerism faltered as she walked on. "I-I've never seen him like this," she whispered.
Nothing could have prepared me. Nothing. No strength of will, or cheery disposition, it was beyond me to resist.
"YOU UTTER FAILURE. YOU PATHETIC, DISGUSTING, WORTHLESS FOOL!" The Great Deku Tree wailed and roared out at me, a storm of words sending me crashing to my knees. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART, YOU MINDLESS FILTH!" Suddenly he spoke in a whisper. "The grinning idiot has returned, all now laugh at his stupidity."
And that's just what they did. A low, horrible chuckle overtook the forest as Koroks began to laugh and mock me. All but two. The Great Deku Tree began the hurricane again, spewing out everything he knew about me, in a torn twisted way. Every shame, every mistake, every failure. Nothing good. All that was good in my life was shoved in the corner. And the Koroks laughed, howling with it, shaking, falling out of trees.
On and on it went. Finally I managed to croak out a single word.
". . .Why?"
"YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW? How like you. Now to make sure you understand just what you did. Ganondorf has succeeded in breaking the Master Sword. In just a few short years, all the world will be blanketed by his darkness!"
I refused to be crushed so easily. I felt broken open by this outpouring of pure hatred, but I couldn't give in. "Please. Just give me another chance. I will defeat him."
"Defeat him? You? You sickening scum. You keese, you moblin. You friend of evil. Of Ganondorf. Go hand him your sword why don't you? We know he already owns it."
"I would never betray my frie-"
"YOU ALREADY HAVE!" I fell backward as the Great Deku Tree began to turn black with anger. Dark patches stretched across his bark, and his body began to swell strangely. "YOU'VE KILLED US ALL, YOU'VE ENDED FREEDOM. ENJOY YOUR SLAVERY." Then as a parting shot, "WELCOME HOME."
With that, The Great Deku Tree exploded. Massive chunks of wood went soaring into the air and fell as dust. Koroks became piles of ash. Even my friends. They were gone. Even they, my last reserve, my last place to turn. There was nothing left. I was shattered joy.
I looked up at the sky, the trees, listened to the distant sound of waves. "Take good care of it, Ganondorf," I whispred, drawing my sword and driving it into my heart.
Chapter XXXV: Into the Sky
-Medli
I crouched low and glanced around the corner. The fading sun set everything in strange colors. The canon fire had finally stopped. Every charge and maneuver had failed. The ship seemed to never run out of ammunitions. Shiek, two Scrubs, and a friend of Shiek's named Sasuke awaited my word. We were on orders now to get as close as possible and look for a means of bringing the pirates' ship down. Already, after just a day and half of fighting, much of the city was a smoldering ruin.
"Quickly, quietly," I whispered, choking down on my fear and gave the signal to move around the corner, down the cobblestone street to the next safe point. As we moved a voice cried out.
"Villagers, HO!" A burst of thunder sent the nearest house into a shower of massive splinters. We were sideswiped by the debris and pushed into a dank alley.
"Oh, no. No, no, no." A massive shard of wood seemed to be growing from Troll, one of the Deku. Her brother Mel was leaning over her side, whispering over and over again. He reached out and pressed hand to her face, and suddenly a glow came out of his palm.
I wiped grimy sweat off my forehead and leaned forward. A faint shadow of a strange terror hung over him. "What are you doing to her?" I asked.
"I'm absorbing her consc-" Another blast rocked the area cutting off his words. They knew where we were. My breathing quickened. We could die at any moment. It was some time before I could think, but I had to do something fast.
"I have a plan. I'm sorry, Mel, but we need your sister's body. Is it okay-"
"She won't mind. In fact, if it will save us, she expects us to."
I nodded. "Shiek. Sent her out into the street with a blast of wind. When they begin focusing on her, everyone slip down to the beach, to close for them to hit.
A breeze brushed my feathers and before I knew it we were scrambling for the sand, more explosions rushing around us. I stopped, grasping for air, right near the edge of the ship. They were docked right on the sand. Strange, but definitely good for us. Shiek and Mel were soon standing at my side, but Sasuke was nowhere to be found. I looked up at the ship and was surprised to see him sneaking up the side on a rope ladder.
"Is he insane?" I whispered, fear knotting and quieting my voice.
"No," Shiek responded, "If that female pirate bossing them around is killed, the rest might give in. Let's follow him."
I took a glance up at the mountain where Laruto was planning her next move. I gasped when I saw the remnant of the villagers massing together. "What's she planning?" I whispered.
"Medli! Make a decision!" Shiek whispered fiercely. "Sasuke needs our help."
"You're right. After him."
After climbing the ladder, I cast around uneasily, expecting a pirate to call out and for us to be captured and executed. The boy was nowhere to be found. Shiek and Mel were glancing about to. I guessed all the pirates save the lookout were down in the canon chambers. I nodded to the two and we dashed for the doorway to the lower decks.
Suddenly the door swung open and we found ourselves face to face with the girl pirate.
But. . .
She was a little girl! Just a bit younger than Laruto and I. Certainly not the woman we'd seen raging and prowling about. Not the woman who's terrible voice could spread over much of the island when she wished it.
"W-who are you?" a soft voice spoke fully, but quietly, almost a murmur. She flicked a strand of brilliant blond hair out of her face. Hair the same color as Shiek's.
Frozen, I failed to respond. Shiek looked at me then spoke up. "We're here to end this fighting."
Oddly enough, the girl sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. Let me know what I can do to help. My mother, she's. . . be careful. So careful. -She's not like the others-. I. . ."
"What's going on up there! A clawing voice that sent a quaking tremble up my spine emerged from somewhere below. I was casting about for a place to hide when a hoarse battlecry echoed upward. Sasuke and the horrible woman flew onto the deck, swords flashing.
The ship began to shake, and the woman laughed. "You've done it now! Activated the defensive magic I shielded myself with!"
A massive spray of water washed the deck as the vessel flew straight into the air, and up into the stars, pressing us into the deck as we left Outset far, far below.