Blue Waves

Chapter 1: The Leviathan Killer

Caelum, X794

The ocean churned and roared as waves crashed against the sides of a large wooden ship, several men running about the deck as they fought desperately against the storm that threatened to swallow up their vessel. The sailors swore and called out to each other as they struggled with the sails, but one man stood still upon the deck, his eyes locked upon the waves, his dark blue eyes narrowed and focused as he hunted for his quarry even as his black hair was plastered to his head by the heavy rain.

"Sir! You really shouldn't be out here any longer! It's too dangerous!" a sailor called out to the man, whose back was turned to the sailor, his shirtless torso proudly displaying the many different tribal tattoos that bore a Blue Waves guild mark proudly in the center of them all.

"You've really forgotten who you're talking to, haven't ya?" the man spat back, his voice loud and threatening, even over the roar of the ocean and the rain, "Piss off and let me focus!"

"But… sir!" the sailor suddenly shouted out as an echoing roar could be heard across the sea, the man's face suddenly lighting up with an almost sadistic glee.

"It's almost time for Colt Walton to get to work!" the Blue Waves mage laughed as the ocean began to churn beneath the ship, "Hey! Pissant! Ready to see why I'm the number one S-Class mage in Blue Waves!" Colt called out to the man, pointing back at him, "Watch the Leviathan Killer at work!" he shouted before casually stepping off the ship and dropping into the waters below.

"Sir!" the sailor screamed as he ran up to the edge of the ship, looking down into the water, only faintly seeing a moving object beneath the waves before his eyes suddenly shot up as the waters parted as a massive sea leviathan breached through the surface, letting out an ear-splitting roar, the eyes on either end of its hammerhead-like head locked on the ship, it's maw splitting open to reveal rows upon rows of teeth as it lifted a disturbingly human-like arm up into the air as it prepared to strike the ship as the sailors began to scatter across the ship, screaming as they prepared to meet their end.

The leviathan let out another roar as it swung its fist down, but the water began to glow and rose up to meet it, catching the monster's arm and wrapping it around it like tendrils from the deep as a figure swiftly swam through the murky waters before bursting out of the tendrils and launching up into the air, the sailors stopping for just a moment to see it was Colt flying up towards the leviathan's head as glowing water gathered around his fist in the shape of a large drill.

"Water Leviathan's Pressure Drill!" Colt roared as he began swinging his fist and the large drill down towards the leviathan's head, the monster struggling to escape its watery shackles before the drill began to impact against its head, tearing through the monster completely before launching the body and sending to skidding across the water's surface as the tendrils released the beast. Colt admired his work from up in the air for a moment longer as he began to fall back down into the waters below. Colt swiftly created a current of water as he swam beneath the water, eventually moving himself up into a new tendril of water that grew above the surface, allowing him to swim straight onto the deck of the ship, landing firmly on his feet as water dripped off him.

"He… he did it! He killed the leviathan in one shot!" a sailor exclaimed as many of the men began to gather around Colt, roaring in celebration of the man's impressive feat, Colt bearing a cocky smile on his face as he soaked in the praise from the sailors.

"I didn't think something like that was possible," a sailor stated as he stood back from the group watching next to the captain of the vessel.

"Aye. I've heard the stories about what Leviathan Slayer Magic could do, but to really see it in action," the captain murmured, "The last time we traversed these waters it took three mages from Amber Trident to do what the Leviathan Killer could do in less than a minute."

"I remember that. The ship ended up stuck at port for two months while repairs were made," the sailor recalled as they watched Colt finally muscle his way through the crowd and over to the captain, the many sailors dispersing to continue their work in getting the ship back on course.

"Worth every last jewel, wasn't it, Captain?" Colt asked as a smug grin curled his lips, the man crossing his muscular arms as he stared down the captain.

"Aye, that it was. The agreed upon bonus shall be given to ye as soon as we reach port in Lunae," the captain stated as Colt nodded along with the man's words.

"Really that leviathan was just a pleasant way to clear my palate after spending three whole months on bloody Nebula. Blasted monster-ridden island," Colt spat as he started to stretch out his arms, "The Sea of Monsters is more my speed," he chuckled lowly.

"Well, I s'pose someone has to enjoy it here," the captain muttered, "If you be needing me anymore, I'll be at the helm making sure we make it back on schedule," the captain stated, giving the other sailor a nod before they both left, leaving Colt standing alone for just a moment before he let out a sigh and started to head towards the door that led below deck.

. : + : .

"And make sure you regularly wash your clothes and brush your teeth twice a day and… and make sure you call and don't forget to…"

"…Mom. Mom! I get it!" Kip said loudly, interrupting his mother as Eiko chuckled off to the side, "I'm not a kid anymore, I know how to take care of myself," he groaned as his mother reached out to him to stroke his face.

"I know, I know. I'm just worried, you know that, right?" she said as she continued stroking Kip's face.

"I know, but I'll be fine," Kip stated with a roll of his eyes, earning him a hard pinch on his cheek, Kip wincing in pain before his mother gently patted him on the cheek.

"Please take care of him for me, will you?" she asked, looking towards Eiko.

"Of course. I will make sure he acclimates well to his new lifestyle in the guild," Eiko promised, giving Kip's mother a slight bow.

"And do be sure to say hello to Shaw for me, I know my husband regretted the way things went between them deeply."

"Of course. I'm sure he will be happy to meet Kip as well," Eiko stated before biting the inside of her cheek for a moment before speaking again, "Unfortunately, we must leave soon though. I hate to end your goodbyes so quickly though, but we do have a long journey ahead of us."

"Oh, yes, of course," Kip's mother stammered before looking at Kip again, "Kip, please take care yourself. I'll miss you," she said as she pulled her son into a hug.

"I'll miss you too," Kip replied as his mother placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you."

"Love you too," Kip said as he and his mother pulled apart, his mother staring him in the face for a moment longer before pulling herself away.

"You better leave before the waterworks start," she laughed as she had already begun to wipe away tears on her cheeks as Kip and Eiko began to walk away.

"What did you mean by long journey?" Kip asked after a few minutes of walking.

"Because we'll be walking to Port Lunae of course," Eiko stated plainly, doing her best to hold back a small laugh as she watched Kip's jaw drop.

"Walking!? Why!? That's so far!" he complained loudly, drawing the eyes of several people they walked past, "Sorry!" he quickly said to whoever cared to listen as Eiko turned her head to look at him.

"A few different reasons, really. First of all, it's a great way to build endurance, which is very important for a mage despite what many people think. Secondly, it'll give us time to have you practice your magic out in the wild where there's little chance of you accidentally hurting anyone."

"You think my magic is that dangerous?" Kip asked, watching Eiko's expression change as she seemed to be stuck in thought.

"It's more like… We don't really know exactly what your magic really is, so it's better to be safe than sorry. It's much better to make sure that no one is in harm's way when experimenting, after all," the blue-haired girl explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Kip sighed as his golden eyes looked up towards the sky, noticing it was starting to get dark and cloudy out, "Sucks that it's probably gonna rain soon though."

"It's just another thing you'll have to get used to," Eiko stated as she reached up to pull her hood up, though a sudden ringing in her pocket caught her attention before she reached down and pulled out a lachrima phone, Kip watching with interest as Eiko scowled at the name, quickly swiping her thumb across the screen and silencing the phone before quickly tapping on it several times before putting it away, a smug look on her face.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"No one important," Eiko smiled as they continued on their way out of Port Solis.

The two of them continued to walk a good while as they moved through the town and towards the outskirts, stopping by several merchant stalls on the way to purchase food for the road as well as a sleeping bag for Kip, which was now strapped onto a backpack he was wearing.

"So, I was curious, what were you in Port Solis for originally?" Kip asked after they started walking again.

"I was on a mission and visiting home," Eiko answered, though she scowled for a moment before continuing, "A bounty hunting mission to be exact, it was just dumb luck that you happened to get into it with my mark."

"Those pirates?" Kip questioned, "Yeah, that is really lucky."

"I wanted to chase after you sooner since you still seemed to be in a lot of trouble yesterday, but I had to turn over those pirates as quick as I could considering…"

"The arm you chopped off?"

"The arm I chopped off, yes. It wasn't a terribly graceful way of dealing with it, but you were in trouble so I acted instinctively," she explained, gripping the handle of her sword, "Normally I would try and restrain them without any sort of… maiming, but these things happen."

The two of them fell into silence for a while longer as they finally managed to reach the edge of town and stepped out into the wilderness, Kip's heart dropping as Eiko led him towards an old walking trail instead of the main road.

"Through the jungle? Really?" Kip complained, a nervous sweat on his forehead as he stepped through the foliage, following behind the older mage, "But… what about Flying Tiger Bats? Or Blue-Backed Tusk Gorillas? It's not safe in here."

"It's just about as safe in the jungle as any big city really," Eiko explained, stopping for just a moment as she drew her sword and began to hack away at some leaves to clear a path, "Perhaps even safer than some parts of Port Solis. We're just going to keep going north until we hit the main river and follow it, so we won't be in the thick jungle the whole trip," she continued as she stepped through the greenery, an echoing roar being heard in the distance.

"Jeez… I feel better already," Kip sighed.

"Besides, any creatures found in the jungle on Caelum are much tamer than anything you'd find on Nebula. It's not like we need to worry about running into a Hexdrinker or Sirens," Eiko continued as Kip just stared into the back of her head.

"Really not helping."

"Hmm… Well, how about this? I'm much more dangerous than anything else in this jungle," Eiko stated, looking over her shoulder back at Kip, the plum-haired boy seeing just a glint of the look he saw in her eyes when she attacked the pirates the day before, Kip nervously swallowing in response.

"That… does actually help a bit, yeah," Kip stammered as he suddenly started to feel rain drops slowly drip through the canopy of the thick jungle overhead, quickly pulling his own hood up as the two of them continued to hack their way through the jungle.

. : + : .

Colt stepped onto to the dock and off of the ship he was on, a swagger in his stride as he nonchalantly tossed a bag of money up in the air and catching it as he walked, holding a drawstring bag over his shoulder, smirking whenever someone commented on seeing the 'Leviathan Killer' walking through Port Lunae. The city was one of the largest in Caelum, being the major trading port that any merchant ships from the north would dock with. As such, Port Lunae was always bustling with activity and filled with people. Colt would follow the pathways eastward, with the guildhall of Blue Waves eventually coming into view, a grand building four stories tall that's exterior was ornately decorated, showing the power and status of the guild housed within. Down the coast, he could see the most expensive guild houses that overlooked Blue Waves' private beach, on which he could see several of his guildmates enjoying a day off.

Colt smirked as he made his way up to the guildhall, taking a flight of stone stairs to ascend a large, stone sea wall. As he made his way up to the top, he heard a few of his guildmates call out to him, but all he did in response was nod before he stepped into the building, entering into the main hall of the guild. He looked around, seeing dozens of people going about his day, including a large crowd gathered around the mission counter as usual, trying to pick out jobs to do. Colt quickly walked in the other direction though, over to the main help desk that was staffed by a couple of the usual employees that the guild used to staff it.

"Welcome back, Colt!" one of the receptionists called out, "I trust your time spent in Nebula went smoothly as usual?"

"As annoying as it always is to be stuck on that godsdammed island," Colt huffed, "But yeah, no problems."

"That's wonderful to hear, sir!" the receptionist cheered, "I hate to tell you this as soon as you got back, but the Guild Master was wanting to speak with you as soon as you arrived."

"The hell for?" Colt gawked, "That old man knows I hate to be sent on his petty ass jobs."

"I'm afraid I don't know the details, but from what we've heard, it sounds like Eiko…"

"That Encan wench… Of course it is. I'm on my way," he huffed before stepping away from the desk and into the main hall, hearing the receptionist alerting the Guild Master over an intercom.

Colt looked up, looking at the three stories of balcony walkways that ringed the main hall, grumbling to himself that the Guild Master's office was on the top floor before he headed over to the stairs, ignoring anyone else that tried to talk to him. Eventually he made his way to the top floor and stepped into the office, ignoring the Guild Master's secretary and just stepping into the office, a tall, older bearded man turning to give him a sharp look.

"Heard ya wanted to see me. What the hell is it?" Colt demanded to know as he leaned against the doorway.

"Colt… I've told you many times to have the proper decorum when speaking to me," the Guild Master, Baran Metaxes, stated.

"And we both know I make you too much money for you to do anything about it if I don't," Colt spat back, Baran's eyes narrowing for a moment as Colt smirked at him.

"I need you to go and find that Encan brat, she's causing me trouble again, no doubt as Shaw intended she would," Baran began to explain, Colt's smirk quickly turning into a scowl.

"I ain't your bloodhound," Colt stated, crossing his arms as he stared down the Guild Master, "Why don'tcha find someone else for your little fetch quest?"

"No, I need you to do it and put the fear back into that ungrateful girl," Baran insisted, "If it is compensation you're worried about, you do not need to worry."

"And what did she do to hurt your pride this time?" Colt questioned.

"She has ignored all my attempts to contact her in regard to her behavior on her latest job. Instead, she simply sent a message to Shaw saying that she was 'taking the long way back'," Baran explained as Colt let out a laugh.

"You never fail to give me a laugh with that fragile pride of yers," Colt said as he stood up straight, "Fine. Five million and I'll go get her."

"Five-! Fine! Just see it done!" Baran spat out, waving Colt out of the office as the younger man let out another laugh.

"Have fun dealing with that mess," Colt said as he passed by Baran's secretary on his way out of the office.


Credits:

Colt Walton – Dreadburner94

Baran Metaxes – Dreadburner94

A/N: And there we are! The first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. This chapter was a bit shorted since I want to wait until the new deadline to start getting into the submitted characters.

So, first and foremost, I wanna make sure it's announced here, but the deadline has been pushed back to the 27th of August. I believe I got back to most people, but if I missed someone, I will make sure to get back to you by then to let you know if I've accepted the character or not, but all submissions so far are appreciated!

In addition, thank you to Origm2012, Hawk725, Benthino, MyDearWatson, Joshua1277 and LuxuryKiwi for the reviews! They are all appreciated.

Until next time.

Dreadburner94.