Saphira
The Way Back
Chapter 1
Innocence Lost
The mist was heavy on the rocky beach, with the mysterious sea beyond. It feels unsafe, thought Saphira, as she sat by the warm fire in the midst of the early morning breeze. Roast mutton, with boiled and mashed potatoes simmered in a pot over the fire her father tended.
Her father had a strong, fierce face with kind eyes. He used to be cruel to Saphira and her mother until three years ago when he left the corsair business for good - for his family. Now he is the leader of the family. Her mother stood on the log beside him holding their little baby boy, Damlir. She was skilled at making wooden crafts and contraptions. Some were convenient like the wooden supports for Saphira's hammock which hung 25 feet in the air, suspended by trees. Others were deadly, such as knives with hidden springs inside that could send its twin blades flying at an enemy one-after-the-other from 20 feet away. But what made Saphira's heart swell in pride was her mother's tender and supportive craft that made possible her husband's transformation from a hating pirate to a loving father.
Sapphira's mother, Dala, whispered to her husband, "Did you burn or hide it?"
"I hid it, but I am afraid that won't stop his curiosity", Dalif said with a worried expression.
Holding hands they looked with anxious expressions toward their daughter and son as they both seemed mesmerized by the fire.
"They'll be ok", Dala whispered as she squeezed Dalif's hand a little harder.
Dalif nodded in reply.
To eleven-year-old Saphira, the world was perfect, even if darkness crouched in the recesses of the campfire. Her father was not a man of many words, but the words he would always say to his daughter in moments like this were the most important to her. Her father, roughed and ragged, looked over across the fire and said, "I love you my treasure". "I love you too, Daddy" she answered back across the fire. Her mother put forth her best smile in the firelight while carefully holding her son in her arms. Singing softly,
"When the tidal waves come a rollin'
Under the thunderous storm
Remember my sweet voice
And it will light your way back - "
As quick as a streak of lightning, Saphira's bubble shattered as a horn blew beyond the misty shore. She knew what was happening immediately: a corsair raid! She remembered hearing it many times as a raiding party began their attack on a nearby village that opposed Umbar, perhaps for a specific treasure or just for sport. But she always knew they were safe, her father was a corsair after all. But that was a different time. Now they were not safe. Now they were the prize. Her father quenched the fire with a pale of water, then Dala and Dalif quickly gathered their things while Saphira grabbed her baby brother and the knife projectile her mother made for her, engraved with ivory.
As they hurriedly ran for the tree line beyond the shore, torchlights broke through the fog. The frightened family settled down behind the foliage just as the bow of a corsair ship broke through the swirly mist. Saphira counted 35 pirates, as one-after-another jumped off the boat into the shallow water. They scrambled up onto the shore with torches and curved swords in hand. The last one to step onto shore wore a tattoo on his forehead resembling a shark, singling him as the bosun or enforcer for the captain of the ship. He wielded a wicked spear while having a crossbow slung over his back. Saphira and her family watched in anger as the Corsairs took all the items they had left behind, even their potatoes.
The bosun, Drag, sniffed the air like a bloodhound on the scent. "He's here boys! Let's round them up and bind them, but leave Dalif to me." The corsairs started to dash towards the tree line, frothing at the mouth, as the family bolted farther into the woods. "I see them!", shouted one of the men. "They're running like cowards!", another crackled. They stopped laughing as they heard a thunk! thunk! and felt a blade protrude from each of their chests. A third exclaimed, "they got Darl and Wolduf, they must be more dangerous than you remember Drag". Drag skewered him with his spear in reply. "After them!" he snarled.