Gem of the Sea

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Prologue

Sea breeze blew in through the rain-swept porch of the Flores family home in the dead of night. Tense silence had settled upon that moonlit space where the former Tagmatarchis Bloop and his old protege Gawr Gura faced down the highest ranking officer of the Atlantean military - Polemarchos Bakkhos. Four soldiers from the elite guard of the Aquamarine Palace, clad in majestic gold-trimmed aquamarine capes draped over their ringmail shirts and ornate golden pauldrons, stood by Bakkhos' side. Bloop's family and their newly arrived guests, on the other hand, watched the standoff through the windows of the quaint woodland chalet.

Bloop's eyes shifted nervously in the midst of the confrontation. His family was a stone's throw away from the battle lines that were being drawn on the ruined, muddy remains of the tilled fields. Moreover, his protege Gura had drawn her weapon against the Polemarchos without a sliver of hesitation.

However, Gura stole a sidelong glance of Bloop and reassured him with a whisper.

"Don't worry, chief. I've got this. Leave it to me~!"

She then sauntered forward with her trident in hand and placed herself in between Bakkhos and Bloop. Gura stared down Bakkhos from behind the prongs of her trident and forced him to step away from the porch and back onto the muddy soil of the ruined field. In response, the four Atlantean soldiers summoned their tridents with flashes of powder blue and halted Gura's advance.

"You are making a serious mistake, former Lokhagos Gura." Bakkhos warned, encouraged by the presence of his troops beside him now, "You do not want to make an enemy of the Aquamarine Palace."

"I've been an enemy of the Aquamarine Palace for deserting the military for thirty years, right? Thirty years, you dummies sat on your tails and twiddle your thumbs." Gura tested impatiently and kept her trident pointed at Bakkhos, "Then all of the sudden, when the Ancient Ones contact ya, you suddenly find the will to come after me?" She furrowed her brow and growled, "I can be a bonehead sometimes, but I'm not that dumb! Something's fishy and it ain't me!"

"You've always been a troublemaker, even when you were still a Lokhagos ." Bakkhos shrugged, "I was always the one who had to clean up the messes you made in the military. Now, I'm cleaning up the mess you're making by allying yourself with enemies of the state! Old habits die hard, huh?" He held his trident firmly and offered, "Surrender yourself and your friends now and Atlantis may forgive your heinous crimes yet! You cannot run from her forever!"

"Oh, but I ain't runnin'! I'm going to Atlantis alright - straight to the Aquamarine Palace!" Gura countered and wagged her tail eagerly to take a firmer combat stance, "I'm gonna settle this matter with them directly! I'm not going down there as your prisoner just because you tell me to!" She then felt the weight of the golden watch in her pocket and whispered, "Plus... I'm not gonna let you lay a hand on any of my friends."

"Shall we add 'resisting arrest' to your slate of charges?" Bakkhos snorted.

"Nah." Gura wore a toothy, determined grin, "Try 'attempted sharkslaughter'!"

With that, Gura launched herself from the porch like a spring and thrust her trident at Bakkhos. Aquamarine clashed with aquamarine and the taller Bakkhos cast his shadow over Gura. He laughed with amusement and pushed back against Gura with formidable strength.

"You are a washed up Lokhagos , Gawr Gura! You cannot hope to overpower me!"

"Wasn't planning on it." Gura taunted, "Strength ain't everythin' y'know!"

All of the sudden, while Gura's trident was locked with Bakkhos', the smaller Atlantean followed through and kicked her opponent's shin. That strike robbed Bakkhos of his mountain-like strength and Gura gave him no time to rest. She skillfully shifted her weight, pushed against Bakkhos one more time and finally uprooted him from his steeled stance. Then, Gura pulled back her trident and thrust again.

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