The Avallon Chronicles (BOOK I)

26 | Ocean of Secrets

The young maiden took them towards another island, which was filled with magnificent structures emerging from the ocean floor up towards the surface of the sea.

"Cap'n, what are you planning?" Wren asked.

The captain grinned and then gestured to his crew. "Fire the cannons!" he ordered.

"Wait, Captain! What are you doing?" Rei asked, his mind filled with questions about what was going on.

"Ah! There you are, Rei!" said the captain, "Would you mind taking this lady back to the ship's prison? She can be our way to find many more treasures from this place."

The sound of the cannons awakened their spirits. As debris from the fine crystal-like material from the peculiar island, their desires for treasure and power were arising like a beast hunting for infinite bounty.

"Sien (No)!" the young lady cried. "How dare you trick me?!"

"There's one thing you should learn in this world, young lady," the captain grinned. "Never trust a pirate!" he added, whispering mischievously at the ears of the helpless lass.

Rei knew that what the captain told him to do was wrong. However, being his only family for a long time, he knew he had to obey.

He held her arms tightly and tied them behind her. "Let go of me! I have to warn my fellow mer-creatures! You may take what you want, just please don't destroy our home!" the lady beseeched, her tears welling in her eyes.

"Just shut up, lass! What the captain wants, he'll get it!" Rei exclaimed.

He took the young lady towards the ship's prison, and there he stayed with her.

"You're going to pay for what you did! I can assure you that!" the young maiden shouted with the tears she was holding beginning to fall to her rosy cheeks.

Rei noticed that at the time the tears fell towards the ground, they turned into something in a solid state. The tears turned out to be some kind of precious pearl!

At that time, Rei's curious mind was filled with questions about the place where he was at that time and about the young lady he was guarding. Nevertheless, he just remained reticent, keeping it to himself. He knew that he had nothing to do but obey the commands of his beloved Captain.

The ghastfully sound of the firing cannons abided with him together with the blazing smell of the gunpowder being used. After a while, as soon as the attack was finished, silence came back once again, just like what it was before they came.

At the time the fog vanished, they were greeted by a different scene. Debris coming from the shattered pieces of the peculiar structures floated at the surface of the sea. As the smoke that came from the attack slowly disappeared, it led them to see mer-people floating around their ship like dead bodies.

For just a few instants, the bodies slowly faded away together with luminous butterflies encircling them. The sacred butterflies came by to finally escort their averthries towards the Realm of the Spirits.

"What do you want now?" Mister Lynn asked.

"We find more treasure, Mister Lynn," Severilo replied confidently. "Why? Isn't that what we desired most?"

"Markus, as your friend and like your big brother, I can sense that you're doing these all wrong!" Mister Lynn exclaimed. "We shouldn't mess with these creatures. They are immortals, remember?"

"What is your point, Reginald?" asked Severilo. "Immortals aren't really immortals when they are killed."

"Don't you know that this is not where we are supposed to be? This place isn't meant to be discovered by mortals!" Mister Lynn added. "Maybe there are no mortals who had ever been able to tell stories about this place because they didn't get a chance to get back to our world alive!"

"Reginald might be correct, Captain," Wren replied, "What will we even do now to our treasures if we don't know how to get back to our Realm?"

Severilo turned to Wren with his eyes filled with the desires of his heart. "As long as we have our ship, we will all be alright! Maybe we can make this our new home until we find out how to get out from here."

"If that's your decision, then I wish you good luck," Mister Lynn sighed.

"Where to, Cap'n?" A crew member, who was assigned to steering the ship, asked.

"Set sail to where the wind is taking us! There might be more bounty to be plundered there!" the captain replied proudly with his body facing the big, round, golden sun.

The great ship once again drifted across the placid, blue ocean, letting the wind take it towards its new enigmatic destination.

The crew was filled with their ambitions as they admired their newly gotten treasure. They didn't notice the day hastily giving way to a dark, cold winter night.

Due to anxiety and exhaustion, the young mermaid finally fell unto slumber as she laid her back on the wooden floor.

Rei was in his deep slumber, too, dreaming about the things he desired the most. He was enjoying the moment until a sudden noise startled him and made him go back to his senses.

As his eyes opened, something shiny caught his attention. His curiosity took him, allowing his arm to reach and take it from the floor.

"What is this doing here?" he asked himself as he was greeted by a half of a blue-green-colored crystal-gem necklace.

His gaze dropped towards the young maiden in front of her. "This might be the reason why she's able to move in the land," he whispered as he shoved the crystal-gem towards his pocket.

As the crew was cheering for their achievements that day, no one was aware of the incoming danger that might happen.

The waves began to change their height together with the southwester changing its strength. Something was amiss in the waters.

Rei came out of his hole with his mind all rejuvenated. There he stood at the railings, his eyes fixed on the horizon.

"Monti," he sighed as the cold wind made his medium-long hair drift.

He remained still, noticing something moved from the bottom of the ship.

All of a sudden, his spirits were awakened by a set of flying arrows arising from the waters going straight towards where he was standing.

•○GLOSSARY○•

🗡Averthries
- sacred butterflies that guide the souls of the Immortals towards the realm of spirits

⚔️Sien
- Aquarian word: No