The Les Anges De La Mer sailed far out, reaching a point of complete ocean- no land or buildings in sight. The sounds of the crew chanting as they pulled the sails, controlling the boat as a team. Meanwhile, Mao and Kree sat below deck in the Captain's Quarters.
Mao's legs rested on top of the beautiful rosewood Table, carvings of many different symbols and art. His boots had been leaning up against each other as Kree sat across from him- sorting out his bag. A torch (unlit), a small leather bag filled with marbles, a tiny Marble cup, and a Chicken Drumstick (cooked). We can see Mao has a very perturbed expression among his face, confused by the logic of this bag.
"How exactly does your bag work? Mao asked, leaning his body forward.
"It's like a bag with limitless space. I can place anything in here: Food, Weapons, Healing supplies." Kree reaches into his bag, pulling out a small brown wooden sign reading Sign.
"Interesting." Mao says, impressed by this useful tool.
"It is. Can definitely come in handy." He smiles with glee.
"Can you pull random things out?" The swordsman asks.
"Sadly no. But I CAN put anything I want in here and it'll preserve it."
Mao looks confused.
"Anything?" He asks.
"Anything. Gimme some raw meat. It'll preserve it until I am ready to cook it."
"That'll DEFINITELY come in handy." Mao states.
"Now you, answer me this, why did you set foot on this Journey?" Kree leaves his seat, grabbing the small marble mug and walking to a bucket of water in the corner of the room.
Mao's face grows blank, a wave coming over him. He quickly turns, avoiding eye contact.
"It's a long story, kid. You don't really wanna hear it." He says, trying to end the conversation.
"Come oooon, if we're controlling this ship together, we gotta have some sort of trust." Kree runs behind Mao, antagonizing him, "Come ooooonn."
Hesitation is revealed through the captain's eyes, but with enough convincing he finally gives in.
"Fine! Just stop running around me!" Mao shouts, grabbing Kree by the shoulders- lifting him up and placing him in the captain's chair.
Kree hops around in the chair, eager to hear this story. Mao sets up a tiny stool in front of the chair- sitting down slowly on it.
"My son, Evander, was kidnapped. The Royal Family from out West came by and destroyed everything- killing every last villager. I was bound to the well as they forced my son-" He then pauses, placing his hand over his mouth with despair in his eyes, "He did this."
Mao rips his shirt open, revealing the cuts again to Kree. The boy's face drops, surprised by the connection between the two.
"So that's how you got those wounds. That's why you were all bloody before falling down that hill." Kree states.
"Now, I'm on my way to go find my boy and save him- maybe even leave an impression." He pulls his new sword out, observing the shiny blade.
Kree sits there silently, taking in that information; He had actually hoped for a happier story. He leans forward in his chair, curious.
"Your son, Evander? Was he a training swordsman?" He asked.
"No. He WAS a swordsman. Taken after his old man, the boy has a way with the blade. A childish kid yet ambitious about his goals."
"Do you have a goal?" Kree asks.
Mao grabs a bottle of rum, crammed under the desk, and takes a swig.
"Yeah, I've told you already- saving Evander."
"No, no. I mean before this mess broke out. Everyone has a Goal, what's yours?" He hops out of the chair, swiping the bottle from Mao and taking a sip.
"Hm, I mean, there has always been this one thing on my mind- since I was a child, but I don't know." He tries to avoid the conversation.
"Come onnn, I can sense something is hiding in that dull brain of yours."
Mao takes the bottle back, offended by Kree's comment, and takes a huge sip.
"Ugh, Okay. Damn kid, you don't give up." He adjusts his clothing, "When I was younger, I had a dream- I was walking up this hill, actually, it resembled one back home. Anyways, I was walking up the hill while holding my sword and as I got to the very top, I looked down. My village had become an enormous utopia- everything you could possibly imagine. I would say my dream originally was to refurbish the village and create the perfect place for people, but now that it's all gone, I guess I'd rebuild it- with my boy."
We can see Kree's face as he is sunk inside the chair- a single tear drop on his cheek. He sits up, adjusting his clothing.
"That was...... really wholesome." Holding back tears.
"Yeah, yeah. Now I wanna hear about you. You give off this tone."
"Me? What about me? My life really isn't all that." He hops out of the chair, turning his direction to the window.
Mao followed, walking behind the boy as he stood there looking out into the sea.
"Are you sure about that? Your father sounds like a smart guy and that bag definitely has a story to tell." Mao states.
Kree suddenly looks distressed, still watching the waves as they swoosh to the right. A row of seagulls fly by the boat, creating a triangle formation in the sky. Mao looks up at it, amazed.
"Now that's something you don't see every day."
Right as Kree turns, slowly opening his mouth to speak, the sound of a crash comes from the side of the boat- sending the two flying to the side. Mao grabs the edge of the table, nailed to the ground, and grabs Kree before he can fall through the glass window.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" Kree shouted, coming to his feet again.
"I don't know. But that window completely shattered." Mao says, walking slowly over to the window.
In the distance, an ENORMOUS storm can be seen moving closer to the boat. Mao steps on a couple pieces of glass, peeking his head out. A rain drop then falls, landing on his head- and in that moment, a sheet of rain comes falling down.
The boat creaked as the waves of the Dark Sea whipped into the side. Mao and Kree falling to the left. In an attempt, they tried to make it to the deck- leaping over fallen crates and barrels. The crew frantically ran around the deck- guiding the sails as Mao made it up to the wheel- holding onto it tightly. Kree grabbed onto the railing, shouting out to Mao,
"THIS STORM IS INTENSE!!"
"JUST HOLD ON, KID!" Mao shouted, quickly turning the wheel left, "I'LL GET US THROUGH THIS STORM."
"HAVE YOU EVER CONTROLLED A SHIP BEFORE?" Kree asks, worried.
"UNFORTUNATELY, NO, I HADN'T EVEN KNOWN A BOAT OF THIS SIZE EXISTED!" Mao turns to Kree.
Worried, Kree jumps in front of Mao- grabbing the wheel.
"I'll control the ship; you get down in the cabin and figure out where the hell we should be going!" He shouts to Mao, watching him quickly run to the stairs- slipping and falling down to the deck.
Mao quickly retreats to the latch leading to the cabin- opening it and leaping inside. Suddenly, the sounds of the rain become muffled as he continues to the captains desk once again. He approaches it searching the desk, finding a map within the top drawer.
As he places it on the table, the ship rocks to the right- throwing him against the wall. Mao hits the roof, trying to get Kree's attention.
"CALM DOWN UP THERE!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice comes from the latch- one of the crewmates. Mao turns to the entrance spotting a girl- long straight blonde hair hanging over her Black Quiver attached to her back. She held a bow in her right hand- gripping it tightly- revealing a slight nerve behind those eyes.
"What do we do, Captain?" She asks, approaching Mao.
"I'm not sure. I'm not used to navigating a ship." He states- grabbing a hold of the map, "I can't figure out where we are. This storm is ruthless." Suddenly, the boat tips left, and he smacks the wall- hitting his head.
Full of anger, he throws the map. His chest lifts up as he inhales deeply- flattening as he exhales quickly. He leans over and grabs the map- placing it back on the table. Looking up, he ponders a thought- saying it out loud.
"Who the hell are you, again?" He asks.
"My name is Mara, sir. I was a trained archer back in Ikian Village. I joined Captain Moreau in hopes of using him just for a ride to the nearest Island. She states, approaching the table.
"An archer who fled. What happened?" Mao asked curiously.
"In the City, Croanix, I kind of stole a couple bags of gold and a chicken." She shamefully announces.
"You know what, I'm not even going to ask." Mao says, looking down at the map, "I can't even figure this damn map out!"
Behind Mao, the storm continues to consume the boat. Rain pouring down on the deck- the crew slipping and falling to their faces. Evander held on tightly as his body swayed left and right.
"HOLD ON CREW!" Kree shouted, spotting a MASSIVE wave coming their way; north.
Suddenly, the wave hits the boat, sending it backwards. Mao's body rises as he begins to fall back. He grabs the edge of the table again- it breaks, and his body goes flying back towards the open window. Mara jumps forward, taking his hand.
"I've got you, Captain!" She shouts, trying to pull him back into the boat.
The boat then dips to the left- splitting the two parts and sending Mao back through the window and into the waves of the Dark Sea. Colliding with the water, he notices that his leg had been caught on something- sinking him down into the ocean. Mao flares his arms, trying to find leverage, but no luck.
His head then enters the water- revealing the dark abyss beneath- certain spots brightened by the lightning above. He anxiously turns his head, glancing around at the complete darkness around him. While he sways left and right underwater, a loud rumbling sound appears from beneath him. Quickly glancing down in fear, he looks up- attempting to swim to the surface.
At that moment, a bright yellow light shines in the distance. He stops- looking out at it, still holding his breath. The light then blinks, revealing it as an eye- a reptilian eye. The creature darts through the water, sending a wave current towards the swordsman. Frightened, he continues to the surface- being greeted by a hand. He reaches for the person being yanked out of the water and thrown overboard a small boat. He frantically looks around, finally looking up at the person who saved him, Mara.
"I told you I've got ya. Haha." She says, followed by a smirk.
"Thank you so much, but we need to go NOW!" Mao shouts, grabbing her shoulders.
"Yeah, I know. I made a rope leading back to the boat." She then points up at the rope.
"No, no. You don't understand. I saw something down there!" He shouts, terrified.
"Stop being ridiculous, there's nothing but sharks and squid down there." Mara states, grabbing onto the rope.
The Long Gray Serpent like creature then breaks the water surface- lifting up out of the dark depths. The scales being a foot long, protecting it from any external damage. It raises its pointy horned head, letting out a vicious roar- it's jaw elongating as rows of teeth protrude through the gums. The eyes flip back, and it lets out a second Roar. Mara and Mao both fall back in the boat, screaming out in terror.
"WHAT IS THAT THING!" Mara shouts, stunned by this creature.
"I TOLD YOU I SAW SOMETHING!" He shouts, trying to stand.
"WELL, I'M GETTING BACK TO THE SHIP!" She shouts back, grabbing the rope and climbing up towards the deck.
Mao turns back to the creature, looking up at its evil serpent eyes. He reaches for the sword in his holster- pulling it on the beast. As he stands on the edge of the boat, one foot back and one foot supporting his balance on the front. The serpent looks down at Mao, hissing loudly- rumbling the small boat.
The heroic stance Mao took as he waited for this beast to strike. Finally, it lunges at him- dagger like teeth spreading apart awaiting a new chew toy. Mao's hands, swift as ever like the good old days, swung the blade to the right, stabbing the yellow eye.
He uses both hands to swing up on the creature- sitting on its head as he digs the sword deeper into its eye.
"ARRRRRGRHGHGG" Mao lets out a battle cry, ripping the sword from the beast's eye and jabbing it into the right nostril.
The serpent swings its head back, reacting to the sword, and throws Mao off- tossing him back into the ocean. Falling into the waves, he plummets underwater- spotting a long squid-like creature, a Kraken. Bubbles come shooting out of his mouth as he begins to freak out- swimming back up to the surface.
Mao comes to the surface and spots the rope hanging from the ship, now floating in the water. He quickly grabs hold of it as the ship begins to pull it, sending him flying through the water. The boat pulls him as he looks back at the creature; it has vanished. Confused, he turns back, beginning to climb the rope.
As he gets to the edge of the railing, the serpent comes flying out of the water- grabbing ahold of the sail and ripping the post from the deck. Kree jumps back, ringing the bell beside him.
"EVERYBODY STAY CALM!" He then gets smacked by Mara.
"Shut up! We're going to get through this." She shouts, pulling out her bow and loading an arrow, "Just help Captain Mao get back on the ship, I'll hold off this disgusting thing for y'all while you help the other crewmates."
She then begins to quickdraw her bow, pulling arrows out extremely fast and sending them to the beast's head- aggravating it more. Mara leaps over the ledge, landing on the deck. She runs along the edge of the boat as she shoots up at the creature- squirming itself off of the deck from landing on it. Its mouth extends, attempting to chomp at the girl, missing her by a hair.
Meanwhile, Kree leans his head over the edge of the ship- glancing down at the water and being startled by Mao's hands. He grabs ahold of the captain's arms, pulling him up. The two fall to the ground and look at each other.
"I hate the ocean." Kree states, fear in his eyes.
"I'm starting to understand that fear now."
Mao peaks over the wheel, spotting the serpent as it;s trying to flee off of the ship. Mara stood next to it- grabbing ahold of the scales and throwing herself up. Kree comes behind Mao and looks down.
"LOOK THE CREATURE IS IMPALED!" He shouts pointing down at the giant serpent.
The creature lets out an ear-piercing screech as its movements slow down- blood oozing from its wound- caused by the sharp sail post. Mara swings herself off the creature- landing on the deck. She plays her bow on her back and turns to the Captain and Kree- pointing up at them. She had been extremely out of breath.
Mao's face dropped with awe in his eyes. The skills of this crewmate had completely blown his mind. He approaches her with Kree- the rest of the crew hiding in the Quarters beneath deck.
"You said your name was Mara, right?" He asks, holding his hand out.
"It is. How'd that water feel?" She asks, laughing.
He unravels his hair from the bun it had been in for a week now. The water falling down his back like a bucket had just been dumped over him. Pieces of ocean debris and wood mixed throughout his hair. Giving his hair one good shake the rest of the water comes splashing out.
"Kinda wet......and scary. But mostly wet." He laughs in a very uncomfortable tone- still frightened by the creatures under the ocean surface.
Mara and Kree begin to laugh, looking up as the storm continues to pick up even more.
"This storm is just getting worse!" She shouts.
"I know. We need to get out of here fast though. Not to alarm you guys but this ocean is FILLED with all kinds of FUCKED UP things. We need to leave now!
"I know a way to the closest island from here, so I'll help navigate, I grew up living on boats! Navigation is kind of a passion of mine- as well as archery!"
"But that THING took out our sail!" Kree shouts, throwing his arms up.
Mao can be seen observing the massive creature lying dead on the deck. Pieces of wood and debris surrounding it.
"How the hell are we gonna get it off the deck?" Mao asks.