The door to my cabin opened with a creak and a built but scrappy looking man came through the door. The man's eyes first found the map hung on the wall behind my desk but quickly followed his head to the floor as he bowed, hiding the pride seeping into his face.
"General, we are approaching the island."
"Excellent, how do the waters look?" I responded.
"To be honest, not great. The wind is fine but the waves keep shifting directions and are increasing in size. Miss Amy is also beginning to get anxious because of something in the water."
"Tell Darius that he needs to prepare himself to assist the boat in landing if he isn't in the water already. Amy's anxiety is most likely correct so be prepared. I will be with you all shortly. Thank you for your report, Liam."
"Of course, General."
The door creaked behind the big man as he shut the door, and I heard him loudly, but respectfully conveying my word to the ship, causing the boat to get busy. I turned in my chair to face the map that Liam was eying and picked up a pencil.
Currently our ship, The Vinland, was very close to the center of the massive body of water that covered the center of the map. Surrounding the water was the landmass that covered the majority of the map which included all of the known world. I marked the current location of the ship and made my way out of the cabin.
The Vinland was a small 20 gun boat built, designed, and now captained by shipwright Layla Hayes. Layla introduced a technology that can prevent water from leaking into boats even through holes created by cannonballs, an incredible accomplishment for someone who is only twenty four. The woman herself greeted me as I exited the cabin.
"General" The shipwright acknowledged with a salute.
"Captain" I responded with a similar salute as she began to guide me to the back of the ship.
The sound of waves crashing into the ship from seemingly all directions barraged my ears. Despite the winds being entirely in our favor we couldn't move forward even a bit. The Vinland stayed steady though, a testament to Layla's genius.
"As you were just told, we are quickly approaching the island, " she explained. "Once Darius begins to calm the waves we should make good progress."
During the whole seven day voyage I can confidently say Darius has been living more in the water than the ship. The fact that he wasn't already in the water was surprising enough, but an unwillingness to swim seems unreal.
"Is there a reason Darius hasn't started yet?"
Layla's expression revealed a tinge of uncertainty for the first time.
"Both Amy and Darius believe that something is not right under the surface. I have never seen Darius seem reluctant, or even a bit scared, of the water since I began working with him a little over a year ago. I believe he is getting a similar feeling to Amy, as they both have been quite restless."
Amy's blessing makes her anxiety hard to ignore but we need to have Darius in the water or we won't make any progress.
"What do you think of the situation? I responded, trying to draw from her experience.
"Well I've definitely never seen waves like this. Calling them natural would rid myself of any and all credibility I have. I'm not as in tune with the natural things like they are but even I can tell that something is making these waves."
"I will keep that in mind. Get the advance group together and tell them to make sure the ship is prepared to land and then come back to the wheel. We may need to make a speedy landing."
She saluted before running off to make her preparations. I hope that a safe and controlled landing will be possible with our current conditions. This ship being destroyed or beached would probably get me in a bit of trouble with her.
I started to make my way towards the back of the ship, which had gotten quite loud. I wouldn't say that Darius and Amy got along well, as their petty arguments have happened more often than I would've thought, but it seemed to be a bit more intense this time.
"Let me go! The general gave an order!" Darius barked.
"Seriously, just wait a moment! I know you feel it too, that there is something down there, please at least wait until he gets here." A desperate sounding Amy pleaded.
"I'll be fine, you're acting like I'm going to drown if I just touch the water." Darius reasoned
I heard a loud slapping noise followed by a wince.
"I am worried about you, you idiot! The swimming can wait until we have a little bit of security at least." Amy shouted
Maybe they got along better than I thought?
Darius turned his head and seemed like he was about to try and argue but saw me approaching. He quickly dropped whatever he was about to say and stood up completely from his dive position pulling the much smaller Amy, who was holding onto the back of his uniform, up with him, much to her surprise.
"Hey! Put me down, what is-"
She was quickly cut off as Darius bent his knee to bow, carrying her again back down to the deck. She landed roughly on her feet and similarly to Darius began to say something but quickly cut herself off when our eyes met. A lot of different emotions went across her face, embarrassment primarily, but she quickly lowered her knee as well.
"General" They both said in unison.
"You may rise. What is going on here? I heard from Liam and Layla that there may be something beneath the ship."
"Sir there is definitely something down there. I was trying to get him to wait at least until you arrived just for safety." Amy said as the tension faded from her face.
"Darius, do you think something is down there as well?"
"Yes sir, however I believe that I should at least be able to see what it is without being in much danger."
"What's your basis for that?" I asked, more interested in the nature of the response than any logical explanation.
"I have never come across a sea demon that I haven't been able to kill."
His confident answer put an insuppressible smile on my face. "Get in the water." I demanded.
Darius Anderson, more widely known as "Leviathan," was blessed with the ability to control water by the God of the Sea but is known for more than the origin of his power. Even though he is only 24 he has accomplished more than most others blessed by gods, being a part of many successful naval raids and expeditions. He became widely known as the Leviathan after single handedly sinking six 100 gun ships by himself when defending Port Blaire from one of the Troy Empire's raids.
Darius wasted no time diving off the ship. Within seconds of breaking through the water's surface, he took complete control over it and the waves disappeared. A current was even created that pushed our boat forward at great speed.
Layla, who had made her way back to the helm, saluted as she took the waves clearing as a sign to return to the wheel. I went to join Amy, who had begun staring into the water at the end of the ship. She shot a quick glance at me when I arrived, before turning nearly her full attention back to the water.
"General, if you'll allow my opinion," Amy said. "I don't have a good feeling about this at all. The island, the ship, and the water. This isn't something that we're ready for."
I held back a sigh and looked down into the now clear water. She's right, but not in the way she probably thinks she is. I am not king nor have I completed the King's Path. But I was willing to take this risk if it meant any chance of ending the war sooner. I kept this thought to myself rather than reveal my own doubts about the island to Amy.
"That's not something you rookies need to worry about," I said with a grin, trying to calm her worries.
"I'm not a rookie" She replied, her frown leaking into her voice. "I was able to fight on the northern border a bit after graduation."
"Speaking of graduating, how's Headmaster Broderick?" I said, changing subjects.
"Huh? I mean... he looked well when I last saw him. But he was uncharacteristically unenthusiastic at the ceremony. The speech was more solemn than inspiring but it was still good."
Broderick Smirnov or Headmaster Broderick is an old friend of mine and also the Headmaster of The Institution, the greatest "training camp" in the entire empire. He is an energetic and passionate man almost to the point of obsession, which made him one of the most influential people alive today.
"Now that I think about it, I don't know if he has ever said anything positive about the war." She added.
She's got a good eye.
"You know the old headmaster is the one who recommended you for the expedition right? He has a lot of faith in your talent."
Amy tried to suppress the pride that was creeping into her face but failed miserably as she turned away from me.
"He has given me a lot of things to be grateful for," she said softly. "I'll have to add another one to the list."
"Bring Liam and Sebastian here and tell everyone else to prepare to anchor," I ordered, sensing that I couldn't waste any more time.
Amy turned around and saluted then ran off leaving me by myself at the end of the boat, peering over the edge. Now that Darius had calmed the water, it looked magical and almost unnatural. The surface is clear, but not transparent, not allowing me to see Darius who is at most a few feet below the surface. It looks so calm, like something that a child could swim in, not water that could hold a beast great enough to cause Amy and Darius worry.
Sudden force shook the boat and the waves returned, halting our swift progress. Layla loudly cursed and ran off towards the lower decks of the ship.
A shadow dwarfing the size of the boat had emerged, and a series of blue flashes radiated throughout the water. The chaos of the waves intensified as whatever was happening under the surface continued. The Vinland shook as a second impact hit the ship and a final, brilliant blue flash pulsed through the water followed by a monstrous roar. Other than the crashing of the waves against the ship, everything went silent. Reddish-black liquid began to ooze towards the surface from the origin of the final flash.
Darius emerged from the water like a dragon from its lair, making a shockwave that rocked the boat more than the waves, and landed close to me. Water dripped from his short brown hair, which was now slicked back. He held a translucent trident-shaped weapon in his right hand, filled with dancing blue particles that were beginning to fade away. His now wet clothing clung to his body, revealing defined and well trained muscles supporting his tall figure. Despite the chaos beneath the waves he was unharmed but breathing heavily.
"General-," he started, still catching his breath.
"Wait just a minute before Amy returns with Sebastian and Liam before your report." I cut off.
"Ok, but that thing is not natural," he stated uneasily. "It does that weird bubbly healing like you. I cut it a bunch but-"
"Wait until everyone else is here," I interrupted again but my curiosity was really piqued now. The healing Darius was referring to is not common nor natural and I wanted to confirm his report. Thankfully three running sets of footsteps signaled the return of Amy with her requested company.
"No need for formalities, time is of the essence," I said as they approached. "Darius, give your report."
"Yes sir. What I was holding back just now was a demon that seems to have similar control over the water that I do. I was able to overpower its control but the waves that are rocking the boat are caused by that power. I was able to injure it but green bubbles formed over the wounds so I couldn't inflict any kind of major damage."
"What does it look like?" Liam asked, clearly deep in thought.
"The demon had 3 large balloon-shaped heads at the center of its body and many tentacles branching out from them. There were maybe twenty or so but there might be more. Each of those tentacles were large enough to grab the boat and pull it under."
A third crashing sound echoed over the water as the ship shook and tilted towards the side. Our group slid down the deck almost falling into the water but the ship stabilized, saving us from going overboard.
Any more damage to the ship would be hard to repair, even for Layla, so I quickly put the plan that was forming in my head to words.