hi. mb all i fell into a bottomless pit and just got out. if the wording is strange its probably an inside joke lol
Chapter 3
Green
Cain awoke the next day, and stretched. It felt rather nice to sleep in a true bed, it felt like ages since he’s felt such softness. Of course, there’s no way to truly know how long he’s been out at sea, or passed out on that shore. He grabs his blade and sheathes it along his waist, then walks out of the room and down the hall. He heads downstairs, being greeted by the crew.
“Ah, hey there Cain. Did that sleep help jog your memory any?”
“Unfortunately not… I feel much better than I did yesterday, though. Again… Thank you all for your help.” Cain responds, with a smile.
“You definitely look much better. Though, now comes the problem of what exactly to do with you… Well, what do YOU want to do?”
“I… Never really thought about that… Would I be able to go with you?” Cain questions.
“Hm.. I’m unsure. The boss is pretty strict with who joins. But you DID help yesterday, so maybe? We’ll have to talk with him.”
“Where’s Lucian now, then?”
“Ah, he’s talking with the Viceroy now. You aren’t gonna be able to get with him.”
“Viceroy?”
“The King’s advisor. King Gaius is out on… A diplomatic mission, I think?”
“Ah… Well, I think Lucian mentioned something about living here, too…?”
“That’s an option, but… Well, we’d need to talk with the King. He’s pretty strict on entry into their lands.”
“Got it.”
Cain sits down at an empty table, a feast having been prepared and laid out for the crew. He begins to eat, smiling at his second meal in memory. A man sits across from him, the same man from last night.
“Sleep well, Cain?”
“Yeah, I did. It’s nice, compared to the sand..”
“Hah! I bet. Well, shall I cont-”
Before the crewmate could finish, a loud explosion was heard outside. They come out of the inn to look toward the source, finding a charred portion of the manmade island, with a hole in it.
“A cannonball..?! Who’s attacking Redwake?!”, the crewmate yells.
Redwake guards come out of the buildings and ready themselves, as a group of soldiers wearing green-tinted metal armor walk onto the port, brandishing magic circles and threatening the portmaster.
“The Veridian Dynasty Shit…” A crewmate says, under their breath.
“Who’re they..? Why’re they attacking this place..?!” Cain asked, reaching for his tanto.
“The other kingdom of this sea. Way down south. They’re very demanding, and must have caught wind that the King is out… This is bold, though…”
“We should help them!”
“…We can’t. As much as the Boss dislikes them… He’s still a sworn trader for them. Causing trouble to them would cause a loss of money. When it comes to that, he won’t compromise.”
“I… I can’t let them hurt this place!” Cain yells, running ahead.
“Hey, kid! Cain, wait! If you start a fight with them, we can’t let you aboard! You’re gonna get yourself killed!”
“…Then that’s fine, but… I’m not gonna let them hurt innocent people like that!”
“Cain…!”
The guards of Redwake approach, armed with their weapons. Immediately, they’re hit with a barrage of magic, and the fight begins. The Redwake guards, largely magicless, charge at the battalion of mages, who attempt to keep their distance and fire off blasts of magic.
Cain enters the fray with his blade, holding the smallsword with two hands, clearly inexperienced. He slashes at a Veridian Mage, catching them off guard and damaging their armor a bit. They turn around, very annoyed.
“What’s this..? A rat trying to pick a fight? Magicless runt. You’ll die for that!”
The mage summons a circle of Shadow Magic at their feet, and causes an explosion, sending Cain reeling backwards.
“Gah..! Why’re you doing this to Redwake?!” Cain yells, running at the wizard.
The wizard doesn’t answer, and launches small blasts of Shadow from their palms, forcing Cain to dodge them. As the blasts of shadow rush past him, something deep inside awakens. A small piece of his former self emerges, and his green eyes shift in demeanor. From a timid boy, fearing for his life… To a man who has seen battle before. With haste, he flanks the mage, and gets another slash with his tanto. He changes his grip, holding it with just one hand. Cain smiles a bit, feeling a rush of energy in his system.
The wizard, annoyed that a Redwake random is actually damaging him, dodges back a bit, letting loose a larger blast of shadow. Cain hops over it with grace, and comes down to slash the mage once again, this time landing through the armor and doing considerable damage. Cain switches his grip and backs up, before rushing the mage down and stabbing them.
The wizard, however, tanks the hit and unleashes another, charged explosion of darkness, knocking Cain off his feet. He sends forth a trio of shadow blasts toward Cain, making him tumble into a wall.
“Gods, you’re an annoying one. It annoys me that you even got close to killing me. You think you’re hot shit?”
The wizard summons a circle of Shadow Magic, charging a blast. The adrenaline begins to fade from Cain, as he coughs up a bit of blood. The crew watch in horror as the blast of shadow is thrown toward the boy.
“Get out of my sight!”
Cain closes his eyes and holds his hands out in a desperate attempt to save himself. Then, another surge of energy enters his body. But this… This one is different. Energy surrounds him, an orange and yellow light erupts from him as his eyes begin to glow yellow. His hair begins to shift and sway from the energy surrounding him, as a blast of Explosion is released from his palms.
The blast ripples through the air and destroys the weaker element, charring the shocked mage. Cain opens his eyes to see the magic circle in front of him. As it dissipates, he looks at his hands, feeling the immense power of magic coursing through him. He shoots a glare at the mage, who begins to worry for their life.
Chapter 4
Power
With his newfound power, Cain summons a magic circle and launches another blast, rushing them down with newfound vigor. He lands a slash as he gets behind him, launching a smaller blast of Explosion. The soldier retaliates with his own blast, but Cain leaps over and sends a blast downward.
Wiping the soot from his eyes, the soldier burns with fury as Cain smirks at him. Cain changes the grip on his weapon once again and holds it to his waist as he runs toward the soldier. In a flash, he strikes straight through the soldier, causing them to grasp his armor in disbelief as he collapses.
“You rat… The Dynasty will remember this…!”
Cain doesn’t entirely listen as he launches another blast, putting the soldier down for good. He marches off with a chip on his shoulder, turning into a sprint as he spots his next target. Cain throws out a blast, and slashes through him, looking behind to see the damage. Unfortunately for Cain, the soldier was the Captain of this crew.
“One more head for the King.”
With a quick burst of magic, he captures Cain and launches a barrage of lightning toward him, before sending him flying backward. As the captain charges up a beam to disintegrate Cain, he’s cut off by a tremendous amount of energy sensed nearby. Anyone with the ability to sense energy instantly turns to face the silhouette of a VERY tall man, standing atop one of the spires of Redwake. The figure’s arm becomes jagged, and a massive beam of earth strikes the captain with immense force, leaving the captain barely alive.
The figure flies toward the captain on a platform of earth, his mere presence intimidating any remaining soldier into standing down.
“Tell me. Did you authorize this assault?” The towering man asks calmly.
“…No. General Arvid did.”
“What’s he playing at? If you wanted an underhanded takeover, he’d best bring himself. Viceroy Anthimos would have massacred you.”
“You won’t attack back, coward. We know you’re scared of a war with Nexus!”
“…Just gather your men and leave.”
“Hah… Hahah… He was right, wasn’t he?” The captain says with a smirk. He flicks his wrist, and his soldiers begin gathering the bodies and piling them on the ketch.
“You won’t fight back, will you? After all, your power is nothing compared to them! You… You’re just carried by your curse! Ahahah…!”
The captain stumbles and backs up, keeping an eye on the large man. After getting to his ship, he commands the crew to unfurl the sails. He watches as the curse user fades from his view, and retreats to his quarters to rest from the grave chest wound.
The large man sighs, and looks around at the carnage. Redwake medics arrive to take back the soldiers, as his eyes drift toward Cain. A new face.
“You. You don’t bear their emblem, but you don’t bear ours, either. Who are you?” He asks, raising his hand in a threatening manner.
Before Cain can speak, Lucian yells from behind. “Woah woah. There you are, Basileus. The kid’s with me, don’t worry about it for now, we’ve got finances to discuss, I’ve got places to be, let’s make it quick."
The Basileus turns around to see Lucian, who looks a bit annoyed, and out of breath.
“C’mon. It’ll be quick, Viceroy’s already drawn up a plan. We can talk about the kid there, too.”
Lucian walks over to Cain, poking at him. “Hey. Still breathing? Cool. Basileus, catch.”
The crowd around the Basileus gasps as Lucian kicks Cain over to the ruler, who catches him.
“I’ll never get used to you. A shame you have to be one of the more prolific traders… Some tact would do you nicely.. Haah… Come, then. We’ve much to discuss.”
ok bye next part when i turn 5