Divinity (Mglo X Itari)

[Itari]

@Mglo


Artist: Guweiz

The ship swayed gently back and forth, rocking Sasha in her hammock. A crew member shook her shoulder, "Sasha get up! We've got work to do!" The voice sounded like Senna

She groaned, "You don't need me. There's enough of you to take it down. Plus you have Cody." Senna unceremoniously tipped her out of the hammock. "Up! Now!" Sasha grumbled, but got to her feet and followed the older woman to the deck.

Cody stood by himself at the bow of the ship. His mismatched eyes stared out at the horizon, one a light hazel, the other a deep blue with a white trident instead of a pupil. Through the haze of the fog cover Senna had made, Sasha could see the gray smudge of the metal ship. Cody raised his arms and the water in between the two ships churned and a large whirlpool began forming. Sasha used her own magic with the other crew members against the pull of the current to keep their own ship out of it, as the enemy ship began to be pulled towards the center. "It's a small one! Worth 100 coins maybe." Nathan said from the crow's nest.

"Doesn't matter! It's our third catch this week. We should be able to eat well tonight, lads!"

They noticed the two flying canisters too late. By the time someone shouted out a warning, they had already exploded, the oil colored droplets rained down on them. Cody got the brunt of the first one. He screamed and dropped his arms as the substance burned the areas it touched, before soaking into this body. The second exploded above the rest of the crew. Not enough to seriously burn any of them, but enough to work its way into their bodies. The whirlpool continued to grow, now self-sustained by its own momentum. Without the rest of the crew counteracting its strength, the pirate ship soon found itself being pulled into it. Sasha glanced and saw the others desperately attempting to pull them out, but it was no use. The canister had done its job and severed their connection with Varca. Even if Sasha hadn't been the only one still capable of using magic, it would have been too late. They were completely in the grasp of the whirlpool. Sasha could do nothing but watch in horror as the two ships were pulled towards the center, careening dangerously close to each other.

Sasha and several other crew members jumped off the ship just before the ships crashed against each other. Her body was caught in the current as soon as she hit the water. Someone crashed into her and the two were thrown around in the vortex before Sasha managed to get a grip on the other persons shirt. If she was lucky, they would be a crew member. She wasn't strong enough to pull an entire ship free, but she should be able to manage a couple bodies. She made a pocket of calm water around them, allowing her to swim away to safety and to the surface, dragging the body behind her. He was not a crew member. She dropped him without checking to see if he was alive and dove back down. The whirlpool had already pulled the majority of the ships and everything on them to the bottom of the ocean. A few lifeless bodies sunk slowly in the water column. No other survivors.

Sasha swam back to the surface and pulled herself onto a piece of wood debris, laying down on her back, breathing heavily. She touched her right eye. Pure black and blind. In Ka'arteum it was a mark of shame, but the invasion had suddenly made Condemned valuable commodities.They were, after all, the only ones who could maintain contact with their god after being hit with the new weapon. And today it saved her life.

"Fuck you, Cody!" Why had he made a whirlpool? They could have just as easily gotten rid of the enemy ship with a large wave, and they wouldn't have been at risk. But no. It was always whirlpools with Cody. The one silver lining was that they weren't too far from shore. Less than ten miles. With some rest she would be able to swim back. Probably. Her entire body ached. Maybe not. She rummaged through her pockets for an offering. Nothing. Even the gold clips she used to tie back her hair had been washed away. She shut her eyes. Sasha had never prayed before. It was an uncommon practice in Ka'arteum. You should not ask for help from the gods if you had nothing to offer in return. But desperate time call for desperate measures. Varca, give me strength. A few seconds later she heard a caw, and a large black crow landed on her plank. It was Itto, the ship crow. Of course, the bastard was still alive. Where was he when they need someone to be watching for flying projectiles? The bird hopped towards her and nipped at her fingers. "You're a useless piece of shit, you know that?"

 

[Mglo]

"What are they doing?!"

Holbrook felt the pull of the water on the ship answer the tone of disbelief even before his scarlet eyes settled on the speaker. Their ship was small and the pirate's choice of attack overkill, yet the crew's surprise lasted but a second before they moved like clockwork. No panic, all training is what moved their eager hands and feet to rotate a lever here, pull on cables there, and feed the coal fires that would pull them from the trouble. They knew better of course, but by the ruthless grace of Soyuno, facing that which consumed the living and non living alike was as much a fact of life as it was to consume in return. So it was that when their canisters flew into the sky without the order, none of them even questioned whoever had chosen to unleash them.

"May our God of many names gift our enemies with the death of their own making," the Captain's words were purposefully loud and clear, signaling the crew with his prayer to ready themselves for the battle. "Toten! Garrish! Bring out the breathing masks in case we can't beat the whirlpool! All hands on deck! Those who can't goad our ship, fly the cannonballs on my mark!"

Holbrook followed Garrish just as they heard the canisters explode. Neither of them mentioned the ill omen of the Captain not calling Holbrook to him. Below deck, both of them acted in sync despite the rough swaying of the ship, and not long before they'd gone down did they emerge to a scene of their Captain's answered prayer: The pirate ship was falling prey to the violent waters.

"Aio taketh," Garrish said before suddenly reaching for a hold as their own ship suddenly shifted.
Holbrook slipped with the sway of the ship but managed to catch one of Garrish's legs. "With impartiality," he grunted, crawling for the same hold onto which Garrish clung. Nature uncontrolled steered both ships now, both nearing dangerously close towards its center and soon each other.

"Toten! Garrish!" The Captain's outstretched hand signaled above them from the second deck. Holbrook swung high, sending the bag of breathing masks over.

"Didn't realize you were from that region Garrish, I'd never heard you name Him before," a breathing mask was shoved into Holbrook's chest as he spoke.

"What does it matter now, I'm going to try to give the almighty Aio a reason not to take me. You go do your thing."

"May the All God disregard you," metal whined along Holbrook's parting words, each of them back to their training even as the chaos of the situation began to disconnect the crew.

Holbrook managed to disengage two side clusters before the cries to jump began and it was then that he turned his sights to the waters. Once the mask was secured over his face, Holbrook scrambled for the emergency vest and jumped off the ship at just the right time and location. The water caught him roughly and for what seemed like an eternity the vest didn't seem to do anything. The breathing mask however, allowed him to remain conscious while the current dragged him sometimes dangerously close onto a crash of his own. Soon, he felt the pull of the vest drag him up, giving his swimming attempts the edge required to aim for the surface at precisely the right angle needed. He discarded the breathing mask moments before he broke the surface. Blond hair plastered to his head, framing his delicate features, Holbrook turned to the figure he'd followed. His unnatural eyes widened with the unexpected presence of the pirate and her crow.

For a few seconds he floated in silence, blinking through the cruel sight of his scarlet eyes.

"By the savage kindness of Soyuno, of all the pirates on your ship at least I'm not stuck with the whirlpool-maker," he finally relented.

 

[Itari]

Sasha sat cross-legged on her plank, one arm propping her head up, elbow resting on her knee. She stared down at him with mismatched eyes, one pure black, the other a stormy gray. "Just my luck the only other survivor is some Pyrelan scum." In normal circumstances she would have immediately tried to drown him. She was exhausted though and he appeared to be wearing a strange floating device. "Well, Pyrelan, any ideas on how to get back to shore?" The swim was long and she doubted either of them had the strength to make the journey.

The Pyrelan reached into his vest and pulled out a compass. "Shore is to the East." Sasha pointed to the left of her. "That way. You can tell from the direction of the sun." She smirked. "You Pyrelans are so reliant on your instruments. You'd be useless without them."

As much as she wanted to leave him floating like dumpling, she would need him to survive and the water was cold. She scooted over on the driftwood, taking care to make sure it didn't flip over; there was just barely enough for the two of them sit next to each other. Itto, perched on her shoulder, eyed the other man suspiciously. Sasha yawned. She had overexerted herself escaping the whirlpool and was now having trouble staying awake. She'd need to sleep before making an attempt to return to shore.