(Open Sea, Approaching Southern Tanna — Higashihama Bay, 299 BC)
That night—a night of nights. No stars. No moon. Nothing but rumbling heavens and a sky fracturing into dark pavilions of violet cloud-columns touching the horizons. Lightning flashing in eerie purple veins, staining the sea with unnatural hues, as though the waters themselves had been bruised. The last watch of the night, and the rains of horror pouring down without mercy upon the ten ships pressing through unknown waters toward southern Tanna.
The wind howled like a living thing. Not merely strong—killer-caliber. It screamed through rigging and oarlocks, ripping breath from lungs, and hurling waves against the hulls like warring giants settling ancient grudges. The sea rose and fell in foaming walls, each advance met by twice the retreat. The ships were never meant for crossings such as this. Every pitch drew out the sound of protesting wood—creaks, groans, the long complaint of timbers begging not to split.
Men strained at the oars, tightening knots with numb fingers already blistered raw. Their jaws clenched as they massaged shoulders and biceps mid-stroke, refusing rest. Voices cut through the storm in disciplined rhythm.
“MOVE IT—KEEP ROWING!”
“Power ten!”
Across all ten vessels the call echoed, answered by a chorus of rowers.
“POWER TEN!”
Thunder crashed over their cry, the sky itself mocked their defiance.
On deck, men formed a living perimeter, bracing their bodies to keep women and children from being swept overboard. Nodding to one another—no words needed—while the women's hands clenched in prayers beneath their breath, fingers locked around amulets, around each other, around hope. Children cried into soaked sleeves, their sobs stolen by the wind.
A wave climbed higher than a grown man. The ship lurched at the wrong moment, and the crest slammed sideways into the hull. Salt spray exploded across the deck, stinging eyes, knocking breath from chests. Somewhere, a child screamed. Somewhere else, a man laughed—sharp and hysterical—then choked it back.
Ten nights at sea. Ten nights of this.
On one of the smaller vessels, a father clutched his young son to his chest, arms locked like iron.
“Father,” the boy asked, voice trembling but steady with effort, “will we survive?”
The man swallowed, rain streaming down his beard.
“We’ve weathered worse, lad,” he said, forcing calm into his tone. “The Good Lord watches over us. Just hold my hand—it will be all right.”
The boy nodded, eyes wide and glassy.
The sentence never finished.
A massive gust struck.
The mast screamed.
CRACK.
Splinters flew like knives. The broken mast began to fall, toward the clustered women and children below.
“DOWN!”
“GET BACK!”
“SAINTS PRESERVE US—!”
The ships pitched violently. Two vessels nearly rammed one another as waves pivoted their bows at murderous angles. The deck became a slick of rain and seawater. People slid, arms flailing, feet losing purchase. Panic spiked—raw, contagious.
Then three figures moved.
Toho, not yet sixteen, leapt forward without thought. He seized a thick rope still lashed to the falling mast and braced himself, boots skidding. Every muscle screamed as he hauled back, rope burning his forearm. He glanced once—just once—toward the cluster of women and children. Among them, Chika. Fear flickered across her face, then steel.
Determination hardened him.
“Together!” he roared, voice cutting through the chaos. “We don’t lose anyone tonight!”
Beside him, Sawai surged into motion—broad-shouldered, raw power coiled tight. As another wave struck, he read the sea like a tactician reads terrain.
“Like this—use the wave!” Toho yelled.
Sawai planted his feet and shoved with all his strength, pivoting the mast outward, letting the wave’s momentum carry it away from the deck. His core wobbled—strength exceeding balance—and he nearly slid himself into the rail, teeth bared in effort.
Meanwhile, Imei spotted an elderly man skidding helplessly toward the edge. With a dramatic lunge, he grabbed the man by the belt and collar, hauling him back with a grunt.
“Easy there, Grandpa!” Imei shouted, rain plastering his hair to his face. “Can’t have you swimming without your morning tea!”
A weak chuckle escaped the old man, absurd and precious.
The mast swung free at last, tearing loose with a final shriek and crashing into the sea in a violent splash. The deck shuddered—but held.
For a heartbeat, there was victory.
A cheer rose—ragged, brief, defiant—swallowed almost instantly by the storm. Releasing the rope, Toho steadied the others, hauling a woman upright, shoving a crate back into place. His gaze met hers again. Gratitude passed between them, unspoken, electric.
The wind shifted, just slightly. The ships stabilized enough for breath to return. Exiles huddled closer, bodies pressed together against the cold. The father found his son again, pulling him close, whispering thanks into the boy’s hair.
“Is everything all right, pal?” Toho asked Imei.
Imei flashed a grin despite the rain.
“Oki-doki,” he said, exaggerated and bright, making a few children laugh through their tears.
For a moment—just one—Toho went still.
The wind fell silent.
Not calm, but absent.
A chill crawled up his spine. The hairs on his arms rose. Something was approaching, something vast and wrong, as if the sea were drawing breath.
“—!” he shouted suddenly, startled by his own voice.
No one else felt it.
Sawai shot him a look. “Hoy, hero,” he called over the rain, “we don’t want to repeat what we just did.”
Imei nodded solemnly, then ruined it by stage-whispering, “Aye, my heart can only take so much bravery per watch,” earning another nervous laugh from the children.
Then it happened.
BAAAM.
A wall of wind struck the vessel—not a gust, but a solid force. The ship lurched violently sideways, ropes snapping taut, oars jerking from hands. In an instant, it was torn away from the formation, severed from the other nine ships like a limb ripped from a body.
Cries rose in alarm as the vessel spun, carried fast by an unseen current.
Ahead, through the eerie flash, jagged shapes emerged from me ruins.
They were being driven straight toward the Seal Rock Ruins of Higashihama—forgotten teeth of an older world, waiting beneath the aves.
“What in the world is that…?”
Sawai’s voice cut through the storm, sharp and incredulous, as the ship slid unnaturally between shadowed silhouettes rising from th Toho standing ona. Near the deck rail, rain stroke dhisho’s face, violet lightning flaring behind his eyes.
“They look like… houses,” he said slowly.
“Abandoned house?” Imei echoed, disbelief mixing with fear. “in rocks?”
The shapes were wrong—too rigid, too skeletal. As lightning split the sky again, the truth revealed itself in pieces: rotted hulls, broken prows, masts petrified by salt and time, frozen mid-collapse like corpses reaching out of the sea. Ship graveyards. Ancient ones.
Before another word could be spoken, the wind howled—not forward, but sideways.
Lanterns from the other ships flickered wildly, then vanished as violent waves and wind shear tore the formation apart. Signal cries were swallowed by thunder. Darkness reclaimed the sea.
“THE WAVES ARE FOAMING!!!” the lookout screamed.
Toho’s eyes locked ahead. Purple flares illuminated jagged rocks and splintered timbers jutting upward like the teeth of some colossal beast. Before the rowers could resynchronize—
SCRAAAAAPE.
Once.
SCRAAAAAPE.
Twice.
The hull shuddered. Wood screamed. Water surged through seams, thin fingers of death creeping across the deck.
Panic erupted.
Children cried openly now. Women clutched each other, some whispering prayers, others screaming names. Elderly men dropped to their knees, gripping railings with white knuckles.
“We’re sinking—!” “Hold the child—hold him!” “Mother—don’t let go!”
Over twenty lives were moments away from being dashed against the reef line.
Climbing to the prow, boots slipping on rain-soaked planks, every step measured. Time slowed around him.
Rain droplets hung in the air. Foam churned lazily.
The chaos dimmed to a distant ech.
Ship too heavy.
Sits too low.
Poor maneuverabiity.
He raised his hand into the gale. The wind shoved sideway.
The wind is forcing us sideways—into the rocks.
“Toho—this is not the time to daydream!” Imei shouted desperately, wrestling with panicking rowers.
His eyes snapped to the remaining mast stump—its tangled rigging whipping violently, catching wind like a cursed sai.
It’s worsening the drift.
Realization struck like lightning.
“Silence!” he shouted.
His voice was calm—but absolute.
“We have one chance. The ship is too heavy and too slow. We make her light and quick—now!”
No hesitation followed.
“Sawai—mast-pole push!”
Sawai stared back, “You sure? We don’t know how long till land!”
Toho nodded once. No explanation. Only certainty.
“Jettison! Now!”
Hands froze for a heartbeat. Then survival took command.
Barrels were rolled. Splash. Splash.
Chests vanished with hollow splashes. Lifetimes of possessions were sacrificed without farewell.
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
It was Chika.
“Toho—I can help.”
He met her eyes. Daughter of a clan leader. Noble blood. None of that mattered now.
“Good,” he said. “Then you’re with me.”
He turned sharply. “Women and children—low center! Sit tight together—balance the deck!”
“Imei!” he barked. “You and every man not rowing—cargo jettison, now!”
Imei, slim and soaked, grinned nervously. “I really should’ve stayed a scholar.”
Despite fear, movement synchronized. The ship rose, just inches—but it was enough.
Then the sea lifted them.
A massive wave reared like a wall.
“NOW!”
Sawai and his group slammed the mast section against a protruding boulder. Using the wave’s momentum, raw force twisted the bow sideways.
The hull groaned, scraped brutally along submerged rock—wood splintered, water surged below deck.
A child slipped—
“Got you!” he shouted, grabbing the boy’s arm as he dangled over the rail.
“Papa!” the child cried.
“Hold tight, little one" he said, hauling him back. “You’re not dying tonight.”
The ship burst through a narrow channel between rocks.
Free.
Battered. Flooded ankle-deep below deck.
But afloat.
A broken cheer rose—weak, disbelieving, alive.
They bailed water furiously. Toho moved among them, checking faces, gripping shoulders.
He found Chika. Alive. Shaking.
“You did well,” he said quietly.
She exhaled, tears mixing with rain. “You didn’t even hesitate.”
Neither of them smiled.
The storm eased—slightly. The sea smoothed into something passable.
Sawai collapsed onto the deck, laughing breathlessly. “Now that is teamwork.”
Imei lay sprawled nearby. “I never signed up for this".
In the darkness of the night Toho stood scanning beyond the waves.
“There,” he said. “The other ships. Move toward the group.”
Lanterns flickered in the distance—waving frantically.
Unease coiled in his chest.
What if we shouldn’t have left the ruins?
The wind returned violent.
Sawai stared into the black water. "Why is it… rising?"
"What is rising?” Toho asked, turning—
The sea swelled.
Higher.
Higher.
A wall forming where none should exist.
Color drained from Imei’s face. “I’ve seen this… in my homeland.”
Silence fell.
“A tsunami.”
“To all men!” Toho roared. “Women and children—hold them—hold them!”
Too late.
The ocean collapsed.
Ships shattered like toys. Timber exploded. Lanterns vanished. Screams were erased.
Then—nothing.
Black water.
Silence.
From the wreckage, bodies surfaced. Men swimming with women and children clutched to debris.
Toho broke the surface coughing—eyes searching wildly.
“CHIKA!”
She was sinking faster.
“Imei!” Sawai shouted.
Imei tied a rope around Toho’s waist without a word.
“GO!”
Toho dove.
The pressure crushed him. Darkness pressed in. He found Chika, limp—pulled her upward—
But strength failed.
“Sawai—PULL!” Imei screamed.
They dragged them up.
Air tore back into Toho’s lungs as he coughed violently.
“Hold on,” Sawai gasped. “We’ve got you.”
Vision blurring.
The night deepened.
The sea calmed.
And consciousness slipped away.
The water stopped tasting salty.
9Please respect copyright.PENANA0v5k9OOwMF
9Please respect copyright.PENANAVmKqDyJddt
9Please respect copyright.PENANA3pQ1BbOlhr
9Please respect copyright.PENANADTTWu5iD6B
9Please respect copyright.PENANAVcgGB6aG0K
9Please respect copyright.PENANA2EoSjPsLS0
9Please respect copyright.PENANA74zLAtigcc
9Please respect copyright.PENANAARLh5aubpk
9Please respect copyright.PENANAZBsjaY33dH
9Please respect copyright.PENANALf3hl8dBB4
9Please respect copyright.PENANAnGlV3Sedi0
9Please respect copyright.PENANAxY0Hfb5OMC
9Please respect copyright.PENANACXH1jPrdmF
9Please respect copyright.PENANA0NtYzIJmK6
9Please respect copyright.PENANAkztMYZ5OnV
9Please respect copyright.PENANAttfwq14yLU
9Please respect copyright.PENANAk0uyDdK2MS
9Please respect copyright.PENANA9ihHBOqNoD
9Please respect copyright.PENANATFcf1F73t8
9Please respect copyright.PENANA6fzzb0hCh0
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzx9CGKXjYm
9Please respect copyright.PENANATCyLV0Miz4
9Please respect copyright.PENANAdko2X1USVo
9Please respect copyright.PENANAKSYYhMVgXt
9Please respect copyright.PENANAIrLbaGUU2K
9Please respect copyright.PENANA1KxfHmNyfN
9Please respect copyright.PENANAdEhv2rtKA6
9Please respect copyright.PENANA1ZU3jOJJ1M
9Please respect copyright.PENANABJwoRQJ3px
9Please respect copyright.PENANAeMD7aPUKH1
9Please respect copyright.PENANAtlv4PjB7sV
9Please respect copyright.PENANASccY8lieZk
9Please respect copyright.PENANAPYM2GfvAZD
9Please respect copyright.PENANAtUMHkngYPb
9Please respect copyright.PENANAiGRSgdL1aq
9Please respect copyright.PENANAkm979sutGn
9Please respect copyright.PENANAvRxDWOr3Yz
9Please respect copyright.PENANAPp5R1RCi28
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFFR0SA0rze
9Please respect copyright.PENANAiwVQESco9o
9Please respect copyright.PENANAHPsEwEjNHc
9Please respect copyright.PENANAqsyND4VAjR
9Please respect copyright.PENANAWAN4jAplIK
9Please respect copyright.PENANAbNOOrFb1cb
9Please respect copyright.PENANAuRa3h6fu28
9Please respect copyright.PENANA9uXFWb9dnj
9Please respect copyright.PENANAuearwiw814
9Please respect copyright.PENANADcnaNYbyxA
9Please respect copyright.PENANAz1FWDUfVWH
9Please respect copyright.PENANAaPLsIn73rr
9Please respect copyright.PENANAdB2m2C2sQ5
9Please respect copyright.PENANAvej0J7zOuK
9Please respect copyright.PENANAKtNWMswWlh
9Please respect copyright.PENANAGkGUaask98
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFSOSBew4mm
9Please respect copyright.PENANABRwaWbsjny
9Please respect copyright.PENANA1SUG1cSFoH
9Please respect copyright.PENANAIlUs0Z2v22
9Please respect copyright.PENANAHYbPho6d2J
9Please respect copyright.PENANAz05HXUpLrx
9Please respect copyright.PENANARB5mGIl3UA
9Please respect copyright.PENANAEmQayB4hg0
9Please respect copyright.PENANA33y1nMOnMR
9Please respect copyright.PENANArk9cIvack5
9Please respect copyright.PENANAYkKQ4x86Zq
9Please respect copyright.PENANADBPvqZQuHH
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUN9YOQxRmC
9Please respect copyright.PENANAPkcBi7OC6P
9Please respect copyright.PENANAac6LHBXKbv
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzJve1UBUFf
9Please respect copyright.PENANAyNNVbgYWcb
9Please respect copyright.PENANAaj8lUC9kTn
9Please respect copyright.PENANA6bkeCXReet
9Please respect copyright.PENANAJzi0rz5Dee
9Please respect copyright.PENANAWayy3Oetj5
9Please respect copyright.PENANAtYqfsQdtjE
9Please respect copyright.PENANA84sa6CNRm3
9Please respect copyright.PENANAVEchagJIX9
9Please respect copyright.PENANAufxc7l4U0r
9Please respect copyright.PENANAwIzdizQxGe
9Please respect copyright.PENANAyOelepqsMB
9Please respect copyright.PENANASDjqziC3Kt
9Please respect copyright.PENANAY4IzB2cGuZ
9Please respect copyright.PENANAJpJUdwWSp4
9Please respect copyright.PENANALAYeFYD1gQ
9Please respect copyright.PENANA4mmpSqdbN6
9Please respect copyright.PENANAU4nwjYiaem
9Please respect copyright.PENANA8NuSQ4LQm4
9Please respect copyright.PENANAP1RAeTvfaU
9Please respect copyright.PENANAcqjU1d8eEa
9Please respect copyright.PENANA8NFQycE9ta
9Please respect copyright.PENANAsiAFBUvy9s
9Please respect copyright.PENANAlbV5TuGn8O
9Please respect copyright.PENANAg3JXkAlNRD
9Please respect copyright.PENANAXZox661OLB
9Please respect copyright.PENANAggMDnEBroL
9Please respect copyright.PENANAicvkfhkDLQ
9Please respect copyright.PENANAihfNxdF3vO
9Please respect copyright.PENANAqO1ANy4xKS
9Please respect copyright.PENANAebcNG8Tz7w
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzekFbLyXVq
9Please respect copyright.PENANAr18viUkjKf
9Please respect copyright.PENANAsHHU7gido4
9Please respect copyright.PENANAWk3Tj0oqWh
9Please respect copyright.PENANA8VufhbjBlS
9Please respect copyright.PENANAbXpHYS9DUG
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzuzueCk0rm
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUM8BGxOLRg
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUBigxaflZD
9Please respect copyright.PENANA8ZY7I36XzH
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUdHofbD3dg
9Please respect copyright.PENANAP9petFHdkM
9Please respect copyright.PENANAvisvfadxOf
9Please respect copyright.PENANAvvf0bi8MNA
9Please respect copyright.PENANASyaaBsmUfK
9Please respect copyright.PENANAH8QWLzZi1q
9Please respect copyright.PENANA8dAzY6c2TD
9Please respect copyright.PENANAExaZo2XkBe
9Please respect copyright.PENANA22r4XLaU9v
9Please respect copyright.PENANApK2iJZI0M0
9Please respect copyright.PENANA0FdfH4HQLt
9Please respect copyright.PENANAqDkkj6qfCW
9Please respect copyright.PENANA1pl5qDxKVr
9Please respect copyright.PENANAETBo9NiC8B
9Please respect copyright.PENANAHVbaVvjGnt
9Please respect copyright.PENANAjCJNmcyUer
9Please respect copyright.PENANArXMTFCSEp1
9Please respect copyright.PENANAy6EklCFe1S
9Please respect copyright.PENANAuwfTwcUMdB
9Please respect copyright.PENANAwtCK5QrTO9
9Please respect copyright.PENANAm4ByYXiDyY
9Please respect copyright.PENANAOIsPRVE9Bk
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUHYUjcAdus
9Please respect copyright.PENANAVsWGaCvrS8
9Please respect copyright.PENANAHJolBzrQRQ
9Please respect copyright.PENANAXPgoilgVxa
9Please respect copyright.PENANAMqZk9u8VUK
9Please respect copyright.PENANAJ6sZk3vIwt
9Please respect copyright.PENANADMSpxukm2U
9Please respect copyright.PENANA44tNF43nyu
9Please respect copyright.PENANAWMrJcC57Zn
9Please respect copyright.PENANAu22IHXsOgs
9Please respect copyright.PENANAsDsSSW9bvZ
9Please respect copyright.PENANApbFAK4flDL
9Please respect copyright.PENANA1t0Uja3LXy
9Please respect copyright.PENANA15qJP1jIzw
9Please respect copyright.PENANAdvKdm9q31M
9Please respect copyright.PENANAMGruIj49uG
9Please respect copyright.PENANANSha5SDW1V
9Please respect copyright.PENANAtpvr0nFLUK
9Please respect copyright.PENANAKEYvfBx436
9Please respect copyright.PENANAohBtLGnJwI
9Please respect copyright.PENANAXOlEHbplLz
9Please respect copyright.PENANACEHQgI1KZU
9Please respect copyright.PENANAgS6KKbYyZ0
9Please respect copyright.PENANASu6p2yQBlM
9Please respect copyright.PENANAEEB84VateA
9Please respect copyright.PENANAYCEQydRJXm
9Please respect copyright.PENANAc18DnSblCR
9Please respect copyright.PENANAGL5ek3lBr8
9Please respect copyright.PENANA9miOFcgXIR
9Please respect copyright.PENANAAqVp9UEgPZ
9Please respect copyright.PENANAiIw5p7t1vE
9Please respect copyright.PENANA0vVZuuo3ic
9Please respect copyright.PENANA7RyWn3PtcI
9Please respect copyright.PENANAXtE99I5iMJ
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFURiTDbTC7
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFANVgUm0p9
9Please respect copyright.PENANA7Qx5tEnhLp
9Please respect copyright.PENANAHwqWoWkokC
9Please respect copyright.PENANArvlbQC2CnN
9Please respect copyright.PENANAi2X9FFqZQ6
9Please respect copyright.PENANANiiBGCMUUr
9Please respect copyright.PENANAE7tjt4jGmX
9Please respect copyright.PENANA4IjFhphTkD
9Please respect copyright.PENANAJVxdUXlZKM
9Please respect copyright.PENANAkHdQLlT6ko
9Please respect copyright.PENANA7o8twVWP8b
9Please respect copyright.PENANAklvSUTeiln
9Please respect copyright.PENANAUwGsf5lNwk
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzM8Wa1iKJf
9Please respect copyright.PENANADObLEFWIAX
9Please respect copyright.PENANAzqMuEItwJC
9Please respect copyright.PENANAX2RKBsO3uV
9Please respect copyright.PENANAXD1sow3hmB
9Please respect copyright.PENANAlsP03fY9sR
9Please respect copyright.PENANACTAs4r5MAI
9Please respect copyright.PENANAFjwR2eDssx
9Please respect copyright.PENANAqKZ9jy3nbu
9Please respect copyright.PENANAwJcWrkmbOR
9Please respect copyright.PENANAdiD0vwquvj
Want to read the whole book? Join my Patreon: https://patreon.com/phoinixLEAP, and stay tuned for more updates.


