Chapter 1: Name TBA

"I have a raging headache," I said as I downed the last of my Sangria, a red wine mixed with lemonade, fruit, like oranges, and some spices. "I'd rather not talk about the ceremony tomorrow."

"Alright, alright." said Barnebus. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Iust inquiring, that's all. meant no offense by it."

I rested my forehead on the bar. It felt nice, but I needed to sleep or get some herbs into my system if I wanted to get rid of this headache. "You know what? I'm going to have another drink before I go home."

"Take it easy, if you drink anymore you won't be able to find your way home." Barnebus said to me, concerned.

"I'm only having one more bibum (drink). I'll be fine." I said, I didn't know if I'd be fine, I iust wanted him to leave me to my last drink before I stumbled home. I slowly stood up, I put my hands down onto the table, to keep me steady and stable. I could feel the alcohol taking it's toll. I looked around the bar, the bartender was talking to a pretty looking lady at the end.

I don't really remember what happened next, I guess I had a bit too much Sangria. But I woke up the next morning with an even worse headache, and I was on a boat. Not only was I pissed, I was confused. Not a good combination. Not to mention I was a boat. Did I mention I was on a boat? I went from being in a Romanii Bar to being on a boat. I could feel the water beneath the ship, we were moving.

Moving. The boat was moving.

I looked around. I was in a dark, wooden ship. There was a set of stairs leading to the upper deck about 20 feet away. Some water washed in through the grate above me, getting me wet. Water. I smiled.

The water was fresh from the sea, I could taste the salt. But I couldn't hear anything. I drew out moisture from the wood of the ship. Which would have been difficult had I only been a water user, but with the combination of water and virden, it wasn't hard. Now, I had no real reason to drying out the wood, but if a torch was dropped, and things turned ugly, it would make for a quick escape and distraction.

I stopped what I was doing when I heard foot steps on the boat.

Oh Gaia!

The foot steps stopped over the hatch over the stairs. I heard the sound of a lock being open and the sound of chains falling onto the wood of the ship. I braced myself for the worst. The latch opened and light shone through I was blinded, and then I realized that the light was not sunlight, but light from someones light magic. Or Fire. If it was fire, I would be able to use water to cancel it out. Well, if I had enough water to smother the flame.

The man with the light, walked down into the hold, I was more or less sprawled on the wooden floor, I had yet to move from the position I woke up in. The light fell upon me, and nothing happened. The light bearer came and went, though some guards came down afterwards, or mercenaries, but I thought every able bodied man was out fighting the war? Bah, questions without answers. I could barely walk, so they half dragged me half supported me when I tried to walk out of the hold of the ship. The light was blinding, but there were orbs of light floating around the ship, illuminating it's exterior. I don't know who kept those orbs of light in the air, but they must be quite the mage, because I saw ten or fifteen of them. The Guards brought me onto the deck, and tied me to the mast. I was strong, and taller than your average Romanii, but despite my height and my physical strength, I was clearly outnumbered and submitted to being tied to the mast. We were still docked, however, the tide had simply rolled in and a storm was coming, which explained the rocked of the ships and the sound of waves hitting the side of the boat. Wait, I could hear now. When I was down in the hold I couldn't hear anything. It must be some kind of advanced wind magic. but limited to the inside of the hold? how was that possible? unless some kind of alteration was at work?

I was now tied, to a mast. A storm was coming. I looked around and other than the ship's crew, no one was at the docks. What was going on?

I was tied to a mast, and we set sail. I could only guess where we were going. We headed west, I think, towards Irth, but I had no way to be sure. The sailors were wind and water users, with a few others. Some were dark, others light. The Captain, a female whom I've never seen in clear light. I could see storm clouds on the horizon. The sun was covered, and the world grey. I looked around, the sailors going about their work, preparing themselves for ocean travel while we were still on the sea between the mainland and the island. I was looking at each of the sailors: I recognized none of them. The Captain came out of her cabin a few times, but never went beyond the mast, she was always heading from her room to the poop-deck.

I don't know why they tied me up, nor do I know how I got on the boat in the first place. The last thing I remember was leaving the bar, or Vinum-Villa. The it's all black. Not one thing between then and waking up. I was more than a little frightened at what was happening. I had a myriad of thoughts going through my mind, thinking of all the possible reasons for this. I've technically been kidnapped. But at the same time they never threatened me with violence, nor have they spoken to me. In fact, I haven't heard anyone speak since they tied me up. It couldn't have been some sort of telepathy. I don't think any Romanii could do that. Or anyone for that matter, it was entirely fictional. It was more likely to be some sort of wind magic, or they all knew what they were doing. I had my money and that last thought: they all walked around the boat with a purpose. Were they smugglers?

They never looked at me while I was tied to the mast. I was still slightly under the effects of the Sangria I drank the previous night. I was still dressed though, I was grateful for that. Especially since we were sailing against the wind. I was still cold. The storm drew ever closer.

The storm drew nearer. It was a huge colossus of a thing to behold. It's clouds were dark and ominous. Lightning could be seen, flashing through the clouds of the beast. The wind picked up, and waves grew higher and more fierce. We were sailing into the storm. Directly into it. None of the sailors were perturbed by the decision to go straight into it. The closer we came, the more obvious it was the danger the storm posed to ships. The waves crashed over the sides of the boat, soaking me with freezing ocean water. Then rain began to fall with a cold wind bringing it down slanted into my face and eyes.

It was some time before they untied me from the mast and brought me below decks, I didn't complain, and they put me in a cell. A right and proper cell. It became obvious to me that this was a smuggler ship, for the fact that I saw goods of many natures around me that the Romanii would never sell to Irth or the humans or those half-and-halfs. Most of the goods were packed away, in tightly concealed containers of a make I did not recognize.

The men who took me down to the cell almost went up out to the deck above, but stopped and came back to the cell. He took the shackles from the wall and then shackled me. I was now chained in the hold. My clothes were still wet and my body still cold, and the rocking of the boat was beginning to irritate me. I wasn't as drunk as I was when I woke up. Or rather, poisoned. It took me a while to realize that i was suffering from poison and not the after-effects of the Sangria. I had been poisoned. Someone must be out to get me.

I pulled against the shackles, trying to pry them from the wall. I was a big guy for my age, bigger than most warriors, and I was a healer. Professionally speaking it's a good thing I became a healer and not a warrior. My natural skills were in restoration and alteration, I did poorly in most of the other fields when they tested me, so I picked a profession that required proficiency in the fields I was good at. Thus I became a healer. I wasn't one of the biggest healers, in terms of muscle, but I was in this generation. Water and Virden, The two best magical talents that a healer could have, and I had both. I scoffed when I thought about that.

I smiled. I was cold and wet and surrounded by wood. The sexual thoughts coming to mind were quite terribly abundant. Perhaps they should have thought about what I was capable of, what magic I had. I was soaking wet, so using some swift watery magic, I slipped out of my shackles. It was tricky work, but I slipped my hands out without harming them. Which reminded me, where was Obscura Umbra? My one true friend and companion, missing. I hope he didn't get into trouble. Or get thrown into the ocean. I don't know if I could survive the wild without him. Hopefully they put him somewhere.

I squeezed through the bars that were my cell, which was a feat, and I had to bend them a little, which was even more difficult, and stepped out onto the lower deck. I was free, but not really. I looked around to see if anything could be used as a weapon. Everything was either food or couldn't possibly be used as a weapon. I was unarmed. Well, at least that was how I was trained, for the most part. In terms of combat. I moved toward the hatch, the only way up that I saw. I thought about my options and opened the hatch. Which I almost immediately regretted.

I only saw the bottom of the boot as he kicked me in the face. I fell backwards down the stairs and landed on my back, laying spread-eagle. That was the last thing I saw for a long time, since they put a bag over my head, and shackled my wrists, ankles, and abdominal area. I was basically strung up against the wall. These guys weren't your average run of the mill smugglers, they were professionals.

The finality of my situation hit me. I looked around the rocking ship and thought to myself: Why? I had seen a painting of me, with knives sticking out of it. All of them were in my heart, or my face. The smugglers had picked me up, but someone wanted me dead. I cried. An immense sorrow overwhelmed me. Tears fell down my cheeks and onto the wooden planks of the ship. The finality of death taking me was something I had not thought about. Nor was it something I wanted to think about. The thought of my life ending made me cry.

I must have passed out for when I awoke there was shuffling above me. I could hear the rudder move, as the the wheel on the poop-deck was moved. The storm still ravaged the sea around us. Yet none of the sailors said a word. No one was yelling commands. It was like I was on a ghost ship. The whole journey spanned a few days. I was never fed nor given water. Which is good, I didn't have to go to the bathroom for three days. I don't remember the second two days after the first, they poisoned me and kept me unconscious so I wouldn't cause trouble.

While I had slept in my poisoned snooze. A ship, Romanii military by what the smugglers later described to me, had sailed on by us. The Ships crew made no aggressive moves, they continued on there duties. I later learned that, in war-times, you don't use wind magic to help the ship on the ocean, because it can give away your position to the enemy. The men and women aboard the ship looked upon the approaching ship much like they did me, without interest. They went about their duties as was the norm. Even when the storms strong winds knocked the ship about, or when buckets upon buckets of water came over the edge from the monstrous waves.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, not a soul [aboard the ship] was set out of tomb. [Meaning their silence was unbroken]
The sailors went to and fro, about their oceanic flow.
Each man and woman did fret not, the ships crew as tight as a knot.
Each blow of the monstrous waves, rocked the ship like a necromancer graves.

Waves hit the sides of the ship making it toss and turn. A strong wave knocked it into the adjacent ship, causing quite a ruckus and knocking several people off there feet, not the the sailors a that captured me however, they were far too experienced sailors to be caught off guard by the oceans moods and sways. They were Sailors of Pisces, the ocean could not turn nor topple them. They had predicted the waves impact and had braced themselves.

I didn't much mind. I was tied to a bed, so that I wouldn't fall off, and in a poisoned slumber. I wasn't minding much of anything. I was dreaming country sweet dreams. You couldn't beat that, not in my book anyway.

The Captain of the ship, a beautiful women in her late twenties early thirties, had apparently taken care of my unconscious body. Now, the latent meaning behind that was lost to me, but I didn't mind, wasn't like I could do anything about it.

Now, it's a funny thing, perception, you might see people running back and forth, when in reality they were just walking around doing there duties, as normal, and as befits a stormy situation. The men and women prepared themselves for the worst of the gale that had yet to the come. Any sailor taught by a Master, or Expert, Stormcaster knew that the brunt of the storm was nearest the land, and that's where the danger lie. Many a shipwreck happened when novice sailors got caught in the storm, they got bashed against the shore, or a rebuff.

I know some people don't know who the Stormcasters are, but despite what that name may imply, the Stormcasters are a family. Gaius Leviticus Stormcaster was the patron of the family, a master sailor, the man knew how to sail through any storm, and made a fortune doing it. Now the man has several kids, and grand kids. It was a blessing if you could get an audience with Leviticus Stormcaster, the man was mighty quiet, and mighty mean when things got gruff. Having him teaching you how to sail is worse than joining the Romanii army, man worked you day and night, you had very little sleep and even less food. He taught you how to survive the open ocean. Not many survived his training.

Well, Stormcasters children were not right rotten brats like you'd think, the man being rich and all, they were a hard bunch, he'd teach them the ropes of the sailing world, and kicked them out as soon as he finished teaching them. If they didn't want to be sailors, they got kicked from his house. No questions asked. The way he saw it, they were land lovers, and not a real part of the family. He only ever liked the ones that became seafarers. His wife, on the other hand, was a different sort.

Abelia Raeven Stormcaster was one hell of a woman back in her day. She was one hell of a gypsy. Rumour had it she had enchanted men to be her lover for a night when they came passing by the gypsy camp. She knew how to give men the illusion of peace, she had been practicing illusion spells for the entirety of her life. By the time she was a young maiden, her early twenties, she had slept with many a man. However, if any man ever snapped out of the illusion, he was drowned. Which is how she met Leviticus Stormcaster, a man who was fresh to the world, but a veteran sailor.

No one knows who taught Leviticus, or how he came to know all that he does today, but whoever taught him, taught him fast. By the time he was twenty-five, he was a hard man. But When he laid eyes on Abelia drowning a man she had tried to seduce, he fell in love. Or, so Rumour has it. Once his ship came ashore and docked, he went hunting for her with desire in his heart and love in his head. He didn't stumble into the Gypsy camp like so many other man had, he walked in with intent. Which alarmed the gypsies, a man with intent is a hard man to steal from, or bargain with. They all steered clear of him.

He walked right up to her tent, or bungalow, whatever gypsies live in, and asked for her. Not by name, by appearance and description. Abelia's mother had answered his call, and looked over him frugally. Abelia was in line to become the Matron of the Gypsy camp, so her mother didn't want just any man waltzing in and asking for her. He was denied the first time to see her, and the camp threw him out. He came back twenty years later and married her. That was all that rumour held, much detail after that was lost or forgotten, or paid off.

It's still said that Abelia goes back to that camp a few times a year, and speaks with the now-matron of the camp. Whatever goes on then, is unknown to rumour, but I'll tell you this, don't go waltzing around that area, it's not safe, if you're a man.

But now, that ties into what I'm about to reveal: The captain of the ship was Amelia Levitica Stormcaster. Granddaughter of the man himself and not someone to mess with. Not like I knew, I should have probably paid more attention to the women I slept with, which was my first mistake. My second mistake, was sleeping with her sister and his second favorite granddaughter, Bellatrix, who was my own age. I probably should not have left without saying goodbye either, but I did, and that was my third mistakes. I'm sure I had many others, but I wouldn't learn of them until I met with the one who wanted me. Which I also learned was not Stormcaster, as I had thought.

The Ship pulled into the Harbor on Irth, the crew unloaded their cargo and began their trading operations. Amelia had me brought out as a a crewman who had taken ill and needed treatment. While the pirates had their goods sold and reaped the benefits of the gold, I suffered in my poisoned sleep. None of the Guards were suspicious. They had a smooth operation, it was admirable, really. To be able to carry out such an illegal operation without the knowledge of the Irthen Guards. She stayed with me the whole time, while her crew moved me into a house at a tavern.

The doctor that Amelia had look at me was not one of the best, nor was he by any standards talented at water magic. No thanks to him, moreover, I woke up. Amelia was not surprised at the fact that I had woken up screaming in terror. The Tavern, however, thought something had happened and sent someone up. The doctor assured the man that I had just woken up from some rare illness that caused nightmares, or something along those lines. I was too busy staring at Amelia. She had nice curves, but I was in a state of terror. Sweat was pouring down my face, my pupils were dilated, the world was crystal clear.

Amelia stared at me, slightly amused. "So your the boy who slept with my sister."

I gulped, not knowing what to say.

"You had the nerve to seduce one of the Stormcasters."

I remained silent, I didn't want to make anythings worse, even though I was still in a state of terror, probably from the poison.

"Speechless? Well no worries, it won't happen again."

That sent tendrils of fear down my spine. I tried to talk but I ended up coughing.

"Shh," Amelia said, "you mustn't try to talk, the poison hasn't worn off yet."

I looked at her in bewilderment.

"What? Did you think we wouldn't prepare something that you wouldn't be able to counter?"

I remained silent, that's all I could do, I gave a confused look. She knew I was out of it. I don't know if she cared, but she did give me an almost pitying look. that set off all sorts of alarms. I could name off the top of my head thirty different poisons that could kill a man slowly and painfully, some of which had no cure. I prayed that that wasn't to be my fate.

She stood got up from the end of the bed, which I had failed to notice previously that she was even on the bed. I then realized that I couldn't feel my feet. I looked down at the end of the bed where my feet were, they looked perfectly fine. I looked back up to Amelia, who had noticed by sudden observation. She removed the blanket that had been over me to keep me warm and revealed that My feet were in ice locks. My feet were so cold they were numb. I was also stark naked. I blushed, which doesn't happen often.

Amelia saw me blush, and I swear she nearly laughed. "Are embarrassed to be so bare before the world?"

I knew it was a rhetorical question. I just looked away from her. The doctor must've been an ice mage, because he was focusing on my feet. Amelia was Water and Virden, she made the poison, I was sure of it. I would've done something, but I was not skilled at destruction magic. I could, however, summon water into the room to flood it. As I was thinking of ways to escape, a curious look came over Amelia's face. She turned to the doctor and told him to remove the ice and leave, that he was done here. I could only guess what was going through her mind.

She remained silent for a minute, quizzical, it seemed. She was pondering some devious thoughts in her head. With the ice melted, I could feel the warmth slowly returning to my feet. I wiggled my toes just to know they were there. She noticed and briefly looked at my feet. A devious smirk crossed her face. Her eyes flashed to mine. I could almost feel her desire. She maintained eye contact with me, but I could see what she was doing in my peripheral vision: slowly undoing her vest and blouse. I couldn't look away from her eyes, she had me in a trance.

I felt like someone had put a blanket over my mind, or a net, I couldn't fully grasp the situation. Amelia was taking off her top, but I didn't know why, I felt like I knew, but the realization was iust out of reach. I could feel the tendrils of something creeping into my mind, slowly drawing my intelligent thoughts away from the world. She must've poisoned me. That was my last thought before falling into oblivion. It was a dreamless sleep.

When I awoke, I was still in the room, I was not sure of the time, nor was I sure of the day. I was, however, sure of my thoughts. I was awake, and I could feel that no poison was in my system. My mind was my own. I slowly sat up in bed, nothing bound me. A quick recap of the room told me that I was alone in the room. But I was still naked, and after getting out of bed and walking around the room, I could not locate my clothes. They must've been taken. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't iust about to walk out naked into the tavern.

I sat on the bed. The window was open, but climbing out was out of the question. I must've sat in the room contemplating things for some time, because before I knew it, the sun was setting. And right on cue Amelia walked in. She was holding a vial of some sort, it wasn't a very viscous liquid, it was almost like water. but it was a light white colour, not solid white, I could still see through it. I looked up at her, as she closed the door. She had the same wicked smirk as she did before. Except this time her eyes had intent.

I was already naked, and I recognized the lust in her eyes. I've seen it before. Especially in the big city. I always avoided the girls who had that look. I found it disturbing. I had no choice in the matter now. I was at her mercy. She must have recognized the look on my face when I turned my head slightly. Her eyes narrowed. I wanted to avoid eye contact. I wanted to jump out the window. But she was right there.

She set down the concoction on the chest in front of the bed. She took off her vest, let it fall to the floor. She took a step forward and began taking off her blouse. She took another step. She pulled the blouse off and let it fall to the floor. She lifted her hand and with the index finger of her left hand, she motioned for me to come closer. I took one step closer. She tilted her head. I took another step, she said something about her pants not taking off themselves. I took another step, and we met in the middle of the room.
I unbuckled her belt, and tore her pants off of her.

I have never had a woman come after me. The way Amelia did. Nor have I ever had a woman with so much pent up sexual needs. We must have made love for quite some time. Afterwards she returned my clothes to me and my weapon, Obscura Umbra. Who immediately commented on how my psyche seemed different. I looked at the concoction left forgotten on the chest, and mentioned it to her. She said it was something to get me going if I couldn't get going on my own. I looked at her stunned. I told her she had some nerve making something like that for me with emphasis on the 'me'. I shook my head.

After I donned my clothes and equipped my weapon, bathing before hand, we went down into the tavern to talk. It was while we were having some beer and some light meal that I noticed some of the Romanii soldiers. I made a light comment about it, and Amelia said that they arrived shortly before we did. She also made mentioned that she did her part of the bargain, and that someone was going to looking for me today, to talk. I knew what she meant by that. She was paid to get me here, it was someone else's job to beat the shit out of me. I asked her if she knew who, she didn't know. She did know it was a mercenary. Or rather, he was a mercenary.

I sighed, information gathering at it's finest. We finished our meal and made small talk. I left the tavern without her, she stayed behind, for her own reasons. Moreover, I now officially had a courting partner. Now I stand with the harbor in front of me and the voyage behind me. I was on Irth. The land of humans. It had a bloody history, being the land wrecked by war between the Angels and the Demons. Fun times.

"I have a raging headache," I said as I downed the last of my Sangria, a red wine mixed with lemonade, fruit, like oranges, and some spices. "I'd rather not talk about the ceremony tomorrow."

"Alright, alright." said Barnebus. "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Iust inquiring, that's all. meant no offense by it."

I rested my forehead on the bar. It felt nice, but I needed to sleep or get some herbs into my system if I wanted to get rid of this headache. "You know what? I'm going to have another drink before I go home."

"Take it easy, if you drink anymore you won't be able to find your way home." Barnebus said to me, concerned.

"I'm only having one more bibum (drink). I'll be fine." I said, I didn't know if I'd be fine, I iust wanted him to leave me to my last drink before I stumbled home. I slowly stood up, I put my hands down onto the table, to keep me steady and stable. I could feel the alcohol taking it's toll. I looked around the bar, the bartender was talking to a pretty looking lady at the end.

I don't really remember what happened next, I guess I had a bit too much Sangria. But I woke up the next morning with an even worse headache, and I was on a boat. Not only was I pissed, I was confused. Not a good combination. Not to mention I was a boat. Did I mention I was on a boat? I went from being in a Romanii Bar to being on a boat. I could feel the water beneath the ship, we were moving.

Moving. The boat was moving.

I looked around. I was in a dark, wooden ship. There was a set of stairs leading to the upper deck about 20 feet away. Some water washed in through the grate above me, getting me wet. Water. I smiled.

The water was fresh from the sea, I could taste the salt. But I couldn't hear anything. I drew out moisture from the wood of the ship. Which would have been difficult had I only been a water user, but with the combination of water and virden, it wasn't hard. Now, I had no real reason to drying out the wood, but if a torch was dropped, and things turned ugly, it would make for a quick escape and distraction.

I stopped what I was doing when I heard foot steps on the boat.

Oh Gaia!

The foot steps stopped over the hatch over the stairs. I heard the sound of a lock being open and the sound of chains falling onto the wood of the ship. I braced myself for the worst. The latch opened and light shone through I was blinded, and then I realized that the light was not sunlight, but light from someones light magic. Or Fire. If it was fire, I would be able to use water to cancel it out. Well, if I had enough water to smother the flame.

The man with the light, walked down into the hold, I was more or less sprawled on the wooden floor, I had yet to move from the position I woke up in. The light fell upon me, and nothing happened. The light bearer came and went, though some guards came down afterwards, or mercenaries, but I thought every able bodied man was out fighting the war? Bah, questions without answers. I could barely walk, so they half dragged me half supported me when I tried to walk out of the hold of the ship. The light was blinding, but there were orbs of light floating around the ship, illuminating it's exterior. I don't know who kept those orbs of light in the air, but they must be quite the mage, because I saw ten or fifteen of them. The Guards brought me onto the deck, and tied me to the mast. I was strong, and taller than your average Romanii, but despite my height and my physical strength, I was clearly outnumbered and submitted to being tied to the mast. We were still docked, however, the tide had simply rolled in and a storm was coming, which explained the rocked of the ships and the sound of waves hitting the side of the boat. Wait, I could hear now. When I was down in the hold I couldn't hear anything. It must be some kind of advanced wind magic. but limited to the inside of the hold? how was that possible? unless some kind of alteration was at work?

I was now tied, to a mast. A storm was coming. I looked around and other than the ship's crew, no one was at the docks. What was going on?

I was tied to a mast, and we set sail. I could only guess where we were going. We headed west, I think, towards Irth, but I had no way to be sure. The sailors were wind and water users, with a few others. Some were dark, others light. The Captain, a female whom I've never seen in clear light. I could see storm clouds on the horizon. The sun was covered, and the world grey. I looked around, the sailors going about their work, preparing themselves for ocean travel while we were still on the sea between the mainland and the island. I was looking at each of the sailors: I recognized none of them. The Captain came out of her cabin a few times, but never went beyond the mast, she was always heading from her room to the poop-deck.

I don't know why they tied me up, nor do I know how I got on the boat in the first place. The last thing I remember was leaving the bar, or Vinum-Villa. The it's all black. Not one thing between then and waking up. I was more than a little frightened at what was happening. I had a myriad of thoughts going through my mind, thinking of all the possible reasons for this. I've technically been kidnapped. But at the same time they never threatened me with violence, nor have they spoken to me. In fact, I haven't heard anyone speak since they tied me up. It couldn't have been some sort of telepathy. I don't think any Romanii could do that. Or anyone for that matter, it was entirely fictional. It was more likely to be some sort of wind magic, or they all knew what they were doing. I had my money and that last thought: they all walked around the boat with a purpose. Were they smugglers?

They never looked at me while I was tied to the mast. I was still slightly under the effects of the Sangria I drank the previous night. I was still dressed though, I was grateful for that. Especially since we were sailing against the wind. I was still cold. The storm drew ever closer.

The storm drew nearer. It was a huge colossus of a thing to behold. It's clouds were dark and ominous. Lightning could be seen, flashing through the clouds of the beast. The wind picked up, and waves grew higher and more fierce. We were sailing into the storm. Directly into it. None of the sailors were perturbed by the decision to go straight into it. The closer we came, the more obvious it was the danger the storm posed to ships. The waves crashed over the sides of the boat, soaking me with freezing ocean water. Then rain began to fall with a cold wind bringing it down slanted into my face and eyes.

It was some time before they untied me from the mast and brought me below decks, I didn't complain, and they put me in a cell. A right and proper cell. It became obvious to me that this was a smuggler ship, for the fact that I saw goods of many natures around me that the Romanii would never sell to Irth or the humans or those half-and-halfs. Most of the goods were packed away, in tightly concealed containers of a make I did not recognize.

The men who took me down to the cell almost went up out to the deck above, but stopped and came back to the cell. He took the shackles from the wall and then shackled me. I was now chained in the hold. My clothes were still wet and my body still cold, and the rocking of the boat was beginning to irritate me. I wasn't as drunk as I was when I woke up. Or rather, poisoned. It took me a while to realize that i was suffering from poison and not the after-effects of the Sangria. I had been poisoned. Someone must be out to get me.

I pulled against the shackles, trying to pry them from the wall. I was a big guy for my age, bigger than most warriors, and I was a healer. Professionally speaking it's a good thing I became a healer and not a warrior. My natural skills were in restoration and alteration, I did poorly in most of the other fields when they tested me, so I picked a profession that required proficiency in the fields I was good at. Thus I became a healer. I wasn't one of the biggest healers, in terms of muscle, but I was in this generation. Water and Virden, The two best magical talents that a healer could have, and I had both. I scoffed when I thought about that.

I smiled. I was cold and wet and surrounded by wood. The sexual thoughts coming to mind were quite terribly abundant. Perhaps they should have thought about what I was capable of, what magic I had. I was soaking wet, so using some swift watery magic, I slipped out of my shackles. It was tricky work, but I slipped my hands out without harming them. Which reminded me, where was Obscura Umbra? My one true friend and companion, missing. I hope he didn't get into trouble. Or get thrown into the ocean. I don't know if I could survive the wild without him. Hopefully they put him somewhere.

I squeezed through the bars that were my cell, which was a feat, and I had to bend them a little, which was even more difficult, and stepped out onto the lower deck. I was free, but not really. I looked around to see if anything could be used as a weapon. Everything was either food or couldn't possibly be used as a weapon. I was unarmed. Well, at least that was how I was trained, for the most part. In terms of combat. I moved toward the hatch, the only way up that I saw. I thought about my options and opened the hatch. Which I almost immediately regretted.

I only saw the bottom of the boot as he kicked me in the face. I fell backwards down the stairs and landed on my back, laying spread-eagle. That was the last thing I saw for a long time, since they put a bag over my head, and shackled my wrists, ankles, and abdominal area. I was basically strung up against the wall. These guys weren't your average run of the mill smugglers, they were professionals.

The finality of my situation hit me. I looked around the rocking ship and thought to myself: Why? I had seen a painting of me, with knives sticking out of it. All of them were in my heart, or my face. The smugglers had picked me up, but someone wanted me dead. I cried. An immense sorrow overwhelmed me. Tears fell down my cheeks and onto the wooden planks of the ship. The finality of death taking me was something I had not thought about. Nor was it something I wanted to think about. The thought of my life ending made me cry.

I must have passed out for when I awoke there was shuffling above me. I could hear the rudder move, as the the wheel on the poop-deck was moved. The storm still ravaged the sea around us. Yet none of the sailors said a word. No one was yelling commands. It was like I was on a ghost ship. The whole journey spanned a few days. I was never fed nor given water. Which is good, I didn't have to go to the bathroom for three days. I don't remember the second two days after the first, they poisoned me and kept me unconscious so I wouldn't cause trouble.

While I had slept in my poisoned snooze. A ship, Romanii military by what the smugglers later described to me, had sailed on by us. The Ships crew made no aggressive moves, they continued on there duties. I later learned that, in war-times, you don't use wind magic to help the ship on the ocean, because it can give away your position to the enemy. The men and women aboard the ship looked upon the approaching ship much like they did me, without interest. They went about their duties as was the norm. Even when the storms strong winds knocked the ship about, or when buckets upon buckets of water came over the edge from the monstrous waves.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, not a soul [aboard the ship] was set out of tomb. [Meaning their silence was unbroken]
The sailors went to and fro, about their oceanic flow.
Each man and woman did fret not, the ships crew as tight as a knot.
Each blow of the monstrous waves, rocked the ship like a necromancer graves.

Waves hit the sides of the ship making it toss and turn. A strong wave knocked it into the adjacent ship, causing quite a ruckus and knocking several people off there feet, not the the sailors a that captured me however, they were far too experienced sailors to be caught off guard by the oceans moods and sways. They were Sailors of Pisces, the ocean could not turn nor topple them. They had predicted the waves impact and had braced themselves.

I didn't much mind. I was tied to a bed, so that I wouldn't fall off, and in a poisoned slumber. I wasn't minding much of anything. I was dreaming country sweet dreams. You couldn't beat that, not in my book anyway.

The Captain of the ship, a beautiful women in her late twenties early thirties, had apparently taken care of my unconscious body. Now, the latent meaning behind that was lost to me, but I didn't mind, wasn't like I could do anything about it.

Now, it's a funny thing, perception, you might see people running back and forth, when in reality they were just walking around doing there duties, as normal, and as befits a stormy situation. The men and women prepared themselves for the worst of the gale that had yet to the come. Any sailor taught by a Master, or Expert, Stormcaster knew that the brunt of the storm was nearest the land, and that's where the danger lie. Many a shipwreck happened when novice sailors got caught in the storm, they got bashed against the shore, or a rebuff.

I know some people don't know who the Stormcasters are, but despite what that name may imply, the Stormcasters are a family. Gaius Leviticus Stormcaster was the patron of the family, a master sailor, the man knew how to sail through any storm, and made a fortune doing it. Now the man has several kids, and grand kids. It was a blessing if you could get an audience with Leviticus Stormcaster, the man was mighty quiet, and mighty mean when things got gruff. Having him teaching you how to sail is worse than joining the Romanii army, man worked you day and night, you had very little sleep and even less food. He taught you how to survive the open ocean. Not many survived his training.

Well, Stormcasters children were not right rotten brats like you'd think, the man being rich and all, they were a hard bunch, he'd teach them the ropes of the sailing world, and kicked them out as soon as he finished teaching them. If they didn't want to be sailors, they got kicked from his house. No questions asked. The way he saw it, they were land lovers, and not a real part of the family. He only ever liked the ones that became seafarers. His wife, on the other hand, was a different sort.

Abelia Raeven Stormcaster was one hell of a woman back in her day. She was one hell of a gypsy. Rumour had it she had enchanted men to be her lover for a night when they came passing by the gypsy camp. She knew how to give men the illusion of peace, she had been practicing illusion spells for the entirety of her life. By the time she was a young maiden, her early twenties, she had slept with many a man. However, if any man ever snapped out of the illusion, he was drowned. Which is how she met Leviticus Stormcaster, a man who was fresh to the world, but a veteran sailor.

No one knows who taught Leviticus, or how he came to know all that he does today, but whoever taught him, taught him fast. By the time he was twenty-five, he was a hard man. But When he laid eyes on Abelia drowning a man she had tried to seduce, he fell in love. Or, so Rumour has it. Once his ship came ashore and docked, he went hunting for her with desire in his heart and love in his head. He didn't stumble into the Gypsy camp like so many other man had, he walked in with intent. Which alarmed the gypsies, a man with intent is a hard man to steal from, or bargain with. They all steered clear of him.

He walked right up to her tent, or bungalow, whatever gypsies live in, and asked for her. Not by name, by appearance and description. Abelia's mother had answered his call, and looked over him frugally. Abelia was in line to become the Matron of the Gypsy camp, so her mother didn't want just any man waltzing in and asking for her. He was denied the first time to see her, and the camp threw him out. He came back twenty years later and married her. That was all that rumour held, much detail after that was lost or forgotten, or paid off.

It's still said that Abelia goes back to that camp a few times a year, and speaks with the now-matron of the camp. Whatever goes on then, is unknown to rumour, but I'll tell you this, don't go waltzing around that area, it's not safe, if you're a man.

But now, that ties into what I'm about to reveal: The captain of the ship was Amelia Levitica Stormcaster. Granddaughter of the man himself and not someone to mess with. Not like I knew, I should have probably paid more attention to the women I slept with, which was my first mistake. My second mistake, was sleeping with her sister and his second favorite granddaughter, Bellatrix, who was my own age. I probably should not have left without saying goodbye either, but I did, and that was my third mistakes. I'm sure I had many others, but I wouldn't learn of them until I met with the one who wanted me. Which I also learned was not Stormcaster, as I had thought.

The Ship pulled into the Harbor on Irth, the crew unloaded their cargo and began their trading operations. Amelia had me brought out as a a crewman who had taken ill and needed treatment. While the pirates had their goods sold and reaped the benefits of the gold, I suffered in my poisoned sleep. None of the Guards were suspicious. They had a smooth operation, it was admirable, really. To be able to carry out such an illegal operation without the knowledge of the Irthen Guards. She stayed with me the whole time, while her crew moved me into a house at a tavern.

The doctor that Amelia had look at me was not one of the best, nor was he by any standards talented at water magic. No thanks to him, moreover, I woke up. Amelia was not surprised at the fact that I had woken up screaming in terror. The Tavern, however, thought something had happened and sent someone up. The doctor assured the man that I had just woken up from some rare illness that caused nightmares, or something along those lines. I was too busy staring at Amelia. She had nice curves, but I was in a state of terror. Sweat was pouring down my face, my pupils were dilated, the world was crystal clear.

Amelia stared at me, slightly amused. "So your the boy who slept with my sister."

I gulped, not knowing what to say.

"You had the nerve to seduce one of the Stormcasters."

I remained silent, I didn't want to make anythings worse, even though I was still in a state of terror, probably from the poison.

"Speechless? Well no worries, it won't happen again."

That sent tendrils of fear down my spine. I tried to talk but I ended up coughing.

"Shh," Amelia said, "you mustn't try to talk, the poison hasn't worn off yet."

I looked at her in bewilderment.

"What? Did you think we wouldn't prepare something that you wouldn't be able to counter?"

I remained silent, that's all I could do, I gave a confused look. She knew I was out of it. I don't know if she cared, but she did give me an almost pitying look. that set off all sorts of alarms. I could name off the top of my head thirty different poisons that could kill a man slowly and painfully, some of which had no cure. I prayed that that wasn't to be my fate.

She stood got up from the end of the bed, which I had failed to notice previously that she was even on the bed. I then realized that I couldn't feel my feet. I looked down at the end of the bed where my feet were, they looked perfectly fine. I looked back up to Amelia, who had noticed by sudden observation. She removed the blanket that had been over me to keep me warm and revealed that My feet were in ice locks. My feet were so cold they were numb. I was also stark naked. I blushed, which doesn't happen often.

Amelia saw me blush, and I swear she nearly laughed. "Are embarrassed to be so bare before the world?"

I knew it was a rhetorical question. I just looked away from her. The doctor must've been an ice mage, because he was focusing on my feet. Amelia was Water and Virden, she made the poison, I was sure of it. I would've done something, but I was not skilled at destruction magic. I could, however, summon water into the room to flood it. As I was thinking of ways to escape, a curious look came over Amelia's face. She turned to the doctor and told him to remove the ice and leave, that he was done here. I could only guess what was going through her mind.

She remained silent for a minute, quizzical, it seemed. She was pondering some devious thoughts in her head. With the ice melted, I could feel the warmth slowly returning to my feet. I wiggled my toes just to know they were there. She noticed and briefly looked at my feet. A devious smirk crossed her face. Her eyes flashed to mine. I could almost feel her desire. She maintained eye contact with me, but I could see what she was doing in my peripheral vision: slowly undoing her vest and blouse. I couldn't look away from her eyes, she had me in a trance.

I felt like someone had put a blanket over my mind, or a net, I couldn't fully grasp the situation. Amelia was taking off her top, but I didn't know why, I felt like I knew, but the realization was iust out of reach. I could feel the tendrils of something creeping into my mind, slowly drawing my intelligent thoughts away from the world. She must've poisoned me. That was my last thought before falling into oblivion. It was a dreamless sleep.

When I awoke, I was still in the room, I was not sure of the time, nor was I sure of the day. I was, however, sure of my thoughts. I was awake, and I could feel that no poison was in my system. My mind was my own. I slowly sat up in bed, nothing bound me. A quick recap of the room told me that I was alone in the room. But I was still naked, and after getting out of bed and walking around the room, I could not locate my clothes. They must've been taken. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't iust about to walk out naked into the tavern.

I sat on the bed. The window was open, but climbing out was out of the question. I must've sat in the room contemplating things for some time, because before I knew it, the sun was setting. And right on cue Amelia walked in. She was holding a vial of some sort, it wasn't a very viscous liquid, it was almost like water. but it was a light white colour, not solid white, I could still see through it. I looked up at her, as she closed the door. She had the same wicked smirk as she did before. Except this time her eyes had intent.

I was already naked, and I recognized the lust in her eyes. I've seen it before. Especially in the big city. I always avoided the girls who had that look. I found it disturbing. I had no choice in the matter now. I was at her mercy. She must have recognized the look on my face when I turned my head slightly. Her eyes narrowed. I wanted to avoid eye contact. I wanted to jump out the window. But she was right there.

She set down the concoction on the chest in front of the bed. She took off her vest, let it fall to the floor. She took a step forward and began taking off her blouse. She took another step. She pulled the blouse off and let it fall to the floor. She lifted her hand and with the index finger of her left hand, she motioned for me to come closer. I took one step closer. She tilted her head. I took another step, she said something about her pants not taking off themselves. I took another step, and we met in the middle of the room.
I unbuckled her belt, and tore her pants off of her.

I have never had a woman come after me. The way Amelia did. Nor have I ever had a woman with so much pent up sexual needs. We must have made love for quite some time. Afterwards she returned my clothes to me and my weapon, Obscura Umbra. Who immediately commented on how my psyche seemed different. I looked at the concoction left forgotten on the chest, and mentioned it to her. She said it was something to get me going if I couldn't get going on my own. I looked at her stunned. I told her she had some nerve making something like that for me with emphasis on the 'me'. I shook my head.

After I donned my clothes and equipped my weapon, bathing before hand, we went down into the tavern to talk. It was while we were having some beer and some light meal that I noticed some of the Romanii soldiers. I made a light comment about it, and Amelia said that they arrived shortly before we did. She also made mentioned that she did her part of the bargain, and that someone was going to looking for me today, to talk. I knew what she meant by that. She was paid to get me here, it was someone else's job to beat the shit out of me. I asked her if she knew who, she didn't know. She did know it was a mercenary. Or rather, he was a mercenary.

I sighed, information gathering at it's finest. We finished our meal and made small talk. I left the tavern without her, she stayed behind, for her own reasons. Moreover, I now officially had a courting partner. Now I stand with the harbor in front of me and the voyage behind me. I was on Irth. The land of humans. It had a bloody history, being the land wrecked by war between the Angels and the Demons. Fun times.

So there I was, on Irth, a land riddled with war and strife. Resistance groups were scattered everywhere. Propaganda groups coming up with ridiculous tales about both sides. I mean it, the Demonic forces don't eat the Children of the Romani, that's just silly. War clouds the minds of people far too easily. I prefer healing to killing. Only the cruel and sadistic enjoy killing. That's something I've learned from this.

I've been held captive for at least a day. Now I have to find out who is looking for me and why. I was wandering around the harbour town, looking for answers. The day was aging quickly. I still had to find the regiment I was apart of. I don't know what the Legionnaire would think of me, if he discovered that I was missing before we even made first contact with the Demonic forces. He might think that I've deserted. Or worse, betrayed the Romani forces.

Which might actually turn out to be the least of my worries. Thieves on Irth are known to be brutish, I think, maybe that was just propaganda. I read somewhere that some people like to leave the civilized towns and live in forests. They called people who did that forest dwellers. I don't know much about the forest dwellers. I think the writer was just biased, she had a lot of negative things to say about them.

I wish there was a way to end the way, like by turning the tide in someones favor. But turning the tide of battle would mean one side would suffer more than the other. That wouldn't be good. I sighed and found a bench to sit down on. "Life is just to damned complicated with war." I said to myself, out loud.

"Well, I guess you had better get going. War is in your life, after all." Said someone nearby. I looked up and looked around. I could feel the voice coming from nearby. But I couldn't see anyone. I began getting shivers up and down my spine. I had a feeling he was hiding in plain sight. I didn't move from my spot, I was curious.

"Ha, and you would be?" I said, my voice cracked.

"I would be the person looking for you." The voice seemed to come from the nearby alleyway. Seemed to.

"Well, you found me." I said, surrendering. He came from around the corner, not the alleyway. He must be a wind user, carrying his voice, or something. He didn't respond. He walked closer, slowly, as if he was anticipating something. I didn't move. I daren't move. I could feel tension in the air. The closer he got, the more I wondered if he was going to kill me. I tensed and heard a knife drawn. Then he sat down next to me on the bench and sighed.

We talked for well over an hour, about what I did wrong, and what I could do to make up for it. He decided that I write a letter to Bellatrix, as well as, at some point, show up in person and apologize. Not to mention that he would ensure that I do this at some point or die trying. Which was unsettling, seeing as how I was off to war. We talked about other things, life and other vague topics, before he let me go.

I was a bit shaken up by the encounter. Not that I would let anybody know by showing behavioral signs. Then again, I'm not that good. I soon found myself following the regiment leaving the town. I didn't know what they were up to, and I wasn't exactly in uniform. I ran up to the front to speak to the Commander, or Legionnaire, or whomever was leading the troops. After a couple minutes of jogging I arrived at the head of the formation. There I found the leader, along with several other important looking persons. I approached, timidly. I spoke to them and asked where my group was, they told me that they had were farther up, about a day or twos march ahead of them. A day or two, that's about fifty miles, or more.

I felt lost. I was far behind my regiment. I didn't know if they were engaging the enemy. I marched, or walked, really, with this regiment. I spoke to some of them, trying to learn more, they said they were heading to some location on Irth to meet the Demonic forces for a skirmish. I wished them the best, I didn't convey my dislike for war. My folks told me that I was still young, and would understand the war when I was older. I still think that's not true.

Eventually I got tired of the slow pace they were marching at. I broke into a jog, and passed them, relaying my apologies and thanks to the commander for letting me march with his men. I jogged ahead. I wanted to be there, I was a healer, we were always needed on the battlefield. I didn't want my duty to be shorthanded because I was late to a battle.

After a grueling jog, I arrived at a small camp. I forgot the military term. I think it was 'forward base' or something. They were getting more troops ready to be sent to the nearby battle. Instead of going through the camp, I went around, it took a little longer, but I didn't want to have to stop for small talk. Everything I was doing was very un-military-like. Sneaking around an allied camp, being late to deployment, never checking in with my CO. It was a wonder that I haven't been court marshaled yet. But then, they needed every able bodied man for the war.

It had been hours since I first began heading to the battlefield. I could hear the war drums and clashing of metal. I couldn't yet see it, but I knew I there. I knew I was in the war-zone. Flashes of magical Heat-Lightning reflected of the ground and scavenging birds were circling the sky above the field. Any who died today would be feasted upon by black beaks who currently craved the burning bodies of the beasts of war. The men covered in their metal husks with their symbolic markings, casting spells, sword fighting, slaying each other on this bloody field.

War, war never changes. A true quote, from one of the voluminous books I've read. Here in front of me, the front lines, I beheld the sight of death and chaos and destruction. I beheld war.

After I serve my time in the military, if there is an afterwards, I'll either have a healing clinic or a library. Future plans. Never hurts to have them.