Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 7, part 1

Chapter 7 - The sea runs red

Today was the day. After six years of careful planning, he was to guide his men out to sea and reap Acqua of its very glory. Every half moon, the Acquan Parliament held a naval meeting between all of its officers and representatives, leaving the seas wide open for attack.

It was all so petty to Rin as he stood ready at the front of his ship, eyes narrowed at the distant outline of Acqua's capital upon the horizon. Surrounding his main vessel were multiple minor ones, some manned by fellow pirates, others by grudging outcasts, the impoverished, and/or random strays who wanted to feel the exhilaration of battle without having to sign up for the army. All were heavily equipped with all kinds of nasty explosives and destructive items. The navy wouldn't stand a chance against their wrath.

Armed with a spear, a pirate harpoon, and some dynamite for good measure, Captain Rin listened to the scuffling of his men as they rushed about to make final preparations. At this point, the battle was just about to start, with guard ships spotting them from their lazy ports and sounding distressed alarms for all to hear. However, the blaring scream of horns proved displeasing to Rin's ears, and he soon gave order to the cannoneers to 'have their fill of fun'.

Explosions rocketed throughout the darkening sky, lighting all that got in their way ablaze. With unbridled force, the cannons made contact with land and buildings, spewing debris into the air and wreaking havoc amongst the citizens residing in the area. There would be not a structure left standing when they were through…

"Fire more cannons! We ain't done yet," Rin yelled as he watched anxiously as Acquan naval ships began to creep their way. 'Tsk, I guess they really don't do much at those meetings, do they? Cause I seriously doubt they'd react any faster if they had...' he thought whilst pondering a possible escape plan. The navy was often rather slow in reacting to their attacks… perhaps they just got tired of their shit and decided to face them head to head? Not that it really mattered to him; either way, they were going down hard.

Recognizing a small channel to his left, the Pirate King raced up to the wheel and gave it a hard left, steering his vessel into a series of lesser used water channels. At least there they could quickly unload and regroup before more naval brats could catch onto their tail.

As he ran to pull some of the sails closed, Rin sensed something in his unconsciousness give way, returning to him memories long lost to the delicate dam he had been constructing for the sake of maintaining his sanity. 'Analyze every path, every possible route, every possible option. That way, you shall always find success...' It was his father’s voice, he recognized. Even after all these years, he could hear it like the jolly old man was standing right next to him, showing him all the maps of the region and chanting how one day, he would be one of the greatest naval leaders ever.

Although, an even darker thought occurred to him as he leapt back to the wheel, barking to some of his men to check the hauls and ready their cannons. ‘If father could see this from Heaven… would he really be proud of me?’ As bitter as he himself was, his father loved his country. Even if they betrayed him – which they very well did -  he would continue to support them even to the very end. That was one of the things both Rin and Nobuchika could never bring themselves to understand.

By now, blasts were sounding behind them, signaling that some of his tail ships were engaged in battle with the persistent Acquan navy. Seeing as they were running out of time, he quickly ran to the rails, ordering his men to anchor and abandon ship. With little to no hesitation, the pirates swiftly took to the land and poured into the streets of Acqua’ capitol island, harassing citizens, pillaging shops, and gradually making their way towards the castle. They knew in the back of their minds that it would only be so long until they were put down… but as long as they could still fight, most nothing could stop them. They weren’t there to bring justice. They were there to destroy.