GODS, TYRANTS AND MONSTERS

TIDES

The violent rocking of the boat awoke Nijahoeba who was fast asleep, paralyzed in a dark dream. He gasped, sitting upright and froze, his mind slowly coming back.

He switched on the lamp quickly, and found the compass's needle spinning violently. There was no stop to it, making him fear for his life.

He grabbed it and squeezed it, feeling the cold metal on his palms.

"Please, don't break!" he begged.

"Nijahoeba!" Odo's voice yelled.

"Odo?!" he yelled back before he wore his pants and coat. He then shoved the compass inside his coat and ran out of his cabin and down the dark and narrow passage.

He finally reached the deck and found Arina and Odo pulling the sails. For a noble woman, Arina had so much power, and knowledge, knowing where to pull and how.

The sky had turned scarlet with dark cumulonimbus clouds. Strong winds blew by, setting rain showers over their faces and blinding them.

Nijahoeba quickly ran to help the two, pulling where he could. As he pulled the ropes, he noticed that the ship was heading for a whirlpool.

"Oh no!" he whispered.

"We're not going to make it!" yelled Arina. "We have to abandon the ship"

"What?! I will never abandon Marietta!" Odo yelled in anger.

"We have to!" yelled Nijahoeba, the rain blinding his vision.

"Never!" yelled Odo.

The boat suddenly got tossed to the side by the violent waves and Nijahoeba fell inside the dark sea. It all happened so fast that even Nijahoeba did not know what to do.

"SAILOR!" Arina's voice was heard as Nijahoeba battled with the waves.

Images of the religious bracelets flashed through his head as water entered his nose. He tried to scream but the water muffled his cries.

Barrels floated above him and he quickly swam towards them but the water pulled him deeper into the unknown.

Darkness was all he could see until he could not see no more.

"When the compass breaks, the promise you made would be broken. They will all come for you Nijahoeba,"

**
Sea gulls screeched across the sky and the sound of people talking could be heard as Nijahoeba slowly opened his dark eyes slowly.

The first thing he saw was the blue sky. He blinked multiple times not believing that he was alive. How had he survived?

A shadow suddenly blocked the sunlight. Blonde hair was all he could see. She poked his chest before shouting, "He's still alive."

"Arina?" he croaked. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it is me sailor, come now," she stretched out her hand towards him.

The religious bracelets on her wrist juggled, making a familiar sound. He immediately froze.

"Sailor,"

"Where did you get the bracelets?" he asked. Arina looked at the bracelets closely and said nothing.

"Hey lad, get up! You have some work to do. Clean up these seaweeds all over my deck." Odo's voice interrupted.

Arina rose to her feet and walked away, leaving Nijahoeba to help himself up.

"We survived the whirlpool?" Nijahoeba asked Odo as he rose to his feet.

Odo shrugged his shoulders.

"I couldn't possibly tell you what happened lad, one moment I was sure we were done for and the next, we were safe. The lord of the seas must have showed us mercy."

Mercy, did the gods even know of the word?