Legacies || Hermitcraft

Chapter XII - The Empath

Timeline: August 2014

Word Count ~ 2.5k

TW: Blood, violence, weaponry 

Keralis wasn't one to believe in luck, but a situation like this was certainly unfortunate. Sure, perhaps he'd gotten a little ambitious by trying to use his magic to earn himself a living, but apparently he'd severely underestimated how quickly news could travel across the seas. 

He wasn't entirely sure what a bunch of pirates could want with an Empath like him, but with a sword to his throat and no hope of escaping, Keralis made no attempt to resist his capture. The only thing worse than being held hostage was being dead, and he wasn't foolish enough to risk the latter. The pirates had immediately bound him with magic-resisting cuffs, the kind any magic user around these parts was far too familiar with, and to Keralis's surprise, these pirates seemed to know exactly what it was they were dealing with.

However, even a week after he'd been dragged onto their ship, he still wasn't sure why they wanted him. Perhaps they were bringing him to someone else for a sum of money, or perhaps they wanted his powers themselves. Keralis didn't know why a pirate would want an Empath to read his mind or alter his emotions, but he knew better than to question those holding him captive.

It wasn't long later that he realised why they'd taken him captive. 12 days after he'd been kidnapped by the pirates, they had the misfortune (or perhaps fortune in Keralis' case, if he were to believe in luck) of running into another ship owned by naval officers. They hadn't been thrilled to run into pirates in the waters they were supposed to be protecting, and had swiftly issued arrest warrants for everyone on board.

That was when Keralis had been dragged up onto the deck, brought before the officers and to his surprise, uncuffed. For a moment he'd been confused, wondering if they were planning to exchange him for their own freedom, but seconds later the captain leaned in close to him

"Make them scared." He demanded, pushing Keralis forwards. "Make them fear us so deeply that they know not to go near us ever again. And if you try to run, there's a gun pointed at the back of your head as we speak."

Keralis glanced over at the officers. He could feel their fear and concern, and see them reaching for their own weapons. The captain wasn't bluffing, there was a gun being held to his head and he had no means of avoiding its bullet. Regardless, he maintained a straight face and a calm attitude, determined not to let the threat of a gun let him be pushed into following his captors' orders.

Keralis turned his head back towards the captain, and felt the barrel of the gun brush against the hairs on his neck. The trigger wasn't pulled, not yet anyway, but the telltale click told Keralis that the pirates weren't afraid to shoot, or use his precarious situation as leverage against the officers. In spite of this, however, Keralis merely shook his head.

"No."

The captain was stunned into silence, in disbelief that Keralis could so calmly refuse an order, let alone with a gun to his head. For a moment nobody spoke, the naval officers exchanging worried glances as the pirates tried to figure out what to do.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" The first mate eventually repeated. "Are you stupid? You don't ignore what the captain asks of you, especially not when there's a loaded gun being pointed at your head. Do what you're asked, or-"

"But there isn't." Keralis interrupted. "The gun isn't loaded. You used your last bullet playing roulette last night, but your captain wouldn't know that because you weren't planning on telling him. So I may have a gun to my head, but it's not a threat to me."