Obsidian

Blue Crow

Year: 875; Present Time.

Month: July 25th.

Time: 2200

5 years after the incident.

Blue Crow's P.O.V.

2,064 days.... That's how long Eclipse had been missing...

1,263 days... That's how long Ember had been missing...

Blue Crow would not stop his search until they were both brought back home. A solemn vow he made that would not dare be broken...

Not even the whites of eyes could be seen in the bilge of the ship. Darkness had encapsulated the room; instead, the prisoners' senses were assaulted by the scents of salty ocean spray and rotting wood. Outside, waves splashed against the hull, and drunken laughter could be heard in the distance. The moonlight from the small porthole window sealed shut with thick glass, was their only luminescence in the blackness. One small area had light; it was the only spot that was avoided in the bilge. The window was a thick paned glass that prevented an escape. Sirens attempted to sing their songs, to lure the sailors into setting them free but saw no avail; their mouths were covered with muzzles crafted of metal, tarnished with age. The constraints left a bitter copper taste in their mouths, a taste that will last for days on end. The Siren's feathered wings are bound with ties, hindering them from the attempt at flying away. The fairies were linked together with heavy shackles and chains, enchanted to cancel out their magic. There was no hope in sight for any of them. The marauders that kidnapped them did not see them as people; they were reduced to objects to buy and sell for their own personal gain. Food and water were scarce around the bilge; most of it was going to the young ones aboard. There were fifteen people trapped in the bilge, crowded and knocking into each other every time a wave rocked the ship. Disease and death ran rampant, and the smell of rotting bodies caused many people to become ill. Everyone accepted their fate, knowing that there was nothing they could do to save themselves.

"Where are we going, mama? I-I want to go home... I'm scared..." One of the small fairies was crying... and clung to his mother's arm with as much strength as he could muster.

"Soon, my star, we will be home soon," The mother whispered, stroking her son's hair, "You just have to be brave right now. I will make sure you're safe."

She tried to soothe her child with the words, but it proved to be no benefit. The child and everyone there within the bilge were petrified. Fear had stopped them from escaping or even doing anything to fight back. The fear of meeting a cruel fate lingered in their thoughts; panic coursed through their veins. This was true for all except one — a hooded figure with beady red eyes. The figure was unmoving, so much so that one could mistake them for one of the dead. Only the steady rise and fall of their chest proved otherwise. Red feathers poked out from the bottom of their cloak. The figure stared directly at the sealed porthole — if waiting for something to happen, as if the figure knew something would happen. Red eyes burned through the darkness as if a fiery gaze alone could set the ship ablaze.

Creeaaak...........

SNAP!!!

Abruptly, the sound of wood splitting came from outside the porthole. Fifteen fearful faces turned to face it. Someone — or something was climbing on the side of the ship. The noise sent a chill down everyone's spine. Appearing through the porthole, a silhouette of a monster's head gazed inside at the people within. The creature broke the glass on the porthole with a piece of metal. It quickly climbed inside; shards of glass scraped at its torso, leaving bloody lines down the skin. The monster's predatory blue eyes looked around at all of the victims inside the bilge. The creature's claws were long and sharp. The steel surrounding the porthole had five gouges where its claws dug in. The creature had the upper body of a man and a tail that began below his waist, with scales that glistened in the moonlight. Every inch of his body was covered in scars, marks that showed he had seen the battlefield multiple times. He wore a mask that looked like a bird's beak on his face, hiding the lower half from the world — but a telltale smirk could still be seen. There was a brown leather sheath on his hip that held his dagger and a small canteen.