《Enru: Accursed Child》Prologue
Advertisement
“All hands on deck! Don’t let-” the thunderous roar of a cannon, reverberating across the darkened sky as it released another mass of iron, drenched the last of his words. It blurred out, disappearing into the heavy rain with tremendous speed.
“They be getting closer, sir!” the bald man with a bushy, brown beard readied another cannonball to be fired off.
Another shockwave resounded through the air, but it wasn’t from them.
“Shield the side and tear the sails!” the captain waved his arms back and forth, directing the men that surged out from below, “Shield the portside!”
Translucent barriers covered the ship’s left side at his command, yet his stern expression did not change in the slightest as he watched the arrows and cannonballs rain in. Gusts of winds reached out from behind, dragging the massive amounts of droplets into their backs.
Waiting for the vibrations to end, he raised his right hand -ready to signal another retaliation.
“Remove the shields. Ready the cannons and spells!” he sliced the air with his hand, gazing over his comrades’ every move, “By my command. Fire in three, two, one. Fir-”
He stumbled, nearly falling onto his knees, as a sudden tremor reached him from the ship’s front. Drenched in water, he looked around, dreading the only possible answer.
“Captain! Our portside by the bow has been hit!” the anxious, high-pitched shout came from his right, “We’re taking on water!”
“Sir, they be closer than me own heels!” the bearded, bald man loaded another cannon in the rain.
“Y-you fools...” It was futile. The captain’s large hand grabbed the center of his chest as he looked over his crewmembers, still fighting for their lives; loading one cannon after the other, or running back and forth with buckets filled to the brim with water. Endless attempts at surviving, only delaying the inevitable.
Advertisement
If he didn’t know better he, too, would go out there and struggle until drawing his last breath. But they couldn’t outrun their fates. Letting go of their struggle would at least give them a peaceful death. A death at sea for what they protected...
Air escaped his nostrils as he let out a sigh, “How could I ever think of telling you to give up?..”
There was nowhere to flee. His eyes darted back and forth, gazing through the thick layer of rain; counting every man still struggling to keep the ship going. Many were already lost to the storm. Good men with families, dreams; goals...
And many more of those men would inevitably be lost.
“LISTEN UP!” his deep voice overtook the roaring cannons at that moment, gathering the attention of everyone left on the boat, “You’ve all struggled well until now...
I’d say it’s only a moment until we’re safe, but what captain would I be, if-”
“A bloody good one.” the bald man placed his hand on the captain’s left shoulder, “You grew up fine, Riam.”
Riam returned the gesture and grasped the man’s shoulder, locking eyes with him until the ship began to tilt. With a nod, his eyes were filled with determination.
He turned his head up for all to hear, “We turn around! This may be our grave, but let's make sure it’s theirs as well!”
Nobody cheered, yet there was no word of complaints. Resuming their work, they had already resigned to their fate. It was deathly silent, even though the downfall never stopped.
Only a fool would cheer in the face of death.
“Let there be hell upon those that stand in yer way-” the bald man glanced at the captain one last time.
“-And salvation for those that follow.” Riam replied to his back, “They’ll die with fear in their hearts.”
Advertisement
“Aye...” there were tears in the old man’s voice as he returned toward the cannons.
Ending his salute, Riam looked at the other ship closing in behind them. Taking off under the ever-increasing rain, the hurried toward the ship’s wheel. What would decide the outcome of their lives, inevitably landed in his hands.
It was heavy, slippery, and hard to turn altogether, but he couldn’t back down now. His brows furrowed to the thoughts of a future. The last of all their hopes would be lost.
But Someone had to do it; a captain’s burden.
Riam turned the ship, heading straight toward the enemy. Hurrying down the stairs, he helped prepare and ready the rest of the cannons available on the left side. Even under a storm, cannons at point-blank range would be hard to miss with.
With the last one finished, he waited alone at the front. Looking death right in its eyes, he was ready to give off the signal to fire at any time.
“FIRE!” just as each ship’s bow scratched against the other, the cannons got lit by his crewmembers. A thunderous roar reverberated through the sky, the sound of wood being crushed to splinters followed. From the impact, the man lost his footing to the tremor, and fell overboard.
Falling toward the deep ocean as rain poured down, he grinned, watching how the two ships broke into pieces, “...I’m sorry.”
Debris slowly sank into the ocean, one captain with it. Three years had gone by, but the time spent was not in vain. It was a shame, yet knowing that the other ship sank with them -that the others would not see the light of day- he accepted his cruel fate.
Picking up a wooden piece from his breast-pocket, he held it tightly with his right hand. It was broken in half, yet didn’t seem incomplete at all.
The air couldn’t reach him any longer. Everything but a dim light had abandoned him. Currents had their hold of him and he closed his eyes, sinking further into the depths; consciousness fading away.
With only a faint grin and memory left, the world turned dark.
Advertisement
The Legendary Thief
When Hannah walked up to the elevator to her appartment, she didn't expect to suddently appear in a magical world with a complete stranger. Nevertheless, there she was in this strange forest, stranded with no way home. With no money or food and no way home, they resorted to the only way to survive, Thievery. This is a tale of two girls becoming the most successful thieves in this new world. And little did they know, they weren’t alone. (The leveling system in this story is inspired by "The Wandering Inn") (Currently editing typos)
8 157Reality Drift
Kaye's life always had been cruel to him, but then he met ava, his girlfriend. She spirited away every single problem from his life. Yet life laughed at him once again by taking his reason to live. It fully devastated him. He tried to commit suicide, but he heard her voice one more time while he was drowning in the water telling him: “Don't give up yet. Try to give life one more chance.” He did as her voice guided him and found himself teleported to another world. He started to live a normal life in a fantasy world. However, one day he found out that the world he had been living in wasn't even close in comparison to the previous one. He found the truth of the world that every single thing was possible in the world he had been living in. The same truth led him to believe that he could also bring back Ava alive. So he set off to the quest for finding a way to resurrect her, and his doings plunge the world into chaos without even him knowing.
8 752Land of Athlora
This is the story about Wren, a young ogress born under unfortunate circumstances. Despite so, Zarris, her father raises Wren despite all obstacles. This is the first part of her journey surviving on her own in the wild as she grows stronger. With the ultimate goal to fulfill her father's dream and create a home for the Frost Clan and other ogres. For new readers, the prologue is exactly what it sounds like it explains the history of the World. The story actually starts on chapter 1. (If you want to support the author, (me), please buy the novel at https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B01JMYOA4G OR please donate to my paetron account! (Art for novel, not mine, belongs to original creator.)
8 121The Risk For Our Lives [ Levi X Reader ]
Y/N Yeager. The sister of Zeke and half-sister of Eren. Two years after Zeke snitched on his parents, Y/N finally decides to abandon Zeke and go to Paradis herself to find her father and her freedom."Y/N Yeager. You stole my heart just like how you stole that one titan kill count from me"Ended: August 18, 2022@2021Credits to Hajime Isayama for the real story.[Soon to be edited]
8 213flora - environmental awareness
twenty seven thousand trees are cut down each day so we can have toilet paper.landfills are among the biggest contributors to soil pollution. about 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled.there is a "continent" made from the plastic trash, floating in the Pacific Ocean. according to some estimates, the patch can be as large as twice the size of the US.this is the harsh reality of our planet. what can you do to make this stop?#projectaesthete#7 in fauna#8 in animalrights#48 in environment
8 203Finding Humanity
After escaping a stalled elevator into a zombie apocalypse, Emily must learn how to trust people again or risk losing everything in this terrifying world. ***** For Emily, every day of the last two years have been a blur. She keeps her head down, takes her college courses online, and only goes out to work at her mandatory internship. But all that changes on the day the office elevator breaks down, leaving her trapped when the screams begin. And when the doors finally open, revealing a dystopian world ruined by bloody teeth and disease, Emily is launched into a terrifying run for her life, caught between the strangers she's not sure she can trust and the man-eating monsters that hunger for her flesh. Now she must learn not only how to survive in this new and dangerous world, but also how to overcome her own inner demons before they cost her something more precious than her life.[[Wattys' Shortlist]][[Promoted by AMC]]Content and/or Trigger Warning: The story contains some gore, violence, strong language, and dark themes.[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]
8 106