Lyse passed bodies below deck, obviously killed by the Makhai. There weren't many, as loads were already on deck when the attack occurred, but easily a dozen laid limp dying or in the process. He helped a man with a cut across his chest get to his feet and towards the deck, and charged on in the wake of destruction. He hobbled a bit, the wound slowly healing, but he was not focusing on the gash at the moment to do so properly. He feared the worst, but he hoped for the best of outcomes. His sword was already drawn and ready, and he busted into the room he and his mom was staying in. He was slightly surprised though, seeing the black cladded warrior he had chased dead on his stomach, his blood covering the floor, and his mother in human form sitting on her bed, panting like an animal in heat. Her mouth was caked in blood, her eyes almost glazed. She clutched her hands as if they were drenched in fire. She only turned after he called her name a number of times, where the glaze left her, and she was only left with a tired expression.

"Sorry I didn't come to help, Lyse," she said. "I was a little occupied." She grunted as she moved her arms. The vines of verdant green hadn't gotten any worse, but they seemed to sting like barbs when she moved them now. He move to her side, but she recoiled immediately as if he was the source of the very pain she felt. He looked down at the pendant, glowing. He took it off and stuffed it into his pouch, tossing it into his other belongings.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, son," she assured him. "It's a symptom of a decision that I made. I can deal with it."

"I'll call Makyra to heal you," he almost turned to leave, but then he felt the pressure around her suddenly explode. Zoi on an incredible scale surrounded her body. And then, all the cuts and bruises she had suffered, slowly sealed themselves. Not even a scar left behind. The explosion settled, and contained itself once more. Lyse almost shuddered from the amount of aura that had washed over him. It was a very advanced, and very dangerous, zoi form of healing. But at least all of the major injuries were no longer apparent. However, she still panted, and looked close to collapsing in on herself. Even she can not stop fatigue. But still, it was impressive to him she could heal so many wounds so quickly. "Or, you can do that."

"I told you I'm fine," she stood, nearly collapsing on herself, but caught the wall instead. "How are things out there, I heard crashing and roaring. Are there more out there."

"We handled them mother, no need for you to worry," he moved to her side, taking her to the bed by her shoulders. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. You wouldn't be like this if it wasn't for me."

"Stop treating me like some kind of child, Lyse," she nearly spat. "I've gone through hell of a lot worst than this, I'll be fine."

It did not take long for Makyra to come sprinting down the corridor, her sage gauntlets still extended in preparation for a battle, but was surprise to see Lyse standing over his mother and a dead Makhai in a pool of it's own blood. Like Lyse, she remembered not seeing his mother on the deck, and rushed as soon as she could. She curses herself for not recognizing this sooner, but was grateful; she was alive. Although, she was far from well. Her eyes could see what ailed her. Her breathing was haggard and she sweated gallons on that bed. Though, she had no wounds it seemed. Either she healed them herself or she came out unscathed. Then why did she look like she was going to collapse on herself then?

"My lady, do you need me to heal you?" she asked, kneeling at her bedside next to Lyse.

"She has no physical injuries," Lyse told her. "What she suffers from is probably outside your expertise Makyra."

"Bite your tongue," she said spitefully. "But . . . he is right. You can not heal this sickness. No force on this mortal world can. Now enough of me, what happened out there. I want every detail you two."

Lys relayed all that he saw, from the moment the dragon appeared to him decapitating one of the Makhai and rushing here. Makyra filled in the rest of the details since his departure. The more they recalled the events, the more hectic and confusing it all seemed. If the situation was not in their favor, they could have died within minutes. The drain alone would have been an issue if not for Gray keeping it bay.

"Yet another account of Fate being on our side," Lyse finished off. "Last I saw the dragon was falling behind."

"We lost nearly a dozen men, and the boat is in pretty bad shape though," Makyra said. "I don't know yet what Moxie intends to do about it, but I doubt whatever schedule we are on will be honest for long."

Then, Edlund stumbled in, limping as well. He had a half smile on his face, but it was obviously trying to cover the pain. He clutched his left arm, the one holding the sword he still held tightly to. He was covered in many wounds, a few deep and still bleeding. Thankfully he was a knight, and the worst was but a mere inconvenience. He spent most of the fight on the deck wrestling with just one for the Makhai. He tried to wrestle them into submission, mostly because he left his sword with his gear in his cabin, but that led to a lot of punches and a sword in the arm for his trouble.

"Got any spare in you Makyra?" he asked, walking into the room next to them. "They were passing out bandages and medical supplies up there, but I think I rather take my chances with you. I owe them enough, thank you."

"Owe them?" Lyse raised a questioning eyebrow to his friend. "What do you mean."

"The Makhai he was engaged with was this close to-"

Edlund coughed to interrupt her. "Well yes, Moxie did a little favor and put a bullet into the man's skull. Kind of hard to dodge a bullet on the ground. But now I'm in debt to a pirate, and I can only dread what misfortunes come with such a thing."

"She's not some evil spirit you know," Makyra sighed, turning to him. She inhaled, and this time Lyse studied her as she performed this magic. The aura in her body momentarily gathered in her lungs. The white streams of mystical energy coalesced into a more mist like gas that took up the space there. Then, she slowly exhaled a chilly breath, this misty aura now clinging onto Edlund, wrapping around him as it once did Lyse. It collected more in his injuries, and immediately the wounds closed rapidly, almost as fast as his mothers, but in no time he was now as good as when they left port, perhaps a little more tired.

He sighed in relief. "Bless you. Now, are we about to discuss exactly what this was all about then. Was that what I was interrupting."

"Perhaps," Lyse said, turning back to his mother. "This felt a lot different from our last encounter, no?"

"Last encounter?" Makyra asked. "Do you mean when we were riding through the Forest of Silence? They were skilled, but they were nowhere near as powerful as these Makhai."

"No. We were attacked once more just out north of Pumavut. There were three, and a Plithos, Thanatos if I may recall."

Makyra's widened. "Thanatos. The Plithos of death itself. I thought . . ."

Her eyes wandered to Celia, realization coming to her. "So that's how. I thought you permanently killed him during the war."

"Obviously that is not what happened," she said. "He was a drooling mess last we encountered him, completely enraptured by madness. Even if the spirit of Thanatos found a new host, there is no way it could function at all, much less be as competent as when we last saw him."

"You call that screeching horror sanity?" Edlund harkened back to the chilling feeling he received as he saw the winged man. "He looked half mad as soon as he laid eyes on you?"

"Obviously not fully, but far more than what should have been possible," she went on. "The point I think Lyse is trying to make is that they were far more prepared before, and seemed to be keeping tabs on us the entire time. We're out in the middle of the sea, the domain of one of the most powerful in their arsenal, and they send only a dragon."

"To be honest, if we had boarded just a regular ferry, they would have torn us apart," Edlund suggested. "But to0 be fair if they want to get rid of you, sending in all they have would be a much better strategy than the bare minimum."

"So that tells us a few things," Lyse said. "Either, we are not as much of a priority as they realized, or they have their resources diverted elsewhere at the moment, and can not spare much blood for the likes of us."

"That tracks little with what they have done in the past, however," Celia told him. "They always used what they would think would be necessary. Two godslayers and knights, they should have sent far more than five Makhai. Umerius would make sure we'd be crushed into dust before moving onto what he deemed important."

"Is it then, that he has made a plan that calls for it, or there is someone else calling the shots on our hunt?"

Celia shook her head. "Not unless he's dead, there is no reason he's put those of Theurgy second on any list of priority."

"Well, the fact still remains that they maybe up to something else besides us, or are low on resources in dealing with us. Makes us wonder why attack at all."

"I fear what plan they are hatching," Celia sighed. "I spoke with James, and I can tell that he was sensing much the same. They are on the move, and we are not at the center of it quite yet."

"Wait, you spoke to James?" Lyse asked. "When was this?"

"I'll tell you later," she told him. "The fact is that we are not exactly on the offensive with them. We may be gathering pendants, and searching for my daughters, but beyond that we allowed them to make the first move, a mistake that very much will prove to be fatal."

"How much of this do we tell Moxie?" Edlund asked.

Makyra turned on him. "What do you mean, she's a guardian. She deserves to know just as much as I am."

"A former guardian, may you be reminded," Edlund noted. "Who left their post to become a . . . smuggler. Who knows, for all we can tell Talin may have gotten to her."

"She wouldn't turn on us like that," Makyra stood, almost as if she was going to shove him, but she just turned to Celia, still laying on her bed. "She wouldn't?"

Celia sighed. "We should treat the situation as so, for our safety. She knows enough to see that the situation is dire. That alone is enough."

Makyra looked on to Lyse, a mix of desperation and dejection. He looked hesitantly to the door. No one was near them at the moment, almost everyone was still on deck. "She didn't seem the type, nor did she seem stress when I explained some of the situation. but I hardly know her. Would you describe her a good liar, Makyra?"

"Depends on the situation," she chuckled slightly. "She could never lie to me."

"Well, that being said, we need to be extra careful moving forward," Celia informed them. "Summon Elena and Gray now. They need to be caught up to speed as well."

"You seem to trust these people more than a friend," Makyra noticed. And Celia took on a look that Edlund and Lyse recognized immediately as if she had just caught Makyra lying to her. Makyra's back stiffened on sight. "I shall summon them, my lady."

(X)

The deck of the Nautilus Omega, was a wreck, to put it in mild terms. this was not the first this ship has seen naval combat, nor did hey suspect ti to be it's last. They have lost men before, and they have had their lives threaten before. But not like this. Nearly half the deck had been ruined from the conflict stirred by five men jumping forth from a sea dragon. They threw everything they had at it, and it took a knight to keep it at bay. So while Moxie was relieved, ultimately, that they have survived the night with minimum casualties, she could understand the sentiment of her crew. most of these men were veterans. More so, from the armies spanning Arkouda to Shi'Ased, and lived for the thrill. But this was no thrill in honesty. Most just stayed out of the range of swinging swords. Most saw no battle. Few actually fired a shot besides her. And if they didn't need her, she doubt she would have either. It truly made men feel small when they are placed next to giants.

As she tossed the severed head overboard, she turned to her men, who were unmotivated in cleaning after the battle. "Alright then, you wanted action you got it. We have no time to mourn or celebrate life, so we pick up and move. Get Cane and Michael up here now, help them in their repairs and move on. Come on now, we don't want to drown out here in the middle of nowhere. That there would be a death none shall speak of."

They moved on a bit faster after those words. They were a far stretch from encouraging. She could never do encouraging, nor did she think they would respond well to it either. They were a lot that wanted to take their minds off of their troubles with any other trouble that come by. If she has to occupy their feverish hands, then so be it. At least eh men who died, died fighting. Not by blades, but by a sea dragon. But she also knows that if the knights never came aboard, none of this would have happened in the first place. Already she could hear the rumors floating that them taking on this band was a bad omen of what is to come, and she could do little but agree.

She saw two of the knights, those who introduced themselves as Elena and Gray, near the rear of the ship. Apparently, the water manipulating one had a weak stomach after that show. At first glance, she had them pegged as lovers. But the more she observed them in her periphery, it was clear that they were ultimately just friends, much Like Lyse and Edlund. Like her and Makyra. Well, as far as she was aware the jury was undecided on that. She had acted kindly to her, more than she thought she deserved. She had indeed sworn an oath with the other guardians and betrayed them all much the same. She didn't expect open arms, more of balled fists and curses slung her way.

And the look on Makyra's face made Moxie think just for a moment that Makyra read her mind. She came nearly stomping back on deck with a petulant face, as if ready to stick her fist through some poor fellow. Many of the crew steered clear of them. She noticed how adamant Makyra was to avoid eye contact or even confronting her at all. She marched straight to Elena and Gray with the haste one would expect of a child told to clean their rooms. She spoke to them carefully under her breath. Moxie tried to listen in on them. Her hearing, her curse, allowed Moxie to do as much. But the conversation was far too low to overhear, even for her. She frowned. Elena took a sharp glance at Moxie before moving on to using her hands to speak. That annoying series of hand movements that signified knights what they do. Moxie cursed as she allowed herself to leave them be, and tend to her ship.

"There were a lot of repairs to be done," she told herself. "Leave the business of the godslayers in their laps."

(X)

The rest of the night was filled with only repairs and planning. The godslayers confined themselves to that one room, not moving until light touched the seas once more. Thankfully, the sea dragon took the storm with it, giving them the clear night that Fate had decided on previously. This allows repairs to go or a bit more smoothly, and thanks to such a massive crew they made enough progress to stop their ship from collapsing on its left side. However, if they want to be sea worthy once more, they will have to have repairs made on land. In the meantime, Moxie confined with Blij, organizing who went where, and trying to predetermine their time of arrival. The northern winds were strong this time of year, and they had made much progress already, nearly three quarters by the end of that day. But with damages being repaired, that time may be cut in half.

Lyse filled Elena and Gray in on what they discussed so far. Likewise, they responded with a mix of relief and horror, knowing that they were, for now, not the priority of Talin. But Lyse reminded them that they are now given the opportunity to go on the offensive. They are now collecting the other pendants, kept by the head of states for Hath and Torlak, and launching on assault on whatever prison Lyse's sister has fallen in. She told them that they are often extensive, but rarely heavily guarded. The cells are magically enchanted to seal itself, and no one short of a master mage could break out of it on their own. But that was all they had at the moment. The layout, type of personal or even what they may be facing is currently in the works, though they expect the worst, as usual.

By the afternoon, the ship was repaired enough to resume it's expedited voyage. The sun was beating down the deck as men unfurled the sails, pulled back the chained anchor, and Blij took his position at the helm. The nerves of many were shaken, but today was indeed like any other on the open seas. Moxie ordered one man to the crows nest to look out for any more abrupt storms, but for now, their journey seemed at least stable. For the time being.

That was, until, a ringing alarm was sounded on deck. From the crows nest a man was rapidly hitting the brass bell at his side. Three times in quick succession. That was the sign that a ship was approaching. Not just any ship, a specific type that roams close o the naval territory of Torlak. Moxie, upon hearing the bell, ran to the side that the deck hand pointed to, and her suspicion was confirmed immediately, as a red flag was lifted overhead several red sails that punctured the seas before them. Lyse had come aboard as well to see what the bell was about, and immediately noticed the vessel as well.

"Are we to be concerned of that captain?" he asked.

"Yes and no," she said, taking out a pipe. "That there is a raven's ship."

"Ravens?" Lyse said in surprise. Ravens are well known on the sea. They make up the entirety of Torlak's Naval power in the southern seas and are one of the most dominant of naval power. The Ravens themselves, those whom the vessels are named after, have a long history with the sea. Almost each one was a mage, trained in magic. Most often they study arts such as wind and water, transmutation and manipulation of these elements. They rule the sea around Torlak with a grip that rivaled any land armies. They may as well be an entire civilization as well. Their main purpose is to guard against major maritime threats, nowadays pirates and raiders seizing cargo from official cargo ships sent to and from by the Torlakian business district. And by the nervous air in around their ship, Lyse knew that they have already had some pretty negative experiences with these men.

"They won't be a problem will they?" Lyse asked her.

She lit her pipe and sighed. "I've had run ins with the lot before, but as long as you keep your heads down, everything should be grapes and peaches. Smuggling one's thing. But knights . . . well, let's just say that a fine and confiscation of goods is definitely the preferred avenue of punishment among smugglers. They are quite fond of examples."

He nodded in comprehension. "I'll tell the others to lay low as well."