Petra looked out to the horizon. It was a week since they had been blown off the continent and the monstrous sea had yet to prove its name.

“Petsha,” Dimitri walked up next to her and put his hand over hers on the railing.

“Dima,” Petra turned to him with a smile and clasped her hands together.

“Has anything changed on the horizon since the last time you checked?” he teased.

“No” she blushed “I know it is bad but, I had hoped we might actually see a sea monster by now.”

“I'm sure we will, it can't be named the monstrous sea for nothing.” A moment of silence passed between them. “What do you think it is like back home right now?” Dimitri asked.

“Well it cannot be this warm.” Petra answered.

“Do you think it has snowed yet?” He asked

“In Troivda? Certainly. We are a month or more past the equinox. I am honestly surprised that it had not yet snowed when I left. But Dima, where are you from? When does it snow there?” She asked.

“You know it was snowing on the day that I left home, but that was years ago.” He answered.

“How many years ago?” Petra asked.

“Depends on what you mean by home? The house of my parents, the city I was born in, the country, the land? Home means so much as to mean nothing.” Dimitri answered.

“But you are Northern, where was your home?”

“Troivda.” Dimitri answered, rather flatly “same as you.”

“The city is so big. I wonder if we ever saw each other before.” She pondered.

“Oh kitten,” Dimitri looked at her and brushed her face with his thumb “I would remember a face like yours.”

Petra blushed and turned her head.

“Who could forget a smile like that hm?” he asked her playfully.

“Well I would not be able to forget you either.” Petra returned smiling.

“I should hope not.” Dimitri continued closing again the distance between them.

“Next question,” Petra began “Why did you leave Troivda?” she asked.

Dimitri paused a moment taking a deep breath “A fire.” he said “One I was running from and, if you believe in destiny, one I was running to.” he kissed her knuckles and stepped closer to her.

There was a light thud against the hull of the ship.

“What was that?” Petra asked withdrawing her hand.

The initial thud was followed by four more And then the long neck and head of a Plesiosaurus raised up out of the water and bellowed a terrible shriek.

“I think we are going to see what the monstrous sea is made of after all kitten. You should stay up here you will want to see this.” He left her and ran for his bow.

“Monsters!” the call went up and whistles and bells sounded as all ran to their posts. Petra backed away from the railing so as not to be in the way. Within seconds arrows flew from the bows of rangers manny of whom had not even bothered to get up in the rigging and were fighting from the deck. The ship was not equipped with nets, and the ballistas below deck were more suited for piercing and holding ships and could not real in monsters. All the same the crew was making easy work of the pod of beasts.

The fighters, barbarians, and all those without appropriate ranged weapons cheered on their ship mates as one after another arrow found its mark. In a smaller ship or with the intention of capture this many monsters would have been a difficult and even dangerous undertaking. As it was, the monsters thrashed to no effect against the ship and were easily being defeated. When suddenly the the air around the boat grew thick and muggy, the sky greyed, and the remaining Plesiosauria retreated as quickly as they could. Dimitri cam running back up beside Petra with his bow in hand and a quiver full of arrows at his hip. “What did I miss?” he asked.

Petra remained silent as a stinking cloud of swirling black ink bloomed in the water around the boat. She could feel her heart pumping in her chest and the blood rushing in her ears.

An enormous monster rose from the water with a terrifying roar. It was enormous. Rearing out of the water it's long body shaped like that of a squid but plated like a crab was half the height of the ship's mast. A great gaping maw opened to reval may rows of terrible teeth. Long tentacles also erupted from the water around it, thrashing at the ship and churning the water.

“Petsha, get below now!” Dimitri ordered her as he stepped in front of her and fired an arrow from his bow.

“Kracken!” was yelled aboard the ship at the monster dived bellow again creating a wave rocking the ship.

Mayhem erupted on deck. Above it rose the voice of Captain Esmerelda.

“Man the balistas! Rangers to the rigging! All hands fighting stations! Protect your shipmates protect this ship!”

Petra backed away and cowered behind Dimitri but she did not get below deck. The kracken emerged again from the water rocking the ship. It struck out with a tentacle grabbed and tore down the foremast. The air was a mass of screams and shouts, the churning of the water and the bellowing of the monster. A volley of arrows from any of the archer's who had kept their place in the rigging glanced off the monster and seemed to have no effect. It dived below again into the inky water and Petra ran to where the mast had fallen to see who needed help. But there was no hope of moving them below in the chaos of the attack. She watched as a harpoon from one of the balistas below deck sunk in the kracken's side. She smiled for a moment believing that they would be able to strike it, to hurt it, but she was wrong. The kracken turned its toothy maw towards the porthole the balista had shot from, screeched terribly, and then reached out with a tentacle, coiled around the rope of the harpoon and yanked the balista out of the side of the ship with a sickening crash of shattering wood.

The kracken dived below again rocking the ship and sending more crew out of new holes and over smashed railings. More arrows flew uselessly past the monster and the ones that did hit it still had no effect. Now Petra watched as others, the bravest or stupidest, launched themselves at the kracken with blades ready only to be swept aside and plunged into the inky waters. The kracken let out another shriek and as it plunged beneath the water and a bolt of lightning struck the deck of the ship leaving behind a scorch mark and sinister warning.

“Little boy! I have an idea!" Erika yelled to Tornas over the clamor.

"Why are you telling me?" He asked.

"Look at the arrows! They can't hurt it. We need magic to hit it!" She yelled.

"Which we don't have." He responded.

"Oh yes we do!" she answered.

"You want to punch the sea monster?" He asked.

"Yes and kick it too" Erika said with a mischievous grin.

"How would we even get close enough?" Tornas asked.

"Have you ever run on water?" Erika asked.

"No!" Tor said emphatically.

"It's fun I'll teach you!" She said.

"I don't have a magic ring to keep me from failing." He protested.

"Better stay close then!" She said grabbing his hand. "Ruben, I love you" she shouted.

"Erika, I love you" he shouted in return from the ship's wheal.

"Lets go!" Erika ran with Tornas in hand across the deck and jumped on and off the gunwale.

They floated down to the churning water. Erika ran with Tor splashing knee deep through the water beside her up to the kracken and began to climb.

"Erika you're crazy!" Tornas shouted but could not be heard over the wind and churning sea. Tornas leapt between the monsters tentacles raining down blows and avoiding the hail of arrows from the ship.

Erika ran around the gargantuan body of the creature punching and throwing in her poison darts. She ran down and leapt to land next to Tornas.

"Ready to go?" She shouted over the cacophony.

"This was crazy. This was actually crazy how are we not dead?" He said, more to himself.

"Keep up and we can stay that way" she smiled. She grabbed his hand again and they leapt between the monsters tentacles until they landed back on the ship and the monster dived below again.

"Did that even do anything?" Tor panted.

"We had to try" Erika responded.

Petra saw another volley of arrows strike but take no effect on the monster. The foremast was torn down, and a balista yanked from the ship as well. Men had gone overboard into the inky water as the ship was rocked, the ones that had leapt with blades at the monster were all now gone. Erika and Tornas had managed to hit the monster and make it back on the ship but the monster showed no signs of weakening. The the scorched stain of lightning that marred the deck was a ominous warning. They were all going to die unless they could defeat this monster. Petra had an idea. She reached out with her hand and sent a single bolt of fire at the kracken and saw as it hit and the monster recoiled at its sizzling flesh. Fire. Fire was the answer. Petra ran down the forecastle to where Dimitri stood on the deck shooting bolts at the monster.

“What are you doing? Its not safe.” Dimitri yelled over the clamor.

“And not for you either. Here.” she grabbed his remaining arrows from his quiver and lit them with bright orange flame. “Try with this” He stared at her alarmed for a moment, then smiled and put one to his bow shot it at the kracken where it sunk and burned in its flesh.

“Marvelous Petsha” he said. Petra manifested a ball of fire in the air and carefully shot embers off of it to the archers to light there arrows. It was intricate, it was exact, it was the kind of magic Petra had always honed and been praised for. The lit arrows hit their target and finally did the damage they should. Petra smiled with satisfaction as the monster shrieked and dove below again rocking the boat and sending crew falling and scattering around the deck. But even with the fire, the archers would not be enough. She needed to know where it would come up next.

“Off the starboard bow” one of the Rangers still situated in the rigging shouted just before the kracken again reared up in front of the ship. Petra ran back up the forecastle and on to the wreckage of the fallen mast. She looked at the monstrosity and summoned every ounce of strength and power she had and screamed as fire roiled from her hands and mouth. Bright white flame scorched the kracken as she channeled all the chaos surrounding her in to her singular intent to destroy this monster. The kracken bellowed its terrible shriek as it was burned and rent asunder by the power of Petra's flames. With one last terrible cry it died and fell back into the water. The gathered clouds released their rain. Petra panted, exhausted and stumbled back down from the mast, dim fire still glowed behind her eyes. The chaos on deck had abruptly quieted and she could feel the eyes of the entire crew on her. She felt her legs give out from under her and then strong arms around her catching her then lifting and carrying her down off the forecastle. “Dima?” she asked disoriented. “My Petsha, you marvel, you saved us.” he whispered in her ears as she slipped away from consciousness into enveloping blackness.