Tora Lithenmiir's Story

The ship gently rocked and creaked under the push and pull of the ocean waves. On the deck, those who remained to mind the sails and watch for lightning strikes huddled under their soaked-through cloaks and blankets in a desperate bid to keep their vision as clear as possible. The winds, however, seemed an adversary all their own as they blew the raindrops this way and that in unpredictable patterns.

"Yar, mister Vicks! Ye see anythin'?"

"Ey? Wassat mister Lumps?"

"DO YE SEE ANYTHIN'?!"

"Nuffin, mister Lumps! Jus more rain!"

"Aye! Keep yer eyes peeled!"

"What?!"

"KEEP YER EYES PEELED!"

Below deck, Lemnia sat in her mother's lap with her head resting against Cretas' chest. Her little hands gripped the fabric of her mother's shirt with a slight forward rotation in her wrist to keep her fingers as snuggled into the fabric as possible to keep them warm. Cretas had also placed a blanket over Lemnia to help keep her warm as she subtly adjusted her weight with the rocking of the boat to keep her daughter as steady as possible.

"Momma? Is the ocean mad at us?"

"No, my love. The ocean is a strange world all its own. Ever changing, and sometimes frightening. But don't be scared. Momma's here."

Lemnia nodded and buried her face in the gap between her mother's breasts to warm her cheeks. Cretas pulled the blanket a little higher and stroked her hair as she looked around to the crew. Some were relaxing. Some were gambling... Again. And others were fighting to prevent sea sickness from overtaking them. She couldn't spot the young Hunter anywhere. But then again a lot of the crew were standing so he was probably just behind one of them somewhere. And the boy, Collen. She couldn't see him from where she was either.

And then there was Tora. He was leaning against the hull of the ship across from them and down a little ways. He seemed unbothered by the cold. And even with a slight drip of water onto his shoulder from a crack in the deck above him, he remained silent with his eyes closed and arms folded across his chest. Cretas supposed she shouldn't be surprised, given his rather stoic nature. But Lemnia liked him. And that was good enough for Cretas to overlook his stoicism and think of him as a friend.

Several minutes later, Lemnia leaned back and shook her head with a "brbrbrbrbr" sound as her loose lips smacked against each other and her cheeks. Cretas giggled and kissed her forehead, and Lemnia looked over her shoulder at, who else, Tora. Looking at her mom with puppy dog eyes, Cretas glanced to Tora, smiled, and then fixed the blanket over Lemnia's shoulders and gave a little nod towards the man.

Lemnia's eyes lit up, and she hopped off her mother's lap and pulled the blanket around herself as she ambled over to Tora. And as she was just about to reach him, the boat rocked rather suddenly from a rogue wave striking its side. Lemnia was thrown off balance with a loud "EEP!" But before she could hit the cold, unforgiving wooden floor, she found herself being scooped up by someone. When her eyes blinked open, Tora had lifted her up and cradled her in his arms as he leaned back against the hull.

"Be careful walking the boat during a storm. You never know when those waves could hit."

Lemnia made a tiny "hmm" sound as she nodded, and turned towards him to nuzzle against his chest as she pulled the blanket tightly over herself. Tora smiled with a subtle shake of his head before looking to Cretas who was looking on with a warm, content smile.

The look he gave her was enough to make Cretas giggle with glee at the "don't tell anyone" look he'd just given her in response to her smile.

Korrin was having a small nap in his resting spot. At least that was what he was doing until the rocking of the ship caused him to move to and fro in such a way, he hit the back of his head, causing him to wake with a jolt. He got up on his feet and looked around, watching the various crewmen gamble or fight off seasickness. He slowly tried to maneuver around to find a better spot to rest his feet for the duration of the storm.

This proved a bit more awkward then he thought, as a rogue wave smacked into the side of the ship and made his footing wobble, which threw off the cadence of his careful walk. So for the next minute Korrin wobbled like a drunkard, despite not having a single drop inside him. So with the rocking of the ship he teetered, and tottered. And every step forward, was met with a step back. Til finally the young hunter managed to lurch forward and got onto a seat with a ‘plop’. He found himself amongst friends though, as he spotted Cretas watching Lemnia and Tora, he gave them a wave, hood slightly lopsided from all the stumbling he did.

”I feel shaken up like a squirrel in a windstorm.” He muttered to himself in his slight daze. ”Even my balance isn’t trustworthy.” Thus he sat on the chair he found, trying very hard not to let the rocking do anything else to him.

The following morning, the storm had passed as soon as it had arrived.

Out on deck, Cretas stood beside Tora with Lemnia huddled between them holding onto each of their pants.

"I feel like I'm somehow under arrest."

Cretas giggled.

"I guess you are, aren't you?"

Lemnia blinked as Cretas patted her head.

"How long before I'm free?"

"Not until the mayor decides to lift your sentence."

That made Tora chuckle.

"Fair enough, I suppose. Though I'm not entirely sure why I'm trapped like this. Nor how I came to be in the first place."

Cretas laughed.

"You were minding your own business, and then bam. You're under arrest."

"It would seem so."

Cretas couldn't stop giggling as Lemnia blinked innocently while looking between them with a smile. And it was about that time that Cretas saw Korrin out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey, Korrin! Over here!" She called.

Korrin had an uncomfortable night the rest of that stormy evening. When morning finally came he awoke with a very deep yawn and blinked the sand out of his eyes. The Flame was not crawling around, so the young hunter assumed the storm drowned it out. Smirking to himself he made sure his sword was strapped on, and pulled his cloak on, the hood was on in such a way the boar’s head leaned groggily as if to match it’s wearer’s sleepiness.

Grunting in satisfaction, he slowly walked to the deck where he heard most of the conversation between Tora and Cretas who had Lemnia standing in between them. He chuckled softly and got onto the deck proper and was walking towards his own spot on the deck to watch the view of the day. It was then, Cretas spotted him and called toward him.

He smiled a small smile and walked over to the trio. ”Good Morning Ms. Cretas. Morning Tora.” He greeted them with a nod before looking down at Lemnia. ”And a good morning to you Lemnia. Hope you’re enjoying the day kiddo.” His voice was slightly deeper due to him waking up, but he expected to sound normal by the time he woke up the rest of the way.

Lemnia kept her hold on Tora and Cretas' pants, and craned her neck around to look at Korrin almost upside down. Tora gave him a respectful nod, and Cretas smiled warmly for him.

"Hi Hunty!" She chirped with a smile before almost falling down from lack of balance, thankfully negated by holding the pants of her mother and Tora.

Cretas chuckled and pat her head.

"Morning, Korrin. I have a favor to ask of you. Could you occupy Lemnia for a few minutes? I need to talk to Tora about something in private."

”Hunty?” Korrin thought confused at Lemnia’s nickname. Then when Cretas asked him to watch over Lemnia for a little bit he blinked again and focused back into the task at hand. ”Sure, not a problem Ms. Cretas. I suppose it’s just you and me for a little while little one.”

At the back of his mind however, Korrin was utterly afraid. He never watched over a kid on his own before, but he supposed first time was a charm. He offered Lemnia his arm for her to grasp onto. For if there was to be a first time for everything, it’d have to be now. He felt this task was a very big responsibility given to him. So he would watch Lemnia like a Hawk.

Also he honestly did wonder what the child’s own impression of him was. Aside from the nickname Korrin never thought he made as large a one as it’d seem Tora had with his proper and disciplined ways. Indeed, Korrin in his own mind, compared to Tora, was like the Flame he had crawling around. He was gentle, but he always struggled with understanding and controlling his own anger.

He decided to start small in conversing with her. ”Sky looks lovely today don’t you think Lemnia?” he asked.

Lenmia walked with Korrin a little ways away so Cretas and Tora could speak, and held onto the bottom of his shirt as they did so while looking around curiously at the other members of the crew.

That one's name is Poofy Tummy. That one's name is Panties. That one's name is-

Korrin interrupted her train of thought asking about the sky looking lovely.

"Mmmmm... It looks blue." She chirped as she looked back to Cretas and Tora, still in the middle of conversation. "I wonder what momma and Torrie are talking about?" She mumbled.

Lemnia then looked around and spotted Collen scrubbing the deck.

Hailing him with a wave, she cried out to him. "Heeeeey! Lubber Boy! C'mere!"

He couldn’t admit that he was also curious, but a discussion between two people is best reserved for those two without the need to be nosy. Unless you’re a curious child that is, as such Korrin would not help but chuckle at the curiosity Lemnia had.

”I suppose it’s about something that doesn’t want young ears to listen to it, so I’m not sure myself.” Korrin admitted with another small chuckle. When Lemnia called out to Collen he looked towards him, and saw the boy hard at work, scrubbing the floorboards. ”Looks like young Collen’s a little busy. I’m sure he’ll say hello to you today when he has the time. He looks really intent to get all the grime from the storm off the floor.”

Korrin shrugged after that statement and kept an eye on Lemnia as she clung to him. He also kept a small smile on his face throughout the entirety of their small conversation. He wouldn’t let her see him frowning or feel himself afflicted by the old memories he had. He just had to suppress the flame for the day. Or perhaps he wasn’t feeling it this morning because it was incredibly seasick from the storm. A Flame, seasick. What a hilarious thought.

Lemnia blinked and made a little grunt of acknowledgement of Korrin's words.

"Lubber Boy works hard, huh?" She asked aloud.

Meanwhile, Cretas and Tora seemed to finish their conversation as the former then made her way to the tip of the bow and brought out her compass. Tora, meanwhile, leaned against the central mast and crossed his arms.

"Hey, Hunty? Why does Torrie always be by himself?" She asked.

”A hard worker is a the best kind of worker.” Korrin responded as he stretched his right arm and yawned a large yawn. He was about to take Lemnia back to Cretas as he noticed she was done conversing with Tora when she asked him a question he didn’t expect her to hear. His brow lowered in thought and he stroked his chin.

”I don’t rightly know Lemnia. I’m sure he has his reasons, like say he has thoughts that he needs to sort through in his mind, or simply wants to watch the skies.” He answered, ”Some people have reasons they’re sometimes by themselves. Including me, and up until I met you and your mother, that’s how it was. I was by myself for a long time.” he blinked as he said that. Why did he have to go and say that? Now not only would Lemnia want him to tell her why, the Flame will most likely start to crawl around in his mind.

Strangely though, He only felt it tickle, and not much else. Perhaps the Flame was seasick after all. He mentally blinked owlishly at that. Still, he looked at Lemnia to see if she was indeed wanting him to tell her. For if she did, well maybe just this once, perhaps, He’d tell her a story he usually asks mead for in return for it’s telling. This would be the exception though, as he certainly won’t get his asking price from a child. ”No, this’d be a story meant for Children’s ears.” Korrin thought in his decision.

Lemnia tilted her head and blinked.

"Huh. So he has thoughts on his mind? Are they, like, sitting on his brain?" She asked.

Tora glanced over his shoulder and noticed the pair looking at him. He offered a small smile and a wave, which made Lemnia smile and wave back with a giggle.

"He waved at me." She beamed, looking up at Korrin with a big smile on her face.

Tora returned to a neutral posture and took a breath while Cretas continued to check the compass and make mental notes on their position.

"What's momma got in her hand?" She asked while giving Korrin's shirt a little tug.

Korrin, relieved that Lemnia did not ask him about why he thought he was alone for a long time. Moved on to other subjects. Like the thoughts on Tora’s mind, which made him chuckle a bit. ”Oh Yes, they are all the extra worries and extra stuff. They sit right on top a grown up’s head and then tumble away with concentration.” Korrin affirmed with a whimsical smirk on his face. He then watched as Lemnia waved at Tora, who indeed waved back.

Then her curiosity fell to her own mother and he looked very carefully from where he’s at. ”Looks like one of your mother’s mapping tools. It shows the direction a person is going. I never used one myself though Lemnia, because my Teacher, taught me to tell what direction I was traveling the Wilderness by looking at the stars. It’s not as effective as what your mom is doing, but I never got lost in the woods once I got good at it.”

Korrin chuckles a small bit. ”Well almost good at it. Cause it did cause me to run into a large Boar that almost ran over me.” He said, with an embarrassed tone and scratched the ear of his boar cloak hood in random thought.

Lemnia looked up at Korrin and blinked in confusion.

"Hmm? You got run over by a board? How does a piece of wood run over someone?" She chirped.

Tora, having heard this, chuckled under his breath and shook his head.

Cretas, meanwhile, started noticing a slight deviation from the appropriate course and walked up to the helmsman.

"Pardon. Can you please steer us just slightly more South? We're a little off course."

"Eh? Sorry lady. You'll have to take it up with the Cap'n."

Cretas sighed and looked at the door to the Captain's Quarters. And all the while, Tora kept Cretas in the corner of his field of view.

Korrin looked as Lemnia blinked in confusion and was about to ask what was wrong when she asked her question. He looked at her with raised eyebrows and sputtered. To say he was now thoroughly embarrassed was an understatement. ”W-well. . .” He said with a stutter, trying to figure out an appropriate response and looked at Tora’s direction, and saw that the swordsman looked incredibly humored by Lemnia’s question.

Oh how was he gonna spin this story?!

”There was one time,” Korrin said, thinking on his feet to make up the story, ”A wagon of lumber was being carted to a carpenter’s village. But then a bear was wandering on the same road, and all of a sudden, the bear was like, ‘This wagon’s in the way, I’ve got to get home for hibernation! I’m gonna smack this wagon!’ And knocked the wagon over! There was wood spilling out everywhere! One piece of wood was rolling down a hill, and I was walking down a forest path.”

Korrin then made a ‘whoosh’ sound. ”The wood rushed past me! Had I been six feet closer, I’d have been as flat as a piece of bacon!” he concluded his slightly wild, and mostly made up story. He eyed Tora looking at Cretas, who looked concerned about something. He thought nothing of it, as long as he kept Lemnia safe for the time being, he didn’t want to know what was going on until after Cretas came back.

Korrin chuckled again as Lemnia asked what or where hibernation is. Luckily, he had an idea already as it did sound like two words in one. ”It almost puzzled me as a kid too.” He thought. Telling stories and making up kid friendly ones as he went was rather fun. Maybe someday, when he has children or grandchildren, he’d set them down on his knee and tell them stories. But for right now, Lemnia needed to be answered.

”You’re right Lemnia. Mar’Valoa is a huge place, So I wonder how big the New World is compared to it. As for where hibernation is, that’s the sole reason why the bear was in a hurry.” He answered. ”Cause Hibernation is a place only bears can go to, and only during the wintertime. We can’t find it because only the bears know where it is. And just between you, me, and Probably Mr. Tora if he’s eavesdropping on us, the bear probably won’t tell us where it is. Because Desmiel made that place for bears to escape the harsh winter. They come back later in the spring, because all the honey, all the fish they love to hunt and catch come back. So you see, that is why you don’t see bears in the winter. They’re in Hibernation. Doing Bear things.”

He gave Lemnia a small smile. Then he half wondered how long he’d have to babysit her for. Not that he minded to wait for Cretas a little while longer. Lemnia’s actually making Korrin use his thinker, and somehow, the flame was calm. Not even a spark.

”Thats odd. It hasn’t been this calm since...” He thought, before putting the stray thought out of his mind. ”A question to myself for another day.” he concluded, keeping an eye on Lemnia as he enjoyed this relative silence.

Korrin, after seeing Lemnia slip once more trying to look for Cretas, was both in shock and in slight shame for not looking out for her better as he then proceeded to walk over and help her up and start to dust her off. ”Goodness, looks like Mr. Collen must’ve done his work on cleaning the deck very well, eh?” He asked. After finishing the small dust off he looked about with her. ”Why don’t we check downstairs and see if she’s somewhere down there, if she’s not being busy that is?”

With that, he took Lemnia by the hand, like an elder brother would to his sister, gave Tora one more nod, and headed down to below deck to see if Cretas was indeed somewhere down there. It was a shame, he was rather getting good at the babysitting part of this job too and it’d probably be over until Cretas called upon him again. That is, if Tora didn’t beat him to it. However, Korrin knew better then to be jealous of Tora. After that first spar, Korrin had a much better respect for the man. He was a force to be reckoned with in a fight, and although he doubted one would occur again after his blowup nearly got him on thin ice with the Captain, Korrin was glad at least Tora would probably be one to rely on to bring it to a more quicker end.

But for now, he had to figure out where Cretas was hiding so Lemnia could be satisfied with knowing where she might be, and/or to conclude the babysitting duty for the day.

Lemnia held Korrin's hand, which was quite a lot larger than hers despite his own slightly shorter stature, and followed him down below deck taking extra care on the steps.

"No tripping on the last one." She said to herself as she hopped to the floor from the final step.

Scanning the room, Lem caught sight of her mother's red/brown hair in the corner over by a hammock.

"Momma!" She said, pointing to Cretas.

The two walked over to her and stopped short when they saw she was rubbing Collen's shoulder as he slept. Lem put her free hand over her mouth and tip toed forward with Korrin before letting go of his hand and climbing up onto her mother's lap.

"Thanks Korrin." She whispered.

Lem looked at Collen and smiled.

"Lubber Boy's tired." She whispered.

Cretas smiled and poked Lem's stomach.

"Let's just call him Collen, okay love?"

Lem nodded. "Mkay."

And with that, she leaned against her mother and quickly fell asleep.



The sun was high, and the wind was dead.

On deck, several crewmen fanned themselves with their shirts as sweat poured off their bodies.

"Desmiel above... Why's it so damn hot?!"

"Aye. Didn't take ya fer the religious type mister Hog."

"Nah. Just like sayin' it."

"Ah. I gotchye."

Nearby, several crewmen were casting rods while another in the crow's nest kept an eye out for anything in the waters around them as the rest of the crew below hit the oars to make up for the lack of wind.

Below deck, things weren't much better. Sweat pouring off the crew as the temperature inside the belly of the ship rose with the sun. No wind, no fresh flowing air. Several men's hands slipped, letting the oar fly wild and sometimes hitting the man in front of them in the back. This almost ended in a fight on one particular instance after a second offense.

On deck, Cretas was wearing loose, thin sleeveless top and had taken one of her pairs of pants and cut the legs mostly off to make a pair of short shorts. She knew that showing this much skin was probably not a wise idea on a ship full of men who knew they'd not see women again until/unless they landed somewhere that had a brothel. But it couldn't be helped. She was melting.

Lem sat beneath the stairs where it was shaded with her own sleeveless top and shorts while trying to fan herself with one of her skirts.

"By Desmiel..." Cretas whispered. "What's with the wind today?"

By far the worst day at sea they'd had yet. Storms be damned. Nothing was worse than a dry, hot, windless day on the ocean where there was practically no shade or anywhere to escape the scorching heat.

However, the crow's nest spied something on the horizon.

"BLACK FLAG SHIP AHOY!!" He shouted.

This could only mean one thing...

The Captain burst out of the Captain's Quarters, fully dressed with his large Captain's Hat on as he leaned on the balcony near the wheel.

"To yer battle stations ya field rats! We'll not be lettin' no rival Pirates be takin' our ship er supplies!" He bellowed.

He then pointed to Cretas.

""You be gettin' below deck, there missy! And yer brat too! Won't be riskin' the two o' ya's in this fight!"

Cretas didn't need him to tell her that. But she appreciated the thought. She dashed to Lem beneath the stairs and picked her up to go below deck. On the way down, she passed Tora who was fully dressed himself and already had his sword primed with the thumb pushing it just so out of its scabbard.

Cretas grabbed his arm as they reached the same step.

"Be safe, Tora."

"You as well, miss Estallamos. If you hear anyone banging on the door, don't hesitate to grab that spare rifle there and fire directly at the center." He said, gesturing to a rifle sitting just by the stairs.

She nodded, and Tora exited the belly of the ship and closed the doors.

The enemy ship drew nearer, black flag waving as the oars propelled her through the water on a collision course with the Silver Moon.

"Stand fast me mateys! We'll show 'em what REAL pirates be made of!"

The crew roared in fury and anticipation. A far cry from the complaining, lazy maggots they'd been looking like but a minute ago.

Below deck, Lem huddled against Cretas.

"Momma, I'm scared."

Cretas rubbed her back.

"It's okay, my love. Everything will be okay."

"Are Hunty and Torrie gonna be okay?"

"Yes, my love. They're warriors. They'll be just fine. You'll see them when it's over. I promise."

"Mm."

She buried her face in her mother's chest, and Cretas held her close as she looked up listening to the sounds of the crew.

The ship grew closer and closer, turning at the last second as their own crew shouted a war cry and the first ropes were throw to try and get their men to board. Others grabbed their swords and bows and started preparing to battle as boards were prepared to be placed between the two ships so they could run across and engage in battle.

"SEND EM TA HELL BOYS!!" Lohran shouted, pointing his sword at the enemy ship.

Korrin liked heat as much as the next guy. But right now, with the wind not blowing, it was unbearably hot! It had him go without his cloak or a shirt! The ship wasn’t moving too, and it made him feel stranded. He did not like feeling stranded! Still, it did meant all he could do was wait for the wind, or something to happen.

Unfortunately, the latter happened. Another ship came and it did not look like it wanted to chat given how everyone was starting to scramble. Korrin scrambled to get his own weapons and be on deck as he watched Cretas and Lemnia get below and Tora looking ready for the fight to come. Korrin nodded towards him and got his bow ready and placed an arrow in it. He couldn’t spot young Collen so all he could do was hope for his safety during the coming insanity. He felt the flame twinge awake from the now growing possibility of the fight at hand.

When the Captain sent the signal, Korrin knew the fight had begun and he took aim towards anyone on the other ship and fired an arrow. He wasn’t sure whether the shot would hit in a shoulder, an arm, or the head of whoever the arrow would land, or just hit the side of the enemy ship. He just readied another arrow and aimed again.

He fired his first shot in this fight. He’d just have to keep fighting until the fighting was done. ”Desmiel Protect us!” he thought wildly.

A red spray erupted on the side of the ship as a cannonball ripped through the torso of one of the crew near the railing on deck. He was trying to prevent an enemy from swinging over after using a grappling hook to grab the mast. Instead of resistance, he swung over neatly and landed in the puddle that used to be a human being.

"Aye! How now ye bleedin'-"

Tora slid in front of him and slammed his sword up through the bottom of his chin through the top of his skull, meeting the man eye to eye while he was still momentarily alive.

"Be gone." He growled.

Tora ripped the sword downward, pushing the blade forward at an angle so it sliced through the remainder of the brain on its way out. Blood pooled around the man's crumpled body as Tora looked left and right to assess the situation.

The Captain was by the wheel firing his pistol into the head of the first man to dare landing on that part of the upper deck. Afterwards, he tossed it aside and drew his sword to engage all comers in direct combat.

To the left, the crew were holding their own surprisingly well. While normally uncoordinated and somewhat hostile to each other, when under pressure they came together as a solid unit. One man watched for those swinging over, and another backed him up with a pistol or a sword. When someone made it onto the deck, they tag-teamed them two to one for a fairly easy kill.

"Not bad."

Tora looked ahead as planks were lowered so the enemy could run across. Manning the middle plank, Tora kept his blade tucked to the side ready for a single draw and slash across the belly of the first man rushing him. However, the enemy managed to block this with their own blade at the last moment.

Hmm... This one's fast. He thought.

Tora had to take a step back to avoid getting struck by a follow-up attack. And as he did so he let the enemy's blade slide off his own towards the deck before thrusting forward into a stab. His blade pierced the enemy's side just below the ribs, and upon retracting the blade and kicking the man he fell over the railing into the waters below.

The next man across made it before Tora could turn quickly enough to stop his bull rush, and Tora was sent sprawling to the deck by a shoulder bash as the man then drew a sword and aimed a slash downward in his direction. Tora's blade came across his body and caught the majority of the blow, but the tip managed to slice into the flesh of his shoulder where it met the traps. A little blood, a sharp zing of pain through the shoulder area, but otherwise non-lethal. Tora slammed his boot into the man's nether region to get him to drop his blade and back off to tend his family jewels before rising and stabbing swiftly in and out of his throat to open his arteries and slash the wind pipe.

With another down, Tora noticed the deck beginning to fill with bodies. Some their own crew. Some the enemy crew. The only thing separating the enemy from their own crew in terms of appearance were the presence of black bands around their arms at the bicep.

This will get messy. He thought.

On the upper deck, Captain Lohran was having a whale of a time. He thrust his sword into the belly of the man he was tangling with and grabbed the throat of another with his free hand as he tried to rush up the stairs.

"Ye scurvy rats think ye can take over the Silver Moon? Pride and joy of Captain Armadeus Lohran?!" He screamed.

The blade was pulled free and pushed downward to spill the mans guts before being thrust into the belly of the other who then met the same fate.

"I'll send ALL OF YE ta meet yer maker beneath the crushing depths o' the sea!!" He roared.

The Battle in Korrin’s mind, was hectic. The bodies of both ally and foe began to pile around him, as well as for a moment, his fear. He swapped from his bow to his sword letting the familiar feel of it’s leather wrapped handle touch his grip as he then cut into an invading buccaneer in the side before slashing the man’s throat. He could feel it now. The Flame crawling up and taking stock of the situation.

Yes. Now his fear was being burned by the flame as it began to flare in his mind. It just needed one more thing, as Korrin began to fight off the enemies with his sword. Just one thing to be set loose. Korrin knew what it wanted. He didn’t want to give it, but he gradually was running out of options as he saw more coming from across the planks, and Lohran’s shouting was also a factor. He took in a deep shaking breath, as his teacher once taught him. From his teacher, he also was told if this Flame in his was indeed living thing in his mind, give it a reason, a thought even, to let him try to have control. Now was a good time as any. ”I’ve got to Protect Cretas and Lemnia. I’ve got to live so I can protect them. Let me protect them!!!!”

With a bellowing yell he allowed the locked away fury of the Flame to envelop his mind like a cloak thrown onto his back. Then came the rush of adrenaline as Korrin rushed at an enemy combatant, who he figured was wearing a black band on his arm as he swung his sword, slashing the man on the right side of his stomach before slashing his throat. Turning an almost fiery jade glare at his next enemy he leapt at him and gave him a resounding kick to the face before delivering a stab in between his ribs for a fatal wound.

Kicking that one off his blade, Korrin looked around and noted Tora manning one of the planks to try and stem the flow of enemies coming onto the ship. Before he could do anything another enemy leapt and gave him a kick to the face. Korrin barely had time to parry the following attack which thanks to it’s path, rewarded him a fine clean line of blood on his cheek. Bellowing with rage he began engaging the man as the enemy and allied bodies piled around him.

”This one’s just as skilled a fighter as I am. I just have to overpower him and terrify some of the oncoming enemy with this kill.” He thought in this fury-filled state he was in. He engaged the enemy in front of him for a time. Exhchanging slashes and parries that eventually gave Korrin two wounds; one to his shoulder, another that was a mistimed parry which gave a cut across his left pectoral that mingled with a scar from an animal attack years ago. Had he not parried that blow when he did, Korrin very well could’ve lost his leftmost eye.

He locked blades after what felt like an eternity fighting this individual and began to push the man towards the left plank. Then with a yell of fury, pushed the enemy blade upward then sliced downward, carving into the man’s thigh. The man screamed in pain which was magnified to a howl when Korrin slashed into his left side, slicing into the stomach, before he then stabbed into his right side and upwards into his liver.

Withdrawing his blade he gave an almost animalistic glare in the direction of the enemy ship. ”Who’s Next?!” He stated, half growling as he got into his ready stance.

”Got to maintain... what little control... over the Flame I got... for Cretas and Lemnia” Was the only sane thought in his mind at the moment.