Breaking Point [Uleru]

[Razkar]

74th Day of Spring, 513AV
The North Suvan Sea
12th Bell

"D'you think they ever stop training?"

"Who? Those two in particular or Myrians in general?"

"Why not Myrians and Akalaks?"

"Because we both know what Akalaks enjoy even more than fighting."

The two sailors chuckled and turned their heads back to scrubbing the deck, well away from the crashing metal and whirling figures near the center of the Cuttlefish. The two combatants seemed well-matched despite their differences.

One was a towering purple monster, an Akalak name of Yurak, swinging a five-foot sword that he wielded like a Svefra might a cutlass. Hulking and powerful, he still had speed thanks to his training, and after a few moments, one could see he had aptitude with his blade.

But his enemy was not without assets. A foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter, dark skin covered in tribal tattoos and dozens of scars, he was faster than the Akalak by a fair margin, wielding two smaller weapons to his opponent's one.

Shorter weapons, too. Lakans. To the other Akalak watching, that seemed initially like folly. The key to fighting his cousin was to keep your distance as much as possible, stay away from that massive swing. But the Myrian wanted to get close, under his blows, even if that opened himself up to-

-a knee that caught Razkar in the stomach, lifting him clear off his feet and sending him staggering back. He swung his sword at half-speed and Razkar stayed in his doubled-over position, dropping lower-

-ducking under the blow and rolling away to his side, coming up with his lakan held read in that boxer's stance Eranis had taught him before. The man himself (well, Akalak) was spectating from the shade under the main sail, arms crossed, eyes sharp...

"Ready to quit yet?"

Razkar spat to the side and grinned up at Turak, seeing sweat running down the big man's face. "Perhaps you? Sweating. Getting old?"

"I'm three times your age and in ten times better shape, Myrian. Hot out here, is all."

"Sure, sure..."

Then he came in again, lower, under the Akalak's swing-

-but Turak was expecting it, coming in with a diagonal, upward sweep. Big and crude though he was, Turak was not stupid, as many assumed. Eranis nearly winced as the Myrian deflected the blow with both lakan, the impact sending shudders up his body, Turak's leg lashing out again-

Razkar wasn't stupid, either. And he was learning.

He sidestepped and slashed under the leg, a shallow cut, just below the kneecap. The general rule for their sparring, since they don't have practice weapons, is no deep cuts, no blows to the face, and no permanent scars. It applies more to Turak, though.

When you're wielding a five-foot-long sword, self-control is essential.

Turak howled and staggered back, putting more weight on his cut leg out of instinct, not realizing-

-Razkar ducking low and hammering a foot into his other leg, under the knee-

-more wobbling, Turak swinging again, trying to keep the Myrian back-

-and the Myrian slid back along the deck, nearly slipping on the sodden and moist wood, away from that broad, flashing blade. Separated again, the two of them them stopped, panting, sizing the other up...

"Yer getting faster, savage, I'll give-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

That was the only words they could make out, anyway. The rest of it was a shouted and snarled garble of Fratava that Razkar was sure would make any Svefra mother faint with shock, hearing her little boy speak so coarsely. Akalak and Myrian both turned to the man making it, one of a trio of sailors straining over the port side of the Cuttlefish, wrestling with a massive fishing net.

But there was something else down there. Something thrashing.

Curiosity overwhelming their zeal for sparring, the two fighters lowered their weapons and wandered over, brows furrowed. The three humans were struggling and pulling frantically, one of them actually... was he stabbing down with some kind of pry bar?

A splash that sounded like a roar, and a fin the size of Razkar's torso flashed up into the sky, then rushed back below the surface.

"What the-"

"Blasted orca!" That same crewman snarled. "Fucking thing's been eating away at our nets!"

"Mind your tongue," one of the others hissed, narrowing his eyes somewhere between censure and concern. "You speak of one of Laviku's prized beasts."

"Yeah, well he can keep 'em on a petching leash, can't he? Bloody thing's eating all our food for the week!"

"We've still got biscuits, bread, dried fruit-"

"Were Svefra!" The man was on his feet now, almost raging, and out the corner of his eye Razkar could see Tonio quit his perch and move swiftly towards the disturbance. "And we're to be denied our fill of the Suvan by Laviku's other children?! This one... it doesn't even have a pod! It's a renegade...!"

Razkar and Turak exchanged glances, content for now to stay silent and let this other race have their little debate. Tonio strode over and quickly restored over with a few well-chosen words. They were in Fratava, though, so they were lost on Razkar... but the general tone was not.

Frank, stern but conciliatory. As if he agreed with both men but despised the waste of time either way. The old captain massaged his sore, sunburned neck and shook his head.

"Biscuits and salted pork again tonight, friends," he said with a grimace, "And I was looking forward to some fresh fish."

Razkar was hardly listening. He was staring over the side of the boat at the massive creature keeping pace with them, strands of netting drifting from it's open mouth. A huge pink tongue lolled out and two tiny eyes were set in thick, blubbery flesh, great slabs of black and white skin... a monster.

"Why not kill fish?"

Tonio looked at him sharply, but the shocked indignation Razkar was expecting was not there. He must have been either desperate or weary for there was only a neutral calculation in the captain's eyes. He rubbed a little slower.

"They are sacred creatures, Myrian..." he said, but even to Razkar the words sounded more apologetic than explanatory "... one does not kill them because they are a nuisance."

Razkar turned back to the... orca, yes, that was what the Svefra had called it. The thing spurted water into the air and opened it's jaws wide... such huge bones... massive teeth. Razkar's eyes shined as a new challenge was perceived...

"But if it is threat, would be right to kill it?"

"It is not a threat, Myrian. We have plenty of food for the trip to Syliras. Not good food, mind you, but-"

"And what if food does not last? Might happen. Might have storm."

Tonio's eyes grew colder still, even as those blasphemous thoughts his own parents would have beaten out of him crept further and further to the fore. They flickered to the orca, frolicking just off the port side... and then to the short bow with barbed arrows that the Myrian had on deck...

"It is... a dangerous idea, but-"

A shriek of indignant, inhuman rage from the prow of the Cuttlefish made every head turn.

[Uleru]

The land-dwellers call them Killer Whales, the some of the costal men call them Blackfish, and to the Sevfra they are known as Orca. The names are legendary and tough, leaving the ignorant to think of great, rolling black monsters with teeth like handhooks and a fin that could gut a Palivar without losing speed, or so the stories go. But do they know that these great beast enjoy a good tongue rub? Uleru massages the whales heavy pink tongue with both hands working furiously. She knows he's enjoying it by the way his mouth gapes and he keeps nudging her with his blunted snout when she slows down. He's quite the demanding snot, but its all so playful and dolphin-like that she cant help but be endeared to the massive, grizzled old man. And he is old, but his age makes him tough. Puckered white scars as thick as her finger or her wrist criss cross along his back in angry lines. His small black eyes are folded in their socket, their sight so bright they look as lacquered as polished jet. His teeth are long but blunt with wear, and she wraps her hand around one in the front and gives it a tug. He merely shakes her off, and she can tell that his teeth are still good and strong. "Stay here, yes?" she commands in broken Char, letting the haughty tones of the language dissipate into the empty space. "For me? Then tongue rubs for you", she lets go of the thick muscle and teases her fingers in front of his snout, laughing and he pushes at her abdomen like a pouty child. And she will indeed give him as many rubs as he wants if it means he'll swim with her. For she is bored. Very, very bored. The two are swimming behind the Cuttlefish at an easy pace, the Orca having just joined the party, but Uleru has been following the ship since it left the Flotilla. No, not the ship, but rather one who is sailing on the ship. A Myrian she is determined to see out of her ocean, so she can breath deeply knowing he is gone for good. He was an interesting little oddity, a plaything that you poke just to see how it will react. But a recent encounter has stripped all amusement from him and she saw what she was really provoking. Under his exoticness he is a warrior, with pride and a calm and calculating sense of duty. Under the warrior he is a savage made of fire and passion. And under the savage she saw a small and dark piece she cant name. And that is, she is sure, where the killer in him lives. He must leave her fathers land behind before she sees that again. The whale is getting more insistent with his nudging, and before the Otani realizes it he is bouncing her around like a squishy beach ball. She shrieks in bubbly laughter and tries to push him away, swimming ahead in a way thats sure to induce a chase. But the animal sees what she is planning and gives a great push with his tail to seize her leg before she gets too far ahead. A crushing pressure used to crack seal sculls is applied, but all her does is toss his head to whip her around like a screechy chew toy. "Oi!" she bubbles, laughing even as she claws at the water. There is an easy way out, but changing shape would be cheating her out of this game. No, she's has have to find another way. Plan acquired, djed is pulled from the bottom of her foot to gather into a lightly pressured, pearly ball from between the whales teeth. She holds her breath, mentally picturing the process without seeing it, and while he is tossing her around with an upward thrust she converts the Djed to air with an explosive result. The compressed air (while she's not sure was enough to blow open a jaw that strong) is enough to shock him into letting her go with a bizarre wailing noise and a protruding tongue. Given her chance, the Otani makes her escape heading for the prow of the ship. At first she thinks he is following, for his tail gives a few fast beats and his mouth is once again agape, but a sudden change of direction leaves her confused. Until a flash of glittering fins, a huge rocking of the ship and a string of Fratavan curses sail through the water like the small, escaping silver fish. The Orca just swiped someones dinner. "You lazy old man!", she bubbles in distorted common, smiling all the same. Until softer, more subdued Fratav words drifted through to her. Degrading words. Her lips pull back from small, pointed teeth and she breaks the water near the ships digging prow to better hear. "Why not kill fish?" Myrian, the mouldings . The justification doesn't last long. She listens with growing dread as Razkar talks down the Sevfra, preening and grooming a blasphemous cause with words. These words chip away at the crew, she can almost hear their resolve crumbling like their loyalty is made of nothing more than their biscuits and salted pork. "It is... a dangerous idea, but-" That was it. The concession. These children of Laviku, these proud sailors and powerful men, are being persuaded by an outsider. A savage who knows nothing of their god! A burning, boiling shriek of rage accompanies her as she claws her way up the hull, appearing over the railing with her body a venomous shade of red. "How dare you!", she howls, her eyes alight. "You're will is weak and your pride is rotting in your hands! You will be led astray by a savage, a stranger! Laviku take your bones and for your blasphemy", she ends with an inhuman growl. Now she turns to the dark-skinned Myrian. His chest bare and shining with a sheen of sweat to emphasize his physical prowess. And she knows, just out of sight, a long line of kills and murders stretch out across his back. Her last conversation with Edreina sizzles in the forfront of her mind; how he is just different and enticing, a symbol for the wide world she wants to meet. How she loves him as a friend and wants them all to respect each other. Uleru's eyes narrow. "Edreina was wrong about you, Razkar. But animals are not punished for their ignorance. Your babysitter is back and you will sit and wait until I can hand you off to whatever keeper you have next", she hisses. "You will not poison my sea."

[Razkar]

OOCGodDAMN, woman, you're an amazing writer...

"Sea Witch..."

Tonio nearly shuddered when he heard the savage growl come slithering out of the Myrian's throat. He didn't need to look at his face to know a smirk came with it... but he did anyway, and there it was. Filed teeth like a barracuda, and the sheer loathing in his voice was almost like a stink he could feel on his skin.

He wasn't the only Svefra uneasy, though it was nothing to do with the Myrian, he was sure. The youngest, Warren, actually got down on one knee, and all of them looked stunned and humbled in the presence of one of Laviku's Chosen Children. Oh, they all called themselves that, of course, but this shimmering, enraged creature in front of them? She was the real deal.

And now her rage, so rarely seen and all the more frightening because of it, was focused on the savage before them.

Who was grinning at her like this was what he wanted.

"Cannot stay away, can you?" He said lightly, turning to face her full-on, arms spread. "What? Did you miss me, witch? Want more kiss? Let me kill pest-" he said, biting out the word just to see her coloring spasm madly for a moment "-and we shall see, hmm?"

"Edreina was wrong about you, Razkar. But animals are not punished for their ignorance. Your babysitter is back and you will sit and wait until I can hand you off to whatever keeper you have next. You will not poison my sea."

Razkar's smile faltered for just a blink, a moment, and for a mortal that might have been enough to have missed it. But for the Otani, it was enough for it to be seen. That darkness came to the fore in his eyes, barely, briefly, almost like an illusion... but she had seen it. A deep, howling rage that she tapped into with the mention of that poor girl who did not need to be around such a monster.

Then the smile was back, a faux-thoughtful look on his face, the veneer of civilization looking all the stranger and horrid on that scarred, pierced and inked visag.

"Hmm... I think poison is when you add to thing, yes? I not poison..."

He was still. She did not like that. Cogs and whispers whirred and argued in his head, some machinery grinding towards a decision...

... then he started walking for his arrows.

Shouldn't have mentioned the girl, witch.

"... I take out of ocean."

There was a keening sound, almost like a monkey crossed with a bird, as he snatched up his short bow and quiver, violence radiating from every movement now. That smile was still on his face but his eyes were far from it. Wider than they needed to be, angry, hurt... uncontrolled.

She brought this out. It's her fault! All her fault!

How dare she mention Edreina?! Razkar all but spat in her direction as he walked over to the side of the ship where the orca broke the surface again, gnarled but still-smooth skin exposed to the sun as it took another gulp of air. That noise again... was it a call? A plea? A challenge?

He didn't know. He didn't care. He saw something he could kill and...

The realization came to him sharp and from somewhere he didn't realize. Razkar's hand moved behind his head to grab an arrow, and it stilled for the barest second as his mind whispered it.

Now she's gone... there's nothing to hold me back.

"Razkar, enough," Tonio said firmly, breaking his own rule by using his "anonymous" passenger's name and showing just how desperate this situation was becoming, "This is an Otani, a-"

"Child of Laviku." He notched the arrow. "Yes, I know."

"Razkar, you can't-"

A lean face snapped to him and the words died on his tongue as if snatched by Dira. Tonio had seen sharks before. He'd seen those black, lifeless eyes. Those filed and gaping teeth. That... killing intent bursting from every flick of a fin and snap of jaws. He'd seen creatures that were designed, from the dawn or time, by some god or demon, to do nothing but kill and reproduce. That could find no joy or purpose in anything else.

He saw that again. On two feet.

"Then stop me."

The Svefra froze, eyes turning in pleading desperation to the Otani, just as the two Akalaks exchanged a look and decided this was as far as they'd let their savage friend go with this. He may have been a Myrian but he had his good points and this... this would not end well.

Razkar heard and saw, but did not care. He sighted down the arrow just as he heard a gasp from the Otani. He settled the arrow head on the creature's weak point, or what he assumed to be a weak point.

Namely, the black eye staring at him curiously from just above the waves.

"You should not have followed, Sea Witch."

He drew back the string as the Akalaks started towards him, and his hands wavered every so slightly...

[Uleru]

Laviku is watching. It's not an invading feeling, or even unexpected. Its a tiny shift, a note, and she knows that she has Laviku's attention. Whether it is the situation or her intense emotion that triggered this thread of interest, she doesn't know. But he is looking through her eyes, and sees everything. The Myrian is turning, and his tattooed skulls wink and mock her across his dilating muscles. "... I take out of ocean." She waits. She waits and listens for Laviku's word, for his driving force to compel her to carry out his will. But nothing comes. Her fingers twitch, her shoulders tighten, as Razkar takes agonizing steps towards his weapon. She cant move. Laviku is here, but she cant act without him. Without his guidance, his permission... Father, what do I do? she inwardly begs, as the Myrian is stepping closer and closer to the barbed arrows. Does she attack him? Should the crew be drown by their insolence? Is this too big for her, and he wants her to step away? Call for his Kalvikasi? Immobilized by his silence, she gives a strangled, keening moan. What do you want! Razkar picks up his bow, lines up his arrow. Its head is cruelly barbed, thick and deadly. This is not a practise bow, it's a killing weapon. She cant let this happen, not on her sea, not by a savage and not in front of her god. But to stop him she has to step outside of the will of the sea king, something she has always prided herself on keeping. She has to do it on her own. The Myrian raises his weapon, notches an arrow. As the Akalaks start towards him the Sevfra look to her with a kind of desperate pleading. Act now, Uleru, she commands herself, now. Now. NOW. "NO", she barks. Djed is conjured at a rate she has never attempted and thrown while its still forming in her hand. The unpolished Res is transmuted just as it passes her range, forming into stones of ice. The impact throws him off balance, tips his aim- There is a twang of release- An explosion of air and spray erupts from the whale, and she knows he hit him. He doesn't make a sound, but disappears under the waves with a great splash of his tail and a trail of blood turned green in the water. Uleru follows without a sound, the prow of the ship swallowing all noise of her entry. The old whale sprouts his narrow wooden limb only a few inches behind his eye, which is rolling to show a line of pearly white. His cry is not hurt or panicky but mournful. "I'm so sorry, oh gods I'm so sorry", she bubbles uselessly, stroking the smooth skin below his eye. She suddenly understands why Laviku isn't directing her. Whether it's as punishment or lack of interest, he won't direct her because its not Laviku that wants Razkar gone, its her. It's too personal. This Myrian has invaded her ocean and she is the one to see him as dangerous. He has seduced her friend into leaving and shot at one of her fathers beasts. And she will kill him for it. But before she will take him to Laviku, she will take him through hell. This last straw has nailed his coffin, and all she wants is to see him dead. She kisses the whale over his grizzled eye before she leaves. The old Orca will probably die of his injuries. Either his blood will attract sharks or his internal injuries will kill him. But she holds out the stubborn hope that the tough old man will make it. There is a shudder across the netting as the moulding scales the side of the Cuttlefish, but its not Uleru that climbs to the railing, its Edreina. Naked and shimmering its a transparent version of the Svefra, like a dream or a mirage. Uleru has had years of play to hone this shape. She braces herself against the netting and holds the railing with both hands. "Raz, how could you? I trusted you!" the pseudo Edreina cries, sounding heartbroken and lost. The voice is not human, but it copies it well. A swift Svefra accent underlines Edreina's characteristic lilt and the sweet, purring tone she doesn't even know she has. Its not perfect, it barley qualifies as passible, but thats not what she is after. She is looking for a weakness: a minimal lowering of his weapon, dazed focus, the dark part of his soul to extinguish in the face of his almost-lover. She will look for one and if she finds it, she will exploit it. But however it happened, the two burly Akalaks have managed to grab hold of both of Razkar's forearms. Dragging them all overboard would be impossible. She only hopes that he might break himself free. "It's ok, I can fix this", a hand is held to the restrained Myrian, an offering. "Come on, Raz." Come here, savage. "We can fix this." I will finish this. "Help me." Help me.

[Razkar]

"Fucking cunt!"

The words are spat and vomited out through a hail of ice as the djed smacks into Razkar, but only when the arrow is already fleeting away from him. He hears a faint, almost-insignificant thunk of impact and then the sea goes insane, a thrashing, rolling, moaning creature just off the Cuttlefish.

"Gods, Myrian, are you-"

The pounding grows louder. The red lowers and creeps from the corners of his eyes. The necklace around his neck vibrates with the anger of the beast he killed, his gladius shakes groans with a metallic whine, sensing her master's anger, her fury.

The red takes hold and Razkar whirls on Tonio, hand shooting to his gladius.

"Enough!"

Weight and pressure fall on him like farm animals rather than human beings. Then again, they're Akalaks, so that makes sense. Hands the size of his head seize his arms with blurring speed, Eranis's left slapping around his wrist and stilling the gladius in its sheath, even as it screams through his bones to be released.

The runes scratched into the hilt plead with him now, just as the necklace does. Razkar has since learned that they swell one's rage, burn anger until it is a flaming inferno of wrath and...

"Enough, Raz!" Turak hisses in his ear, meaty hands holding him steady. "This has gone-"

"Raz, how could you? I trusted you!"

"... what the petch...?"

Razkar blinks and what just appeared on deck and for that blink, he assumes he's going mad. Something... no... it's someone. The red clears but splotches his vision, a crimson fog he had to peer through... and sees...

"Edri...?"

Heartbroken and in pieces, angry and tearful, betrayed... bewildered. Razkar's breathing stops and his mind nearly fragments at the sheer impossibility of-

Ah, there we have it, a voice in his own mind says, the runes on his gladius powering through his rage and confusion and clearing his thoughts, it is impossible, isn't it?

"It's OK, I can fix this. Come on, Raz."

Voices around him, garbled and confused, the deck and the crew now forgotten, gratefully and eagerly backing away from his queer group and the belong being.

"Ed... Edri," Razkar shakes his head, but it doesn't clear, and all those raw feelings surge back, "I... I'm-"

"We can fix this."

She's behind us, you moron! Sailing her ship! Could she have gotten this close, in time, and jumped on board?! Think, damn you!

"Fuck's going on, 'ranis?"

"Petched if I know," those cultured tones mumble curses in the queerest way, but there's steel behind the words, "But we need to get him away-"

"Help me."

"Yes..." Razkar says, feeling Eranis's grip loosen as he prepares to shift Razkar below decks. A glimmer of hope, and even a glimmer can illuminate a hall, if the light is right. "... kill you."

The hand. It's shimmering. The fingertips are transparent. Aided by his djed-empowered gladius, Razkar's dark eyes flash up to Edreina's-

-and it is not her eyes he sees, not to mention the shock behind them.

"Witch!"

She may have been discovered, but she was fast. As Razkar slammed an elbow into Eranis's armpit, ruining his hold and freeing his right arm, the Sea Witch threw up her other with a hiss and in a flash of soaking djed Turak was knocked backwards, a thick tendril of water drawn fast from over the railing and knocking him back-

"DIE!"

-but Razkar was already running, gladius sweeping out of his sheath diagonally, slashing through "Edreina's" arm at the elbow, severing it but the watery substance just reformed once it had passed through it, though the Sea Witch grunted with pain-

-her other arm grabbing his around the throat, eyes and face shifting, changing, morphing, contorting with a fury and colored everywhere with that same red he had seen before, teeth now long as tiger fangs-

With a roar like a beast Razkar jammed his sword down again, straight towards her chest, knowing his blade would go through her-

-and, in fact, counting on it.

The gladius impaled her through the chest and as he expected, it didn't do much more than make her wince and hiss even louder. But when she tried to haul him backwards, strength stunning for such an ethereal creature, he clung on harder to his gladius, now anchored half a foot into the oak deck-

-keeping her from dragging into the Suvan, her domain, where she held all the cards...

"Not that easy, bitch-"

Razkar's forehead crashed forwards and smashed into a wet and barely-solid wall. Again, no real damage but her watery eyes were shattered for a moment, blinding her-

-enough for his right hand to jerk up to the sheath on his chest, ripping free his kukri-

-slicing it towards her head, making her hiss again, back off towards the sea, too much time spent away from her father-

Razkar's kukri slashed and hacked and rose and fell and he heard the metal hiss as the Akalaks drew their blades. They would end this, even if the Sea Witch could not. He knew that, and still drove her back, throwing the blade at her chest, even as it passed through her.

Weakening! Too long from the water, now, go!

Razkar's lips curled back in unholy fury and he pulled his hand ax free, howling and yelling and becoming every nightmare Uleru had every had about him. All her fears confirmed and becoming flesh-

-as he hacked towards her and now, she felt pain-

Razkar felt the joy. The beat. The pulse and the glory. His gnosis burned at his neck, spreading power through him, speeding his muscle and his reflexes. He felt that electric tingle in the air as more djed was summoned-

-but was too slow. He was fighting a godling, after all, not a mere mortal, and such things are not easily killed.

The blast of water knocked him sideways, off his feet and into the railing, forcing the air out his lungs with the impact. His vision exploded into stars for a moment, pain and shock dancing through his system as he stared glassily over the edge...

Look at what you did.

Razkar saw the eye of the creature. It was bloody, strange blood oozing from above the black portal into it's soul. So... sad. Staring upwards and making painful, almost resigned noises like it was accusing, wanting to know why...

Why it had to die because of Razkar's hatred at another. Why murder by proxy became his only solution.

The Myrian's face crumbled, became a mask of guilt and shock. The ax lowered and his lips finally moved, as behind him the Akalaks moved forwards, grim and determined but eyes sad. Razkar was their friend, such as their friends were... but now he was a threat.

It did not hurt you. It did not need to die. But you pushed for it, here, of all places, simply to hurt one you hate. Is that what you are now? One who inflicts pain on your enemies by harming those they love? That is not a warrior... and you know it.

"Forgive me..."

The Otani blinked at the words, as they were directed at the whale. Some strange imperative gripped Razkar, forcing its way from his childhood, when he... he'd hunted a deer-

Black eyes looking up and begging him, but he did not stay his hand. His clan needed meat or they would starve. But he did not wish to cause it more pain, a good hunter did not inflict agony for no reason. He buried his ax in its head and begged its forgiveness, for his arrow had gone wide.

"We-"

A hiss bought him back to reality as the furious Uleru remembered the vow to herself, reforming arms lashing out towards him. Survial kicked in with primal force and he jerked back away from the water, her domain, her advantage-

-straight into the Akalaks.

[Uleru]

Its not pain. Not in the traditional sense.

Its the ache of your body shattering and reforming a thousand times over until you don't exist. Until the in-between is just as real as you used to be. Then the swords descends again and the cycle rewinds itself.

These limbs are too long, the vantage point too high and the body thick in all the wrong places. Stuck in Edreina's shape her movements are awkward with the unfamiliar body. The Otani watches with increasing dread as that arm descends again.

Again.

Again.

She stumbles, falters, as he drives her back towards the railing. He moves at a blinding speed. A flash of roaring anger and blood rage as he works to destroy a body that cant be destroyed. And she fears him. Oh god she fears him. The black, howling rage she has glimpsed before is now all she can see. Its in the pits of his eyes, the landscape of his skin and saturated in his voice. And its all for her.

She tries to retreat, to fall back into the arms of the ocean. Even if she has to do it alone, there are other ways to kill a man. She won't abandon her vow, but she needs to get back to where she will be safe.

The railing hits the small of her back and Razkar winds up for another blow. She instinctively throws up her hand with a wave of water, pulling it up over the deck to send the Myrian sprawling to the oak deck.

A second of silence as the gasping savage pulls himself upright.

"Forgive me..."

She blinks, hand held high to defend herself and one already gripping the netting, ready to hurl herself over. But he is not speaking to her, he is speaking to the old man he just shot. His face breaks and falls into an expression she has never seen on the Myrian, one she cant read.

"No", she shakes herself awake, letting go of the railing and planting herself firmly aboard once again. "No, when the animal rolls over and dies and you are to blame, he will not forgive you. The beast wont forgive you, the sea wont forgive you, Laviku wont forgive you, and neither will I!"

She shrieks in powerful rage and renews her oath to the Myrian. Her hand, raised in defence, comes down with offence as her fingers search for the savages throat. But the scream seems to wake the Myrian too, and he thrusts back from the railing-

-straight into the arms of the Akalaks.

She can't drag him overboard. That much is clear. But it doesn't take a sea to drown a man, does it?, her mind whispers.

She takes this gift, this momentary stumbling as the men crash into each other, and throws herself into the fray.

She hits the Myrians chest with a force and they hit the floor like thrashing lovers. The Otani's hand is around his throat and she claws her way up until she is straddling his chest. Edreina's face is contorted and fierce as her free hand finds his face, his snarling lips and his barracuda teeth, and forces its way inside.

There is a choking, rattling sound as his body instinctively repels the invader. Filed teeth sink into her wrist and scrape the back of her hand, she can feel the back of his mouth retracting from the tips of her fingers. She must do this quickly. He is larger than her, stronger than her. Her only leverage is the weight on his chest and the hand in his mouth.

His own hands reach up, the Gladius is plunged deep into the crook between her neck and shoulder and another weapon is groped for in the confusion. She ignores it all. As all her concentration is propelled towards the Res growing in his mouth at a fantastic speed.

The res is suddenly water, born from her hand it rushes down his throat. The body tries to cough it up and spit it out, hips buck to throw her off. But she will not let go. She refuses to let go. She doesn't know where the Akalaks are, and she doesn't care. She will kill them too if they try to pry her off their friend.

Watch me, Father, she growls as the Myrian begins snorting water from his nose and overflowing mouth. This is for you. This enemy is for you.

The black mirror of the Myrians eyes are wide open, and she can see herself in them. Edreina looks back at her, eyes narrowed with hate and mouth twisted into a shape she would never have seen on the Sevfra's face. She looks like a savage.

Over the side of the ship, the Orca gives a painful moan.

Eyes widen in shock and for the barest second a moan of confusion escapes her lips. The old whale is in pain. What is she doing here? Is this trespasser more important than Laviku's children?

"I'm not-" she gasps. Not what? Not doing this to please yourself? Not a murder frenzied monster?

Her grip around his throat spasms and slips, res spills down his throat from the fist in his mouth raw and unformed. Edreina's shoulders hunch over the Myrian and something hard passes over her face. "I'm not like you!"

[Razkar]

It wasn't pain. Razkar knew pain. He welcomed it. Pain told him his body was still his own, in a twisted way, and he could direct it back out towards his tormentor.

No. This wasn't pain; it was worse.

Terror.

Primal and all-pervading, the instinctive, undeniable dread that all mammals are seized by when liquid floods and permeates their systems. Until that moment, the black, roaring rage in him had numbed all other emotion and sensation. The Sea Witch had bore him to the ground after hammering away the Akalaks, her djed strong as her anger, but his hands still flailed even as she pinned him. His gladius flashed and buried itself into her torso, sinking deep but...

"Fuck!"

Still too strong with her father, surrounding them and roiling around the Cuttlefish. His other hand squirmed behind his back, searching for a hilt, a handle, anything-

-then her hand was in his mouth and he bit and snarled and ripped at watery, salty flesh-

-and then it began to to glow...

The explosion of liquid almost ripped his cheeks open. Salt water, thick and stinking, grated against the back of his throat like sandpaper and already he was choking, eyes wide. Fear rose in him faster than he would have believed, overwhelming his anger. Instinct ripped the gladius down her body, almost pulling it in two, but her watery flesh just re-knitted around the blade.

Some ember of his rage still flared, but... but that animal terror... it paralyzed him... staring up at her and seeing his own shame bouncing back in her incensed eyes...

Razkar could have laughed if he wasn't moments away from Dira. He was the savage, hmm? Very droll...

Something huge and pained moaned and the Otani seemed to have the same thought strike her. Only with her, it was like a blow. The hadn was slowly withdrawn, reluctantly, and Razkar almost vomited all over her, body racked by choking, retching coughs, what seemed like every orifice in his head leaking. But he was sensible enough to see her head lurch forwards into his view, eyes still narrowed with anger, lip curled with disgust.

"I'm not... I'm not like you!"

"Good..."

The voice came out as a whisper that the Otani had to strain to hear. Then he blinked, and that dark place Uleru feared grinned back at her from the dreg's of Razkar's soul.

"But I am."

He lurched his head upwards, mouth open, twin rows of filed teeth snapping down onto her face, around her cheeks and nose and upper lip. She shrieked against him, sound so close it rattled the inside of his head. The Itani tried to flee, pulling them both up to a sitting position as she tried to back towards the sea.

But Razkar just held on, arms wrapped around her shoulder in a sick parody of affection, ripping, tearing, twisting his mouth around, biting down so hard his jaw ached, trying to tear a chunk out that couldn't repair-

-then a mountain hit the back of his head.

"Bigger this for a buncha' bananas!"

Turak massaged the bump on the side of his head as the Myrian thumped backwards onto the deck, out like a light, or a candle... well, you know what I mean. His cousin was slower getting up, impact from that wave the Otani had cast smacking his back into the mast and jiggling around his vertebrae like bones in a bag. The bigger Akalak was the first up, and the moment he saw the Myrian going all wolf on the Otani...

Such bullshit.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" He half-snarled, half-groaned as the Otani got back to her feet, clutching her healing but still battered face in surprise. He gestured to the slowly turning, bleeding, blubbery landmass in the water. "Do yer petching duty, woman!"

He turned as something dark moaned next to him, jaw dropping. Awake? Already?! Despite the thumping blow to his skull, Razkar was already coming around, hands instinctively going for weapons-

"Oh, no you don't-!"

A mountain of purple muscle fell on Razkar before he was even aware he was conscious again. Thick, solid hands pinned his arms to the deck at his elbows, immobilizing his upper body-

-and with an agonized grunt, Eranis threw himself over the Myrian's lower body, pinning his legs.

"Petching savage!"

The smaller, learned Akalak turned a groggy eye and saw the Svefra crew advancing, Tonio at their head, cutlass drawn. He understood their logic but internally snarled at their so-called courage. Only now, when their enemy was under two massive specimens of another race, did they attempt to fight him. Cowards. Cowards unworthy of life-

Eranis bit back the thought before it was fully birthed. This was not the time. If he let that side, that twin gain voice, was he any better than the Myrian?

"Stay back!"

"He tried to kill a Child of Laviku!"

"But he didn't, so we might as well forget it."

"For... Forget it?!" Tonio almost screeched the words, eyes goggling. "You have any idea what would have happened if he'd succeeded?! This ship would have been smashed apart like an ant under a thumb! I can't-"

"Yes, you can!"

Tonio stepped back unconsciously, different voice snarling at him now. It was Turak, glaring over his shoulder as the Myrian writhed weakly under him.

"No more shite, no more talking, just get back to sodding work, all of you!"

"I am captain of-"

"Yeah, and we're your paying passengers, so leave us be. We'll take the Myrian."

"If you don't let me up I swear to the gods I'll rip-"

Razkar's stream of enraged Myrian stopped the second Eranis reached up and placed his lakan against his throat. Surprise was quickly overridden by a fearful understanding when he looked down... and saw calm eyes staring back at him.

"They want you dead, Myrian. We're the only thing stopping that. Kill a Child of the Sea God while we're on the sea? You have any idea how stupid that is? Think, Myrian! You're not just some base, bloody savage, you have a brain and you know it's foolishness. Now stop fighting... or I'll remove everyone's problem."

Razkar glared for a long, angry chime. Part of his strained and howled for them to take that slim chance, rip his body to one side under Turak, maybe get a limb free... but he wouldn't, and he knew it. Even if he did, Eranis was damn-near superlative with that blade, and his neck would be nothing but a red mess before he'd even get out a war cry.

So... he relaxed. He submitted. That part of his mind that kept his dumb arse alive finally went from a whisper to a scolding voice.

Goddess, boy, you really are dense. Attacking the Akalaks, your only allies on this boat... hells, threatening Tonio, the man captaining it... and then, to cap it all, trying to kill the child of a god. Brilliant. Sensational. Wonderful, you moron!

It was more than just relax. Exhaustion and weariness and a taste of salt that he knew he'd have in his mouth for days overwhelmed him. He fell back against the soaking deck and panted out at the sun... and then... that mournful, fading cry again...

"Whale..." he managed to mutter as the Akalaks dismounted him, but stayed close. "... is whale... she helping him...?"

Turak turned, or at least turned just enough to glance at the events off-ship while still keeping one eye on the Myrian, and muttered.

"Looks like..."

[Uleru]

Uleru was still clutching her face and breathing with pathetic little whimpers when the Akalak barks at her.

"Do yer petchin' duty, woman!"

She starts and her colour does a molten spasm, and angry red dissolving into a panicked pink. The Sevfra are finally approaching, but she feels nothing towards them anymore. They are protected by the paleness of their transgression next to the Myrian.

She wastes no more time. She turns and runs from the ship, vaulting the railing and scraping down the side of the ship before she hits the water with a dull splash. The arms of the ocean embrace her and she melts into them, losing all colour and shape, the moulding floats like a wave for a desperate chime. No relief has ever felt so poignant.

Because she failed. She failed for the first time in the only way that mattered. The blasphemer will live. Laviku's attention shifts back to that expected thread of knowledge. She has felt no emotion sent from him, and that makes it worse.

Under the water the moaning of the whale becomes a clear song. He's getting weaker, she can hear it in his voice.

She approaches gently. Human again and whispering soft words to the massive beast. He's floating now rather than swimming, sending the occasional burst into the air with a horrible gasping noise.

Her mouth takes a metallic taste as her fingers brush his wound. Its not bleeding very much, but that means nothing compared with what it could be doing inside his body. Not knowing what to do, she tries to pull out the foreign weapon. It catches once but slides free with some gentle persuasion, releasing a cloud of greenish blood into the water. Tiny little fish congregate to pick the tiny flecks of blubber and flesh out of the water. Uleru doesn't shoo them away. Vultures far bigger than these will be circling soon.

Unable to do anything further, she wraps her arms as far around him as she can, petting slowly under his huge black eye, singing gentle words.

And she holds him until he dies.

When the Otani breaks the water one last time, the Myrian is up by the railing watching the floating carcass, but she cant read the expression on his face.

At the sight of him her own face lights up with an unintelligible, unearthly shriek of grief and rage. Every feature pulled back, her mouth open and a dilating wave of everything she feels assaulting the crew like a physical wave. Thats her parting gift for the Myrian. On the last note of her horrible song she turns and disappears under the waves. Hating herself, hating him, hating what she's done and hating what she let happen.

These emotions propel her far away and she knows she's leaving for good, but she doesn't know where. One last thought is spared for Edreina, her dearest friend sailing behind them and ignorant of what just happened. A goodbye wont be possible, she's can't face any of her fathers people.

[Razkar]

There are few things worse than praying so fervently for forgiveness... all the while knowing you'll never get it.

Razkar watched as the whale's life bled out into the water. Green ichor stained it, spreading out like sin across a soul, and he could do nothing. He could end a life, but he could not save it.

One last mournful cry moaned out from across the waves... and then those pained black eyes winced... closed... and did not open again.

"It's done," Turak said, voice terse and obviously as effected as the rest of them, "Let's go."

"Wait."

"Myrian, we can't stay up here-"

Too late. An explosion from under the dead whale and a shimmering, multi-hued avatar of anger breaches the surface with a cry from the lowest trench. Uleru wails and wails, part mourning for the departed, part vendetta for the living... but all of it speaking of pain.

Everyone on the ship winces, flinches, some even turn away as if they cannot bear to look. But by the time the song ends and they turn back, she is gone... and the carcass is floating away. Captain Tonio's face is a stone mask of guilt and shame... his head bows and the Svefra follow suit.

"There will be a price for this..."

Razkar turns slowly, realizing the words are being directed at him, low and soaked with foreboding. The Captain stares at him. The First Mate stares at him. All of the Svefra are doing the same and there seems to be some silent judgement being made.

Why doesn't he hate that? Why doesn't he glare back or bare his teeth?

Perhaps because you deserve it.

"It will come on us... but it will come on you most of all... savage."

Tonio gives the carcass one last look and turns back to the wheel, snapping over his shoulder: "Get off my fucking deck."

All fight fled. That's the only way Razkar can describe it. It's more than just exhaustion from the fight; he knows what that feels like and there's always adrenaline to spur it. Injuries? None too serious. Nearly drowning is a nightmarish thing, but once the water is expelled, there's nothing left to know it happened.

But you know it happened. You know all of it... and it was all your fault.

Razkar bit down and grunted as if in pain. To his side, Eranis turned to him and frowned, hand on his shoulder-

-only for the Myrian to shrug it off angrily, snarling in his own tongue and vanishing below deck. He traded a look with his cousin, who had the sense and decency to look serious for a change, and minutely shook his head.

"This is going to get worse before it gets better."

"For him." Turak said pitilessly. "Not for us. He made his choices; no need for us to suffer for them."

Eranis pondered this. He knew the Myrian's type: honorable, in their way, but uncompromising. Easily angered and unwilling to bend. Holders of grudges fr beyond practicality and sense... and their vision was easily clouded by rage. But now their erstwhile friend and sparring partner had trespassed in the realm of a god... but what could he do? Kill himself? For a large fish? No, the Myrian would not overreact so. Penance? Atonement?

But how?

Eranis did not know. Below him, Razkar did not know. But still, in the shadowed light from the portholes he lit a candle, flame sputtering and coughing, and his lips moved in constant, beseeching prayer.

But not to Laviku. To the soul of that whale. To the beast that he had killed to spit another; that did not need to die, that bore him no ill-will and... and he had murdered.

Razkar was a killer; but up until that moment, he had never considered himself a murderer.

The Myrian prayed in the tentative light, but neither answers nor solace came to him.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Razkar Skill Points Earned Weapon: Lakans 3 XP Dual Wielding: Lakans 2 XP Acrobatics 2 XP Intimidation 2 XP Weapon: Hand axe 1 XP Weapon: Gladius 1 XP Philosophy 1 XP Lore Earned Confrontation With Uleru Breaking Point Disregarding Laviku Other Shenanigans: Uleru Skill Points Earned Intimidation 3 XP Reimancy 3 XP Acrobatics 2 XP Philosophy 1 XP Lore Earned Confrontation With Razkar Razkar's Breaking Point Defending Laviku Something Personal Other Shenanigans: Comments : Really good thread, just one thing. PvP is definitely a tricky thing and I just want to remind you to make sure you don't assume attacks hit and cause their intended effect. Just state your attack and let the other player react to it. Best case scenario both players are mature and realize which character is the better fighter rather than having a never ending fight. Worst case scenario you PM a mod and we end it. Anyway, solid thread guys. Awesome writing from both of you! If you have questions or concerns, shoot me a PM!