Everett:
Neoma 12th, 500 AE
"GO, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE," a guttural voice tore through smoke and thunder.
Screams echoed through gusts of wind, while hail shot down on us like arrow fire. But all we could do was watch.
The weathered floorboards wobbled as enormous waves crashed into the harbour, threatening to sink us before we had even left shore.
Only children manned the battleship.
The parents all stood on the dock. Their backs turned to us as they waited, like our last line of defense.
My vision spun as the world flew by in slow motion. One moment, we were sitting peacefully in the village square...
And now we were leaving our home behind.
The distant screams seemed to fade away as a small girl sobbed beneath me. Her thick black hair pressed into my chest.
But it wasn't just her. All around us, children huddled together, fighting off the crackling storm. Like toddlers holding swords, some attempted to operate the small battleships we were on, but most didn't even try.
"It's ok, Sery, we'll get out of this," I soothed as my hand brushed through her hair.
Not a moment after the words left my mouth, an enormous fiery blaze tore through the night sky, illuminating the entire island.
"Father!" I screamed as our boats slowly slid from the dock.
The inferno torrent rained down upon the island like hellfire, sending a wave of scorched air through the village and even melting the icy rain from my tattered clothes.
A series of screeches and wails followed as the world returned to near complete darkness.
It's hard to believe a single person could command such enormous power, let alone control it, even after being trained by him my entire life.
But despite how strong Father is, I couldn't help growing unease in my chest. Compared to how he usually fights, this wasn't natural or domineering.
These flames felt... enraged. As if forced from his body.
But who could stand against the chief?
As another wave smashed into our ship, I finally snapped back to my senses.
There was no time to dwell on the fight ahead. I promised I would get us out of here, that Sery would be safe. And it's time to leave.
"Wait here," I said, wrapping Sery's hand around a thick rope for safety.
Her ruby eyes gazed up at me in terror, but before she could even reply, I was already climbing along the side of the boat, as a weird purple light caught my eye.
I tried to focus on the task at hand, but on the dock, far behind us, the ominous light continued to grow.
My eyes narrowed against the hailstorm, but before I could make sense of the purple tendrils, a blurred figure leapt at me from across the boat, pushing my head beneath the hull.
Not even a second later, the blazing purple light erupted in a blinding flash.
Tendrils of purple-blue energy zapped through the air as the sea was once again shrouded in darkness.
"SERY," I screamed through the booming of thunder.
Spinning around, I ground my teeth as Sery stared back at me. Her jaw slackened in shock, and tears already streamed down her cheeks.
"Eve," the figure beside me, pressed her hand to my shoulder.
Her pale skin reflected the flashing light of battle, only shrouded by long platinum hair that clumped under the rain.
But despite her dainty stature, her gaze was stern and determined as she gestured towards the mast.
My teeth ground together as another enormous wave collided with the ship's hull. But it didn't take me long to realise what had happened.
"Whoever our attackers are, they clearly want us alive," I grimaced.
My eyes were still fixed on the remains of our sail, as tattered and scorched strands of fabric flapped in the stormy wind.
"Eve, what do we do?" A Shaky voice called out from across the ship.
But it wasn't until I pried my eyes from the remains of the sail that I finally realised.
Everyone was staring at me. The flickering remains of hope filled their eyes.
I knew that most of them were just children. But I'm not much older. I may be the son of the chief, but I've never fought in a real battle before. Hell, this is the furthest I've ever been from leaving the island.
But it didn't matter. Right now, all of these children, friends, and even family are relying on me. And I have to get us through this.
Biting my tongue, I rose to my feet, my eyes tracking over the frightened children.
"T-There should be a spare sail at the stern!" I bellowed, gesturing to a bar of thick, rolled-up fabric at the back of the boat.
"I will fix the sail, Finn, you guys start repairing the hull, and carl your with me!" I ordered
No one hesitated.
Even as inexperienced as we were, everyone on this ship knew that in this situation, it was life or death.
Without much more than a nod from the others, Carl and I began climbing our way towards the stern.
Waves continued to smash into the ship's hull, as hail rained down on us like nails.
The world flashed by in a blur as we reached the spare sail. The only thing keeping me from freezing altogether was my father's blistering flames that continued to engulf the sky.
"Make way!" I bellowed as we hauled the thick canvas. But I couldn't shake the feeling of unease; this time it was even stronger than before.
In a daze, my eyes drifted back to the village dock, but to my terror, I noticed yet another soft purple light that pulsated from atop the wooden balustrades.
"Luna," I called out, not wasting a second, as my arm was already pointing towards the dock. Without missing a beat, the fair-skinned girl's eyes locked on the growing light.
After watching as she grabbed Sery, I began climbing up the mast, as Carl was already lifting the thick, rolled-up sail towards me.
Despite the chaos, the world seemed to pass by in slow motion as I grabbed the heavy canvas from Carl. For once, the thunderous storm seemed to fall silent, and the ocean was still. If not for a clutching pain in my chest, the moment would have been utterly tranquil.
In the storm's silence, my attention instead locked onto the ominous purple light. Without time to react, I clutched the mast and sail with all my might, as a deafening beam of amethyst light torrented towards us.
All I could think about as the blast hit was if Sery would be ok.
But in the next moment, the ship screeched to a halt. Nails popped from the floorboards as water gushed through the ship's bulkheads.
Even the hull was left cracked and contorted from the impact.
Recollecting myself, my eyes snapped towards Sery, only to see Luna wrapped around her in a protective embrace.
After repositioning myself on the mast, I looked downward only to see Carl sprawled across the partitions, knocked out from the blow.
It didn't take long for people to notice a thick chain of glowing purple light stretching from our boat all the way to shore as our ship was then pulled back towards shore.
My jaw tightened as I gazed down at Luna once more.
Despite how desperate the situation was, her amethyst eyes stared back at me through the hailstorm with the same stern look as before. It was almost as if she knew something I didn't.
Her festive antler headband was still woven through her long silver hair as we shared a remorseful nod.
A few of the brave children began prying at the glowing chain, using anything they could get their hands on to set us free.
But somehow Luna knew better, as she began walking eloquently across the shaking and splintered deck, leaving Sery behind.
My Numb hands gripped the mast with all my strength as I began fitting the thick wooden dowel in place.
I thought I was hallucinating at first, but after rubbing my eyes, I stared dumb founded as Luna balanced precariously on the bowsprit.
Despite the hailstorm and, not to mention, the mountainous waves that continued to crash into the ship, she didn't lose balance. Her simple white dress flapped energetically against the wind.
We all watched in shock as she positioned herself at the tip of the bow.
But just as I managed to fit the sail in place, an enormous blast erupted across the sea, flinging me from the mast and propelling me high above the boat.
My body flailed through the air as I tried to make sense of the world. Through the blistering rain, I watched as an ethereal platinum white light pulsed out from Luna like a heartbeat.
All I could make out as I plummeted into the black sea was a flash of blinding white light that seemed to illuminate even the depths of the ocean.
"Eve!" Sery wailed as beams of light reached through the icy water.
And my vision went black.