During their first few nights in the vast open water, the voyage had been pretty much uneventful. The water was calm and they did not encounter any mishaps.
David’s ship took them to places and they explored the moonlit landscape blanketed by the cool breeze of the night without breaking a single sweat.
Audrey would even go out at night to watch the countless stars sparkling in the clear dark sky overhead. This had been her nighttime routine before going to bed. She believed doing so was what helped her have a peaceful and dreamless night.
However, if the master was enjoying her time, the pet was experiencing the exact contrary to that. For three nights straight, Nero would see or imagine he saw, a vessel standing for them under a press of sail, as though it would run
Wiping the remaining sleepiness off of his eyes, Niccoli dragged his half-asleep body out of bed.“Monami?”He mumbled under his breath when he noticed that his cat was nowhere to be seen and against his better judgment, he went outside looking for her; still wearing his pajamas.Searching for any sign of his pet, it did not take that long before Niccoli reached the deck, and a blast of wind with a salty aftertaste was all it takes to wake the young prince completely.“Good morning pal.”David greeted him with a friendly smile first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, as soon as the man’s near-perfect side profile registered
Alec Romanov was a great sailor until he fell in love with the goddess Hekacy. Surprisingly, the word "heka" in the Egyptian language is also both the word for "magic" and the name of the god of magic and medicine, Heka. Hekacy was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. Not only was she the one responsible for bestowing the first men the secret knowledge of using the art of witchcraft, she was also said to be the mother of necromancy. Not only that, but she holds a certain domain in the underworld as well and it was she who would appoint her lover the sacred task of ferrying souls who died at sea to the worlds beyond using the famed, Phantom Ship. Rumor has it that Hekacy made Alec the captain of an exemplary ship that was not only capable of traversing all parts of the water but could also cover distances and cross dimensions with an inexplicable speed like no other; thanks to its ability to glide both in the air and water. To prove his love to her, Alec Romanov agreed t
A day goes by pretty quickly and before they could even realize it, another day had already ended. But the next day, something unexpected happened.“Steve, tell me I am not the only one seeing them.”There was excitement at the edge of his voice when Allan prompted his friend to confirm to him that he was not just simply seeing things. The other party, on the other hand, prodded him on the rib and responded,“You saw them right, Allan. I believe it’s the Shamrock!”Steve beamed just equally as excited as the other.“Guys, you got to see this!”Allan beckoned to everyone. Curious, they all followed the direction where his finger was pointing, and when they saw what lies ahead, they were all visibly thrilled.“It definitely got to be Shamrock. There is no doubt about that.”Nike exclaimed while everyone else rejoiced for the first step in their success was just within their reach.Just like how it was described in the book, the Shamrock was comprised of a set of boulders facing each o
With the combined attack of the strong wind and waves, their ship rocked violently akin to a leaf shaking from its branch, as the torrential rain and wind gang up on it, hitting it teasingly from left and right.Two forces of nature, both held great power at each of their own very rights joined hands and were determined to not give them a rest. That was why everyone was holding for their dear life to whatever they could grab onto, out of fear that a single misstep would cause them to inadvertently end up getting tossed into the raging water below.“Have your wands ready. I don’t think our ship would hold for long..”Stating the obvious, David announced their grim situation to the group as if Audrey and her friends could not make this assessment by the
Correspondingly, it was also only at this point that they realized they were still missing two of their companions.“I have not seen David and Nike since our ship capsized!”Allan’s words pulled them all back their senses. Even Niccoli could not believe himself when it dawned on him that Nike was nowhere to be seen too.‘How could I worry about a girl and put her first over my brother’s safety?’His odd behavior left him questioning his priority.Meanwhile, just as when the group was harboring a collective thought and was thinking to themselves, ‘Surely this is not the end of it yet, yes?’; another disaster incarnate caught up with them. It was almost guaranteed that by the end of their quest, Audrey and the squad could sure jot down a hell of a list from this series of unfortunate events.All this while, the group of survivors have not been made aware of the presence awaiting them in the shadows of the deep blue sea.But what else could they expect? Their life could never be allowed
“We had a brief encounter with the sea monster and we tried to defeat it as soon as we arrived here.”David wore a grim expression as he described how they ran into the colossal squid.“But it was too powerful to be subdued. Even with our combined strength, we could hardly fend off its attacks.”He further explained.As it turned out, both Nike and David had been at the monster’s lair long before the group arrived and this would explain why Niccoli and the others did not catch sight of either of the gentlemen as soon as the ship keeled over. Nike revealed how they were dragged ahead of them.“It was like we fall into its trap. As soon as we jumped into the water, he took us immediately. He was just waiting for the right moment to snatch us all from our sunken ship.Leviathan was the name given to all kinds of terrors of the deep. In a sense, it was more like the generalization of all the sea monsters you could ever think of. But given that they saw their monster taking the form of ten
David at that time was left with a thought in mind, ‘No one would be able to claim the first spot should he claim that he was the second luckiest man on Earth.’ He believed he just experienced the greatest shock of his life! Not only did he outlive a Leviathan that had been terrorizing the sailors for ages; but he was also there to witness its demise firsthand. If this was not an epic story worthy to be passed down to the daughters of his daughters as well as to those who would come after them too, he did not know what else could. At first, taking part in the raid of the monster’s lair, David was surprised to know that he was not in any way afraid. Nevertheless, he was not exactly hopeful either and he figured that his indifference was probably the result of his acceptance. He already recognized it as a fact that his fate was sealed and death was inevitable. ‘At least, I would not die without fighting.’ Like chanting a mantra, that was what David would repeatedly tell himself for
“I think that the thing that we should all be worried about next was how can we leave here without a ship?”Niccoli pointed out and everyone froze when this eventually dawned on them. Indeed, this question left the group baffled. How on Earth were they supposed to get back to the surface and continue going to the Isle of De Los if they did not have any ships?It was not like it was humanly possible for them to swim all the way to the surface. Yes, they might not have managed to hold their breath earlier and all the way down there to the underwater cave. However, it was mostly thanks to the monster’s speed of dragging them and a little help from their mana.However, given that they already depleted most of their mana reserve, it was already a big question, if the remaining mana would be enough to sustain them until they reached the surface.They were reluctant to put that theory to the test because if ever they miscalculated, they would pay with their lives.But good for them because j
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou