Into the Storm

by **Edreina** on May 10th, 2013, 2:13 am

Edreina felt the sea shudder as the two forces met in a flurry of meat and metal. After most of the party had left the Cuttlefish, she maneuvered herself alongside it, tossing up a mooring line to one of the deck-hands. A gangplank was lowered as Edreina fought to keep her little vessel alongside the other in the whipping wind and waves, cursing each time she made a mistake. Some of the injured were able to come aboard on their own, others had to be carried. Their groans and whimpers chilled the air around Edreina, sending a tremble down her spine. Edreina noticed Captain Tonio, still barking orders despite his visible injury. She would not try to pry him from his ship while he still had business to attend to. Seeing him in such a way caused Edreina to shake her head. He had danglers - wee ones - she had to admit.

Razkar and his Akalak friends were not among the injured, a blessing in this moment. Such strong fighters would certainly have been missed. Once the ships were no longer entangled, Edreina turned about and ferried the injured men and women lining her deck, painting it red as moments ticked on, to one of the medical ships. Once there, she had to repeat the prior process in reverse as bodies were unloaded.

Fighting the squalls and the gusts constantly was beginning to wear Edreina down. Pulling her ship around to return to the scene of the battle, a line slipped from her hand and the mainsail furled with a groan and a hiss, forcing her to fumble around for a moment until she managed to regain control of the damned line.

The fight seemed to be in full swing and, as she approached, Edreina was shocked to hear a high, ghostly cackling. Its fervor and near insanity tugged at the primal part of Edreina that dictated whether she fought or she ran. With each high, piercing laugh, Edreina felt her own resolve fading. But... perhaps this ghost was on their side. Perhaps she had just overlooked its presence; she could not have possibly met everyone in the war party. Edging ever closer, Edreina began to make a wide circle about the Stormwind, wind whipping her unbound red hair into a flurry of wet knots and tangles, swells constantly crashing up and over her railing.

Gods... It was like the Suvan itself was at war.

But a body of water, even one as tempestuous and emotional as the Suvan, could take no sides. It could only be stirred up into a roil and rumble that made fighting difficult for both sides. At the same time, however, her people were strong. They were used to this sort of weather, unlike their enemies. Perhaps, in its own special way, the Suvan was rooting for its brood's victory.

Suddenly, a shadowed figure hurled over the side of the Stormwind, plunging into the Suvan with a crash that went unheard in the roar of the storm. This is where Edreina came into play. She darted into action, steering towards where the point where the body had plunged. Upon approach, Edriena noticed that he - obviously a man with the thick, muscular build - was floating on his stomach, head submerged and limbs floating awkwardly. If there was any life left, Edreina would find a way to save it.

Pulling up alongside the man, Edreina hastily retrieved a long wooden pole with a hook at the end that was lent to her by a fisherman before the battle. Afraid of running the bloke over by edging her boat any closer, she used the pole to hook onto his woven, beaded belt, yanking him close. Now was the hard part. Edreina was not a large, nor a very powerful woman. To haul in a limp form, especially one so much larger than she, was a daunting task. But, she had promised to help. Planting her feet against the side of the ship, Edreina caught hold of the man's belt and began to lean back, hauling him up to the lowered edge of the boat as it tilted slightly to the side. Grunting, she managed to get the man's still-limp torso over the edge, his legs following a moment after until he spilled oddly into the boat.

Breathing hard, an exhausted Edreina wanted to just go below deck and wait this damned day out. What good was she, really? But, her morals dictated that she keep pushing. Rolling the man onto his back, Edreina pushed aside the realization that she did not recognize the pale skinned man with dark-golden hair, perhaps he was one of the foreigners recruited from Syliras. His body was not freshly marred by blade or bludgeon, so she wondered how he had found himself falling out of the fighting so soon.

Pushing aside each query, Edreina forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The day before venturing out, a medic had kindly reminded her how to get a water-lunged person breathing again. The slightly woman knelt beside the man and gently tilted his head back so that his airway was not blocked then pinched his nose and pulled his lips open ever so slightly. She did not know enough about medicine to check for a pulse, so she simply attempted what little she knew. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his cold, clammy ones and pushed a puff of air into his lungs. She quickly pulled away and began to compress her chest as she had been instructed. After that, she came back and pinched his nose to give him another breath. No sooner than the air had left her lungs, water began to leave his. Violently. She scooted back just as the man began retching salt-water, rolling onto his stomach as convulsions seized him.

There you go, Reina. You just saved a life. The thought's pride lasted only a second as the man stopped retching to turn golden, hate-filled eyes upon his savior.

Edreina had not, until that moment, considered that she might have pulled an enemy from the jaws of death.

No longer retching, the man slowly began to move into a crouch, blood-shot eyes upon Edreina, hand drifting down towards an empty scabbard. When his hands grasped at air, his anger seemed to flare up, narrowing his eyes and setting his lips in a grim line. "Looks like I'll have to kill you the hard way, girl." The statement was utterly even if slightly rasped from inhaling salted water.

Something about the utter coolness with which he asserted the seemingly obvious fact chilled Edreina more than the whipping wind. She watched with helpless blue eyes as the man stood and began to roll his neck and shoulders - why was that familiar?

"Just don't make this any more painful than it needs to be." At this point, he began to approach her, steps slow on the roiling surface. Trembling, Edreina scooted backwards, speechless. How had it come to this? All she had wanted to do was help her kin. "Too bad you're pretty. Could even pass for one of us with that hair." He grinned at her, offsetting Edreina's fear with a tinge of confusion.

And like that, he was on her, pinning her down with a knee in the stomach and both hands on her throat. It was so shocking, so sudden, Edreina did not even have the will to fight back. Somewhere, a flame was kindled, but it was too deep for Edreina to reach. This man was a hardened killer, and she was just a little Svefra out of place. As fear seized her and his hands began to tighten down on her throat, she tried to scream, but it was too late. He had her. All that came out was some pathetic little squeak.

She tried helplessly to thrash away but was only awarded with more pain to her abdomen as he pressed down harder. She flailed with her arms, punching at his exposed ribs without avail. Maybe it would be easier if I don't-

Dammit, Edri, I taught you better than this!

The growled voice was familiar, and close despite the haze that was quickly setting in, making the roiling sea and screaming winds sound so far away. It brought the flame in her chest to a forefront. Before the man could stop her - and the black curtain on the edges of her vision could fall - Edreina reached up and pressed her thumbs against his eyes. With a little force, all that she could muster, she sent the assailant stumbling backwards and away, howling with pain.

Coughing as she was suddenly able to breathe once more, Edreina held her throat in one hand, raising the other to fend off an expected blow. But, the man was still stumbling, caught off guard by how much more the little casinor rocked with the slamming squalls. Edreina saw her opportunity. Standing, she surged forward and threw her shoulder into the man's center, sending him fully off kilter and back into the Suvan. The still hazy Svefra had to grip the railing to keep herself from following him.

She could not give him the chance to clamber aboard the Goldengrotto again. She scrambled over to the tiller and the lines and moved her casinor away from him, out of swimming distance in the constantly leaping and surging waters. Once there, she gasped back a sob, realizing how close she had come to giving up. No. She could not focus on this now. There were people who needed her help. Wiping back her sniffling nose, Edreina began to maneuver back towards the ships, seeking anyone who needed to be taken back to help.

by **Nightmare** on May 7th, 2014, 11:23 pm

Fubuki Kouri :

Edreina Whitewave :

Tsukiko :

Crypt Insatem :

The following players are retired and thus will not receive a grade. Should any of these players return, they are to PM me or another mod for their grades.

Razkar
Cyrus Blackfire
Caran Icewave
Uleru

Please PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

Credit Lenz

Skills	Amount
Materialization	+2
Soulmist Projection	+1

Skills	Amount
Sailing	+3
Sea Navigation	+3
Endurance	+1
Planning	+1
Tactics	+1
Unarmed combat	+1
Observation	+1

Skills	Amount
Sailing	+2
Sea Navigation	+1
Leadership	+1
Observation	+2
Composition	+1
Singing	+1

Skills	Amount
Running	+1
Auristics	+1
Planning	+1
Observation	+1

Quest Into the Storm

Into the Storm

Into the Storm

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