Kings of the Skies Part 1: Shots Fired
Scribblets! How are you doing this fine Monday Morning!? For Malachi school just started o.O so he'll be caught up in lots of soccer and schoolwork. We apologize for missing three days of posting. With bad WiFi for Sarah, and soccer practice and senior class meetings for Malachi, Scribbles was temporarily put aside. But we're back in full force! Alexi's Adventure may have ended, but today we start a new serial, this one entitled Kings of the Skies. Part one, here we go!!
Chapter 1 - Shots Fired
The sea shone like a diamond, dazzling displays of sunlight splicing through the water to create a rainbow effect of color along the small, white-crested waves as the slapped against the side of the large scouting ship, The Blade. The captain stood at the rudder, a toothpick in mouth, bare-chested. His skin was a bronze tone from the endless hours on the sea. With spring rushing on to summer the days were a mix of either warm and humid, or wet and cool. Out on the sea however, the breeze was picking up, keeping the temperature mild.
The first mate climbed the small deck. “The wind’s blowing us pretty far captain. Ya think we should turn back? We’re in open water. The Mazella headed back an hour ago. If pirates show up, we’re gonna be in some scrap.”
The captain removed his rag from his head and wipe his brow. “I know. We’ll head back if we don’t see a ship in two five minutes. I just don’t like the idea of that,” he said, gesturing to the lower deck where a baby dragon, small in comparison to adults, but large on the scout ship, was curled in a heap, a severe slash across its underbelly where a large spear since tossed to the bottom of the ship had pierced it. “Who’s killing these dragons? It takes quite the shot to take a dragon down with one spear.”
“It does, but if someone is taking dragons down in one shot, don’t you think they could handle us pretty easy?” The first mate grimaced. “They might even be Grevians.”
The captain’s eyes shot up. “Grevians? This close to our shores with no sighting? Highly unlikely. The important question is why they shot it down but didn’t care to take the body, or for that matter, why did they shoot this beast down? It doesn’t even have its horns yet! It’s a waste.” Dragons weren’t exactly a protected species, but most nations had seen the advantage in having an aerial assault and had captured and trained the animals. Killing them for sports was as bad as horse stealing.
“Well somebody did.” The first mate said with a blunt frown.
“And it looks like they’re coming back,” the captain said, pointing past him. “Ship ahead! She’s headed this way!” he turned to the first mate. “Ready the bows. Send the flares up. That ship’s coming to fight.”
As if the weather sensed the change, the breeze picked up and in the distance rumbles of thunder echoed. The crew was alive, arming the man-sized crossbows at the bow, as well as crossbows and spears. The enemy ship, Grevian pennant of a yellow background and eight red stars in the forefront waving, swept in.
The captain of The Blade swung the rudder, turning the ship to an angle. They cruised closer and closer to the much larger Grevian ship. Both decks were alive with orders being shouted and weapons being drawn.
“Light those flares!” the captain yelled.
Two of the crew grabbed the crossbows armed with arrows that had a red cylinder container on the end. They fired them straight in the air. As the arrows climbed and were swept slightly away by the breeze, the two cylinders slid off the sharp arrowhead, bursting out red powder. At the same time the arrowhead grazed across a small piece of flint on the cylinder. The powder igniting, flashing into a cloud of red smoke that could be seen a ways off.
“Wait for my signal to fire!” the captain yelled. The ships were now within a hundred yards of each other. The Grevians fired first. The giant arrows, two yards long, slammed into the side of The Blade, biting off large chunks of wood.
“Light the arrows, then fire,” the captain ordered the first mate.
A match was struck and the giant crossbows, arrows dipped in oil, were lighted. A foul smelled rose from them as they sizzled and caught aflame. Then the first mate shouted “Fire!” and the projectiles were off. The skidded across the top of the enemy ship’s deck, snagging on spare sails and rigging. “Keep firing,” the captain yelled as the boats crossed each other. A barrage of bolts, darts, arrows, and spears swamped both decks. Men went down on both sides with screams.
The Blade creased against the edge of the ship and the two rocked, knocking the sailors of balance. The captain jammed the rudder the other way. The blade snuck past reloaded. The two ships faced each other once again. The clusters of arrows and fire bolts rained down. One such bolts caught on The Blade’s main sail. It instantly shot up in flames.
“Bucket detail!” the captain yelled. Smoke enveloped his view of the enemy ship, but he could still feel the bolts as they slammed into the side, jittering the ship. This time when the ships crossed paths however, they collided rather than skimming by. That’s when he heard it: the roar of a dragon.
“Lords help us all.”
That's the end of chapter one! We'll be back next Monday for more exciting continuation of this story, so we hope to see you back. tomorrow's Creative Tuesday brings us a story by one of your awesome Scribblets, so be sure to return. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay awesome!!
~SarChi
Chapter 1 - Shots Fired
The sea shone like a diamond, dazzling displays of sunlight splicing through the water to create a rainbow effect of color along the small, white-crested waves as the slapped against the side of the large scouting ship, The Blade. The captain stood at the rudder, a toothpick in mouth, bare-chested. His skin was a bronze tone from the endless hours on the sea. With spring rushing on to summer the days were a mix of either warm and humid, or wet and cool. Out on the sea however, the breeze was picking up, keeping the temperature mild.
The first mate climbed the small deck. “The wind’s blowing us pretty far captain. Ya think we should turn back? We’re in open water. The Mazella headed back an hour ago. If pirates show up, we’re gonna be in some scrap.”
The captain removed his rag from his head and wipe his brow. “I know. We’ll head back if we don’t see a ship in two five minutes. I just don’t like the idea of that,” he said, gesturing to the lower deck where a baby dragon, small in comparison to adults, but large on the scout ship, was curled in a heap, a severe slash across its underbelly where a large spear since tossed to the bottom of the ship had pierced it. “Who’s killing these dragons? It takes quite the shot to take a dragon down with one spear.”
“It does, but if someone is taking dragons down in one shot, don’t you think they could handle us pretty easy?” The first mate grimaced. “They might even be Grevians.”
The captain’s eyes shot up. “Grevians? This close to our shores with no sighting? Highly unlikely. The important question is why they shot it down but didn’t care to take the body, or for that matter, why did they shoot this beast down? It doesn’t even have its horns yet! It’s a waste.” Dragons weren’t exactly a protected species, but most nations had seen the advantage in having an aerial assault and had captured and trained the animals. Killing them for sports was as bad as horse stealing.
“Well somebody did.” The first mate said with a blunt frown.
“And it looks like they’re coming back,” the captain said, pointing past him. “Ship ahead! She’s headed this way!” he turned to the first mate. “Ready the bows. Send the flares up. That ship’s coming to fight.”
As if the weather sensed the change, the breeze picked up and in the distance rumbles of thunder echoed. The crew was alive, arming the man-sized crossbows at the bow, as well as crossbows and spears. The enemy ship, Grevian pennant of a yellow background and eight red stars in the forefront waving, swept in.
The captain of The Blade swung the rudder, turning the ship to an angle. They cruised closer and closer to the much larger Grevian ship. Both decks were alive with orders being shouted and weapons being drawn.
“Light those flares!” the captain yelled.
Two of the crew grabbed the crossbows armed with arrows that had a red cylinder container on the end. They fired them straight in the air. As the arrows climbed and were swept slightly away by the breeze, the two cylinders slid off the sharp arrowhead, bursting out red powder. At the same time the arrowhead grazed across a small piece of flint on the cylinder. The powder igniting, flashing into a cloud of red smoke that could be seen a ways off.
“Wait for my signal to fire!” the captain yelled. The ships were now within a hundred yards of each other. The Grevians fired first. The giant arrows, two yards long, slammed into the side of The Blade, biting off large chunks of wood.
“Light the arrows, then fire,” the captain ordered the first mate.
A match was struck and the giant crossbows, arrows dipped in oil, were lighted. A foul smelled rose from them as they sizzled and caught aflame. Then the first mate shouted “Fire!” and the projectiles were off. The skidded across the top of the enemy ship’s deck, snagging on spare sails and rigging. “Keep firing,” the captain yelled as the boats crossed each other. A barrage of bolts, darts, arrows, and spears swamped both decks. Men went down on both sides with screams.
The Blade creased against the edge of the ship and the two rocked, knocking the sailors of balance. The captain jammed the rudder the other way. The blade snuck past reloaded. The two ships faced each other once again. The clusters of arrows and fire bolts rained down. One such bolts caught on The Blade’s main sail. It instantly shot up in flames.
“Bucket detail!” the captain yelled. Smoke enveloped his view of the enemy ship, but he could still feel the bolts as they slammed into the side, jittering the ship. This time when the ships crossed paths however, they collided rather than skimming by. That’s when he heard it: the roar of a dragon.
“Lords help us all.”
That's the end of chapter one! We'll be back next Monday for more exciting continuation of this story, so we hope to see you back. tomorrow's Creative Tuesday brings us a story by one of your awesome Scribblets, so be sure to return. Thanks for reading, and as always, stay awesome!!
~SarChi
Posts
0 comments: