//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Between a Storm and a Leviathan // Story: It Starts With a Single Step // by BronyBrozly //------------------------------// It was the start of the second day on the sea. The sun slowly rose from the horizon into the cloudless sky before me as the wind brushed against my coat and mane through my tattered robe. Even though it was the beginning of a new day, I had a frown tugged onto my face as I still felt the warm and sticky sensation of... vomit on my coat. I had taken a couple of baths the night before and yet I still felt that vile sensation slowly crawling down my fur. I let out a shiver, recollecting the horrible memory. My ears twitched as I heard Ivy was emptying her stomach into the sea. I looked to my right and saw Ivy was leaning towards the railing, her face was sick green. She noticed that I was looking at her and gave me a frown. “I fucking hate hangovers,” she mumbled before emptying her stomach once more. “Fuck...” I heard she muttered, wiping her beak with a claw. “Aye, lass. Aren’tcha’ a weak drinker,” I heard Captain Blackart chuckled. I looked over my shoulder and saw he was steering the ship as he puffed out a smoke from his pipe. “Morning, lad,” he said, smiling as he noticed my presence. “Morning,” I replied, bowing my head slightly. Then, I noticed Rose was sitting at the other side of the main deck from the corner of my eyes. She was humming to herself as she was enjoying the serenity of the sea. Her flowing golden mane danced as the wind flowed through it, glowing under the morning sun. “I never noticed she was blind before,” I heard Vie’s voice spoke up, trotting up next to me with her eyes fixated to my unicorn companion. “So did I, before we rescued her,” I replied, nodding. “Rescued? From what?” Vie asked as she looked at me with shock on her face. “She was held captive in a cage that was hung in a middle of an eatery,” I answered, whispering. “By the gods, why would anybody do such horrible things,” she mumbled to herself, looking at Rose with sympathetic eyes. “Indeed. I was at the state of shock as you are right now when the first time I saw her,” I whispered as I shook my right hoof, realigning the bracelets. “You are a tribesman?” she asked, her gaze on my bracelets. I nodded in respond. “What about you?” I asked, looking at her with a questioning eyebrow. She darted her gaze away from mine as she grimaced. “I must go,” she muttered, walking away. I opened my mouth to stop her but... I stopped myself from doing so. I looked at her as she slowly descended towards the lower deck. I sighed, lowering my head. Why must I ask such sensitive question? I thought to myself, walking towards the ship’s main mass. I slowly sat on my haunches and leaned against it, looking into the blue sea above. “So,” I heard Ivy grunted as she sat next to me, leaning against the mass as well. “What do we do when we actually reach Grifca?” she asked, pulling out her dagger. She was playing with it as she let it rolled in her claws, waiting for my respond with a questioning eyebrow. “We ask everybody if they might now my mother,” I answered as I unfastened my saddlebag. It dropped onto the wooden deck floor with a thud, spilling its content. I swiftly grabbed all the potion bottles before the rolled too far but a small glass bottle that hold my battle enhancing herbs rolled next to Ivy. She sheathed her dagger and picked the bottle up with an inspecting eye. “So, this is your combat drugs, huh?” she asked, opening the bottle’s lid as she took a peek inside. “Yes,” I answered, grabbing the bottle away from her claws. “Wait, I saw another couple types of ‘herbs’ you got there. What’s that?” she asked, sounding amused with a grin on her face. I sighed in respond. “Right,” I started as I coughed into my hoof. “There are three types of battle enhancing her--.” “Combat drugs,” she cut me off. “Three types of ‘combat drugs’ which I brought from my hut. The first one is the seeds from the plant ‘Cat’s Eye’ that is use to see in the dark. Next is from the roots of a plant called ‘Devil’s Wraith’. It is an herb that allows warriors to unlock their inner strength during intense battle. Such effect will cause increase in strength and pain resistance. The last one is from the leaves from a plant called ‘Witch's Fruit’. The herb will grant an ability to warriors or its users the power to see slightly into the future. Allowing warriors to see the enemy’s movements and attack to give them slightly more advantage during battles,” I explained, remembering the words of my father. “Wait,” she spoke up with disbelief in her eyes. “You mean you have drugs that allow you to see into the future and increase your damage?” she asked with an amused smile on her beak, her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. I nodded in respond, putting the scattered items back into the saddlebag. “Holy shit! You could eat it all day and be unstoppable,” she spoke up, attracting the attention of others as she jumped onto her claws in excitement. “Well, no,” I answered, shaking my head. “What?” she asked, looking at me with confusion plastered across her face. “The herbs, except for Cat’s Eye, will bring disastrous results to the user if one use them too many times,” I answered as I glared into her eyes. “What do you mean?” she asked. Her expression had the mixture between disappointment and confusion, raising a questioning eyebrow as a frown tugged on her beak. “If one would overuse such herbs will experience uncontrollable anger and will slowly spiral into the maelstrom of madness,” I answered as I fastened the saddlebag to my side. Then in the corner of my eyes, I noticed she had an uninterested look on her face as if she was silently telling me that she already had been through such experience. I looked at her with a questioning eye, feeling uneasy. “Is there a cure?” I heard Rose asked as she slowly approached us with concern plastered across her face. “There is. It is another herb from the leaves of a plant called ‘Divine Healer's Flower’. But, I never brought it with me as I am not planning to use the herbs too many times,” I answered as I gave the unicorn mare an assuring smile. Yet, she was still unsatisfied by my answer, looking at me with her brows creased together and a frown on her lips. “There’s another way,” I continued as I stood up slowly, wincing in pain. “If somepony is under the influence of the herb because they overuse it, one must tie the pony to a pole to let the herb pass through his or her system ‘naturally’,” I answered, exchanging glances with the both of them. “What do you mean by ‘naturally’?” surprisingly, it was Ivy who asked the question, looking confused. “By... excreting the effect of the herb through sweat and...” I trailed off, nodding a hint to Ivy. “Oh,” she said with a disgust look on her face, backing away. “Breakfast, everyone!” One of the pony crewmembers shouted as she rang a bell. Then, everyone – even the captain, went towards downstairs that led towards the mess hall. “Oh, boy. I’m hungry as a horse,” I heard Ivy muttered as she glided towards the stairs. “Shall we get going?” Rose asked with a smile on her face. “Yes,” I answered, nodding. With that, we head towards the mess hall together. Breakfast was lively as last night's dinner except there was no rum being served during the day. We all chat idly together as we ate the lunch that was prepared by the cook. It was a bowl of salad but it was very different than the usual dried hay that I always eat when I was still with the tribe. It was not bad but... it was different. But, I ate it anyway since I was hungry. In the mess hall, there was only one long dining table which able to fit all of us. Also, in the corner of my eyes, I saw Vie was eating her lunch with a solemn look on her face. I sighed, feeling guilty about questioning her earlier. Then, breakfast went on as all of us ate our food. It was already a few hours since we had our breakfast and I was sitting next to the captain who was steering the ship towards our destination. I noticed the sky was dark and cloudy in horizon where the waves were violent. The strong wind propelled the ship across the water in an increasing speed, feeling the cool sea air brushed against my coat and mane. I looked at the main deck below and saw Rose and Vie was chatting with one another with smiles on their faces. I looked up and saw Ivy was looking into the horizon through a telescope inside the Crow’s Nest, scanning the sea. I gazed back towards Vie as guilt bubbled inside me. “Aye, ain’t she a pretty lass?” I heard Captain Blackart chuckled. I barked out a cough as I was caught surprised by the question. I looked at him and saw he was grinning at me with the wooden pipe still in his mouth. “I-I... um,” I stuttered as my eyes darted to mentally search for the right answer. In the back of my mind, I could hear the echoing ethereal voice of Ivy saying “Smooth,” sarcastically. Captain Blackart barked out a chuckle in return, looking into the cloudy horizon. “Want to hear a story, lad?” he asked, puffing out smoke from his pipe. I kept my silence, wondering if I should accept or just decline. But before I could even decide, the captain spoke up – accepting my silence as a ‘yes’. “When I was still a young lad,” he started as he sat down, looking at me. “I was always adventuring and I don’t have the time to make meself a family. Wandering the seven seas and sailing through angry waters was the highlight of me life,” he said, chuckling as he remembered his younger years. “But one day,” he spoke up once more, puffing out smoke. “When I was walking up the plank bridge to my ship back in Port Osglen, I noticed there was a wooden box sat at the side of the walkway. At first I wanted to kick it into the ocean because it was a sore to look at. But before I could kick the box, I heard a cry. Not a lady’s cry but a child’s cry. I took a peek into the box and me eyes opened as big as the eye of the storm, seeing a young zebra filly being left in it. “Even though I lived most of me life in Port Osglen, I never thought somezebra would leave a child in the most reckless ways. At that moment, I did not know what to do. If I leave it there, she will die in the cold. If I leave her to the orphanage, somepony might kidnap her for profit. Then, I took her into me hooves as I decided I will take care of her meself. Years passed by quickly as I took care of her as me own flesh and blood. Now, she’s her own zebra,” he said, looking at Vie’s with the passion of a father in his eye. “Take good care of her,” he said, surprising me as he looked at me in the eyes and held my hooves in a grip. “For years she has been avoiding contact with zebras because of her past but ye... ye are the first zebra she ever talked to,” he croaked, tears were brimming in his aged eyes. “B-but why?” I asked as I was filled with shock and confusion. I did not know that this would have happen. It was certainly a surprise by any means. My mind reeled frantically by the sudden turn of event. “Well,” he started, letting go my hooves as he wiped his tear away. “I want her to be with her own kind. She cannot be like me; sailing the seven seas. No, I want her to have her own family,” he answered as he stood up, returning to the wheel of the ship. “Also,” he spoke up, looking at me with a grin as his eyes were still red in tears. I saw the heartache through his eyes. “Ye might be a fine lad for me girl.” I barked out another cough as he let out a laugh, steering the ship towards the dark clouds. “Captain, storm ahead!” I heard Ivy shouted. “Aye, lass!” he replied, puffing out a cloud of smoke. “Avast, me hearties,” he yelled. “Batten down the hatches and hoist full sail. We be riding the storm!” he shouted with an amused grin on his face. “Aye, captain!” All of the crew members shouted, saluting towards him. In a snap, all of them jumped into action. They started to roll down the barrels of supply into a large net, tying them together. Then the net was hoisted up, wrapping the supplies together in a strong bind as they were hung in the middle deck of the ship. I felt a rope was tied onto my body, linking to the ship’s main mass. “Safety line,” Vie’s whispered as she swiftly tied the rope into a knot, tightening it onto the ship’s mass. I looked around and saw everybody had rope tied to their body that connected to the same mass. “All secure, captain!” Vie shouted. “That’s me girl!” he shouted back with a grin on his face. Then he looked back into the storm ahead with an amused smile on his face. “Hold on tight, lads. This be a rough ride.” I quickly trotted next to Rose, grabbing her closer into an embrace. I felt her body was shaking in my embrace, whispering her prayers into the wind. I hugged her closer, assuring her that things will be fine. “T-thank you,” I heard she stuttered softly. She had worry plastered on her face, then I gave her an assuring smile in return – knowing she cannot see it but it was the thought that counts. As we entered the storm, the peaceful blue sky had turned into angry blanket of dark clouds. The soft whispers of wind turned into angry howls of the sea, filling each of us with fear. The waves became violent, thrashing against the walls of the ship, tossing us up and down on the water. I felt the droplets of heavy rain as we sailed under the marching thunders in the dark blankets above. The warm touch of the sun was replaced with the cold prickling fingers of rain and howling wind. The waves reached the heights of the ship, wetting everyone who stood on the deck and water sipped into the cracks of the floor. I looked above and saw the cloud swirled above us by the mighty gale. The ship violently rocked side to side as the angry waves tried to overturn the ship but Captain Blackart’s expertly weaved through them as his years of experience on the sea proved to be useful in such situation. He had a wide grin on his face and determination in his eyes as we propelled deeper into the storm. “Captain, there’s something ahead!” I heard Ivy shouted over the howling wind as she swooped down, handing the captain the telescope. I saw his amused grin slowly vanished from his face as he looked through the telescope and into the horizon. “What is it?” I shouted as I kept Rose close to my side, looking towards Captain Blackart. “Prepare the cannons!” he barked, his face was pale in fear as he dropped his pipe from his mouth. That was certainly not a good sign. “Prepare the cannons!” I heard Vie barked as all of the crew members rushed towards the bottom deck. “Cannons?” Ivy asked, looking confused for the fact that a trade ship would carry cannons on board. “Aye, lassie,” he answered with a nod as he tried to steer the ship through the storm. “We need to protect ourselves from pirates and... it,” he whispered, his eyes filled with worry. “It?” I heard Rose asked, confusion plastered across her face as well. “Aye, lass. ‘It’,” he answered as his eyes looked into the horizon with worry beamed from them. “Cannons are all set, captain!” I heard Vie’s voice shouted from below. “Aye! Keep them loaded and stay ready!” he shouted back as he frantically tried to keep the ship from stumbling over by the harsh waves and wind. “Thar she blows!” he shouted, pointing into the horizon. I turned around and my eyes widened. Even though we were still far away, I can tell the beast that was in front of us was colossal. It was the shape of a giant snake... a snake which had scales made from iron that glimmered under the lightning flash and eyes glowed like the sun. The height of the beast was three times the height of the ship’s tallest mass. From afar, we heard its deep growl echoed through the thundering sky as it dived into the ocean. “What the fuck was that?!” I heard Ivy blurted from behind me in shock. “What was it?” I heard Rose squeaked next to me, her hooves shook under her. I only able to hold her tighter in respond, trying to calm the frightened mare. “It’s called the Leviathan, lads. A beast which had the scales of steel, spew hot breath as the sun's wraith, eyes glowed with the devil’s wraith and has the strength of a mighty mountain. Legend says, in its finest form, it will wrap around the world with its body,” he mumbled, his eyes beamed with fear and his face turned pale. Just before I could open my mouth to say something, the water to our left burst in a mighty explosion as the beast revealed itself. My eyes widened once more as I looked at the beast in close range, noticing it was almost as wide as the ship. The scales on its sides and back were razor sharp as the finest blade in existence. The armor scales under him were close together, revealing very little weakness to us. Its growl resembled the sound of bubbling cauldron that hell itself prepared for us to behold. Its teeth sat in multiple rows in its mouth and its eyes glowed with death and destruction. “Fuck!” I heard Ivy squawked as Rose clutched her hooves tighter over my body, tears rolled down her eyes. I looked back towards the beast, knowing this will most likely to end badly.