Chapter: Visions, Vows, and Voyage
The Sea Panther rocked gently at the dock as the Kaiju Clan stepped aboard one by one. Wood groaned beneath their feet, mooring ropes sighed against the strain. Above them, seabirds circled wide, their cries distant, as if mourning something the land hadn't yet lost.
Tengukensei’s crimson feet touched the deck first, his robes catching in the wind like old prophecy. Behind him came Woolah, scaled feet padding with a quiet but undeniable force. Sachiko’s bare steps followed, light and deliberate. And last came Nuke, heavy and deliberate, his metal frame thudding once on the gangplank, then silent as he engaged his softwalk protocol — the ship didn’t even groan under his weight.
The crew gave nods, short and respectful. No cheers, no welcomes. This wasn’t a pleasure voyage.
This was war’s waiting room.
They were guided to a single cabin — no frills, no luxury, just bunks and space to breathe together. Their weapons were stacked neatly by the wall. Woolah touched the wood, sensing its old memory, while Sachiko stood by the porthole, watching the town shrink behind them.
Tengukensei bowed once, whispering to the wind.
“Guide us clean, sky-borne spirits.”
The ship groaned to life.
The dock fell behind.
Sakana Cove became a dream of smoke and tide.
Later, as the ship settled into the swell of the sea, they each met the pulse of the crew.
Tengukensei found his way to the bow, drawn by a low chant.
There, seated cross-legged on a cushion of old ropes, was Mako, the ship’s blind seer — a small white cat with thick folds of fur around his eyes and a old hooded robe hiding his form. He turned slightly, as if he'd sensed the air change.
“Ah… The mountain wind walks aboard…”
His voice was soft, ageless, steeped in salt and shadow.
The moment Tengukensei approached, Mako’s breath caught. Visions surged in behind his sealed eyes. Flames curling up ancient spires. A fan striking a mountain’s heart. Winds shrieking names long buried. Beneath it all — a void, not empty, but filled with cosmic intent.
Mako trembled.
He reached for words, ready to offer some timeless guidance, but Tengukensei only smiled.
“You see many paths,” the tengu said, “but walk none. Perhaps now, walk beside us.”
The seer blinked slowly. “It is not often... that I am humbled.”
“Let it be often, then. The world needs less certainty and more listening.”
Sachiko found Ai leaning against the railing, one leg hooked over a coil of rope, eyes fixed on the sea like it owed her something.
They didn’t speak at first. The wind did it for them.
Finally, Ai cracked a sideways grin.
“Still don’t like your reflection, do you?”
Sachiko chuckled. “Still pretending you’re not scared of yours?”
They laughed like old friends — or at least rivals who had shared close calls and spilled drink.
“The sea suits you,” Sachiko said.
“She tries to kill me every time we meet,” Ai replied. “Maybe that’s why I stay.”
The silence that followed was not empty. It was full of respect.
Woolah, tiny compared to the towering Maine Coon first mate, was coiling a rope when Kaito approached — massive arms crossed, the sun hitting his brindled fur just right.
He squatted beside Woolah, lowering himself with slow, respectful weight.
“You're small.”
Woolah didn’t respond.
“But you hold back like a storm in a bottle.”
Woolah looked up, eyes narrow slits. “What’s your point?”
Kaito grinned, showing a single gold tooth. “No point. Just admiration.”
The kobold’s eyes softened, just slightly.
They tied rope together in silence for the next hour.
Nuke was near the cargo hold, calibrating a gyroscopic stabilizer in his chest, when he noticed a trembling shadow beside a crate.
A young kitten, all fur and nerves, ears too big for his head — Shiro.
His paw clutched a mop like it might save his life.
“You’re… you’re the robot who broke the Iron Lotus... aren’t you?”
Nuke turned slowly, one optic glowing.
“Yes.”
Shiro flinched.
“But you don’t need to fear me,” Nuke said, his voice smooth as oiled gears. “You need only stay out of my way… and allow me to protect you.”
Shiro blinked. “You’d… protect me?”
Nuke nodded once. “Yes. This world is cruel. I am crueler… but only to its monsters.”
For the first time, the kitten smiled.
The Journey
The Sea Panther carved her way through myth and seafoam.
- Through the Bay’s rocky mouth, sharp black stones jutting like teeth from the sea — one crewman lost a finger trying to wave at a siren’s illusion.
- Past the whirlpools of Charybdis, where lightning touched the water and dead sailors whispered warnings in bubble-song.
- Along the Pirate Peninsula, where jagged cliffs held old rusting chains, and skulls turned to salt by wind. A cannon echoed in the distance, but no ships chased them — the Kaiju Clan’s presence was enough deterrent.
- Past the Värsed Coast, windswept and broken, where children of the tide built driftwood effigies to keep the fog away.
- Northward, where storm whales breached near the prow — majestic and ancient, their songs warping the compass for a full day.
- And west again, the sea growing colder, the skies grayer — beneath the bones of the Skeleton Mines, whose mountain tips broke the horizon like ribcages of giants long dead.
The ship dipped suddenly.
Woolah rose, nostrils flaring.
Then from the crow's nest, a voice shattered the stillness:
"Land ahoy!"
Kaito’s voice, booming with joy and relief. The crew surged to the deck.
Ahead — a smear of green and grey on the horizon.
The Northern Heath.
The Gloomfang waited.
Entered by: 0xe9a1…78d3
No further Lore has been recorded...
