Chapter 11: Rage

  Genno told them of the plan to get them to Khorsor. The cavern they found themselves in was at the bottom of a mountain that connected to the surface by a series of intricate paths. The path was long and arduous and would take them several days to reach the surface of the mountain they were on. But that would not be the end of their troubles.

  “Right now, travel through the seas is not possible,” Gavlin added.

  “Is it because of Arandu?” Livia asked.

  “Correct,” Nishandra said. “He is on the lookout for you. The seas are not be safe for anyone, be they furtive or not.”

  “So what are we to do?” Livia asked.

  “Once Arandu’s rage abates, we will come back to find you,” Nishandra replied. “You have our word. Once we do, we will provide you with means to reach Khorsor.”

  “You have done so much for us,” Corin interjected, “but we have no further gifts to share with you.”

  “All we ask is that you continue fighting the titans,” Gavlin replied. “That enough will be enough for us.”

  The sirens left the group. They had not been able to rest since entering Arandu’s temple and were beyond tired. They all crashed, but none as deeply as Zhi.

  The fight against the metal knight, the barrier she raised as they escaped from the crumbling palace, and the onslaught from Arandu had sapped her of nearly all her energy. The most she could do was lie down and softly whisper when she needed something. Nanaua would take care of her, feeding her and carrying her if she needed to move.

  The group rested for an entire day before starting their trek out of the cavern to the surface of the mountain. The trek was mindless. All they could do was to follow long corridors that continued moving upward.

  “I think rest would be appropriate now,” Simeon said.

  They set up a fire and went about eating the dried meats they had packed.

  Corin took night watch, and Livia sat next to him.

  “You’re not going to go in for the night?” Corin asked. He felt the yearning for sleep tear at him incessantly.

  “I figured I would keep you company,” Livia said, placing her head on Corin’s shoulder. She was quiet and breathed softly. The rhythmic pattern lulled Corin into a state between sleep and wakefulness.

  “Can you believe what we accomplished?” she asked.

  Corin snapped from his dream. Livia looked at him eyes half open. He caught her gaze and thought about what she said. His only focus had been reaching the surface of the mountain. Thinking about what they had accomplished had not settled into his mind.

  “Actually going into the lair of a titan and stealing one of their most precious artifacts? It is hard to believe we finished that and are still alive,” Corin replied after some thought.

  Livia smiled. “I wonder how those titans feel now that we struck back at them?”

  She put her head back down on Corin’s shoulder and fell asleep. Corin too was curious about what repercussions their recent heist might have.

  After resting, the group continued on their trek. They could hear something in the distance. Simeon was the one to discern it. “That is the sea!” he shouted with excitement.

  Despite the growing sound of the sea, the group could not see any light pouring in. It was only when they were right at the mouth of the cave that they realized they had made their way out.

  “Is it nighttime?” Nanaua asked.

  “No, it should be about midday right now,” Simeon replied.

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  Yet it was as dark as night outside. It rained ceaselessly, and the clouds above them blotted out all sunlight. The only light that could be seen was the incessant lightning that illuminated the sky.

  The group was far above sea in the mountain, from there they could see the furious crashing of the sea from the mouth of the cave. To Corin, the sea looked like a monster bathed in darkness, ready to swallow and destroy anything that might fall within its grasp. The waves would crash onto the mountain, sending splashes of salt water far above the rocky edge.

  The collective sounds were so loud, so powerful, that the group struggled to keep their wits while they stared out into the world.

  “Arandu is angry!” Simeon hollered. Even while shouting, his voice was barely audible.

  All of them stared. They understood this was the power of a single titan, one that was hunting for them. This was the power they were trying to challenge.

  “We need to head back inside!” Simeon shouted.

  They agreed. Inside the cave, they found a large enough spot where the furious rhapsody was more tolerable. The full gravity of their situation was now understood. While the titan raged, all they could do was hide and wait.

  ***

  Day after day, Corin would reach the surface to see if the titan’s fury had subsided.

  It was on the third day that Corin first saw a ray of sunshine. The ray shone down on the vast sea ahead. The lone ray illuminated various maelstroms on the surface. A reminder of the vast swath ahead of them brimming with hostile intent.

  By then, the group was running low on supplies. Corin decided to try his best at finding anything they could sustain themselves on. It took him hours of searching only to return with meager amounts of food. Most of what he found was washed up fish that had been expelled from the sea by a wrathful leviathan.

  Even these minor successes did not bring the group much comfort. There was rarely a moment that the group did not spend in silence. Conversation was a rare occurrence during their time in the caves.

  After two more days of raging seas and endless storms, Corin was able to finally see the sun through the clouds. The next day, the seas were calmer, and Corin and the rest were able to see a semblance of normalcy return to the area. The group talked amongst each other once again.

  “How do we know when the sirens will come?” Zhi asked, now fully recovered.

  “The sirens told us they would give us a signal clear enough to notice from inland,” Simeon replied, his voice lacking the usual sureness.

  They were all at the mercy of the sirens, who had so far been invaluable allies, but they had to contend with surviving within Arandu’s domain during his endless raging.

  “Do you believe they will come to our aid?” Nanaua asked.

  Simeon was quiet. His silence betrayed his feelings.

  “Well, I am sure their intentions-” Simeon said.

  “They will,” Corin interjected.

  Simeon looked at Corin, surprised to hear his voice.

  “I’m sure of it,” Corin added.

  Corin felt emboldened after surviving Arandu’s rage. He might be lashing out in search of them, but that was all he could do. The sirens were aware of that as well. Furtives knew how to survive.

  The next morning, a loud shrill sound resonated through the cave. It shocked Corin awake from his slumber.

  “What was that?” Zhi asked, confused and still half asleep.

  Simeon was already out of the cave by the time anyone was able to reply.

  “It’s here! The sirens’ ship!” he shouted in excitement.

  The group ran to the edge of the cave. From their perch, they could see the edge of the mountain and a vessel much larger than any other seafaring vessel they had seen before, but its design and construction was unmistakable from that of other siren ships. The sirens had come through on their promise.

  “Let’s hurry!” Simeon urged them.

  They raced to the shore, eager to leave the cave they had been hiding in.

  At the shore, they found a familiar face, Nishandra’s. She looked to be in a state of excitement that the group had never seen her in before.

  “My friends, I was worried that the storms had washed you all away!” Nishandra said with glee at seeing the group.

  “Worried for us? At least we were able to hide from the storms. The seas seemed so violent!” Livia replied.

  “We know the seas very well. Though the seas were furious, it was nothing we couldn’t handle,” Nishandra replied.

  “Did you face any retaliation from Arandu?” Livia asked.

  “Did we?” Nishandra asked loudly. “Arandu destroyed every single furtive village he could find, both inland and in the sea.”

  There was no reaction from the group. Corin gnashed his teeth. It did not surprise him, but this did not ease his rage.

  “I feel so terrible. If it weren’t for us, none of this would have happened,” Corin replied.

  “Do not fret too much. We warned as many groups as we could of impending danger. There was much structural damage, but casualties were kept to a minimum. Arandu was so angry that he did not even notice that all the structures he was striking down were abandoned,” Nishandra replied.

  The news eased Corin’s mind, but his anger still festered. “But still…so much destruction.”

  “What did you expect?” Nishandra asked. “That you would steal from a titan and face no repercussions? When Gavlin, Genno, and I decided to help you, we knew what was at stake. We knew Arandu would strike out when his palace was raided. We knew our very lives might be lost in our attempt to strike at the titans, but we thought you felt the same way and knew the cost of trying to face them. If you do not know that, if you feel that you cannot continue down this road, then everything that happened, all the destruction brought on by the titans, would have been for nothing. No even worse, in that case you would let the titans win without even a fight.”

  Corin was taken aback. He looked at Nishandra who bore an angry scowl, but he knew she was right. “I understand. You are right,” Corin replied.

  “I’m glad we understand each other,” Nishandra said her expression softening.

  “This is the craft that will take us to Khorsor?” Zhi asked Nishandra.

  “That’s correct. This ship is driven by the strongest sea steeds we could find. Ten days from now, you should be arriving on the eastern seaboard of Khorsor.”

  “What should we expect on the voyage?” Nanaua asked.

  “An endless ocean. A sea that stretches until the horizon with no end in sight. The Deep Ocean, the seas between the islands and Khorsor are devoid of any land. This I have been told. I myself have never left the area near the White Sea,” Nishandra explained.

  “You are correct,” Simeon said. “It has been more than a decade since I traveled the Deep Ocean. But I remember the vast nothingness I saw on my voyage, an unending blue. So far did it stretch that I believed it would never end.”

  The group stared in silence at the large, dark ship. Unlike the previous seafaring vessels that Corin had boarded from the sirens, this one seemed comfortable for all occupants.

  “This is it then,” Livia said as she looked to the group.

  “Correct. There is but one path left for us to take,” Simeon replied.

  They all made their way to the ship and boarded it, save Livia.

  Nishandra prepared to leave.

  “If I may,” Livia said, and Nishandra paused. “Without you or your friends, we wouldn’t be here. Without the aid of the sirens, we would have all perished at the bottom of the ocean. When we land on Khorsor, I want you to know that we will do everything we can to make sure that furtives do not have to live in fear of the titans. And that is all possible to you and your kin.”

  “Our help may have been crucial, but this was not possible without you or your group. For centuries, titans have been mighty, and furtives have barely survived, but that is slowly changing. A new world will soon come; one you will help shape. I hope the world that comes is one that furtives are proud to call home,” Nishandra replied and dove underwater.