The Rise of the Sea Ghosts (from The Gelid Times Trilogy)

Chapter 10

To the East; Ghost Ship Octavia

As their tallest masts broke through the surface of the choppy Saltum Sea, Aerona knew that this was the beginning of the end. She nodded to herself and caught sight of Erebus doing the same – both acknowledging that this was the beginning of the war and finally, the end of their curse.

The Octavia and the Lewis continued to rise as the sea slowly regurgitated them from its depths and water spilled out of the hulls in explosions of froth and foam. The Octavia and Lewis heaved their heavy wooden hulls over the rollercoaster of waves, undulating until they both came to rest on the surface. Aerona and Erebus coughed and spluttered, vomiting sea water upon breaching the surface and taking their first breath of the icy air off the coast of the Kingdom. Their crews, similarly, found the transition from the underworld treacherous and some found their first breaths of fresh, cold air so overwhelming that they were unable to embrace their new state and dove overboard, voluntarily returning themselves, their fulmar and their curse to watery hell with which they had become all too familiar.

Aerona screamed, 'No!'

No less than nine of her crew refused to tolerate the pain of fresh air, screaming as they recommitted themselves to the sea. The remaining crew let out a series of ear-piercing, random wild shrieks that that would curdle milk.

'Stop!' she implored the rest of the crew. 'Sit down here on the deck. Rest yourselves. Take slow deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouths.'

The crew, all younger than Aerona, followed her instructions like ducklings. But don't be deceived, they were, in fact, the fiercest crew Aerona knew. The shift from the underworld would be enough to destroy the best, but they were the best of the best.

'Slowly, slowly everyone! Follow my lead.' Aerona said as she tried to control her own breathing, demonstrating that the transition to air was not only manageable but decidedly possible.

Aerona glanced across at the Lewis. Erebus was having difficulty settling his crew. More than nine of his crew had definitely jumped overboard and lost themselves to the sea. Aerona moved to the bow of the ship and raised her arm high in the air. With her hips balanced, her fulmar swayed slightly, rhythmically with motion of the ship as it rode each wave. Erebus saw her and echoed her stance. Their crews responded by sitting on the deck close to the feet of their leaders. Their respective crews calmed from the hysteria, Aerona and Erebus waited until silence fell.

Aerona began, her voice raised as she shouted to both crews.

'Deception is the key to all successful wars, and we have the element of surprise on our side. No one expects us to rise. No one expects us to breathe the air of the living. No one expects us to fight. We are here today because we are ready. Ready to take our lives back. Ready to take our Kingdom back. Ready to break this curse.'

A huge cheer from the Sea Ghosts rose on both ships. Aerona lowered her arm and singled to quiet her crew.

'Now is our time. We come together, the crew of Aerona and the crew of Erebus, and all the crews of the Sea Ghosts, to reclaim what is rightfully ours, what is ours by birth. Let us not seek our freedom from this evil eye curse through negotiation but rather through vengeance. Let us cut down the Tree of Lux Brumalis. Let us extinguish its light. Let us live to reign over this Kingdom in peace as its rightful heirs.

We must cut the fulmars from our waists. We must let them burn in a pyre of death. We must see their souls rise in the flames and wither in the air. It is then, and only then, that we will take what is ours and rule this land in the way of our forefathers.

We have dreamed of this day. We have dreamed the golden dreams of the gemstones. We have dreamed nightmares of brutal battles. We have been patient. We have waited. And now we RISE - the Sea Ghosts rise today! I say to you here and now, breathing the air of the living above the surface of the Saltum Sea that houses the underworld, the Sea Ghosts rise today!'

There was a cacophony of cheers, shrieks and clapping from both ships. Some of the crew stood up and whistled a sharp piercing sound that cut through the icy air.

Aerona raised both arms whipping the crews into a frenzy. Lowering her arms, she quietened both crews.

'Refuse to be defeated. I tell you – refuse to be defeated. As we sharpen our swords, we must sharpen our wits. We must prepare for the worst, for the worst awaits us still. When we land, our march through the villages to the Tree of Lux Brumalis will be arduous. You will be exhausted. You will be hungry. You will be cold. But we will not be deterred. Do you hear me? We will NOT be deterred!

For on this day, the Sea Ghosts have risen and any person, animal or thing that gets in our way will be destroyed. They WILL be destroyed.

So make ready yourselves. Make ready your weapons. Make ready your spirits for there...in the distance is the Kingdom!'

The crews all turned to look at where Aerona had pointed and there was a collective gasp as the shores of the Kingdom came into view.

'Hear me when I tell you that now is the time. We will not rest. Erebus and I will not rest until we have cut the Tree of Lux Brumalis from this Kingdom and the fulmars from our waists. We will not rest, and you will not rest as we pursue our freedom from this curse. So – rise Sea Ghosts, rise and make ready – for tomorrow – we attack!'

There was a collective clamour among the crews of the Octavia and Lewis as they stood cheering. Octavia looked over at Erebus. He could have never given such a rousing pre-war speech. His unfortunate face, frozen in a permanent startle did not convey the sense of authority that a leader needed in war. Death has surprised him, there is no telling what else will deal him another deadly blow on the battlefield that he would not expect. But Aeona noticed something different about Erebus as she stared across space between their boats, his alabaster skin was slightly less bluish in hue. It was not only the shift in the shade of his skin; it was that his eyes exuded as sense of power, a quiet power that screamed authority.

Erebus locked eyes with Aerona; she could almost swear she saw a glimmer of a smirk. But this moment was brief, for behind the Octavia and the Lewis, a fleet of Sea Ghost ships broke through the surface of the Saltum Sea and Aerona and Erebus were caught up the cheers of their crews.

The Sea Ghost army had risen.