On a Shore / SEONGHWA HONGJOONG

Into the den

Picture a man

Seen like a speck out from this shore

Swimming out beyond the breakers

Like he's done his life before

Hozier - Through Me (The Flood)

They had met on a shore.

It was an era of chaos and greatness. A time where men sailed free, free from the land, free from the laws. An era of discoveries, of virgin islands, sword fights,tempests, treasure quests and raging sea. It was an era of pirates and bandits.

One morning, terrible, terrible pirates landed on the island Seonghwa was born, and as soon as the habitants had seen their deadly flag, they had run away in the woods to take shelter, afraid.

Their captain was known to be tall and terrible. He was known to be followed by an arrogant luck that allowed him to do whatever he wanted, without ever facing any consequence. He was a criminal,too. A cruel murderer, that loved to torture his victims until they begged for mercy. At least that was what the whispers about him said.

Wanted in every sea, with a bounty so high that nobody actually dared to try and capture him and his crew. Authorities wanted him dead, and men feared him.

His mischiefs were legendary. Everyone knew about his crew and the mess they created on every island they visited. Stories were told about how cruel, cupid and bloodthirsty they were.

But of course, every great pirate was always followed by stories. Stories and legends that couldn't be all true. Because the true power of a legend is what people believe in.

When Seonghwa was little, his island was nothing but fear and endless torments. The island was small, and the people there had lived through a lot. Pirates, an abusive government, strangers coming to open commercial routes, only to steal resources and human lives. They had been assaulted, stolen, killed and worse.

But growing up, he had learned how to stand his ground, how to resist and fight. To lead a small resistance.

Nobody dared to fight back before. His family, his neighbors, his friends, were so absolutely used to abuse, that they had lost any will to keep fighting.

But if Seonghwa was one thing, it was determined. And he hated injustice.

So he had done what he could, to help. To help his people find their will, their strength. He showed them how to fight, how to speak up, how to make the abusers sail far away to never come back. It had been messy, bloody and painful. But with time, with a lot of efforts, life had become better. Life was better.

He couldn't have done it alone, of course. But he had found that his presence often helped people stand their ground. His presence was seen as a reminder that anyone in here was able to stand up and make things better.

He couldn't blame most of the people for running away. However, a few of them stayed with him, gathering their courage, and planning to fight and protect their land alongside Seonghwa. It had been a long time since nobody had come to torment them, and they intended to keep it that way.

Pirates, whoever they were, were always bad news. But Seonghwa was not afraid. Not anymore. He was curious. He had never met pirates so famous that their name was enough to make a whole village flee in the woods.