First Light of a New Age

Chapter 22: Surprises

Kingdom of High Tarxan Nation, On The Ocean Near A Tarxan Port, Near Portville, On The Ocean Near The Country Of High Tarxan

First Year Of God, First Day, First Five Days, First Month

Wreckage and separated body parts filled the entire part of the ocean. The large metal ship moved silently through the blood stained ocean. Numerous figures stand on top of the deck of the metal ship as it sliced through the waves. It was as if they were on the lookout for something.

To the far side, on a piece of a floating wooden mast, lies a maiden that was floating aimlessly with the wreckage. Around the maiden were burning wreckages of ironclads along with the mutilated bodies of her fellow Elven people.

Slowly, but surely, the Elven maiden slowly opened her eyes. For the past few minutes, she was unconscious. The last thing she remembered was her failing to stop the destruction of her fleet. As she remembered what had happened earlier, tears flowed through her cheeks.

With sadness deep in her heart, she glanced around her surroundings, each sight deepening the well of sorrow within her and made the flow of tears flow even harder. The sight of floating corpses, mutilated bodies, burning ships and, most of all, the look of horror in the eyes of her fellow Elven people. They all died a senseless death, just because of their pride and ego.

Gazing upon her own disheveled attire, she found that her regal clothes were tattered and completely submerged in the water. She has failed to establish her influence in her country and brought hundreds of ships with thousands of sailors to their deaths. It was a complete failure and a bitter truth she could no longer deny.

In this moment of desolation, she just wishes to die or hide in a corner because of complete humiliation. Most likely, if this news of defeat gets out into the world, other nations would likely invade their homeland, as they don't have any more that they could call a navy.

Then suddenly she remembered that her brother Acheron backed out at the last minute before the battle began. She thought he must be laughing right now, as he will ascend to the throne by now. She thought it must be better to die here right now, as at least she doesn't have to come back to that country anymore, where they'd just discriminate and humiliate her every chance that they'd get.

She was currently holding onto the wooden mast of an ironclad. With how heavy her regal clothes were, she was deciding if she'd continue holding on for dear life or to just end it all and let go of the wooden mast as hopelessness fills her heart.

As she was being conflicted about what to do, a sudden deafening sound shattered the oppressive silence somewhere near her. Panic seized her as she hurriedly looked around to see where it was coming from, and when she finally saw she was utterly shocked and baffled. It was one of the mighty metal ships, the very vessel responsible for the decimation of her fleet. Fear was all over her as she didn't know what to do.

In a state of panic, she almost released her grip on the wooden mast. Just as when she saw that there were fellow Elven people near the imposing metal vessel, her instincts kicked in. This must be her redemption. If she could strike a blow against that metal ship, perhaps they'd think twice before killing off the remaining survivors.

Summoning her magical prowess, she prepared to unleash a spell with enough power to even damage it, but before she could utter the incantation, she saw something unbelievable with tears clouded her vision. The humans aboard the metal behemoth threw what seemed like some kind of device onto the elves. What came next surprised her, as she found the device that was thrown was floating. Not only that, another surprising thing happened next. The humans attached what seemed like a rope that looked like a ladder to the side of their ship, offering an improbable avenue of escape or perhaps something more.