Mwari Chronicles

Chapter 6

The sound of waves beating against the great silver warship that streaked upon the great expanse of the Mistver Ocean had an almost tranquil serenity to Juno Freya. The young Rae shivered underneath the cold breath of the morning winds which even her uniform with the crescent moon of the Unar Empire at its centre could not stop.

The mist that hang over the waters almost made this ocean seem mystical and the looming landmass ahead looked like the forbidden isles which every hero of myth and fable was said to have gone to upon their deaths.

Juno would have been forgiven for forgetting that no more than three hours ago, a bloody battle had been fought upon these very waters and the shores of the Spice Islands.

Though the grizzly remains of that battle still remained as a reminder to all who dared to look into the deep aquatic abyss. From the prowl of the silver battleship, she could see the broken remains of other battleships, their once impressive and seemingly impervious halls had been torn open.

Many were slowly vanishing beneath the waves of the Mistver Ocean. It was almost unbelievable to see these titans that weighed thousands of tones now going to a grave that none could vist.

Amongst the corpses of these giants floated other pieces of debris like the scattered remains of airships.

Seeing them made Juno wince from an invisible pain. Before joining Zodiac, she had dreamed about a path in the Stratha, the Empires air force, and in this aquatic cemetery, she could see the Unar Empire aircrafts and the floating bodies of the great scarlet Dragons.

But most importantly of all, the bodies or body parts of hundreds of thousands of men and women floated as grizzly remainders of mortality. Their blood blanketing certain portions of the Ocean as crimson patches.

"A true shame." an aged voice uttered besides her.

Juno almost yelped in surprise, she turned quickly and saw Libra, the ancient Zodiac, his weathered Elfen face almost seeming much older as he looked into the mass of death.

"A shame?" She asked in confusion, as she looked back into the water.

"All of these dead boys and girls. Ours and theirs, a butchery and a waste of life," he responded, his eyes never leaving the waters.

Juno followed his gaze to the vast majority of dead in the water. Many did not wear the silver armor of the empire or the purple and black of the Luperon kingdom and princedom of Alan.

In fact, these men and women wore the green and gold of the Ocean Lords and the scarlet clothing that the rebels had taken to wearing. They might not all be citizens of the enemy, but that made their betrayal even worse. She could not see how they deserved much sympathy from her.

"They were traitors and Ocean Landers, this is the fate that they deserve," she responded, contempt burning in her heart.

"Do not be too quick in lusting for blood, young Freya. They might have been rebels and our enemies, but it is always a shame when it comes to this," he said with a heaviness in his voice.

Juno wanted to argue with him, to tell him that his age was making him soft and emotional, but she respected the elder Zodiac too much to bring herself to do it. All that she did was bow to him in a show of acceptance.

Juno Freya had always desired to serve the empire as one of the many bullworks against the Ocean Lords, they that had began the War Of Fire many millennia ago. Growing up in a family with a prestigious history had set the standard for her, and though she once desired to serve as a Dragon Rider in the Stratha, it was the elite Zodiac company who came calling for her.